AN - some explanation is needed. This is set in the past, I'm thinking 98-99. definitely before the Sonny/Carly hate sex, a little AU (I've cobbled together both Carly new (the incident with the 'real' Carly's dad and the old (i.e.Virginia) pasts - as best as I could remember) and it's sort of Jason/Carly - my first, last & always OTP (one true pairing), but only slightly. I need serious work regarding everyone's else reactions, but I just couldn't get this idea out of my head, so I had to type it up over the past two days & unfortunately unbetaed.

Chapter 3 Friends and Family

Watching Robin storm off in a huff struck Carly as terribly anti-climatic. Where were the tears and renting of clothes she had expected? She carelessly fell into the couch and cast a surprised glance over to Jason. A slow smile crossed his lips as he walked over and sat down next to her. Stretching an arm along the back of the couch, he rested it along her shoulders.

"So, you think she got the message?" Jason asked a faintly conspiratorial note in his voice.

Carly stared at him in confusion, wide eyes darting from his face to the door and then back again. "Wait a minute," she sharply inhaled suddenly. "Jason, she said this wasn't over! Oh my god . . . She going to tell AJ everything, Jase. She's going to tell AJ and we'll lose Michael. You know she hates me, she'll do it and then AJ he'll take Michael away from me just like he always said that he would. And then AJ will tell his family and Emily will tell him everything and they'll say that I'm unfit and – " The words erupted from her in a panicked frenzy.

"Whoa . . . " Jason placed both of his hands on either side of her face, gently but inexorably compelling her to look directly at him. "Carly. Calm. Down. Robin isn't a threat to us. That's why I wanted you to stay here, so you'd see and understand. If she knows what is good for her, she won't say anything – "

"But – "

"But nothing." He continued speaking over her. "And even if AJ finds out, nothing is going to happen."

"But a blood test will – "

"Will show that I'm Michael's father, just like you've always said, if it even gets that far." Jason waited a moment for her understand what he was telling her. "We're not going to let anyway, especially not Quatermines take him away, I promise you."

She shut her mouth, staring him for a long moment. "Jason, I appreciate this more than you know, but-" he started to interrupt her and she placed one finger against his lips, "it may not stop with just a blood test and either way, eventually someone is going to figure out that all they have to is ask you if you are his biological father and then what?"

Kissing her finger, he pulled her hand away and held it with his own. "And then I tell he is. As long as we tell the same story, Carly no one is ever going to know otherwise. I know that this started off as a temporary thing, but we can make it work, we can be a real family," he hesitated, an unusually tentative expression on his face, "if that's what you still want?"

"Jason, you know what I want, what I've always wanted, but like this?" She pulled away from him, her hands moving emphasizing her words and as he noticed subtly creating even more distance between them. "You have to want this because it's what you really want, not what you think I need because of the mess I've gotten myself into or because of my past or what you think that you should do. And I don't think that we're in a place where you can really make that decision without thinking of everything else." She paused for a moment, looking down at the floor pensively, before quickly adding. "I'm not saying that it can't happen, but it's going to take time. You don't really trust me and I don't know if I can trust myself."

Jason sighed. He could always count on Carly to make things more difficult then they had to be, but at the same time, he didn't want to do anything to exacerbate the situation. "That's cool. If you want time, then we've got all the time in the world. Carly," he reached out, just touching her chin enough to tilt her face up to his own, "I'm not going anywhere, so I can wait until it's right for both of us."

Leaning forward slightly, he brushed his lips delicately across her forehead, lingering there a shade longer than necessary, ignoring his impulse to go further and reached up to pull her to her feet. "I don't know about you, but I'm beat."

Seeing the hint of arousal in her eyes, he closed his eyes for a moment, before regaining control and taking her by the hand, began moving towards the staircase.

Walking next to him, Carly had to remind herself to keep breathing, because when he kissed her, even though she knew it would've been the worse thing to do, she wanted nothing more than to go back to his room with him. The feel of her hand securely held within his larger one did nothing to dispel her impulse. And watching him walk away as he left her at her bedroom door, she had to physically force herself to walk into it and not follow him.

Lying in his bed, Jason wondered if Carly was getting any sleep, because he sure as hell wasn't. Staring up at the ceiling, he couldn't close his eyes without seeing violently incoherent images and Carly's voice talking about her past. And the longer he lay there, the angrier he got, but there was no one to vent his frustrated rage out on other Carly and that was the last thing he would ever do, now more than ever. Regret was an emotion that he often indulged in, but he give almost anything get his hands on that bastard before he hung himself.

