"I swear, I think you leave your coat at home on purpose just so that I will have to give you mine," Jason grumbled good-naturedly as he slid off his leather coat and wrapped it around Carly's bare arms. He slammed the door shut to the dark SUV and reached for her hand as he led her to General Hospital. Carly fell in step beside him, her small hand barely peaking out from the long sleeve of his coat. He still loved how good she looked in his coat. "I know how long it takes you to talk to your mom, but we really do have to keep this short. Morgan will be out of school in an hour, and we're supposed to meet the kids at home for an early dinner since I have to work tonight."

Carly looked up at him and smiled widely at the easy way he talked about Spinelli, Maxie and Morgan as if they had been a family forever. It certainly felt like they had been sometimes with the easy way that they all fit together. "You're the one who insisted on doing it today like this. I told you that we could have everyone over for a nice dinner, but no, you just wanted a brief conversation. My mom is going to have questions, you know. She's been rooting for us to be together forever and now that we finally are, she might want details."

"Can't you ever keep anything just between the two of us?" he teased as they came into the hospital and headed for the elevators. He didn't let go of her hand as he reached up and punched the button for the seventh floor. "It's not like I am going to tell my family all of the details. Just tell your mom what she needs to know so that we can get home in time to eat a meal like a normal family."

"Normal isn't our thing, remember? Come on, Jase. I know that you don't exactly have this thing with your family where you tell them everything, but I really want to have a better relationship with my mom. I haven't exactly spent much time with her lately, so I kind of owe her this," she tried to explain. She knew that it was hard for Jason to understand the abstract, but he understood the meaning of family. She saw his definition of the word every time he looked at her. "Besides, I don't tell my mom everything. I keep the juiciest details for Maxie and Lulu!"

He shot her a withering look as they stepped off the lift and onto the seventh floor. He was always telling her that she was too open about their relationship with Maxie and Lulu. The Spencer blonde didn't really bother him much because she wasn't around these days, but Maxie never failed to let Jason forget that he could be almost a sweetheart when it came to Carly. "I'm serious, Carly, we have to keep it short."

"Okay, I will do my best," she promised as they stopped just beside the nurse's station. Carly didn't even bother to look around for anyone as she stood on her tip toes and wrapped her arms around Jason's neck. He leaned down and brushed his lips over hers softly before she drew his face back to hers for a longer kiss. "I'll meet you back here in forty-five minutes. That should give us plenty of time to get home to our kids."

"Our kids," he repeated with a smile as he pulled her the rest of the way over to the desk. They were too busy looking at each other to notice who was standing behind the desk. Carly was blushing at the prideful look on Jason's face as his eyes danced with a familiar mischief she'd seen only in the bedroom. "Can you page Dr. Monica Quartermaine and Nurse Bobbie Spencer for us?"

Carly and Jason finally looked up when his request was met with an uncomfortable silence. An embarrassed and clearly hurt Elizabeth was frozen behind the keyboard of one of the computer terminals behind the desk. Nadine whisked in front of the nurse and picked up the phone. She paged the doctor and nurse in a professional and cheerful voice before setting the receiver back down. "They should be right down."

"Thanks, Nadine!" Carly said cheerfully as she leaned on the counter. She had gotten to know the blonde nurse somewhat since she had sold off her half of the hotel shares to Nikolas Cassadine. Jax hadn't been too happy about the arrangement at first, but after pointing out how much Courtney would love the fact that Spencer was going to inherit a hotel that was named after her, he had actually relented pretty easily. "Spinelli wanted me to invite you over for our movie night on Thursday. It's Jason's night at the warehouse and Maxie has this fashion event. He thought you might want to hang out if you're not busy."

"I'll have to check with Nikolas," Nadine said with a bright smile at the mention of their mutual computer hacker friend. Despite her previous reservations about the domineering blonde, Nadine was actually beginning to like Carly. She had finally gotten to see a lot of the good qualities that Spinelli spoke of with such fondness. "Here's your mom. I have to get down to pediatrics. I'll call you!"

Carly nodded after the nurse as she turned around to meet the surprised gaze of her mother. The redheaded nurse lit up as she hugged Carly tightly. "Well, this is certainly a surprise. It's anyone barely ever gets to see me anymore."

"Elizabeth, did someone page me?" a busy Monica Quartermaine called as she came up from the other side. She didn't look up at her charts as she discarded a file on the counter and replaced it with another. "Elizabeth, did you hear me?"

