"It's time to leave!" Michael yelled impatiently as Jason and Morgan waited with him in the living room.
Carly rolled her eyes as she finished tying the white satin ribbon around the small package. She knew that she was running behind, they were supposed to be at Jason's parents more than 15 minutes ago. "I know, I'm almost finished," she called back. With one last look in the mirror, she headed down to meet her family.
"Careful, honey," Jason insisted as she hurried down the staircase.
"I'm being careful," she muttered in response to his plea.
Jason knew better than to say anything. Instead, he wrapped Carly's ivory coat around her and helped Morgan pull on his navy blue parka. Michael was already half way out the door. Outside, delicate snowflakes drifted aimlessly toward the snow-covered ground. Looking toward the sky, he couldn't believe that it was winter already. In a few short weeks, it would be Christmas, and they would be parents of three amazing children.
The family was silent as the limousine headed toward the Quartermaine estate. Carly was nervous, it was the first time the entire family was sitting down for a meal. She had tried to keep it a secret for Jason's birthday, wanting to do something for him that she knew that he needed. She wanted her daughter to have the family that she never had and Jason couldn't remember, and Carly knew that finding common ground with them was the only way to make it possible.
In the months since she had married Jason, Monica had made leaps and bounds in trying to get to know the boys. Even Morgan felt comfortable around her at this point, and she had come to call him her grandson. Michael had more easily fallen into the Quartermaine fold, partly due to his sporadic contact with the family over the years. Carly enjoyed seeing her sons receive so much love, and Jason truly found his own place in the family.
Finally, the car pulled up the long drive way and came to a stop in the circle driveway. The boys were instantly out of the car, running toward the safe haven that would provide them with the food they had been asking about for hours. Jason remained a few steps behind, carefully guiding his wife up the icy walkway. Just before they went in the house, he placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her from entering the mansion.
"Thank you, Carly," he said softly, reaching over and kissing her temple. She smiled at his warm sign of affection. "I never would have thought that this would be something that I would want, but I have been looking forward to this dinner all week."
"You're welcome, Jase," she replied before pushing the door open. Their comings and goings had been so frequent that they hardly bothered knock or ring the bell anymore.
"Hello, Jason!" Monica exclaimed as they filed into the foyer. The boys were talking to Dillon, who was sitting on the bottom of the staircase. Alan stood just behind his wife, smiling proudly as his son came into the room.
"Hey," he said, leaning over to hug his mother. Carly awkwardly followed suit as Jason shook Alan's hand.
"Who was at the door?" Edward asked gruffly, softening visibly when he spotted his two great-grandchildren playing. "Well, hello."
"Hello, Grandfather," the boys replied in unison as Emily came in from the sitting room. With Nikolas in toe, she hugged her brother and then the boys. She waved at Carly before returning to Nikolas' waiting arms. Since Sonny's death, she had found peace in her first great love. His support had truly been what had held her together in the days after her loss, and slowly, over time, they fell in love all over again.
Ned came bursting into the room, followed by Skye and Justus. Tracey was not far behind with Luke and Lulu, muttering about the inconvenience the Spencer family had plagued her family with for far too long. Finally, all the Quartermaines were assembled, and Alice came in to seat them for dinner.
"Oh, my," Carly said suddenly as she walked into the formal dining room. Jason looked at her sharply, but she shook her head. "I'm fine, just a kick."
"Let's eat," Edward said as he took his seat at the head of the table.
"That's what we're going to do, Grandfather," Ned replied.
"I said to make steak, it's Jason's favorite," Monica groaned.
"It's okay, Monica, the chicken is fine," Jason told her.
"Grandfather, sit down," Emily ordered as the man headed toward the kitchen to confront Cook on her mistake. "Would you like us to get the rest of our food? You know how she gets."
"Luke, where is your daughter?" Tracey questioned, noticing for the first time that the young Spencer girl had slipped out of the room. Looking around, she realized that Dillon had disappeared as well. "Where's Dillon?"
"We're right here, Mother," Dillon answered as he came into the room. He held up a present before sitting it down on the stack. "We had to go get this."
"Yeah, calm down, Stepmonster," Lulu spat.
"Yes, calm down, my little pink popsicle," Luke echoed as he grinned at Carly across the table. His niece returned his mischievous smile.
"For once, can't we just have a normal meal like a normal family?" Alan requested.
Skye scoffed aloud. "Since when do we qualify as normal?"
"We're not exactly a textbook case of manner," Justus added.
As the dinner progressed, only the Morgan family remained silent. Quietly exchanging looks, Carly and Jason telepathically had a conversation about how insane his family was. When Edward started to scream at cook about the undercooked carrots, even Jason broke a smile. Finally, once they had devoured the chocolate mousse, Monica placed the gifts before her son.
"That one is from me," Ned noted as Jason tore away the paper to find a new set of wrenches.
"Thanks," Jason said graciously as he fingered the cool metal. He had a million tools, but somehow, these meant more because they came from his family. It was the first thing he had ever received from the Quartermaines that showed they got who he was now.
Jason carefully went through all the gifts. He received a new wallet from Edward and a gift certificate for a new paint job on his bike from Emily and Nikolas. Lulu and Dillon gave him a customized cue stick, and Luke and Tracey added matching pool balls. Skye and Justus had gone together to buy him enough t-shirts to last him the entire year, an idea offered by Carly, who was desperate to see him in some new clothes. Finally, Alan and Monica brought out their own package out. Wrapped in simple black paper and secured with a silver ribbon, they looked at Jason expectantly.
"What is it?" Jason asked, as he slowly untied the ribbon. He looked over at Morgan and Michael, who were grinning widely. "Want to help me unwrap this big box?"
"Yes!" they screamed as they tore away the paper.
Jason lifted the lid off the white box and removed the album. It was a black leather book, filled with snapshots of the boys. In the back, there were a few empty slots. Flipping through it, he realized that they had all been taken at the mansion. "Oh, wow," he sighed inaudibly.
"I took them all here over the past few months," Monica said proudly.
Carly looked over her husband's shoulder at the photos. She looked down at him to see the tears that were forming. Shocked, she watched as he hugged his mother and then his father before returning to look at each picture with the boys. They laughed as Michael gave the back story to some of the snapshots. Looking around the room, at the silent people watching her husband with pride and awe, she realized that he had finally come home. Forever a Morgan, she was glad to know that there was still a little bit of a Quartermaine left in Jason.