His fist slammed into the bed at his side, hard enough that he could feel the reverberations beneath him. Kicking back the sheets that covered, he picked up a pair of loose black light-knit sweat pants off the floor, shook them out, before yanking them on. Jason left the strings hang untied as he walked out of his room, intending on going down to the kitchen when he heard Carly scream.

Within seconds, he was just in her room, door flung wide open behind him. Realizing that it wasn't a hit (which was a damn good thing, considering that he was unarmed), he relaxed slightly, closing the door quietly behind him as he walked in those last few steps to sit down next to her.

"I must look like a wreck, huh?" Carly asked self-consciously, her voice a little too shaky for Jason's taste. One hand trying to smooth out her flyaway hairs and she brushed away a few stray tears with the heel of one hand, all the while avoiding looking into his eyes.

"Yeah right." He teased her, reaching out to tousle her hair. "You know you're as gorgeous as always." And sitting there in a t-shirt and what he recognized as yet another pair of his boxers that she had appropriated somewhere along the way, he knew it was true.

"Jason!" She stretched forward; trying to smack his hands in retaliation as he quickly pulled them out of her reach, smugly smiling at her. Leaning even further forward, Carly fell into Jason when he grabbed hold of her forearms and pulled her off-balance.

Laughingly, she opened her mouth to make some bratty comment . . . and abruptly shut it, realizing how close she actually was to him. Jason held in a firm grip, mere inches away from his body and Carly could feel the heat from his bare chest radiate through the thinly wore cotton of her shirt. Her eyes found his and with a slow smile, she realized that his eyes were focused a little lower on her lips, less than a finger span away from his.

"I thought we had agreed to take things slow, Jase." Her voice was breathless to her own ears and when she saw his eyes darken in that all too familiar way, she felt that stirring of tension inside of her.

Carly's arms were bent at the elbows and all but pinned to her shoulders, even as she leaned towards him at a slight angle, resting on her knees. His eyes narrowed as he watched her throat arch lift a shade higher, even as her every breath seemed to move her infinitesimally closer.

"I know,' his voice was rough as he took a deep breath and moved her backwards, before letting go of her arms. Jason's eyes fell shut for a moment and Carly leaned back, feeling strangely disappointed, despite her words.

"So now what?" She whispered, playing with the blanket in one hand.

"Now, I think it's time to go back to sleep, so move over, ok?"

Carly looked up in surprise. "You want to sleep here?"

He shrugged a hint of smile on his face. "Might as well. I wasn't getting any in my room and if you have another nightmare, then I'll be here. It beats staring at the ceiling."

Feeling better than she had all day, she made of show of moving over a few inches. "Awww . . . that's sweet, Jase, but don't think it means that you're going to get to steal the blankets."

"Whatever, Carly. You're the only blanket hog around here." He laughed, stretching out next to her.

"Yeah, just admit it, Jason, you just want to sleep with me," she smirked as he pulled her against him, one arm snugly falling just under her breasts.

"Go to sleep, Carly." His breath was warm against the back of her neck as she curled into him, feeling more relaxed than she remembered in a long time. After a few moments, he held himself motionless, feeling her slowly drift off to sleep in his arms, where she belonged. Looking down at her, he pulled her slightly closer, listening to the soft mummers she made in her sleep, reviewing the nights activities.

Carly had been right, of course. Robin wasn't just going to let this go, but he couldn't really make himself care beyond a dull sense of regret. He hadn't wanted to hurt her, after all, but when it came right down to it – between Carly and Robin, there was no contest in his mind.

He'd listened to so many people before . . . listened to their reasons why Robin was more right for him than Carly, but Robin had never really been able to accept him and try as much as he did, he couldn't be, no, didn't want to be the person she wanted him to be. Carly had only asked him to be himself. Reckless though she might be, she understood him without trying to change him and he had no doubts about her loyalty. He had fucked up before, giving her reasons to doubt him and he couldn't blame her for unsure of him now, but he could and would fix that. This was his second chance to make it right and he wasn't going to let anyone screw it up.

Lucky and Emily walked into the office to find Luke and Bobbie deep in conversation.

