Jason did as he was told and pulled the stool up to Audrey's bed. Audrey watched Jason walk around her bed and pull the stool close to her bed. She didn't know what she was going to tell him. She didn't want him to be mad, but she had a feeling he would be. He got situated and looked at her expectantly. She opened her mouth to tell him when her door opened. "Oh, my God!" Audrey shouted. She just wanted to tell her father what happened with Noah and people kept interrupting.
Jason turned towards the door to see Noah walk in. He and Noah both looked towards Audrey after hearing her outburst. Audrey blushed slightly that she had yelled but people around here had the worst timing. Audrey felt a little relieved when she saw it was Noah, however. Maybe telling Jason with him there would make it easier. Not just on Jason but on Audrey too. "I'm sorry if I interrupted something. I can come back later." Noah turned to leave when he heard Audrey stop him. "Wait, Noah. Actually, I think it's best if you stay." Noah and Jason both gave her a quizzical look. Neither man knew what was going on.
Noah closed the door and stood at the foot of Audrey's bed. Audrey situated herself in her bed and looked from the man she wanted to be with to the man who gave her life and saved it. "Dad, I have been trying to tell you something all day but people kept stopping by so I couldn't tell you. Now is as good a time as any so I have something to tell you." She looked at Noah, who now knew where she was going with her speech, and saw him give her a supporting nod.
Jason was confused. He didn't know what was going on and he didn't like to be kept in the dark. "What's going on?" "Dad, Noah and I became close when we were in that cellar." "Well, of course you did. You leaned on each other. I'm sure he was a good friend to you." Audrey got frustrated. "Let me finish. I did lean on Noah and I wouldn't have made it out of there with my sanity had it not been for him. But it was more than that. We care about each other, Dad. And not just as friends. We kissed in the cellar and now we want to be together with no interference from you. I didn't stand in your way when you were with Sam and I don't want you to stand in mine." She was on a roll now. Her words were coming effortlessly. "I don't want to fight with you about this and I don't want to have to choose but if you make me I will choose Noah. I have never felt this way about a person. There has been something between us since we first met and when we were being held we became a part of each other. And before you start to argue with me, know that I talked to Sonny about it and he told me about what happened with Courtney and he told me that he would back me up and if I have to I will go to Courtney, herself, and ask her to help me."
Jason sat there in shock. Not because Audrey and Noah were together, he knew that was going to happen, but because of how she was handling the situation. She was being mature about the whole thing and talking to him about it as an adult. He didn't want to stand in her way. He knew how it felt to be torn away from the person you love and he would never intentionally cause his daughter pain. And she was right, she didn't try to break him and Sam up, she let him love her even though Sam was her least favorite person.
Noah was worried about what was going to happen. Jason had been sitting there quiet for a few minutes and he didn't know what that meant. He knew that Jason wasn't going to be thrilled with the idea but he hoped that he would accept it. He loved his job and he wanted to keep it but just like Audrey, he was willing to give that up to be with her. On the subject of Audrey, Noah was impressed with how she handled herself. Every other time when he had been around her when she was fighting with Jason she was yelling at the top of her lungs, letting hurtful words fly out of her mouth. Now she was calm and collected. She really didn't want to have to choose and he didn't want her to have to. He just wanted this to all work out.
Audrey sat there with the weight of the world resting on her shoulders. She needed Jason to say something, anything. At this point she wouldn't mind if he yelled and screamed. At least they would be communicating. Jason finally looked up at her and then looked over at Noah. "If you let anything happen to her, I'll fire you…then I'll kill you." Audrey let out a breath that she didn't even know she was holding then smiled widely. Noah nodded. He knew Jason was telling the truth.
Jason looked over at Audrey who had tears in her eyes. "Audrey, if Noah makes you happy then of course I won't stand in your way. Just be careful. I'm not just speaking from a fatherly point of view. This world is dangerous and unpredictable. And if I may make a suggestion, I think you should talk to Carly and Courtney about what you're getting into. They know better than anyone what happens when you love someone in this life." Audrey nodded. She thought was a good idea. "Thank you so much, Dad. I love you." Jason felt his heart tighten. That was the first time she had said that to him. "I love you too, Audrey. Well, I'm gonna give you two some time alone. I'll be back to check on you later. Noah, don't leave her alone in here." Noah nodded and sat down in the seat that Jason was just occupying and grabbed Audrey's hand.
Jason watched the scene before him before walking out of the room and heading to the elevator. He needed perspective on this and he knew just the person to give it to him.
He walked to the door and knocked loudly on it. He stood there for a second before he heard the lock click and the door start to open. He looked down and saw her beautiful face. Courtney looked at Jason, puzzled. She stepped aside to let him in before she closed the door. "Jason, what are you doing here? Is everything okay?" He grabbed her hand and led her to the couch. He took his jacket off and sat down. She did the same, crossing her legs under her and turning to face him.
"Audrey is dating Noah." Courtney nodded her head in realization. He was in the same situation Sonny was in three years ago. "And you don't like the idea?" Jason shook his head. "I know this is hypocritical of me, seeing as how we were in their situation, but now I know how Sonny feels. It scares me to death." Courtney rubbed his cheek. "Jason, Audrey is in this life anyway. Just like I was. Being with you gave me more protection from the life than just being Sonny's sister. And being with Noah, gives Audrey more protection from the life than just being your daughter. It's like having a personal bodyguard and lover all in one. There is no safer feeling in the world. She'll be okay."
"You weren't." Courtney flinched at his words. "A lot of things happened to me when we were together. But do you honestly think that they wouldn't have happened if we weren't together? I would have still been a target because of Sonny. And Audrey will always be a target because of you. And I know that's hard to think about but maybe if she is with Noah then that can prevent her from being hurt in the future. Jason, I know you want to protect your daughter but don't make the same mistakes Sonny did. Don't push her away and make her choose. We couldn't stay away from each other and something tells me that Audrey and Noah won't be able to either. And being with you was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. You showed me true love and happiness. Let your daughter find that."
Jason leaned in and kissed Courtney. She knew just the right things to say to make him feel better. He had to chuckle at the irony of the situation. Audrey and Noah were him and Courtney three years ago to the T. And Courtney was right. Being with her was the greatest thing that ever happened to him. He wasn't going to be the one to take that away from his daughter. If she found just an ounce of the happiness that he had with Courtney then she would be a lucky girl.