CHAPTER 35

AJ didn't remember being that close to Carly when they got into bed the night before. For a king-size, it was very cozy, he thought. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw Carly still fast asleep. Then something made him aim his eyes downward and, it was then saw a pair of bright blue eyes staring up at him with an impish grin. "Good morning, Uncle AJ," Joss whispered.

AJ picked his head up from the pillow. "When did you get in here?" he asked her.

"Last night. Michael, Morgan and I saw that you and Mommy were in the bed together," she said.

He looked over at Carly and then, a finger to his lips, picked Joss up and left the room. Just as they closed the door, Carly rolled over in her sleep. She grasped for the other side of the bed and found that it was empty, but she remembered AJ coming into the room with her. She knew that they hadn't done anything, just laid there in silence. Now, he wasn't there. Where had he gone?

Truth be told, it was comfortable having someone else in the bed with her. Sure, the last time they had been in a bed together, a lot more had gone on than sleep. But for now, she was content to just feel another presence there with her.

Now that she thought of it, it seemed like there had been someone else there beside AJ. A smaller body…then it hit her. Joss must have snuck in and gotten into bed with the two of them. Now Carly was panicking. What was her daughter to think of this? Knowing Joss and the way she seemed to be plotting, it was playing into her hand. Carly realized she was going to have to have a long talk with her daughter and soon.

While Carly was upstairs wrestling with the consequences of her and AJ in bed from the night before, AJ and Joss went down to the kitchen where Michael and Morgan were already having breakfast. "How'd you sleep last night?" Morgan asked, throwing a wink his way.

"Uh, fine," AJ answered, depositing Joss at the table.

"You and Mom talk?" Michael piped up.

His father bobbed his head in several different directions. "Kind of," he said at last. When he was getting questioning looks, he admitted. "We agree we have a connection, beyond the baby. But we just don't know what it is yet."

"I told you." Joss smiled supremely at her older brothers. "I told you they loved each other."

"What?" AJ asked. He was admittedly still half-asleep, but he wanted to make sure he had heard Josslyn right. "You think I love your mom?" She nodded smugly.

"Yeah, she's been on this kick for a while," Morgan said. "She thinks that because you two don't like each other, it really shows that you do and you are fighting the attraction."

AJ's face gave it away. Joss beamed, Morgan smirked and Michael looked confused as he asked, "Is she right?" Then, "What did you and Mom talk about last night?"

AJ sat down at the table, coffee in hand. "We both admitted that we do have something, something more than the baby. But love? I don't know…I don't know if it's that yet." He sat back as he continued. "Earlier this year, when your Mom was trying to break up with Manning, she wrangled me into posing as her boyfriend and I have to admit, it wasn't that much of a stretch for me to act the part. Hell, it was harder to actually despise her than anything. And, I guess I've been feeling it since then, until we, you know…" He didn't want to say more in front of Joss, but he was sure the boys knew what he meant.

Morgan seemed to take that answer in. "Look, maybe we can have a talk, just the two of us, later on, about all this." AJ nodded and threw Michael a look.

It was then that Michael noticed that Carly was coming into the kitchen. "Hey, Mom, how did you sleep last night?" he asked all innocent.

"I slept fine," she said, kissing all her kids. When she walked over to AJ, she merely smiled at him. As she fixed herself some breakfast, she wondered aloud, "Did any of you decided that you wanted to bunk in my room last night?" The three men in the room all turned to Joss, who for once was trying to look innocent. But she continued, saying to Michael, "You've never done that, to the best of my recollection. And Morgan, I don't remember you doing that in a long time."

"Hey, not my thing anymore, definitely," he answered her.

She then faced Joss. "Was it you, because I know there was a small body between AJ and I when I was waking up?"

The act faltered and a wide smile appeared. "Yes, Mommy, but it looked so cozy there, I couldn't resist."

