CARBO FAN FICTION: Return Journey Chapter 19

 Chapter 19

After dressing Byron, Carly packed her overnight case, reliving the events of the previous night. Aside from the emotional speech she’d given before they succumbed to blinding passion, there had been no talking at all. 


They’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms for a few hours and on waking, Bo made love to her all over again; excruciating heat and passion enveloping them and fervent kisses and caresses and soft words of love exchanged between them. Marlena was right, she thought. Things are going to be better between us from now on. Now she truly believed that Bo’s love for her was the forever kind after all. The past was behind them. After all those months of sheer misery; who would have thought…?

She turned as she heard a knock on the door. ‘Come in.’ Carly immediately smiled at Bo, suddenly feeling as shy as a young girl greeting her date on prom night. Bo pulled her into his arms; the overwhelming, warm feeling he’d regained a long lost treasure running through him. ‘Hi.’ He said softly, running his fingers through her hair.

‘Hi yourself.’ Carly pulled his head down, seeking his kiss. Bo’s hot, demanding mouth slanted against hers; her body nestled against his manly strength. Like always, his touch electrified her and she couldn’t get enough of it.

Bo smiled down at her, warm brown eyes scanning her face; his thumb tracing her lower lip. He’d never felt so happy; Carly was his again and smiling up at him in that sweet way of hers. ‘Last night was wonderful.’

‘It sure was.’ Carly agreed softly, kissing him again.

Bo kept his arms locked round her waist. ‘I’d do you all over again right now but…’ he indicated Byron who was staring up at them, moving his arms about.

Carly chuckled, leaving Bo’s arms to sit on the bed, picking him up. Bo sat next to her and took the baby; looking into his blue-black eyes. Byron suddenly gave him a toothless grin and cooed; making an effort to pat Bo on the nose. Bo grinned back, filled with love for his beautiful little boy. He had another chance with Carly and he was going to have the chance at being a good father to Byron. He turned to Carly. ‘He’s quite a guy.’ He said proudly.

‘Just like his papa.’ Carly warmly agreed.

I wonder how he’s going to handle you going back to work.’

Carly looked taken aback. ‘Back to work?’

‘You aren’t going to ask for your job back?’

‘Well, the plan was to move to England…’

‘A lot has changed now,’ Bo swiftly interrupted; his tone rather harsh. He didn’t want to be reminded of her original plan or how he’d come close at losing her for good.

‘Yes, it has.’ Carly touched his face reassuringly. ‘I’ve always loved being a doctor and helping people but the only chance I had at being a proper mother was when we shared Shawn D. Thanks to Lawrence; I had to sneak off to the convent to see Darcy every year when I could and I tried so hard with Nicky but it was always a tug of war between Lawrence/Vivian and me. With Byron, I’ve finally got that chance. I don’t know when I’ll be ready to put that white coat back on, but it won’t be anytime soon.’ Carly smiled. ‘Besides taking care of Byron and Ciara; I’m sure I’ll find more than enough things to fill my time.’

Bo stroked her hair, his hand resting at the back of her neck. ‘As long as we’re never apart again, princess; whatever you want is by me.’ Tucking Byron securely on one arm, he slipped the other round Carly’s shoulders. ‘Thank you.’

Carly raised her eyebrows questioningly.

‘For forgiving me; this time I know you really mean it.’

‘It was hard to keep doubting you after what you said. You reminded me more of us back in the day. We never used sex to solve our problems.’ Carly said softly.

‘No, we never did that. What we had was too important. That’s what ruins relationships and I couldn’t let us be further apart.’ Bo kissed her deeply, capturing her lower lip; her tongue moving into his mouth as she hungrily kissed him back.

‘I love you, Bo.’ Carly’s green eyes were damp when the kiss ended. ‘But please don’t ever leave me again; I won’t be able to stand what I went through all over…’

‘Never again, I promise; I swear it. Don’t ever think I will, Carly. Without you, I’ve got nothing. I learnt that the hard way, believe me.’ Bo whispered. ‘If you’d decided we could never be together again, I probably would’ve welcomed the next bullet being shot at me.’

