Curled into Jason, Carly wakes with a smile on her face. Running her fingers gently over his chest, she feels an overpowering sense of peace mixed with an excitement for the future. She has been dreaming of this for so long that, now that it's coming true, it doesn't feel real yet. It feels too good to be true; the best man she knows, the one who she loves with an intensity that hasn't diminished after all these years, loves her back, finally. She may never stop smiling, her heart feels so full.
And she's having his baby. She reaches her hand down to her flat belly, a dreamy smile on her face. She has a life growing inside her that's a piece of the beautiful man lying content beside her. She has the childish urge to gather all his ex little brown haired pixies and rub it in their faces. Tell them all that he's hers, and to stay away. She can imagine his response to that, she thinks with a smirk.
How did she get so lucky? It's like a dream that she gets to build a family with Jason. She reaches over, pinching her arm just to make sure it's not just a fantasy playing out as she sleeps.
Jason lets out a grumble, "No hurting yourself."
She looks up at him with a grin, watching as he slowly wakes up, then leans over, giving him a soft kiss, "I had to make sure I'm not dreaming. I've woken from this dream before, where you tell me you love me and want a family with me. And every time, I wake up to the cold reality that you were never really there."
Rolling over on top of her, he gives her a tender kiss. He sees those little seeds of doubt and wants to stop them before they begin. That's how he lost her last time, not giving her the words she needed to feel secure. He has learned from his mistakes, and refuses to go down that road again. Looking deep in her eyes, Jason promises, "This is very real." He gives her a deep kiss, his hand going behind her head, burying it in her hair. Pulling back, he softly brushes her hair away from her face, "I love you." Kiss. "I'm in love with you." Kiss. "I am yours, and you are mine."
She lets out a moan, the words causing the sweetest ache in her chest. She rises up, pressing her mouth to his. "God, I love you! And I've always been yours." she pants against his lips. Then, fusing against him more fully, she kisses him passionately, getting swept away in the magic they create together once again.
Afterwards, enjoying the afterglow, fingers trailing over exposed skin, Carly glows as she tells him, "I'm so happy. You make me so blissfully, beautifully happy."
He gives her a tender smile, "Good. That's all I want, for you and our children to be happy."
"Jason Morgan, always the selfless hero." She teases, then props herself up with her chin on his chest. "Just so you know, I'm making it my mission to make you happy too, so happy you won't know what to do with yourself."
"Mommy?" Morgan questions, opening Jason's door with a bang and standing in the doorway, looking at the two entwined under the covers. "I heard your voice. Why are you sleeping with Uncle Jason? Is something wrong with your bed? You just got it."
Carly and Jason freeze, staring blankly at the little boy for a moment. His mother, pulling the sheet tighter, finally shakes herself out of it enough to answer her son, "Nothing is wrong with my bed, sweetie. I just wanted to sleep in here with Jason." She holds her hand out to him. He comes and climbs into the bed beside his mom, cuddling with her. "Would it upset you if I want to sleep in Jason's bed instead of in my room?"
His little shoulder ticks up, "No. It's cause you're scared, right? I know I feel better when Michael is in the room with me."
Running her fingers through his hair, she skirts the question, telling him, "Your Uncle Jason does make me feel very safe."
"That's good. Can I get some cereal?" He asks. With his curiosity appeased, his attention jumps to a more important topic.
Jason tells him, "Go wash your hands, and I will meet you down there."
He takes off running, his voice moving quickly away, as he shouts, "Okay. I want the Fruit Loops!"
Jason jumps up like he's on fire, grabbing some sweatpants and pulling them on before handing Carly her robe. He looks anxious as he comments, "That didn't seem to go horribly. I don't think Michael is going to be as easy a sell."
Tying her robe closed, she goes to stand right in front of him. Placing her hand in the center of his chest, her thumb rubbing tenderly against his heart, she reassures him, "That boy loves you as much as he loves me. He might be a little protective at first, but I promise you he will see how happy you make me and be happy about it." She presses forward, giving him a tender kiss. "Don't worry so much."
"He wants you back with Sonny." He cautiously admits, "I just don't want him to hate me for this."
Her voice is gentle as she promises him, "He can no more hate you than I can, Jason. Loving you is hard-wired in us."
He gives her a warm smile, pulling her against him. She puts her arms around him, her fingers stroking the nape of his neck. "Whatever comes, we will handle it. As my youngest son likes to say, I got your back."
