Only Her Hero
Disclaimer: I do not own General Hospital. Carly and Jason are the property of ABC and Disney.
Summary: After ten years of waiting for him, Carly finally settles for him as only her hero. So when Jason changes his mind, will it be too late for her to give their love a chance? Carjax. Jarly.
Eight Months Later - August
"Jason!" Carly shouted, bursting into his office uninvited and interrupting his work.
"Yes, Carly?" he replied, looking up from his paperwork to his best friend. His beautiful, nine-month pregnant, baby-due-any-day best friend. She was glowing and round with the life she created with Jax.
"Jax had to go to Hawaii to check on the hotel!" she burst out crying.
Jason had gotten used to her pregnancy mood swings by now. Carly was emotional on a good day; throw a baby into the mix, and she became even more volatile than usual.
"I'm sorry," he told her sincerely. "Is there anything I can do?"
He couldn't believe that Jax would leave Carly alone so close to her due date. Her husband was so excited about the new baby that for the past eight months Jason had rarely seen them apart. He was afraid that Jax was going to suffocate Carly with his attention; she did love her independence.
"What if he's cheating on me with some beautiful, skinny, Hawaiian tramp?" Carly asked, still crying. Jason hated it when Carly cried, and he knew that he would do anything to make it better for her.
"Carly," Jason sighed, "Jax loves you, and he already loves this baby. He would never cheat on you. If he says it's business, it's business."
Jason always assured Carly when she became insecure. He of all people knew what trouble his best friend could get into when she was upset.
Carly started to calm down at Jason's words. She knew she was being irrational, but she couldn't seem to help it. Carly took a deep breath, counted to ten, and wiped the tear tracks from her face.
"You're the best," she told her best friend seriously. "I don't know what I would do without you."
"Probably plan yourself into a mess somewhere," Jason teased jokingly.
"Probably," Carly affirmed seriously. She knew how much Jason did for her, and she tried never to take it for granted. "And being upset doesn't help the baby. Dr. Lee says I should try to keep my stress down."
"Is everything alright?" Jason questioned her, concerned.
"Yea, everything's fine," she assured him. "Just, with my history, I have to be extra careful. My blood pressure is a little too high for her, but I'm trying to relax."
They both laughed at that. They both knew that Carly couldn't relax for anything. She always had to be doing something.
"Are you staying alone with the boys while Jax is away?" Jason asked her. He was worried, justifiably considering what happened the previous two times she went into labor.
"No," Carly replied. "Sonny is keeping the boys with him until the baby comes, and Mercedes went with them. With the whole stress thing, we agreed that it would be best if he took care of Michael and Morgan. I just need to concentrate on eating right and resting."
"Well, then what are you doing on your feet?" Jason asked her. He led her to sit down in the comfortable chair behind the desk.
"I was going to ask you if you would stay with me at the house. It would make me feel safer," Carly asked him seriously, looking at him with her beautiful baby blue eyes.
"Of course," Jason replied immediately. He hadn't gotten to spend nearly as much time as he wanted with her the past eight months. Jax hogged most of her time, but Jason tried not to resent his best friend's husband.
"Thanks," Carly answered back, not quite shocked. She had thought that she would have to convince him.
"It's nothing," he told her seriously. "I'd feel better if you weren't in that house all by yourself so close to your due date."
"Yea, look what happened last time you weren't there when I went into labor. I got shot in the head," Carly joked.
Jason didn't think it was funny.
"That never should have happened," Jason said. The thought of her in that coma after Morgan's birth still pained him. And the fact that her injury led to her marriage to Alcazar still haunted him.
"You can't be everywhere," Carly reminded him. He may be her hero, but he wasn't Superman.
"But I can be there when you need me," Jason said firmly.
"Well, I'm hoping that this little one's birth goes better than the previous two. I want to spend that first month with this little life I created, and all the months after that," Carly told him. She got a sad look in her eye whenever she thought about all the time she lost with Michael and Morgan when they were babies.
"I'll make sure of it, Carly," Jason assured her.
Carly smiled at her best friend. She trusted him wholeheartedly, but somewhere in the past ten years she learned that he wasn't god. Jason couldn't control everything, couldn't make everything better. And he shouldn't have to; Carly needed to learn to stand more on her own two feet.
"I'm planning on breastfeeding!" she told him excitedly, changing the subject. "It's something that I didn't get to do with the boys. Besides, they say its better for development, and it helps you lose the pregnancy weight faster!"
