Dream a Little Dream

Chapter 3

The next morning was sunny. Jason lay in bed, staring out the window but not seeing anything.

He'd accepted the fact that his life with Sonny had only been a dream. But that meant other things were a dream, too. His love for Robin. His friendship with Carly. Michael and Morgan didn't exist. And what about Courtney? And Sam?

A tear slid down his cheek as he grieved for what he was losing. He didn't hear Monica and Alan come in.

“What is it, Jason?” Monica asked. Jason spoke before he thought.

“Carly,” he choked. “Michael, Morgan.”

Alan and Monica exchange stunned stares. How much did Jason hear when he was in a coma?

“How did you know about them?” Alan asked. Jason stared back.

“What do you mean? They're real?”

Alan nodded.

“You must have heard us talking about them to you, I guess,” Alan said. “Michael and Morgan are AJ's little boys. They're darlings. Michael's a sweet, protective big brother. Morgan's a little dynamo. Loves to scoot around and climb anything he can. We talked about them all the time to you, being bragging grandparents and all.”

Jason felt dazed. “Who's their mother?”

“I don't know if you remember her or not,” Monica said. “It's Carly. Caroline Benson was her maiden name, but she went by Carly Roberts when she first came to town. She's Bobbie Spencer's daughter. Bobbie gave her up for adoption when Bobbie was a teenager. And it turns out her birth father is John Durant, the federal prosecutor.”

Carly had come to town to destroy Bobbie for giving her up, and had taken Bobbie's husband, Dr. Tony Jones, from her. After tossing Tony aside, she and AJ had gotten together after both had gotten drunk. AJ was on a bender before his sentencing, Carly was miserable over being a pariah for hurting Bobbie. That night, Michael was conceived. AJ didn't know that when he woke up alone in a hotel room the next morning, got dressed and walked to an AA meeting.

When Carly found out she was pregnant, she thought she'd hit the lottery. But AJ was sober, and wasn't going to be pushed around. Edward tried to bribe Carly into leaving town and leaving the baby with Edward, but when AJ stood up for her and told Edward to never interfere in his relationship with Carly or their child again, Carly was impressed. She and AJ married, although the marriage was stormy at times.

“For some reason, people say Carly and AJ remind them of me and your mother,” Alan said, eyes twinkling at Monica.

Jason thought he was over shocks after finding out about Sonny. Boy, was he wrong!

“John and Carly have become really close,” Alan said. “I thought he was going to kill Sonny with his bare hands after Sonny shot her.”

“What?!” Jason goggled.

“I'm sorry, son, maybe I shouldn't have said anything so soon.”

“No, tell me!” Jason said.

In what Alan and Robin later deduced was one of Sonny's final manic episodes, Sonny became fixated on Carly. He became convinced that Lorenzo Alcazar was a threat to her, despite Lorenzo being the law-abiding Alcazar ("If only I was a few years younger," Monica thought when Lorenzo's name was mentioned). Luis Alcazar had died the previous year after falling – or being pushed – from his apartment balcony. No one had ever been charged in his death.

One night, Sonny had been following Carly's car home in a storm. When the road was closed ahead, she pulled into the driveway of Lorenzo Alcazar's home. He was friendly with the Quartermaines through their philanthropy efforts at the University. Sonny saw her slip on the wet front steps of the house and fall backwards, hitting her head. Lorenzo came charging out and called the ambulance from his cell phone. Sonny went berserk seeing Lorenzo bent over Carly, and stormed out of his car, firing his gun and hitting Lorenzo. The bullet passed through Lorenzo and grazed Carly's skull, narrowly missing her brain. Lorenzo ended up in intensive care for a week.

That episode made John Durant even more determined to bring Sonny down. Soon after, the RICO case came together, but Sonny died in the shootout with police as they came to arrest him.

Carly's getting shot was almost too much for AJ, but with the support of the family, he got through it and didn't fall off the wagon. He hadn't touched a drop since the night he'd been with Carly and they conceived Michael.

