~Background: This story will pick up where Carly finds Jason in Elizabeth’s studio. Everything is the same as it is on the show. Jason got shot, Carly did sleep with Sonny.~

Carly hid around the corner and waited for Elizabeth to leave the studio. When it was all clear, she walked into the studio and found Jason asleep on the couch. She had tears in her eyes as she walked over to him. Carly took a slight breath as she walked over to him and sat down next to him on the couch. She slowly reached over and touched his face.

Jason opened up his eyes and looked at the person sitting near him. He tried to pull himself up. ''What the hell are you doing here?''

Carly noticed he was holding onto his shirt. ''What the--'' She reached out to him and he quickly pulled away. ''Oh, my God. Jason, you’re hurt!''

''You shouldn’t be here. You need to leave, Carly,'' he whispered as he closed his eyes in pain.

''Jase, no. You need me to help you. Please let me help you,'' Carly said to him sincerely.

''You’re wrong. I don’t need anything from you, not now-- not ever again,'' he said as he moved away from her.

''You don’t mean that,'' Carly said to him. She reached out to him and looked into his eyes. ''I love you, Jase. I’ll never stop loving you.''

''I love you, too, but--'' Jason started to say but Carly stopped him.

''There is no ‘buts’. You said it yourself, you love me. You need me, Jason. You need me just as much as I need you. Don’t throw that away for Elizabeth,'' Carly pleaded with him.

Jason wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion. ''What are you talking about?''

''I saw you-- I saw the two of you in Kelly’s. I saw your arms wrapped around hers, and her head resting on your shoulder,'' Carly told him.

Jason shook his head. He knew she had did it again, she had jumped to conclusions. ''That’s not what--''

''Not what? That’s not what I saw? Jason, I saw it with my own eyes. Jason, are you seeing her? Was that kiss all an act?'' Carly asked him.

~*~Sonny’s PH~*~

Hannah walked in the door and saw Sonny sitting on the couch with a glass of Brandy in his hand. ''Sonny?'' Sonny didn’t respond to her, so she walked over to him and sat next to him. ''Sonny, what is it? What happened?''

''Destruction--'' was all he said.

''With who?'' She asked him, but then realized what she just said. ''I’m sorry. I know you can’t talk about your business. Was that what it was?''

''Not exactly,'' Sonny said as he stood up. He went over to his tape player. ''I have something I’ve wanted to play you.''

''Oh, yeah. That’s what you wanted us to listen to together, right? Let’s do it then,'' Hannah said with a smile.

Sonny nodded and pushed play on the tape. He went and stood behind the couch and watched Hannah’s reaction to the words.

Hannah closed her eyes and ran her hand through her hair in sadness. She couldn’t believe what was happening. She slowly turned towards Sonny, and she saw nothing but anger in Sonny’s eyes. ''Sonny, I--it’s not what you think.''

''Oh, no? Explain it to, Hannah.'' Sonny said.

''I’m not trying to destroy you. I’m trying to save you,'' She said as she got up from the couch and made her way over to him.

''Oh, right. No. You spied on me and I slept with my best friend’s girl. That’s about as much destruction and damage I can handle. GET OUT!!'' Sonny screamed.

~*~Elizabeth’s Studio~*~

''No, Carly. I can’t believe you are even asking me that. What you saw with Elizabeth and I was purely innocent. Elizabeth and I are just friends, that’s all,'' Jason told her.

''But I saw you, Jason!'' Carly said in anger.

''I don’t care what you saw. You *saw* it wrong! You know how I feel about you or how I felt,'' Jason said as he stared into her eyes.

''Don’t say that. I *know* you still love me,'' Carly shook her head and tried to wipe her tears.

''Does that even matter anymore? You slept with Sonny, Carly!'' Jason said in anger. Jason felt a pain in his side and he leaned his head over as he tried to control the pain.

Carly scooted closer to him and touched his shirt. ''Jase, please let me help you.''

Jason pulled away from her. ''Leave me alone. Leave me the hell alone,'' he muttered under his breath.

''No!'' Carly cried. She touched Jason’s face and smiled when he looked up at her. ''I love you, OK? I love you so much and I’m not going to let you do this. I’m not going to let you turn your back on us. I won’t do it, Jase.''

''I can’t trust you anymore,'' Jason whispered.

''I’ll show you that you can. Please, Jase. Let me take care of you. Don’t close the doors on us, Jase. Let me make it up to you,'' Carly began to say.

Jason took deep breaths as he tried to control the pain. He leaned back and Carly opened up his shirt and saw blood flowing from the bandage. ''Jason, you’re bleeding,'' Carly said as she leaned over him and undid his bandage.