Jason laughed at that last part. That was Carly, constantly worried about her image and how other people saw her. Sometimes he had to bite his tongue, or he would tell her that she was the most beautiful woman in the world no matter what.
"Congratulations," Jason told Carly, shaking his head at her.
"Anyway, I'm going home now for a nap," she replied as she tried to struggle to her feet. Jason went over to her and helped her up, steadying Carly with a hand on her back and one on her arm.
"Take Max with you," he told her sternly. He honestly didn't want her only for a second this close to the baby's birth. With Carly's history…well, Jason did not want to take any chances.
"You need him to guard the door," Carly reminded him. Jason sighed at her, exasperated.
"Milo is taking over guard duty in…" Jason checked his watch, "…right now, actually. Max can take you to your house and stay with you until I get home."
When Jason saw that Carly was about to protest, he cut her off, "I'll pay him triple for overtime, okay?"
His best friend huffed. Jason tried to hide his smile, but sometimes Carly could be so cute when she was annoyed.
"I don't need a babysitter," she reminded him. "I'm a big girl now."
"I know, Carly. But it would make me feel better if someone was with you at all times. If you go into labor, I want somebody there to drive you to the hospital and make sure nothing goes wrong. With Jax gone and the boys with Sonny, I'll assign a guard to stay close to you to help with whatever you need, in addition to your regular guards outside the house," Jason told her. Although Carly looked like she would protest at first, she sighed and gave in.
"Alright," she told him. "But only because it makes you feel better."
"Thank you," Jason replied, smiling at her softly.
"Oh," Carly let out, shocked, as he raised a hand to brush her hair out of her face.
"What's wrong?" Jason asked anxiously.
"The baby kicked," she replied. "This kid is gonna be a soccer player, let me tell you."
Carly put her own hand where the baby kicked, and then reached for Jason's hand. She put it under her top, searching for the baby's movement.
"There we go," she said, as the baby moved under Carly and Jason's intertwined hands.
Jason was in awe, staring down at their hands on Carly's beautiful bump. The baby moved under his fingers again, and he fell in love with Carly all over again. Jason had to bite back the tears at the knowledge that this amazing little miracle wasn't his.
"See, my baby knows his hero already," Carly told him, teasingly.
"Yes you do, you smart little boy. You know your hero, Uncle Jason. You're going to be named after him," she spoke down to her bump. The baby kicked again, as if understanding his mother.
"How do you know it's a boy?" Jason asked her softly as he stared down at the beautiful face of the woman he denied being in love with for the past ten years. He knew that Carly said she didn't want Dr. Lee to tell her the gender of the baby; she wanted it to be a surprise.
"I just know," Carly said stubbornly. "Jason Jasper Jacks. I have a name picked out and everything. I get to name the baby if it's a boy; Jax's get the privilege if it's a girl."
"I hope you're right," he told her seriously. "You deserve the world. Anything you want should be yours."
Carly swallowed at his words. She refused to point out to him that she didn't want the world, she wanted him. But Carly had given up when she realized Jason couldn't give her what she wanted, what she needed. The baby changed everything.
"Jax thinks so too," she settled for reminding him.
Jason managed to repress his scowl. He never did like her husband, but he would support Carly no matter what. And he knew Jax loved her.
"Okay, Carly," Jason changed the topic. "You have to go home and take a nap now. Max!" he called to the guard outside his door.
"Yea, boss?" Max questioned.
"Take Carly home. Stay with her until I send another guard," Jason ordered.
"Of course, boss," Max answered immediately. "Does Mr. Jacks know…?"
"Mr. Jacks is out of town," Jason cut him off. "I'm going to be staying with Carly until he gets back. When I'm not with her, I want an additional guard with her as her personal escort. I don't want her stressed or wanting for anything. Take care of it."
Max nodded, and he helped walk Carly to the door. He handled her gently, like she was fine porcelain. Jason closed his eyes for a moment and sighed before returning to his work. He knew his best friend was in good hands with Max.
After all, Max loved her.
'Just like almost every other man in Port Charles,' Jason reminded himself.
"Including you," he said to himself, as he remembered Carly's words from eight months ago.
"Jason," Carly said tentatively, "I love him! I'm in love with him! I waited years for you to give us a chance. When you gave me away at my wedding to Jax, I finally began to give up on there ever being an 'us'. But I still love you. I will always love you. You're my best friend. My hero!"
Jason would make sure that he lived up to her faith in him, no matter how painful it was to watch her build a life and a family with Jax.