Jason was walking down the stairs of the penthouse, a small smile on his face. He had just finished reading both of his boys a bedtime story. Cameron was all excited at first, reciting the words of the story he had obviously heard hundreds of times over. Jake had been asleep in his father's arms for most of the story, while Cameron waited until the very last page before his eyes closed. After a kiss on his forehead, and putting Jake in his crib, he crept quietly down the stairs.
He found Elizabeth out on the terrace, taking in the late summer breeze. Sliding quietly behind her, he slipped his arms around her slender waist, bringing her back against his chest, kissing her neck softly.
Sighing contently, she leaned back against him, smiling. This is what she had dreamed about. She had went upstairs a few minutes earlier, only to stop and listen as Jason read to the boys, his voice soothing. It brought tears to her eyes when she thought about this big, strong man being such a soft touch when it came to his children.
He leaned his mouth close to her ear and whispered softly, "I know you were spying on me."
She giggled and turned toward him, her arms wrapping around his neck.
"You know how cute you are with those boys?"
He looked down, embarrasement evident of his face.
"Don't let it get around."
She grinned slyly.
"Of course not. Can't have Stone Cold losing his reputation."
He tickled her sides in retaliation, causing her to squeel and squirm.
She managed to pull away from him, running toward the couch, where he followed, both of them laughing. He caught her right as she made it to the back of the couch. Scooping her up in his arms, he walked around and sat back, sitting her on his lap. He looked into her eyes, noticing the sparkle in them, and was happy to give that back to her.
"I love you."
She smiled, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.
"I know. I love you, too. So much."
He leaned in and caught her lips with his own, kissing her once, twice, three times very softly, then pulled back, only to have her grab his face and bring his lips back to hers, returning a firey kiss that she started. He turned her around and laid her down on the couch, his body covering hers.
So caught up in each other, neither one noticed Carly waltzing in, without knocking. The scream, however, caught their attention, causing them to jump up.
"Carly!"
Jason shot up from the couch and walked over to her, his hair disheveled.
Carly had her hands over her eyes, yelling.
"I did not just see that! Tell me I didn't just see that!"
"Shhh. Carly, be quiet. The boys are sleeping!"
Carly let her hands fall from her eyes, looking at Jason incredulously.
"Boys? What boys? Are you telling me little Miss Muffin and her two kids are staying here?"
Jason lifted his arms up to stop an advancing Carly. She looked downright angry and ready to pounce on Elizabeth, who was straightening herself out at the moment.
"Carly, just stop, okay. If you sit down and keep quiet, I will explain everything to you."
She looked at him warily, then took in a deep breath, letting out slowly. She stalked over to the couch, sidestepping Elizabeth with a roll of her eyes, and plopped down, arms crossed.
"I'm waiting."
Elizabeth looked over at Jason nervously. They hadn't had a chance to talk to Carly yet. They had just gotten home from ice cream with Emily, and after the nightmare that was Nikolas, they wanted to have a little peace before dealing with anyone else. Fate, and Carly, however, had other plans.
He held his hand out to Elizabeth, which she accepted freely, and squeezed reassuringly. Neither one knew how ugly this would get, and they knew they needed each other for strength.
Jason took in a deep breath, about ready to let Carly in on everything, when Sonny walked in.
"Hey, Jason. Why is your door wide open, man?"
Jason turned to see his best friend at the door. In all honesty, he was glad Sonny was there. Between the two of them, he was sure they could avoid any bloodshed.
He pointed over to the couch where Sonny's ex-wife was sitting.
"We were just about to talk to Carly about everything," said Elizabeth, a hopeful look in her eyes as she looked at Sonny, silently begging him to stay.
Sonny nodded, looking at both of them before wandering over to the couch next to Carly. Not looking at her, he sat back, his arm sprawling across the back of the couch nonchalantly.
Carly eyed Sonny, watching his expression. Her eyes grew big as she realized Sonny knew what was going on.
"You know, don't you? You know what they are about to tell me."
Sonny nodded, still not looking at her.
"It was better that you didn't know, Carly."
"What? What are you talking about, Sonny? Jason is my best friend, if this little twit thinks-"
"Be quiet, Carly!" Sonny's voice was quiet but left no doubt he was serious.
Carly rolled her eyes, then looking up at the two who were standing near the desk, hands clasped together tightly. She was starting to get angry.
"Someone better tell me what is going on right now!"
Jason spoke up first. He figured if it came from him, it wouldn't be that bad on Elizabeth. He knew how Carly can get, and if she was going to lash out, he was the one who would take the brunt of it.
"Carly, Jake is not Lucky's son. He's mine."
Carly's eyes furrowed in confusion.
"No. There was a paternity test. It said it was Lucky's. She told you it was Lucky's-"
"No, you told me it was Lucky's. Did you even ask her if it was, or did you just assume?"
Carly was quiet, remembering back to when she saw Elizabeth working right after the results. She remembered taunting her, telling her it was obvious that the father was Lucky's because if not, Elizabeth would be knocking down Jason's door for him to support her.
She closed her eyes and shook her head in response to his answer.
"No, you didn't. You couldn't wait to come here and tell me what you thought was the truth. I'm not blaming you, we all made mistakes."
"Wait a minute! If you were the father, why didn't she tell you? Why did she let Lucky believe that the baby was his? How could she keep your child from you?"
She got up and walked closer to Elizabeth, only to be held back by the arm by Sonny, who immediately stopped her from advancing any further.
Elizabeth spoke up then.
"I made a lot of mistakes. I listened to everyone else beside myself as to what was best for everyone. After you told him, I came by to tell him the truth." She laughed. "You apparently couldn't wait to tell him the good news. He told me it was all for the best. I thought it meant he was relieved."