Michael and Morgan couldn't help but roll their eyes, as AJ looked to Carly. She just shook her head and AJ said, "I can understand the feeling. But a few things. One, you have to be careful if you come into the bed again. You could kick in your sleep and maybe hurt the baby," he told her. "I think you should hold off on that until the baby comes, alright?" Joss nodded.

Michael turned to Carly. "I was thinking I could take you out to lunch today."

Carly smiled. "Oh, that's sweet." But she knew something was up. "Why?"

He shrugged. "Why not? I have some errands to run, but I'll meet you at the MetroCourt, say, noon?"

"Yeah, and AJ, why don't we meet up at Kelly's?" Morgan asked.

"What about me?" Joss piped up.

"Well, do you want to have a play date with Lila Rae?" Carly asked.

When Joss sighed but agreed, AJ said, "I'll call Skye in a little bit to see if it's okay." After that, the family continued with their breakfast.

The morning went on and just before noon, AJ stopped by his mother's house. Lila Rae was waiting at the front door and once Joss saw her, they ran to each other and then up the stairs, AJ and Skye chuckling at the two of them.

"I really am amazed at how well they get along. It makes me feel much better about when school begins," Skye said as AJ stepped in. She noticed he was acting very cautious until she told him, "Monica is at the hospital."

AJ let out a long breath as he shook his head. "I still can't believe that did that with Elizabeth yesterday."

"I had a little talk with her after you left and I pointed out to her how Carly and I are also getting along and how she seems to have been changed by all of this," Skye said.

"Carly and I, we had a talk last night," AJ admitted. "And we agree that there is something more to all this."

"Despite everything? I mean, there has been a lot of history between the two of you, remember?" Sky questioned.

"Don't you start," AJ warned.

"I'm just playing devil's advocate here. And I don't agree with the dirty trick you mother pulled yesterday. It wasn't fair to you, or Elizabeth, or even Carly," she defended.

"Well, thank you," he replied.

"So, do you know what you're going to do about Carly? How you're going to play this?" Skye asked him.

"No and I'm having lunch with Morgan, I think, because Joss is, like, trying to get Carly and I together," AJ told her.

"Really? She's playing matchmaker?" Skye could help but smile at the thought.

"She's got it in her head that Carly and I are some kind of fairytale couple. I think she's even trying to recruit her brothers to help set us up," AJ explained. "It's either we're madly in love and searching for each other or we can't stand each other but that means we'll end up falling in love."

"Well, AJ, every girl loves a fairytale," she said. "I blame Disney, though. They put the idea into girls' heads. It's when you get older that you learn the truth."

AJ agreed as he looked down at his watch. "I have to get going. Call when they get tired of each other. Carly and Michael are lunching together and I'll be with Morgan at Kelly's." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as he left.

Skye closed the door and was about to go back into the study when she noticed that Joss and Lila Rae had been listening to the two of them from atop the stairs. "Lila Rae, what have I told you about eavesdropping?"

"Not to do it?" she answered questioningly.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Skye, but I need every advantage I can get with trying to put Mommy and Uncle AJ together!" Joss cried as the both came down the stairs.

"Oh, honey, they don't have to be together because of the baby," Skye replied.

"I know that," she said, "But they do love each other. I know they do. And so does my daddy."

That made Skye raise an eyebrow. "You know your daddy knows Mommy and AJ are in love?" She found that hard to believe.

But Joss nodded. "He said that if it weren't for Uncle Sonny and Uncle Jason, Mommy and Uncle AJ would have stayed married and 'wreaked havoc on Port Charles,'" the little girl parroted.

Even knowing the scorn Jax had for both Sonny and Jason, he was right about that the formidable team AJ and Carly would have been, had they been together all these years. "Look, why don't the two of you go see if Cook can fix you some ice cream sundaes. I have some work to do." The two girls scampered into the kitchen as Skye looked at her watch. It wasn't that late to call Jax and verify Joss' story. If it was wrong, she felt bad for the girl's beliefs. If she was right, God help them all.