Carly's Nightmare

Carly sat straight up in the bed, breathing heavy.

The movement woke Jason up and he sat up behind her, put his arms around her, and dropped a kiss on her shoulder. "What's the matter?"

She leaned her head back on his and sighed with relief. "You'll never believe this dream I had. Scared the hell outta me. It was awful. It was like, what my life what I woulda been like if I hadn't followed you out here like we planned, last winter. I dreamed I had this completely insane idea to marry AJ to get custody of Michael! And I did, and you didn't stop me."

"That is completely insane. You would never think to marry AJ. If anything, you'd make me marry you."

"I know! And I asked you to promise me that you'd wait for me and Michael... And you said you would, and I kissed you. But you said that you only kissed me because you didn't want to hurt me by pulling away... And then, you gave up all rights to Michael and doomed me to live that life with AJ... You said I'd made my choice and... It was so horrible." She looked at him, her lower lip turning down into a pouty frown.

"You know I'd never break any promises to you, Carly. Damn, you really dreamed me into a jerk, didn't you?"

"Oh, no, AJ was the jerk. He was always threatening me and trying to control me and telling me he'd get me sent back to Ferncliffe if I ever tried to leave him. And he treated me like some trophy he'd won, and told me I had to be the perfect wife for him, or he'd leave me with nothing and I'd never see Michael again. And he was always going on and on about this stupid crane he bought for the docks."

"I would have killed him if you'd told me all that."

"You knew."

He gave her a strange look. "And I didn't do anything?"

"No... And then, you know what? You actually kissed me! You kissed me, and I was so happy I was floating. But you pushed me away again and said that it didn't mean anything, it didn't change anything..."

"Carly, if I'd gone that long without kissing you? You can bet when I finally did kiss you, that I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off you."

Carly giggled. But her face saddened again. "And when I was finally, finally gonna leave AJ, I saw you dancing with Elizabeth Webber, and I don't know what the hell happened to me. I went to Sonny's and we slept together. And then I came down the stairs in his shirt and you were there... God, your face, Jason..." She cupped his cheek and looked at him for a long moment, trying to replace the memory of the hurt on his face with how he was looking at her now. "And Sonny called me a whore and told me to take some money to make it official..." She shook her head, trying to remember more. "It was all so real..."

He took her hands in his and rubbed his thumbs over her skin, and stared into her eyes seriously. "You know, if you saw me dancing with Liz Webber or any other woman, you'd storm in there and rip us off each other and lay into me about what I was doing with a child like her. You're confrontational, Carly. You'd be mad and hurt, and you'd yell at me until I told you it meant nothing, which it would have. You wouldn't have gone to Sonny's and slept with him. You wouldn't do that, and neither would Sonny. That's just too crazy to imagine."

She still seemed sad. "And I tried to talk to you about it, to tell you how sorry I was... And you thought I'd done it to hurt you. But I didn't. And you said that you wouldn't let me hurt you anymore. You said that you couldn't be in love with me anymore, but that was the first time you'd ever said you were in love with me."

"I had never told you I loved you, I had never given you any sign I wanted to be with you, that we were committed in any way?"

She nodded.

"Then I would have no right to judge what you did with Sonny. If I had never told you... How would you know? I would be angry and hurt, but I'd have to forgive you, you know."

"Sonny said it was to prove a point. He wanted to show you what he said I really am, a slut who would sleep with his best friend. He lied to me about you and Elizabeth, and he slept with me to hurt me and you."

"Then it would be him I couldn't forgive, if he knew how I felt about you, and did it with those reasons... And I've always known exactly who and what you are, Carly. Nobody, not even you, has to prove you to me. I know, and I love you."

Carly threw herself in his arms. "You know you chase all the bad dreams away. You make everything better, just by being who you are. I can't imagine having a nightmare like that and having to wake up without you next to me, to talk some sense back into me. And I love you, so much."

"You feel better now?" He rubbed her shoulder softly.

"Yes, I do. It was a very traumatic dream, you know."

"Traumatic?" he asked, amused.

"Yes. Extremely traumatic and you'd better stop laughing at me right now, Jason Morgan, or I'll..." She crossed her arms and glared at him, though she couldn't hide the smile that wavered on her lips.

"You'll what?" He grinned.

"I'll have to make you stop laughing at me." she said confidently.

"And how would you do that?" He laughed again, still grinning.

"Well, I'd start here..." She kissed his lips lightly. "Then move here..." She kissed his chin and moved to his cheek, along the line of his cheekbone. "And here..." She bit his ear gently and kissed down, following his jawline, and trailed kisses down his throat, to his collarbone. "And..." She put her mouth over his collarbone and drew her tongue along it.

She grinned and pulled away from him. "And you're not laughing."

He laughed again and said, "Come here." He pulled her down and laid ontop of her, framing her face with his hands. "You are a very bad girl."

"I am." She smiled brightly. "But I wouldn't be any fun if I was good, now would I?"

"You just be you." He smiled softly at her and played with a few strands of her hair. "That's who I love."

"You let me be me. "She returned his smile and touched his cheek, rubbing her thumb over his cheekbone. "That's why I love you so much."

He moved his lips against hers and took her mouth in a sweet, passionate kiss. She sighed as he began to kiss her, following the same path on her body as she had blazened on his. She closed her eyes and smiled. This was a dream come true.

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