Chapter 7- Sick Visit

Courtney made it to the park before she couldn't drive anymore. Getting out, she lied back against a tree and let out all of her heart wrenching tears. She didn't want to break his heart like that, but it was necessary. They couldn't keep up this painful dance that they were doing. All the sudden, Courtney saw a hand reach out to her to comfort her. Looking up, she was shocked to see who it was.

"Joshua, what are you doing here?" she asked as she tried to wipe away her tears.

"I was just walking through the park when I saw you run from your car and just start crying. Are you ok?" he asked.

"I'm… I just… I" but Courtney couldn't tell him as she burst into tears.

"Shh, it's ok now" he told her as he kneeled down, not caring that he was ruining his expensive business suit as he pulled her to him and hugged her tight.

"I'm sorry, I'm completely ruining your suit" she said as she wiped away her tears after a few moments.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Sometimes we just all need a shoulder to cry on" he comforted her. "You wanna tell me what happened?"

"My husband and I…we're getting a separation"

"His idea?"

"No, mine. The relationship just isn't healthy anymore" she said with a sigh. "Not like it makes it any easier"

"No, I wouldn't imagine that it would. Come on" he said as he helped her up.

"Are we going somewhere?" she asked.

"Yes, we are" he said as he led her away.

"Where are we?" she asked as he led her up into a building overlooking the park.

"We are at my apartment" he said as he pushed open the door and led her in.

"Wow, it's huge. And look at that view!" she cried as she ran to the window.

"You like?" he asked her with a grin.

"I love" she said, turning to him with a smile.

They held each others gaze for a moment before Courtney broke the eye contact, obviously embarrassed.

"You have a lot of CDs" she said, gazing at the collection as she tried to hastily change the subject.

"I love music" he told her. "And I love to dance in the company of a beautiful woman. What about you?"

"Hmm, dancing with a beautiful woman…" she said as she pretended to contemplate it.

"Or dancing in general" he said with a smile at her.

"I love to dance. My husband…I mean Jason…I mean Meg's father…I mean… well, we didn't dance much" said Courtney, swallowing a fresh batch of tears.

"Well then, I must tend to this problem" he said as he turned on a slow song. "Dance with me" he said, more of a command than a question, as he outstretched his hand.

Courtney looked at it for a moment before tentatively taking it.

"I shouldn't" she said, trying to pull away.

"It's just a dance" he told her as he pulled her close and began to sway to the music with her.

Before Courtney knew what she was doing, she was resting her head on his chest. He encircled his arms around her and held her even more tightly to him, smelling her hair as he did. Courtney closed her eyes at his touch. She opened her eyes and was shocked to see a pair of green eyes staring at her instead of the ocean blue ones that she was used to.

"I'm sorry, I have to go" she cried as she pulled away, grabbed her purse and coat, and bolted from the apartment, leaving a dejected Joshua behind.

One week later, the separation was still on. Courtney had agreed to let Jason have Meg for the weekend because he missed his daughter so much. He had been embarrassed around her, knowing that she had heard their argument and she had heard him yelling at Courtney. Although Meg was upset about the fight, she didn't really understand what the difference between a legal separation and the prior separation was. All she knew was that Mommy and Daddy don't kiss anymore. It still hurt Jason to know that his wife was out there, all alone, without him there to love and protect her.

Jason walked into Ms. Hartman's classroom where he saw Meg playing with Cameron.

"I'm not early, am I?" he asked Veronica.

"No, not at all Mr. Morgan" she said with a seductive smile at him.

"I thought we were on a first name basis" he said with a smile.

"Right, sorry. Jason" she said, relishing the sound as she said his name. "I haven't seen you in so long. Usually your wife picks Meg up"

"Yeah, it's my turn though" he said, uncomfortable with the situation. "Anyway, we better go. Come on Meg" said Jason.

"Coming Daddy" she said as she said goodbye to Cameron and ran over to Jason. "Achoo" she sneezed and Veronica handed Jason a Kleenex.

"Thanks" he said. "Are you getting sick Meg?" he asked with a frown.

"Ugg, trust me, it's a Kindergarten classroom. There's always something going around. This week it's some 24-hour virus" said Veronica.

"I hope she's alright" said Jason as he picked her up in his arms and felt her forehead. "She doesn't feel warm"

"Let me" said Veronica.

She put one hand on Meg's forehead and one hand on Jason's.

"I need something to compare it to" she told him with a smile. "She feels fine. I think she should be ok"

"I trust you. You are the teacher" he said.

Veronica tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and the two smiled at each other for a moment until a sniffle from Meg brought them back to reality.

"We should go. Say goodbye Meg" said Jason.

"Bye-bye Ms. Hartman" said Meg as she waved.

"Bye Meg. See you on Monday" said Veronica as she smiled at them as she left.

She sighed and sunk down into her chair once they were gone, smiling at Cameron when he looked at her strangely.

Jason woke up early Saturday morning to the sounds of whimpering coming from the room Meg was staying in. He quickly jumped out of bed and ran to her. He found her twisting and turning in bed, her face flushed, her nose running, and her cheeks covered in tears.

"Daddy!" she cried with a frown when she saw him and she held out her arms to him.

"Hey sweet pea" he said as he quickly scooped her up in his arms.