Jason looked at her and smelt her hair as she leaned closer to him. His eyes focused on hers as she looked up at him. He couldn’t muster up enough strength to push her away. He just couldn’t. He loved her and he knew it. What did that mean? That he didn’t know. ''Carly--''

Carly placed another bandage over his wound and then looked back at him. ''I love you, Jase, and you love me, too. No matter what that will be there. It always will be there. Let me take care of you. Just let me watch over you, Jase. Please.''

Chapter One:

Jason closed his shirt, which made Carly remove her hands from it. She sat back down on the couch. ''Why won't you let me help you?''

''You know why,'' Jason muttered, as he stared at her with a mixture of anger and love. He had such mixed feelings for her that he wasn't sure what to do. He didn't know if he wanted her to leave or if he wanted her to take him away.

''I know and I'm truly sorry. You know, when I saw the look on your face all I could think about was Robin. I told you that I would never hurt you the way she did. That I'd never betray you in anyway,'' she said as she looked down at her hands, and then back at him. ''And I did--'' she whispered as she tried to fight back the tears.

''If you had only asked me instead of thinking the worst. You thought the worst, which made you go crazy and do something stupid. What did you think, Carly? Did you think I wouldn't care that you slept with my best friend?'' Jason asked her, eventhough he already knew the answer.

''I know, I know. What can I say, but I love you. I love you,'' she told him, but jumped when she heard the door slam shut.

Carly quickly turned around and saw Elizabeth walking towards them. ''I don't think you should be here.''

''She was just leaving,'' Jason replied back. He winced through the pain as he tried to sit up.

Carly looked back at Jason and he looked at her. ''I won't give up. I won't give up on you and I won't give up on us.''

Jason's eyes locked with hers and he felt like he could stay there forever. Sure, he was angry, but seeing her still made him want her. ''Just--''

Elizabeth didn't give him a chance to speak. ''Leave, Carly.''

Carly grabbed her purse and stood up. ''Listen here, little miss priss. You can't get rid of me.''

''Carly, go,'' Jason finally replied. He knew he had to be the one to tell her to go. He knew she wouldn't leave until he said it, and he had to say it before she picked a fight with Elizabeth.

Carly walked past Elizabeth, but not without giving her a look to kill. Carly grabbed the handle of the doorknob, and then turned back to look at Jason. ''She won't love you like I do--'' she said and then made her exit from the studio.

Elizabeth set her purse down and sat down by Jason. ''Are you OK? Let me see your wound.''

''I'm fine. Carly changed it,'' Jason said through his pain.

''Let me look at it,'' Elizabeth whispered. Jason looked down at the wound for a quick second and then looked back at the door.

~*~Sonny's PH~*~

''Did you not here me? I want you out!'' Sonny said to her, trying to talk some sense in her before he really lost it.

Hannah reached out to him. ''You don't mean that. You love me!'' She cried, knowing he had to realize that.

Sonny laughed at her. ''That was an act, just like everything since you've moved in was an act. I used you just like you used me,'' he told her, and pulled away from her arm. ''Don't touch me.''

''Does Jason and Carly know? Is that why they've been acting weird lately?'' Hannah asked him, referring to the time when Carly gave her opera tickets, or the time when they walked her home from the docks.

''Are you kidding? They are the ones that told me. Now, I don't want to ever see your face again,'' he screamed as he walked out of the room. Sonny couldn't stand the sight of her, and he didn't want to repeat his tendency for violence with her, too.

Hannah burst into tears as he left. ''I love you--'' she cried through her tears. As she regained her composure, she left the Penthouse.

~*~The Brownstone~*~

Carly knocked heavily on her Mother's door. Finally she took a deep breath when the door opened. ''I need your help,'' she said as she walked inside.

''Carly, what is it? What's wrong?'' Bobbie asked her as she shut the door and walked further into the living room.

''Jason needs your help. He was shot,'' Carly told her.

Bobbie shook her head. ''I know,'' she said with guilt. She saw the look of shock and betrayal in her Daughter's eyes. ''He made me promise. It was the only way he'd let me help him. Where is he now, honey?''

''He is at Elizabeth's studio. But he has no help, except her. Which, if you ask me, is like no help at all. You need to help him. He's still bleeding,'' she told her Mother with a look of desperation.

''You saw him, then?''

''Yes, and he needs help. Bobbie, he won't take it from me, so you're all I have left. Please,'' Carly pleaded with her.