AJ and Ned ran ELQ together, not always harmoniously, for about the past year. "I know you might not understand how we could forgive him, but he is our son, too," Monica said. Jason nodded, trying to absorb everything.

"That's enough for now," Alan said. "You need to rest, son. We'll tell you more later."

Jason refused to close his eyes after they left. The dream of those lost years, of working for Sonny and killing people, had begun to look like a nightmare.

* * *

Alan and Monica came back after their morning rounds and meetings.

"How are you feeling, son?" Alan asked. "You must have so many questions. We'll try to answer everything, but we will stop if you get too tired."

"There's one thing I've been wondering about," Jason said. "AJ and Ned are running ELQ? Where's Grandfather?"

Alan and Monica exchanged worried glances. This was a subject they'd dreaded. Jason saw the glances, and knew what it meant.

"Grandfather's dead," he whispered, looking down at the blanket. All of a sudden, everything became blurry and tears splashed on the bedding.

"I am so sorry, Jason," Alan said. "He loved you so very, very much. You reminded him of your grandmother – you have her eyes."

Alan took a deep breath, winked back his own tears, and decided to get the worst of it over with.

"Your grandmother is gone, too," he said in a husky voice. "She died last year, just six months before your grandfather. She died in her sleep, very gently. After that, your grandfather just went downhill slowly. He began turning over the reins of ELQ to AJ and Ned. He gave one of ELQ's holdings to Tracy – probably to keep her busy and out of AJ and Ned's hair – and promoted Justus to chief legal counsel. Soon after, it was in July, he had a heart attack out on the patio. He died holding a rose from one of your grandmother's rose bushes."

Jason's face was taut with pain. In his dream, his grandmother had died, and Edward had said that very thing to him about his eyes. He remembered how, in his dream, he had so often belittled the old man. Now, thanks to AJ, it was too late to even say goodbyes.

He hung his head and sobbed. Monica hugged and rocked him as Alan stroked his head. Jason ended up crying himself to sleep.

* * *

Jason awoke at lunchtime. He'd graduated to toast, broth and tea, and was surprised to discover how good chewing was.

He tried not to dwell on all the meals he'd missed – the family holidays, hanging out at Kelly's with the gang eating burgers and fries, enjoying Cook's homemade doughnuts and pies. And all that time, AJ was alive, awake and doing those things. How was that fair?

Alan and Monica brought lunches up so they could share the time with Jason.

"I've got some catching up to do, I guess," he said. "Hopefully some of it's good. How's Emily?"

Alan and Monica beamed.

"She's doing great," Alan said. "She had some rough times - got into drugs in high school, but AJ was able to talk her into going to rehab. He reminded her of what his addiction had done to you, and how he didn't want her to live with that sort of responsibility. We had a hard time reaching her. I think we overindulged her, tried to make too much of her, and she was a bit of a brat. But we got tough and she got through it."

Jason felt some – just some – of his resentment of AJ melt. At least something good came of this, he thought.

Monica picked up the story.

"She went to Stanford for her undergrad," Monica said. "She did pre-med. Now she's going to med school at PCU. And she's dating a really nice boy named Zander. His dad, Cameron Lewis, is in the psychiatric department here."

Jason nodded. So far, not too bad. But Zander, a “really nice boy?” So much for the screw-up loser of his dream.

"Ned and AJ still bicker some at ELQ," Alan said with a grin that was part grimace. "But since Father's death, it's been a little more muted. Most of the time, they have to work together with Skye against Tracy. Who ever thought Tracy would be a unifier in the family?"

Jason laughed, a little feebly, but it was his first laugh since he woke up. But then he asked, “Wait a minute, who is Skye?” She'd been in his dream, but he didn't know how she fit in reality.

Alan explained that Skye was his daughter from a romance with a woman named Rae Cummings while he was in medical school. They'd only found each other about six years ago. Monica made a bitter face when Rae's name was mentioned.