He lets out a chuckle, still shaking as he presses his lips against hers. Hearing footsteps pounding down the hallway, he pulls back quickly, yelling out at Morgan, "Go ahead down, I'm right behind you."
"Kay!" gets yelled out by not just one voice, but two.
With a big grin, she teases, "You're up, Uncle Jase. I'm going to get dressed, and I'll meet you down there."
When he walks in the kitchen, Michael is giving him a serious expression. Fixing Morgan's cereal, he turns to the boy who will always be his son in the most hidden recesses of his heart, asking him gently, "Can I talk to you for a minute out in the living room, Michael?"
The boy cautiously bobs his head, moving slowly out of the kitchen as though he's about to face a firing squad. When he's sitting on the sofa, Jason asks, "Did your brother tell you that your mom slept with me in my bed last night?"
He finally looks Jason directly in the eyes. Nodding, he tells his uncle with force, "I won't let you hurt my mom!"
Jason sits beside the fierce looking little boy. Gently, he consoles him, "You have seen too many men hurt your mom. I promise you I won't ever do anything to knowingly hurt you or your mom. I love her, and I love you and your brother and the new baby that's coming. I want us to build a family together, the five of us…"
"Six, don't forget Spinelli." Michael cuts in.
"You're right, I want the six of us to be a family. I promise you I will do everything in my power to make her and you and your siblings feel happy and safe and loved." He sees some of the tension ease in the little boy, but there's still something bothering him. This boy has no idea the impact he has had on Jason's life. While the rest of the world would divide his life into pre and post accident, Jason would divide it into before and after this little human changed his world and the way he perceives it. The thought of doing anything to hurt Michael is a knife to the heart. His chest feels tight as he tries to find the right words to convince Michael, "I know there's a part of you that wants your parents back together. That's completely normal."
The young boy tilts his head, then gives it a little shake. In a voice too old for his age, he contradicts, "Maybe sometimes. But Dad makes her cry or angry more than he makes her happy. I hate when she cries, and Dad makes her cry a lot. Jax does too." He looks down at his hands, softly he admits, "Every time they yell at her until she's crying, I get so angry I want to hurt them."
Jason puts his arm around the little boy, taking heart that he allows the comforting gesture. His heart pounding, he asks, "If I promise to try really hard not to do anything to make her cry, or to always try to make her feel better when she does, how would you feel about your mom and I being together?"
"Are you going to marry her?" He looks up at his uncle with a hint of his youthful innocence. Carly hears the question as she's walking down the stairs, causing her to pause before she reveals herself. She has to lean against the wall to support her suddenly wobbly legs as she hears Jason answer, "I hope so one day. But I am trying to do this right, and now isn't the right time for me and your mom to be talking about marriage. I will tell you a secret though, I would love nothing more than to marry your mom."
Michael gives Jason a shy smile, "Alright, I guess it's okay with me. Nobody can help Mom more than you when she's scared or sad. You make her happy, and she always tells us and everybody that she loves you."
Revealing herself, she tells her son as she continues down the stairs, "I do love him very much. The only people I love more are you, your brother, and this new little bean."
Jason goes to her, taking her in his arms. She snuggles into the embrace, feeling his heart beat in tandem with hers. Michael smiles up at the two, happy to see the smile on her face. "I don't have a problem with you and Jason, Mom." The little boy gives his blessing. Jason lets out a breath, the tension relieved by the boy's words.
"Thank you, Mr. Man." Carly walks in front of him, throwing her arms open wide. He takes this as his cue to launch himself into his mother's arms. "I love you more than all the stars in the sky, my beautiful boy." Then, in a conspiratorial whisper, "And you know who else loves you that much? Jason."
Both Michael and Carly shift their attention to him, then the boy breaks away from his mother to launch himself into his uncle's arms. Jason feels tears leak out of the corner of his eyes as he squeezes him back. Carly comes over, wrapping her arms around the hugging pair.
From the kitchen, Morgan shouts, "Group hug." He runs to the trio, finds an opening and squeezes between the adults, so he doesn't get left out. Surrounded by Carly and the boys, Jason thinks he's found Heaven.