‘Don’t ever say that again!’ Carly sobbed, clinging to him; terrified at the idea of Bo getting killed.

Bo rubbed the back of her neck consolingly.

‘I focused on staying very angry at you and giving you up for good so the pain of missing you wouldn’t sink in; at least not so much. And Maxine reminded me I still had Darcy and the baby.’

‘You must have really hated me.’

‘I never hated you, I tried to but I couldn’t. Too many memories and two of my children are your flesh and blood. Somehow Bo, I think something mystical happened up there at El Castillo. All those years apart and after what happened, here we are together like this.’

‘Aren’t you happy?’

‘Of course I’m happy; very happy.’ Carly caressed his cheek. ‘I guess it still feels like a glorious dream to me.’

‘Then maybe we’re both dreaming.’ Bo smiled at her, his fingers playing with her hair as she smiled back. ‘What we had up that ancient pyramid wasn’t just a symbolic wedding; it was a marriage of the heart. We became spiritual partners and it’s an unbreakable bond until one of us dies. Doesn’t that answer your question, princess?’

Carly’s expression was pensive. ‘That’s what Professor Moore told us but I guess I just wrote it off as some worthless myth after we broke up. Marlena reminded me but I didn’t want to raise my hopes all over again. And I was so afraid to trust you.’

‘But no more doubts, right?’ he asked anxiously.

‘No more doubts.’ The tender look in her emerald-green eyes assured him. ‘We won’t think about that miserable time again.’

‘You got that right.’ Bo nuzzled her cheek then kissed her again; the gentle kiss becoming hard and demanding in a matter of seconds. Carly smiled at the gnawing hunger in his eyes, she too was feeling the burning urge to make love with him all over again. ‘You’re going to have to exercise some patience, sailor.’ She whispered, their foreheads touching. ‘My house is sort of crowded right now.’

Bo sighed, exasperated. Taking her to his house would be tactless, although he had taken down all of Hope’s photos and put them and her things in storage. Actually he was planning on selling the house and giving Hope’s share of whatever he got from it to Doug. But Carly surprised him. ‘I can come over to your place tonight instead.’

‘Come on, Carly, I shared that house with Hope; I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.’ Bo protested. 

‘You shared the Fancy Face with her, you named it after her but that didn’t stop me from living there with you and Shawn D did it?’ Carly reminded him. ‘That boat was our home.’

‘This is different.’ Bo said firmly. ‘I don’t want even the faintest shadow of her to come between us.’

‘But…’

‘No buts.’ He shook his head. ‘I got a better idea. In the meantime, let’s go grab breakfast downstairs before Victor sends Henderson after us.’

::::::::::::::::

‘Are you angry with me?’

Frankie was silent, his face averted. Carly slipped her arms round his waist from behind. ‘Please, honey; don’t freeze me out.’

‘How could you bring yourself to trust him all over again after what he did to you?’ Frankie turned, his expression troubled. ‘For god sake, you’re making the same mistake you made with Lawrence.’

‘This is not like Lawrence; you know very well what Vivian did to me.’

‘Granted; but what would have happened when Hope came back- would Bo have stayed with you and Darcy?’ her brother challenged. ‘He would have done exactly what he did last year.’

‘Why are you being this way?’

‘I’m being this way because I don’t want to see you get hurt again. You suffered for so long and I was glad when you decided to go to England and start over; now you want to take your chance with Bo again?’

‘Frankie, I never thought I could ever trust Bo again; believe me.’ Carly said earnestly. ‘He begged me not to go to England, asking me to give him a second chance. I really didn’t think we could ever be the way we were years ago. But what brought us back is bigger than the both of us and more than I can ever explain to you. It… just happened. Bo’s the same man I fell in love with after all and what we have is a whole lot deeper now. And I want you and Nicholas to forgive him like I have.’ She turned to her son who was leaning again the kitchen door, gravely silent the whole time. ‘I don’t want you to do it merely for my sake, either…please.’

