Carly walks out into the hallway between the two penthouses, giving Johnny a nervous smile. She stands in front of the door, wiping her hands on her jeans, trying to build up the nerve to knock. This is an awful idea. It's Robin's best friend, for heaven's sake, a sure fire recipe for disaster. But, she had stood alone in that empty apartment for about five minutes and felt entirely overwhelmed with the task in front of her. So, here she is, hoping for something less than a disaster. The guard asks her kindly, "Do you want me to announce you?"

She gives a brief shake of her head, "No. I've got it."

She takes a deep breath, then gives three quick knocks. After Brenda yells out, "Come in," Carly opens the door, peeking her head in. She sees Brenda thumbing through a magazine on the sofa. She looks bored, barely glancing at the pages before she turns them.

She clears her throat, "Hey. Is now an okay time? I can come back later if you want."

Brenda perks up at having company, "Hey, now is perfect." She throws the magazine aside, standing up. She walks over to a stack of catalogs lying on the dining room table that she has sorted into three piles. "I got out my home decor catalogs in case you decided to come over. We could go to the stores to shop, but it's a whole thing with guards and safety concerns, so it'll be quicker to just order them through the catalog. I organized them by how quickly we can get things delivered." Standing in front of a stack of five or six thick catalogs, she flips the top one open nervously. "These are our best bet for getting it done sooner rather than later."

"Thank you! I appreciate your help. I feel completely out of my depth. Do you think we can get some stuff tonight? Hopefully, a couch and a bed if nothing else." Carly asks, grabbing one of the decor books on top of the stack.

"Oh, ye of little faith. We may not be able to get everything today, but we will definitely have more than just a bed and sofa." She looks around the penthouse, then shakes her head. "Come on, let's go over to your place, that way we can get a better idea of what you need." Turning her head, she yells, "Johnny, get your butt in here."

The guard comes in with a glare on his face at Brenda, "What do you want, demon?"

She narrows her eyes at him, "Watch it, or I will get Sonny to assign you to Robin, tell him how she personally requested you." He narrows his eyes at her, but keeps his mouth shut. With a victorious smile, she directs, "Take a couple chairs and the rest of these catalogs to Jason and Carly's apartment." Then, picking up a handful of her favorite catalogs, she walks to the door. She looks back as Carly goes to pick up a stack of catalogs left on the table, telling her firmly, "Nope. Pregnant woman isn't carrying anything. Let the muscle get it. Why else do they have big strong muscles? Don't take away his only purpose."

Johnny narrows his eyes at her, "Bite me."

"No thanks," she yells back, walking across the hall into the other apartment.

Johnny takes the catalogs from Carly, giving her a smile. "Here. Jason would kick my ass if I let you carry those."

Carly gives him a grateful smile. Then, with a smirk, "And Brenda will stick you with Robin. Personally, I'd just tell Jase to kill me."

He's laughing as he follows her across the hall. For the next four hours, they pick out furniture. There are delivery men coming in and out, dropping off furniture and helping Johnny, Francis, and Reynaldo arrange them to the women's specifications. The empty space suddenly is filled with a brown leather sectional, a massive wooden coffee table, a desk, and a sleek wooden dining table with six chairs, including a wooden high chair they put back in the corner. They have also had dishes, silverware, glasses, and everything necessary to cook delivered. And that's not counting all the rooms upstairs.

The only room Carly refuses to decorate yet is the nursery, partly out of superstition, and partly because she wants Jason's help doing that. Maybe it's foolish, but she has daydreams of domestic moments with him: decorating the nursery, picking out toys and clothes, going to the ultrasound and listening to the baby's heartbeat. She knows they aren't doing this the traditional way, well aware they're not Ozzie and Harriet, but still her heart holds out hope.

Carly is currently collapsed on the sectional, as Brenda fluffs and arranges. The chaos has finally died down, which gives Carly time to study the beautiful brunette. She really stepped up for her today. She had a way of getting things done that was impressive, not taking crap from anyone. And they'd had fun arguing over fashion choices and laughing at the men. Brenda had been just as excited as Carly at decorating, wearing a smile on her face the entire day.

