A/N: I have some bad news. As I'm sure you all know it's been over a month since I last updated any story, and lately, I haven't been reading or reviewing other stories. The truth is I have completely given up on GH. The show bores me now and I haven't watched it in weeks. Not only that, but I just don't have the time between the SATS, Drivers Ed, and all of my APs. So, this is the end for me. I'm done with the show, and I'm done with fan fiction. Don't get me wrong, nearly all the stories I've read are fantastic, but I'm just not invested in the characters anymore. I'm going around and finishing all the necessary posting, and then that's it. I'm retiring so to speak. I didn't finish this story, but I used my outline to write summaries of the rest of the chapters that I didn't finish (nine and up I think) so you still get to see what happens.

Thanks to everyone for their support over the months, I really appreciate it. So, I hope you all enjoy the end of Staying Together While Falling Apart.

P.S- On a happier note, the name "Jessica" that I use here is in honor of middiegurl08, I promised her after nixing her name on Tangled Secrets for the Journey baby.

Chapter 4- First Day

"Meg, he will be here. It is still really, really early" said Courtney tiredly.

"Mommy, its 7:30 already!"

"I know, please don't remind me" said Courtney as she took a long sip of her coffee.

Meg's little smile grew wider as she moved from her place by the window and turned to Courtney.

"Mommy! He's here!" she cried as she attempted to open the door herself.

"Hey, you know you are not allowed to open the door" said Courtney as she turned off the alarm and undid the locks before opening it for Jason.

"What are you doing awake?" he asked her in confusion. "I thought you never woke up before 8"

"I was up at 6:15 this morning. Meg's a little excited"

"I can tell" he said as he glanced over at his daughter who was literally bouncing. "Good morning by the way" he said as he leaned over and kissed her.

"Good morning" said Courtney back as Meg hugged Jason's leg and told him good morning as well. "So, if you didn't expect me to be awake, why are you here so early?"

"I was hoping to slip into bed with you for a half an hour" whispered Jason in her ear. "Get some me and you time"

"Jason!" she scolded as she turned red.

"I just meant I wanted to hold you in my arms. I miss that"

"I miss that too" she said. "But that would never have worked. You would have set off the alarm, effectively waking us all up"

"So, I didn't think it through. I'm a lonely desperate man. Lonely desperate men don't need to think" he said.
"I am sorry that you are so lonely" she said. "Maybe I can make you less lonely, say around lunch time" she said, whispering that part in his ear.

"Ooo, I like the sound of that" he growled, causing her to laugh.

"Mommy! My hair! We need to braid my hair!" yelled Meg as she interrupted their moment.

"Sweetie, we have an hour and a half before we even need to think about leaving the house. Don't worry" Courtney soothed.

"Don't worry? Mommy, are you crazy?" asked Meg as she ran off to get her hairbrush.

"I have never seen her so alert at this hour before"

"Me neither. And I think I like sleepy Meg better" said Courtney as Jason laughed and wrapped his arms around her.

"Here it is. My school" said Meg excitedly as she clung to both Jason and Courtney's hands. The three stared up at the school. Courtney and Jason couldn't believe she was in kindergarten already, and Meg was just plain nervous.

"Come on sweetie, let's find your room" Jason told her as they walked in.

They quickly found room 12, Ms. Veronica Hartman's classroom. As they walked in, they saw Liz and Lucky holding a very nervous looking Cameron's hands.

"Lizzy and Lucky!" she cried as she ran over to them.

Meg knew all the key players in her town. And after Lucky had helped them out with the custody battle, they had become closer to him and Liz.

"Hey Cam!" she said excitedly.

The little boy just shyly hid behind Lucky's legs.

"Come on Cam, you know Meg. You always play with her" encouraged Liz.

"Hey Cameron" said Courtney to the little boy, as Jason greeted him as well.

"Cameron's having separation issues" whispered Liz to them.

"Ohhhh" said Courtney as it all made sense.

"It doesn't even matter that he's been in daycare and preschool, the whole idea of kindergarten just does not appeal to him" said Lucky.

"I have a feeling Meg's going to get him to open up" said Jason as Meg took Cam by the hand and pulled him over to play with her.

