PART III
He stepped toward her and she took a step back, looking at him and shaking her head no. She looked like she wanted to speak but she just kept looking at him her breathing erratic.
"Gia" he took another step but she continued to back up. He could see that her body was chilled by the goose bumps that were raised on her lower arm. He had thought to bring towels for her to wipe off with, but he really wanted to get her into a warm shower before she caught a chill. She was standing near the chair where the towels were laid and he knew that she would not let him approach her. "You need to get out of those wet clothes before you catch a chill."
"They told me you were dead. Marcus and Commissioner Scorpio. Why, would they do that? Why?" She stood there her mind going over all that had happened. "And Sonny, he said it was true. I called him and he said it was true." She stood there stunned and bewildered not able to believe what she was seeing and not knowing what to do or how to react.
He took control because she was in a shocked daze. He walked over and picked up a towel and started to dry her hair as she just stood there and let him. She followed him with her eyes as he tried to wipe the excess water off of her limbs and some of the water from her clothing. Ignoring his injuries he picked her up and carried her back to his room. Still she had not said another word. When he got to the connecting bathroom he put her down and turned on the water to the shower.
"You need to get warm, I'm going to undress you and put you in the shower and then I'll explain everything." She smiled at him dreamily and reached up and lovingly cupped his face.
"I haven't had a dream in the two weeks since you have been gone, and now that you're here I don't want to wake up. I love you Jason." She brushed her index finger over his top and then bottom lip then she leaned in and put her mouth on his. Slowly she slid her tongue over the seam of his lips. Unable to control himself Jason groaned, reached his hand up to capture the nape of her neck and pulled her mouth in closer as he opened his lips to the invasion of her tongue. It was a greedy raw kiss that had the potential to explode.
Quickly, he broke the connection and held her face in both of his hands. She whimpered and tried to connect their mouths again but he held her at bay.
"Jason, please I've missed you so much," she was pleading with her eyes, "baby don't push me away, not now, not when I need you so much'' it was said very softly.
His body shuddered from the look in her eyes as he tried to maintain his control. He was breathing heavily and he put his forehead again hers. Gathering his composure he looked her in the eyes and shook her slightly. "Gia, this isn't a dream, I swear to you its not. I'm here and I'm alive. We need for you to get warm and put on some dry clothes. OK? We'll talk as soon as you are out of the shower." Not anticipating nor waiting for a response he stripped her of her clothing, tested the water and then directed her to get in. "I'll be right back to get you. I'm going to take these clothes to have them washed and dried and get you something to wear. I'll be right back, OK?" She tentatively shook her head in agreement.
Gia let the warm water run over her frozen skin and soon started to get warm all over. She didn't know how long she stayed in the shower but soon he was back. Jason grabbed a large bath towel and turned off the water and guided a silent Gia out of the shower. He toweled her off and still she didn't say a word. He ignored the sensual and visual pleasure he received from seeing her beautiful body again a body that he knew every inch of. His main concern at that moment was Gia's physical and emotional well being.
Like she was a child he dressed her, pulling one of his tee shirts over her head and even guiding her arms through the sleeves. He also helped her put on a drawstring pair of pants; both the t-shirt and pants were way to large and swallowed up her trim body, but at least she was now dry and warm. Her hair was still wet and that was next on his agenda as he walked her back into the bedroom and sat her on the edge of the bed.
"Gia, I want you to drink this it'll help keep you warm and then I'm going to dry your hair". He handed her a cup of what appeared to be tea and held it to her mouth until she grabbed the cup and started to sip on her on. He turned on a blow dryer and started to dry her hair. He had scoffed at the appliance when he found it the week before, knowing he would never use it. Now he was grateful for it's presences.
This was something they had shared in the past. He would take the blow dryer and dry her hair for her. This man. A man some called fearless and others called him ruthless, would tenderly sift through and make sure that every strand of her hair was dry before he stopped. He would massage her scalp and caress her neck. Her braids and the different styles in which she wore her hair had always fascinated him. It was like an act of intimacy between them, one that they both enjoyed. He said he relished the job because she always got this dreamy, sexy look in her eyes and for that affect alone he would hold a blow dryer all day long.
Gia finished the tea that Jason gave he while he continued to wheel the blow dryer. She was starting to feel drowsy. What she didn't realize was that Jason had dissolved a sleeping aid capsule in the tea that the doctor had left for him, but he never used. He recognized that she was exhausted mentally and physically and wanted her to rest.
Finished, he put the dryer away and sat next to her on the bed. "I want you to rest and we will talk later. I will explain everything. You need to sleep and rest first. OK? Would you lie down please? Just for a little while, I swear we'll talk, I just need you to trust me. OK?"
"No. If I lay down you will be gone when I wake up" her eyes were drooping and she was barely awake.
