A/N: Hola! So, here is the next update of my beautiful story. Some people "forgot" to review. Don't let it happen again peeps! Although, I know why. So I would like to take a moment to clarify. I just meant things will get bad for Journey. I am not bringing Sam into this story, nor will I ever. I repeat, THERE WILL BE ABSOLUTELY NO SAM IN THIS STORY. Sorry for the confusion, I hope you all still love me. And Happy New Year!

Seth Cohen's girlfriend- Stupid good for nothing doctors. They really don't know anything!

Samantha- They need to not live together so that they don't seem like leverage to his enemies for kidnappings, shootings, etc. I know, it's terrible, but I'm a terrible person.

kaleymc- Aww, I am so sorry about your keyboard. That was a funny review though, lol.

Tania- Journey's still together. They just need to live apart. But I know, it's heartbreaking.

sexyt- I know, I know. The chivalry thing is a bit annoying, lol.

anon14- Yeah, I guess we do have to forgive him. Sigh.

luvthemorgans- I have no idea what you said for the first half of that review. But what else is new. And Bre, my mentally challenged little friend, they were going to sedate him because he wasn't cooperating and being annoying. Just like someone else I know…hmm, who could that be? J/K, I heart you!

middiegurl08- This is where I insert an evil little laugh and rub my hands together. Yes, things are going to get crappy.

LoLogirl28- He's just so stubborn when it comes to protecting his family. I'm glad you like it though!

ButterflyzDreamz- Things will get bad. But I'll fix them. Eventually. Maybe.

ImJustKidding89- I know you. You really do want an update. This chapter's not that bad, I promise.

jennifer..courtneylovejason- I'm glad you got to reread it. Yeah, I ended up not changing anything. Glad you liked it!

Starlet- Keep reading. Remember, things have to get really bad before they can get better.

emmalee05- Read what I wrote to Samantha, she had the same concerns as you. And you and I both know that you really are an angst junkie, just like you said, lol.

Chapter 3- Moving Out

Jason silently watched as Courtney took all of his clothes and refolded them. She claimed that he hadn't done it neat enough, but he knew that she was just stalling. They were sitting in their old bedroom at the penthouse, unpacking all of the things he had packed from their house. He wanted to say something to her, something to comfort her, but his mind drew a blank. He couldn't think of a thing. Luckily, Meg ran in that point, saving him from trying to break the silence.

"Daddy! I can't reach the mantle!" she said, a big smile on her face.

"Alright, I'm coming" he said as he grabbed her up in his arms and walked down the stairs with her, throwing one last meaningful look in Courtney's direction.

Meg had been arranging pictures all throughout the penthouse for him. It was her 'job' in helping him to get settled in. She had put her favorite family pictures everywhere, and the last place she needed to get was the mantle above the fireplace. Meg grabbed a handful of framed pictures and Jason held her up as she arranged the pictures. She managed to fit all but one on.

"Alright, I think we have enough pictures" said Jason as he put her down.

Meg looked at him with her big blue eyes widening as she bit her lip before bursting into tears.

"Meggie, what is it?" he asked her as he grabbed her up and held her tightly to him.

"If I don't put up this picture, you're gonna forget about me" she said. "And mommy" she added.

Jason almost broke down into tears right there.

"Meg, I will never forget about you or mommy. I love you both. And I am going to see you a lot. Just because I don't live at the house anymore doesn't mean that I don't love you and mommy or that I'm not going to keep seeing my girls all the time" Jason explained. "Remember what Mommy and I told you this morning?" he asked.

Flashback

Meg sat on the couch, looking expectantly up at her parents, her thumb flying into her mouth out of habit. Jason leaned over and gently pulled it from her mouth, brushing back one of her blonde curls as he did.

"Meg, we have something important to tell you" said Jason, breaking the silence.

Meg looked up at them with fearful eyes and they both knew that she was expecting the worst from them. And they both hated that her expectations would come true.

"Remember how daddy got the boo-boo last night?" asked Courtney, and Meg nodded. "Well, some bad men were the ones who gave him that boo-boo. So, to keep us all safe from any more boo-boos, daddy's going to live away from us for a while" explained Courtney.

"What do you mean?" asked Meg as she grabbed on to Jason's hand.

"Remember where we used to live? The penthouse? I'm going to move in to there for a while. But I promise you, I am going to come and visit you and mommy all the time"

"A kid in my pre-k class's mommy and daddy lived apart. He said they were fidorced"

"Fidorced?" asked Jason confusedly.

