Note- I broke this into two stories because Sexy, Can I? is all about their physical attraction. This is all about what causes an emotional bond. The tone is completely, completely different. This story is not sexual at all.

Its violent and disturbing at parts though.

This story has a lot of Carly in it but this is firmly a Jaudia story. It is not any sort of triangle. There is only a strong Jarly friendship, true to the show, and nothing more.

Carly plays a major role in bringing about Jaudia's emotional connection though.

Days of Heartbreak

Part One

The Sequel to Sexy, Can I?

November 2007

The Black and White Ball would always go down in Jason's mind as one of the craziest nights of his life. The highs were high as hell- he could still taste Claudia on his lips- but the lows were down right devastating.

During the blackout, Anthony Zacchara went nuts and caused a world of mayhem for all of them, chasing Lulu and Spinelli around in the rain, stabbing Ric, and now he has a gun to Carly's head in the middle of the foyer.

Being Carly she had snuck out of the ballroom Jason left her in, with Cooper Barret who was armed and could keep the guests safe. Jason should have made her promise not to go search for Lulu. That was his first mistake. He won't make a second.

One minute earlier Jason had been creeping down the darkened hallway at Wyndermere, trying to find Anthony, when he heard the man yelling "Corinthos! Morgan! Come out, come out, wherever you are! No more hide and seek! Time for shoot and die!"

Then Jason heard a scream...and he knew whose scream that was.

He ran to the foyer to find Carly shivering in fear as Anthony Zacchara holds a gun to her head. A crowd from the ballroom is gathered around.

"Back..back..." Jason says, as he whips out his gun. "Everybody back off."

Luke chimes in "You heard him, party people. Back in the ballroom. Come on. Chop. Chop. You don't wanna be in the middle of this."

It takes a minute but Luke manages to conjole or flat out threaten everyone back inside but Claudia. Bobbie is working on saving Ric's life in another room, as he bleeds uncontrollably from a stab wound, and Lucky is searching the mansion for Anthony.

Jason tells Anthony "Put the gun down."

"Or what will you do, Morgan? Spank me! Ha..."

"No. I'll put a hole right through you."

Anthony laughs manically and yanks Carly right in front of him. "And you'll kill her if you do! Who's the smart cookie now?"

Jason has his eyes locked on the scene in front of him but he hears Claudia taking slow steps closer. "Daddy...Daddy...what are you doing?" she asks softly, trying to calm him down.

"Maria, is that you? I love it when you call me Daddy. I can't talk right now though. I have to kill this little whore."

He presses the gun to Carly's temple. She cries out. Jason starts walking closer. Claudia moves in too. She tells Jason "Let me..."

His gun is still raised and pointed right at Anthony but he can't get a decent angel for a shot that won't also put a bullet in Carly. He's thinking about trying to get her to understand that she should fall to the ground when he motions for her to. But that will only work if he can get that understood without saying a word aloud.

Jason stares at Carly hard as Claudia starts to speak "Yeah...its me, its Maria...Daddy," her voice cracks a little. "I want to go look at the beautiful rose gardens they have here. Will you come with me? You know how I..." Claudia chokes out "love my roses."

Jason can tell its physically painful for her to do this but he couldn't be more grateful that she is.

"Maria," Anthony says "sure...you know I'd do anything for you...right after I...KILL this BITCH! Bang! Bang, bitch!" Anthony laughs again. "Corinthos! Where the hell are you? You got to see this! You messed with my kid. You messed with John! Now I'm gonna kill your wife and then your little girlfriend too! CORINTHOS!"

"Daddy! Stop...you're scaring me. You're scaring your Maria. You don't want to do that, do you?" Claudia walks close to him.

"Stop interfering in my business or I'll have to kill you, Claudia. And don't you ever pretend to be my Maria again. Do you think your Pops is crazy or something?"

"Then kill me, Daddy. But let her go. Let Carly go...its me you really want dead...you can have me...you can have what you always wanted most, Daddy...you can have your little girl and do whatever you want to her."

Jason felt like throwing up the minute he walked into this foyer and saw Carly with a gun to her head but what Claudia said...that actually makes bile rise in his throat. His gut burns with anger at whatever Anthony has put her through in her life, and all he did to Lulu and Spinelli tonight, and what he is doing to Carly. Anthony Zacchara is finished.

Anthony starts to loosen his grip on Carly. Jason nods his head to the side, the fingers of his free hand, that is at his side, make a 1, 2, 3 signal, as he tries to get across to Carly to throw herself down on three.

He raises on eyebrow. She nods.

Anthony has loosened his grip more. He's staring at Claudia like she's a delicious meal. Her head is held high but her eyes are haunted. Jason notices her hand is shoved in her purse, probably with her fingers around a gun.

One, he motions to Carly by showing her only one finger at his side.

"Daddy...I'm right here...take me, Daddy...I'm yours."

"Claudia...you're trying to TRICK me again! You won't let me!"

"No, Daddy, no...I'll let you...I'll be your Maria...please let me be, Daddy."

Jason motions two.

Anthony lets go of Carly some more and starts to reach for Claudia.

Jason motions three.

All of a sudden Sonny appears at the top of the stairs, with a head wound from where he earlier tangled with Anthony and got knocked out. He yells at the top of his lungs "Let her go now, you crazy bastard!"

Mayhem ensues. Anthony tries to jerk Carly back but she's already throwing herself down, while Claudia pulls out her gun. Anthony sees this, sees her betrayal, and his face falls while his eyes fill with rage. He raises his gun toward Claudia but before he gets halfway up, Jason and Claudia both fill him with holes.

A moment later, Sonny is downstairs, people are screaming in the ballroom because they heard the gunfire, and Jason is crouched on the ground holding Carly close to him. His eyes meet Claudia's. She looks shattered...he hates that she had to kill her own father...no one should have to do that.

He watches her turn and look down at Anthony and say, in a tear filled voice, "Daddy."

XXXXXXXXX

A few minutes later, Carly is calm enough to go into the ballroom with Sonny, saying she's going to get a drink and there better be some damn alcohol left at this party.

Jason makes his way to Claudia, who is sitting next to her father. Her eyes are flat as she stares at him, but her face is wet from the silent tears that slide down it. He crouches down next to her. "Hey."

Claudia looks at him. "Your friend...she's okay, right?"

"Carly's fine...Why don't we cover him up?"

She takes his hand and strokes it. "No...I want to look at my Daddy a while longer. I want to remember for the rest of my life that...he was not a good man. I don't want to forget that. I can't forget that because then..." she stops suddenly, as if she just realized she had revealed too much.

"I'm sorry you had to do this. But you had to...he gave you no choice."

"We always have choices, Morgan."

"Not always. You had to do this. Hey...look at me, please." Their eyes meet. "You had to do this...and you can live with this...but you shouldn't have to. I should have handled Anthony a while ago...before tonight...before you had to live with what happened here."

"Everybody has things they have to live with," she says in a haunted voice. Then she looks at the dead body of her father and repeats "Everyone."

They hear a man ask, in a shocked and teary tone, from the stairway "Claudia?"

"John...Daddy's gone, Johnny. I killed him. I killed Daddy."

John Zacchara, who was rain soaked and looked like he had been wrestling in the mud, came down the last few stairs slowly. Then he ran over and fell on his knees, dragging Claudia into his arms, he stroked her hair.

Jason stood up and walked away. He owed Claudia a debt now. And he would never forget that.