Chapter 6

"Sonny." She called out to him as she walked closer.

When Sonny looked up from the file, his eyes were full of surprise and wonderment. "Carly." Even his voice sounded surprised. "What are you doing here?"

She sighed.

Sonny's gaze stayed on her as he waited for an answer.

"Sonny, I think it's time we sat down and got everything out into the open once and for all."

He smirked at her.

Carly glared at him. "Why are you smiling?"

"Because I agree with you."

"I'm right?" Now it was Carly who was surprised.

"Isn't that what I just said?" He lifted his brow at her. "We do need to talk and it is about time we did. You're right."

"I'm glad you agree." Carly's voice was now soft.

"Good." Sonny nodded. "I was going to come over there tomorrow and I wasn't going to leave until we got everything straightened out. You and Michael belong here with me, Carly. You're my family. That's Elizabeth and Jason's home, not yours." He paused. "I love you. And I am sorry that I've been treating you so badly, but Courtney is my sister and all I want to do is be able to trust her. I don't know what I'd do if I ever found out that I can't trust the sister I just met."

"I- I understand." She sat down beside him on the couch. "But that doesn't mean I like it." She swallowed. "You're my husband Sonny, and I love you. But your sister and I don't get along and probably never will. So I'd appreciate it if you stopped trying to push us together. I don't like her Sonny and I don't care to know her. I know that hurts you but…I'm sorry Sonny; I just don't feel the need to get to know her or spend time with her. And if we are going to spend the rest of our lives together, that's something you need to come to terms with."

Sonny nodded his head in agreement. "Okay." He gave her a small smile. "I won't push you and Courtney together anymore. And yes, it would be great if you two got along but I'm not going to force you to get along with someone you don't like."

"I'm sorry Sonny, she just- She gets on my last never and there is something strange about her. I don't trust her." She put her hand over his mouth so he couldn't interrupt her. "I know that you trust her Sonny and I know that she is your sister…just please be careful. There is something fishy about her."

"I trust your judgment Carly." Sonny assured her. "And I will be careful around her. Okay?"

"Okay." Carly smiled at him before leaning in and capturing his lips between hers. Sonny let his hands rest on her hips as she snaked an arm around his neck letting her hands brush through the bottom of his hair.

After ten minutes of intense petting Sonny pulled back, the two of them clearly out of breath. "I'm sorry. We have to stop. You never know when someone might walk in." His grin showed off his dimples.

"Okay." She smiled back at him as she stood up. "I have to get going anyway. Elizabeth and I have a movie date."

"Carly." Sonny stopped her before she could get too far. "Would you and Michael move back in with me?" He couldn't look at her, so he looked at the carpet.

"Sonny." Carly walked back over to him and touched his arms so he would look at her. "Michael and I will move back in tomorrow. It's late and I don't want to wake him up. But, we will be finishing this conversation sometime soon. We are nowhere near finished discussing this." She gave him a pointed look. "And tomorrow night our family will all be under one roof again."

Sonny gave her a quizzical look. "Technically we were under the same roof the whole time since this is all one building…"

Carly gave him a mock glare before giving him a quick kiss on the lips and walking out of the penthouse.

Sonny stood there in front of the couch, staring at the door that his wife had just walked out of. He smiled at the knowledge that the next time she walked through it, it would be with Michael and they would never need to walk out it again. At least not for a while, his smile widened.

"Hey." Carly gave Elizabeth an easy smile as she closed the penthouse door.

Elizabeth stared up at her. "Where were you? You were gone all night!"

"I was not. I talked to Sonny last night and then I came home. I slept here last night, Liz." Carly corrected her. "But this morning I wanted something from Kelly's- something sweet."

Elizabeth smiled at her. "So what did you get?"

"Croissants and cake." Carly walked closer to the couch, moving the bag into Elizabeth's line of vision.

"And what else?" Elizabeth snatched the bag from her. "This is a pretty big bag for just for cake and croissants."

Carly laughed at her as she rummaged through the bag. "Okay, so I stocked up on sweets." She admitted. "I need to get as much sugar in me as I can before tonight."

