Author's Note: This story was inspired by IlovetowriteSMP on her Birthday(7/23)! It's written with a wish of NOTHING, but joy for Sara! Now, I'd like to share it with ALL of you!

I have the BEST news! A new site dedicated to our ALL-TIME FAVE starcrossed duo will be opening soon! I've posted the link now and it's set to open officially September 1, 2011... SOOOOO excited! It will be an exclusive home for ALL Jarly fans & their fanfiction! You'll be able to find never before posted fics their so get ready! It's a site run by IlovetowriteSMP, so if you love Sara's stories... prepare to be dazzled! But she won't be alone... If you love Jarly and have some new ideas that will need a home, it's coming super soon.

... You can go to my author page if this link doesn't show up or connect...

So stoked... I'm working on a few ideas myself because to kick off it's grand opening there will be 30 days of Jarly. Each day an author will provide a new fic or an update to a nmulti-part story exclusive about Jarly! You can register starting now and feel free to join the fun... Hope to see you there!

The Road Not Traveled

Blue eyes met brown and it was impossible to tell whose held more joy. It was an electric moment, no less powerful than that first gaze across a smoky bar almost twenty years before. Today was a day for celebration. It was a day that might never have happened. And what a tragedy that could have been. One day not so different than this in the Quartermaine foyer, they're lives turned on a dime. Their bond, strong even then, had become unbreakable.

But today was about their eldest child. They stood across the foyer from each other as he was hugged and fussed over by family and friends alike. She ended her conversation with her mother and began making her way to him. as was almost always the case with them, she made the first move. Whether it was because she feared he would or she was simply to impatient to wait for him it didn't seem to matter. Throughout her trek to his side, she charmed the many who had come to celebrate their boy without ever take her eyes from her ultimate goal. In their locked gaze was a wealth of shared history and love, a conversation only they could hear in a code no one had ever been able to crack.

"He'll be fine. Stop worrying," he assured her for the millionth time. "Michael is smart. And he knows who he is just like he knows what they are capable of, even if they are family."

"I know," she acknowledges with a smile her eyes softening. "He's just like his daddy. Strong, solid, smart, capable." She turned to look at their son. Her face fell almost imperceptibly as she saw him shaking AJ's hand. "His real father, not that glorified sperm donor."

"Carly," he warned.

"I know, Jase, I know," she huffed pouting. "I remember my promise to behave. And you'll notice that I have not caused a single scene and there is not a scratch on him. I won't let anyone ruin this day for our boy." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Not even me," she added it with a put-upon sigh.

He could hide the smirk that crossed his features as he wrapped his arm around her waist. "I'm proud of you, honey." Suddenly, a frowned creases his brow. "Where are Mason and Jake?"

Her eye lit up at the thought of their son, Mason, and their baby girl, Marie Jacqueline—Jake for short. Then her eyes grew wide as reality set in. "They wouldn't dare," she breathed in something like real fear. "Not today."

"Could you resist if you were them?" he countered, causing his wife to pale for a moment. "Come on, honey. Not only are they yours, but they happen to be Spencers."

"Oh, no you don't, mister! They have a very healthy dose of Quartermaine running through their veins thanks to you!" she snapped defensively while searching the crowd for their youngest two troublemakers. "Ok. I don't see them. You get Max, Milo, and Emily. I'll get Leticia, Momma, Lucky, and Lulu." When frowned at her in question, she explained, "Michael practically begged to talk to them because he says Luck's afraid of me and I'm the best at guilting Emily. So I made them promise to keep their distance from each other until the party's over. Damn, newlyweds! You'd think they were still teenagers the way they act. Now enough with the questions and go find those two!"

It took them about a half an hour to track them down. It was in the middle of Michael opening his gifts that Jason dragged them out from under the gift table as quietly as possible. "Which one is it?"

"What are you talking about, Daddy?" Jake asked innocently as she stared up at him with blue eyes just like his own. She tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ears trying to hold that innocent look just like her Uncle Luke taught her that her momma did. Unfortunately, her brother was trying not to snicker and ruining the effect.

"Nice try, Jake," he said shaking his head. "Which one is it?"

"This says it's from my family," Michael's voice says suddenly. "Here's to making sure you get everything you deserve," he read aloud. Jason knew he was too late as soon as he saw his children's eyes light up.

"No!" Carly shrieked, lunging forward to stop him from opening it. "Michael, honey, you shouldn't open that. Your brother and sister got it for you special. So you should definitely save that one for later."