A few days later, Jason is alone with Spinelli at his penthouse, Carly having gone into her hotel to meet with Diane, when he gets a call, "Boss, there's movement. Jax and Brenda are on the move. They're headed to Port Charles." The guard lets out a nervous cough, "And, uh… Jerry somehow slipped out. We didn't realize he was gone until Mr. Jax and Ms. Barrett checked out. We need the kid to search through surveillance, but it had to be covert because we had eyes on that hotel room, inside and on the outside by the front and back doors, as well as under the window. There's no way he walked out of that hotel."
Jason lets out a curse. Running his hand through his hair, he asks, "Where are they now?"
"They just got to a private airstrip outside the city where his jet is scheduled to leave in about fifteen minutes. They will arrive in Port Charles in about thirty to forty five minutes."
"Get all the intel you can from their suite, then pack everything up and head back home. I have a feeling I'm about to need all the help I can get." Jason orders, anxiety clear in his voice.
When he gets off the phone, he turns to Spinelli, "Jax and Brenda are on the move. I need you to follow them on surveillance to figure out what they are up to. Also see if you can locate Jerry Jax. He somehow was able to disappear from the hotel, see if you can figure out how."
"The Jackal is on the trail, Stone Cold." Spinelli declares before focusing all his attention on the screen.
Jason gives him a distracted nod before picking up his phone again. When the line answers, he asks, "Where is Carly right now?" He pauses for a response, then, "No, don't bother her. Just keep your eyes open. Jax is on his way into town. I need you to be on the lookout for anything or anyone coming after her. Be extra vigilant."
Once he hangs up from talking to her guard, Jason goes to stand by the window, looking out blindly as he tries to put the pieces together in time.
Carly, meanwhile, is standing by the bar in the Metro Court restaurant going over the menu when Diane walks in. Giving the chef the approved menu, she walks over to her lawyer.
Diane tells her, "Thank you for meeting me. I want to go over where we are with your divorce since the papers have already been served."
"Of course. Jason told me about the whole Brenda thing. I'm assuming this will swing things a bit more in my favor. Though, I guess we are even on that score since both of us were unfaithful."
Diane gives her a frank look, "Evening everything up goes a long way in a divorce battle. His affair with Ms. Barrett should negate the impact of your relationship with Jason. It will also help your case that Jax left the home and even the country to cheat. I will argue that it's an abandonment of the family unit to participate in his extramarital affair." Diane sits back in her seat, regarding her client, "With this turn of affairs, forgive the pun, we need to decide which of the marital assets you want to fight for. What are you hoping to take away from the marriage?"
Carly tilts her head, considering, before telling her attorney, "Other than the assets I brought into the marriage, all I want is my half of the hotel, more if you can manage it."
"I should have no problem securing your half of the business for you. And I will work on getting you more. What about the house and other properties? As a mother with two, about to be three, children, I can easily make the case that it should go to you." Diane questions.
Carly shakes her head, "I don't want to live in that house, in his house. He can keep it."
"Now, Carly…" the attorney begins only to be interrupted by two men with ski masks covering their faces getting off the elevator with high powered guns raised towards the patrons.
"Everybody put your hands up! Hands up or you die!" One of the masked men threatens. Her guard moves in front of her, his hand resting on the butt of his gun.
The other masked man is holding up a picture as he scans the patrons at the restaurant. When Carly sees it's a picture of her, she sinks down in her seat, trying to hide. It proves to be a pointless action because the masked man's eyes zero in on her. He lets out a whistle to the other gunman, pointing to Carly when he looks his way.
The masked man heads closer to the blonde, causing her guard to pull his gun and stand in front of his boss's woman. The gunman shoots out the guard's shoulder, making him cry out. He doesn't move away despite the gunshot wound. Carly jumps up to help him, grabbing cloth napkins to press against his wound. He won't let her move around him to put pressure on his shoulder, though. Instead he keeps himself between Carly and the gun.
The masked man gives a sardonic laugh, "How noble. But make no mistake, I will kill you without a moment's hesitation. Move."
When the guard makes no move away from Carly, the gunman cocks his weapon. Not willing to let her guard die, she steps out from behind him. "Don't kill him!"
His eyes narrow on her. Grabbing her arm in a bruising grip, the masked man grits out, "Got her." Then, swinging his gun around the room, he yells out, "Nobody try to be a hero, and you might make it out of here alive." Then, looking down at the blonde in his grip, "Not you, though. You have no chance of making it out alive."