"Tonight?" Elizabeth gave her a curious look before her eyes widened as the realization dawned on her. "Oh. My. God." She squealed as she grabbed Carly's hands encasing them in hers. "You and Sonny worked everything out? That's so great!" Elizabeth dropped Carly's hands and pulled her into a hug.

"Yeah, I talked to Sonny and everything's fine now."

Elizabeth pulled back and gave Carly an you know you want to tell me look.

"Everything's fine." Carly tried to assure her. "I talked to Sonny and although we didn't really get anything set in stone, we talked and now…"

"Now?" Elizabeth prompted as she munched on a croissant.

"Now, Michael and I are moving back in." Carly flashed Elizabeth a happy grin. "I love my husband Elizabeth and I want to be with him. I want my family back. But, I don't trust Courtney. I just get this bad feeling whenever I'm around her. She makes me nervous and I don't want her to hurt Sonny."

"I know what you mean." Elizabeth nodded at her in understanding. "But it's not your choice to make Carly, its Sonny's. You need to let him make his own mistakes. All you can do now is warn him about her and stand by him."

Carly grabbed a piece of a croissant out of the bag and chewed on it slowly, swallowing before she spoke. "How'd you get to be so smart?" She chucked quietly.

Elizabeth's eyes met Carly's. "Jason."

The two promptly erupted into laughter.

"No, don't put that in there!" Carly screeched at Jason. "It doesn't belong in there. Come on Jase, you know you can't put a hair dryer in with a box of movies. They don't fit in the same category."

"Whatever Carly." Jason shook his head at her. "How did you get so much stuff over here anyway? You haven't been here that long."

"I don't know." Carly shrugged it off. "It's not that much anyway."

"Carly your definition of a lot and mine are completely different."

Carly rolled her eyes. "Okay, so I have three boxes. It's still not a lot."

"Three boxes my a-" Jason caught himself as he glanced over at Michael. "Three boxes my butt."

"Nice save, Jase." Carly winked at him as she reached for a box.

"Carly! Put that down right now." Jason walked over to her and grabbed the box before she could. "You shouldn't be lifting things, you need to be careful." He reprimanded her.

"Jason I'm pregnant, not terminal. And I can still lift things, I'm not weak."

"I didn't say you were weak." He placed the box on the floor in front of him. "I said you shouldn't be lifting things."

Carly frowned at him before walking out of the room with Michael trailing behind her.

Jason shook his head. Sometimes that woman drove him crazy.

"Tell me about it." Elizabeth huffed, pushing the hair out of her face as she sealed the box in front of her.

"What?" Jason glanced over at her.

"You said that sometimes Carly drives you crazy and I was just agreeing with you."

Had he said that out loud? "Oh."

"Here's another box." Elizabeth attempted to push the box over to him using her legs, but decided she wasn't in the mood for a lecture from Jason and let it rest where it was.

"Okay." Jason nodded as he picked up the box in front of him. "Just leave it there and I'll be back to get it."

Elizabeth followed him out of the room and down the stairs, sitting next to Carly and Michael on the couch.

"What are you guys doing?" She asked them as her eyes followed Jason out the door.

"What can we do?" Carly quipped. "Jason won't let me lift anything. Lot's of pregnant women lift things. How do single mothers do it? They have to lift sometime since they don't have big strapping men to do it for them. Right?"

"Jason's just looking out for you and the baby, Carly."

"I know." She sighed. "I know he means well. But, sometimes- sometimes I just want to hit him over the head with something and-"

"Hey!" Elizabeth interrupted her. "That's my husband you're threatening."

"Sorry." Carly's wicked smile didn't back up her apology. "I forgot, can't say anything bad about perfect Jason in your presence."

Elizabeth's mouth opened wide as she gawked at her. "Excuse me? That's usually the other way around. You are the one that is always singing Jason's praises. So, don't go getting in a tizzy when I think it's strange to hear you saying you are going to hurt him."

"You know I was just exaggerating." Carly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Jason is my best friend, but sometimes he drives me crazy. I was just venting."

"I know." Elizabeth smirked at her. "I was just messing with you."

"You brat." Carly reached behind her and grabbed a pillow, hitting Elizabeth on the head with it repeatedly.

