Author's Note: Thanks for all the great feedback! At long last, I have finished my most recent chapter… Work has been nuts… Schedule changes, longer hours, crazy new rules, oh my! Not to mention family demands... *sigh* Life can never just be simple… But I'm back!

But, I have been busy with others things as well! It is the BEST news! Especially for those of you who miss the Hotzone & JarlyLove [dot] com. A new site dedicated to our ALL-TIME FAVE star-crossed duo will be opening soon! I've posted the link now and it's set to open officially September 1, 2011... SOOOOO excited! It will be an exclusive home for ALL Jarly fans & their fanfiction! You'll be able to find never before posted fics there so get ready! It's a site run by IlovetowriteSMP, so if you love Sara's stories... prepare to be dazzled! But she won't be alone... If you love Jarly and have some new ideas that will need a home, it's coming super soon.

... You can go to my author page if this link doesn't show up or connect...

So stoked... I'm working on a few ideas myself because to kick off it's grand opening there will be 30 days of Jarly. Each day an author will provide a new fic or an update to a multi-part story exclusively about Jarly! You can register starting now and feel free to join the fun... I've spent my fair share of time communing with other Jarly supporters and feeding my muse! Hope to see you there!

Thanks again to all of my faithful readers for being so patient and for all of the great reviews. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 17: Love Hangover

He woke up feeling like his head was throbbing and full of industrial grade cotton. He'd woken up feeling this way before, but never without drinking himself into oblivion the night before. It almost didn't make going to bed sober seem worth it. He groaned as he rolled out of bed & into the shower. Last night had been as much of a shock to his system as fifth of Jack. No, it was more, not to mention a serious blast from the past that he could have lived without.

He had never believed he would be here again. He had gone there to talk to his father, when Grandfather had, of course, come barging into the living room & their conversation with Ned, of all people, in tow. It had quickly fallen into its usual rhythm of a "Join ELQ/Bash AJ" session. Nothing new, except this time his father had tried jumping to his defense for once. But he should have known. He should have felt it because things were way too focused on him and there were actually positive things to be said.

As usual, enter the Golden Boy to grab all of the attention. Normally, AJ wouldn't have cared that much since it was par for the course for him. But this time he was there to introduce his pregnant girlfriend. Even that might not have been so bad, but to add insult to injury, that pregnant girlfriend just had to be Carly Roberts… the object of his own affections. She had stood there as demurely as he had ever seen her.

He had seen her standing there glowing, but had chalked it up to her usual radiance. He had wanted to do nothing more that to sweep her away from the sheer insanity that was Casa de Quartermaine, when suddenly Ned's sardonic voice had put a pin in that dream by pointing out what he had himself completely missed. Her death grip on his brother. AJ could remember feeling his heart drop all over again as he stepped out of the shower and began dressing. The closeness between them had been evident and it was clear that what everyone had believed he had with Robin was what he seemed to have in truth with Carly. It was there in his reactions to Carly, which were basically the exact opposite of the way he'd been with Robin. Seeing him with Carly made the differences as clear as night and day. With Robin, he'd been quiet, reflective and aloof, while he was quick to react and interact with Carly. While Robin had clung to an aloof Jason like a vine, Jason clung to Carly just as much as she did him. It was a shock to the system because in Jason's unguarded moments, he could almost see his brother again in the man he had become.

But he knew what that was like. Who wouldn't be that way with a woman like Carly? AJ had let his guards down with her in a way he never had with anyone else. They had become fast friends since he'd met her the day he moved in. He was halfway to being in love with her himself, so he certainly couldn't fault his brother's taste. She was gorgeous, funny, insightful, sexy, smart, and fun. She was everything you could imagine the love of your life could be. Not to say she was perfect, but she was down-to-earth and real in a way that most women of his acquaintance never were. He'd noticed Dr. Jones sniffing around her, and had planned to test the waters, but now it would seem that his brother once again got the girl. He could almost feel badly for the good doctor, as now they would have something to commiserate over. Except with Tony being married to Bobbie, and with them sharing a child, he found he just couldn't sympathize with his plight. At least one possible disaster would be averted. It was like Keesha all over again. He'd seen her first, but she'd been hesitant. Then comes good ol' Jason to completely sweep her off her feet… right out from under AJ's nose. Funny, it felt worse this time because he had gotten to know Carly and could almost picture a life with kids and a house of their own. But instead, his precious brother swept in once again and took it away. All of those hopes and dreams would be Jason's with Carly.

