She said we're much too different
We're from two separate worlds
And he admitted

She was partly right
But in his heart's defense he told her
What they had in common
Was strong enough to bond them for life
He said look behind your own soul
And the person that you'll see
Just might remind you of me

The baby stared up at Keesha with big brown eyes. She gazed into them and chucked. How ironic the little baby boy had inherited his Uncle AJ's eyes? Everyday Jason would have to look into his brother's eyes. From the few strands of hair on his head, it was difficult to tell what color his hair was. Courtney's voice stopped her perusal of the baby, she had just seen enter the world days ago.

"I was going to give him the names Matthews and Morgan, but then I realized I wasn't a Matthews, it's just another lie. And since my whole life has been one life after another I decided I couldn't and wouldn't make him continue the lie. Then it dawned on me, the lies were everywhere. He couldn't be a Corbin and as much as Jay likes to pretend he's not, he's a Quartermaine," Courtney said, handing the infant boy to Keesha.

Keesha graciously held the baby in her arms and gently rocked him.

"So you hold in your arms Ward Corinthos Quartermaine."

Keesha gasped.

"Cory for short. I figured he wouldn't want his mommy's last name confused with his first."

"His what?" Keesha questioned, sure she was hearing things.

Courtney picked up a set of folded documents on the nightstand and handed them to Keesha.

Cradling the baby in one hand, she took the documents and quickly glanced over them. "You're giving up your parental rights?"

Courtney shook her blonde head.

"Nope, I already did. Lee Baldwin is down at the courthouse filing papers. Those are the copies. And if you sign the attached papers, the courier is waiting outside to take them to Lee, so you can be named his legal guardian until the adoption goes through."

"Doesn't Jason have to okay this adoption?" Keesha asked, bewildered by the turn of events.

"He signed off on the paperwork already."

"Nene, you don't have to do this. I'll help you with the baby until you're over the baby blues and back on your feet. I'll even move here to help out on a more- -

Courtney shook her head again. "You could help with his physical needs, but not the emotional and psychological ones." Lying back on the hospital bed, she sighed, as if the weight of the world were on her shoulders. "What can I give him when I don't know who I am and what I want? All I know for sure is I'm not the same person I was when I came to Port Charles and I'm not particularly fond of whom I've become. I need to sort myself out first and that could take months, years even." She paused. "It's not fair for him to live in limbo all that time. And before you say it, Keesh, yes, I've thought about this. That's all I thought about when I was gone. And part of me wonders if I'll ever stop being angry at him," she stated, staring at the baby in her best friend's arms. Bringing her legs to her chest, the blonde rested her chin on her knees. "I look at him and all I remember is that I loved his father, but his father's soul only loved and craved my best friend. I have so much anger inside me towards everyone. The baby in your arms, for his father's sins or rather lack of love. My mom for leaving Mike and then lying to me about it. You for loving your Jason and never getting over him. My dad, for not looking for us. Sonny for being so controlling. Carly for being so self-absorbed. Jay for not loving me enough. And AJ for using me. I have to work through all that. Dr. Baldwin says that I also have some trust issues, surprise, surprise," she said, sarcastically.

Tears welled up in Keesha's eyes as she felt the pain emanating from her best friend. What she wouldn't give so that Nene could go back to being the young, innocent woman she once was.

"She referred me to one of her former colleagues who retired to Malta and he's agreed to see me."

"Malta?" Keesha asked confused.

Courtney nodded. "Yeah, it's about 70 miles from Sicily. 95 of the population speaks English. They have a top rated university that has an early childhood education program so I can finally become that kindergarten teacher I always dreamt of. At least, I remembered that one. And with a population of two hundred thousand, I can get lost in a crowd but not for too long. What better place to heal than an island?" she joked with tears in her eyes.

"Are you scared?"

"Terrified."

She wanted to beg her little sister to change her mind, to remind her that giving up her baby for adoption was a huge step, but she didn't because she knew Courtney had thought this all through thoroughly. "You'll be the lone blonde there," Keesha laughed.

"Yep, the lone blonde American with a divorce, broken engagement, and childbirth under her belt. Not the way I imagined going to college."