"Ned and Lois divorced, but they get along okay now," Monica chimed in. "Their daughter, Brooke Lynn, has a great voice but has been indulged way too much. I hope Lois and Ned don't learn that the hard way like we did."

"As I said before, Justus is lead counsel at ELQ," Alan said. "But a condition of his taking the job is that he has a co-lead counsel and a day off every week to work at the free legal aid clinic. His co-lead counsel is Lee Baldwin, who came out of retirement to work part time."

Alan told Jason about the free legal clinic, and Justus' work helping Sonny Corinthos' victims claim shares of his estate. Apparently, coffee and bootleg gay porn brought home the bacon. Justus' key assistant at the clinic was Gia Campbell, sister of PCPD detective Marcus Taggert and a recent law school graduate. Alexis Davis also pitched in, getting another measure of revenge for her sister's death by picking Sonny's financial bones clean. Alexis had married psychiatrist Cameron Lewis, the father of Emily's boyfriend Zander. Cameron and Alexis had a daughter named Kristina, named for Alexis' late sister. Alexis had run for district attorney before Kristina was born, but lost to Ric Lansing.

“I thought Ric was Sonny's brother,” Jason said.

“Heavens, no!” Alan said. “His parents were nice folks from Massachusetts. No relation to Corinthos in any way.”

Sonny had tried to buy respectability by buying himself a spot on the ELQ board. But he was shunned by all, especially after he tried to cozy up to Lila. He'd attempted to be a suave Latin lover and tried to kiss her hand, but she was so offended that she ran over his feet with her motorized wheelchair. Jasper Jacks was still on the board. He, Tracy, Ned and AJ openly mocked Sonny, calling him the "Pocket Mobster."

At this juncture, there was a knock on the door.

"Forgive the intrusion, doctors," said a rich-voiced man with dark blonde hair and a goatee. "I'm glad to see your son is making such a good recovery."

"Jason, do you remember Stefan Cassadine?" Monica said. "He's the chairman of the hospital board."

Jason nodded. "Good to see you, Mr. Cassadine," he said.

"And it's very good to see you, Jason," Stefan replied. "Your family's faith in you has been very touching, and it makes all of us at General Hospital most happy to see that faith rewarded.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, doctors, but the board meeting begins in 10 minutes and with Mr. Jacks leaving town later today and not coming back for several weeks, we just can't postpone it," Stefan said.

"Jason, I'm so sorry, but we have to go to this," Alan said. "Jax is helping us get the Edward and Lila Quartermaine Family Health Center off the ground."

Jason smiled at the mention of Edward and Lila. "Go ahead," he said. "It sounds like a good cause. Maybe someone else can come keep me company?"

"We'll see who we can find," Monica said. "See you in a bit."

* * *

Karen Wexler and Robin Scorpio came in on their break.

"Fill me in on everything," Jason demanded. This reality was looking better than the Sonny Corinthos Show of his dream, where it always was dark, violent and dreary.

Elizabeth Webber had become a nurse, and was still involved in art. She coordinated an art exhibit and sale every year to benefit the Rape Crisis Center at GH. She and Lucky had drifted apart after Lucky came home, a victim of kidnapping by Helena Cassadine. Lucky was running Luke's waterfront restaurant, Vagabond. While she and Lucky weren't together, they'd rebuilt their friendship. Laura still hoped it would be more once again.

Laura Spencer had bought Deception from Scott Baldwin after Scott decided to run for city council. Edward had loaned her the money, still having a soft spot for her despite her marriage to “that scamp,” Luke Spencer. Laura had repaid his loan in two years with the success she'd made of the company. She commuted from Port Charles to New York City often on business. Laura's mother, Leslie, was rescued from the clutches of Stefan Cassadine's mother, Helena, and was back at work at GH, supervising the interns. One of the interns she would likely be supervising in a few years was Diego Alcazar, son of PCU professor Lorenzo Alcazar. Diego, a pre-med student at PCU, was the product of a teenaged love affair between Lorenzo and his childhood sweetheart.