Carly snorted.
"So what? YOu did this to spare Jason?"
Elizabeth shrugged.
"Believe what you want, Carly. I made a huge mistake by not telling him or Lucky the truth from the beginning. I thought Jason loved Sam and I wanted him to be happy. I didn't want to just be an obligation. Lucky was getting clean because of the baby. I kept hearing how it was my responsibility to keep him clean and make him happy. So I kept the lie going."
Carly looked angry, but surprisingly she was keeping it in check.
"So you have lost all this time with your son? And what, all is forgiven?"
"Carly, I've known Jake was mine since we got stuck in the elevator at the Metro Court after the hostage crisis. We BOTH decided to keep the baby's true paternity a secret. My life is dangerous, and I didn't want it to touch Elizabeth or Jake."
Carly nodded, tears burning her eyes. She could not believe Jason had not confided in her about this. He was her best friend, and he didn't feel he could come to her. It hurt to think he couldn't trust her, but deep inside, she knew why.
"So, why now? Why are you suddenly playing family? You could raise your son without being with little Muffin over here-"
"I love her Carly."
His words were clear and left no room for argument.
She looked from him to Elizabeth. Her eyes narrowed.
"So, you've trapped him again, this time with a son. What happens the next time you get scared and run away? Don't think you can play games with him, little girl."
Sonny pulled Carly back from Elizabeth. He guided her toward the fireplace, his hands on her shoulders as he looked at her.
"I wouldn't do this if I were you." Sonny's voice was calm and low, his eyes looking straight into hers.
"What? Sonny, she's been lying to our best friend about his child, and I'm supposed to let bygones be bygones? She can't get away with this-"
"Carly, I know you are angry, and I know you've never liked Elizabeth. But look at them. They love each other. They love their children." When he saw Carly going to object, he stopped her,"yes children. I've seen it, Carly. Jason loves Cam as much as I love Michael. They are both his sons. You of all people should understand what Elizabeth did."
Carly looked shockingly at him.
"Sonny, that doesn't even compare. I was trying to keep Michael away from AJ because he was a drunk! Why would she do this if she loved Jason so much?"
"Because she thought, no thanks to us, that he loved Sam, and she didn't want him to feel obligated. Her reasons were messed up, but it wasn't malicious. I was angry too, at first, but I've seen them together, all four of them. Carly, he has a family now. We need to accept it and be there for them, just like Jason has been there for our family."
Carly looked at him and looked away defeated, wiping the tears from her cheeks. Letting out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, she nodded reluctantly, causing Sonny to let her shoulders go.
She slowly walked over to Jason and Elizabeth, her eyes cast downward. She didn't want to look at either of them right now. She felt betrayed and knew that feeling wasn't going to go away overnight.
"I'm not happy about any of this. I'm hurt that my best friend couldn't come to me. But I can understand why you didn't, I mean, I do tend to fly off the deepend sometimes." A chuckle was heard from Sonny, which earned him a glare from his ex-wife.
"I won't make any trouble. I doubt me and you will ever be friends, Muf-, Elizabeth. I am willing to try to be civil. If this is what makes Jason happy, I will not fight either of you on this. But I am warning you," she said, looking up into Elizabeth's eyes so the woman left no room for doubt,"you hurt him in anyway, run away when things get rough, run back to my sniveling coward of a cousin, anything, you will answer to me."
Elizabeth nodded. One thing she had to admit about Carly, begrudgingly, she was fiercely loyal to Jason.
"I promise, Carly. I love him, and I'm here for the long haul."
Carly nodded briefly and turned grabbing her purse. She stopped in front of Jason, kissing him on the cheek before walking to the door.
"Call me tomorrow. We'll set something up with the boys. It's time Michael and Morgan met their cousins." With that she left, slamming the door behind her.
The three left were standing there stunned. Carly had given in. She was almost agreeable. It left an uneasy feeling in all of their stomachs.
"I don't know what's worse, a scheming Carly, or an agreeable Carly," said Sonny, laughter in his voice.
Both Jason and Elizabeth laughed softly at him, Jason sliding his arm around Elizabeth's waist, pulling her closer to him.
Elizabeth laid her head on his shoulder, looking over at Sonny.
"Sonny, thank you. I appreciate your help with Carly. I know I have a lot to make up for."
Sonny waved his hand dismissively.
"Just make him happy, Elizabeth. And from the looks of things, I can see you are already doing that." After a deep breathe and a clap of his hand, he continued, "Alright, my work here is done. I'll leave you guys alone. Give the boys a kiss from their Uncle Sonny. Jase, I'll see you at work tomorrow." He walked out, closing the door quietly behind him, leaving Jason and Elizabeth there alone.
She turned, wrapping both arms around his middle, holding him tightly.
"That went better than I thought."
Jason nodded, his chin resting on top of her head.
"Carly can surprise you sometimes."
"She loves you, that much is obvious. I can't fault her for defending you."
"You know what, I don't want to talk about it anymore tonight. I don't want to think about who we are talking to next. I just want to spend some time with the woman I love alone."
She grinned and looked up at him, her hand moving up his chest.
"What do you have in mind Morgan?"
"Hmm, where were we when we were so rudely interrupted?" He paused a moment, pretending to think, "ah ha, I know."
He scooped her up in his arms, causing her to squeel, then laid her down onto the sofa, his body hovering over hers. He kissed her softly, pouring all the love he felt for her in the kiss, which she reciprocated with equal excitement.
Things were crazy, things were hectic. They had a lot to deal with, but they were dealing with it together. They made each other stronger, and because of that, can endure whatever was to come next.