Keesha walked to the bed, cradled the baby in one arm, and pulled Courtney to her. She cried openly. "You don't have to do this. I know you're hurt, angry, and feel betrayed by me, but I don't want you to leave. What will I do without you? What will I do without my annoying perky little sister?" Pulling back a little, she wiped the tears from Courtney's face. "You are my first baby."

"Well me being away will help me become some semblance of the annoying perky person you use to know and love."

"I'm going to miss you like crazy," Keesha declared.

"Not nearly much as I'm going to miss you," Courtney replied.

"You're going to be okay," she reassured the younger woman.

"Of course I will," the younger woman reassured the older woman.

Both prayed that the other was telling the truth as they hugged each other as if they were no tomorrow.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt," Dr. Meadows said from the doorway.

With kisses on the cheek, the women separated and wiped the tears from their face.

"No, please come in Dr. Meadows. We were just having girl time," Courtney informed her obstetrician.

"I'll see you later," Keesha said, trying to hand the baby to Courtney.

Courtney grabbed the documents and the pen. "Give us one second, doctor."

"No problems," Dr. Meadows assured her, reviewing Courtney's chart.

"Sign here," Courtney instructed Keesha.

"I- -"

"Look in my eyes. I'm not changing my mind."

With a saddened heart, Keesha signed on the dotted lines.

"Here you go," Courtney said, handing Keesha more papers.

"What are these?" Keesha asked, without looking.

"His release papers. His bag is by the door. The few things I bought are at Jay's. Now get out of here."

Courtney got off the bed and walked them to the door. She took the baby from Keesha and put him in the car seat and handed her the baby bag both courtesy of the hospital. She motioned the courier outside of her room and handed him the signed documents. He took them and left.

"Make them happy. You're the only one who can," Courtney whispered to her.

"I love you," Keesha told her best friend, crying once again.

"I love you, too," Courtney said, closing the door on one life and starting another.

Keesha stared down at the infant, as she clicked the seat belt into place around his car seat. "Hi, Cory. In a bizarre turn of events that I'm still trying to wrap my mind around, I'm your mom. I'm new at this and you're new to earth so I figure we can help each other out and be forgiving of our mistakes," she said with a slight smile.

Ward Corinthos Quartermaine opened his eyes and gazed into his mother's eyes. In that moment, Keesha's heart was stolen.

"Let's go home."

Was it time
Or was it truth
Maybe both lead her back to his door
As her tears

Fell at his feet
She didn't say "I love you"
What she said meant even more

With all the courage she could muster, Keesha knocked on the front door of the penthouse.

Jason opened the door, looking the same as usual, but she could see in his eyes the pain hidden there.

I laugh,
I love,
I hope,
I try,
I hurt,
I need,
I fear,
I cry
And I know you do the same things, too
So we're really not that different,
Me and you

He took in the baby in her arms and the baby bag on her shoulder and stepped aside to let her in.

Taking her free hand, she grabbed Jason's and pulled him to the sofa. She placed the bundle of joy in the official first time father's arms. "Daddy meet Cory."

Jason laid the baby boy in his lap, unswaddling him. He counted his fingers and toes and just simply stared at the miracle of life, he held and helped create. "Cory?"

"Cory for short. His full name is Ward Corinthos Quartermaine," she said quietly.

"With a name like that, this is going to be one stubborn kid."

"Hey," she protested, lightly punching him in the arm, "we, Wards, aren't stubborn."

Jason chuckled. "One day, I'll have to introduce you to the love of my life and my cousin because they are stubborn."

"I bet they're just determined and the less informed call it stubbornness."

They sat in the silence observing the new life with them.

"Where's Courtney?" he asked finally, breaking the hour of bliss as they examined the little one.

"On her way to Malta."

Jason remained silent.

"You didn't have to sign the papers."

"Yes, I did. Courtney thought Cory would be happiest and safest with you. And if I couldn't be with him, then I wanted him to be with the person I trust most."

Tears flowed down her face. She grabbed his head and kissed him with everything she had. She let out all the anguish of the time they had been apart, the heartache she felt at doubting if they were meant to me, and all the bittersweet joy that consumed her being here with him and their son.

