Authors note: I am SO sorry for the delay; things came up and I didn't get to write like I had planned to for the last couple of weeks. I hope you all enjoyed the prologue, and that you will enjoy this story (I made a few changes with the beginning chapter—made it the prologue)! I have to thank Brenda for answering my CarJack questions—you are such a great person, and I am so glad we are friends! Thanks for all that you do for us CarJackers! :) Oh, and I know it is a lot of Carly and Jack thinking to themselves right now, but I have always wondered what it would be like to explore Jack and Carly's inner thoughts; a side we didn't get to see on the show, so that is why there is a lot of Jack and Carly having quite thoughts to themselves. I am going to give more character interactions, so please don't be discouraged from reading this. It's only just the beginning of my story, and I am just developing it, so stay tuned!
True Love—A CarJack fan fiction story by CarJack4eva
Chapter 1
Carly grabbed her cup of decaffeinated coffee from the table as she studied the sketch she'd just finished in her sketchbook. She absolutely loved this quiet part of the morning when everyone had left and it was just her and her sketching; having a moment that was exclusively hers. She loved her family more than anything in the world, but this was her serenity, her quite time—something that she realized she needed more and more of as she got older. Carly knew that Jack had craved quite moments to himself as well, and she knew that he savored them just as much as she did.
She had taken up sketching fashion again because it was something that she loved and she just couldn't let go of it. What started merely as an escape when she was a teenager, a hobby, basically, catapulted into her passion as an adult. Fashion design was the other half that made her whole. Jack and their children would always be her number one—the first half of her—but fashion design came behind that. It gave her a chance to be creative, and she loved bringing a dress, or an outfit, to life from her mind—it was empowering! And the happiness she felt when she got a compliment from someone who had loved a Carly Snyder original—well, there was no explaining it, but she did know she liked it. It was her niche, she thought!
She had taken many business ventures with fashion design—and they ended up crashing and burning before she had a chance to really get into them. In matter of fact, her mouth was still soured from the last Monte Carlo venture, not to even mention the failed perfume business with Lily.
"Craig" Carly said to herself with her teeth gritted together and her face in disgust. She would never ever make that mistake again, not in a million years! She didn't even want to begin to think about how Craig had stolen Parker's trust fund—it made her spitting-nails mad every time she just slightly pondered upon it, like now…she better stop while she was ahead, or she might end up throwing things…
She didn't need her temper controlling her emotions at the moment, being that she was six months pregnant, and even the slightest amount of stress could flare up pre-eclampsia; so far it hadn't happened, but the doctors had reminded her that she was still high risk, and it wasn't completely off the canvas…She had to protect her and her child's health.
Maybe one day she would finally get that big break that she had always hoped for, Carly thought after she cooled down from the simmering temperature she has just been at. She firmly believed that you got more than one chance to do something in life—her and Jack were a testament to that, many times over.
She had not completely given up hope yet that she would finally own a design company of her own. And she knew the next time she wouldn't go in blind; she would know exactly who was backing her up financially. She also knew that she would have the exact amount of emotional support she needed, now that she had her beautiful family back in her life!
Maybe she could start another company in the near future. Of course, it would be after the baby got old enough, possibly in a year or two; Sage would be nearly in college by then. She knew she could balance being a wife, mother, and career woman; it wasn't impossible to do these days.
Satisfied with her sketch, she looked up to take in the familiar landscape of the living room that she knew so well: the green leaf wallpaper; the sconces on the wall by the fireplace and the kitchen; the beautiful wooden mantel that was built like her G-man-strong and sturdy, and aged well; the massive bay window with their dining room table; the doors that led into the kitchen…
The bright morning sun was drifting in through the door and the bay window giving off enough natural light that she kept the living room lights off. She loved the warm feeling that this room gave off. So many memories were attached to this space, some good, some not so good; all of them a huge part of her life.
Carly remembered her early days in Oakdale, before Jack, when she lived here with Michael and was carrying Nora…
Nora. Carly thought. The daughter she never got to meet. Sometimes, during quiet times like this, she would think of Nora, and imagine how she would be today, had she lived. She would be a young adult now; and, no doubt, beautiful. She would probably be in college and having the time of her life.