"Sweetie, do you mean divorced?" asked Courtney, swallowing hard as she said it.

"Yeah! That's the word. What does that mean?" asked Meg.

"When a mommy and daddy decide they don't love each other as much as they used to, they decide to get a divorce. It means that they're not married anymore, but they are still a mommy and daddy. But don't worry sweetpea, mommy and I are not getting divorced. We still love each other very much. And I want to stay here with you and her, and she wants me too as well, but I can't" said Jason.

"Why not? I don't want you to live far away. What if I have a nightmare?" asked Meg as she started to cry.

"Mommy will be here, she can help you if you have a nightmare. And you and she can always call me up on the phone. And I promise to come and visit all the time. And I can still take you to the park, and the zoo, and everything"

"And kindergarten?"

"And kindergarten"

"I don't want you to go daddy" said Meg tearfully and Jason picked her up and put her on his lap, hugging her tight.

He held out one of his arms and Courtney snuggled into his embrace as she and Meg cried. Jason tried his best to keep it together because he knew that his family needed him. But it hurt. It hurt like hell.

End Flashback

Jason had finally gotten Meg's tears to subside. And he had finally convinced Courtney that his clothes were neatly folded, his refrigerator was stocked, and bed was made as smoothly as humanly possible. It wasn't as though he wanted them to go, but he knew that if they didn't leave now, he would never be able to let them go.

"Make sure to separate your laundry piles, ok? And let me know when they start to build up and I'll come over and take care of it. Don't try it yourself" she warned.

"I know baby, I know" he told her with a bittersweet smile.

"And remember daddy, more important than laundry, is my first day of kindergarten. It's September one, remember that! September one!"

"September first sweetie. And yes, don't worry. I will be there. I wouldn't miss it for the world" he promised her as he picked her up and kissed and hugged her goodbye. "Be good for mommy. She may be sad for a while. So it's your job to cheer her up, ok?" asked Jason.

"Ok, I love you daddy" said Meg.

"I love you too sweetpea" Jason told her before kissing her once more and putting her down. "Come here you" he said, holding his arms out for his wife.

Courtney sighed and looked down before going over to him and hugging him fiercely.

"It'll be ok" he whispered in her ear.

"It doesn't feel like it" she whispered back.

He pulled back a little and kissed her before hugging her again.

"You should go" he told her.

"I can't" she said, clinging to him.

"You have to. Come on, hold it together for Meg's sake" he whispered softly.

"I can't. I need you" she said as she clung tighter to him.

He tried to gently pry her off of him, but she just held on tighter.

"Courtney, come on. You're going to upset Meg"

"Please don't make me leave Jason" she begged.

Finally, he was able to unclench her tight grip on his shirt. She tried to cling back to him but he backed away to stop her.

"If you won't do it for Meg, do it for me. I'm dying here Courtney, I can't stand this. Please don't make it any harder on me" he said in a thick voice.

"Alright" she finally said, looking up at him with big, wet blue eyes.

"I love you" he said as a tear ran down his cheek. "I love you both"

"I love you too" said Courtney as her tears started again.

"And me!" cried Meg as Courtney took her hand and led her to the elevator.

Jason watched them disappear before shutting his door, sitting down on the couch, and crying out his lonely heart.

Getting Meg to go to sleep that night was one of the hardest things Courtney had ever done. She was moody, and upset, and she wanted Jason. Not to mention, there was a storm brewing, and both she and Simba were jumpy and afraid.

Courtney finally finished up everything she needed to do and climbed into bed herself. Turning off all the lights short of the beside lamp, she slowly picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number.

"I was waiting for your call" came the voice as soon as the call connected.

"And I couldn't wait to call you" she told her husband.

"I miss you" he said, and she knew that he had that sad look on his face that pained her.

"I miss you too" she said, gripping the phone harder.

"Was Meg impossible to get into bed tonight?" asked Jason.

"I was thinking about just letting her stay up until she fell asleep. It was so difficult to get her to just stay in her room"

"I'm sorry. I should have come over to help you put her to bed. I just don't want my enemies thinking I still live there. As much as I wanted to, I needed to stay away"

"I know" said Courtney. "This plan would be in vain if you spent all your time over here anyway"

"It doesn't make it hurt any less" he said in a soft voice.

"For me either" she said, biting back her tears.

All the sudden, a particularly loud roll of thunder was heard, followed by an extremely bright flash of lightening.

Courtney and Jason both smiled and began counting down from five together. Just as they both hit one, Meg ran into Courtney's room, a frightened look on her face, and jumped onto the bed, snuggling into Courtney's arms.