Luke noticed them first. "Hey Cowboy. Emily," he nodded to the girl, who took note that Luke was still wearing the same clothes from last night while Bobbie was dressed up like she was ready to go out somewhere and visible upset.

"Oh my God, "Bobbie shook her head. "What time is it?"

"Ummm, a little after nine, I think?" Emily answered looking at Lucky who shrugged in agreement.

"Damn, I've got to get home. Jerry is going to kill me and the baby-sitter is going to rake in a small fortune from me." She sighed, standing up. "Luke, I'll check back with you in a bit, ok?"

"Good morning Lucky, Emily. Sorry to run out, but I've got to home before my baby-sitter take off," and quickly left.

"So I guess you told her then?" Lucky asked, pushing Emily into the free chair. He walked around the room, picking up random objects that were somehow unbroken and placing them in out of reach areas.

"Had to." Luke ran his hand through his hair. "She would have killed me otherwise. He eyes his son and the young Quatermaine now sitting opposite of him.

"So what's the plan?"

"Well, we're still working on that at the moment, "he replied carefully. "So what are you doing here Emily?"

From across the room, the two teenagers exchanged significant glances, before Lucky winked, revealing a slow grin at her encouragingly.

"Well, Luke," she began slowly, "I couldn't get what Carly said out last night out of my mind and –"

"You didn't say anything about it to your family, did you?" He cut her off abruptly, his question blunt and to the point. Carly's problems with the Quatermaines having made up a large part of his conversation with Bobbie, especially considering the youngest Quatermaines presence last night still weighing heavily on his mind.

"No way," she exclaimed, squirming a bit in her seat. "I would never try to use something like that against her."

"Hmmm," the older man stared her down mercilessly.

"It's not like that, dad." Lucky walked across the room to stand behind Emily, a reassuring hand on her shoulder as he stared back at Luke, an implicit warning in his eyes. "Emily wants to help if she can." He was letting her handle this like she wanted, but wasn't about to let his father run roughshod over her either.

"Oh really?" Luke's expression relaxed a bit as he looked at the girl with a considering light in his eyes. "Help how?"

"Ummm, well . . ." Emily took a deep breath. Lucky had advised her, what to expect, but she didn't think that it would happen this fast. Remembering what they had spoken about last night, she decided that it would be best to just take plunge. "I feel bad about the way I treated Carly and some of the stuff I'd said to her and like the chance to try and make amends, if I can."

"Amends, is it?" He mused aloud. "Well, if it makes you feel better, kid, you're not the only one, but you've got to realize that your family – AJ, Alan, Monica and Edward to name a few won't be pleased about this, right?" He looked right at her. "And Carly herself might not be too pleased either considering everything. Is that going to be a problem?" He asked a curiously circumspect note in his voice.

Rising to the occasion, she retorted. "Don't forget that Jason is my brother and that either way the paternity turns Michael is my nephew - they're my family too. My family may not be the worst, but they way they feel about Carly," Emily shook her head, "she would never be welcome and it's wrong to try and take a baby from it's mother. Besides, I came to Quatermaines old enough to not get too caught up in all their politics. I love them . . . but I think that they're wrong in this instance. And if you're asking me to choose . . . well, I wouldn't be here, if I wasn't." Emily took a deep breath and leaned back, glad to have Lucky's support in this. She believed in every word she said, but knew that it wasn't going to be nearly as easy as she'd like.

Luke tilted his head thoughtfully. "Well, I was planning on circling the wagons and you should really think this over, before making a decision, because once you're in, there's really no going back, you know."

Emily rolled her eyes. "I'm not a kid, you know, Luke. Kids don't last very long at my house, which is another reason I think Michael should stay with Carly and Jason, regardless. I have thought this over and talked about it with Lucky. I know what could happen and I'm ready. My parents hate the fact that I hang out with Luke at all and going to see Jason, forget about it. I'm an adult and I know what I want and who I want to be with. My choice is made, I'm going to help whether you like it or not and if you're planning on cutting me out, then I'll go right to Jason and Carly myself."

"Hey now, I didn't say that." He grinned at her, before glancing up at Lucky, who smirked at him. "I just wanted to make sure that you were sure. If you want in, then the more the merrier as far as I'm concerned, besides you'd be perfect as an inside source into the Q's schemes."

"Then you've got a plan already?" Luke asked.

