A/N: I got awesome, awesome reviews. It made me very, very happy! So, here is another update. This story's winding down, but then we have the sequel of course!

middiegurl08- I'm glad you listened. If you ask me, the right music always makes a chapter a gazillion times better.

JulesMorgan- I am so glad you liked it!

emmalee05- I do love my angsty emotions : ) And I love the Quartermaines. They are the perfect mix of humor and drama.

britchic- No, it doesn't let you post links and I really, really wanna see that pic. Send it to me at cookiecrazyy85. I'm at yahoo. And I am so sorry that I messed with your future-reading abilities.

jennifer- I hope this update was quick enough for you. Read the chapter, you have some mind reading abilities, lol.

Jackie-Ken- I'm glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing.

SuzieQ8487- Yes, I do love emotion and mood. And I don't think I clearified, but Eddy is played by John Ingle, not Jed Allen.

Samantha- One important thing did happen. AJ's gone. That's important.

anna- I'm glad you love it, thanks for reviewing.

anon14- I love Lila too. I miss her so much. I know they couldn't control the circumstances, and I'm actually glad that they didn't just recast her, but it doesn't make me miss her any less.

DaniBabez- Seriously, it was like the song was written for the chapter, lol.

luvthemorgans- Once again, I'm sorry for lecturing you. But let that story that you told me be a lesson- a lady never reveals her tush.

sexyt- As I've said to everyone today, I absolutely love and miss Lila. And as for that book, it just wouldn't work. I can't think of my own characters and storylines, I need to have something to use as a springboard. Fanfiction is much easier. But thanks for the great compliment though!

Nell- That's ok. Fanfiction has been taking up all my time. I just blow off all my homework and studying because I'd rather be writing, lol.

susan- Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long.

serena- Glad you were able to catch up on those chapters, and I'm glad you still like it.

Starlet- Alright, I hope this put you out of your misery quick enough, lol.

Chapter 17- A Carly Plan

"We need to find a way to snap them out of this!" cried Carly as she stormed back into her penthouse.

"No kidding" agreed Sonny as he threw down the paperwork he was trying unsuccessfully to read.

"I swear, you walk into their penthouse and it's like your walking into a crypt. Everyone's talking in hushed voices if they're talking at all, there's no laughter or smiling, and the two of them are sitting there like statues"

"Courtney's probably reminiscing and Jason is probably thinking of new and creative ways to torture AJ to death" interjected Sonny.

"If he ever finds him" mumbled Carly.

"We need to do something" said Sonny as he began to pace.

"With finding AJ?" asked Carly as her eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed in confusion.

"No, with snapping them out of it" clarified Sonny.

"But how?" asked Carly as the two paused for a moment. "I got it!" she finally cried.

"No!" said Sonny quickly as he put up his hands to stop her.

"You don't even know my plan yet!" she protested, her arms crossed over her chest.

"And I don't want to. Carly plans are dangerous, stupid, and they never work. We are not going along with one of them!"

"Just hear me out Sonny! We need to find Paula and talk to her. We need to convince her that Meg will be better off with Jason and Courtney"

"And you think this will just…work?" scoffed Sonny.

"Yes, I do. Taking care of a baby is no easy task. Especially when the baby doesn't want to be with you. Paula must be exhausted. She has AJ's money, what else does she want? We can offer to give her more money even. She may just see things our way" said Carly with a triumphant smile.

"I don't know Carly…"

"Sonny, what's the worst that can happen?" asked Carly.

Famous last words.

"Call me back when you have more information" snapped Jason into the phone as he hung it up.

He wanted to crush it in his hand to get out all of his anger. He calmed down a little when he saw Courtney walk down the stairs. She was wearing a simple pair of sweats and a tank top, but her hair was still wet from her shower and her skin seemed to glisten. Striding over to her, he took her in his arms, smelling her shampoo and feeling her soft skin.

"How are you doing?" she asked him softly as she pulled away slightly to caress his face.

"I'll be doing much better when I find AJ and make him pay" said Jason as he walked out of Courtney's grasp.