Jason took possession of the kiss and turned it up to red hot passion. But before they could get swept away, Cory made his presence known. With great reluctance they ended the kiss and pulled apart. He lifted the newborn to his shoulder and his son instantly started rooting on his neck.

"This little one is hungry. What kind of formula did the hospital give you?"

Keesha searched the bag. "Similac Advanced."

Jason nodded. "I used Similac with Michael. What else is in the bag?"

"A pack of diapers and some blankets," Keesha concluded.

"You go warm the bottle and I'll send Enzo to the store.

Heading off to the kitchen, she paused. "You don't have to send him, we can get some tomorrow because he also needs a room with furniture and some clothes."

Jason quickly walked over to her. "We," kiss, "aren't," kiss, "leaving," kiss, "this house," he nibbled on her lower lip, "for at least a week."

"What about Cory's stuff?" she asked, breathlessly as Jason kissed and sucked on her neck.

"Internet."

"I love how your mind works."

Cory let out another cry. His father patted his back.

"I love you," she said, walking into the kitchen.

"I love you, too."

The whimpering instantly woke her. Grabbing the first item, she found in the dark, in this case Jason's t-shirt, she used it to cover her nude form. With practiced ease, she picked up the room temperature bottle that Monica and Alan had assured her it was okay to give the baby, and gently lifted her son off the bed and into her arms. She quickly placed the nipple in his mouth as he desperately searched for it.

Cory's midnight feedings, holding him in her arms, gave her a sense of contentment and rightness like none she had ever known. Feeling the bed shift, Keesha scooted forward to make room for the love of her life. She leaned against his warm, rock hard, bare chest. Peace. Perfect peace swept through her. "At some point, he's going to have to actually sleep in his bassinette."

Running his fingers through her hair, Jason asked, "Why were the floor, door, stairs, wall, and shower to rough for you?"

A smile lit her face as she remembered all the places they'd made love so as not to disturb a sleeping Cory.

"No, though I worry your cries prevent him from getting a peaceful rest, I just don't want to be sleeping with a two-year-old Cory."

He chuckled. "I think if anything stops our son from sleeping fitfully it's his mother's 'Oh, Jason'."

She butted her head against his chest.

"No worries by the time Cory is two his brother or sister would have pushed him out of the bed."

Keesha froze. They had never talked about other children. It made their future seem much more permanent even more than the house they were building on the land that Sonny gave them so they could all be closer for familial and security reasons. It surprised her that she was so shocked by this. Didn't she already hold in her arms a connection with Jason that would last the rest of their lives and beyond?

"Cory wasn't going to be an only child, was he?" Jason asked, as if he didn't notice the stiffening of her body.

Jason saw them being together forever and she trusted him so she had to trust that. They would be together as long as possible. "No," she answered finally, "he needs a few siblings."

"My own baseball team would be nice."

"Nine? I'll leave that to Dara with Stone, Michael, Kristina, and Nia, she's almost half-way there. I think I could handle a relay team."

"How about basketball?"

"Let's see how we do with the relay team and then we'll talk." Moving Cory to her shoulder, she gently patted his back.

Jason moved his hands to her stomach and rubbed it. "You do realize, we haven't been using any protection? We could already be on our way."

Keesha froze mid-pat. She had been so into Jason, the things he made her feel, and the things he could get her body to do, that the last thing on her mind was birth control. She would love to have another baby, a mixture of her and Jason, but not this soon. "I'm going to the doctor tomorrow. I need to get at least one baby out of diapers before the next one comes along."

Cory burped and Keesha cradled him in her arms as Jason cradled them both in his.

"Before you leave, I'll introduce you to Zach and Rudy."

Their guards, but those words were never spoken just understood. She sighed.

"I know you can defend yourself and the baby, but I need someone to watch your back when I'm not there, so please for me," Jason stated, in the closest thing his voice did to pleading.

"Okay," she complied reluctantly.

"Thank you. I'm not as strong as you. I couldn't live in a world without you," he confessed, in the darkness of the night, kissing the top of her head.

There was the reminder that all wasn't perfect in their world, but she was learning to live with it even though she hated it because it beat the alternative, living without Jason again.

I laugh,
I love,
I hope,
I try,
I hurt,
I need,
I fear,
I cry,
And I know you do the same things, too
So we're really not that different,
Me and you