Carly had ignored his phone calls all week, but when he had resorted to calling the house and had spoken with Morgan, she knew that she had no choice but to make the short jaunt across town to have a sit-down conversation with him. She looked up at the gloomy Greystone estate, remembering when the days she had looked at this place as a second home. She could make out his shadow behind the crimson curtains from his sitting room, the sight of too many memories that all centered upon her oldest son. Nodding to Max, she let herself into the living room without asking. She wasn't surprised to find Sonny hunched over on the sofa, nursing a tumbler of aged scotch. Without a single word, she dropped onto the couch next to him and poured herself a glass.

"You know what today is?"

Carly looked down at the amber liquid before knocking it back in one long gulp. "It's the day you adopted Michael officially," she answered. "I've been dreading it all week and not for the reason that you think. I knew that this day was going to be hard for you. I'm sorry for that."

Sonny nodded solemnly before looking up at his ex-wife. "I want to go see him."

"Sonny," she warned, "I'm not really sure that's a very good idea. Things are still so tense. Even Jason hasn't gone to see him. I just don't want to risk anything right now."

"Please, Carly," he implored, pain shining in his chocolate eyes. He had plenty of time to think about how wrong everything had gone, starting with the minute Kate had worked her way back into his life. Every decision he had made since then had been selfish, something he had often accused Carly of. The blonde before him had found her happiness, and for once, he was going to find a way to step aside and not begrudge her of that. "I just want to see my son."

Raking her fingers through her hair, she suddenly wished that she could talk to Jason. She wanted to know his opinion and his assessment of the situation. However, she knew that no one could make this choice for her. It needed to be her call ultimately. Michael was her son. "I'd like to go up there this weekend," she told him finally. "I was going to ask Jason to come with me. Why don't you join us? I know that it'll be uncomfortable, but this kind of isn't about us. It's about Michael. He deserves to have all three of us there."

Sonny would much rather have gotten to make the trip to New York City alone, but he was willing to take whatever small bone Carly was willing to toss his way. "Thank you, Carly," he replied appreciatively. "What about Morgan? How's he doing?"

"He has his days, but I think he's actually doing pretty well all things considered," she assured him. "It helps having Spinelli around. He's kind of become a stand-in big brother. He adores spending time with Spinelli and Maxie. He misses you though."

"I miss him too."

"I know," she said softly, daring to meet his gaze fully for the first time. "Maybe when you get back, you could come by the house and spend some time with him. I'm not ready for you to take him, but I know that he would love to see you."

He reached out and covered her hand with his. "I'm sorry about the other night. I should have never showed up there with Elizabeth," he admitted regretfully. "I just feel like she is the first person who has understood what I've been going through. It's not an easy thing, you know, seeing the two of you together. I want to be okay with it because I know that you deserve to be happy. Hell, if anyone does, it's the two of you. It's just hard to be okay with another man having the life you thought would always be yours."

Carly felt a familiar wave of anger pass over her. "Don't you think that's how Jase has felt all these years watching you and me?" she asked. "Every time I saw him with another woman, I kept wondering when it would be my turn. He felt the same with us. I never stopped loving him, not even when I loved you. I'm living the life with him that I was supposed to live. All of this – it was always meant for him. I can only hope that you'll find that for yourself some day. If that is with Kate or, as much as I hate to say it, even Elizabeth, I really do want this for you."

"You always say that you want me to be happy."

"I always did," she assured him. "I just didn't want you to be happier than me. I'm selfish too, Sonny. You know that better than anyone. I loved you the best that I knew how for the longest time. You were that for me, too. It just never was going to be good enough, was it? I was never going to be Brenda and you were never going to be Jason. We really loved each other; I have never once doubted that. You gave me one of the most incredible gifts of my life. Just because we weren't forever doesn't mean that we didn't have a love of a lifetime."

Tears welled in both their eyes. As many times as they had said goodbye, as many times as they had said that this was the last time, this really was the last time. This was their final goodbye. After she walked out of the house, things would forever be changed, and for the first time, maybe that was okay. "I might be spending some time with Elizabeth. I don't know if anything is going to happen, but I wanted you to be the first one to know that," he revealed. "I promise that it won't be about getting back at you. It might not be about anything. I just know that I need her right now."

"It's okay to need someone again, Sonny, even if it is Elizabeth," Carly assured him. She still hated that anyone that she cared about could need that woman, but she needed for Sonny to be okay. "Look, I have to get home. I will call you after I've talked to Jase so we can work out the details of going to see Michael."

Sonny nodded politely as he followed her to the door. Carly's hand rested on the doorknob as she turned back and smiled at him genuinely. He leaned forward impulsively and hugged her briefly. "Thanks for stopping by, Carly."

Meanwhile, back at the cottage, Jason was sitting with Morgan on the couch, reading from his favorite book. With Michael, the stories had always been about safaris and wild animals and Africa. Jason had preferred another book with Morgan, this one about South America. Morgan's favorite part was about the fish of the Amazon River. He had always been attracted to the water, much like his mother's love for the ocean. As he turned the page to the section piranhas, he realized that Morgan was busier watching Jason than looking at the book.

"What are you looking at?" he teased as he tickled Morgan's side. The little boy giggled as he kicked his feet out in front of him and snuggled closer to Jason's side. "Are you bored with the book?"

"Jason, can I ask you something?"

Jason nodded thoughtfully. "You can ask me anything."

"When you marry Mommy, are you going to be my new daddy?"