He strolled out of his bedroom, toweling his hair. "Jason!" he heard a voice squeal. He frowned and drifted towards the front door. He hesitated before peeking through his peephole, already sure he didn't want to know. He was right. Jason stood bent over Carly's neck groaning as she wrapped her arms and legs around him and laughed. When Jason lifted his head, he was chuckling and placing her back on her feet. She grinned up at him with a smile so bright AJ was momentarily too blinded to notice her haphazardly belting her tissue-thin robe. AJ dropped his head to the smooth, cool surface of the door when his brother began kissing his dream girl.

"I have to go, Carly," came the muffled growl.

AJ decided to take just one more peek in time to see Jason leave as Carly waves from her seductive pose in the doorway of her apartment. Once the sound of the elevators doors closing was heard, Carly turned toward AJ's door with her arms crossed under her chest. "Take a picture. It'll last longer," she quipped with a smirk.

He sighed his defeat and opened his door. "How'd you know?" he asked genuinely perplexed.

"You mean besides the intense sensation of being watched? That's not enough?" she joked one hand on her hip while still leaning provocatively against the doorjamb. His eyes were immediately drawn to the expanse of flesh exposed by her gaping robe. Unfortunately, the view was all too brief because as soon as she recognized the direction of his gaze, she closed her robe tightly belting the flimsy scrap of silk again.

Gesturing wildly with a smirk firmly in place, she demanded, "Eyes up! God, you are such a guy, AJ! Come on." She turned on her bare heel and reentered her apartment confidently assuming he would follow.

She was right in her assumption because he did. "As opposed to what, exactly?"

"A friend?" she replied at the doorway to her bedroom. "Make yourself comfortable while I get dressed."

"Don't bother on my account," AJ muttered.

Popping her head around the door, she called back, "What was that?" "I said I thought I was both," he lied quickly.

She grinned raising an eyebrow at him. "Mm-hmm. You are both! However, you are distinctly more guy than friend this morning. And I think I know why." She slipped back out of sight while he panicked and tried to figure out how to explain himself. "You're horny and you need to get laid," she called matter-of-factly. You have no idea, he thought.

"As your friend, I feel that I should help you out with that," she continued, returning to the living room in a short white skirt and a tight blue sweater that bared her midriff. She ran a hand through her hair seductively, her eyes twinkling, as she added, "I'm gonna make sure you are completely satisfied."

"You are?" he rasped desperately.

"Absolutely!" she asserted, sitting beside him on the couch. "Just as soon as I can find you a new girlfriend or at least someone you can keep on the side."

He closed his eyes tightly to hide his disappointment. "No." he emphasized. "I can handle my sex life just fine on my own thank you very much! If and when I decide to start dating, it'll be on my terms."

"Fine," she pouted. "Then let me be your wingman—er, woman. We'll pick up some available hottie and you can work off some of that pent up energy with a little reckless fun. If not for Jason, I'd even volunteer my services, but only with the stipulation that you couldn't fall in love."

"You're kidding," AJ gaped.

"Nope. What's a little sexy fun between friends?" she tossed out obviously not bothered by the idea of casual sex between friends. "But there is a Jason and we need to find you someone just as great!"

I met him outside of Kelly's with our usuals.

"Maybe we should start calling you Lucky," Johnny chuckled. "I mean from the looks of you, you and Carly definitely had much better night after you left the penthouse."

"I hope you didn't call me here to talk about my sex life," I sighed. "Because if that's, I would much rather get back to it than talk to you about it. Carly has been testing my memory. And let me tell you if they had used her method of testing when I was in the hospital, I'd have enjoyed my stay a hell of a lot better."

"I didn't think you saw Dr. Jones that way," Johnny joked, earning a fist to his stomach. "I deserved that," he half-gasped, half-laughed.

"Now, as entertaining as that was, if that's all I'd like to get home to Carly," I responded, ready to go.

"No." Johnny stopped him, rubbing his midsection. "This is about business."

I frowned, "What's up?"

"There's a lot of things going on right now," he answered becoming serious. "The Rivera family is gearing up to go after Sonny for Lily's death. They think he knew about the bomb and sent her to her death so he could be with Brenda, but keep the business."

"That's crazy!" I exclaim. "She was pregnant with his kid!"

"I know that, and you know that," Johnny responded. "But he's already engaged to Brenda and it's only been, what? A month and a half? It looks bad and they're grieving."

