Jason watched over Carly as she dozed off again. His hand was still intertwined with hers and he sat in a chair next to the bed. Nurses came in and out of the room, checking her vitals. He had been so scared he was going to lose her. When he had walked in her room and had seen her lying in a pool of her own blood, he had honestly thought that was it, that he would lose them both. It made him realize how much Carly meant to him. He had never been good at the emotional aspects of a relationship, and when Robin betrayed him, he had shut down his heart. He had thrown himself into work because the business was much easier to deal with. It relied on strategy and calculated calm.

Then, Carly came in and took over his world. She offered him something Robin never did. When she looked at him, it was with acceptance of him the way he was. She never tried to change him because she didn't think he needed to change. She didn't see his job as a liability or feel the need to teach him how to behave in society because she found it as pointless as he did. It was refreshing to have someone who truly knew him, and liked what they saw. And she was far more suited for the business. The men adored her, and she had the strength and loyalty necessary to be able to handle the danger and uncertainty that went with his life. Jason typically didn't look back and question his choices; what if's seemed pointless to him. However, Carly's easy acceptance of him made him wonder what would have happened if he had chosen Carly over Robin in the beginning.

When Carly finally stirred, she asked Jason, "Can you take me to see him?"

There was a timidity in her voice that gave him pause. She wouldn't make eye contact with him. Concerned, he told her, "Let me check with the nurse. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

Jason returned a few minutes later, with a nurse bringing a wheelchair. He helped Carly stand and then get situated in the chair.

When they got to the NICU, Carly simply sat outside looking in the window. Tears began streaming down her face. Jason put his hand on her shoulder, and she covered it with her own hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Everyone is right. I am toxic. Look at what I did to him."

Jason was growing more and more concerned at Carly's insistence that Michael's condition was all her fault. She wouldn't stop blaming herself, and she wouldn't listen to his assurances that it wasn't her fault. He watched as Bobbie walked over to the incubator, and began talking to the little boy.

Carly looked up at Jason, saying, "Maybe she had the right idea giving me away. I just feel like I will only hurt him."

He knelt down in front of her, taking both her hands. "Carly, you have not hurt Michael. You won't hurt him. You love him too much to hurt him."

She nodded, even though it was clear she didn't agree with him. Deciding to leave it alone for the moment, he asked, "Do you want to go in?"

She looked scared, but finally said, "Okay."

Bobbie smiled as she saw them coming over. "You have a special little boy here. He's a fighter."

Carly gave an unsure smile, and said, "Thank you."

Wheeling her to be right beside the bed, Jason told her, "Just put your hand in there. Bobbie says it helps babies to feel their parents touching them. Also, he seems to like it when you talk to him."

Carly hesitantly stuck her hand in, softly touching the baby. Instead of calming her, she just seemed to grow more upset. Finally, she moved back and said, "I can't. I'm sorry, but I can't. I don't want to hurt him."

Bobbie and Jason both looked on with concern. As Carly started wheeling herself away, Jason turned to Bobbie and asked, "Can you get Dr. Lee down here to check her out?"

Bobbie nodded and moved away to call the doctor.

A half an hour later, Carly was back in her bed crying. She had refused to talk despite Jason's many attempts. When Dr. Lee came in, she said, "Carly, how are you doing?"

Carly just shrugged, not even looking at the doctor. Dr. Lee's brows knitted in concern. She looked to Jason in question, indicating he should step outside to talk to her.

When they were outside the room, Jason said, "I am worried about her. She has barely stopped crying since she woke up, and she keeps blaming herself, saying she is just going to hurt him. I try to reassure her, but she doesn't listen."

Frowning, she said, "It sounds like it might be postpartum depression. With the trauma she has been through, and forgive me for butting in, but the stress she has had during her pregnancy, it is not really surprising. I suspect it is partly hormonal and partly situational. I would like to get Dr. Collins down here to talk to her, and we will consider putting her on some antidepressants. I am concerned that this could interfere with her physical recuperation. We may need to keep her here longer, perhaps for a week."