"Uh, actually, I had her page you for me," Jason announced as he let go of Carly's hand and came around to greet his mother. Monica looked even more surprised at Jason's presence than Bobbie had Carly's. "I know you're at work, but I was hoping that you could take a break. I need to talk to you about something. You know that I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

Monica tried not to look too stunned as she slid her clipboard back onto the counter. "Sure, we can talk in my office. Elizabeth, please see that Mr. Gomez in 714 gets his medication and hold all my calls. I'll check in here again when I'm back on duty."

Wanting to protest but knowing that she couldn't, Elizabeth agreed obediently as she watched the mother and son disappear down the hallway toward the private offices reserved for top hospital staff. She knew that Carly and Jason had come to the hospital to finally tell their mothers about their relationship. It was just the next step they were taking in building the family that Jason had nearly thrown in her face. It was hard not to hate him when she saw the easy way he walked around this hospital as if he had never broken he heart. He'd certainly never professed his love for her to his mother before. If anything, Jason had been adamant about hiding her from the world. He had been the one who agreed to all the things she had proposed nearly two years ago when she had found out she was pregnant with Jake. It was still hard for her to fathom how that secretive and petrified man could be so brazen about his relationship with Carly. She wasn't sure how Carly had pulled it off, but she had managed to convince Jason that she was the one woman he could actually trust. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Elizabeth knew there was an ease between Jason and Carly that they'd never had.

"Yes, Lizzie, can you do the same thing here for my mother? I have something very important to talk to her about, and we cannot be bothered," Carly insinuated. She knew that it was a juvenile move, but she couldn't resist the urge to get under the wholesome nurse's skin. Elizabeth walked around as if she was untouchable, but Carly knew exactly what it took to shatter the woman. "Come on, Mama, I'm going to buy you a cup of coffee."

Bobbie knew her daughter well enough not to ask any questions about her obvious animosity toward Elizabeth. She cared greatly about both women and knew the fine line they walked when it came to one subject in particular. There was only one person that could ever stir up that much fire and passion in Carly. It was clear that her daughter had come here to talk to her about Jason. However, she held off on saying anything else until they were comfortably settled in a private corner of the hospital cafeteria. "Alright, Carly, what gives?"

Carly smiled brightly, the joy taking over her entire face. She couldn't help but hide behind her hands embarrassedly. Whereas Jason could play it cool when he told Monica, she was beyond giddy. It was the balance that both needed in their lives. While she had the tendency to get over excited, Jason had the habit of not getting quite fired up enough. "Jason and I are together."

"Oh, honey!" Bobbie exclaimed happily as she reached across the table to hug her daughter. Carly was right; she had always been rooting for the two best friends to get together. They belonged together, and no one had ever loved Carly as selflessly or as completely as Jason had. He hadn't destroyed her like Sonny or had unrealistic expectations of her like Jax or misunderstood her like Lorenzo. As complicated as it was at time, the love between Carly and Jason was pure, innocent and simple. "I am so happy for you. What happened? Tell me everything!"

"Would you believe that it all started with a stupid online dating profile?" she giggled, earning an amused look from her mother. "You see, after Jax decided that he wanted a divorce or he was going to leave me again or whatever, Spinelli and Maxie were determined to find someone to keep my mind off things. Well, apparently, Maxie was also determined to find someone for Jason. We ended up matching on nearly everything."

"So you just randomly found out you were perfect for each other?"

"Kind of, not really," Carly tried to explain. "I took it over there to show Jason and it just spiraled out of control. We ended up having a conversation entirely different from what I had showed up at his penthouse to have. I think we both finally admitted the things we had wanted to hide for so long. I won't act like it was easy because it wasn't. It was just…right, I guess. The time was right for our confessions. I still love Jason, and I never stopped. I don't think I will."

"And he loves you," Bobbie said knowingly. It wasn't a question but a statement. She knew that the mobster loved her daughter. While in a perfect world, she might not have wanted Carly's soulmate to be Jason, in this world she knew that they were exactly right for each other. "What does Morgan think?"

Carly ran her fingers through her hair as her smile softened even more. "He's thrilled. You know how much he loves Jason and that the feeling is mutual. Morgan is really excited to have Jason around," she replied. "Jason and Spinelli are actually going to move in with us pretty soon. They've been staying there a lot with Maxie. We're kind of this little family now. I haven't been this happy in a very long time."

Bobbie was genuinely happy for her daughter, but she knew that the happiness came at a cost. There were questions of safety that would have to be answered every day of their lives, and the lack of one child's presence would forever be one of those answers. There were other people she knew wouldn't approve as well. "What about Sonny? Does he know?" she asked. "Have you told anyone else? How about Jax and Elizabeth?"

