Josslyn Jacks stared up at the ceiling as she came down from the euphoric love-making session she just had with her boyfriend Dex Heller. Despite trying not to think of her missing best friend, her thoughts always returned to her, no matter what. Where was Trina? Was she safe? Was she hurt? Was she with Spencer? Was she scared? What if there was something that she should be doing to help Trina, but instead she was here in bed with Dex? She had already hurt one friend because of her relationship with the handsome henchman...what if this new relationship hurt another friend? Hurt Trina? She wouldn't be able to stand it.

"Hey," Dex's fingers gently caressed her cheek, drawing her attention to him. "Where are you right now? You look so far away?"

"I'm sorry. We finally get a chance to be together and I'm not paying attention," Joss apologized, turning on her side to look at him. "Some girlfriend I am, huh?"

"You're perfect," Dex smiled, leaning in to kiss her. He pulled away and stared into her beautiful eyes, wondering how he had gotten so lucky. "Do you want to talk about what has gotten you so preoccupied?"

"I don't know why. It's not like you can actually bring Trina home."

"Ah, you're worried about your friend. I get it. I may not be able to go perform a daring rescue, but perhaps just talking about her will help you."

"Talking won't bring Trina home. God, why did she do it? Why did she have to follow Spencer onto that boat? She knows that family is crazy. How many stories have I, Cam...heck, even Spencer told her about the Cassadine family?" Joss ranted, more scared for Trina than angry that her friend would do something so foolish.

"Because she obviously cares about Spencer. I can't stand the guy, myself but Trina seems to be into him in the same way that you're into me. I mean...let's not forget, who stormed Sonny's restaurant to rescue me from a meathook. Hmm?" Dex gave her a teasing smile.

Joss rolled her eyes. "You're not from a family known for having crazy villains like Victor Cassadine."

"So you're saying that you wouldn't have rescued me if it had been this Cassadine guy putting me on a meat hook?"

Joss winced and sighed. "Alright, alright. I get what you're saying. Trina cared about Spencer to attempt a rescue, just like I cared enough about you to get you away from Sonny. But...he had hurt her so much...you weren't here. You didn't see what Spencer had put her through! He's not worth it, I know he's not!"

"He could say that I wasn't worth the risk you took...but you took it. It didn't matter what anyone else had to say. It's the same for your friend. To her, he's worth it. You can't shield her from her own feelings. You can only support her and be her friend."

"It's just that...she's my very best friend! We've been through so much together! I don't want her hurt! I don't want her to die! I want her here and safe with me and her family!" Hot tears filled Joss's eyes and she was embarrassed as sobs choked her voice as the fear she's suppressing for so long finally broke through, causing her to tremble and shake. "I want Trina to come back!"

Dex's heart broke for his girlfriend as tears now streamed freely from her eyes. He really did wish that he could bring Trina back to Joss, safe and unharmed. Instead, all he could do was wrap her in his arms and hold her as she cried and allowed the fear to overtake her.

"I'm so scared, Dex! I'm scared that she won't come back! And I never told her how much she meant to me! She never knew that she was more than a friend, she was my sister! What if I never see her again? What if she never knows!" Joss wailed, clinging to Dex as she buried her face against his chest.

"Hey, baby, she will come back. She'll come back safe and sound. I know she will. You'll see her again. Even if the worse did happen...I can guarantee you that she knew how much you care about her. I know she did. You stood by her when you had every reason to turn your back on her, that in itself is proof of how deeply you care about her."

"Did you ever have a friend like Trina? Someone so close to you that they were family?" Joss sniffed, wiping away her tears, yet remaining buried in his arms. Somehow, she felt more grounded, more able to deal with the onslaught of fear for her friend, just as long as his strong arms were around her, keeping her safe.

"Yeah. Once. When I was a kid. His name was Simon. He was kind of a nerd, but I didn't care. He was smart too. Helped me study for all of my tests. Made me feel that I wasn't some dumb jock. He always had faith in me. He always told me that all I had to do was sit down and put my mind to something, really focus, and I'd succeed and he was right. He was probably the only person in my life back then that believed in me like that," Dex sighed at the memory of a skinny sixteen-year-old boy with auburn hair and a slight build. Kind of reminded him of Joss's brother...which was probably how he had been drawn into working for Micheal in the first place, his resemblance to Simon.

"What happened to him? Did you grow apart?"

Dex frowned, his eyes dimming with pain. "He was attacked for being gay. Usually, I'd be by his side to protect him, because no one messed with him when I was around...but I had to stay late for a test and he was alone. The bullies had a knife. I remember walking home and seeing the police cars at his mom's house and this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was my foster mom that stopped me from going over there. She was the one that told me that Simon was dead...my life had never been the same since…"

"Oh Dex, I'm sorry…here I am crying over my friend who may not even be dead yet and you had already lost someone…"

"There's no need for you to be sorry. It's not like you killed him. Plus, it had happened a long time ago…even though it has affected a lot of my decisions throughout my life."

"I wish that he hadn't died. I would have liked to have met him."

"I would have liked for you to have met him, too. Look, your friend Trina will come home. I know she will. She has a whole lot of people out there looking for her. And the thing about villains, they all get defeated sooner or later. That Victor Cassadine isn't going to last for long."

Joss chuckled and smiled up at him, again getting lost in his eyes. "Thank you, for listening to me talk about Trina. And for comforting me and for telling me about Simon. I could tell that was hard for you."

"Anything for a pretty lady," Dex smiled, leaning down to claim her lips once again.