‘You’re asking a lot, Mum.’

‘I know. But if we’re going to move on properly; it has to be done. What do you say?’

‘I can’t speak for Nicholas here but don’t expect a speedy forgiveness from me, Carly.’ Frankie warned. ‘I won’t bash his face like I’ve longed to do for a long time. But… he better treat you right because if it happens again; I won’t be responsible for my actions.’

‘Ditto.’ Was Nicholas’ quiet response.

‘I understand and I love you both for being protective. But truly, it’s going to be alright from now on, really.’ Carly hugged Frankie tightly, feeling Nicholas’ arms round her as well.

Afterwards, Carly went into the living room to share the good news with the girls, Shawn D and Ciara, who was ecstatic beyond measure.

:::::::::::::::::::

‘Thanks Brady, I owe you one.’

Brady winked, giving his uncle a rather knowing smile. ‘Hey, anything for romance; I’m so glad you guys are finally back together.’

‘Me too; and I’m never going to let her regret her decision. I love that woman too much to ever let her go again.’ Bo scanned his surroundings with satisfaction. ‘Tomorrow night’s going to be a night she’ll remember for a very long time.’

Brady thrust his hands deep in his jeans’ pocket. ‘You guys spent a lot of time up here, right?’

‘Yeah; this was our secret meeting place. That is until the day we found out Victor was spying on us the whole time through his binoculars.’

‘Jeez, what did you do?’

Bo smiled at the memory. ‘I basically told him to go to hell; he wasn't going to stop us from being together no matter what he pulled. He was so obsessed with Carly that he lost touch with reality for a while.’

‘Makes you wonder why he’s been so supportive, don’t it?’

‘I still can’t understand why Victor’s been so nice all this time and I don’t trust him.’

Brady knew very well that his uncle has never really trusted Victor completely; John was the same way with him. ‘Well, maybe he’s seen that he can’t keep hating Carly; after all she’s Darcy’s mum and he loves Darcy.’

‘Maybe but I still think he’s hiding something; there’s got to be a reason behind it all. But I’m not going to bother with that right now; I’ve got something else more important in my mind.’

Bo smiled, anticipating the following night and what he had in store for Carly.

Kimberly and Shane and their children as well as Shawn D, Belle and Claire had taken their leave two days after the wedding but Frankie, Nicholas and their women were still staying at Carly’s house so they hadn’t had much time alone. While it had annoyed him a lot, Bo had used the time to plan his surprise. He couldn’t wait to see Carly’s reaction.

::::::::::::::

Carly felt she’d stepped back into time as Bo slid the door behind them. Isabella’s loft which now belonged to Brady; John had purchased the entire building some years back. It looked more like a bachelor pad now; leather couch and arm chair instead of Isabella’s old but comfortable furniture and some expensive looking pictures on the walls; a microwave and a more modern fridge in the kitchen area. ‘Wow...’ she said as Bo went to hang her jacket. ‘It’s different but it feels the same.’

‘Yeah…’ Bo glanced round. ‘It still has its old charm, even with leather and chrome.’

‘Brady must really feel at home here; living in the apartment his parents started their lives in.’ Carly said, a touch of sadness hitting her as she added, ‘I just wish that John and Isabella had more years together. I miss her so much.’

‘I miss her too; especially whenever I watch a Woody Allen movie; she loved Woody Allen.’ Bo agreed; his own voice wistful. ‘Annie Hall was her favorite.’

‘Yes, I remember when you got her a new copy of it… the day I told you about her cancer.’ Carly brushed back a tear. Bo hugged her in silence for a few minutes then ruffled her hair. ‘No sad memories, princess. This is our special night and I’m pretty sure Isabella is probably happy for us from up there; that we found each other all over again.’ He kissed her. ‘Come on; my surprise’s on the roof.’