"We have a visitor" said Courtney.

"I figured as much" said Jason with a smile.

Courtney leaned over and put the phone on speakerphone.

"You're on babe" she told him.

"Hey sweetpea, is the storm scaring you?"

"Daddy!" cried Meg, glad to hear his voice. "You need to come home. What if the loud monsters get me? And the bright ones?" she asked.

"Mommy will protect you from the monsters, remember?" Jason asked.

"But who's going to protect mommy? You need to protect us both. That's your job" said Meg.

"Daddy is protecting us sweetie. And besides, I can protect you from any monsters! We don't just need daddy! It's just us girls"

"And Simba" pointed out Meg.

"And Simba" Courtney agreed.

At that moment, there was another loud crack and flash. Again, there was the countdown from five, and Simba ran into the room, whimpering and throwing himself on to the bed, just as Meg had done. Of course, Simba couldn't get on the bed so Courtney had to help him up as Meg giggled. Jason smiled just at hearing the sounds of his family.

"Daddy, Simba's scared too" said Meg, her thumb in her mouth.

"Simba can't be scared. We had a good long talk" said Jason.

Flashback

"Alright Simba, come sit. We need to talk" said Jason as he picked the puppy up and put him on the couch next to him. "It's your job to protect your family now"

"Oh god, not this again" said Courtney as she rolled her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" he asked her.

"I vaguely remember you having a similar discussion with Rosie"

"She did a half decent job of protecting you" argued Jason.

"Sure, whatever you say" said Courtney as she rolled her eyes. "You know, I like it better when you protect me"

"I know, me too. But we need to work with what we have. Right Simba?" asked Jason as he swallowed his tears. "Alright, so you are now the man of the house. You need to protect mommy and Meg. That's your job. Can you do that?" he asked the dog.

Simba barked and jumped off the couch. He started running and smacked right into the glass door leading to the backyard in his attempts to get a squirrel that was sitting outside. Both Courtney and Jason cringed as he smacked into it.

"Alright, so he's not the smartest dog…" said Jason.

"…but we love him just the same" added Courtney.

End Flashback

"It wasn't your most effective talk Jase" said Courtney.

"I feel like he was focusing on the squirrel, not me" he said.

"Me too" said Courtney.

"And me" added Meg.

"Do you even know what we're talking about Meg?" asked Jason.

"No, but I want to be part of this" said the little girl.

"Don't worry, you are part of this" said Courtney as she hugged her.

"Daddy, do you have a nightlight in your room? I don't want you to be afraid" said Meg, changing the gears of the conversation.

"Don't worry sweetpea" he told her, smiling at how much she cared about him.

"You can borrow my piggy nightlight if you need" she said.

"Aww, thank you sweetheart. But you keep that for now. I'll be fine here"

"But there's no one in your bed to help you be not afraid of the storm" she said sadly.

"I wish I could have you, and Mommy, and even Simba in my bed right now, but I have Roary at least" said Jason.

"I guess" said Meg.

Roary was Meg's favorite stuffed animal. He was a lion with a soft plush body and a tickly mane. Meg had insisted that Jason have it in the penthouse with him. Now, he was glad that she had. He hugged it tightly to him, thinking of his wife and daughter.

"We all better get some sleep" said Courtney softly.

"Alright" agreed Meg. "But daddy, don't forget about my first day of kindergarten!" she said.

"I promise you I won't forget. I will be there" said Jason.

"Alright, 'cause this is the biggest day of my life" she said dramatically.

"Don't worry sweetpea" he told her. "Now go to sleep. I love you" he said.

"I love you too daddy" she said.

"And I love you too baby" said Jason to Courtney.

"And I love you" said Courtney back.

"And we all love Simba, and he loves all of us" said Meg, matter-of-factually.

"Of course we do" agreed Courtney.

"Goodnight" said Jason softly. "Sweet dreams"

"Goodnight" said Courtney just as softly as Meg yelled "night night Daddy!"

The three hung up and lied down to go to sleep. Courtney held Meg tightly in her arms, trying unsuccessfully not to cry. And Jason hugged Roary, the sadness and loneliness he was feeling overtaking him.

A/N: Aww, everyone feel all bad for Jase now. Alright, now tell him that's what he gets for being with Sam on the show. I probably shouldn't say "Sam" in my author's notes anymore because that's what gets me in trouble. So, remember, this is JOURNEY THROUGH AND THROUGH. EVEN IF IT SEEMS BAD AT TIMES, IT'S JOURNEY!