"Don't I always Cowboy? Although it's nothing I'm sure that Jason hasn't already planned on, of course."

Bright and early, Robin stood outside Sonny's door waiting as Johnny woke him. She turned to glare furiously at Jason's penthouse down the hall, her temper only growing hotter by the minute. Her foot tapped impatiently, maybe she should have come by later, but she absolutely couldn't stand it any longer. If anyone could talk some sense into Jason it was going to be Sonny and when she told him what that money-grubbing slut had done this time, she was completely confident that he would finally do something.

Johnny opened the door and pushing her way in, she stormed past the guard, nearly taking his head as she slammed it shut behind her. She didn't hear the muttered word, "bitch," from the other side as he gingerly touched his nose, unsure of if it was broken. Hearing the loud noise, Sonny turned around, taken aback by the militant look in Robin's eyes. "So who do I have to kill?" he asked with a smile, trying to tease her into smiling back.

"That bitch, Carly!" She snarled venomously, dropping her bag on the couch as she walked up into him, arms outstretched.

Unsure of what was going on, he obligingly hugged her, before pushing her back slightly. "Ok, I'm not sure what Carlybabes," he smirked sarcastically at her, "did this time, but it can't be that bad. Did you tell Jason yet?"

The faint smile that came to her face, when he used their little nickname for the bitch faded. "Oh, he knows what happened although not why. She actually got him to break up with me last night."

"Who . . . " Sonny stared at her, noticing for the first time, the tears that glistened in her eyes. "What?"

"You heard me." She sighed, looking pitiful, giving every impression of being heartbroken. "Everything was fine until last night. He came home; Carly and I were fighting – big deal, right?" She scoffed. "She started it, as usual because I just wanted to wait for Jason and it tuned into this whole big thing and she threatened me, then Jason walks in. And stupid me, I think that he's going to tell her off or something, but instead he takes her side and breaks up with, Sonny. He actually used Stone as his excuse. She manipulating him as usual and he doesn't even see it, Sonny. You've got to do something before she destroys him or somehow convinces him to come after me or something."

"Wait a second here. Whatever Jason has going on with Carly, he would never come after you and as far as Carly herself, don't you ever worry about her. She won't do anything to hurt you."

"But she already has, Sonny. She's taken Jason away from me." She clenched at his hands, tears spilling down her face.

"Listen to me, Robin. You don't have anything to worry about, I promise. Whatever is going on with Jason, I'll talk to him and straighten everything."

"He won't believe you! She got him so wrapped around her little finger that he doesn't even know who he is anymore. All she does is tell him these vicious lies about me and he believes her. It's sick!" She looked up at him, through wet eyelashes wondering if she was laying it on a bit too think. "All I know is that something must have happened at Luke's, because that's where they were earlier."

"Ok." He tried to calm her down, wondering what the hell Jason was thinking. "That's easy then. I'll call Luke up and find out what went down. He can't stand her about as much as us. Once we know what she did, I'll go to Jason and explain everything to him and you'll be back together in no time. Why don't you go into the kitchen and eat some breakfast and I'll call him, aright?"

Sobbing back tears, she nodded to him gratefully. Sonny turned to watch her walk out, before grabbing the phone.

Emily and Lucky looked up as Luke answered the phone. "Hey Sonny, what can I do for you?" A peculiar expression crossed his face as he listened intently. "Carly and Jason? Yeah, they were here last night."

"Oh really?" He looked significantly at them. "Robin and Jason broke up last night? Hmmmm, you don't say?"

Emily' mouth formed an O, as she glanced at Lucky, who just shrugged not particularly surprised by the news. He had caught on to Jason's reaction to Carly last night and while he didn't exactly understand the triangle between his cousin, Jason and the police commissioner's daughter, it seemed like Morgen had made his decision he'd been leaning towards for awhile now.

"Really? Well, I don't know how I can help you with that; I didn't notice anything out of the usual." Luke went on talking. "Right, ok then," and he hung the phone. "Well that's interesting, isn't it? Apparently, after Carly left, she and Ms Scorpio got into it and Jason walked in and proceeded to break up with her. This morning she ran to Sonny crying about it, and he wants to know what Carly did to Jason 'this time'."

"We should probably give Jason the heads up, because she's going to be trouble and if she gets Sonny on her side –" Lucky began before Luke cut him off.