But had Nora lived, Carly's life would be drastically different. She may have never met Jack, and she didn't even want to think of her life without Jack, Parker, JJ, and Sage. Sometimes, things and situations happened for a reason. That saying, Carly thought, was completely and inevitably true, and she could attest to it.
She remembered sitting not far from where she sat right now giving birth to Parker. Jack was holding her hand and being there for her…she remembered seeing her beautiful baby boy's face. Now, Parker was all grown up and would be attending the police academy in the fall, taking after both of his fathers; Carly was so proud of him! But it seemed no matter how old he got, he would always be her baby boy.
Carly glanced up at the door as another memory came upon her. She remembered the day that she and Jack brought Sage home; they had just gotten back from Montana where her and Jack had just experienced one of the most rewarding romantic experiences of their lives.
She had fled to Montana because the constant fighting and uncertainty of who was Sage's biological father had only stressed her out more, adding more to the pre-eclampsia that she had suffered from while she was carrying Sage…she just needed peace, and breathing room—which was in short amounts in those days. Plus, she has just been hit with yet another fail of her fashion design, which had tipped the iceberg, so to say…There were so many complications back then. And only more would come in the future. Their relationship was flawed, but they had always come out even closer to each other when it was all said and done.
She had wanted to go back to the place where all of those amazing memories of her and Jack had took form. And when Jack had found her, the relief she had felt was tremendous. He had come to her rescue again. He told her that he had loved the baby and it was a done deal. He had also serenaded her that night with a bath in an old fashioned bath tub; all was right in the world again…
She had felt incredibly beautiful, even being nine months pregnant. He had even written her that beautiful song…she could still, out of the blue, hear him singing that song, Worth it All, Carly knew all of the lyrics word-for-word. And then he had delivered Sage…then she married him again in that barn—and then getting to tell him that Sage was indeed his daughter. Carly sighed at the beauty of it all. It still was beautiful to her all these years later, and it would always be.
Just looking at their incredible little girl—teenager, Carly corrected—was an immense joy. Sage was the perfect combination of her and Jack. When she looked into those big brown eyes that were just like Jack's, she seen Jack's determination, and she'd also seen a spitting image of herself.
Sage had her same go-getting-never give up attitude, and was never subtle about anything, particularly her parents; Sage was her and Jack's biggest cheerleader. She had believed in them, even when they couldn't. She was really every mother's dream—and Carly was so glad that she could call Sage her daughter!
And JJ, even though he was not her biological son, she still considered him her son; he was a beautiful quiet spirit. When JJ had come into their lives, the circumstances were definitely hectic, and Carly had despised his real mother, to say the least. But after Jack had got over the amnesia, and Julia (she hated that name as well), JJ's mom, had been killed, taking in JJ, whom absolutely adored Jack, seemed like the right thing to do. He had really hit it off with Parker, and loved baby Sage.
Carly felt she could empathize with him the most out of their children, because they both had similar plagued childhoods. JJ was an upcoming senior at Oakdale High. He moved back home from the boarding school this year, and she was glad he was back and that all her children were under the same roof!
She was in complete anticipation over their new baby…It had been revealed at the last sonogram that the child that Carly was carrying was going to be a boy. Jack was so excited! They spent the last couple weeks discussing names and buying baby boy things. It was such a beautiful time right now, and she loved being pregnant.
Out of habit, Carly placed a hand on her rounding stomach and felt the baby move, which resulted in her smiling…and then suddenly she was jolted out of her thought process by a knocking at the door…
Carly looked up at the door to see her cousin. She squealed "Molly!" as she ran to the door to greet her…
"Cuz, what are you doing here?" Carly asked Molly after she opened the door.
"I promised you I would come here more often, cuz. Duh! Remember?" replied Molly
"Of course I remember," responded Carly. "I just wish you would've given me a heads up before you came."
"And ruin surprising you?" answered Molly smiling. "That would just take all the fun out of it."
…Of course, Molly wasn't about to tell Carly that the real reason she was here for another surprise—a surprise baby shower put together by Jack.