"Yeah, Meg is certainly outgoing" said Courtney with a laugh.

Finally, Ms. Hartman clapped her hands and got everyone's attention.

"Welcome parents, children, everyone. It is so great to see all these smiling faces in my classroom. This is going to be a fun year of learning, and playing, and getting to know one another. Parents, it's time to say goodbye to your little dumplings" she said, a big smile plastered on her face.

"Oh no, not my darling little dumpling" whispered Liz to Courtney who had to put a hand over her mouth to stop from laughing out loud.

Once the kids were said goodbye to and Cameron had been pried off of Liz's leg, the parents left.

"Liz, you need a ride to the hospital? I'm going there anyway, I've got a meeting" said Courtney.

"Yeah, Lucky was going to take me before he went to work, but this is much easier. Thanks" she said.

"Yeah, no problem. Especially now that our little dumplings are in the same class"

"Alright, so I wasn't the only one who thought that was a little weird?" asked Jason.

"No, definitely not. And how old was she anyway? She looked like she was 12" said Lucky.

"She's probably 22 or something. But I doubt that perky smile is going to stay on her face all day long" said Courtney.

"By the first bathroom accident, she's going to be in tears" laughed Liz as they all got into their cars after goodbyes.

"Camie, why are you crying?" asked Meg as the two colored.

"I miss my mommy and daddy" said Cam tearfully.

Meg knew that whenever someone was sad, a hug usually made them feel better. So she did just that. Cam hugged her back and continued to cry.

"We'll see our mommies and daddies soon" explained Meg. "But for now, we're in kindergarten"

"I still don't get what kindergarten is" grumbled Cameron.

"My cousins Mikey and Morgan es'plained it to me. Morgan's eight, and Mikey's fifteen"

"Wow, they're old"

"Tell me about it. They told me that you color pictures, and play toys, and sing songs. And there's a nice lady who helps you with whatever you need"

"I used to do that at mommy's work babysitting thing" said Cameron. "Except the nice lady wasn't so smiley. Do you think her face got stuck?" asked Cameron as they looked at Ms. Hartman.

"Nah, I think she's 'apposed to do that" explained Meg.

"Did our men find anything?" Jason asked Sonny as the older man stepped into Jason's office.

"Nope, nothing. I've still got some men doing some questioning, but basically, the identity of the shooter is still a mystery"

Jason sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

"I just wanna get back to my family. And I can't do that until we figure out who exactly is terrorizing us" said Jason.

"I know man, I know it's hard. I've been in your position before, and it sucks"

"It's just so hard, you know. To go to sleep without Courtney in my arms, without Meg in the room next door. I haven't gotten a good nights sleep since I moved out. And I miss Courtney's cooking. Every meal I've eaten has either been from Kelly's, a can, or a box. I went over there a few times for dinner, and she's come over and done my laundry, but it just isn't the same"

"You've come to depend on her"

"Exactly. The penthouse just feels so empty and dirty without her there. I need her to make it feel like home, and the only way she could do that would be by living there. But that's not an option, and I know its not. Hell, it was my idea to move out, so I really can't complain…"
"You did it to protect her Jason. It wasn't just for a little more personal space or anything"

"There was nothing for so long. No violence, no threats. And now all the sudden, it just starts again. And I hate it. I hate being away from them"

"Let's play house" said Jessica, a little girl in Meg and Cam's class.

"I wanna be the mommy!" cried Meg.

"I wanna be the daughter!" cried Jessica as all the other people claimed family positions.

"Cam, you be the daddy" instructed Meg as she smiled at him before taking his hand.
"What are you doing?" he asked her.

"I'm your wife. And you're my husband. We're playing house" said Meg.

"Oh, ok" agreed Cameron as he smiled at her before everyone pulled costumes out of the dress up bin that fit their roles.

Meg and Cameron finally dropped hands as they put on their dress up props, both still smiling at each other.

Courtney sat outside of the hospital as she bit her lip. It was unusually hot for September, but she was still cold. She hated that she had to do this. Dialing Jason's cell phone number, she waited anxiously for him to pick up.