"Well, Jax didn't take it too horribly," she laughed humorlessly. "Honestly, he was the only one who didn't throw it back in our face. Elizabeth doesn't seem to want to accept it and Sonny sees it all as betrayal. I guess I get her point because I mean, it's Jason. He's not that easy to get over, I should know. Sonny, though, I'm just tired of his games. I'm not playing into it this time. I can't lose Jason because of his jealousy. I've lost too much already because of him, but I won't lose this family because Sonny can't handle it."

As a bystander in the hurricane that had been Carly and Sonny's multiple marriages, Bobbie knew firsthand how sordid it was between those two. However, she also could see by her daughter's confidence stance that she meant business. She wasn't about to let go of her second chance with Jason. "You seem really happy, honey. I am so happy for you."

"Oh, I am, Mama!" she cried as she squeezed her mother's hand and looked into her eyes. It had taken her a long time to get here, to a place where everything felt almost perfect. There were still moments every day that were hard but having Jason to hold her as they passed made it more bearable. "I think I finally really am."

Meanwhile, down the hall, Jason shifted nervously in the uncomfortable armchair as he looked up at his mother. He had never been one for confession and rarely felt anything in his life was important enough to share with the Quartermaines. However, having a family that he was proud of was something that he really wanted them to know about. It was the first thing he had done right in a long time, and after the year that Monica had, she deserved to share in his joy. If she could only he happy for him, he knew that he wouldn't regret taking the risk of coming here today. "So, I guess you saw me come in with Carly."

"I saw her talking with Bobbie," Monica acknowledged with an awkward smile. She never really knew what to make of Jason's relationship with Carly. "Is she why you're here to talk to me? Did something happen that I should know about?"

Jason nodded silently as he looked up at his mother with twinkling blue eyes. She was surprised at what she saw in them. They weren't cold or disconnected like they usually were. Instead, he actually looked happy. "Carly and I are together now," he said finally. "I'm in love with her. We're going to build a family."

Monica had long waited for the day when she heard that Jason and Carly had finally reunited. She had expected the news to come from Bobbie or idle hospital gossip or the society pages of the town newspaper. She hadn't thought that her son would ever show up and tell her that himself. "You seem genuinely happy, Jason. I'm glad for you."

"I know that you don't like her, and you don't have to. That's not why I'm here. I just wanted you to hear it from me," he assured her. "It was important to Carly that the family knows. It was important to me, too."

"Well, I appreciate that," she thanked him graciously. She really wasn't sure how to proceed. She knew that it only took one false misstep to send Jason back into that protective shell he had around him. "I know how much Carly means to you. The two of you have always shared something very special."

"Carly is my best friend and was my family even before I understood what that really meant," he said without thinking. He sometimes forgot that the Quartermaines were his family because it didn't always feel like they were. However, that had changed some in the past couple years, especially with Monica. He knew that he was the only one she had left in a lot of ways. "Listen, I know that I haven't been the son you always needed me to be, and that's probably not going to change. But I want you to be apart of the new life I'm building with Carly. I want you to get to know Carly better as well as Morgan, Spinelli and even Maxie. They matter a lot to me, and I think that if you gave them the chance, they might mean a lot to you, too."

"I would like, Jason," she murmured as her son rose to his feet and came around the desk to hug her tightly. She struggled to push back her tears as he embraced her, knowing that it would likely be a very long time before she got the chance to see him like this again.

Jason walked with his mother back to the nurse's station so that she could return to work and he could find Carly. He was happy to see her already waiting for him along with Bobbie near the desk. "Congratulations," Bobbie whispered as she went into to hug him. He was stiff but still managed to murmur his thanks. He caught his mother's eye over Bobbie's shoulder as she hugged Carly awkwardly. It was uncomfortable but it was a start.

"I really need to get back to work," Monica excused herself. "Carly, why doesn't your family come over for dinner next week? I'll have Cook make something casual. I'd like to spend some time getting to know Spinelli and Morgan."

"And we'll have brunch next Sunday!" Bobbie called over her should as she disappeared down the hallway.

Carly and Jason turned to each other with tired smiles as their mothers disappeared. Jason couldn't help but laugh as he pressed his forehead to hers. She entwined her fingers in his and chuckled with him. "Everyone knows," he whispered as he kissed her briefly.

"And to think, the world didn't end," she joked lightly. She pulled Jason toward the elevator, keeping their hands linked. "I think they're happy for us."

Those were the last words Elizabeth heard as the elevator doors slid shut. She stifled the scream that had been brewing at the back of her throat before pulling her cell phone from its hiding place under the counter. Scanning through the address book, she dialed a number usually reserved only for emergencies. She never really had a reason to call but this certainly constituted a dire situation. "Hey, it's Elizabeth," she chirped darkly. "I need to see you."