Hi all I know this one has taken forever, but work and real life had seemingly sucked all of my creative juices out of me. Things are about to get bumpy for Jason and Alexis particularly after this chapter, but I hope you'll hang in there with me.

Stronger Than Pride – Chapter 16

By all accounts, Jason was not a jealous man. He had no reason to be. He was married to the woman he loved and she loved him back. Alexis was one of the most loyal people he knew and he was certain she would never cheat on him. Still, in the month since Michael's death, she'd spent an increasing amount of time with Sonny. Although, she made sure she also spent time with him and the girls, he was beginning to worry that Sonny had begun to rely on her too much. He was also worried that Alexis was spreading herself too thin by trying to care for him, the girls and Sonny. At their last doctor's appointment, the doctor suggested that given Alexis's age and the stress of recent events, she should take it easy.

"Hi honey," Alexis smiled faintly as she entered their Penthouse after an afternoon at Sonny's.

"Hey babe," he kissed her on the cheek and allowed his hand to rest on Baby Morgan. They'd decided not to learn the baby's sex. Both he and Alexis agreed that all of them could use something to anticipate. He rubbed her belly, something she only let him or a handful of people do. "How's Sonny?"

"He's better. It seems like he's going through the motions. I spoke with Anna yesterday and told me she hasn't spoken to Sonny since the funeral. How are you doing, my love?"

"Better now that my wife is home." He kissed her cheek. As usual, her skin was soft as silk and the few seconds of contact reminded him of how much he missed her. They hadn't been together since Michael's death, the longest abstention since their nearly yearlong marriage. He took her in his arms. Though she was beautiful, she looked as though she was exhausted. "You look tired."

"Sometimes I forget what a charmer you are," she smiled faintly.

At that moment, he was reminded pregnancy sometimes brought out a woman's more sensitive nature. He thought he should smooth things over. "You still look beautiful…just beautiful and tired. Why don't you rest until the girls get home?"

"Nice save." He watched as she sank onto the sofa. He sat by her and took in the familiar scent of gardenias and vanilla. She brought her head to his shoulder and they remained there in silence for a long while. Finally, Alexis spoke, "Jason, how are you really?"

"I miss Michael. I know we never had a lot of reason to be hopeful that he would recover, but now it seems so final." Her lips brushed his cheek and brought him immediate comfort. He continued, "I know he's in a better place, but it's hard." After a long pause, he added, "And I miss you."

"Me?" Pushing herself up on her elbows, she stared at him until their eyes locked. "Jason, how can you miss me? I'm right here."

"But you've been with Sonny." He regretted the words as soon as he said them. Sonny was his friend and he was Alexis's friend. Sonny needed Alexis more than he did and their children needed all of their parents to be okay enough to help them through this difficult time. He expected her to remind him that she was just trying to keep things together for them all. He'd done the same for Carly.

"Honey, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to neglect you." She looked away from him before she asked, "What was I thinking? I knew how much Michael meant to you. If you want me to stop checking on Sonny…"

"I don't." He pushed out a breath. "That's not what I was trying to say. It's just…you've been spending so much time at Sonny's…and the rest of the time that's left over is for the girls. You barely have anything left over for you or for us. I need you to take care of yourself and the baby because I can't lose either of you."

"I'm not going anywhere." She placed a tender kiss on his mouth.

"Promise me you'll get some rest."

"Promise." She formed two fingers into a "V" and held them in the air before she proclaimed, "Scout's honor." After a deep breath she pushed herself forward. "In fact, I'm going to go upstairs now."

Jason stood and extended his hand to help Alexis from the sofa. Unfortunately, her cellular phone rang before she could stand. "Alexis Davis," he heard her answer the same way she had during the eleven years he'd known her. "Alexis…" he sighed. As he reached for the phone she swatted his hand away.

"Buenos tardes, Ernesto…Si, uno momento por favor. Los contratos estan en la casa del Senor Corinthos." She placed her hand over the phone receiver and whispered, "Jason, I have to go to Sonny's for just a minute."

"You promised me you were going to get some rest."

Rising to her feet, she made her way to the door. "I will as soon as I handle the labor contracts for Sonny's sugar cane plant. We're so close to reaching an agreement and Sonny doesn't need something else to worry about right now." Just before she opened the door, she paused and added, "I promise I'll be home soon and I'll rest." The door closed behind her.

An hour passed and Alexis hadn't returned. The girls returned home. After giving them dinner, he helped Kristina with her homework and read Molly a story. By the time he tucked them in, he realized more than three hours had passed. He decided against going to Sonny's and telling Alexis to come home after he considered that he might not want to open the door which allowed he and Alexis to interfere with each other's work. Still, this was Sonny and his best friend had been known to act on his own selfish desires.

There was a knock at the door. It was Sonny. He didn't wait for an answer. Instead, he walked into his home without knocking. Sonny looked better than the last time he saw him. He still wore his trademark silk shirt and dress pants, but unlike their last visit, he was clean-shaven and his hair was neatly slicked back. Jason thought to himself that Sonny was very lucky to have his wife to take care of him. He also found it a bit odd that Sonny kept his eyes averted. "Jase, I need you to get to the Metro Court right away."

