Disclaimer: I do not own anything… standard disclaimer.

Brief author's note: I'll keep it short and sweet. I began this right after the September 16th episode because at the end, my mind took off on it's own continuation. The subsequent episodes were written well and I did like them, but I tweaked them a bit and added some missing scenes to fit with my plot and the way I think things SHOULD go… Enjoy!

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One grows accustomed to being praised,
or being blamed, or being advised,
but it is unusual to be understood.
– E.M. Forster
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What If I Can't?

Carly Corinthos walked slowly out of the building. Her heart was heavy, she was tired, her arms and legs hurt… the list could go on. But then, a tumble down a cliff might do that. She laid a protective hand over her protruding belly.

"It's alright, baby. You're all right. I'm all right. Everything is just fine," she said as she walked slowly down the sidewalk. Carly knew she was saying it more for her benefit than anything else. She was trying to calm her nerves, slow the blood flow down, take a deep breath. It had been an experience. No, not the almost falling off a cliff into a dark oblivion… again. But the being rescued by someone other than Jason, or her husband. And if she really thought about it… her husband had never really saved her. It had always been Jason or herself. Jason had been the one to believe, steadfastly, that Ric had taken her. He had been the one to continuously search for her. He had been the one to rush in the door to carry her out of Alcazar's holding. Sonny had been the one to make the deals with the Feds to find her, yet Jason was the one who believed. He had jeopardized his relationship with Sonny time and time again to find her. But all of those facts… they didn't astound her near enough as the fact that she had found relief in the arms of Lorenzo Alcazar. She had felt safe… she had felt cared for. And for that moment, all she could think about was him. How she'd unwittingly found faith in those amazing blue eyes.

"No, Carly. You can't think like that!" she scolded herself. She shook her head as she made her way towards home. As she cast a fleeting look over her shoulder, she felt two arms grasp her by the shoulders. Her head whipped around as fear overtook her and her arms came up ready to defend herself. A hand caught her swinging fist.

"Easy, Carly… it's just me," a smooth, soft voice soothed. With a sigh, she relaxed in the grip.

"Jason… God, you scared me," she said. Jason's observant eyes ran over her.

"Carly, are you hurt?" he asked. Carly let out a little chuckle.

"No, Jase. I'm not hurt," she told her friend. Jason's brow lifted as he brought the hand that was still held in his grip up for both of them to see.

"Then how did this happen?" he asked. Carly looked to where he was indicating. Three of her perfectly manicured nails were broken off to the nub. Carly shrugged.

"And these?" he asked again, indicating rough red marks around her wrists where Lorenzo had been able to grab a hold of her to pull her to safety. Carly shrugged again.

"Carly…" he said, breaking off as he realized that they were standing a few blocks away from where Alcazar lived. "… What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing, Jase," she said quickly, panic flaring in her chest. If Jase knew that she'd come from Lorenzo's, he'd tell Sonny… and they'd kill him. Jason's blue gaze became angry.

"If he touched you…" he started before Carly laid a hand on the angry man's chest. Carly knew who 'he' was and she should have known that Jason would figure her out somehow.

"Nobody touched me, Jason," she defended. Jason looked as if didn't believe her.

"Then what happened?" he asked, his arms crossing across his chest. Don't tell him the truth, Carly. It will only kill him. Protect Courtney! Protect Jason!

"God, Jason, could you just leave it alone?" she asked. "Nothing happened. I just had a fall. And I don't want you telling Sonny… he'll only have a fit. It wasn't serious!" Jason was stony silent again. It betrayed his anger only to those who knew him well.

"Carly… everything is serious right now. You have to be careful, for the baby. You came so close to losing it before, it could happen again," he scolded. Carly smiled warmly at the man in front of her as she laid her hand on her stomach.

"Jason, nothing will happen to this child. I've fought too hard to let anything happen. I've been kidnapped and chained to a wall… I'm not going to let a simple little trip affect anything. I won't let it," she said fiercely. Jason smiled a little as he took her hand and placed the other on top of it.

"Just promise me you won't take any unnecessary risks," he said. Carly rolled her eyes with a small smirk.

"I promise, Jase. Now, you were on your way somewhere," she prompted. Jason smiled again.

"Yeah, I'm going to find Courtney," he said. Carly frowned.

"She wasn't in the penthouse?" she asked. Jason shook his head.

"No, she went over to the hospital to see Elizabeth," he said. Did she tell you she was the one that ran Elizabeth Lansing down?…It was an accident… I doubt she even knew she hit Elizabeth Lorenzo's words rang in her head. Shaking herself out of the memory, she smiled at Jason.

"Well, tell her I'll see her later, okay?" she asked. Jason nodded.

"You'd better get back. Sonny's upset that he couldn't find you. And he knows you're going to try to lie your way out of it. I told him he shouldn't fight with you," he warned as he squeezed her hand. Carly nodded.

"What would I do without you?" she asked with a thankful smile. Jason shook his head.

"Honestly, I don't know," he answered. She laughed as she playfully swatted his shoulder.

"Get out of here. Go find Courtney," she said. Jason smiled once more before he headed off. Carly shook her head as she watched him go. With a sigh, she turned and continued towards the penthouse.