He covered Carly’s eyes with his hands as he led her up the stairs. He uncovered them on reaching their destination. Carly laid a hand on her chest, overwhelmed and speechless. Their familiar meeting place was lit and decorated by colourful hanging paper lanterns, potted flowers here and there was also a candle lit table for two.

‘Oh sailor…’ she whispered, turning to kiss him feverishly; her arms tightly encircling his neck. Bo kissed her back, lifting her off her feet. Ending the kiss, he smiled down at her. ‘What do you think?’

‘I think this is the most romantic setting I’ve ever walked into; and you’re so sweet to do all this.’ Carly caressed his cheeks with her fingers, deeply touched.

‘Well, thank Brady too; not only did he let me use his place; he helped with the lights.’

‘I’ll thank him too then.’ Carly sat down on the table Bo pulled out for her. There was no moon tonight; causing the lanterns and the candle on the table to give a lovely and very bright glow about them.

When they finished their light meal, Bo refilled their glasses with the wine he’d brought and they toasted to each other. This was far better than their date at The Wings; no hidden tension and wariness from Carly and he didn’t feel the need to watch his step for fear of scaring her. ‘I love you, you know that?’ Bo said softly, holding her free hand.

 ‘I know. And I love you too.’ Carly whispered back.

‘You don’t doubt my love for you anymore?’

‘No.’

‘You trust me? You know that I will never do anything to hurt you again?’

Carly nodded, her eyes fixed on him.

‘Then… how soon can you marry me?’

Carly squeezed his hand, gasping softly. ‘Marry you?’

‘Yes, princess; marry me- be my wife at long last; lord knows it’s long overdue!’ Bo put down his wineglass, to grasp her hand with both hands. ‘I want to marry you and be your husband. I want us to be a real family with Ciara and Byron; spend the rest of our lives together.’

‘We just got back together…’ Carly reminded him gently.

‘I know but I don’t want to wait any longer!’ Bo insisted. ‘We tried to get married more than once and look what happened. We are meant for each other Carly and I don’t ever want us apart again; I want you to bear my name, to be mine in matrimony. This is our chance at last, princess.’

Carly put her glass down as Bo moved from his chair to kneel in front of her, her lips trembling. ‘Oh my God…’ she whispered.

‘Hang on…’ Bo raised a hand before reaching into his pocket. He’d gone into the jewelry store the day before; he adamantly refused to put off proposing to Carly. The years they’d been apart had gone long enough. Bring out the white velvet lined box, he opened it; holding it up for her to see.

‘It’s beautiful!’ Carly whispered, tears falling down her cheeks. She’d learnt some Irish lore from Shawn to know the white-gold ring’s design; it was a Celtic love knot. On it was a beautiful round diamond.

Image courtesy of  www.celtic-weddingrings.com

‘You know that everything Irish always has some meaning attached to it,’ Bo said softly. ‘You know what this one means?’

‘Tell me.’

‘It means…the continuity of everlasting love and binding together and intertwining of two souls, with no ending.’

Carly sobbed, cupping his jaw. Bo pressed a kiss on the beloved hand. ‘Will you marry me, princess?’ he asked again, his eyes fixed on her face.

Carly nodded.  ‘I love you so much. Yes… yes, I will.’ She sniffled.

Bo pulled the ring off and slid it onto Carly’s finger, pulling Carly with him as he got to his feet; hugging each other tightly, exchanging a long, searing kiss.

Bo finally lifted his head and wiped away Carly’s tears. ‘One more surprise,’ he said softly before going away. Carly sat down, wondering what on earth, except the passion lovemaking they were obviously going to indulge in afterwards, could make this wonderful night complete. She looked down at her ring glittering up at her. Romantic devil… she thought with a smile. She soon knew what when she heard a familiar tune. She sat up, her eyes widening as Bo came back holding a portable CD player; grinning at her reaction. Carly covered her mouth with both hands, too overjoyed and filled with love to say anything. Their song!