"So what now?" I asked. "Does Sonny know?"

"Yeah," answered. "And we have reason to believe he's thinking about leaving."

"And going where?" I asked in confusion. "What about Brenda? What about the business?"

"Well, it seems the plan was to have the wedding and then for him & Brenda to runaway to the island," he explained. "He was even grooming his successor."

I frowned in confusion. "Who?"

"You," Johnny replied stoically staring me in the eye.

"Me? Why me?" I demanded. "What about you or Reynaldo? You've been in the business longer. Why not—"

"Jason, you're the logical choice. You're Sonny's most trusted man," Johnny asserted. "You're a natural at this business. You have a mind like a computer, and you know how to keep your mouth shut. You've earned a lot of respect very quickly. Almost no one knows this, but me, Rey, Sonny, and Benny. If we want to survive, you need to be ready, willing and able to take over when the time comes."

"Johnny, listen. Sonny knows I'm angry," I reasoned. "he won't trust me anymore and I can't lie to make him think he should."

"Well, then you better figure out how to fix this," Johnny urged. "Because if you don't, we'll be thrown to the wolves. and I know Marino already has us in his sites… The last thing we want is to be at his mercy because the higher we are in this organization the more expendable. And Marino is not known for his mecry. He's vicious and paranoid. You and Carly will be at the top of his list to toy with and eventually kill. He can leave you alive to attempt vengeance and he'd go after Carly & the baby just to prove the point that he could."

"Fuck!" The word exploded out of me with an abandon born of soul deep fear and frustration. The frustration was a familiar emotion, but the fear was unheard of for me and overwhelming. However, I was not forced to experience it long before a distraction in the form of my cell phone ringing put a stop to it. "Here goes. Hey."

"Jason, we need to talk," Sonny says.

"You're right," I acknowledge make eye contact with a surprised Johnny. "I'm at Kelly's with Johnny. I can be there in 5."

"Great," he sighs in response. "I'll see you then."

I pinched the bridge of my nose as I hung up. "Well, it looks like Sonny's making the first move."

Johnny nodded. "Then you better go get things cleared up. And don't forget to talk to him about getting Carly under guard."

"I was planning on. I'm out," I reply. "Coming?"

"Later. I've got a few things to handle first." We nodded our goodbyes and went our separate ways.

I came around the corner and saw valentine talking to someone who looked slightly familiar. When I realized he wasn't one of Sonny's men, I stepped back out of sight.

"Are you sure he's considering stepping down?" the man asked.

"Yeah. He's had me drawing up also sorts of briefs and contracts for the 'possibility' that he & Ms. Barrett will not be returning," Valentine explained confidently. "That's all I have for now. He's also had me draw up an exchange of ownership, but there are no names listed. I need to be careful or he'll realize what I'm doing and I'm dead." Too late. "Tell Mr. Moreno that I'll let him know once Sonny's chosen his heir apparent."

With a nod, the men go their separate ways. I scout the area, pulling my cell and my weapon as I slip onto the elevator. "Johnny, get here now. We have a problem. I'll explain when you get here," I said to his voice mailbox. I slid my gun back in place as the elevator rose while thoughts flew through my mind and I worked to figure the angles. "Hey Rey. We have a problem. I need you to get me the videos from the parking garage sent up right away. And tell no one, but me, Johnny, or Sonny," I commanded smoothly.

"Got it, Jase." Reynaldo turned back toward the door. "He's alone."

I nod, following Reynaldo as he announces me. I close the door behind him. "We have some things to discuss. Some of it's personal, but I have some business we need to discuss, too."

"Let me just say what I have say first," Sonny replied quickly. "I owe you an apology, Jason. I had no right to disrespect you the way I did last night. I was wrong for a lot of things, but to let you be blindsided by Robin is at the top of my list of things to apologize for. I don't know what I was thinking, Jason. She was so sad, and this person had come out of the blue… Robin needed me and I needed to make it better for her. What I didn't realize at the time is that in choosing to help her, I was also choosing to betray my best friend. I don't know if I could ever excuse it, but to explain what I was trying to do… I truly believed that I was protected and helping two of the people I love the most. I really am sorry, man. I'd like to apologize to Carly, too. Although I doubt she's much interested in seeing me ever again after the way I acted last night."