"That's Courtney" said Jason as he glanced at the caller ID.

"I'll be outside" said Sonny as he left Jason's office.

"Hey baby" said Jason as he picked up the phone.

"Hey" she said sadly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Jase, I am so so so sorry, but I need to cancel lunch today"

"What? Why?" he asked, suddenly feeling sad again.

"The meeting I had for this morning changed it to lunch time. And I can't just blow him off, 'cause this guy is going to donate a lot of money to the foundation"

"Courtneyyyy" Jason said in the closest thing to a whine he would ever utter. "Whatever he's giving to the foundation, I'll give double. Just come get lunch with me" begged Jason.

"Sweetie, I am so sorry. Look, can you pick Meg up from school also?"

"We were both supposed to do that. Together" said Jason.

"I know. But these meetings usually take so long. I probably won't be done in time"

"Fine" he said tensely.

"Thank you baby, so so so much. I promise you that I will make it up to you, ok?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Not really" she answered.

"Fine, I'll see you later" said Jason as he hung up the phone.

"I love you" said Courtney, but he had already hung up.

"Mr. Parker?" asked Courtney as she walked into the PC Grille and saw an attractive man waiting for her.

"Mrs. Morgan?" he asked in a heavy British accent, standing up and extending his hand.

Courtney took his hand, thinking he was going to shake it. Instead, he lifted it to his lips and gently kissed it.

"Please, it's Courtney" she said, blushing.

"Alright, than its Joshua" he said.

"It's such a pleasure to meet you Joshua" she said, taking her time as she said his name.

"And it's a pleasure to meet you Courtney" said Joshua as he took her hand and led her to their table.

"What time is it?" asked Jason, suddenly in a panic.

"Three fifteen" said Max as he looked at his watch.

"Shit, I was supposed to pick Meg up fifteen minutes ago!" cried Jason as he abandoned the books he was working on, grabbed his keys, and ran out, leaving a puzzled Max.

"Daddy! I thought you and Mommy forgot me!" cried Meg as Jason ran into her classroom.

"No Meg, never" said Jason as he swooped her into his arms and hugged and kissed her.

"Where's Mommy?" asked Meg

"She had a meeting. So I said I would pick you up" explained Jason.

"See Meg, I told you they didn't forget you. It was all just a misunderstanding" explained Ms. Hartman.

"I'm Jason Morgan by the way" said Jason, extending his hand to her.

"Veronica Hartman" said Veronica as she shook his hand and gave him that smile. I'm sorry, I can't smile anymore" she said relaxing her face.

"Its ok" said Jason with a laugh. "I know for a fact that kindergartners can be a handful"

"Who knew putting 17 of them in a room could be so tiring" she said as she flopped down into a chair.

"I know that Meg especially can be a handful" said Jason, looking at his daughter in his arms.

"No, she was fine" said Veronica. "She's such a good, sweet girl. Some of the others though are absolutely crazy!"

"Yeah, tell me about it. I have two nephews who were all over the place when they were Meg's age"

"Boys are definitely worse than girls. They like to hit. But that little boy, Cameron, he seemed sweet. He and Meg really seemed to get along" said Veronica.

"Yeah, they've known each other for a while. He's always been good" explained Jason.

"At least there are a handful of well behaved children in the class" she said softly, looking up into Jason's blue eyes and biting her lip.

"Daddy, I'm hungry" cried Meg, tugging on his jacket, breaking their stare.

"Alright babe, let's go home and get you something to eat" said Jason as he put her down.

"It was nice to meet you Mr. Morgan" said Veronica as she stood up.

"Please, it's Jason. And it was nice to meet you too Ms. Hartman" said Jason.

"Please, it's Veronica" she said with a smile. "Bye Meg, see you tomorrow" she said, bending down to say goodbye and giving Jason a decent view of her cleavage.

Jason turned his head away and then took Meg's hand. Meg waved goodbye and the two walked out.

"Damn, I love the cute dads" mumbled Veronica she pulled off her heels and tossed them into the corner of the room before sitting down again and sighing.

Teaching kindergarten was a hell of a lot harder than it looked.