Author's Note: Hey everyone! Glad you liked the last chapter so much...it's really getting harder and harder for me as I finish this story, especially since the actual show is sucking hardcore right now when it comes to our couple. Anways, the more reviews I get, the better I feel (hint hint) LOL. So, here's the next chapter! The upcoming ones are some of my favorites so I really hope you ENJOY!
~JP

True North
By Jaclyn Parker

"You create your opportunities by asking for them."
~Shakti Gawain
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Time passed quickly and before they knew it, autumn was on their doorstep. However, it was still surprisingly warm towards the end of first full week in October and so, on Thursday, Parker called to ask if he and J.J. could play soccer in the park after school with their friends instead of coming straight home. Carly had readily agreed as long as they were done by four-thirty and gave her a call on her cell phone when they were finally heading home.

The two brothers had been on the same team, along with Mattie, Faith, and a couple of J.J.'s teammates from baseball that past spring. They had beaten the other team, even though it had consisted of mostly 11th grade friends of Parker and Mattie, by a solid three goals by the time the game was called.

However the jovial mood from winning wore off fast as Parker started needling his brother on a certain sore subject as they neared Milltown.

"Just…do…it." Parker said as he followed a fuming J.J. into the house.

Tossing his backpack and their soccer gear down on the floor, J.J. whirled around to glare at his older brother.

"No way! It's too late, I'm gonna look like an idiot, and I'm not going to do it!" He said loudly, his glare only intensifying when Parker rolled his eyes.

"And just what is it that you aren't going to do that you feel the need to shout your decision through the whole house?"

Both boys turned their heads to become aware of Carly sitting at the dining room table with several sketches scattered about. She had a red colored pencil in the corner of her mouth and one eyebrow raised in a half curious, half frustrated expression.

"Oh, hi, Mom." They said, practically in sync. Both of them also gave sheepish looks when they spotted the pink and brown Pack N' Play situated a few feet from the table.

Knowing that she wanted something for Emmy to be in while she worked around the house, it had been one of the first purchases that Carly had made once she had gotten home. She and Sage had looked around on the internet for a design print they liked and had managed to narrow it down to two. But once they read the name of the one design pattern, they had been sold. Now the whole "Emelia" collection from Graco, that they jokingly had shortened to the "Emmy" collection, was littered around their house from the playpen to stroller to new car seat and high chair.

Carly caught their glances towards the sleeping infant and frowned. "No, you didn't wake her. Although not for the lack of trying."

Before the words fully left her mouth, the two boys went over to get a look at their baby sister, each bending down to kiss her gently as she slept on in the removable bassinet that came with the playpen.

Carly's heart melted, as it always did, at the sight. All three of her older children simply doted on Emmy to the point that they sometimes even argued over who got to hold her or feed her next. Somehow though, when it came to changing a dirty diaper, that job still fell mostly to her and Jack.

Shaking her head she brought her thoughts back to the earlier situation.

"So what is it that you won't do, J.J.?" Carly asked, her voice low as not to wake Emmy, and immediately J.J. blushed.

"It's no big deal, Mom." J.J. said, moving away from the table to flop down on the couch. "Really, it's just…"

"The fall dance is tomorrow night and J.J. finally worked up the goddamn nerve to ask Faith for her friend Becca's phone number." Parker interrupted. Crossing his arms he wandered over to lean against the desk by the front door with a self-righteous look on his face. "Only now, he's too chicken shit to call and ask her."

"Dude, shut…up!" J.J. said, his hands curling into fists and starting to rise from the couch.

"Whoa, okay, let's calm down and…lose the cursing, please." Carly said, raising her hand and giving Parker a distinct look.

He mumbled an apology under his breath, looking anywhere but at her. Satisfied that he was properly remorseful, Carly shifted her focus back to J.J.

"Now, why won't you call her?" She asked but J.J. just shrugged, frowning.

"It's the biggest dance of the year, other than the proms, and it's tomorrow. She probably already has another date and she'll just say no."

"Well, do you really like this girl? I mean, as more than a friend?" Carly asked sending him an amused look and J.J. blushed.

"Mom!" He protested but she just grinned at him.

"I'll take that as a yes."

J.J. rolled his eyes but the small smile that slipped out onto his face told her all the information she needed to know; her newly sixteen year old son had a major crush.

"J.J., just call her, honey. It can't hurt, right? If she is already going with someone else, then there's nothing you can do about it. But if she isn't…" Carly trailed off and shrugged like J.J. had a moment ago.

"Come on, J.J., do it. It's not that hard." Parker said, exasperated and J.J. narrowed his eyes again in his direction.

"What do you know about it? You have a built in date because you have a girlfriend."

"So could you if you just grew a set and called Becca." Parker said disdainfully.

Carly closed her eyes briefly at his choice of phrasing but, to her credit, she let it slide. At this point, in the art of raising teenagers, Carly was learning more and more when to pick her battles.

"Besides, she likes you too." Parker said, apparently deciding to stop giving him grief and show the more supportive side of being a big brother.

"Really?" J.J. asked, his interest suddenly peaked. "How do you know?"