I stood very still processing his words as some of the tension in me eased. I tried to understand what I was feeling, but I knew it must be relief because it was like having a weight lifted. "I accept your apology. I truly believe you thought you were doing something good for me… helping me. But I need to know that you respect me and my decisions. I need to know this will never happen again. You need to be sure that you can trust me to make my owe decisions, just like I always have with you."

"I do," Sonny asserted firmly. "I'm sorry I let it get to this point… we ok?"

"Yeah," I sighed as more tension eased. I began realizing that while we might never get back to where we had been before the dinner, we were in a much better place than when Carly and I had left last night. "We're good, but we do have a problem with the business." A knock sounded and I checked it. I opened the door to Rey and Johnny carrying several video tapes. "Come on in, guys."

"What's going on, Jason?" Sonny asked, frowning at Johnny & Reynaldo's arrival.

"Are you planning to leave? And when you do are you planning to leave me in charge?" I asked. "Because I just overheard Valentine telling one of Moreno's men about some documents you had him preparing for you and Brenda."

"Son a of bitch!" Sonny yelled, throwing the glass he held into the fireplace, "I was going to tell you Jason. I wasn't keeping it from you. I hadn't even talked to Brenda yet. I was just trying to figure out my options because I know the Riveras have a hit out on me…

and it's open-ended. So either I die or the person who signed it does. I was considering my options. After I talked to Brenda and we made the decision, I was gonna talk to you about the next step."

I nodded, hearing the truth in his words, but prepared to call him out for even the hint of a lie. "So you've been grooming me? Why me?"

"Jason, you got a head for this business like no one I've ever known. And your instincts are amazing," Sonny explained relaxing slightly. "I trust you implicitly, and the men do too. They respect you and that doesn't come easy. Am I wrong? Would either of you chosen differently?"

Both men shake their heads no. I nodded again trying to accept the faith being place in me. "What will this mean, now that Moreno knows what you've been considering and how do you want Valentine handled?"

Sonny got a distant look in his eyes, obviously deep in thought. When they became refocused they held an evil gleam that match the devious grin that had begun spreading across his face. "I think I've got an idea of where you can find your new place, Jase," Sonny finally spoke, dimples flashing.

"What's the plan?" I asked feeling my adrenaline begin to pump.

I could hear her sexy giggle as I got closer to the door. Hearing her happy brought a smile to my face until I heard her yell, "Come on, AJ. Let me go!"

I let myself in as calmly and quietly as I could manage and found him straddling her body as she laughed so hard it seemed she was having trouble breathing. My first thought was not to be angry or jealous, although I certainly wasn't happy to see his hands on my woman. Then I got a good look at the lust covering AJ's face and the freedoms he was taking with her body between tickles under the guise of play, and I felt fury begin filling me until I saw red.

"Stop! Oh. God, please make it stop!" she gasped between giggles.

I used her squeals as the excuse I needed to grab him and pull him off of Carly. I held him by the neck and in my fury, forced him up against the door. "I believe she asked you to stop," I snarled as I glared into his eyes squeezing harder with each passing second. "Being a Quartermaine, I figured you for having better manners."

Carly jumped to he feet squealing oblivios for a moment to my rage. "Jason, you're finally home!" She rushed to me and frowned. "You can let him go now." I couldn't seem to force myself to move even a muscle, so she tried again. "Well, you know he might need to breath soon, honey. Besides, I'm feeling kinda neglected over here."

Oddly, her words managed to release me from my rage. I dropped Aj and refocused on my woman. She immediately jumped into my arms and wrapped her legs around my waist. "That wasn't very nice," she hissed incredulously as she smacked my chest. "Not only did you nearly strangle my friend and your brother, but you seemed more interested in his demise than saying hi to me," she pouted.

"Sorry," I mumbled leaning in to kiss that sexy pout.

"You owe AJ an apology," she informed me not giving me what I want.

I heaved a sigh and looked over at where AJ sat recovering. I notice marks beginng to for on his neck. "Sorry. I might have gotten carried away." My stare advised him I would get more than carried away if I ever caught him touching Carly again.

"Sure," he gasped. "It was a misunderstanding. We were just playing around. Nothing happened."

"I know," I responded stoically before looking in my lover's eyes. "Carly doesn't lie to me, and she would never cheat on me. I trust her because we love each other." That earned me a huge teary smile and another kiss. When the kiss ended, she pulled in closer and hugged me like she would never let go.

She whispered in my ear, "You're jealous, but you're lucky because I find that incredibly sexy, especially since you obviously trust me. Behave for a little bit longer and I'll send him home and reward you." Her eyes twinkled with mischief even filled with tears.