She sighed and looked at her husband. He was torturing himself and she hated that. She watched as he walked over to the window and stared out of it, his shoulders and back hunched. She walked over to him and placed one hand on his back in a comforting gesture. Bringing herself closer to him, she wrapped her arms around his stomach, pressing her face into his back. He sighed and closed his eyes before putting his hands on top of hers and pulling her even closer to him. He finally turned around in her arms and wrapped his own arms even tighter around her.

"We can't keep torturing ourselves. I thought we agreed on that. And we agreed that you weren't going to kill AJ" said Courtney quietly.

"I just can't drop this Courtney. I can't let him get away with it all. He has caused this family so much pain. He took away our daughter!"

"And you and Sonny took away his son" she said as she detangled herself from his arms and walked away from him, her back turned.

"Is this the block?" asked Sonny as he maneuvered the car to turn left.

He had decided to drive himself, figuring any guards would just scare Paula and not let them talk to her.

"I dunno, is it?" asked Carly from the passengers seat.

"You're the one with the directions!" he snapped.

"Well you're the one with the sense of direction!" she snapped back as she tried to read what she wrote on the scrap of paper with Paula's address on it. "Yeah, I think this is it" she finally said, and Sonny made the sharp turn.

"Now what's the house number?" he asked her.

"Just how much do you want from me Sonny?" she asked as he rolled her eyes at her. "It may start with a five" she said as she tried to read off the paper.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" asked Jason tensely as he glared at her.

"Oh come on Jason, it is so obvious what that means. Pay back's a bitch" she snapped at him, immediately regretting her harsh tone and words, but unable to control her anger.

"I thought you said you didn't blame me for this" he said slowly, the hurt and pain evident in his voice, eyes, and face.

Courtney felt guilty for hurting him like that, but she had to get it off of her chest.

"I just feel like you have this sick vindictive agenda against your brother which is strikingly similar to his against you. You have no idea about how many people you hurt when you pull an anti-AJ move"

"What, you mean like sleeping with his wife?" he asked her spitefully, and he watched as Courtney's big blue eyes filled with tears.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked

"It's supposed to mean that there were two of us pissing off AJ. So don't try to turn this around and suddenly blame this on me!"

"I'm not! I meant what I said when I said I didn't blame you. I meant it when I said that you are the love of my life, and the only man for me. I love you, and nothing is going to change that. But my daughter was taken away from me, and I want answers, not another filled body bag"

"This is the house. I think" said Carly as they pulled up to one of the homes.

It was medium sized, and it looked nice enough. The lawn was well-kept and groomed, the paint wasn't chipping. In fact, the house looked like it hadn't been lived in all that long. Probably because it hadn't. AJ Quartermaine's money had paid for the house and the new lavish lifestyle of its occupant.

Taking his wife's hand in his, Sonny strode up to the door and knocked. He was surprised to receive no answer. He knocked again once more, but when there was still no answer, he looked over at Carly who just shrugged.

After another knock, Sonny dropped Carly's hand and motioned for her to take a step back. Throwing his weight on to the door, the thing opened, and he and Carly walked in. The house was eerily quiet, and the two walked through, shocked at the sight they saw.

"I don't know why you are feeling the need to protect AJ!" yelled Jason. "The guy is scum!"

"Jase, I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm just saying I don't want there to be anymore death. I can't handle it. Not after we lost Meg"

"Don't talk about her like she's dead" he said tensely to his wife, his blue eyes becoming cold and angry.

"I don't mean to Jason. I just…I…it's too much sometimes Jason. We are dealing with so much. And I don't want you going to prison on top of it all. And I don't want to fight. Please, can we stop fighting? Alright, I'm sorry for anything that I said that upset you. Please forgive me"

"Courtney, of course I forgive you. You shouldn't even be the one begging for forgiveness, I should. I jumped all over you. I'm sorry, and I love you. Let's just forget about this. We are both obviously upset and taking it out on each other. Come here" he said, extending his arms to her.

She eagerly ran to him, and he sighed contently as he held her close to him. They were right. They had both pissed off AJ, but the past was the past. They would get their daughter back somehow, but fighting was not the way.

"This place is a mess" said Carly as she attempted to walk through it.