Though Carly suspects a big part of that was having someone to talk to and not feeling so alone, which she can understand. The glimpses of her life Brenda unknowingly shares through her comments show Carly a pretty lonely existence. She spends so much of her time shut away in the penthouse. For some reason she hasn't shared, Brenda seems almost nervous to leave the building. The guards don't help, openly glaring at her when they aren't sniping back and forth.

Carly is surprised at how great the day has been. She had been nervous, convinced that the brunette was going to be a little more like Robin, pious and judgmental. But, she had been fun and irreverent. She took no shit from the guys, giving as good as she got. Carly had been impressed, wondering how a rich trust fund kid got such a fighting attitude. She can't remember the last time she had so much fun with another girl, usually it's rife with pettiness, jealousy, and competition. Yet, Brenda had shown the opposite the entire day. Despite the chaos and craziness, Carly enjoys spending time with the brunette.

"Brenda, I can't thank you enough. You should win an Olympic medal in shopping. I'm impressed." Carly says with a grin.

"Is there anything better than shopping?"

Carly gives her a crooked smile, "I can think of a few things."

"What, sex? Depends on who you're doing it with. I mean with Sonny it's totally better, Jax… eh, I'd rather shop." Carly laughs.

With a big smile, Carly confides, "Sex with Jason is definitely better than shopping, better than anything honestly."

"First of all, ew! I don't need to think about Satan having sex unless it's an 'embarrassing, not being able to perform' kinda situation." Brenda whines, her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"And second of all?" Carly laughs, a little relieved the pretty brunette clearly has no interest in Jason.

Brenda gives her a considering look, not sure if she should ask the question. Hesitantly, she asks, "And Dr. Jones? Because, no offense, but also ew. Maybe I'm wrong though, maybe it's that older man thing."

With a slightly embarrassed look, she admits, "No, amazing sex was not my reason for being with Tony. Even when we were at our happiest, it never compared to Jason."

"Ew! Ew, ew, ew! I don't want to hear about your sex life with Satan. I'll have nightmares." She whines.

With a chuckle, she tells her, "Fair enough. And don't worry, no sex life to talk of right now. The last time I had sex was when this little bean was made."

Brenda turns on the couch, sitting crossed legged facing Carly, "Wait, when did you and Tony break up?"

"The day before yesterday."

"And you and Jason aren't…? Girl, you haven't had sex in a month?! Why?"

"It's not really like that with me and Jase. We're friends, just… friends." She admits hesitantly.

Brenda scoffs, "Your little bean proves that wrong."

Carly rolls her eyes, "That was… extraordinary circumstances. Tony and I got into our millionth fight and he told me that being with me was a mistake. And I just lost it. I mean screw him, right?! And then, Jase came in and saved me from making a horrible mistake. He was upset over his sister, I was upset about Tony, and…" She gives a brief twitch of a shrug, "…it just happened. But it's not like it's anything more than that. Trust me, I burned that particular bridge."

Brenda tilts her head, "Look, I don't get the appeal; you can do so much better. However, I think you may be deluding yourself. I've seen how he looks at you."

Brenda watches as Carly's guard goes up. Crossing her arms, she says, "You don't understand."

She sits back considering her new friend. Deciding to back off, she asks, "And you and Tony didn't… not once after you and Jason?"

Giving an embarrassed shrug, she admits, "Maybe it was guilt, or just consistently being hurt and pissed at him, but it didn't feel right somehow."

"I can guess why." Brenda says with a smirk.

"Honestly, maybe." She confesses, glad to have someone to talk to about everything. She obviously can't talk to Jason about any of this. "I won't lie and say I don't have feelings for him. I fell for him embarrassingly fast, and it's never really gone away. But it's very one sided. I've beat my head against that wall already, I'm not sure my heart could survive it again."

"My opinion, for what it's worth, is that Jason has feelings for you too." When this doesn't seem to move the blonde, she adds, "I also think it's interesting that he broke up with Robin at the same time he spent the night with you."

Carly's brows lower in confusion, "I thought that was because she went behind his back to Sonny."

