Jason Comes Home

Anna and that shady Fed showed up too soon, and I have a very different version of events.

I hear the door unlock, and I know it's her before she walks in the door. I feel her near, I have always felt when she's near. It's that magnetic pull Carly has that has kept at least seventy percent of my focus on her no matter what is going on in my life.

I had been stuck in that dungeon, locked away from the world in total darkness, and the only thing that kept me sane was thinking of her.

"Carly," I say quietly so I don't scare her. The second she sees me she freezes, her hand coming up to her throat.

"Jase?" she whispers in disbelief.

"It's me." I take a step closer, reaching out my hand for her, always reaching for her. Instinctively she reaches back, still staring in disbelief. When our hands touch, she begins to collapse. Rushing the rest of the way to her, I wrap her tightly in my arms. "I'm here."

She cries out through her tears, "How? Are you real? We thought you were dead. They told me…" I pull her in even tighter, wanting to meld this woman into my skin as thoroughly as she has fused herself to my soul. Not being near her for so long was a torture almost as brutal as what my captors had done to my body.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you." I force out past the tears and tightness in my chest; my voice sounding gravely.

I don't know how long we stand there, grasping together so tightly I feel her heartbeat as if it was my own. Finally, she pulls back, noticing the blood on me for the first time.

"Jase, oh my God, you're bleeding." She lifts my shirt to look at the wound, then shakes her head slightly. "I refuse to lose you after just getting you back. Come on."

She reaches her hand toward me and instinctively my hand is clasped in hers.

She pulls me through the house into her bedroom. She tells me to sit on the bed, and then goes into the bathroom.

"Take off your shirt," she says returning with a first aid kit. She lays out the supplies on the bed beside me. Her eyes volleying between my face and the bullet hole in my side. Finally, she asks, "What happened?"

I close my eyes in weariness just thinking of the tale. How do I begin? And what can I tell her without putting her in more danger?

"When the cave collapsed on the island, I couldn't get back to the others, so I tried to find another way. But there were men waiting for me. They took me somewhere dark, without any windows so I couldn't get any sense of time." I shudder at the memory of that all consuming darkness. "I thought I would go crazy." Looking in her eyes, I place my hand on the side of her neck, my thumb smoothing back and forth against her cheek. "I would sit in that room and think of you. You and my kids are the only reason I didn't lose it entirely."

Placing her hand over mine, a tear slips down her cheek, "Jase."

I lean forward kissing her forehead. Then, taking a deep breath, I continue, "One day, they moved me to another windowless room, and a man showed up. He told me I had to do what he said, or…" I break off, not even being able to repeat the words. Leaning towards her for comfort, I whisper in anguish, "He said he'd do things I couldn't live with."

"Who, Jase? Who did this to you?" She asked with fire in her eyes.

I shake my head. "I can't tell you. I can't put you in that danger." Twining our fingers together, I plead, "Trust me."

"Always."

As I was talking, Carly had been cleaning my wound. Cringing enough for the both of us, she used alcohol to clean the wound. Glancing up, she said, "So, how did you get away? And how did you end up shot in my house back in Port Charles?"

"He gave me a choice: do what he told me to do, which for the most part was to be a soldier, a mercenary, or suffer the consequences. We were sent here to take out a target, but when I got there I realized it was Sonny they wanted to kill." My chest tightens again just thinking about it. "I couldn't do it, so I made him miss. As we were escaping, Dante started chasing us. When he caught up with us, the sniper ended up shooting first Dante and then me."

I look down at her, as she finishes taping the bandage on, I tilt her chin up so her eyes meet mine, "I didn't do it. I couldn't do it."

"I know." She whispers. "I know you would never do that to Sonny or to Dante."

Pulling her close, I softly kiss her lips. She freezes for a moment, and I begin to panic, scared I've crossed a line, but then she's pressing forward, kissing me back. When her lips open, I take advantage, deepening the kiss. And I'm lost. Lost in this woman who has always been the biggest part of my world, even when I wished like hell that she wasn't. Lost in this connection that has sustained me for as long as I've been Jason Morgan. I revel in the way she makes me somehow feel so intensely alive that I feel like I'm coming out of my skin and as though I'm in the safety of home. When we finally come up for air, she has a dazed look in her eyes and her lips are a little swollen.

"I've missed you so much." I tell her softly, scared to break the moment. "That time locked in a tiny room gave me a chance to realize that I'm done letting you go. I'm done putting the rest of the world ahead of what I want," giving her a soft kiss, I add, "what I need."

"What do you need?" She asks, barely making a sound.

"I need a real chance for us, to build something with you." Tears begin slipping down her cheeks,

"Jase." She whispers back, an ache in her voice. She leans forward, softly giving me a sweet kiss. Pulling back a fraction, our noses still brushing, Carly's eyes searching mine. "This is real, right? I'm not going to wake up in a minute and this is all a dream, or some cruel trick of the universe, am I?"

I brush away a tear that slips from her eye. Leaning in to press my lips to hers once again, I murmur against her lips, "I'm here. This is real, I promise."

I allow myself to luxuriate in her kisses, in the warmth of her arms for a moment more before pulling back. "Carly, there's something I need to tell you…"

I stop at the sound of a doorbell and a knocking at the door. Carly stands up quickly, her hands clasped so tightly together her knuckles are white. I stand up pulling her hands into mine. "It'll be okay, but I need to hide. I'll go in your panic room. It's got the secret escape just in case. And I promise I will be in touch if I have to go." I pull my shirt back on, cleaning up all the medical supplies as I check the room for any signs I was here. "Don't let them know you've seen me. It's dangerous. Promise me."

Carly walks up to me, her hand resting on my chest. "I promise." I lean down to kiss her again, but she looks down. "I need to tell you something. I'm with Drew."

Instead of responding, I pull her to me and kiss her with everything I've got. I should feel guilty for doing this to my brother, but I meant it, I'm not letting her go unless she makes me. And even then, I'm fighting for the woman I can finally admit I'm in love with, who I've always been in love with. I'm finally getting out of my own way for a chance at a life with Carly.

The banging on the door pulls me out of the kiss. Carly's eyes are still closed, and a dreamy smile sits on her lips. I give her one more quick kiss, then grab the medical supplies, do one more check for anything incriminating, and go into her closet. I press a panel and a keypad appears. Entering my personal password, which thankfully hasn't changed, the door to the panic room opens. Carly stands at the closet door watching me.

"You better go down before they break down your door."

"I can't stop looking at you. I'm scared once I stop looking, you'll disappear. Promise me I'll see you again, that I won't have to grieve you all over again."

"I promise you'll see me again. I won't let anything keep us apart. Now, go." I give her a nudge.

She begins to walk away, then stops and turns back, "I love you, Jase."

"I love you too." I say, and then I'm closing the panic room door.