Her Future Hope

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

"Jason! Jason!" Carly was hysterical by this point, "Where's Jason? Is he all right? If he was okay, he'd…"

Jason couldn't withstand Carly's calls for him anymore. With one last glance at his best friend's husband, he turned to give her the comfort she so clearly needed. Carly was confused, and he didn't want her hurting herself any more than she already was.

"I'm right here, Carly," Jason assured as he stepped into the room. "I just stepped out for a minute to talk to Dr. Drake."

"Oh, Jase," Carly whispered, immediately calming down. "Are you okay? Ric was acting crazy, and I thought he was going to kill you, and then…"

Jason ignored her mention of Ric. He knew that her memories were all messed up – that was why he wanted Patrick to check her out.

"I'm fine. You're the one hurt. How do you feel?" Jason asked her softly.

"Okay," Carly replied shakily. "Where are the boys?"

"They're fine. Safe and sound with Lulu and Spinelli," Jason assured her.

"Lulu and Spinelli?" Carly questioned. "Where's Leticia?"

Jason couldn't bear to tell Carly that her sons' nanny was dead. He knew she would eventually remember on her own – or he hoped, anyway – and he didn't want to give her any information that might hinder her recovery.

"She couldn't watch them tonight," Jason told her.

It wasn't a lie – Jason couldn't bear to lie to Carly even one more time. It just wasn't the truth. He just hoped Carly saw it that way when she remembered.

"Okay," Carly agreed. "She needs some time off every once in a while. I trust that you left our boys in good hands."

Jason nodded; he was glad that she was satisfied with his answer. And proud that she had called Michael and Morgan "our boys".

"And I'm glad that Michael and Matthew are spending some time with their aunt and uncle tonight. You know how my sister loves to spoil her godchildren rotten," Carly said with a fond smile.

Jason was confused again, but he hid it from Carly. He didn't want her to get nervous or scared, so he just nodded and agreed with whatever she was saying.

"I'm just going to get Dr. Drake. He wanted to see you once you woke up," Jason said, knowing that Patrick and Jax were probably right outside the door, listening to what he was saying to his best friend.

"Noah?" Carly asked.

"No, Patrick," Jason replied, unsure of why she thought he would let Noah Drake anywhere near her head. He was still a recovering alcoholic after all, and Jason would not let any doctor less than brilliant anywhere near Carly.

"You're letting Patrick be my doctor?" Carly asked him, shocked.

"Of course, Carly," Jason replied. "He's one of the best doctors in the world."

"Um…yeah," Carly agreed. "But he's also my best friend – and I know you don't exactly like him."

Jason blinked. He had to admit – hearing Carly call Patrick her best friend hurt. A lot.

Despite the fact that she thought he was her husband.

"He will be professional," Jason settled on saying. Avoiding another lie. Avoiding another truth.

"Always," Carly smiled. "I trust him with my life – I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable with it."

Jason just nodded his agreement. He wondered at Patrick's place in Carly's imaginary life – did Patrick take his place as best friend, confidante, and savior in her fantasy world?

Jason pushed those thoughts aside, focusing on reality. It was what he did best.

"I'll be right back," he assured her as he slipped back into the hallway.

Patrick was leaning against the opposite wall when Jason stepped out of Carly's room. The pensive look on the doctor's face told Jason that he had obviously been listening in.

The now-absent Jax was another clue.

"So?" Jason said lowly after giving Patrick another minute to think.

"I'm going to have to talk to her myself," Patrick told him firmly. "But…"

"But..?" Jason questioned.

"It seems to be that Carly has not lost her memory – her mind has just completely changed her reality. She still knows who you are – but she thinks that you are her husband. And she recognizes Michael's name, but she calls her other child Matthew. There are many other inconsistencies – I believe that she thinks Lulu is her sister," Patrick mused aloud.

"What are you saying?" Jason asked.

"Last time Carly had a brain injury," Patrick said, "she slipped into a coma and lived in a fantasy world with Lorenzo Alcazar. When she woke up, she still had those fantasies with her, and they impaired her emotional responses to the real world. To real people – Sonny, you, her children. This time – she doesn't know that the real world exists."

Jason already knew that he wasn't going to like Patrick's diagnosis.

"So how do you fix her?" Jason inquired.

"I'm going to have to talk to her, see what else she 'remembers'. But something else is bothering me…"

Jason just gave the doctor a look, silently telling him to continue.

"When Carly woke up the first time, Nadine told me that it sounded like she had regressed. She asked to be called 'Caroline Benson', and she didn't recognize Bobbie's name, or her boys, or even Jax. She referred to a procedure that she said wouldn't take that long, and claimed that she had to be home. But when Carly woke up again, she seemed to have no recollection of any of this happening," Patrick told Jason.

Jason began to feel sick to his stomach as Patrick continued.

"Her mind may be recreating her memories every time she falls asleep. I'm going to be keeping Carly here for observations for a while. She is physically fragile right now, and needs to recover. Not to mention that I am going to have to run extensive tests to find the root of her brain damage – I have never seen anything like it," Patrick informed him.

"So you mean…next time she wakes up, she might not remember me?" Jason asked.

"Maybe," Patrick confirmed. "Or maybe she will get her real memories back, perfect and complete. There's no telling what the future might hold – not until I run those tests and speak to her personally."

"And until then?" Jason asked, angrily. Patrick seemed unconcerned that his entire world had just been flipped upside-down.

Jason didn't know what he would do if Carly woke up and didn't remember him.

"Just keep up hope that she will regain her memories," Patrick consoled before stepping into Carly's room.

Jason thought it was quite fitting when the door slammed shut, keeping him out of Carly's hospital room.

He just hoped that he wouldn't be kept out of her life.