Elizabeth grabbed the pillow out of her hand and in turn, hit her with it. Once Elizabeth had hit her a second time, Carly reached behind Michael and took that pillow so she could hit Elizabeth with it. After all, she had to even it out. It wouldn't be fair for one of them to have a pillow when the other didn't.

"Hey!" Sonny's voice interrupted them and the two women put down their pillows, turning to look at Sonny.

Sonny stood in front of the open door a frown on his face. He was worried, Elizabeth observed. He was probably scared that they would hurt each other. How, she had no clue. But that was Sonny and Jason for you, she mused.

Behind Sonny, Jason was trying his best not to laugh and was failing miserably. He indulged himself and chuckled as quietly as possible, all the while keeping his eyes linked with Elizabeth.

"What do you two think you were doing?" Sonny asked.

"We were just having fun, Sonny." Carly couldn't see what the problem was. It was all innocent entertainment.

"Carly, I understand you two want to have fun but can't you do something a little less, I don't know…physical?"

"Just because we are pregnant, doesn't mean we can't do things we'd do on any given day." Elizabeth interrupted them.

Sonny sighed, pausing before he spoke. "I understand that and believe me, I sympathize. But, you two need to be a little more careful. You guys could have fallen off the couch or something. And I don't want anything to happen to either of you. So, can you please be a little more careful in the future?"

Carly closed her eyes as she tried to calm herself. "Okay Sonny, we'll be more careful."

"Good." He smiled.

Carly stood and walked over to him, hugging him. "And I just want to let you know…you're the only one I want to get physical with." She squeezed him tighter before letting him go and pulling back, giving him a saucy grin.

"TMI." Elizabeth coughed into her hand as she stood up and walked over to Jason, standing beside him.

"What?" Carly looked at her, bewildered.

"What did you say?" Sonny's question trailed right behind Carly's.

"She said 'too much information' and she's right." Jason smiled at Elizabeth before looking back at Sonny and Carly. "I really didn't want to know that Carly. Maybe you can keep those kinds of comments to yourself, huh?"

"When did you get so bossy Jason?" Carly inquired.

"Since you came into my life." Jason retorted.

Carly stared at him in surprise. "Wow, this is a side of you I've never seen before."

Jason shook his head at her, stopping himself from saying something he'd regret, before walking past her and Sonny and hiking up the stairs, back to the room she was temporarily using to grab more boxes. The sooner she was gone, the better.

It wasn't that he didn't love Carly, he did. She was one of his best friends and he cared about her very much. He didn't want to see anything happen to her, Sonny, Michael or the babies. But sometimes she drove him nuts. And having her waltz into his penthouse all the time was bad enough, living with her was even worse. She was always being nosy and disrupting his plans – finding out what he was doing, who he was with, when he'd be back – and he was tired of it.

He was glad she was moving back in with Sonny. That's where she belonged.

He grabbed the box Elizabeth had tried to conspicuously push over to him earlier – she had failed miserably if she thought he hadn't noticed – and walked out of the room, back down the stairs and across the hall to Sonny's.

Less than an hour later all of Carly's boxes had been moved back into Sonny's and she was gone. Good riddance was Jason's motto. Once Carly and Michael had left, Elizabeth had decided she wanted to get something to eat so Jason called in some reservations and took her to the No Name.

They spent the entire time in a comfortable silence, just enjoying each other's company. Jason sat across from his wife, admiring how beautiful she looked and wondering how he ever lived without her for all those months. Elizabeth was in her own little world thinking about the upcoming night.

It was hard enough not to pounce on Jason with Michael and Carly down the hall, but now with them gone…there would be no boundaries and nothing to hold her back. There would be absolutely no reason to keep away from Jason tonight. And why should she? He was her husband after all. But she would be a coward if she didn't admit that she was nervous about tonight.

To be blunt she was scared.

She was scared of rejection, she was scared of hurting the baby – she was scared, period. The thing that scared her the most though, was the baby. She wanted Jason; she always had and most likely always would. He was her husband and she loved him. But if something happened to Sonny and Carly's baby just because she and Jason couldn't keep themselves in check and stop their emotions from overloading, she would never forgive herself. It wasn't that she didn't want to make love to Jason again, boy did she. But, she didn't want to take the chance that something could happen to the baby. The doctor had assured it that it was fine to continue all sexual activity with her husband, but she just didn't want to chance it.