"Where's Alexis?" Jason asked without hesitating. While it was true Jason previously took orders without question, things had changed. Sonny had practically been holding Alexis hostage. And now without releasing her, he was sending Jason off on some random errand.

"She's finishing a project. I came to keep the girls company until she gets home."

"They're already sleeping."

"I'll tuck them in."

"I already did that." Jason snapped. It was bad enough that Sonny had totally annihilated Alexis's routine; he didn't need him to destroy the girls' routine as well.

"O.K., I'll do it again." Sonny eyed him in a suspicious manner. "Jase, do we have a problem?"

"Yeah Sonny we do. I know you've had a hard time after losing Michael, we all have. But Alexis is my wife and she's pregnant. She needs her rest and she needs to spend time with her family."

Sonny's face expressed an emotion that Jason could only interpret as a cross between amusement and smugness. "Do I need to remind you that those girls are my family, too? I know I've been having a hard time of things lately, but right now, I need you to trust that I want what's best for the girls, too."

"How Sonny? Alexis was exhausted when she was home and that was three hours ago."

"That sounds like something you need to take up with Alexis, after you get done doing what I asked you to do."

Jason snatched his jacket from the hook where it hung in the hallway and slammed the door behind him. As he drove to the Metro Court, images of Sonny playing house with his family flashed through his mind. He reminded himself that Alexis was not Carly. To his knowledge, she'd never cheated on anyone. Even still this was Sonny. The two of them shared a history and a daughter. It was now more than ever that he wished he had his bike. When he could ride, destructive thoughts like these usually floated from his mind into the blowing wind.

He arrived at the Metro Court to find only an elderly couple seated in a booth in a corner. He'd been so irritated with Sonny earlier that he'd forgotten to ask him exactly what he was supposed to do once he arrived. Jason reached into his jacket pocket and grabbed his cell phone. When Sonny failed to pick up, he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that the whole trip to the Metro Court was some elaborate set up for Sonny to get Alexis alone.

"Jase?" Carly's voice interrupted his thoughts. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "What are you doing here?"

"I wish I knew."

Carly grabbed his hand. "I'm so glad you're here. I've wanted to say thank you for checking on me every day and letting me cry on your shoulder."

"How are you?"

"Today, I'm able to put on a brave face for Morgan and Jax; tomorrow, I'll still be devastated."

He hugged her once more. Then he remembered that he needed to return home. "Carly, I gotta get back to Alexis and the girls."

"Of course, but can you do me a huge favor, first? We have our best suite booked tonight, but the last person to have the room left something lying around that's too big for me to throw out. Can you please help me do something with it?"

"Carly, I really don't have time…" he began to object, although he knew Carly never let him say know to anything. In fact, he was already following her into an elevator as he was objecting. He watched as she opened the door of the suite. The room was dark, illuminated only by candles and soft music played in the background. "Carly, what do you need me…" he stopped abruptly as he heard the door slam behind him.

"If you want me to stay in this very romantic mood, then that better be the last time I hear that name tonight."

"Alexis?" He nearly fainted at the sight of his very pregnant wife in a black teddy. She lay on the very large bed propped up by pillows, with a rose in her mouth.

She removed the rose carefully from her teeth before she giggled and said, "Happy Anniversary, Baby!"

He couldn't help laughing himself. "What are you doing here?"

"You were expecting someone else?" she teased. She crossed her arms over her belly and pretended to be angry. "And why were you following that woman into a darkened hotel room?"

"I was the victim of your elaborate plan." He climbed on the bed beside her. "Wow, you and Carly were actually partners in crime. I think the world is about to come to an end."

"Who else would know where to find maternity lingerie? And what did I tell you about mentioning her name?"

Alexis and Carly enjoyed pretending that they hated each other, though most everyone knew they didn't. While it was true that they would never be best friends, this was proof that they actually had a soft spot for each other. Jason picked up the rose that now lay on the bed. "What's with the rose?"

"Well, you loved that damn Eddie's Angel picture so much I thought I'd recreate the image for you. With one major exception, of course." She pointed at her tummy.

He kissed her tenderly on the mouth before he released a sigh and fell back onto the pillow.

"That's an underwhelming reaction. My powers of seduction must really be wearing off."

"I'm guessing Sonny was in on this too?"

"Yes…Carly overheard me trying to book this suite for our anniversary and she decided it should be a surprise. Of course, she told Sonny and he wanted to help. They both said, they were tired of feeling nothing but sadness. So, Carly set up the room and Sonny covered for me while I came over here…and rested. And he got you over here."

Jason smiled and shook his head in disbelief. "I just got into with Sonny about how he was asking too much of you."

"Jason Morgan! How could you? I'm sure Sonny asks more of you…regularly. Besides I thought we agreed to stay out of each other's business affairs. What happened?"

He dropped his head. "I don't know. I guess I got jealous."

"Jealous? That's not like you." Alexis stroked his cheek.

"I know, but Alexis, it's been a month…and it's never been a month before."

"I was trying to put you first. I wanted to give you space to grieve. I know you're private; I am too. I was trying to give you what you needed."

"What I need is to be with the woman I love."

"Good answer." Alexis slid onto Jason's lap. As she slid his jacket from his arms, she whispered, "I love you."

After he chastised himself mentally, he replied, "I love you, too."