Jason nodded, "Anything you can do to help. This just isn't like her."

Dr. Lee went off to consult with Kevin.

Jason turned to Johnny, who was standing outside her door. "I want you or Reynaldo on her at all times. She is not to be left alone for any reason, and other than approved staff and our people, no one is to go in her room."

Johnny nodded. "Yes, sir. And, boss, the guards have had a few run ins with both AJ and Dr. Jones at the nursery."

Jason ran a hand over his face. "Crap. How soon can we get the DNA test done?"

Johnny smirked, "Considering we already know the results, maybe a day."

Jason gave a short nod, and said, "Get it done."

In less than an hour, Kevin walked into Carly's room. "Carly, hello. I am Dr. Collins. Dr. Lee is concerned about you. She seems to think you might be feeling down. I was hoping you could talk to me."

Carly looked at him fearfully. She turned her eyes down to her lap and shrugged her shoulders.

Kevin looked at Jason, then asked, "Perhaps I could talk to Carly alone?"

Carly shook her head. "No, I want Jason to stay."

Nodding solicitously, Kevin said, "Okay. That's fine. So, why don't you tell me how you are feeling?"

"I just had surgery, how do you think I am feeling?" Carly snapped.

Moving to sit beside her, Jason said, "She keeps blaming herself that Michael was premature."

"Because it is my fault! Everything I touch gets ruined. He would be better off if he never even knew who I was." Tears were streaming down her face.

Gently, Kevin asked, "Do you really think he wouldn't miss you? That child needs you and already loves you."

Carly leaned into Jason, crying in earnest at his words. Jason held her, rubbing her back soothingly.

Trying another tactic, Kevin asked, "Carly have you ever heard of postpartum depression?" When she shook her head, he continued, "You have been through something traumatic, and your hormone levels have changed. It is perfectly natural to have something called baby blues. Many women experience it. But I am concerned that it might be a bit more than that. Dr. Lee tells me that you have had a stressful pregnancy."

Carly nodded, listening intently.

"Carly, this is something physical that we can treat. Dr. Lee also tells me that you love Michael very much. We can fix this, we can help you feel better and have a healthy relationship with your child."

Jason asked, "Treat it how?"

Kevin told him, "I would like to get her on some medication to help stabilize her mood and some vitamins to help balance out her hormones." He looked back to Carly, "But, that is only a temporary fix. I would like to begin some talk therapy to help change some of your negative thoughts. I think we can work on some coping techniques to help you deal with this better. Does that sound okay?"

Carly looked up to Jason in question. He told her, "Whatever you want to do, I will support, but this seems like it could help you feel better. You have fought so hard for Michael. Please keep fighting for him, fighting for our family."

Carly nodded, telling Kevin, "Okay. I will do whatever you think is best."

Smiling, Kevin said, "Good. I would like to get you on antidepressants and vitamins right away. Don't worry if it takes a little while for your mood to improve. The antidepressants can take anywhere from one to two weeks to take effect. And I have some time this afternoon for us to begin talking if you think you will be up to it." She nodded. He continued, "For this session, at least, it would be better if it was just the two of us. I'm sure Jason wouldn't mind spending time with Michael while we talk."

Jason agreed, "That's fine."

Jason walked Kevin out, telling him, "Thank you doctor. I appreciate it. I couldn't get through to her."

"It isn't surprising for women suffering from postpartum depressing to withdraw from family and friends. Just have patience with her. I promise I will do everything I can to help. If you have any concerns, please let me know."

As Jason was shaking his hand, the men heard a commotion down the hall. AJ was yelling, being held back by two guards. "Get your hands off of me! Jason, tell your goons to let me go!"

Jason sighed loudly. He didn't want Carly disturbed, so he nodded to the guards, walking up to AJ and asked, "What do you want, AJ?"