''OK. I'll go check on him, but I think you'd better stay here, all right?'' Bobbie said to her. After Carly agreed, she turned her body and started to walk out of the room.

''Bobbie?'' Carly called out to her.

''Yeah?'' Bobbie asked as she walked back over to Carly. She grabbed her hands and let her know she would do what she could.

''Help him. I love him and I can't stand to lose him this way. I mean, I might lose him anyway, but not this way. I need to know no matter what that he's going to be OK. He needs to know I love him,'' Carly told her.

Bobbie moved the hair out of her Daughter's face. ''I promise he'll be OK, and you won't lose him,'' she smiled and wrapped her arms around her. Bobbie pulled back and smiled again at her. ''Everything is going to be OK. You won't lose him.'' Bobbie nodded and then made her way out of the Brownstone.

Carly took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. ''I hope you're right. I love him too much to lose him. I need him.''

Bobbie knocked on the door to Elizabeth’s studio. She walked in after hearing Jason’s voice. "Jason, you’re not supposed to do anything to hurt your wound. You need to lay back down."

Jason sat down on the couch. "I’m fine. What are you doing here anyway? Did Elizabeth call you?"

"No. I saw Carly--" she said and then looked at him. "She’s worried about you, Jason."

"I told her I was fine. I don’t need her concern," Jason said as he looked away from her.

"Jason, I don’t know what happened and I don’t want to know. But I do know that you love me daughter and I know she loves you, too. You can’t just turn love off when you want to. You know that. You’ve never turned your back on her before. Jason, she counts on you. She relies on you," Bobbie told him.

Jason turned to look at her. "Things are different now."

"That’s right they are. You love her now. I see that."

"That doesn’t matter," Jason replied.

"Jason, come back to the Brownstone and let me watch over you. Elizabeth has watched over you, but you need someone more qualified. Please. Just do this for me," Bobbie pleaded with him.

"I don’t want to see Carly," Jason told her. He knew seeing Carly would continue to be hard.

"She’s willing to stay away. She is afraid for you. She wants you to be well before anything else," Bobbie explained to him.

"What about Elizabeth? I have to explain to her and talk to her," Jason replied. He felt like he couldn’t just walk away with no word.

"I’ll find her and explain it to her. Just let me take you back to the Brownstone. You’ve done so much for me and for Carly. Let me help you."

Jason nodded and decided to let her help. "OK. I’ll stay as long as Carly isn’t there."

Hannah walked inside and found Mike sitting at a table. She walked over to him. "Hi, Mike."

Mike looked up at her and smiled. "Hey, gorgeous. Are you waiting for Sonny?"

Hannah sat down at his table. "No. Mike, there is something that you need to know about Sonny and I."

"Ok."

"Sonny and I broke up. He found something out about me that he just can’t forgive, and honestly, I don’t blame him. It was my fault-- I should have told him sooner before he had a chance to find out himself. I should have never held it back to begin with," Hannah tried to explain.

"This thing he found out about you. It’s that bad? How did he find out?" Mike asked her.

"It’s bad. Jason and Carly told him about it, which makes it even worse. And you should know, too. I’m a WSB Agent."

Mike looked at her and shook his head. "Are you telling me you’re part of the FBI?"

"Yes," Hannah replied.

"You mean all this time I thought you loved my son and you were using him? He trusted you, and you turned that against him. How could you? Where is he now?" Mike asked.

"I just left him at the Penthouse," Hannah told him. She watched Mike stand up and walk out the doors.

Bobbie and Jason walked inside and walked into the living room. Carly stood up when she saw Jason. "Hi. Please don’t be mad at me, Jase. I had to see if you were all right. I had to--"

Bobbie set Jason down on the couch. "I’ll be right back," she said.

Carly sat down next to Jason. "I love you and I needed to make sure you were going to be OK. I’ll leave you alone if that’s what you want. I can do that until you get better. I’ll do whatever you want."

"I don’t want you here. That’s what I want. I can’t deal with you now, I just can’t," Jason said to her.

Bobbie came back in the room and Carly stood up. "OK," she said and continued to look at Jason.

"I’ll walk you out," Bobbie said.

Carly nodded and the two of them walked over to the door. "You have to make sure he’s going to be all right. I know he hates me right now, too."

"He doesn’t, honey. He’s just hurting right now. Give him some time to let things be. Give him some time to heal first. And by staying away will give him some time to miss you," Bobbie smiled.

"Thank you," Carly said.

Bobbie reached over and hugged her daughter. "You’re welcome." They pulled out of the embrace. "Now, go home and be with your son."