"Sounds like she already has, Cowboy. And if Jason doesn't know that she's a threat, he will soon enough." He paused, before asking, "So kids, what do we know about her?"

"Other than she's the commissioner's daughter and a self-righteous prig?" Emily stood up in outrage.

Luke laughed, "Now tell me how you really feel."

Face slightly flushed, Emily shrugged. "Hey you've never had to eat dinner with her and listen to a lecture on why you shouldn't wear ripped jeans at the table. They were torn out at a bit at the knees, ok, but is that any of her business?"

Lucky smirked, lounging in the chair she just vacated and Emily's blush grew deeper as he scanned her from head to toe. "I think you always look good." His voice was low and she smiled back at him shyly, before turning her attention back to Luke.

"The girl just irks me, I guess. Don't get me wrong, Carly can be obnoxious on occasion, but at least she has a sense of humor. Robin is just so . . . smugly spiteful. I mean you should see the way she treats Jason, always correcting him like he's a child. And don't even get me started on how self-centered she is. It's like the world revolves around her and her sense of 'propriety'," her voice took on a slightly mocking tone. As Emily walked back over to Luke, his arm snagged her and before she knew she was perched comfortably on his lap, leaning back against his warm body, she could feel him chuckling at her brief 'Robin' impression.

Sonny hung up the phone, knowing nothing more than he knew before. He glanced up at the clock, rolling his neck; it was too early for this shit at this hour. Walking to the door, he looked curiously at Johnny who had a new bruise on his face. "Did you walk into the door or something?"

"Something," was the short reply as Johnny resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Is Jason in?"

Yeah, he got back last night, Carly came home a little beforehand and then Robin showed up a few minutes before Jason. They're still there as far as I know."

"Ok, good. When you see Jason, tell him to come by, we need to talk." Sonny responded almost distractedly.

"Sure thing," Johnny answered to Sonny's back as he walked away. Leaning up against the wall, Johnny watched the door close and sighed heavily. "Dammit, Jason. I can't wait 'til you take over again. This is fucking bullshit, man."

"I know that you're awake, Carly." Jason's amused voice penetrated her cloud of sleep.

"Go away . . . " she waved an arm in his general direction, landing on the warm surface of his chest, which he picked up, lightly kissing it.

"Get up, Carly or I will get you up." He taunted her, fondly looking down at her cloud covered head burying itself into his shoulder.

"Five minutes . . . " she mumbled, holding him tighter like he was a large, warm body pillow.

"I'm warning you, Carly." He waited a few seconds, before tossing back the blankets and sheets.

Surprised by the sudden shock of cold air, Carly clung to Jason for one long moment, before abruptly punching him with a loosely formed fist. Lifting her head to glare at him, she grumbled. "You really do suck sometimes, Jase. You know this, right?"

"Whatever you say, Carly, whatever you say." He laughed a little at the petulant pout on her face, dropping a quick but deeply intense kiss on her stunned lips, before he rolled out from underneath her and off of the bed. "I expect to see you downstairs, awake and dressed, in thirty minutes." At the aghast expression on her face, he laughed some more. "Ok, forty-five minutes, but no later."

He easily ducked the pillow she half-heartedly threw at him and walked out.

"Anything else?" A lazy voice asked.

"No, madame. That's all the information that the tape picked up, before it was apparently destroyed." The voice over the speaker voice respectfully spoke.

"Excellent. In addition to your earlier orders, I want you to find and acquire all the original documentation of the events, before destroying any evidence of your presence."

"Destroy the evidence?"

"Yes. Steal them, burn the buildings, blow up the entire town if you must, I do i not /i care. Do whatever is necessary, so long as I have the only records and there is no trace of our activities to see the light of day again, understand me?" The first voice imperiously demanded.

"Yes, madame. I understand," the voice on the phone obsequiously replied.

"Excellent. Do not disappoint me in this." An autocratic wave of a hand quickly sent a servant scurrying to disconnect the phone.

"Begin the travel preparations. We're going to Port Charles to pay a visit some old 'friends' and, of course, family." The voice ominously chuckled.

TBC

Well, I've gottensix (six . . . ok, now i feel like the Count from sesame street)review . . . anyone else out there want to say something . . . anything . . . Bueller, Bueller? lol. I've got lots of ideas for this story so if you've gotten this far, leave me a review. It's good karma, you know :D