Luke and Lucky were also partners with Felicia Jones in Jones, Spencer & Spencer, a private investigating firm.

Maxie Jones was studying forensic science at PCU, and planned on going into law enforcement. Maxie's younger sister, Georgie, was dating Jason's cousin, Dillon. They worked together at L&B Records. While Dillon wanted to explore a creative career, Georgie was thinking about becoming a social worker. Courtney Matthews, the sister of Sonny Corinthos, had offered to take Georgie under her wing at her foundation, but Georgie had turned her down in favor of working at Ward House with qualified people.

"Courtney..." Jason whispered, his brow furrowing. Images of white-blonde hair, orangish skin and powerful biceps flashed through his mind.

Robin rolled her eyes. "You do that almost as good as Courtney!" Karen giggled.

They told Jason of how Sonny's sister came to town and set her sights on AJ. Carly and AJ were in a rough patch, as Carly had tried to scheme with Edward on ELQ matters. Courtney planned to wedge her way between them, but AJ was having none of it. No one put Carly and Courtney on the same side of a room at social functions unless catfights were part of the night's entertainment.

Courtney had then tried to seduce Jasper Jacks, who laughed in her face at the prospect of swimming in Sonny's fetid gene pool. Like he would betray his Brenda for someone like her!

Nobody liked Courtney very much, especially since she tried to present herself as a know-it-all in all matters of social and philanthropic work. But since she had a lot of money, some of it inheirited because she had cared for some rich old lady's dog and some from a trust fund Sonny had set up for her from his legitimate coffee import business, everyone had to tolerate her.

"Boy, she sounds like a winner," Jason said with dripping sarcasm. He winced as he remembered that in his dream, he'd married Courtney.

Robin said she felt bad for Courtney – she was trying too hard because of her connection to Sonny, like she had to wash away the stain somehow. She hadn't known she had a brother, much less one who was a sociopathic mobster, until she came to Port Charles.

Just then, Karen's pager went off. Robin saw the time, and had to leave to take her medications and then attend a meeting. They kissed Jason, promised to come back every day – "Just like we've been doing all along," Robin said – and left.

* * *

Stefan Cassadine sat at his desk after the board meeting. He knew he should be reviewing the plans for the Edward and Lila Quartermaine Family Health Center. But seeing Jason Quartermaine today had reminded him of how much everything could change over time.

He remembered falling in love with Chloe Morgan, a relative of the Quartermaines. Helena, however, had other plans for her youngest child, none of which involved him being happy. She had Chloe murdered, and, while Stefan was still reeling with grief, began a new power grab and set out to carve a path of destruction through Port Charles.

The centerpiece of her plans was the return of her beloved son Stavros, believed dead all these years but kept in some sort of coma or suspended animation by Helena. However, she did not count on Stavros' love for Nikolas and obsession with Laura coming before his mother's plans. She arranged for some of her enemies – Luke, Laura, Stefan, Alexis, Bobbie and Lucky – to be kidnapped and brought to her, where she could watch them die one by one. She also brought Nikolas there because she wanted to teach him a lesson about loyalty and betrayal, because he had embraced his mother and her family. But when she decided to kill Laura first – to make Luke, Stefan, Lucky and Nikolas suffer - Stavros intervened and took the bullet meant for Laura.

“My beautiful son,” Stavros whispered, as Nikolas' tears dropped on his face. “Be strong and brave, like your mother. I always loved you. I'm sorry I never was a father to you. Learn from my mistakes, and run from your grandmother. Do not let her evil destroy you as it has destroyed me...”

He died in Nikolas' arms.

Helena tried to escape, but was cornered by an enemy she didn't know she had – Kristina Cassadine, the other child of Mikkos' affair with opera singer Kristen Bergman. When Helena pulled out a knife and lunged at Kristina, Alexis fatally shot Helena with the gun Helena had used to kill Stavros. Standing over Helena, tears pouring down her cheeks, Alexis simply said, “I win. You lose.”