Brenda shakes her head, "She did that after he broke up with her. According to Robin, he just told her his feelings had changed." She gives Carly a pointed look, "I wonder why his feelings changed?"

Carly sits there, staring off into space for a moment. She had felt both joy and concern when she found out Jason and Robin broke up. The concern that she had wrecked something for Jason had been relieved when gossip about Robin's betrayal had hit the wires. What does it mean that he broke up with the annoying little pixie after their night together? Could it mean that it meant something more to him? Or, more likely, him having to lie to Robin had messed up his comfort in the relationship. She feels a weight settling on her heart at the thought. Then, shaking her head, "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I just don't think you're right."

Brenda lifts one shoulder in a shrug, and with a cocky, teasing voice says, "It'll just make my 'I told you so' that much sweeter." Then, looking more serious, she adds, "Pay attention to his eyes. One of the ways I knew Sonny was the one for me was that when we're together, his eyes always return to me. Almost every time my eyes stray to him, which is admittedly a bunch, he's watching me with softness and love and passion in his eyes. It tells me everything."

Before Carly can reply, the door opens to show Jason and two of the guards carrying in an armful of groceries. Jason stops in shock when he enters the room, causing Johnny to almost run into him and have do a fancy two step to maneuver around him. In amazement, Jason views the once empty apartment that suddenly looks like a home. His eyes shoot to Carly, who's rising from the sofa, nervous of his reaction. "You did all this? This is incredible."

Carly shyly nods, while Brenda cuts in, "We did this. But she picked everything out. I tried to convince her to go with floral designs and pink walls, but for some inexplicable reason, she seems to like you. Personally, I'm going with Stockholm Syndrome. It's the only thing that makes any sense."

Without looking in her direction, his eyes entirely focused on Carly, he tells Brenda, "Sonny's home. Why don't you go torture him?" Then, he gives Carly a sweet smile, "Let me go put these up, and I'll be right back. You stay here resting."

He walks into the kitchen, with Brenda yelling after him, "Rude. You aren't even going to thank me for helping your girl decorate the place, especially since you left her here with no furniture in an empty apartment? You need to step up, you've got a baby on the way, Satan."

She rolls her eyes when he just shouts back, "Get out."

Then, turning to Carly as she stands up to leave, an 'I told you so' lightning up her face, she asks, "Did you notice his eyes?"

Terrified that Jason's going to come back in, she shushes Brenda, telling her, "Stop. He's right there."

"So you did notice. His eyes barely left you even when he was talking to me." She crows victoriously.

Carly picks up a pillow and throws it at her new friend, "Yes, fine, I saw. Now hush."

Jason walks back into the room, looking in annoyance at Brenda with his brows lowered, "Yes, why are you still here? Please shut up and leave."

Brenda rolls her eyes and heads for the door. Carly focuses on the brunette, telling her earnestly, "Brenda, I can't thank you enough. I felt so overwhelmed thinking about getting all this done, sure it was going to be a nightmare, and instead I had fun. I owe you."

Brenda gives her a smile, "I had fun too. Maybe we can finish up tomorrow."

At the hopeful look on her face, Carly agrees, "Sounds good. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, but I'm free after that."

As Brenda turns once more to the door, Jason's head drops. Sounding pained, he tells her, "Thank you for helping Carly."

She looks back, with raised eyebrows, and sarcastically asks, "That was painful wasn't it?" She lifts one shoulder, "I didn't do it for you. I did it for Carly."

"Still," he says, giving her a look that is reluctantly grateful.

She reads his expression, her eyebrow raising at the sincerity in his thanks. Instead of answering, she gives him a nod, then turns and leaves the apartment.

When the door closes Carly turns to find Jason looking at her. He takes a long moment to drink in the sight of her. He's never had so much trouble focusing at work. Knowing Carly was at home waiting for him made the separation painful, the longing to leave work an incessant itch under his skin. He'd left as early as he could, the need to see her finally more than he could handle.

"The place really looks incredible," he tells her with pride for her shining in his eyes and clear in his voice. "I can't believe you got all this done in such a short amount of time. It's impressive."

