As they pulled up into the driveway Sam was starting to look more and more confused. Alexis hadn't told her where they were going, only that she had something to show her. When Alexis and Kristina got out of the car she followed. It was one of the houses she'd seen on their way home the other night and Sam thought it was just as lovely in the day as it was at night. She followed her mother and aunt onto the deck and smiled. "Oh, you can see the lake from here!" She stood on her tiptoes as she leaned against the railing and stared out at the calm water "Mom, who lives here?"

Alexis was beaming as she waved Sam inside after unlocking the door. Once they were inside she answered, "No one right now but in a few weeks we will."

Sam's eyes got huge. She stared at her mom for a long moment before asking, "We will?"

Alexis nodded, her smile huge and bright as she dangled the keys. "I bought it. This is our house."

Sam's eyes got even wider as her jaw dropped. "We're going to live here?"

"Yeap." Alexis said as she smiled at her beaming child. "You and Kristina will have your own rooms. There's lots of room to play and we're right near the lake."

Tears welled in Sam's eyes. It felt like a dream. Another silly wish made on a star that was coming true. "I'm going to live in a house?"

Alexis' heart was breaking and soaring at the same time as she went over and pulled her little girl into her arms and hugged her tight. "Any place that has us together is our home, baby, but yes, we're going to live here in the lake house."

"I've never…" Sam started.

"I know." Alexis said softly as she leaned down and kissed her daughter on the forehead. She cupped Sam's face in her hands and used her thumbs to wipe away her tears.

Kristina was ecstatic. She was excited and happy for her family. Sam deserved the best, Alexis did too, and it felt good to see them both getting it from each other. "When do we move in?"

"In a few weeks." Alexis replied. "I want to redecorate, update the kitchen, and let you two decorate your rooms however you want." She hugged Sam again before saying, "So you two should go pick out which room you want. Mine is the master bedroom, but there are four others to choose from."

Sam hugged her mom tight and then pulled away and took off running. "I wanna see the lake from mine!"

Jax snuck up behind Alexis and wrapped his arms around her, causing her to squeak in surprise. "You're such a wonderful mother. You bought your child a house simply because she'd never lived in one."

"I want to give her everything, Jax." Alexis replied as she leaned back against him. "I want her to have a good childhood, a safe, loving home, a place she can always come back too even when she'd a beautiful grown woman."

"I love you." Jax said as he turned her in his arms.

Alexis smiled just before he leaned down and kissed her.

When the kiss ended he looked down into her beautiful brown eyes as he said, "If I'm ever blessed enough to be a father; I want you to my child's mother."

Those beautiful brown eyes went wide. "Jax."

He smiled brightly and then kissed her again. "I'm just letting you know a head of time."

Because AJ was out of town looking at a college in the city Bobbie and Monica thought it was a good time for them to have dinner together and for Carly to come along. Carly was feeling more then a little nervous as she and Bobbie were ushered into the foyer of the Quartermain mansion. She looked around as she slipped off her jacket and handed it to the man Bobbie called Reginald. While he took their jackets a rather large, scary looking woman lead them to the sitting room.

"Bobbie and Carly Spencer are here Dr. Qs." Alice announced.

Monica smiled as she got up to greet her guests. "I'm glad you both could make it. Welcome Carly."

"Thank you." Carly said softly. She was feeling very out of place. She'd met both the doctors Quartermain at the hospital and they seemed nice enough, but this was more then a little overwhelming.

Alan smiled as he came up to her and Bobbie. "Let me introduce you my dear." He said as he offered his arm to her. Carly looked over at Bobbie who gave her a warm smile and reassuring nod. Carly took Alan's arm and he led her over to his mother. "Carly, this is my mother, Lila Quartermain."

Carly gave the woman a bright smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Quartermain. I've heard a lot about you."

Lila gave the girl a bright smile as she took Carly's hand. "It's very nice to meet you as well my dear. I must say you have made Bobbie very happy and I wanted to say thank you. I'm rather fond of her you know."