So I nodded my agreement as her legs release my waist and the arms circling my neck slide down to my chest. She stepped away from me with a wink. "How you doing, AJ?" she asked stepping in his direction. "You ok?"

I could feel my jaw clinch as his face lit up at her attention. "I'm fine," he assures her as she dropped a sympathetic hand to his shoulder. "I know it was just a misunderstanding, but either way it's getting late and I'd better go. I just wanted to offer my congratulations. You two left before anyone got the chance to say it last night. Which considering was probably a good decision, since it was late and our family only would have gotten worse if you'd given those vultures half the chance."

"Thanks, AJ," Carly said smiling completely ignoring anything, but the congratulations. I tensed just as I'd begun relaxing because Carly felt the need to drop a kiss on AJ's cheek. "Now don't forget what I said."

"I couldn't if I tried," he grumbled avoiding eye contact. "Jason."

"AJ." I placed a possessive hand on her shoulder while holding eye contact.

"Later, Carly," he added as he left.

"Bye," she said with a grin as she closed the door behind him. "What is wrong with you? You can't seriously be that jealous of AJ, babe?" I frowned unwilling to respond. "Ah, poor baby. Well, I'm gonna have to show you exactly how to deal with jealousy. It's the best cure I know, and I'm a medical professional," she explained, pulling my head down to hers. Her mouth fed at mine until I could feel my head spinning. "Still jealous?"

"Yeah, but that definitely helped a little bit. I think I'm gonna need more of your cure," I murmured getting where she was going. I lifted her back in to my arms and she wrapped her legs around my waist. "Do you think you can help me?"

"Oh, I don't know," she moaned as her back hit the couch. "I guess I could take one for the team."

"You're so good to me," I groaned as I slid her shorts down her legs. "I try to make this quick so I don't want to take up too much of your time."

"Don't worry about it. I'm all yours, Jase," she croaked as I filled her. "Always and forever. I'm all yours. Please."

They came together in heat at a furious pace, and found ecstasy quickly. As they lay on the couch, trying to catch their breaths, Carly snuggled closer. "Do you still feel jealous?" she asked with a smirk of satisfaction.

I shook my head no, and she crowed, "And my cure works again!"

We laughed and I pulled her closer. "Feel free to cure me whenever you think I need it."

"I'll keep that in mind," she chuckled. "So how'd it go with Sonny? Everything ok?"

"Yeah. He apologized to both of us. We're—Well, we're not where we were," he explains. "but we're definitely ok."

"That's good," she sighed. I watched her curiously. "I was startng to feel bad. I seemed to be driving a wedge between you and everyone you cared about before me. I guess I'm a little worried that you might start to resent me for it."

"Don't. You are not responsible for how they choose to react to you. You have been amazingly understanding. And I know you really wanted to go off a few times, but you didn't. For me. That means the world to me," I explained, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "We had to discuss some business, too."

"Oh. What—I mean, is it something you can talk about? With me?" she asked obviously curious. "I mean, I know you said—"

"It's fine. There are some things I needed to tell you about that pertain to business," I said watching her face. "Ok. I may be moving up even faster than anticipated."

"He's making you his second, right?" she offered. When I raised an eyebrow at her, she explained, "Jase, I'm from Florida. I spent enough time in Miami to be pretty familiar with the basics. I may not have ever been into that stuff, but I knew a few people on the bottom. A guy I knew from one of the clubs I worked in liked to explain things… hypothetically speaking of course."

"Would anyone from Miami remember you?" I asked curious and a little worried.

"Nah," she laughed, shaking her head. "Not that I doubt how memorable I can be, but I was never around anyone all that connected. Just the flashy wannabes or low-levels who weren't going anywhere, who figured they could buy class or at least the interest of whatever girl they wanted. A lot of those guys at the top of the food chain had this whole 'whore/Madonna' complex. They liked the good girls and I'd only play that role when it suited me because I refused to be controlled. What they wanted from me I wasn't interested in sharing."

I nodded understanding most of what she was trying to convey and figuring out most of the rest. "Good. And you're right," I acknowledged. "I hope you know what that means for us." Her eyes began widening with worry, and a frown began marring her once happy face. "Johnny is being placed in charge of my security detail while Reynaldo will stay with Sonny. You will need guards and I will make sure there are enough for the baby in 7-8 months when it's born. Johnny's working that out now, but this does not go beyond us. Ok?"