"I won't. I'm going to lie right here beside you and I'll be here when you wake up". He stood up taking her with him to pull back the covering on the bed. He coaxed her into the bed, kicked of his shoes and followed her in. Gia stopped moving before she reached the middle of the bed. As he slid in she turned toward him and latched her arms around his neck, laid her head on his shoulder and instantly fell into a deep exhausted sleep.
Jason wrapped his arm around her and pulled her body in tighter. He tilted his head down and looked at her sleeping face. Even in sleep he could still see how exhausted she was. Gently he caressed her face. She'd looked so lost and he knew he was the cause of all of her pain, but he was going to make everything all right. He knew she was going to give him hell, but it was a hell he would gladly live in was his last thought as he relaxed and drifted into slumber which allowed the tears he had rigidly suppressed to slowly seep from under his eyelids.
Gia awoke and immediately breathed in his familiar scent. Her eyelids lifted quickly and she looked up at his face to make sure he was really there and this was not a dream. "He's alive." She adjusted her body so that she was able to look down into his face. She took the tip of her finger and traced his eyebrows and then his nose, slowly gently lovingly. Finally she traced his lips the lips that had caressed her entire body, the same lips that she now remembered kissing earlier when she thought she was dreaming. Not content with rediscovering his face she ran her fingers through his blond hair, traced around his ear, and then proceeded to explore his neck. She knew he was awake because she felt the change in his breathing. She looked up straight into his penetrating blue eyes.
"Hi, you look rested" he said
"And you look alive" she responded, all the while she was leaning toward him.
"Gia I can explain everything"
"Later, I just need to assure myself that you're really here" and she kissed him. She opened her mouth to push her tongue through his lips and he was ready for her. As it made contact with the inside of his mouth he latched on, they both groaned, pressing their mouths closer together. The electricity of the embrace ripped through both of them as she cupped his face and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her down on top of him. At first he let her control the tenor of the kiss then he took over. He unlocked their lips much to her dismay, but they needed to breath.
Her dismay turned to pleasure as he used that opportunity to explore her exposed shoulder where the oversized tee shirt had shifted to leave it tantalizingly bare. Jason gradually worked his way back up her neck, chin and face until he reached her mouth again. Immediately he reconnected and invaded her mouth with his tongue and tasted her from every angle. Wrapping his arms around her he turned their bodies over with the intent of putting her beneath him but before he accomplished his goal a shaft of pain hit him in his thigh and his side. He had forgotten about his injuries. He winced and grimaced in pain hoping that she didn't notice. No such luck.
"Jason? What happened? What did I do?" She scooted from under him in order to look him up and down. He reached to draw her body back to his but by now she sat up in the bed.
"Nothing's wrong, I just moved a little to quickly". He reached to try to get her to lie back down but she leaned away from him.
"You were hurt weren't you? Where and how bad?" She demanded. She looked at him and stop avoiding the issues that she knew they had to talk about. Right now she wanted to forget that the last two weeks had happened and pretend that he had only been gone the one preceding week and she was waking up to find out that he had returned. The reality was that she had been told that he was dead and no amount of pretense would make that dismal two weeks time in her life disappear. She was going to have to relive it.
"I thought you were dead, I didn't want to believe it and I didn't accept it at first. But they kept saying it and then you didn't come back and you didn't call. I…" she stopped to compose herself because she wanted to get this out. "Marcus said that there was an explosion and that you were on a boat and…" it came out as a sob, "I even called Sonny and he said that it was true. Why, why would they do that, because I knew it couldn't be true because you promised and you never break your promises, but they kept saying it and you didn't get word to me that you were OK." By this time she was steadily crying, deep heart wrenching tears, tears that pierce his soul, and the sight of her in so much pain was almost more than he could take.
"I wouldn't believe, …I just kept telling myself that you were missing. I had to stop myself from feeling anything because then I would have to accept that you were dead and that I would have to live without you." He grabbed her and pulled her on his lap as he propped himself up against the headboard of the bed. The aches in his body didn't even register. He just held her and rocked her as she cried.
"It's going to be OK, alright. You were right I would never break a promise to you." He was talking and kissing he lightly on her face giving her the opportunity to calm down. Gradually her crying slowed and she nestled her face in the crook of his neck not saying anything. He lifted the palm of one of her hand to his mouth and kissed it then he held on to it tightly and started to explain.
He didn't go into the details of what he was doing just that he wasn't on the main boat when the explosion happened and that he had been thrown in the water and some of his associates had pulled him out. As he spoke she would ask some questions and he answered what he could. When he got to the part about his injuries she started to get upset until he assured her that he was on the mend and that he had followed most of the doctors orders. She demanded to see where he was hurt and he showed her the bruising on his ribs, explained about his dislocated shoulder and about the wound in his thigh. She was about to cry again when she saw his thigh and the stitches but he convinced her that it was just about healed and he was almost back to normal.
