It's been a little over a month since his night with Carly. He had woken up the next morning to a note that just said, "Thank you!" with a kiss below it.

He's seen her around town a few times, usually with Dr. Jones. Every time he sees them, he clenches his fists, trying to control the urge to pound on her sorry excuse for a boyfriend. Why she's stuck on that guy, he'll never know. Jason had already despised the man, but every time he sees him with Carly, it gets worse. She is fire and passion, she shouldn't be begging for any man's attention, much less that jackass's.

Though, he knows it's more than that. Something had changed in him after their night together; he can't get her and their night of passion out of his head. He's kept his distance, even though it's hard. It's driving him to distraction, his eyes always looking for her wherever he goes, getting lost in thoughts of her when he should be focusing, and shaking up his relationships. His life has been so crazy that it should help distract him from missing her, yet he misses her just the same.

His relationship with Robin ended very messily. He had broken up with her a few days after his night with Carly. Telling her simply that his feelings had changed, though he kept his time with the blonde out of the equation. When Robin had finally come to Jake's to find him, he knew that going forward with her would be a lie. He still cared about her, but what he had shared with Carly had changed the way he felt about his girlfriend, about them. Though, maybe it had just opened his eyes to what was already there. Robin had assumed that it was because they had been fighting about his work with the organization for a while now, and had proceeded to go to Sonny and ask him to fire Jason. Thankfully, his friend had told her no.

When he had yelled at her, hurt by the betrayal, "You had no right to interfere in my life. Robin, go back to school and get as far from me as possible. I don't want you in my life or anywhere near me," she had run from the room crying. He is grateful she left town, though now he is having to put up with Brenda giving him crap for it every chance she gets.

Then, there's the madness of Sonny and Brenda's upcoming wedding, which has her more off her rocker than usual. And something is going on under the surface with Sonny that has Jason concerned. There's a restlessness he hasn't seen before, and he keeps handing off more responsibility to Jason, supposedly in the name of giving him time to plan the wedding. But, to Jason, it feels more like a test of some sort. However, the restlessness he's feeling because of Carly is making it difficult to focus on the problem and the subtleties.

He's unwinding, playing pool when he looks up, surprised to see Carly standing in front of him. He shakes his head to make sure it's not a mirage. He's been thinking about her so much he is seeing her in the faces of women all around town, which has led to some awkward interactions. When she is still there, he rises up, walking to stand in front of her. "Hey." He says, searching her face.

He frowns when she looks timid, something he doesn't think he's ever seen her be, as she replies, "Hey. Um… can we talk? Maybe in your room?"

Instead of answering, he puts down the pool stick, his hand going to lightly touch her arm as he guides her up. At the touch of her skin, he feels a jolt, every cell suddenly energized. He wants to take her in his arms, to feel her fire again, but he knows he doesn't have the right.

When he closes the door behind her, he asks, "Are you okay?"

She looks unsure for a moment, which makes Jason frown. If Dr. Jones has hurt her again, he doesn't think he can be held responsible for his actions. She haltingly tells him, "I'm… I don't know. I mean yes, I am not hurt or anything. I'm… um," she looks down for a second, shaking her head, and when she looks up again, it's with resolve, "I'm pregnant."

Jason feels the words hit him like a Mack truck. His face closes off as he processes the life altering information. She watches his face shut down, and wants to kick herself. She shouldn't have come here. She had argued with herself the entire way. There's a tiny part of her that wants to just pass the baby off as Tony's. Knowing how excited he'll be, the pathetic girl who has clung to him so desperately is screaming at her that she can finally get his attention all to herself. If it was AJ's baby, she would do it in a heartbeat, with no qualms whatsoever. But with Jason, the thought of lying to him or hiding the truth makes her feel awful. So, here she is, making a fool of herself. She knew him being happy about the baby was a longshot, but there was a small part of her that had hoped he wouldn't be outright against the idea.