"I don't feel good" she told him as she hugged him tight, burying her face in his chest.

"I know babe" he told her. "I guess you do have that virus"

"Do I have to go to the doctor?" she asked fearfully.

"Nah, this is just a virus. There's nothing he can do for you. You just need to rest, and watch some TV, and eat plenty of soup, ok?"

"Ok" she said. "Will you stay with me Daddy?" she asked.

"Of course babe" he told her as he lied down in the bed next to her.

Saturday was hard for Jason. Meg was really not feeling good and she was impossible when she was sick. He really needed Courtney's help, but he refused to call her. His pride and stubbornness prevented him from doing so. He was so mad at her for the separation and he refused to rely on her. He would handle everything by himself. Meg was crying on the couch, her fever making her irritable, and a bowl of soup that Jason was trying to get her to eat remained untouched on the coffee table. There was a knock on the door and frustrated Jason got up to answer it.

"What?" he growled as he flung it open.

"Is now a bad time?" asked Veronica, an apologetic look on her face.

"No, sorry about that. It's just that Meg did catch that virus and I'm in the middle of fighting with her to eat something"

"Let me" said Veronica, pushing her way into the apartment. "Hey Meg" she said with a sympathetic smile.

"Hi Ms. Hartman" said Meg with another sniffle.

"Come on Meg, you need to eat some soup for me, ok?"

"I don't want to" she said with a pout.

"I know, but you need to. Tell you what, you have 5 bites of soup and I'll let you pick the story that we all read on Monday, ok?" asked Veronica.

"Ok" said Meg, opening her mouth to let Veronica shovel 5 big spoonfuls of soup into her mouth.

"Thanks" said Jason gratefully as Meg went back to squirming and watching TV.

"Really, it's no problem. Nothing like some old fashioned bribery" she said with a smile.

"Yeah really" said Jason with a smile of his own. "Not to be rude, but why are you here?"

"Oh, right, sorry!" she said, hitting herself in the head. "I didn't come here just to bribe your daughter you know. I uh actually heard from Liz Spencer about your separation from your wife. Don't worry, we weren't gossiping or anything, but she was picking up Cameron and he mentioned that he wanted a playdate with Meg. So I said he should call you two, and she said something like 'well, one of them anyway" and I asked her what she meant and then she mentioned the separation. I think she thought I knew already. But anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were ok. I know how in love you were with your wife"

"I'm fine" he said gruffly.

"Look, I know that you aren't a big talker, and I kinda knew that you wouldn't want to talk about this, especially with someone like me. I mean, you barely know me. But I'm an impartial source. Unlike your other friends and family, I don't really know Courtney. I just thought I'd offer a shoulder to lean on. Anyway, I've embarrassed myself enough for one day, so I'm just going to go. I hope Meg feels better" she said as she started to walk away.

"Wait, don't go" he called after her.

She slowly turned around.

"You're right. I do need someone just to talk to who won't be biased."

She nodded at him and walked back into the Penthouse, shutting the door behind her. She sat down on the couch and glanced at Meg who was now fast asleep.

"Lemme put her upstairs" he whispered as he picked her up and carried up to her bedroom.

Veronica looked around the living room, ignoring all the pictures of Courtney.

"She still asleep?" asked Veronica when Jason came back down.

"She's out cold. I think it's all that Children's Motrin I stuffed in her"

"That'll do the trick" said Veronica as she motioned for Jason to join her on the couch.

"Kids are so hard to handle when they're sick" he moaned as he buried his face in his hands.

"Aww, I'm sorry" she said as she placed a hand on his arm.

"Do you have any kids?" he asked her.

"First, that involves getting a husband. And getting a husband involves getting a boyfriend" she joked with a smile, but Jason could tell that it was a strained topic of conversation for her.

He shrugged his shoulders and said "what, you're like 23 though, you still have time"

She laughed.

"I'm older than I look"

"What, like 24?" he teased.

"Maybe" she said with an elusive smile and he laughed. "I mean, even Meg has a boyfriend"

"What?" asked Jason as he visibly paled.

"God, you should see your face" she laughed.

"I'm sorry, but she's my little girl. I don't want her having a boyfriend" said Jason, crossing his arms over his chest. "Who is this boy anyway?" he asked.

"Cameron Spencer" she said with a laugh.

"Seriously?" asked Jason.

"I don't know if they're officially going out, but they sure do spend a lot of time together and there is a lot of handholding" said Veronica with a laugh.

"Oh god, Luke Spencer's going to be my daughter's father in law" moaned Jason.

"Now who's the one rushing along Meg's childhood to adulthood" teased Veronica.

"Hey, you were the one who brought it up" he mocked as she continued to laugh.

"They were pretending to get married the other day…now that you mention it"

"WHAT!" he asked in shock.

All the sudden, a flash went off in his eyes.

"What the hell was that?" he asked.

"I just wanted to capture that look on your face forever" she said, holding up her camera phone.

"Hey, give me that" he demanded as he tried to grab it from her.

"Nope" she said, holding it out of his reach.

"Come on" he said, reaching for it.

"Never!" she cried, both laughing as he fought for the phone.

But their play was interrupted suddenly by someone clearing their throat from the front door. They both turned around to see a very unhappy Courtney standing there, her arms folded over her chest, her foot taping on the ground, and her eyes bearing into Jason.