"Faith told me. You know her date, Jake Cooper? Well, his best friend, Matt Schaffer, already asked Becca to go with him but she turned him down. Faith said Becca told her it was because she wanted you to ask her." Parker said and J.J.'s mouth dropped open even as Carly was still trying to follow the line of "who" said "what" to "whom" in the information that Parker had just given out.

"Why didn't you say something before?" He asked in annoyance and Parker shrugged.

"Um, cause I have my own life. Anyway, how was I to know that you would be such a wuss that you wouldn't do it by now?"

J.J. looked from his mother to his brother then back again before blowing out a long sigh. With a slightly apprehensive look, he pulled out his cell phone and began dialing a number that was written on a pink Post-It note that just happened to be in his front jean's pocket.

Five minutes later he was hanging up the phone with a grin on his face and a date for the dance.

"See? Was that so hard?" Parker asked sarcastically.

"Yes!" J.J. replied, running a hand through his hair and giving Parker a look. "Like I said, you have no idea the pressure. Remember…built in date."

"You know, I really hope you never let Mattie catch you saying something like that." Parker said and chuckled as he thought about what his girlfriend would say…or do…if she found out that J.J. thought she was a sure thing as a date just because she was Parker's girlfriend.

As it was, Parker had still given her a small bouquet of flowers when he asked her about going to the fall dance right before going to study hall a couple weeks ago. Of course, he had also done it because it had earned him a nice long kiss in the middle of the school hallways.

"Yeah, yeah." J.J. said and then his face paled. "Oh my god, what the hell do you wear to this thing?"

"Wear to what thing?" Jack asked as he walked in the front door just behind Sage. He had hold of her light pink backpack and was playfully steering her in zigzag directions, making her laugh loudly every time he jerked her to another side.

"Our sons are going to the fall dance tomorrow night and are worried about their wardrobe." Carly said, throwing a significant look at them before directing their attention to the playpen.

Both Sage and Jack made apologetic faces and turned to hush each other comically in over exaggerated whispers and movements. Then, with the two of them fighting back laughs, Jack helped her take off her backpack and hang it up on the coat hook.

Carly shook her head in defeat and, placing the colored pencil down, she rose from the table. Stretching, she leaned over to peek in on Emmy to make sure she was still sleeping soundly before heading over to receive a hug from her older daughter and quick kiss from Jack.

"The fall dance, huh? Gonna show off your moves?" Jack said and everyone let out a low groan as Jack faked a dance step.

Sage rolled her eyes and took a large stride away from him as Carly good-naturedly held onto his upper torso in an unsuccessful effort to try and get him to stop moving. Jack was about to continue his teasing when Sage suddenly spoke up.

"Wait! Tomorrow is Sara Beth's sleepover party!" She looked troubled, as if her parents would totally forget that she had big plans for Friday night too.

"I know, Sweetie." Carly said, placing a comforting hand on Sage's head. "Your friend Elena Romero's mom and I already figured everything out. Since they only live a couple neighborhoods over, she is going to pick you up here at 7:30 to take you two to Sara Beth's house. Then either Daddy or I will pick you guys up on Saturday morning."

"Oh, okay." Sage said and apparently Carly's answer satisfied her enough that she wandered over to stare at her baby sister.

"Sage, please let her be. I finally got her to go down for a nap about an hour ago." Carly said quietly but sternly.

Sage rolled her eyes again in that classic adolescent gesture and backed away from the bassinet with her hands up in the air. Then, without another word, she turned to disappear into the kitchen. Hearing the muffled clunk of the ceramic cookie jar lid landing on the counter, Carly frowned.

"Don't even think about it, Sage! Dinner's already in the oven!" Carly called out and then jumped as the rest of her family shushed her. All eyes turned to Emmy, who wiggled and whimpered but then settled back down with a long suffering sigh.

Shooting Carly amused looks, J.J. and Parker decided to head into the kitchen on a snack search too and left their parents alone in the living room with Emmy.

"Long day?" Jack asked, briefly hugging Carly to his side and she shook her head.

"No, not really. We had our normal morning jog and then a nap, before we met up with Lily for lunch. Since Ethan had a half day at pre-school we just hung around the playground for a while afterwards catching up. But I guess that the second trip in the outdoor air really stimulated her because, like I said, she only just fell asleep a little while ago." Carly said, sliding out from under his arm and heading back over to the table. "Being out with her today gave me some really good ideas. I got started on some new sketches and was hoping to finish a few of them before I had to check on dinner or before Emmy woke up again for her next feeding."

"Has Monique been pressuring you about a decision?" Jack asked quietly.

"No." Carly answered just as quietly. "She's actually been pretty fantastic about not pushing me. Especially since I'm sure she's getting pressure of her own from every direction."

About three weeks after Carly had woken up from her coma and had been situated back at home, Monique had called from L.A. to talk to her. After relaying her joy again at Carly's recovery, she had informed her that the big wigs at the parent company of MoJo Designs had expressed a desire to sign Carly on as a full time designer with her own label. The only catch was that they wanted her to work out of L.A. and they wanted her decision by the end of the month.