Her eyes are glued to her fingernails, watching as she scrapes off the red polish, not wanting to see him upset at the news of their child. "Look, I don't expect anything from you. You don't have to be involved at all. I'm sure Tony will be more than happy to play daddy. Technically, it's possible his old swimmers…"

"Like hell he will." The words have enough force to pull her eyes back to him. He is looking anything but shut down now. He is practically blowing steam out of his ears. "This baby is mine, and I'll be damned if that asshole will be my child's father. I am its father." When Carly just looks at him with wide eyes, he begins to back-pedal. "Carly, I'm sorry for yelling, I just … I really want to be this baby's father, and the thought of Dr. Jones…" He shakes his head, his expression pained. "We can figure it out together. However you want to do it."

Whatever he's expecting, it's not for her to burst into tears. He goes to her, pulling her into his arms. She clings to him desperately, her whole body shaking with her sobs. Wrapping himself protectively around her, he apologizes, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

She hiccups out, "Not your fault." He thinks that's what she's said, though it's hard to understand her as she cries out the words.

For several long minutes, he holds her as she releases all the anxiety and fear she had coming here. She had taken an at home pregnancy test yesterday, well, maybe five, and has tortured herself with what she is going to do since. In one moment, it suddenly became about so much more than her. The decisions she's making are going to impact the little life growing inside her. And as desperately as she has clung to the idea of her and Tony, she can admit to herself that they are both miserable. She grew up in a home that was miserable; she refuses to do that to her kid.

But, the thought of doing it alone is beyond terrifying. She is so not what people would consider mother material; she can barely take care of herself, much less a helpless baby. But she's willing to learn, honestly willing to do anything for her unborn child. And the sad truth is that Jason is her only friend in this town. She needs a friend right now more than ever. Maybe with Jason by her side, she won't screw it up too badly.

When she finally calms enough to speak, she tells him, "I'm sorry I cried all over you, but when you said you would be there with me through this, it was such a relief. I am so scared. I can't do this on my own, and even if I stayed with Tony, I would still be all alone. You may have it together, but even on my best day I'm a mess." Tears once again slowly drip down her face. "You being here for me means everything."

He gently cups her face, wiping away her tears. Leaning his forehead against hers, he tells her, his heart in his throat, "First of all, I don't have it all together. And more importantly, you're not alone. I promise I will be here for you every step of the way."

She clings to him, her arms desperately wrapped around him, like he's the only thing keeping her from drowning. In his arms, she feels like she can breathe for the first time since she found out she was pregnant.

When she finally pulls back, Jason is looking at her with concern on his face. She tells him with a wry grin, "Sorry for having an emotional breakdown on you."

"Hey, it's fine. I'm glad I can be here for you. But are you okay? Is there anything I can do for you?" He asks.

She lets out a little laugh, "You already asked me that. Don't make me answer it again." Then, her face turns earnest, grateful, "I'm better than I was when I got here."

Jason gives her a smile, happy he's made her feel even a fraction better. When Carly sits on the end of the bed, he goes and sits next to her. Looking at her, he asks, "So, how is this going to work?"

She ticks her shoulder up in a half shrug, "I don't really know." She runs her fingers through her hair. "This is going to end me and Tony." She looks off, lost in thought for a moment, then, "But it's time. It's exhausting and humiliating constantly begging for his attention."

"I don't get it. Why do you care what he thinks? You are so much better than him. He should realize how lucky he is to have you, and if he doesn't, screw him." He tells her earnestly. His admiration is clear in his voice.

She looks down bashfully, with a smile lighting her face. "I know you're right." She shakes her head, looking down at her fingernails again, chipping at the nail polish until Jason puts his hand over hers. She looks up, and he can see that her eyes are troubled.

"Hey…" he starts at the same time as Carly says, "There's something…"

Her lips quirk at him, "Me first?" At his nod, she stands up and walks over to the window, looking out. Her arms cross as she confesses, "You should probably know what you're getting yourself into with me. I'm sure once Luke finds out he'll head straight to your door. Maybe once I break up with Tony, he'll at least stop threatening to kill me."

Jason stands up at this, alarmed. Walking to stand right behind her, he demands, "Luke Spencer? He's been threatening you? Why?"

She turns around to look at him, her face crumpling, "Bobbie Spencer is my mother. And she just threw me away, so I wrecked her marriage."