Jack had called her last week and told her the plans…She had immediately booked her flight, and contacted the news company where she worked at in LA so she could take her vacation days—she had been saving them up for this kind of occasion.
She still had enough built up that she could be out here again when her new baby nephew was born. Molly could not wait to see Carly's reaction—it was just like Jack to do this kind of thing for Carly. Jack was such a great man, and he and Carly both made each other genuinely happy. Carly and Jack's romance was one for the ages, and she had witnessed most of it firsthand!
"I just love your new haircut, cuz!" explained Molly, touching Carly's new shorter bobbed hair. "It reminds me of the old days."
"Thanks. Yes, it's very similar to the way I wore it back then." Carly said touching her hair and tousling it just a bit.
"I thought that with me being a new mom soon, I wasn't going to have a whole lot of time to keep my long hair tamed. So I got it cut off, much to Jack and everyone's disagreement. I gave it to Locks of Love. After Liberty went through all of that, I thought it was the least I could do."
"Speaking of Liberty," replied Molly, "Didn't she get in to that fashion school in New York? And didn't her mother and Dusty move to Florida?"
"Yes," replied Carly. "Liberty told me over the phone a while back. And yes, Janet and Dusty did move to Florida!" Carly replied back to Molly in excitement! Molly and Carly both shared huge smiles at that bit of info.
"So I hate to rush you, cuz, this early in the morning. But I thought we could go to Old Town and shop like old times," Molly told Carly as she sat down on the couch beside her.
"Sure. I had nothing planned today anyway. Why not?" replied Carly patting Molly's lap and then put down her coffee on the coffee table in front of her. "Just give me some time to get dressed," Carly replied jumping up.
"Hey, where are you going to stay while you're here? The Lakeview? Because you know you could always stay here. Sage will love having her aunt Molly here. I will too" Carly asked Molly on her way upstairs.
"Awww, thanks for the invite, cuz. But I don't want to disturb you and Jack by being here." Molly said and winked her eye, of course referring to something else.
"Believe me, Moll, you won't." replied Carly grinning…"Besides me and Sage are kind of outnumbered here. There's enough testosterone in this house" Carly said laughing. "We need some more estrogen."
"Okay, than I will stay," said Molly. "It will be fun!"
Thirty minutes later Carly and Molly left the Milltown house in pursuit of Old Town.
The Oakdale PD…
Jack sat at his desk rereading a paragraph on a follow-up of one of his cases—he had read that same paragraph, he swore, at least a hundred times. Jack couldn't help it—things were going slow at the police department these days. And, well, his mind really wasn't on work anyway.
His mind had been on the upcoming baby shower, and getting to surprise his beautiful wife…he knew that Molly had probably already arrived at the house, and she had been sworn to secrecy. Jack was just glad that Carly was happy, that's all that mattered to him, making her happy. And now she had her cousin here to celebrate and bring even more happiness…
Coming back to the present, Jack took a sip of the stale PD coffee and took a bite off an even staler doughnut. Some things just never changed, Jack mused—referring to the stale snacks available at the PD. He knew this police station like the back of his hand, and he loved it. He loved his job and his beautiful life and family—Carly and their children were everything to him. He loved them with everything he was. Hmmm, Jack thought…he would stop and get Carly a dozen of roses on his way home—those were their flowers anyway…
Later at the Milltown house…
Jack and Carly laid there wrapped up in each other—it had been a long, but very good day. After Jack got home, with take-out and a huge bouquet of red roses for Carly, they had all sat down and ate, talking about their day. Molly had had some other errands to run, so she joined them after dinner. And she, Carly, and Sage had a fun little movie night, after she got there. Sage was so excited that she conked out halfway through with her head on her mother's lap, and her feet sprawled out on Molly's.
Now, everyone was in bed, with Molly on the couch. Tomorrow was Friday, so everyone was excited it was the end of the week.
Jack couldn't wait until Saturday, the day of the surprise baby shower; he couldn't wait to see her face. Now, however, he just wanted to love her, and that is exactly what he went to doing…