Jack watched Carly frown and his heart squeezed at the thought of her having such a choice to make. Yes, she had stated several times that she would perfectly happy to stay in Oakdale with just Metro as a business but Jack could tell that her entire being was aching to hang on to that dream of being a successful fashion designer.

"But, in the meantime, I told her I would have some sketches done up to showcase some ideas for the upcoming winter line." Carly said, her eyes scanning the drawings that she had been working on and Jack could tell that she was already halfway back into work mode.

"Hey, why don't you let me take over dinner? That way you can finish up your work." Jack said and Carly looked up at him with a small smirk.

"Can you do it without burning the house down?" She joked, sitting down again, and Jack huffed playfully.

"Excuse me, Miss High and Mighty. Who was it that mostly taught you how to cook?"

"Emma." Carly said without missing a beat and Jack mischievously growled at her.

He walked over to her side and bent down to nibble on her neck. Jack knew it was a huge ticklish spot for her and wrapped his arms around her upper body so that she couldn't get away. By doing so, he was forcing her to muffle the giggles that threatened to escape her for fear of waking the baby.

"Okay, okay! You did!" Carly said, gasping for breath and he straightened back up, releasing her as he grinned victoriously.

"Yeah…that's what I thought!" Jack said and went to go into the kitchen, where he could hear the voices of their other children chatting away. But he stopped halfway there and turned back to Carly with a thoughtful expression.

"Hey, I have an idea." Jack said and she turned to stare at him curiously. "What's stopping us from going out tomorrow night too?"

"What?" Carly asked, slightly bewildered by his question.

"I mean, it wouldn't be anything as cool as a fall dance or a sleepover party but still…we could do it." He added and this time she looked at him as if he suddenly had three heads. "You know…like on a date."

"Jack, what in the world are you…" She started to say but Jack held up his hand to stop her.

"No, wait, hear me out. The kids are all going to be out and I think it would be nice for the two of us to get out of the house too and just, you know, be together." Jack said and Carly hesitated, obviously tempted, but then she frowned.

"Um, Jack, aren't you forgetting something? We have four children now. What do we do with Emmy?"

"Carly, I know it's been a while since Sage was that little but I'm sure you haven't forgotten that long time-honored tradition of the baby-sitter." Jack said, raising an eyebrow when she rolled her eyes.

"Yes, thank you, Jack. It's just…" Carly trailed off, uncertain at even the thought of leaving Emmy.

Since mother and daughter had been home from the hospital, Carly and Jack had each gone out separately with their friends as well as gone out together with the kids as a family several times. However, this would be the first time that Carly and Jack would be away from the baby at the same time...and alone.

"I promise, we can make it a quick evening if you don't want to stay out too late. Maybe just dinner and dessert at the Lakeview? You know they have that new special dark chocolate brownie." Jack said, the gleam in his eye showing off just how well he knew the reference to anything chocolate would tempt her. "That is, if you'd even want it."

True to form, Carly wavered at the mention of such an enticing offer and then glanced again at Emmy's sleeping form.

"Who would we get to watch her?" Carly asked and Jack threw his hands up.

"Are you kidding me? Emma's been dying to get her hands on her namesake for weeks and if she can't do it, I'm pretty sure Molly would be on our doorstep faster than you could finish asking her."

"Well I…I'm not…oh, I don't know, Jack." Carly said and bit her lip.

Truth was, as wonderful as it had been the past couple of months between her and Jack, she was scared shitless at the thought of being alone with him in such a romantic context. Other than at night, when Jack would hold her in his arms and they would fall asleep together, they hadn't moved very far beyond sweet kisses every now and then.

Sticking to their original plan, they had been taking things extremely slow. And, with everything better among the whole family dynamic than it had ever been so far, she was afraid of messing with a good thing.

"Carly," Jack said, his voice suddenly becoming very serious. He walked over to kneel down beside her chair and looked her directly in her eyes. "Please? Go on a date with me tomorrow night?"

Staring into the warm and sincere chocolate brown eyes that lured her in as much as any delectable dessert, she finally sighed and smiled softly.

"Okay, Jack. I'd love to go out on a date with you." Carly said, placing a gentle hand on his cheek. "You can 'pick me up' at a quarter to eight."

Jack grinned and leaned forward to kiss her lightly, then headed back to the kitchen. But she called his name again and he stopped, turning to look at her over his shoulder with a questioning gaze.

"Seeing as we live in the same house…don't be late." Carly said cheekily, her blue eyes twinkling.

Jack just winked before disappearing into the kitchen. His voice floated out into the dining area, accompanied by the laughter and chatter of their children. Carly listened contentedly for a long moment and then looked down into the bassinet by her side. As if sensing her mother's eyes on her and the good mood in the house, the baby's dimples suddenly appeared as she smiled faintly in her slumber. Carly tenderly ran her fingertips over Emmy's satin soft cheek as she once again found herself falling head over heels in love with the tiny blessing that lay before her. When she turned back to focus again on her work, it was no surprise that Carly had a smile on her lips as well.

She was doing some of the best sketches she had ever done, all of her kids were happy and healthy, and tomorrow night…she had a date with Jack!