As the rain continued to fall steadily outside they lay on the bed and talked for a long time. He told her about when he awoke and the things he was doing to speed his recovery. Gia she talked about how she coped and the support she received from her mother and brother over the last two weeks. Then she realized that she didn't know about who else knew he was alive.
"Have you talked to your Grandmother, Monica and Emily and what about Carly. They're all heart broken Jason your entire family is. You need to tell them as soon as possible. I mean your mother came to see me about a memorial service today".
"I know, I have made arrangements for them to be told", he said. "Someone also told your mother so she will know where you are".
"Arrangements? That's not right Jason they need to see you just like I did, or they might not believe it is true. And who is talking to my mother? Not Sonny, I hope?"
"No, Carly or rather Carly will ask Bobbie to tell your mother since they are friends. As for the Quartermaines… I need to stay out of sight for now, just for a few more days then I can go see everyone".
"I can't believe Sonny thought it was ok for us to think you were dead. I will never forgive him for this" there was definitely anger in her voice. "Didn't he know what that would do to me and to your family?"
"Baby, he just wanted everyone to be safe. If someone knew that I was alive, the best way to get to me is through the people that I love, so he thought it best that you think that I was dead."
"It's cruel and it's sick. Just, who the hell does he think he is that he can make those kinds of decisions about my life? You needed me and I needed you and he decided for us. What makes him think that he has that right?" She was getting angrier and angrier by now she was sitting up in the bed on her knees facing Jason. "I suggest that you keep Sonny Corinthos away from me or I may not be responsible for what I might do."
"Gia calm down. It's over now, you know I'm not dead and I'm with you. I had you watched everyday to make sure you were all right. I made Timothy and Kenneth call me several times a day. When I found out about the memorial service and heard you were out there walking in the rain. I knew how bad you were hurting and I couldn't let that go on any longer."
"How did you find out about the memorial service?"
"Sonny called to tell me. Emily called to tell Carly and that's when I found out that Monica was going to see you. I told Sonny to try to convince them to put off the memorial service plans but at that point even he was starting to realize that we had to stop this charade". As she listened to what he said something dawn on her about this situation and she definitely didn't like the conclusion she was coming to.
"So you hadn't been trying to get Sonny to stop this lie?" she asked deliberately categorizing it as such.
"Gia, of course I didn't want you to think I was dead. I knew how much you were hurting and I wanted that to stop, it had been going on two week and Sonny has things under control. I was ready to end this", he finished but unfortunately he hadn't noticed the change in her demeanor. To his surprise she pulled back and rolled off the bed to stand looking at him with surprise, hurt and anger.
"Just so I'm clear about what I'm hearing, exactly when did you find out that Sonny and the police was telling everyone that you were dead?"
"I thought I had explained that?" Oh, shit he thought, I knew things were going to smooth, he had begun to think he might get out of an ass kicking.
"Explain it again" he hesitated, "answer me, Jason! Exactly when did you find out that Sonny and the police were telling everyone that you were dead?" She demanded again.
He looked at her and answered, "I was out for a couple of days but as soon as I woke up and was lucid around the fifth day, Sonny explained the plan". She looked at him with shocked wide incredulous eyes.
"So you didn't just find out? For over a week you knew that we thought you were dead and you went along with this?" she demanded still not believing that it was true. He got off the bed and stood in front of her.
"It was for the best".
"Best for whom? How could you go along with that? Don't you know what this did to me? My God Jason, your Mother? And the rest of your family?" He reached out to touch her face but she backed up "don't touch me", she was shaking her head moving out of his reach.
"Gia, baby…."
"Don't even try it Jason! How could you do this? You didn't have access to a phone right? RIGHT? Because that is the only thing that could possibly explain how you could go along with this cruel joke! Tell me Jason! Say it! You didn't have access to a phone RIGHT! Wait a minute, no, that can't be right because you just told me that your paid flunkies would call you several times a day to tell you how pitiful and miserable I was." He just stared at her and didn't comment watching as she looked at him, shaking her head in amazement.
Another realization hit her "If it wasn't for the memorial service and what happened earlier you wouldn't have revealed yourself would you?"
"Of course I would have!" he snapped.
"Today? Tomorrow? Next Week? When Jason?"
He went to walk up to her but she skirted around him not giving him a chance to touch her. Still he followed and moved close.
"I can't tell you exactly when, but it wouldn't have been much longer."
"I don't believe this", she had a sad hurt look in her eyes that made it hard for him to swallow. "I thought you loved me, but now I see I was mistaken"
That got a rise out of him. "Of course I love you, that has nothing to do with what's happening here".
"You think not? I beg to differ". She started to walk around him and he grabbed her hand.
"Wait", there was a gentle pleading in his voice, "just listen to what I have to say, please?"
"It doesn't matter. There is nothing you can say that will make this go away or change anything", and she snatched her hand out of his and as she opened the door leading to the hall she threw over her shoulder "Because we are through!"