That made the teen blush. She liked Lila instantly. She was also introduced to Edward, who was brash and a bit of a curmudgeon, but she kind of liked him right off the bat too. She shouldn't have been surprised. Sam had already met them and had taken an instant liking to the elderly couple, and Sam didn't instantly like many, so it said a lot about them that Sam liked them so easily. Carly was far less taken with Alan's sister Tracy. Within five seconds she could tell the woman was a bitch. Ned was ok but she could see why Alexis had tossed him over for someone like Jax. Then of course there was Jason and Emily who'd she'd already met. They all settled in for pre-dinner drinks and conversation and it took Carly some time to relax, though she never really completely relaxed. As they chatted she found herself drawn to Lila and spent most of her time talking to her. When they were called to dinner she even walked along side the Quartermain matriarch. Carly found it kind of amazing that this regal woman had once been an English actress and was soaking in Lila's stories like a dry sponge soaking in water.

After dinner Jason came up to her and said, "They delivered my car this morning." He smiled warmly at her. "Thanks for helping me out. It's an awesome car."

Carly gave him a small smile. "Cool, I'm glad."

"Do you want to go out and have a look?" Jason asked warmly. "I bet you could use a breather for a few minutes." Carly was about to protest but he stopped her. "It's ok, I know it can be really daunting meeting my family. Sometimes even we need a breather from each other."

"In that case." Carly said with a soft chuckle. "Yeah, I could use a moment or two."

Jason gave her a smile and after retrieving their jackets headed out to the Quartermain garage. Carly blinked as she looked around. "Holy crap. You weren't kidding when you said you didn't really need another car. I've never seen a garage with so many doors."

Jason chuckled as he led her over to his car. He opened the passenger side door and got in the back. It was a convertible and since the top was down he sat on the trunk with his feet in the back seat. "I tried to tell Grandfather I didn't need it, but I guess he bought AJ one for his sixteenth birthday, he bought one for my Aunt Tracy, and my Dad on theirs. Grandmother says that buying big expensive gifts is how he shows his love."

"Well," Carly said as she sat in the front passenger seat with the door open. She kept her legs outside the car and twisted to look back at Jason as they spoke. "I guess he is kind of older and some old people aren't comfortable with emotions."

"That's what Grandmother says." Jason said with a nod. He paused a moment and then said, "So, how do you like PCH?"

Carly shrugged. "It's not so bad. It helped that I already knew Kristina, and Zander's been a big help."

"Kristina's great, I like her, don't think I know Zander." Jason commented before adding. "It's a whole lot better then boarding school."

"You went to boarding school?" Carly asked.

Jason nodded. "Until I started high school. So I know how it feels to be the new kid in school."

Inside AJ walked into the sitting room and surprised everyone. He was surprised to see Bobbie there because she hadn't come to dinner since Carly arrived. He then started to wonder if Carly was there as well. He bickered with his father over being left out; Alan could tell he'd been drinking and asked him to go upstairs. AJ got defensive and walked out of the room. Monica apologized to Bobbie. She knew her friend was concerned about AJ's treatment of her daughter, and to be honest Monica was worried too. AJ had been so focused on his brother's girl, Keisha Ward, why would he suddenly be so interested in a girl who was three years younger and still just a little girl.

AJ found out from the staff that Carly was outside with Jason. Jason. It figured. His golden boy brother always drew people to him with such ease. Brenda. Keisha. Karen. Why should it be any surprise that Carly would like him better too? He'd thought that a girl like Carly, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, wouldn't be into Jason's sweetness and light. He paused on his way out to where they were to pull his flask out of his pocket. He downed more vodka and then staggered his way out to them.

Carly and Jason were simply chatting, laughing, and enjoying each other's company. Jason was ok, but Carly thought he was kind of a golden boy. He was a little to preppy for her tastes. He was cute, though she thought he could use a hair cut. To be honest she was far more into Zander, but Jason could be an ok friend. Neither of them saw AJ until he was climbing into the driver's seat of Jason's car.

"AJ?" Jason asked in surprise. "What are you doing here? I thought you were spending the weekend at Columbia? What the hell are you doing?"

"Nice car little bro." AJ slurred as he reached across Carly, pulled her legs into the car, and closed her door.

Carly froze. She could smell the alcohol. She could feel his body heat. His touch made her sick as memories flooded her mind and she froze, wide-eyed and unable to breathe.

"You're drunk!" Jason said as he tried to snatch the keys from his brother. "AJ, you can't drive! You're drunk! What the hell are you doing?"

"Oh, come on, Jas, I shared my car with you." AJ replied. "You can share yours with me." He turned and smiled at Carly. "Come on babe, let's take this baby out for a test drive!" He started the car and took off. "Jason's to much of a good boy to really give her a good go."

