Scene ~ Jason knocks on the Q backdoor. Carly's inside and lets him in. Carly: What are you doing here? Are you crazy? Michael's asleep.
Jason: I know. I know he's asleep. AJ came and took him upstairs and told me I had to get the hell out of here.
Carly: Then why are you still here, Jase?
Jason: I was waiting for you. (pause) You okay?
Carly: Whatever do you mean?
Jason: Oh. (he looks at her, reading her perfectly) You don't- You don't look like you're okay.
Carly: Oh, you won't believe what I just had to do, at Bobbie's.
Jason: What?
Carly: Nothing, really. I mean I just had to sit there. But... that was bad enough. Bobbie just told Lucas that his big cool older cousin that took him to movies and gave him his baseball card collection was dead. I guess Lucky was one of those few men in Lucas' life that wasn't deranged and actually paid attention to him. You think he cried? You know, this little kid. Eight years old. You think he would cry, right? I mean, I'm sitting there and it's all I can do to not bawl my eyes out. And I didn't even know Lucky. But Lucas, he just... He was like - oh, gosh. He was perfectly straight and perfectly still. He nodded in all the right places and then he said he was going to say a prayer for Lucky in heaven. (pause, Jason sighs) His eyes got big and wet and little lip started to quiver, but he didn't cry. Someday I'm gonna have to retire that idea that I have it worse than everybody else and always did. Starting with my idea about the world's worst childhood. What was wrong with my childhood? Nothing. You know? Nothing. Would you just remind me of that whenever I need it?
(Jason opens his arm for her and Carly half-lays down into hug... Her head on his chest and he rests his chin on top of her head... Both seemingly absolutely oblivious to the fact that their position is *very* compromising, should anyone walk in and see them...)* * * * *
Jason: So how was the funeral? (His thumb is sorta rubbing gently over her arm)
Carly: (she sits up) It was pretty awful. I don't have much use for Luke. Laura doesn't seem to even know who I am. But I've never felt worse for anybody in my entire life. They had to basically get up and give their own son's eulogy. Because there was nobody else.
Jason: (sigh) Did, uh... Luke, say anything to you?
Carly: No. He just looked right through me.
Jason: No, no. I mean about me.
Carly: What do you mean about you? Why would he say anything to me about you?
Jason: He blames me and Sonny.
Carly: Jason, if he said that? That's just craziness. No, you have to- Look. His son just died.
Jason: Carly, Carly. He's not absolutely wrong.
Carly: Yes he is.
Jason: No. Sometimes... (sigh) Sometimes it seems like having Michael and thinking of him first made more sense outta my life than anything else ever could. But sometimes I wonder if it keeps me from taking care of things how I used to.
Carly: No, stop. Okay? You can't do that, Jason. You can't think like that. 'If I had been like this. If I had just done that thing differently - everything would be different.' You cannot do that. You need to do what you need to do, now, in this minute. The best thing for now, this very second, and move forward. You can't look back. That's it, bottom line. (pause) I'm not the world's greatest parent, you know, and I know that. God knows... I got a chorus line of people around me every day to tell me that. But I'll tell ya what if... If anything like that ever happened to Michael, I'd die. I don't think that I could go on. (pause) Thank you for not saying 'Of course you could, Carly. You're strong.'
Jason: I don't know if I could either.
* * * * *
Carly: (he gets up to leave) Wait, Jason... What did you want to ask me? I mean, you said that you... you came to see me, so...? For what? (pause) I mean, not just to look at me.
Jason: (he pauses, then shrugs) Nothing. It's nothing.
Carly: You just- You just wanted to find out about the funeral?
Jason: Yeah, right.
Carly: Or maybe you did come just to look at me.
Jason: (almost smiles) Goodnight, Carly.
Carly: (pouts) Well, what if Michael wakes up?
Jason: You'll be alright. Just give him a kiss for me. (he exits, stage left)