God, she remembered all those lazy mornings when they spent the entire morning in bed, just loving each other. Jason was an amazing kisser, an attentive lover and the things he could do with his mouth and hands. She blushed and turned her head down, hoping no one would notice.

She placed a hand over her bulging belly, rubbing it as she felt the baby kick. She and Jason had wanted to have kids as soon as possible, they had decided on it right after they got married. And man did she wish this baby was theirs and not Sonny and Carly's. She was very happy for them that they would soon have two new babies and she knew they would take care of both of them, but she still couldn't help but feel jealous.

What if this baby was hers and Jason's? Would Jason have told her about Sonny's death anyway, even though it was against Sonny's wishes? Would he have changed anything at all? There were so many unanswered questions. She shook her head, ridding herself of her current thoughts. In all reality, this baby wasn't hers and Jason's; it was Sonny and Carly's. Therefore there was no reason to even consider the ramifications or what-ifs. The baby wasn't hers, there was no sense dwelling on it.

Even though her brain was telling her not to, she still couldn't stop herself from wondering as she rubbed her belly again. She sighed and looked up at Jason. "Are you ready to go?"

Jason did a double take. Weren't they just enjoying a nice, easy evening out and now she wanted to go home? "Sure." Jason waved the waiter over, paid the check and walked out of the No Name hand in hand with his wife.

"Okay, spill." Jason said once he closed the door.

"What?" Elizabeth glanced up at him curiously.

"What happened to you tonight? You were there physically, but your mind was definitely somewhere else." His eyes met hers. "And then out of the blue, you asked if I was ready to leave. Are you okay?"

She looked away. "I'm fine Jason." She brushed him off and turned on her heel, walking up the stairs to get changed for bed.

"Elizabeth." Jason called out to her, following her upstairs and into their bedroom.

"Jason, I just told you – I'm fine." Elizabeth unbuttoned her blouse and pulled off her bra as she walked over to the dresser, grabbing one of Jason's shirts without realizing it and slipping it on. Next came her pants and she unzipped them, leaving them in a pile on the floor before pulling on a pair of pajama bottoms.

She felt Jason standing next to her and without even realizing it, she watched as he took his pants off, leaving them in heap on the floor just as she had done and slipping on a pair of pajama bottoms. He pulled his t-shirt off and reached down to grab her jeans and his before walking over to the hamper and throwing the contents inside.

Jason walked back over to Elizabeth smirking as he finally noticed that she was wearing one of his shirts. "Nice shirt." His smiled widened as he stood in front of her.

Elizabeth looked down at the shirt and when her head came back up and her eyes met with his, she blushed sheepishly. "I hadn't even realized I did that."

Jason quirked an eyebrow at her.

"What?" She mock glared at him before looking back down at the shirt. It was her favorite shirt of his because of its baby blue color; it always seemed to bring out his eyes. "I honestly didn't even think about it, it was a reflex."

"It's alright." He assured her. "You look good in my shirt."

"Thanks." She rubbed her belly. "I guess it's a good think you wear loose shirts, huh?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so."

Elizabeth's head slowly moved upward so she could look him in the eye but she stopped. It was then that she sucked in a deep breath as her mouth dried up. Hadn't he put a shirt back on? Her eyes admired his flat stomach, showing off his washboard abs. Oh well, he looked better shirtless anyway.

For some reason, they had always been her weakness. His abs, that is. On the rare days she woke up before him she would lazily brush a hand over them, caressing them. And usually she got a reaction since his whole body tensed up every time she touched him. She wondered if his reaction would still be the same. It wouldn't be hard to do, she would barely have to reach out her hand and she'd be grazing his perfectly chiseled abs.

She forced her eyes to move upward and indulged herself at the site of his upper body. If she hadn't noticed it the day he walked out of the shower while she was changing, she sure did now. Apparently he was still working out. Duh, Elizabeth; she mentally slapped herself. Of course he was still working out, this was Jason.

Finally her eyes roamed further north, linking their eyes. She noticed the twinkle in them and knew she was caught. "What?" She dared him. "Can't I admire my husband's body?"

"Admire all you want." He challenged her back.