Beer cans and empty bottles of booze littered the floor, mixing with cigarette butts and god knows what else. The floor was sticky, as though alcohol had been spilled all over it. To Sonny and Carly's horror, they even saw a few drug needles lying on the floor. Watching their steps, they walked through all the rooms, calling out for Paula, and even for Meg.

"Sonny, I really hope that this isn't where Meg has been living and we just made a mistake about which house it was" said Carly, the fear evident in her voice.

"Me too" said Sonny, although he knew deep down that Meg was living here.

The two headed upstairs, ready to try all the rooms.

"Meg! It's us. It's Uncle Sonny and Aunt Carly. Are you here?" Sonny called out to her.

All the sudden, the two heard the cry of a baby coming from a room on the left. They hurried as quickly as they could into the room and saw an old crib sitting in the middle, with nothing else. Inside the crib lied a perfect little baby. When she saw who had entered the room, she stopped crying and her face broke into a smile. She pulled herself up, using the bars, and held out her arms to Sonny and Carly.

"Oh my god" cried Carly with one hand covering her mouth.

Sonny sprung into action, running to Meg and taking her in his arms.

"Shh, it's ok Meggie" he soothed as the baby began to whimper with happiness.

"When do you think was the last time someone held her?" asked Carly in horror.

"I'm not sure" said Sonny, although he suspected it was a while ago.

Carly looked into the crib and saw an empty bottle. She wasn't sure of the last time it was full. Wrenching open the closet in the room, she saw a small stack of diapers and some baby wipes. Sonny put his coat down on the floor and gently laid Meg down on top of it. Carly changed her very stinky diaper, and Meg cooed in contentment.

"We can't leave her here Sonny" said Carly as she worked.

"Of course not" agreed Sonny.

"So what do we do?" she asked him.

"We take her, plain and simple. From the looks of it, no one will miss her" he said bitterly.

"What about all of AJ's money? Did she spend any of it on Meg?" asked Carly.

"I doubt it. It probably all went to AJ's favorite things; booze and drugs" said Sonny as Carly finished changing Meg. She picked the little girl up and held her tightly in her arms, kissing her head.

Meg began to whimper again, and she pulled her head up so she could look at Carly.
"Ma? Da?" she questioned.

"Oh, you wanna see Mommy and Daddy?" asked Sonny as he walked over to her and took her adorable little hand in his own. "We are going to take you right now" he told her as he gave her a little kiss.

"Ma! Da!" she said excitedly.

"But first" said Carly as she bent down and picked up the empty bottle from the crib, "we are going to get you some formula. You must be starving"

"We passed a store on the way here. We can stop there" said Sonny as he picked dup his coat. "Now let's get out of here" he said.

As they walked out, something caught his eye. It was the bags of stuff Courtney and Jason had sent over with her. And none of it looked touched. Trying to hide his anger for Meg's sake, he picked up the bags and carried them to the car. He strapped in the car seat he had found that Courtney and Jason had given to Paula as well and he and Carly put Meg in it. They were not about to let anyone hurt their niece again. They were going to bring her back to her parents.

Courtney and Jason lied snuggled under a big blanket on the couch. Jason had his arms around her, and Courtney was leaning back against his chest. He sighed contently and she smiled at him.

"This is much better than fighting" she said as she stole a gaze at the burning fire in the grate.

"Yes it is" he agreed.

"I love you so much" she told him.

"I love you too" he said as he bent down to kiss the top of her head.

Their peaceful moment was ruined by loud and eager knocking on their front door.

"Go away!" Jason yelled in frustration.

"Jase! It's me. Open up. It's important!" yelled Sonny.

Jason let out a growl before he and Courtney walked over to the door. Wrenching it open, he revealed Sonny standing there.

"What?" he questioned in an annoyed voice.

"Carly and I have a surprise for you" said Sonny with a smile.

"A surprise?" questioned Courtney as she crossed her arms over her chest while Jason wrapped his arms around her.

"Yes, a surprise" said Sonny. "Carly!" he called out, and she stepped over to them from around the corner.

"MEG?" Courtney questioned with a huge smile as the little girl in Carly's arms squirmed and reached out towards her mom and dad, happy for the first time in a long time.

A/N: She's baaaaccckkk... You know the deal, 15 reviews for an update!