Helena's last moments were spent watching Mikkos' bastard daughters be embraced by her son and grandson, then she saw Nikolas hug his mother, the hated Laura Spencer. The final thing she saw was Luke and Stefan, shaking hands, grinning down at her. She almost welcomed the coming darkness.

Stefan never left Helena's side until the bitter end. He knew she could fake death, but didn't give her a chance. The memories were grisly, but he knew Helena was dead. He had DNA tests done on the remains before they were cremated.

Free of Helena forever, Stefan had no idea what to do with himself. Suddenly, the Cassadine name had become an overwhelming burden. He had lost Chloe. He needed to find out what he wanted from life. So he handed the Cassadine empire over to Nikolas, with Alexis overseeing things as an advisor, and left town.

For more than a year, he traveled. He climbed the Matterhorn; he sailed the Caribbean. He stood on Newfoundland's rocky shore and splashed in the azure waters off Thailand's sandy coast. He bicycled in Beijing and skied in Banff. He took tea in Tokyo and London. He saw giraffes in Africa and bears in Alaska. He ate borscht in Moscow and burritos in Baja. He drank champagne in Paris and rum in St. Lucia. He smoked cigars in Havana and marijuana in Amsterdam. He danced the tango in Bueonos Aires and waltzed in Vienna. He watched the sun rise in Sydney and watched it set in Mazetlan. Some mornings, he'd get up while it was still dark to watch the day begin. Other days, he slept until noon.

As a grand finale, he bought a convertible in Los Angeles and spent two months driving in the United States. He went on a cattle drive in Texas. He went up the Empire State Building in New York and the Sears Tower in Chicago. He marvelled at the stars at night on the prairie, and the vastness of the Grand Canyon. He walked the Freedom Trail in Boston and Lombard Street in San Francisco. He went to his first baseball game at Wrigley Field and liked it so much, he went to games at Fenway Park and Camden Yards, too, and learned how to keep score. He ate brisket in Texas, hot dogs in Chicago, lobster roll on Cape Cod, gumbo in New Orleans and discovered the joy of pizza at a little place in Brooklyn called Di Fara's. The next day, he went back to Brooklyn and got bagels and lox.

Stefan shocked Nikolas, Alexis and Kristina by showing up at Wyndemere in blue jeans, a white t-shirt, cowboy boots and a black leather jacket. He felt free and optimistic after coming home, and ready for something new. He took over as chairman of the hospital board, and was the chief architect with Alan Quartermaine of plans for making General Hospital a top-notch facility. He also served as a casual advisor to Nikolas as the young heir took the reins of the Cassadine empire. Stefan refused an official position. He had plenty of his own money, and wanted to do things for himself.

It had been a hard time after Kristina was killed, helping Alexis through her grief. Together, they had helped bring that scum Corinthos to his knees.

Since then, Stefan had mostly been content with his life. He only dealt with Laura Spencer in terms of her being Nikolas' mother. He and Luke Spencer, both sick and tired of wasting their lives fighting Helena's war, maintained a respectful, cordial peace. But seeing Jason come back to life made Stefan wonder if he himself ever truly would. Contentment was once more than he could hope for, as the son of Helena Cassadine. Now, he wanted more. It had been almost five years since Chloe died. He was lonely. He looked at the papers on his desk with a sigh. He picked up the phone and stunned his administrative assistant with the directive to direct any calls to his voicemail, as he was leaving for the day.

The original plan was to go to Wyndemere and go for a horseback ride, then home to his sleek loft in the new waterfront development. Instead, he pulled into the Harley-Davidson dealership on Seneca Ave. and bought himself a motorcycle.

* * *

The afternoon sunshine felt good on Jason's face as he sat at the window. He had about an hour before his physical therapy session.

