Carly was conscious of the bright sun pouring through her bedroom window as she awoke. She couldn’t have been asleep for long--she was sure it wasn’t noon yet. But it seemed that even in brief naps, she couldn’t escape those dreams.

It wasn’t the dreams themselves that bothered her. It was the awakening. Those beautiful, sensuous dreams just made real life seem that much more empty when she was in one of these moods.

Okay, let’s forget this crap! You’re damn lucky to be alive and to have people who care about you!

But no matter how many orders she gave herself, she just couldn’t stop thinking about him. And there wasn’t a day that went by when she didn’t replay in her mind the chain of events that had changed so many lives.

It was all set into motion by a few minutes of angry passion--a few minutes that she wished with all her heart she could take back. That one wild, loveless encounter with Sonny had ended both her marriage to AJ and whatever expectation she had of a future with Jason. And much more importantly, a life ended before it could ever start.

***

It was mid-January, only a few days after Jason left town, when Carly realized she might be pregnant. It was worst possible thing she could imagine at that point--knowing she was carrying Sonny Corinthos’ baby. And it had to be Sonny’s. She hadn’t slept with AJ for months--and it had been years since the last time she and Jason made love.

Carly took a home pregnancy test--and it turned up positive. But she put off seeing a doctor, and she told no one about the baby--not her mother, not the Quartermaines, and not Sonny.

She wasn’t in denial. She just didn’t know what to do, so she did nothing.

Then, on a snowy day in late February, AJ found out. And he was furious.

Carly had been very careful to hide her morning sickness, and she hadn’t put on any weight yet. But she knew she couldn’t keep her pregnancy a secret much longer--and even more, she knew she had to face the situation for the baby’s sake.

She still wasn’t ready for anyone in her family to find out about her condition, so she knew she couldn’t see a doctor at General Hospital. Instead, she called a women’s clinic on the other side of town to make an appointment. And AJ heard her make the call.

Late that afternoon he followed her to the clinic. He was waiting in front of the building when she came out the door after her appointment.

Carly tried hurriedly to hide the pre-natal vitamins she was carrying, but it was too late. AJ knew why she was there, and he knew he couldn’t be the baby’s father.

AJ grabbed her hand and forced her into the car. As he pulled away from the curb, he began shouting. “You lying tramp! All this time you’ve been living in our house, pretending to be my dutiful wife, and you were sleeping with him! You didn’t even care enough to take precautions! Or was it intentional, Carly? Did you think the only way to keep Jason interested in you was to have his baby?”

Carly didn’t correct him. The last thing she wanted right now was for AJ to know Sonny, not Jason, was the father of her baby.

They were already on the outskirts of Port Charles, and AJ made a hard left turn as he headed for a rural highway. “It didn’t work, though, did it, Carly? Jason didn’t even care enough about you to stay in town! Who’s going to take care of you now?”

“I can take care of myself, AJ. And I can take care of Michael, and this baby.” She tried to sound brave, but she was scared to death. Snow was falling, the streets were getting more slippery by the moment, and AJ was driving faster and faster as his anger grew.

“AJ, slow down!” She tried to keep her voice calm, but the panic was rising. “And where are we going? The house is in the other direction.”

“Shut up, Carly!”

She clutched instinctively at her belly. Yes, I can take care of you, baby. As soon as I get back to pick up your big brother, the three of us will get away together. We’ll go to your grandmother’s house. Just hold on. Hold on.

She never saw the Bronco lumbering down the highway from the opposite direction. In the late afternoon, with snow falling, the vehicle seemed to come out of nowhere.

AJ never saw it either. As he turned left, the car was hit broadside by the Bronco, then knocked onto its left side by the impact.

Carly was not wearing a seatbelt, and she was thrown from the car, landing in a ditch filled with freezing water. AJ was trapped in the car. The Bronco spun around, and came to rest on the other side of the highway, where the dazed driver struggled to free himself.

Carly was still conscious when, within seconds of the crash, another vehicle reached the scene. A black limousine.

