Her Present, Different

Disclaimer: I do not own General Hospital. Carly and Jason are the property of ABC and Disney.

Jason was sitting by Carly's bedside, watching her sleep, as her eyes finally fluttered open again.

"Jase?" she asked, "What's wrong? Why am I here?"

"Carly?" he asked, surprised that she remembered him. "How do you feel?"

"Like I did the last time Sonny drugged me to get me into bed," Carly said, attempting to be flippant.

"What are you talking about, Carly?" Jason questioned gently, confused. Sonny had never drugged Carly. Or maybe Jason just didn't know about it…

"I know you don't like talking about it, Jase," Carly told him, "I won't mention it again. Where's my mom? Does she have the kids?"

"Bobbie's right outside," Jason responded. "I left Michael and Morgan with Spinelli and Lulu."

"Who's Bobbie? Michael? Morgan?" Carly asked him. "And why are you calling Damien by his former last name? You haven't called him that for a while."

Carly was really confusing Jason. He realized that her confusion and memory problems must be a result of the brain damage Dr. Drake mentioned.

"Carly, let me get the doctor," Jason told her. "I can tell you're confused. Maybe Dr. Drake has something to help."

"Why do you keep calling me Carly, Jase?" she asked him, ignoring his mention of Patrick. "New nickname for your beautiful wife? My best friend is going to be a little confused."

Jason was starting to get nervous. Her memory problems seemed extensive, but she didn't even seem to realize that anything was wrong. It was like this Carly was from another world or something…

"Let me get Dr. Drake," Jason said again, in lieu of answering her questions.

"Okay, Jase," Carly agreed. "I'm going to go back to sleep now. Love you…"

Carly quickly drifted back to sleep before Jason could tell her to stay awake long enough for Patrick to check her out. Jason was scared that something was seriously wrong with his best friend. She didn't seem to know who Bobbie, Michael, or Morgan were, she mentioned a different best friend, and she was extremely hostile to Sonny.

As Jason walked into the hallway to find somebody to page Dr. Drake, Jax walked up to him.

"How is she?" Jax asked his wife's best friend. "Did she remember anything?"

Jason just looked at Jax for a second, refusing to answer his question.

"Carly fell back to sleep," he finally said. "I'm getting Dr. Drake."

"Why do you need Patrick? Is something wrong?" Jax asked frantically. "Did she remember me? Or Bobbie?"

Jason just continued looking for a nurse or orderly. He needed to talk to Dr. Drake.

"Or maybe she didn't remember you?" Jax finally settled for taunting his wife's best friend. "Is that why you're so silent? You don't want to admit that the woman who reveres you as a god lost her memory of you because you failed her?"

Jason felt a pang in his heart as Jax's words. The man was right – Jason had failed his best friend. He failed to listen to his instincts, and he left her alone with her husband. She lost her baby, and her memory was obviously confused. But Jason did have something to be relieved about – Carly remembered him, despite forgetting about nearly everybody else.

"What? You don't want to take responsibility for your failure?" Jax continued to taunt. "You obviously know something about that drug in her system – Carly was with you right before she came home."

"Ask your brother," Jason finally told the man, shutting him up for only a second.

Jax was confused. Did Jerry have something to do with Carly's condition? He honestly did not believe that his brother would harm his wife – Jerry knew how much Jax loved Carly. He knew that they were trying for a baby.

"Don't bring my brother into this," Jax said finally, continuing to pester Jason.

"Please page Dr. Drake," Jason said to a nearby nurse, ignoring Jax completely by this point.

"And don't lie to yourself, Jason," Jax continued. "If she remembers anybody, she'll remember Michael and Morgan first. Maybe I'll even get lucky. Maybe she'll never remember you!"

Jason looked straight into Jax's eyes with his icy blue glare.

"Shut up," he told the man lowly, threateningly.

"Why? Hitting too close to home?" Jax asked, refusing to stop bothering Jason.

"No," Jason said shortly. "But you're going to strike out if you don't shut up."

"Is that a threat?" Jax questioned him.

"I don't make threats," Jason told him seriously, the promise in his eyes.

Jax finally fell silent, and both men waited right outside Carly's room for Dr. Drake to arrive.

"Patrick!" Jax said to the doctor as he approached Carly's door, Bobbie beside him.

"She woke up twice, but she's sleeping now," Jax told him. "Where were you? Didn't Nadine go to get you?"

"I was in a delicate surgery at the time," Patrick explained. "I came as soon as I could."

"You have to talk to her, see what's wrong," Jax told him.

Patrick explained to his patient's husband that it would be imprudent to wake her up – Carly needed her sleep. He would question her (gently, he added at Jason's silent glare at those words) when she woke up naturally.

"Did you interact with her?" Patrick asked them both. "Was she speaking? Coherent? Moving around?"

"She was speaking fine," Jax told him. "But she seemed really confused. She didn't know who I was, and she kept asking for her mother. I don't know…I was so happy that she woke up, but then Carly wasn't making any sense."

Jax seemed forlorn and helpless. Patrick could understand that – the man had watched his wife collapse, nearly die, lose their baby, and now she woke up but didn't remember him.

"She knew who I was," Jason told Patrick quietly. "And she mentioned Sonny, but she didn't recognize any other names."

"What?!" asked Jax angrily. How could his wife remember a mob boss and his hit man but not her own husband?

Before Jason could answer, there was a commotion in Carly's room.

"Where's my husband?!" Carly asked the nurse who was checking her vitals. "Where's my husband?! I want him right now! Where's Jason?"

Jason locked eyes with Jax, who had heard Carly's words clearly.

"Well, now you know why I didn't tell you," Jason told the man, ironically.