Jason looked intently out at the city. The cars looked different. The clothes looked different. Girls wore their hair in different ways. So many things, large and small, had changed while he was dead to the world.

An ambulance siren wailed. He remembered, or remembered when he dreamed, when sirens meant the cops were after him and Sonny. His jaw clenched, he reached for his gun only to grab a fistful of his bathrobe. Jason sighed. It felt so real. But so did this reality. He felt like he was walking a tightrope over an abyss. If he believed the wrong thing, he would slip and fall.

If what he remembered was really a dream, then who was he? Young Jason Quartermaine, with his ideals, hopes and endless future, was gone. In his place was ... who? The Jason Morgan of his dream? Older Jason Quartermaine? He didn't know, and not knowing was scary.

Jason was able to see the ambulance tear into the ER parking lot from the window. He watched the excitement as EMTs unloaded their patient, as doctors and nurses flocked to assist. They probably have a rush similar to what I felt ... or dreamed I felt ... when I executed a hit, Jason thought, and winced at the irony. He was repulsed that he could have felt anything good about killing people, even in a coma-induced dream.

"Jason?"

There, in the doorway, was his kid sister Emily Bowen Quartermaine. No longer a kid, but a woman! But she still looked like she was playing dress-up in those scrubs. The lost years felt like a knife twisting in his gut. They embraced silently, each with tears running down their faces. Emily had long dreamed of this moment.

"Yuck," Jason said as she kissed his cheek. "What's that goop on your mouth? It feels like an oil slick."

Emily laughed as she wiped off the lipgloss she had so copiously applied this morning. No matter that Jason didn't like it, Nikolas did. She couldn't tell Jason, or anyone, about Nikolas Cassadine. They all thought she was happy with Zander, and that Nikolas was focused on bringing the Cassadine empire into the 21st century free from Helena's treachery. And Emily had been happy enough, but then Prince Nikolas looked her way, and she felt like a princess, rightly at the center of the universe and showered with rose petals.

No one must know of our truest love that ever loved, not yet, she thought. Nobody would understand the deep connection they shared, that came before fetters that other people call loyalty or integrity. Nikolas' uncle liked Emily and the Quartermaines just fine, but he probably had European nobility, maybe even royalty, in mind for Nikolas in terms of a future wife. And Nikolas wasn't ready to defy his uncle yet, not until he had thoroughly consolidated power.

Emily came out of her rose-petal reverie with a sigh. Now Jason was back and everything would be perfect. He'd always indulged her. When the time was right, he would be on her side.

"Your cooking up something," Jason said, noticing her smirk. "I hope it's not something that'll get anyone hurt."

"Oh, Jason!" she giggled. "Why would you think I'm up to something?"

"Because you had the same look on your face when you and Lucky were hiding Annabelle's puppies from Grandfather," Jason said.

“Well, don't worry, because nothing's cooking,” she said, but added in her head, “yet.”

* * *

AJ Quartermaine sat on the patio at the Quartermaine mansion, breathing in the scent of his grandmother's roses. Lila always felt so near out there, AJ thought. He wished he could talk with her. He needed her soothing voice, her courage, her compassion, her faith.

He couldn't tell anyone that he was barely hanging on to his sobriety. Ever since Alan had announced that Jason was coming out of the coma, AJ had felt the cold grip of fear. He couldn't spoil his family's joy, which was one of the reasons he kept silent. Old hurts, shame and resentment were being stirred, also. He was too ashamed to even admit his feelings out loud to Carly. Bringing them up would be unfair to everyone.

This was what he had wanted, what everyone had wanted. Jason was getting better. AJ was angry at himself for his fear. He'd confessed, pled guilty, accepted his legal punishment, and lived through the anger and recrimination of his family, and was eventually forgiven.

He had been in AA since the morning after his drunken night with Carly that resulted in Michael. And since Jason had started waking up, he'd gone every day. He called his sponsor every afternoon.