AJ looked down for a moment, then said, "I came to congratulate the golden boy. They did a blood test on the baby…"

Incensed, Jason asked him coldly, "How would you know about that?"

AJ smirked, "I do have friends here, you know." Then, the smirk fell, and he said, "It doesn't matter. The blood test proves you are the father. Of course it does, everything always ends up smelling roses for you."

Keeping his face blank, Jason said, "I told you he was my son."

"Yeah, well… Tony knows too. When I found out, I let him know. As much as I want to fight you on this, to try to take the baby away from the toxicity of Carly, I am going to let it go. So, you won."

Shaking his head, Jason said, "That's the difference between you and me. It was never a competition. It is about what is best for my son. And you don't have to believe it, but Carly is what's best for Michael."

AJ just shook his head, "I hope you are right." He turned around and walked away with his head down and shoulders slumped.

When Jason went back into Carly's room, he went to the bed, sitting beside her. "So, are you ready to hear some good news?"

Carly looked up at him with raised eyebrows. In a snide voice, she said, "My baby is fighting for his life. I am a horrible mother who can't even be there for her own child. Oh, and I almost bled to death. If you have a bright side, I am ready to hear it."

Remembering what Dr. Collins said about having patience, Jason took her hand, interlocking their fingers. In a gentle voice, he told her, "I ran into AJ outside the room." He rushed on as he felt her tense even further, "Apparently, he thinks I am the father because I have the same blood type as Michael. He and Tony are convinced they aren't the father. And AJ said he wasn't going to fight us for custody. The paternity test will be done by tomorrow. So, we can just focus on getting you and Michael better. We don't have to worry about them trying to take him away."

Carly looked down, tears streaming down her face. In a blank, unemotional voice she said, "Yeah, that's good." Her face turned away from Jason. He curled around her trying to offer comfort the only way he knew how.

Finally, her voice breaking, she hesitantly said, "Jase… I think maybe…" Shoring up what little strength she had, she continued, "I think I should leave. I think it would be better if you took care of him." Her voice broke into a sob. "I'm just going to keep hurting him if I stay here. I don't know how to do this, and my head just isn't right. I make a mess of everything, and that's not fair to him. I think leaving would be the best thing I could do for him."

Feeling fear grip his heart, he pulled back enough to roll her on her back so that she would be looking up at him. However, she kept her eyes averted. "Carly, look at me."

Her eyes reluctantly looked at him. He said, "I know right now your mind is trying to play tricks on you. Can I ask you a question?" She nodded, "Do you love Michael?"

Her eyes sharpened, and immediately and with conviction, she answered, "Of course. I love him so much. That's why I have to do this."

Using the information Carly had told him about her family to break through to her, he said, "Your dad left. You know what that feels like. What would you have preferred, that he stuck around but made some mistakes or that he left so he didn't ever risk making any mistakes? I want you to imagine Michael years from now asking me why his mother didn't love him enough to stay." He softly shook her shoulders, "This is not you. You would never do that to him because you know how much it hurts. You have fought tooth and nail so that you can be a part of his life. Keep fighting. Please don't leave us. Fight for us."

Carly turned into his arms, clinging to him desperately. She was crying so hard she found it difficult to breathe. Jason held on to her just as tightly. He whispered into her hair, "Please don't leave us. Please don't leave me. I need you here."

He didn't know how long he had held her when her sobs began to ease off. His shirt was soaked with her tears. They continued lying wrapped around each other, just breathing. Carly's mind raced, as she processed everything he had said. Pulling back just enough to look up at his face.

In a soft voice, she said, "Okay. I will stay. But I need you to make sure I don't hurt him. If you think I am, you have to get him away from me. I am trusting that you will protect him, even if it is from me."

Jason brushed his fingers across her cheeks. "When we got married, I promised you that I would protect you and our family. We are in this together. Like you told Alexis, we are a team. Together we can figure anything out."

Laying her head against his chest, listening to the reassuring beating of his heart, she gave in. For him and for Michael, she would fight, even if it meant fighting herself.