Chapter 3

They started undressing each other, passionately kissing and exchanging "I love yous" between kisses. But before they could make love, there was a knock at the door.

"Just get rid of them," Carly said, putting her shirt back on.

"Michael, what are you doing here?" he said, opening the door and letting Carly's son in.

"I couldn't sleep. Mom," he said, noticing her on the couch. "Why are you here?"

"Same as you. Your sister and I decided to come visit Jason for awhile."

"Mom," he said, giving her a huge hug, "I'm so sorry for everything. This was all my fault."

"Sit down," she ordered, as the three of them sat on the couch. "Michael, none of this was your fault! Why do you think that?"

"Because if I hadn't have gotten shot then you wouldn't have gotten kidnapped. And I knew that Claudia was the one who shot me, and I should have told you."

"It was not your fault, and I never want to hear you say that again. It was not your fault that you got shot, and you were just doing what everyone else told you to- keep the truth from you. I do not blame you, and you are not going to blame yourself, understand?"

He nodded. "But if anything had happened to you-"

"But it didn't. I'm fine, and so is your sister." Just then the baby began crying. "Speaking of her, I think she's hungry."

Carly picked her up and brought her and a bottle over to the couch. "See, she's perfect."

"Yes, Jennifer Jase Jacks is perfect. I told you you'd find a way to call the baby Jase."

She smiled. "Yes, you were right. Michael, do you want to hold her?"

"No, she's so small. I'd probably break her."

"You will not. Hold your arms out." She showed him how to position his arms so he would support her head, and then handed baby Jenny to him."

"Wow," he said, amazed by his little sister. "She's so small."

"Here," she said, handing him the bottle. "Put it up to her lips, and you'll feel her swallow."

"That's amazing," he said, again awed by Jenny.

As Michael fed Jenny, Jason and Carly eyed each other, smiling at the beautiful site on her son feeding her daughter. They held hands behind Michael, and just felt like everything was perfect.

"I think she's finished," he said, handing her back to Carly. "I need to go."

"No, Michael you can stay for as long as you want."

"Kristina called a little while ago, and I think she really needs me."

"Is she okay?"

"No. She's really scared. She's never seen dad like that before and that freaked her out to know that his life is like that. She doesn't know what to believe anymore. And Keifer, I can't put my finger on it, but something's not right."

"What do you mean?"

"He's hurting her."

"Do you mean physically?"

"No, at least not that I know of. But he's forcing her to do things she doesn't want to do, and she always feels like she's not good enough for him. I just want her to know she is good enough."

Carly smiled at how protective Michael is. "Just be there for her. Be the best big brother you can be."

"I will. Oh and Jason," he said, leaning in to whisper something in his ear, "you have lipstick on your neck."

He blushed as Carly escorted Michael out of the penthouse. "I hate that he thinks this is his fault. But it's not, is it Jenny," she said, not being able to take her eyes off her little girl.

"She's beautiful, Carly."

"I only have one regret, well, two."

"What are those?"

"One that I didn't have her in a hospital, and that I can't breastfeed because of the medicine they put me on right after the birth. But those are things I can work on next time."

"Next time? No, Carly, you are not having another baby. I just spent the last 7 months scared out of my mind that you were going to die because of your life threatening condition. Then, I was terrified that Claudia was going to kill you or you were going to stroke out when you were in labor. God, I think my blood pressure is high from worrying about you. You are not having another baby."

She couldn't help but laugh at his rant. He loved her. "Okay, no more babies. I just wish I could have one with you."

"Carly, I do not need a baby to share my DNA. What I do need is you. When Claudia took you, I could hardly breathe. I just kept thinking that I was going to lose you, and I don't know if I could live without you. I need you here, with me. And I know that's selfish, but that's just the way it is."

"I feel the same way. I'm going to tell Jax tomorrow that I want to be with you."

"I'll tell Sam, too. I'm just sorry that I have to hurt her."

"Me, too."

"Since when did you become a fan of Sam?"

"She saved my son and helped find my baby. For that, I'll forever be grateful. But I have to have you, and that's just the way it is."

"I wish I could stay the night, but I think I need to get Jenny home. I'll come see you tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you, too," he said, helping her gather Jenny's things. They stood at the

doorway for awhile, not able to stop kissing. But finally Carly did. "Jase, I really do love you more than anyone."

"Good because I feel exactly the same way."

About a month later, Carly had finally finished moving all of her things back into the cottage. Jax had offered Carly their house, but the cottage felt more like home to her. Jax had also moved out of their house into a smaller one because he said he didn't need that much room. Morgan had visited Jax a few times and Carly encouraged that because she knew how much Jax meant to Morgan. Jax and Carly were trying to be civil for Jenny's sake, and they were working out a joint custody arrangement.

They were starting to decorate for Christmas, and everyone was finally happy, especially Carly. She had her three children and the man she loved all under one roof. That night at dinner, Morgan asked Carly and Jason when they were going to get married.

"They just started dating, Morgan. I think it's going to be a while before they get married," Michael said.

"We're just taking it one day at a time. We'll let you know if anything changes," Jason said.

"But I know that I love Jason very much," Carly said, then giving Jason a kiss.

"Eww," Morgan said.

"Don't you have some homework to finish?" she asked.

"Yeah, okay," he said, running upstairs.

Later that night, Michael came into the nursery as Carly was putting Jenny down for the night.

"Mom, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," she said, noticing that he was upset. "What's wrong?"

"Are you and Jason going to stay together? Because what if you broke up? Then Jason wouldn't come around anymore. I need Jason to be around."

"Oh, honey. Jason will be around. We're not breaking up, but even if we did, Jason would still be there for you! He loves you, and he would never stop."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. But you don't even have to worry about that because Jason and I are not going to break up."

He smiled. "I know. I can tell how much he loves you. When you were kidnapped, he lost it. And I know he only loses his cool over people he really loves. You know he cried, right? I've never seen him cry."

"Well, guess what? He must really love you, too, because he cried when you were in a coma."

"Really? Wow, I didn't know that."

"What's going on in here?" Jason said, coming in.

"Oh, nothing. Just talking about how much you love us."

"Oh. I guess I'm not very good at hiding it because I do love both of you all."

"I love you, too, Jason," Michael said. "Well, I'm going to go to Kristina's for a while."

"Don't stay out too late. And call if you need anything."

"I will."

After Michael left, Carly undressed herself climbed into her bed. Jason did the same, lying next to her and putting his arms around her.

"I do love you."

"I know, Jase, I know. I love you, too."