Author's Note: I was working on Jarly stories, when I got blocked. Then, this challenge prompt hit me with two ideas: 1) Claudia/Nikolas and 2) Jarly. Claudia & Nik's tale wrote itself quickly, if awkwardly, but the same couldn't be said for my muse's fave couple. It took forever for the right inspiration to hit for the story. Once it did, I had all 1000 words written and edited in like an hour. Ironically, this idea & title were spawned by Toby Keith's hit "Who's Your Daddy?" It doesn't really fit lyrically beyond that one line, but here goes anyway.
Who's your Daddy? Who's your Baby?
"Jase?" she asked tentatively as she paced his living room floor.
Jason sighed, running his hands through his cropped light brown locks, "Carly, now is not the time for one of your plans. We have to stop Jax from getting custody of Josslyn."
"I know a way," she whispered terrified of his reaction. For the first time since walking down the stairs of Sonny's penthouse, she knew real fear. Fear that he would hate her forever.
"Carly?" he inquired with a frown as he looked up at her and saw her anxiety was over more than losing Josslyn. "What is it? You know I'll be there for you and help anyway that I can."
"Well, I was thinking Jax wouldn't have a leg to stand on if Josslyn's biological father were to step forward," she blurted in a rush.
"But Carly—" he started. "No. I won't lie and pretend to be Josslyn's father. No one would believe me anyway."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about lying because it won't be necessary," she hedged. Just tell him, Carly.
"Then who?" Jason asked in confusion as he realized the child might genuinely have another father other than Jax.
"Look, I can explain. You can even be mad at me…Just don't hate me, ok?" Carly begged.
"Carly, I could never hate you," he assured her more confused than ever.
"You promise?" she whispered desperately.
"Of course, I promise," he responded immediately not wavering for a second in his belief in the truth of that statement.
"Good, I'm gonna hold you to that," she sighed. "Ok, I need you to know I was gonna tell. I just didn't know how." When he nodded his understanding, she found the strength to continue. "You remember how you lost your memory, and Sam convinced you to freeze your sperm so she could have your child if you didn't make it."
He nodded his confusion growing along with a sense of dread. "Yeah. But how did you—"
She raised a hand cutting him off. "Please, let me get this out. I'll explain everything and then you can ask questions." He nodded his agreement. "Well, you'll remember when you and Sonny were on the outs, we moved a lot of the power of attorneys for you into my name. You know like for medical stuff." He dropped his head into his hands as he began connecting the dots. "You had pushed everyone else away and you trusted me not to let that happen and to always be there."
He pushed himself to his feet and walked to the fireplace, keeping his back to her. Carly sat down, clasping her hands between her knees. "Well, I got a call about your specimen and I didn't know what to think so I signed for them to maintain it for personal use only indefinitely. That was around the time Jax and I were trying to get pregnant. I was beginning to wonder if it was just me that was the problem, so I secretly had him tested. I found out he was virtually sterile. Between the two of us, with my history and Jax's lack of sperm count, our chances were one in a billion. And we'd already lost that little miracle baby girl." She looked at him, begging him to understand when he turned stoic eyes to her. "Could life be more unfair? There you were perfectly capable of having kids, but unwilling because of your life, while we were willing, but unable. So I came up with a plan. I would get inseminated. My egg. Your sperm. No one would ever have to know since you & Jax have the same blood type. You're both blond with blue eyes. I don't know. I thought this way we could have our child and you still be apart of one of your children's lives."
"What about after Jake—" he attempted his voice breaking.
"I didn't know how to tell you, Jase," she cried, dropping her face into her hands. "I didn't know if it was too much too soon. Then, I saw you holding her, and every time you made me promise not give her up… I was scared you were going to hate me and I didn't want to hurt Jax. But now…"
"Now, it's about keeping him from stealing our little girl," he finished, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Please, Jase," Carly begged falling to her knees. "You gotta understand. I just wanted our little girl so much. You gave our little boy away to Lucky & Liz, and I just wanted our little girl."
Jason kneeled down beside her and pulled her into his arms. "You were right all along," he whispered causing her head to snap up to look into his eyes. "She's perfect, just like you always said she would be."
"Oh, Jase," she gasped as sobs burst forth unchecked.
"It's ok, Carly. I understand," he whispered pulling her closer as she sobbed her relief and joy into his arms. "How could I hate you when you did everything you could to love, protect and bring our little girl into this world. For once, I'm glad you had a plan."
"And it worked, too," she quipped, wreathed in smiles as the last of her tears faded. He leaned forward and kissed her.
Lost in their own world, neither of them noticed a tearful Sam, slipping a way with her hand over her mouth to hold back her sobs. She ran away blindly away until she fell, literally into Johnny's arms.
"Sam, you ok?" he asked worried.
"Get me out of here and I will be," she rasped looking at him with eyes filled with pain. "I just can't do it again."
So he whisked her off into the night… but that's another story.
~The End~
