"Jack, if you don't stop it right now, we're never going to get anywhere!" Carly exclaimed as wiggled out from Jack's embrace. It was at least the fifth time since they'd left Sonny and Carly's penthouse that Jack had come from behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her neck. She loved the feel of his soft lips on her skin-how many times had she gotten herself to fall asleep by dreaming of Jack doing this very same thing to her-but she wanted to be alone with him, all alone, and the quicker they got to the Port Charles Hotel the sooner that could happen. And they were almost there…she could see the lights of the main entrance as clear as day…"Come on, we're almost there; let's go!" Carly grabbed Jack's hand and they ran to the hotel as fast as they could. The same doorman who had opened the door for Carly when she had first come to the Port Charles Hotel was still there, and he smiled widely at her when he noticed she had returned, only this time she wasn't alone. "Welcome back, ma'am," he said.

"Thank you, again," Carly replied, her smile indicating to the doorman that the gentleman with her was someone very special. Jack looked at Carly with a puzzled expression on his face, but Carly assuaged any fears he might have had with a gentle brush of her fingers on his hand. He took hold of her hand, kissed it, and entwined his fingers in hers. They walked together to the check-in desk and stood at the counter. The clerk noticed them right away and walked over to the place where Jack and Carly were standing. "Checking in?" he inquired.

"Yes," replied Jack, "but we, uh, didn't make a reservation."

at's all right; we aren't full this evening." The clerk pulled out a blank reservation card and took off the lid of his pen. "Your name?"

Logan, Jake and Caroline Logan," Carly answered without hesitation.

"OK, Mr. and Mrs. Logan, I just need you to fill out a little information on this card and you'll be good to go," said the clerk. Carly took a pen from the counter and completed the registration card, using Molly and Jake's address so that no one would even suspect that she and Jack had been there together (Molly would cover for Carly, for sure!). She gave the man cash to pay for the room and took the key from him. "I'll have a bell person take your luggage up to your room," said the clerk as he picked up the phone and called the bell desk.

"We appreciate that," Carly said, "and we'll just wait right here until the person is ready." She turned around and faced Jack, who pulled her away from the counter and to the side where their conversation couldn't be heard. "OK, Jake I get, but Caroline?"

"Caroline is Carly Corinthos's given name. I thought it would be better if we both used other names."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, but…." Jack started to say something about Carly C., but Carly cut him off with a kiss. At the same time, a bellman tapped Carly on the shoulder and said, "Mr. and Mrs. Logan? I'm ready to show you to your room."

Jack and Carly quickly broke apart from their kiss and faced the bellman. "Thanks, that would be great," Jack stated. They followed the bellman to the elevator and got in. Within a couple of minutes, the elevator reached its destination, and the bellman allowed Jack and Carly to step off before he did. They moved to the side so the bellman could lead them to their room, which he did without delay. They got to the room and the bellman let Jack and Carly in, then followed behind them. "Where would you like your bags?"

"Oh, uh, anywhere's fine…maybe over there by that table," Carly said, pointing to the little sitting area that was by the window. The bellman nodded and carried Jack and Carly's luggage, sparse as it was, to Carly's chosen location. He walked back towards the door and Jack handed him $10 as a tip, hoping that he would speed up his departure so that Jack could be alone with Carly at last. "Thank you, Mr. Logan," the bellman said excitedly. "You have a wonderful stay in Port Charles."

"We will," Jack answered, and he closed the door. Carly stood not more than 2 feet away from Jack and she looked directly into his eyes, wondering what she should do next. Jack grabbed her hand, turned her around, and pushed her up against the door. He kissed her passionately and ran his fingers through her hair. She responded to his kiss and moved her hands from his waist to his back, underneath his sweater. Jack broke away and started unbuttoning Carly's shirt, one button at a time, stopping after each button to delicately touch Carly's skin, which sent shivers up her spine. He finished unbuttoning her shirt and pulled it off her with sheer force. Carly, in turn, pushed her hands up under Jack's sweater and quickly removed it. She touched his chest and kissed him on his neck, while he put his hands under her lacy camisole and behind the back of her bra, so he could feel the contours of her spine. "Oh, Carly," he whispered, "it's never gone away between us, has it? You, me, like this; it's the way it's always been, and it always will be."

"No, Jack, it's never disappeared, not once. I have loved you, and I have wanted you, since the minute I laid eyes on you in Montana. You are the only man for me, the only one I will ever give my heart to."

"Carly…it's the same for me. I love you, I do…I've always loved you, and God help me, I've never stopped wanting you, wanting to…to make love to you. Let me make love to you, Carly, let me show you what you are to me."

"Yes, Jack, yes, make love to me…" Carly replied. Jack put his arms under Carly's legs and picked her up, carrying her to the bed and laying her down on it. Carly grabbed Jack by his belt buckle and pulled him to her for a kiss. They kissed hungrily and Carly reached between them so she could get a hold of Jack's belt again. Jack sat up on Carly and allowed her to undo his belt and take it off. He started to unfasten his pants, but Carly stopped him. "Let me do it," she said breathlessly, unzipping them before he could answer her. Jack climbed off and allowed his pants to drop to the floor, kicking his shoes off in the process. He removed Carly's shoes, pulled her up off the bed, and worked quickly to get her out of her own pants. Carly turned around so her back was to Jack, and Jack kissed her neck as his hands roamed all over her stomach and just below her breasts. Carly moaned softly and Jack responded by taking hold of her camisole and removing it from her body. They came back together, facing one another, and fell on to the bed in a passionate kiss. Jack put his hand on the underside of Carly's right thigh and pulled her in closer to him. They continued kissing, switching back and forth between joining their lips together and Jack feasting on Carly's neck, and rolled over so Carly was the one on top. Jack moved his hands onto Carly's back and found the place where her bra was fastened. He undid the clips and traced his fingers along her spine, before he went for the straps so he could remove the bra altogether. At that precise moment, Jack's cell phone rang, and Carly was startled by the sound. "Jack," she said softly, "Jack, shouldn't you get that?"