“Johnny, stop the car!” As the limo pulled to a stop, Sonny Corinthos jumped out and ran to the side of the road. “Call 911, Johnny!” he yelled, as he reached for the woman lying face down in the cold water. “Oh, my God! Carly!”

Sonny’s first thought was that she would drown if he didn’t get her out of the ditch. With Johnny’s help, he pulled her from the water.

"Am I gonna die?" Carly's voice was so faint that Sonny could barely understand her. "Am I gonna die?" she repeated.

“It’ll be okay, Carly--just try to hang on. We called an ambulance. Don’t try to talk any more.”

Sonny took off his coat and covered her shivering body. As he waited helplessly for the ambulance to arrive, Sonny found himself praying that the woman he had treated with such contempt would live through this.

Johnny and the Bronco driver were trying to free AJ from what was left of his car as the ambulance arrived.

Carly remembered being placed on a stretcher and carried to the ambulance. Then she lapsed into unconsciousness.

***

Carly and AJ had both suffered multiple injuries. Her left arm and shoulder were fractured, she had several broken ribs, multiple lacerations, and dozens of deep bruises. A horrified Bobbie Spencer barely recognized her daughter when she arrived in the Emergency Room.

Sonny followed the ambulance to the hospital, and even called the priest from Queen of Angels Church. Father Anthony, who had baptized Michael two years earlier, now prayed that Michael’s mother and her husband would survive the life-threatening crash.

AJ had two collapsed lungs, multiple fractures and broken ribs, and head injuries. And as the hours, then days, passed, he did not regain consciousness.

Carly did wake up, and her first thought was of the baby. But Carly knew he, or she, was gone.

***

Carly’s broken bones were set, and within a couple of weeks she able to go home to Bobbie’s house. But she was still in pain, and she was suffering from deep depression. She had repeated nightmares in which she relived the accident.

Of course, she was in no condition to take care of Michael. And since Bobbie had to work, Michael remained at the Quartermaine home, in the care of his grandparents, his aunt Emily, and his nanny, Leticia.

As Carly got better, Emily brought Michael to Bobbie’s house for daily visits. The three of them--Carly, Michael, and Emily--would watch TV or play games together, with Bobbie and Lucas joining them when Bobbie got off work and Lucas came home from school.

Emily and Carly had never gotten along before. Emily blamed her, Carly thought, for everything that ever went wrong for both Jason and AJ. But now they were becoming closer each day, and Emily was a lifesaver where Michael was concerned.

What was even more surprising, Edward Quartermaine visited Carly several times a week. Carly knew Edward felt very guilty over the way he had treated AJ--and now that he was unable to help AJ, he was trying to reach out to Carly.

AJ remained in a coma. He was now in a long-term care facility, where he was visited almost daily by Monica, or Alan, or both. AJ’s parents would not give up hope that one day he would come out of it--like the woman in New Mexico who awoke from a coma after 16 years. But there was no assurance when, or if, that would ever happen for AJ.

***

Finally, after a few months of recovery that included intensive physical therapy, Carly was able to resume her life. She continued living at Bobbie’s house--but now, Michael lived there, too, several days a week. He spent the rest of the week with the Quartermaines.

Carly started working part-time at Kelly’s. It felt good to be productive again. She even got out a little now--seeing a movie, or going to dinner with Bobbie, Lucas, and Michael. Sometimes Roy DiLucca would join them--or her uncle Luke.

She saw Sonny occasionally, when he came into Kelly’s. And he had visited her a couple of times during her recovery. Carly knew that if Sonny hadn’t stopped that night to help, she would probably be dead. She promised herself that he would never find out about the baby--that he would not have to experience another loss. It was the best thing she felt she could do for the man who saved her life.

Carly was grateful to be alive and have a family who loved her. Her life wasn’t perfect. But considering everything that had happened this year, she thought, this is as good as it gets.

That feeling of loss for her baby was still there, and probably always would be. But the nightmares were finally gone.

Now, if she could just do something about those dreams of Jason.

______________________________________________________________________________

Coming up in Chapter 3: We’ll go back to Illinois and check in on Jason at the monastery. If you have any comments, please E-mail me. [email protected]