She beams up at him, "Thanks. It does look good, doesn't it?" Then, with a wrinkle in her nose, "I got almost everything. Um… do you want to see upstairs?"

"I'd love to. Continue to impress me." He says with a big grin.

"C'mon. I will show you your room first." She is almost bouncing in her excitement. "I have to warn you, the bed I ordered you won't get here for a few days, but it's perfect. It's a big king sized bed, with these sturdy post thingies in the headboard. You're going to love it. Only problem is that it's on backorder. I have everything else ready for you, though."

Opening the door, he finds a room with two bedside tables and a dresser in a chunky wood, a leather loveseat and armchair set in front of the window, as well as a painting in bold blues and reds that suggests shadowy shapes hanging over where the bed will go.

Nervously, she prattles on, "The bed should be here in three to four days. Hopefully, the colors are okay. If there's anything you hate I can change…"

Jason reassures her, "I love everything. I don't want you to change anything."

She gives him a megawatt smile that lights him up. He wishes he could always make her that happy. Not able to stop himself from touching her, he pulls her into a hug, his fingers running lightly through the ends of her hair. "I'm proud of you, and so grateful that you got all this done. I know this was a lot."

"I couldn't have done it without Brenda." She tells him, snuggling into his arms. "She was a boss. She might be my hero," leaning back to look at him, "after you of course."

His head drops at this, which pulls a laugh from Carly. She pulls away, her hand reaching for his, "Let me show you my room. I figure you can just sleep with me in my bed until your bed gets here." Jason feels a pulse of happiness and arousal at the thought of sharing a bed with her again, wondering how he can slow down that delivery. Carly continues, not noticing Jason distraction. "I picked the room next to yours because it has a bathroom, and figured we'd make this one the nursery," she's talking fast, excited, as she points to a door across the hall from their rooms. Her whole face is lit up causing Jason to smile adoringly down at her.

He only looks away to study her room. It's much more feminine than his, with a delicate looking queen size four poster bed, with slender posts, and a bright floral comforter of pink, blue, and yellow on a white background. She also has a pale pink tufted bench at the end of the bed, a white dresser that has a delicate curve, and a matching vanity. Jason thinks it reminds him of Carly, beautiful and vibrant.

"It looks nice. You're good at this." He praises.

She gives him a shy smile, "Thanks."

He chuckles, "Thank you for not making me pick any of it." He scratches the back of his neck, and awkwardly shares, "I can't visualize stuff. I don't know if it's because of the accident or if he wasn't good at it either, but if you show me stuff like that my brain can't make sense of it."

"There's something I'm better at than the great Jason Morgan?" She jokes.

"There's a bunch of things you do better than me." He says earnestly.

She gives him a disbelieving look, "What, like wreck marriages? Blowing up my life spectacularly?" She gives him a more serious look. "Saddle my best friend with a baby and a baby mama to take care of when you were just trying to help and comfort me?"

He moves to stand directly in front of her. His hands rest on her upper arms, his eyes close and level with hers. "First of all, I am happy and excited about the baby, so nobody is saddled with anything. Second, you are funnier than I am, better at all the people stuff. I mean, you suck at pool, but otherwise…"

"Shut up. I'm great at pool, you just distract me," she laughs, smacking him lightly on the arm. He grabs the hand that just hit him, pulling her close.

"Seriously, you don't give yourself enough credit." His voice is gentle, and his eyes are soft. "You are amazing, and one of these days you are going to realize it. You're going to stop listening to those voices that tried to tear you down, and see what I see when I look at you. A woman who is strong and resilient, smart, beautiful, and one of the best things to happen to me. Never doubt that."

As tears begin dripping down her face, he pulls her into his arms. Shakily, she cries, "Jase." She leans up, giving him a kiss on the cheek that lasts longer than it should. When she pulls back, just enough to lean her forehead against his, she whispers, choked up, "That's the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said about me. You are the best thing that's happened to me." She puts her hand on her belly, "So far."

He rests his hand over hers, entwining their fingers over their child, and feels an overwhelming sense of peace. For the first time, he understands what home truly means, beyond a place you sleep. He thinks maybe, from this moment forward, home will be wherever Carly is.