"Carly…what, what? You want me to answer it now?"

"You never know, Jack, it…it might be really important. It might have something to do with the case; didn't you say you were working on leads about Craig?"

"That can wait, Carly, I mean, it can wait!" Jack said emphatically as he tried moving in for another kiss, but Carly pulled back. "No, Jack, really, please, take care of it, and then we can…pick up where we left off. I'll feel much better if you do."

"Argh, all right, I'll do it, but only because you asked me to." Jack got up and went over to the table where his jacket was on top of Carly's bag; the jacket had his cell phone in it. "Snyder," he said.

"Jack, I thought you said you were coming back tonight, or at least call me if you couldn't. What are you doing, where are you?" Julia asked, her voice full of displeasure.

"Julia, uh, hi, I…I'm sorry, I've just been, caught up, and I haven't had a chance to even think, let alone make a phone call. The case is taking longer than I thought it would, and so I won't be able to get home until sometime tomorrow. I'm sorry about this; really, I am. I didn't know what this was going to entail until I arrived in Port Charles, and it's much more complicated than I imagined." Jack looked over at Carly and mouthed "I'm sorry" to her. Carly shifted her eyes downward and went to work on reclasping her bra.

"Well, just finish whatever it is you're doing, and get back to Oakdale as soon as you can. We have a lot to talk about."

"I will, Julia, I promise. Good night." Jack hung up the phone before she could say "I love you" and he had to come up with some answer to that, when all he really wanted was to profess his love to Carly and show her everything she meant to him. He walked back to the bed and sat down next to Carly, who was sitting with her back up against the pillow. "I'm so sorry about that, Carly. I had no idea it would be Julia. I thought, like you said, it would be my contact with more information about Craig, and I could just get it out of him and tell him I'd get back to him tomorrow. If I had any idea it was Julia, I would…" Jack stopped mid-sentence and placed his hand on Carly's shoulder. He tried to slip her bra strap off, but Carly moved away. "Jack, I…can't."

"Carly, what's wrong? Before Julia called, we…we were about to make love. I told you that I love you, I've never stopped loving you, and nothing's changed. I want you as much as I've ever wanted you, and I want this; us, together, in each other's arms, the way we were meant to be."

"Jack, I want that too-I don't deny it, not one bit. I love you with everything that I have, and there's nothing more that I want than for us to be together."

"Then what is the problem?" Jack asked.

"I just…you remember when I was married to Hal, and I came to you the night you had that date with Julia at your house, and I told you I'd never stopped loving you, and I wanted us to get back together?"

"Of course I remember that."

"Well, you told me that the only way you were willing to give us another shot was if I told Hal it was over and I left him. And we both know how that turned out-how many times I've messed things up between since then!"

"Yeah," Jack said, "but that's in the past, Carly, and you're not doing anything now that would stand in our way. You're honest, and open, and you're everything to me."

"I know, Jack, but…Julia, she's still part of the equation, and we can't…be together until you tell her it's over. That's why I brought up the thing about Hal and me, because I need the same thing from you now that you needed from me then. I need you to tell Julia that your marriage is finished before we can think about us again."

Jack searched Carly's eyes for the truth, and he knew instantly that what she had just told him was exactly it. He had suspected from the moment she'd heard him say Julia's name that she was going to ask him to leave Julia before they could be together, and he understood completely why Carly would feel that way, even though he'd hoped they could share one night together without thinking of the inevitable. Jack brushed the side of Carly's face and cupped his hand under her chin. "All right," he began, "I'll talk to Julia as soon as we get back to Oakdale. I promised I'd always be honest with her, and there's no way I can go home now without admitting how much I still love you. And it probably won't be easy, for either one of us, but I have to do it…I can't bear the thought of not being with you anymore."

"I can't either, Jack, not after tonight…not after hearing you say you love me, and you still want me, after all this time. And I promise I'll be waiting for you, to come to me as soon as you've told Julia it's over. And then…" Carly stopped short of telling Jack that they could plan for a future together once Julia knew what was going on, because she didn't want to jeopardize things for them. Jack picked up on Carly's thought immediately, but decided not to say anything so she wouldn't be spooked about the whole situation. He put his arm around Carly's shoulders and pulled her close to him, stroking the top of her head and kissing her hair. "I'll do anything for you, Carly, anything at all. I love you and I don't want to lose you, ever again," he stated quietly.

"I don't want to lose you either, Jack, and we won't; we won't let it happen, not this time. We're going to make it, no matter how long it takes."

"So, um, what are we going to do in the meantime, if, uh…."

"How about you just hold me, Jack, hold me in your arms, and we can fall asleep together, and pretty soon it will be morning and we can take things from there?"

"That sounds perfect," Jack said as he got up from the bed and pulled the covers down. Carly did the same on her side and laid on the bed, waiting for Jack. He climbed up beside her and flung the covers on top of them. Carly snuggled in close to Jack and he gave her a soft kiss on the lips. "I love you," she whispered to him.

"I love you too," he replied, and massaged her arm with his hand as they began to drift off to sleep…