She smiled to herself. "Thank you." She reached out and pulled him into a hug, glad that things weren't as strained between them. At least now they could stand to be in the same room.

Jason placed his arms around her waist, holding her as close as her belly would allow. "You know I don't mean to push you or pry, but I'm here if you want to talk." He reminded her.

"I know." She pulled back from him and nodded, letting him know she knew.

"Good." He sent a grin her way.

Elizabeth silently turned away from him and walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge. "I don't know how to say this, so I think its best I just blurt it out."

"Okay." Jason sat beside her.

"I don't trust myself around you." The words ending up coming out smashed together, forming a word that could rival supercalifra- oh whatever that word in the Mary Poppins movie was.

Jason understood her jumbled sentence, but couldn't stop himself from saying, "What?"

Elizabeth took the word for what it meant, what do you mean?. "Jason, when Carly and Michael were down the hall it was my excuse, my way of justifying, so I wouldn't touch you or let things get out of hand. But now that they are back at Sonny's, there's nothing stopping me from pouncing on you."

"Elizabeth, you know you can pounce on me anytime you want." He caught her frown and sobered up. "Okay, I'm trying to understand where you are going with this. We are married, we're not doing anything wrong. I don't see a problem here."

Elizabeth closed her eyes, reorganizing her thoughts. "Jason, I just don't want us to take things too far and have something happen to the baby because of it. If something happened to this baby because I couldn't control myself, I don't know what I'd do."

"I know, that's why I haven't been pushing you. I didn't want to take the chance that something could happen. I don't want anything to happen to the baby either." He assured her.

Elizabeth gave Jason a relieved smile.

"But once you give birth and the doctor gives the okay, you're mine Webber."

"Hey! It's Morgan now. Get it straight." She took the opportunity and welcomed the subject change.

"Okay… Morgan." He teased. "Is that better now?"

"Yes." She nodded at him and leaned closer, resting her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, Jason."

He placed his arm around her shoulder. "For what?"

"For being you, for listening, for caring." She ticked the reasons off on her hand. "For understanding."

"You don't have to thank me since I agree with you, but you're welcome." He kissed the top her head.

"Jason?" She asked, her voice low as she sobered up.

"Yeah?"

"Even though I know you agree with me, I don't think it's for the same reasons."

"What?"

"You don't understand why I feel this way." She sighed. "The doctor told me I didn't have to stop any sexual activity until right before I give birth. She told me it's safe, but I'm still so paranoid that something could go wrong."

"Nothing is going to go wrong."

"I know that, but I still worry."

Jason glanced at her, giving her a crooked grin. "Elizabeth, it's alright to worry. If you are that worried that something might happen we can wait. And didn't I already tell you once before we could wait until after you give birth to make love?"

"Yes." Her voice was an octave above a whisper.

"Okay. No more worrying, alright? We can wait."

"Okay." She nodded, agreeing with him.

"Okay."

"But," She started as she gave him a wicked smile. "That doesn't mean we can't do other stuff right?"

"Right."

"Good."

Jason kept his gaze on her, knowing she was going to say something else.

"Come on, let's get into bed. I'm tired." Her yawn backed up her words. Words that came as a surprise to Jason and threw him for a loop. There she was making innuendos and now she wanted to go to bed? She was flirting with him two seconds ago and then all of a sudden she was tired? Whatever, he shook his head. After a mental struggle, he decided it was best not to say anything and just let it go.

"Okay, let's get you to bed." He helped her up since it was getting harder and harder for her to stand on her own these days and guided her around the bed, helping her settle in for the night. He covered her up and walked around the bed before getting in himself and trying to find a comfortable position.

Elizabeth wormed her way over to Jason, his body calling out to hers like a magnet to metal. She situated herself so that her head was on his chest and her belly wasn't in the way, yet she was still on her side. Or at least she partially was.

Elizabeth was out like a light ten minutes later, but Jason stayed up as he continued to brush his hand through her hair. It worked every time, he mused. All he had to do to get her to relax was brush his hand through her hair and it would eventually lull her to sleep. Tonight, since she was so tired from the days events added on to the pregnancy, she conked right out.

"Good night, sweetheart." Jason pulled himself up just enough to kiss her forehead. And that was the last thing he remembered before he too was off in his own little dreamland.