I can't decide what I love more about the current story line, all the wonderful Carly and Jason scenes or the way Carly's kids are as loyal to Jason as Carly. If only they were kissing...

It's afternoon when I wake up again. I can feel a bit of a fever taking hold and send up a silent prayer that Carly is staying safe getting the antibiotics. As always, I can handle any danger I'm put in, but the thought of Carly or our kids being hurt just about brings me to my knees.

I jolt at a key in the lock, but relax when I see Danny. It's a bit awkward at first, but then he begins to tell me about himself and his life. And it fills an ache that has been gaping inside me for three years. But being with my son, and with Michael, the man who will always be my first son in my heart, soothes that ache. Holding Carly, getting to look into her eyes filled with love looking back at me, helps heal the part of my soul that shriveled without her. I'm fighting with everything in me to keep my family safe and get back to them.

Danny is in the middle of telling me about his school when Carly comes in. She gives us both a soft look, her eyes taking inventory of me. I must look like I will survive because her anxiety melts away and she gives me that smile, the one reserved only for me. Even Sonny, who she had married over and over, never got that particular smile.

Shaking a pill into her palm, she hands me a water bottle and then the pill. "Three a day until they're gone."

I give her a nod, and then swallow the pill. Carly turns to Danny, "You should probably get back up to the house. You don't want them to come looking for you."

He nods and begins gathering his things. I stand up, waiting, "Be careful." I warn. "And thank you. You were a big help. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Dad." Danny says, his smile breaking through the teenage awkwardness that comes with parents and emotions being thrown at you.

I pull him to me for a hug, telling him, "I love you, son."

I smile as he says, "I love you too, dad."

Carly stands back, letting me say goodbye, but once Danny has left, she comes to stand right in front of me. I lean down to kiss her as her hand goes to my forehead. She pulls back from me after the briefest peck, saying "You're warm. I think you have a fever."

I pull her into my arms, just holding her as I ask, "I'll be okay. Did you have any problems getting the medicine?"

"No, I just got Anthony to get them for me." Looking up at me, she says, "I was safe. He kept it under the radar, and he'll keep his mouth shut. He owes me a favor." She rests her hands on my chest, her fingers rubbing unconscious circles over my heart.

I can feel the rest of the world pulling at me, the weight of the obstacles in front of me is almost crippling at times. And yet, standing in Carly's arms, feeling her unquestioning support and loyalty, the strength of her love, it's the most at peace I have felt in years. Maybe since the day I married her. Man, if ever I could change a choice, letting her go that day without a fight would be it. All the times I let her go without a fight feels a little like wasted time.

Studying her face for a moment, I ask, "Has something happened? This isn't all just worrying about me. Tell me."

She shakes her head like she's exasperated, but there's a soft smile on her lips. "I both love and hate that you can read me like that." She pauses for a moment, and then with a roll of her eyes, she says, "That Agent Cates has been hassling me to find you. Every time I see his face, I want to punch it."

"Don't, Carly." I feel my throat tightening at the danger that could put her in. "There are things going on that you don't know about. Things I can't tell you, but you have to be careful around Cates. Don't give him anything."

"Like I don't know how to handle cops at this point. Wait, how do you know him?" She asks surprised.

"I can't tell you, but trust me, we can't let our guard down around him."

She squeezes me tighter to her, and says, "Of course I trust you. I don't trust anyone more than you. And I promise I'll be careful."

Her unquestioning support, the way I never have to guess whether she will have my back is one of the reasons no other woman has ever had a bigger piece of my heart or as much of my focus. As Carly has always claimed, she is my soulmate. I may have fought it, but my heart and soul are drawn to her and know her better than I know myself.

I had pushed any romantic feelings down for decades, locked that part of my life away from her after getting burned by her youthful destructive behavior. But then I married her, and let all of those emotions resurface, and I haven't been able to push them back down. Even though I have been kept away from her for years, the way I feel about her is as strong as ever.

She looks up at me, "Drew and I broke up."

I should probably feel guilty for the surge of pleasure I get from the news. But I can't tamp down the feeling of triumph that Carly is single again. "I'm sorry," I tell her, but even I can hear the insincerity in my voice.

"You are looking a little too proud to be truly sorry," she says with a smile on her face.

"I'm sorry you both were hurt, but I'm not sorry that you are suddenly free. I told you, I'm fighting for you. I'm fighting for all the times I should have fought for you and us." I give her the softest peck, "You have fought so hard for me from the beginning."

There are tears in the corner of her eyes as she laughs, "Oh God, don't remind me of how desperately I chased after you."

I tilt her chin back up when she buries her face against my chest. "You didn't have to chase so hard."

She cuts me off, "I beg to differ! If I recall, you were always gaga over some little brunette."

"And if you ask every single one of them, they will tell you that I was always more yours than theirs. I think I have been yours from almost the beginning." I tease her with the almost, knowing it will make her feisty.

"Not during the whole blackmail thing, though, right?" She sasses up at me, and I have to lean down to kiss her. Pulling her tight against me, that Carly spark, like a live wire, makes every part of me feel alive in a way no one else has ever made me feel. I always wondered if I was inflating the memory of the chemistry between us, because she was my first time, the person who introduced me to sex, at least that I remember. But, even now, every time I kiss her, that same fire burns through every part of me.

"I think this scared me. No one else feels this way, this intense. From the beginning, no one has ever made me feel as alive…" a quick, soft peck, "and loved."

"Back at you," she puts her finger to my lips when I start to protest, "Let's overlook the fun sexy stuff, because you have definitely been an idiot in that department." She gives me a wink, and then earnestly, "You have shown that you love me in every way. I used to resent Elizabeth and Sam because they got to have your kids, but you have raised my kids in ways their fathers never have and they love you as completely as I do. You have saved me, and saved my kids over and over. You, Jason Morgan, have done a very good job of showing me you love me, so get any of that nonsense out of your head."

"Yes, ma'am." I kiss her forehead. "I love you. And I'm about to ask you to do something difficult."

"Jason," Carly's voice holds a warning in it.

"I need to turn myself in, and I need your help."

She takes a step back, her arms crossing on her chest. "No."

I take a step closer, rubbing up and down her arms. "I am fighting with everything in me to get back to you and to build a life together with our family. I need you to trust me, and I need to borrow your phone."

She pulls her phone out and hands it to me. "Why do you need my phone?"

"I need to call Diane. What is the code?"

"91721," she says softly.

I take a deep breath, our wedding day. Tilting her head, I kiss her with all the overwhelming love pulsing through me. When I pull back, her face is glowing with love. "I love you and I promise I am fighting to come back to you."

Her hand goes to my chest, her fingers rubbing a figure eight over my heart, as she promises, "I love you, always."

One more quick kiss, and then holding her against my side, I call Diane.