His eyes dawned with comprehension as Carly handed him a different gift and gingerly took the "special" present away. "Thanks Mom," he said with relief.

"Anytime, honey," she chuckled and left him to continue opening graduation presents. As she made her way to the alcove where her husband was holding two disappointed pranksters, they looked more and more contrite.

"I thought I said no pranks," Carly said firmly.

"Sorry, mom," they chorused glumly.

"You should be! You know how important this day is to your brother. So you two can just go to your rooms without dessert and what you've done."

"Yes, mom," they mumbled in unison before trudging up the stares.

"This is all your fault you know that right," Jake hissed at her older brother Mason. "Your plans never worked. I told you we shouldn't have tried to hide."

"Nuh-uh!" Mason pouted, defiantly. "My plans do to work sometimes!"

"Do not!" Jake snorted.

"Do to!" Mason snapped. "Besides, your plans don't always work, either."

"That's only when I work with amateurs like you," Jake snapped. "Plans always work. You want to know why?"

"Why?" Mason huffs.

"Because you don't plan for the contingencies. You don't plan things out logically," she explained. "Come into my room. I got the party wired anyway, just in case."

"I thought mom said you couldn't take anymore lessons from Uncle Spinelli until you were 30," he hissed as she opened her laptop and brought up the party.

"She did, but it was too late by then," she assured. "I mean, I'm ten years old. I know what I'm doing now. I can learn on my own now like Uncle Spinelli did when he was growing up."

Mason frowned at his little sister. Sure, he thought it was cool that she could do all that stuff, but it had always been pretty boring to him. He was gonna be a doctor when he grew up like Grandma Monica and Grandpa Alan. "Well, you better let Mom or Dad catch or you're grounded for life."

Jake rolled her eyes. "Duh!" She checked her watch. "Perfect timing. I was worried we wouldn't get caught in time."

"What do you mean?" Mason asked. "We were supposed to get caught?"

"Following one of your plans? Of course we were," she mumbled focused on her computer as her fingers flew over the keys. Michael had ruined her eighth birthday when she was finally gonna have her perfect special day. She warned him his day would come and his day was today! She looked over at her straight-arrow older brother. "Are you sure you weren't adopted?"

"Hey!" he gasped.

"Sorry. Just—don't ever do anything illegal without my help," she sighed. Sometimes she wondered how he could possibly be a Spencer-Morgan. Then, she'd remember Uncle Luke telling her that he got the extra Quartermaine and she got the extra Spencer.

"Why would I do something illegal?" he asked genuinely confused.

Jake shook her head in dismay, and sighed, "Just promise."

"Ok. How about this?" Mason offers. "I promise to never do anything illegal without the help of another Spencer or Morgan. How's that?"

"That works. Ok. We are T-minus 20 and counting," she tells him. "18, 17, 16, 15, 14…"

He joined her and they began counting down in unison"13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3,2, 1…"

"JAKE!"

"Happy graduation day, Michael!"

Three hours later

Carly stood shaking her head, "I still can't believe she blew up his whole cake. It's everywhere. We have to make her clean it with a toothbrush for a few hours before you let the professionals take over, ok?"

Jason nodded as he continued to try to hide her amusement. "She's your daughter. Where do you think she gets her ability to hold a grudge?"

"No, she's your daughter, Mr. 'Linear-thinker-who-always-has-a-contingency-plan'," she smirked.

"Fine," he says wiping cake from her cheek. "She's ours. Just like Michael and Mason."

"I can agree to that," she whispers, kissing him.

"You know, you're wrong about one thing, though," he says softly.

"Yeah? What's that?" she responds on a sigh.

"I don't always have a contingency plan," he whispers in her ear.

"Oh, no?" she moans.

"There was never any contingency for you." He kissed her ear.

"Do you ever regret that," she asked, as she pulled back to stare into his eyes.

Instantly, both of their minds go back in time to the day everything changed for them—the day she had planned to marry AJ. He'd been about to leave when their eyes locked and he raised his hand to her. She had rushed down the stairs calling for Leticia to follow. They're family had been secured in the Dominican Republic with a quickie marriage within hours. They had been together ever since and nothing, not even AJ's best legal team, Robin's return or Liz's mind games had been able to shake them—too much.

"Not even for a second" he breathes against her lips. There, surrounded by the home they had built and remnants of blown-up graduation cake, they stood lost in each other, happier than either of them had ever dreamed they could be. And thankful never to have experienced that road not traveled.

~THE END~