"Of course," Carly responded almost as if she were offended that I felt the need to add that. "But how will you, well, we explain the guards without people figuring out your new status?"

"We won't be making it official until we move into our new place," I explained. "We'll be moving into Sonny's penthouse until the penthouse across the hall can be vacated."

"We're what?" she snaps jumping and dressing hurriedly. "Please tell me you did not just tell me we are moving in with Sonny as if it was already decided! Tell me I heard you wrong and you would never presume to make that kind of decision without me!"

"Carly," I said trying to calm her down as I slipped into my jeans.

"Don't you Carly me!" she yelled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Tell me you didn't just make a huge, majorly, life-altering decision that affects not just the two of us, but our entire family without consulting me! Tell me that!"

"Calm down, Carly. Let me explain before you get mad and yell," I said ad calmly as I could trying desperately to reason with her, while feeling conflicted by the combination of anger and arousal filling my body.

"Too late," she growled, stomping over to the refrigerator and grabbing a beer. She stopped suddenly, started cursing furiously under her breath, and slammed the beer back into the fridge. She immediately opened the freezer and pulled out a pint of ice cream. She started slamming from drawer to drawer in search of a something, but paused and pointed at me. "Talk!" She went back to her search finally whipping out a spoon and digging into her ice cream.

I realized I was standing there staring and figured my best option was to explain so I did. I can always as what that was all about later. "Look, you already figured I was moving up to be Sonny's second," I started, watching her warily. "There are other things I can't explain, but a penthouse will be opening up soon across the hall and he figured we could stay with him until then & there would be the built in security of living there without anyone suspecting the real reason we'll have guards before we're ready."

"Sure. Be logical about it so I seem irrational. Well, how's this for rational? Just last night, Sonny Corinthos hated me so much on principle that he helped set up an ambush for you… his best friend," she snarls. "Now you want me to not only walk back into the lions' den, but to live there? For only God knows how long? How were you two geniuses planning to deal with the Robin problem? Huh? Because maybe you're immune to her, but I doubt Sonny suddenly is. What happens when she pouts and bats her little eyelashes and Sonny just has to run to her rescue again? And I don't know how long I could bite my tongue with them. And you can't expect me to move onto their turf, Jason!"

"Look, I understand that you're worried. Don't be, I don't want you to pretend or play any roles for my benefit, Carly," I assured her. "I want you to feel completely comfortable being yourself while we're living there. As for Robin, Sonny has assured me that she will no longer have free reign of the penthouse to come and go as she pleases and will only be granted access with his, Brenda's, or our permission. It'll only be temporary. I promise."

I slid onto the couch beside her and she slouched into me in defeat. "Fine," she grumbled around her spoon. "But no more making life-altering decisions without me. Ok?"

"Ok," I promised, suddenly realizing what I had done. "I never meant to take away your choice. I'm sorry. No one has the right to make—"

Dropping the spoon into her carton, she reaches over to kiss me. "I know, babe. And you had better believe if you ever pull something like this again, you'll get another earful, but I love you and I get it. So I guess we better decide when to start packing."

"I love you," I whispered against her mouth. "You know that, right?"

"I know you better since I'm gonna be living with Sonny Corinthos for you," she snapped with a smirk that let me know we were ok as she returned her focus to her ice cream. "You know since that was our first fight there is something new I could teach you about. It's called makeup sex." She slanted her eyes at me with that devilish twinkle that always managed to drive me nuts for her.

"Really?" I hissed, as she dropped ice cream on my bare chest.

"Really," she breathed as her mouth hovered over the melting treat. "I just love ice cream, don't you?" And before I could formulate words, she began eating her ice cream from my body.

AJ felt so angry and jealous and conflicted. He'd been enjoying his time alone with Carly. He'd begun hoping that just maybe there was still hope for a real relationship and a family if things could be just a little different. Then, Jason had come back to mark his damn territory.

AJ rubbed his sore neck as he continued his walk. Suddenly, he heard someone crying as he moved closer to the bridge. He'd come here for peace and a quiet place to think, but it seemed he wasn't alone after all. He considered leaving, but decided to offer his shoulder instead. They said misery loved company, and both of them were obviously miserable. He stepped closer and rested a hand on the petite frame.

Her tear streaked face whipped up and she cried, "She's taking everything away from me!"

"Robin?" AJ gasped opening his arms to her weeping form.