"Oh my God, I'm pregnant with Lorenzo's baby," Carly said again. She stood up shakily, flushed the toilet, and left the restroom, tears forming in her eyes. She felt so many things- shock, happiness, and dread. What was she going to do when Sonny found out? They hadn't had sex in months so once he figured out that she was expecting, he would know it was someone else's child. Getting rid of the baby was out of the question, she already loved her unborn child with all her heart. Just then, she realized what she needed. She needed someone to talk to.

But who could she go to for advice? A couple of months ago, she would have gone to Lorenzo as she had done many times after her and Sonny had gotten into a fight or when Jason and Courtney had made her feel like a whore. But now that was out of the question because he would want to know why she was so frantic and he couldn't know about their baby, not yet at least. Jason and Courtney? That was almost laughable. After they had gotten married, they had turned against her and had suddenly become Sonny's biggest cheerleaders. They watched her carefully and reported her every move to Sonny. It was like being in a fishbowl. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her mind. Jax! He had just recently come back to town and Jax had been a good friend of hers when they were working on Club 101 together. Sure, their relationship had been ruined but that didn't mean that it could be repaired. She was sure that Jax would be there for her if she went to him and apologized.

While she was walking through the park, on her way to Jax's, she got a strange feeling.. She got the feeling that someone was following her. When she sped up, so did whoever was following her. It made her nervous and she broke out into a run and didn't stop until she had reached Jax's. She knocked on the door, trying to catch her breath. Jax answered within a minute, and he looked at her in surprise.

"Carly?" he said in his thick Australian accent. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with 'beloved'?"

Carly sighed heavily. This was going to be harder than she thought.

"No, actually. I came here to ask for advice. I know our friendship didn't end on the best of terms and I'm sorry about that. I would really like it if we could be friends again."

Jax looked at her in disbelief. Could Carly actually be telling the truth? He looked at her and realized that she was. She was actually sorry that they had lost contact. He felt his resolve softening and he found himself inviting her in.

When they had settled on his couch, Jax touched Carly softly, getting her to look at him.

"So Carly, what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

Carly took a deep breath, hoping that she could trust Jax with her secret. She began to tell him everything that had happened in recent months, starting with the panic room fiasco and ending with her finding out she was having Lorenzo's baby. Jax started at her for a couple moments, obviously stunned.

"Well, you certainly have been busy recently." He said, trying to make light of the situation.

Carly let out a strangled laugh. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." Jax put his arm around her sympathetically. "Carly, I could give you advice, but I think you've already made up your mind. Follow your heart and don't forget- I'll be here to listen, whenever you need me"

Carly smiled and nodded as she gave him a hug. "Thanks for letting me vent, Jax. You're a great friend."

Jax grinned and Carly turned to leave. "Oh Carly," Jax said. She turned around, looking at him. "Don't be a stranger, okay?" Carly smiled.

"I won't, don't worry Jax."
* * *
When Carly had arrived back at the penthouse, she tried to enter quietly, hoping that Sonny wouldn't notice that she had been gone for almost 2 hours. No such luck. Sonny was sitting on the couch, waiting for her. When she opened the door, he automatically turned in that direction and saw her. His eyes were narrowed in slits and it seemed as if smoke was coming out of his ears. He stood up menacingly and approached Carly. Carly knew something bad was going to happen and she quietly closed the door.

"Hey Sonny" she said timidly, hoping to avoid conflict.

"Don't hey me, Carly. Where the hell have you been? Whoring yourself to Lorenzo Alcazar or have you moved on to Zander Smith now? Working your way around all the men in Port Charles, aren't you?"

Carly felt as if she had been slapped. Sonny never failed to use the 'slut' line against her. She turned to go upstairs, but Sonny grabbed her purse roughly.

"Where are you going, to take a shower after you just got back from having sex?"

Carly pulled back and her purse fell to the ground, the contents spreading every which way. She tried to pick them up before Sonny saw the positive pregnancy test that she had kept. It was too late. Sonny had already noticed it and had picked it up, staring at it in wonder and anger.

"You're pregnant? You're pregnant with another man's baby?"

Carly froze, waiting for the onslaught of insults. However, when she looked up at Sonny, she saw his eyes were glowing evilly and he had an odd smile on his face.
"This could work out…Yes, it will. I will raise Lorenzo Alcazar's baby as my own and he will never know. And if you tell him, I'll kill you."