Once upon a time; I dreamt that you were mine

I dreamt we sang one song for one night only

Dreams were all of you, a hope for me and you

Time to steal one kiss for one night only...

Bo put the player down as Carly walked up to him, grasping her round the waist and buried his face against the side of her neck as they moved in time to the music.

The more I seem to care,

The more I need to there,

I need more than one night of love

To hold you...

One dream in the night,

Sunlight in your dreams,

So if you tonight you hear singing in the air,

Remember that we share our dreams forever

Someday soon we'll see a place for you and me,

And our love will last for more than one night only...

Carly moved one hand up to caress Bo’s hair; feeling like the luckiest woman in the world. And right now, she and her sailor were in their own private world, no one else but them dancing under the stars. Bo inhaled the scent of his princess’ perfume, a sense of peace and awe-inspiring love for her gripping him. She was his true soul mate; the light of his life, his everything. He was so grateful for this second chance she’d given him; for the rest of their lives she would know just how much.

I'll dream one dream in the night,

Sunlight in your dreams,

One dream in the night,

Sunlight in your dreams...

‘So… you believe in happy endings now?’ he whispered, kissing her forehead.

‘Mmm… this is more like a happy continuation.’ Carly replied, raising her head to look up at him. ‘From where we left off.’

‘I’d like to call it a new beginning, with no end. Because, our love will never end; and I’ll never let you go again.’ Bo promised. In the lanterns’ lights, Carly could see the fire in his eyes. ‘I love you.’

They kissed eagerly, almost roughly; unable to get enough of each other. Bo rained kisses all over Carly’s face; whispering her name, capturing her mouth again, savoring her fiery, feverish response.

When they got back inside, Bo lifted Carly in his arms, carrying her into the bedroom. Setting her down, he kissed her again; moving his lips down to her cleavage, reaching behind her to pull down the zip of her green silk dress, which was on the floor in seconds. In between kisses, Carly worked the buttons of his shirt, pulling it off his shoulders and down his arms, tossing it aside; her trembling fingers working on his belt buckle.  Bo dropped his hands to help her to shed the rest of his clothing; then lowered her onto the middle of the bed, immediately following her; kissing her demandingly. Carly kissed him back, writhing under his glorious, hard body as his fingers moved down and caressed and teased her until she was panting with excruciating want; sobbing out his name. Desperately needing her as well; Bo finally plunged into her; shutting his eyes as he was enfolded in her sweet warmth. Carly arched her back and pushed her hips forward as they moved together; her nails sinking into his shoulder blades as he thrust into her again and again; gently biting the side of her neck, their bodies and hearts entwined and becoming one. Finally, they shuddered together, gasping their release.

Breathing hard, Bo turned over to lie on his back; pulling Carly with him to rest against him, his fingertips stroking down her back. Carly ran her hand through his chest hair, her eyes closed they both savored glorious afterglow.

‘Let’s get married after Darcy and Daniel come back from their honeymoon.’ Bo said softly, when he was able to speak again.’

‘I take it you don’t want to wait a month for us to prepare.’

‘I don’t want to hurt your feelings princess but I don’t want to wait a minute longer to make you my wife. If I have to wait through a month’s preparation, I’ll go crazy.’ He looked down at her, his arms tightening.

‘Come to think of it, I don’t want to wait either.’ Carly admitted softly. ‘You were right earlier, it’s long overdue. We can have a private ceremony at City Hall.’

‘And a small reception at your house afterwards.’

‘You mean our house.’ Carly corrected, her smile widening. ‘Since you’ll be moving your stuff back in, right?’

Bo smiled back, lowering his head to kiss her. ‘Now, how could I turn down such a generous offer like that?’

Carly chuckled, moving to lie on top of him. ‘You can’t… I won’t allow it.’

‘Like anyone can say no to you.’ Bo wrapped his arms around her as their deep, meaningful kiss sealed the deal.