Now AJ had to face his biggest victim. Jason had lost nine years of his life. He'd lost his young adulthood, and so many opportunites. He should be a doctor by now, either working side by side with their parents at GH, or tending to the sick in Appalachia or Africa. Instead, all that potential had laid wasted in a hospital bed. And who knows how he would be when he woke up?

“How do I make amends for this?” AJ beseeched his sponsor. “What do you do, what do you say, when your drinking has stolen almost a decade of someone's life? Nothing seems adequate here, especially me!”

His sponsor told him to open the dictionary, and look up the definition for “amend.” AJ saw these phrases: “to change for the better; improve,” “to remove or correct faults in; rectify,” and “to grow or become better by reforming oneself.”

“You've been making amends to Jason since you went to your first AA meeting,” the sponsor said. “You've been paying for Jason's medical care. You willingly accepted jail and all other punishments the law gave you. You've worked the 12 steps to change for the better. Don't give in to your self-pity, AJ. That's your biggest weakness. Now comes the next action. You have to apologize, fully and humbly, and accept that Jason may not ever forgive you. And you know you cannot rush into amends without guidance, and that amends can't hurt others.”

AJ brooded over this as he sat on the patio. He tried only to smell Grandmother's roses, and not look into the living room and see the row of decanters twinkling and glowing seductively in the afternoon sun.

He'd never felt the precipice this close before. There had been a few near-misses, during times when he and Carly were having trouble. Especially the time Courtney Matthews had showed up at his office after hours wearing nothing but high heels and a trench coat, and carrying a bottle of Dom Perignon. He'd huddled on the bathroom floor for hours after he'd thrown her out, trembling, before he could muster the coordination to pick up the phone and call his sponsor.

He could not recover fully if Jason didn't forgive, AJ thought. Without that, the family would resent him. Maybe they wouldn't love him anymore. Without Jason's forgiveness, how could he move forward?

* * *

AJ wasn't the only Quartermaine gripped with fear.

Carly Quartermaine watched her husband from the window seat in the boys' playroom. Morgan was napping and Michael was at youth lacrosse. The curtains hid her from AJ's view.

Her blood felt cold as she looked at AJ. She'd seen that look before and knew what it meant. He wanted to drink and was fighting it.

If he lost this fight, her whole world was in peril. She was not publicly demonstrative, but she loved AJ fiercely. They had both felt like outcasts growing up, and had both done terrible things. Each knew what it was like to need love so much it ached. Both made sure Michael and Morgan never wanted for affection or approval. Their own hunger for belonging and love made for passionate sparring, loving, fighting and making up.

Carly also loved the life AJ, as Quartermaine heir, gave her. She'd come from a trailer park, and was living in a mansion as part of American aristocracy. She had her pick of diamonds, silks, designer labels. A limousine took her wherever she needed to go. The ELQ jet whisked her around the world. She had mingled with the highest society in Paris, London, New York and on the ski slopes of the Alps. People who would have looked down on Caroline Benson fawned over Mrs. Alan Quartermaine Jr. Her sons were peers with the children of the elite. She had power.

She'd once gotten too open about her power grabs, working with Edward to undermine a plan of AJ's at ELQ. That had led to the separation which Courtney Matthews had tried to use to her advantage.

If AJ fell off the wagon, Carly knew that Sonny Corinthos' opportunistic sister would be planted on the barstool next to him. The boys' world would be filled with the uncertainty and fear of children of alcoholics. They had never seen AJ drink, so they'd grown up insulated from his battle so far. Monica and Alan, overjoyed over the return of Jason, may start blaming AJ all over again, and abandon him in favor of Jason.

Carly's eyes narrowed when she thought of Jason. He had been the golden boy, the good son who got all the love and approval while AJ went starving and begging for both. Now he could waltz back in and take everything away from AJ ... and her. And the boys. No way, Carly thought, I'll protect my turf with everything I've got. If St. Jason gives us trouble, I'll do whatever I have to to stop him cold.