Lucky You Have Me

Chapter Five

Jason glared at Milo when he saw her letting Carly pick up the end of a bed rail that had to be moved for the tenth time around the boys room. Throwing up a hand Jason made his displeasure known.

Milo looked blankly at him. "She said she would help. You heard her.....uh, Ms. C...J...Carly....I have it."

Carly smiled at Milo and put it down. "I want it near the window...no...yes, near the window."

Jason raised an eyebrow and gave her a probing look. "The window?"

"Yep."

"You sure?"

"Yes, Jase, the window."

Milo moved it with the help of another gaurd and Carly looked at it over there. "Hmmmm...."

Jason pinched his nose. Carly walked over and rubbed her hand over his back, asking, "You about ready to throw in the towel on re-decorating? I know I'm driving you crazy right about now."

"Its fine. Lets just get this figured out."

The smile she gave him made it all worth the next two hours they spent moving that bed and other furniture around.

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Jason jogged down the stairs. Carly was in the living, which looked the inside of a home decorating store now. He said "I gotta go out."

Opening the closet he got out his lock box then put it on the desk. He opened it and took out a gun, shoving it in his holster and then putting on his leather jacket. He asked her "You gonna be all right?"

"Sure! I have plenty to keep me busy."

He shook his head at the mess and her projects. "Call me if you need me."

"I always do," she said sweetly, giving him a look he knew well. It said: You catch me when I fall.

He nodded at her and turned to open the door. She called out "Thank you again for letting me and the boys invade your home."

Looking back he paused before saying "This is your home, too, Carly." Then he left. Standing by the elevator he looked back at his penthouse for a minute. He usually never had a problem leaving for work, missing what he left at home, but today felt different.

He did his best to ignore it and was satisfied that he was helping his best friend to get through a hard time.

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"Diane says it's a bad idea for Carly to live with you," Sonny told Jason as soon as Jason walked into their office. Sonny shook his head and added "I told her that Carly does what Carly wants but, you know, if it makes it easier on things her and the boys are welcome to come stay with me."

The flare of possessiveness that took hold of Jason just then was intense. "She's already redecorating my place,"he said it in a way that said: She is not going anywhere.

Sonny raised an eyebrow. "She staying that long?"

"You know Carly. She wants to make it nice for her and the kids while she's there. All I care about is she's okay after what Jax pulled."

"That jackass! I was married to that bitch and he didn't say a word. Hey, I know Candy boy ain't looking to do me no favors but Michael...his own stepson? He fed him to a she-wolf."

"Carly says she's done with Jax so Michael won't ever be in danger from him again. Morgan either. Jax don't make decisions about the boys anymore."

"We'll see if Carly sticks with it."

Jason just gave Sonny a long look. "The shipment get in okay?"

Inside though Jason hated to admit that he was thinking the same thing. He wanted Carly to stick to her guns this time but whatever she did was her decision. Jason wouldn't try to influence her.

But thinking about her leaving their home, as he already thought of it again, and going back to Jax made his gut clench. She would do what she did though.

Jason couldn't stop her from following her heart. He had never tried and he never would. He just had to protect his own heart. But how could he? How could he make sure he didn't end up torn apart inside?

He already ached every day over missing being in Jake's life. He had been willing to tell himself so many lies about him and Liz being able to work out in order to try and make a family with her. He gave up Sam and he nearly lost Carly over that mess. He should have done a lot different.

What's done was done but the point is he ached for that...for a home with his woman and his kids where he walked through the door and smiled to see them. If he got used to that with Carly again and then it disappeared how would he deal with that empty feeling taking over another time?

It was probably a bad idea to let her move in and yet Jason did it without thinking twice. He just prayed he did not live to regret it.

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Carly was surprised that the pain in her heart was all but forgotten for a little while that night. She was in the living room with the boys, having dinner in front of the TV, when Jason came in.

Reaching out to him she smiled and said "Get over here. We saved you some."

With a small grin he chucked off his coat and put away his gun. "Who cooked?"

"Graciella and shut up. I have learned a thing or two over the years, you know."

"You learned to cook exactly one thing," he joked "and I won't eat a frozen pizza every night."

Patting the space on the couch between her and Morgan, while Michael sat in the nearby chair, she motioned for him to sit there with this big hopeful look that said he would hurt her feelings if he sat in the other chair. Jason sat down where she wanted and Carly squeezed his bicep.

She tried to feed him a bite of the chili and he protested, taking the spoon from her and saying, "I got it." He tried it. "Good."

Michael said "Morgan whined it was too spicy."

Morgan cried "I did not! I liked it, Uncle Jason."

Michael said "You begged for hot dogs. You're just saying that because Jason likes it."

Morgan argued "You wanted pizza!"

"I'm not the one who whines every dinner about his vegetables."

"Mom does too!"

Carly was about to bust out laughing but she tried to hold it in while she waited for Jason to get sick of it and tell them to be quiet. She could easily do it but she liked to share little parenting moments with Jason because he had missed out on so much over the years.

"Boys," Jason barked. "Enough." Then he looked at the TV and raised an eyebrow. "What is this?"

Carly smiled snuggled in closer to him, just a little. "Project Runway."

Jason looked around for the remote and found it on the end table behind her. He plucked it off by reaching over her.

Michael said "Mom never misses this."

Morgan said "You like it too."

Michael said "The hell I do."

"Michael!" Carly cried. "Watch your mouth. Apologize, now."

"Sorry. I'm gonna go upstairs. I got stuff to do."

Carly made a face. "But we're having family time."

"Mom," Michael whined.

Jason gave him a stern look.

Michael sat back down and Carly smiled again. Jason shook his head at the television show. "What is that guy doing?"

"Making a dress," Carly said.

Jason shook his head as if that was a completely stupid thing to base on TV show on.

Just then Spinelli and Maxie came in the door. "Greetings one and all."

Maxie saw the TV and yelped. "I love this show! Move over." Then she plopped between Jason and Morgan.

Jason gave her a No, you just didn't look. She gave him a blank stare. "What?" Then she looked at the bowls of food on the table. "Is that chili? Is it from Kelly's? Is it vegetarian? Because I eat meat but I'm trying to cut back lately because Kate says its better for your skin. Did you know they put hormones in meat? Isn't that gross?"

Jason rubbed his head.

Carly looked at the TV and said "He is so hearing auf wiedershen this week."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Carly just laughed. "Shhh. This is the good part."

"There is a good part on here?" Jason asked.

"That's what I'm saying," Michael chimed in with.

And for a while that night they were all happy and everything was okay. Carly knew if she wasn't living there with Jason she wouldn't feel this way. She'd be thinking about Jax, all her past mistakes and missteps, or she'd be out looking for some guy to make her life interesting again.

Instead she had her best friend, her kids, Spinelli and his girl- the first one to ever make that guy happy- and life was good. She snaked her arm around Jason's and lay her head on his shoulder while he ate the rest of her chili.