Something deep inside her told Carly to reach for the seatbelt and put it on as tears welled in her eyes. Her hands were trembling, she was struggling with it, but she managed to get it on.

Jason noticed how Carly was reacting and tried like hell to get AJ to stop. "Come on man! You're scaring the hell out of her!"

Tires screeched and the smell of burning rubber filling the air.

Carly screamed as the car slammed into the tree.

Everything went dark.

She could hear voices but they sounded distant. The first one, a man's, she didn't know, or didn't know well. Then there were sirens and the sound of more unfamiliar men. She was cold, she was hurt, and she was alone in the darkness with unfamiliar voices and terrifying sounds. Carly wanted her mother, she wanted Bobbie, and she tried to call out for her but she couldn't speak. All she could do was hurt and be scared.

Bobbie's whole world came to a crashing halt when the police came up to the house and told them there had been an accident, and that Jason and Carly had been hurt. She rode with Monica and Alan to the hospital in a numb fog. When they stepped off the elevator something about the familiar sights, sounds, and smells helped her snap out of it. She stormed up to the nurses' desk in the ER. "Where's my daughter? Carly Benson-Spencer, where is she?"

"She's in trauma two." Young Nurse Johnson replied. "Dr. Hardy is with her now."

Without saying a word Bobbie ran to where her daughter was. Steve Hardy was ordering a bunch of tests as she walked in. Tests that let her know her daughter had a head trauma. "Carly!" Bobbie ran over to her daughter's bedside with tears welling in her eyes.

"Mama." Carly said weakly. She'd regained consciousness in the ambulance but then went right back out again. She came to just a few seconds before Bobbie came in.

"I'm here honey." Bobbie said as she stroked Carly's blood matted blonde hair. "Mama's here."

Tears seeped from the corners of Carly's eyes. "Mama," She moaned. "Everything hurts."

"I know." Bobbie said, her voice soft so Carly wouldn't hear it crack. "We'll make it better. I promise."

"Ok." Carly said as she closed her eyes.

Steve was very calming, very patient with Bobbie as he pulled her away from her daughter so they could take her down to x-ray. He hugged the woman who he had watched grow from a trouble young girl into a beautiful woman. As he hugged her, letting her cry into his chest, he remembered the day he showed her around the hospital, the day she started the student-nursing program, how close she'd been to Jessie. Bobbie was one of his favorites and everyone knew it. "It'll be ok, Bobbie."

Things could have been a lot worse for Carly if she hadn't put her seatbelt on. As it was she had a nasty concussion, several bruised ribs, a sprain in her neck, a broken wrist from throwing her hands up, and she'd reopened the gash over her eye. Bobbie sat beside Carly's bed and brushed at her beautiful blonde hair with one hand, and held her daughter's fingers in the other. She'd just gotten her little girl back, and in the blink of an eye she could have lost her again. The thought brought tears to Bobbie's eyes. She used the hand that wasn't holding Carly's to wipe them away.

"Don't cry Mama." Carly said, hoarsely. "I'm ok."

Bobbie smiled brightly at the sound of Carly's voice. "Hi honey." She replied. "How do you feel?"

Carly had to think about that. "Weird."

"You're on pain medicine." Bobbie told her.

That made sense. She turned her head as much as she could so she could look into her mother's dark hazel eyes. When Bobbie was really upset there was more brown then green. Carly could spend hours watching her mother's eyes change color. "Why are you crying?"

Bobbie wasn't sure how to answer that at first, but then she decided to be honest. How could she expect Carly to be open and honest with her about her feelings if Bobbie wasn't open and honest with her in return? "I was scared."

Carly frowned and dropped her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok, honey." Bobbie said as she caressed Carly's cheek. "It wasn't your fault. It was just an accident. It's going to be ok. You're going to be ok."

Thankfully Carly was to tired and drugged to ask about Jason. He hadn't faired as well as she had and Bobbie didn't want to explain it to her. "Don't leave, Mama, ok?"

"I'm not going anywhere honey." Bobbie promised as she went back to caressing Carly's hair and cheek. "I'm going to stay right here with you, I promise. Mama's not leaving you, ever."

Carly sighed softly and closed her eyes. "Love you Mama."

Fresh tears welled in Bobbie's eyes. "I love you too, Carly."