He felt the definite tug of his heartstrings at the little boy's innocent question. "No one could ever replace your father, Morgan," he promised. "Even if isn't around like he used to be, Sonny loves you and your brother very much. I just get to be this other person in your life that will always love you and watch out for you."

Morgan thought about this for a moment before nodding his acceptance. "It would be okay with me if you wanted to be my daddy, too," he decided. "I mean, Daddy is my daddy, and I love him very much. But Mommy always told me that your heart has unlimited space to love people. I already love you like another daddy. Not the same way as Daddy but still a lot. Do you know what I mean?"

"I do," Jason smiled as he hugged the boy tightly to his side. "Morgan, I want you to know that I love your mom and you and Spinelli more than anything in the world. You three are my family. No matter what happens, nothing will ever change that."

"I know," the little boy rolled his eyes. His mother was always reminding him how much she loved him, especially since Michael went away. "What about Maxie? She's apart of this family too?"

Jason shook his head in disbelief. Much like Carly was able to capture men's loyalty, Maxie managed to get under the skin of people that came into her life. She had obviously worked that potent power on Morgan. "Yes, Maxie is apart of this family," he agreed, "and I love my family."

"Aw, Jason!" Maxie squealed from the doorway as she came into the living room and collapsed on the sofa next to Morgan. "You love me."

He looked at her wearily, suppressing the urge to laugh. "Don't push it, Maxie."

"You just said that you love your family, Jason," Morgan reminded him solemnly. "If Maxie is in this family, then you love her, too. Besides, she is going to marry Spinelli someday and it's going to be all like official."

"And how do you know that, Morgan?" Maxie asked.

"Duh, Maxie," he retorted, shaking his head as if this should be obvious. "Because you love each other like Jason and Mommy. Kids just know these things."

"You are way too smart for your age, Kid," Maxie muttered, causing Jason to laugh. "I don't know what you're laughing at over there, Mr. Morgan. This brat just got you to admit that you actually care what happens to me. In fact, I daresay he got you to admit that you love me."

He grimaced at her harshly as cold blue eyes met lively azure ones. "Like I said, we're family."

She smiled at him kindly and nodded, not wanting to push him any further. She knew the careful line you had to tread with Jason, and him admitting this much was probably the most she was ever going to get. Maxie had long known that the mobster cared about her. It was just nice to know that he could acknowledge it, too.

As Morgan, Maxie and Jason continued to debate the finer emotions of their family dynamic, Carly stepped out of her armored limousine and disappeared into Wyndham's in search of her favorite disheveled computer hacker. She found Spinelli awkwardly browsing in the men's formal department, looking decidedly out of place amidst the racks of Italian suits and silk ties. "Sorry I'm late, things with Sonny took longer than I expected," she apologized as she met him at a display of Ralph Lauren shirt. "Things also went better than expected."

"Glad to hear that the Godfather could be most obliging to the Valkyrie," Spinelli grinned as Carly linked her arm through his. "I managed to escape the lovely Maxamista for the day, so please tell me what brings me here."

"Well, you know how Jason hates anything too mushy, especially when it comes to anyone that is not Morgan, Jake or me," she asked. Spinelli nodded. He had spent the last three years learning the delicate balance of Jason's inner psyche. "Well, we had a talk last night, and he wanted me to ask you something."

Spinelli looked down at his hands. He had been waiting awhile for Carly or Jason to mention him finding his own place. He knew that he was old enough and with them beginning a new life, it was very likely that they would be thinking about making room for any new additions that should come their way. "I can be out by the end of the week."

She looked up at him with wide eyes as she stopped in the middle of the aisle. Spinelli reddened as she burst out laughing. "No, Sweetie, we're not kicking you out!" she cried, squeezing his arm. "Even if I wanted to, I'm pretty sure that Jason and Morgan would never let me. I guess it's a good thing that I don't want to. I can't imagine that house without you now."

He smiled at her gratefully. "Oh, thank you, Valkyrie!" he gushed. "It's nice to feel like I belong."

"Well, you do," she assured him as they started along again. "Actually, what Jason wanted me to ask you was even more important than that. He wanted me to ask you if you would stand up with him at the wedding. We're going to keep it small and intimate, you know how Jase hates crowds. He couldn't pick between you and Morgan, so he'd like for you to both be his best men."

Spinelli felt a little ashamed when he was hit with the overwhelming rush of emotions. Not for the first time, he wished that he could be emotionally strong like his mentor. "I would be most honored."

"Good, I hoped you would say that," she nodded resolutely. "I am going to ask Lulu to be my maid of honor, and since we need someone else to stand up to keep things even, I was thinking about Maxie. What do you say? Think you could escort your best friend down the aisle? I think it'll make pretty good practice."

Electing to ignore her insinuation, he turned to her and threw his arms around her. "Carly," he murmured. She was stunned to hear the young man use her real name. "Thank you. I know that I say that a lot, but really, thank you."

"Oh, Damian," she smiled as she ruffled his hair much like a mother would. "Thank you."

"For what?" he asked stunned. "I haven't done anything."

"Oh, don't you see? You've done everything," she disagreed. "You've become an older brother to my son. You've become like a son to my best friend. You've become apart of my family. You brought Maxie into our fold, someone that I can actually really relate to. Maybe we're not conventional, but you've given us a lot. Don't diminish that by being earnest. Be proud of you who you are, Damien Spinelli, because to us, you're kind of everything."

"Okay," he agreed as Carly stopped him in front of an older man in a suit, waiting patiently with his measuring tape and clipboard. "What now?"

"Now, we get you a suit."