Jason takes her in his arms, his hands running soothingly over her back, she clings as she forces herself to continue in a shaky, teary voice, "She gave me up for adoption when I was a baby. My adoptive parents… my mom tried, but Frank, my adopted dad… he split at the first chance, leaving Mom and me to scrape, borrow, and steal to survive. We lived in this trailer park where there were lots of predators to prey on pretty young girls. It was…" She shakes her head. "And then I come here, and she's living it up in a fancy brownstone, with a fancy doctor husband, and kids that she chose to keep and love. I… I just lost it, man. I wanted to hurt her, make her feel the way I feel." She pulls away, facing back toward the window, arms crossed protectively around herself. "Do you know how I found out I was adopted? As Frank was slamming out the door, he told my mom, 'You never should have adopted the brat, clearly nobody wants her. I sure as hell don't.' I was five. Who says that to a five year old? And after he left, Mama'd try to hide it, but I'd see a look in her eyes sometimes… like I was a mistake. Adopting me was a mistake. She loved me and all, loves me despite myself, but it was too much and all wrong. I was too much and all wrong. And Bobbie… she gets to just go on like I never existed?! She gets to have a happy family, while I was…"

Jason comes up behind her, wrapping his arms around her from behind. She leans back into him for a moment, resting against his solid strength. She feels the overwhelming desire to stay here forever, letting him carry her weight. The thought pisses her off, so she stands up, pulling away from him and angrily wiping away the tears on her face.

She crosses her arms defensively, her chin tilting up, "So, I wrecked her marriage. It didn't take much, honestly. Tony was all over me in the beginning. And I think for a second, I convinced myself I loved him." She looks away, shaking her head in a 'what-was-I-thinking' gesture. Her face begins to crumple, then almost pleading with Jason, her eyes meet his, "It just felt nice to have someone give me attention, to actually care about me. But, then… well, I saw the same look in Tony's eyes as I saw in Mama's. I'm a mistake."

"He's an idiot. They all are." Jason steps closer, wanting to reach out and hold her again, but also sensing she needs space.

She stops at this, really studying his face. She expected disgust, for him to look at her the way everyone else does, like a home wrecking tramp who's only out for herself. With a frown, she asks, "How can you say that after what I just told you? I expected you to look at me… differently."

He tilts his head, "Why?"

"Everyone else does." She admits, looking down. "Not that I can blame them, I probably deserve…"

"They aren't looking close enough." He tells her looking in her eyes. Then, with a frown, he continues, "I don't know that I would have done exactly what you did, but you were hurt. I understand that. And Dr. Jones was the married man, what makes you the bad guy? He's the one who wrecked his marriage and then treats you like crap. I'm not crying any tears at you hurting him. He's a jackass who willingly did what he did." Then, as she stares at him mouth agape, he puts his hand on her arm, saying with determination, "Hey, and I'll talk to Luke, get him to back off."

She leans into his side, "Thank you, and not just for Luke. Thank you for not looking at me differently."

He takes her hand in his, linking their fingers, "You did the same for me." When she looks at him in confusion, he reminds her, "Usually when people hear about my brain damage, they look at me differently, like I'm broken, but you didn't."

"You aren't broken." She tells him with force, and then with a grin and admiration in her eyes, "Hell, you have it more figured out than me and I have decades of experience in my memory. The fact that you are… I don't know, more capable than most people I know without those memories to figure everything out is pretty badass."

"Thanks. And you aren't a mistake."

"Give it time," she says, half joking.

He stands directly in front of her, so close they're almost touching, "No, Carly. You could never be a mistake. I wish you could see how incredible you are. You are strong and funny and beautiful, and no one is more loyal than you. You are one of the most important people in my life, and now we are about to be family. You will never be a mistake; I will never see you as one." His eyes are intense, his words sure and forceful. "Never."

Carly takes the remaining step to him, wrapping her arms around him. She feels tears leak out of the corners of her eyes. She doesn't think anyone has ever said something so beautiful about her before. Her heart might be in trouble, absolutely sure that those feelings she felt for him back when they first met are going to come back full force. Remembering what happened the last time she developed feelings for him, and the disaster that turned into, she vows to be smart. She absolutely cannot wreck this with her usual impulsiveness. With a baby to consider, she has to do this right.

Softly, into Jason's shoulder, she breathes out barely audible, "We can figure it out." To which, she gets an answering squeeze from him.