Chapter 1 – Friends 'Til the End

This story begins in August 2013. Most everything that has happened on the show prior to 2013 has happened in this story. Exceptions: Connie killed Olivia in a fit of jealousy and preparing to stand trial (it's doubtful she'll make an appearance in this story. Also, when Jeanine Matthews came to town, it was revealed that her child with Mike Corbin was Zander Smith not Courtney Matthews (sorry Courtney fans). Sonny never had Zander beaten and Zander never flipped out and became an arsonist. Still, their relationship is strained for various reasons that will come out later. Final FYI, I'm envisioning Lexi Ainsworth as Kristina.

August 10, 2013-

Sonny paced as he waited for Kristina's train from Connecticut to arrive. Though all three of his boys had been in Port Charles this summer, he missed his daughter. There was something sweet about her that was different than his sons. Sure, Michael was a nice kid, but he was starting to identify with his Quartermaine side. While he knew all he'd have to do was ask Michael not to spend so much time with A.J. or ELQ and he'd stop, he couldn't deny his son the opportunity to make his mark in the legitimate world of business. Then there was Dante, the cop. They'd almost become close. Then Sonny went and messed it up by romancing Dante's mother, Olivia, and her cousin, Connie within months of each other. It was perhaps the worst decision he'd ever made and it had left he and Dante further at odds than he ever dreamed possible. Finally, there was Morgan, his youngest, who at 20 years old was now engaged to a young woman with a sketchy mother. Worse yet, Morgan seemed to have inherited his grandfather's gambling addiction. However, if Sonny was honest with himself, he would admit that the strain on their relationship came when Morgan walked in on him and Shawn Butler beating Franco. He'd never seen that kind of fear in his son's eyes.

It had not been an easy summer by any stretch of his imagination. So, Kristina would be a welcome sight.

It was true that his daughter was no angel. In fact, his girl intentionally pushed his buttons more regularly than his sons. At twenty-one, she'd already had a marriage annulled. She pretended to date one of his rivals. And she gained and lost admission to an Ivy League school. But, of all his kids, she was the one who was most like him. Though she fought with him, she understood him. That was what he needed right now.

"Dad!" Kristina waved to him from the platform.

"Hey, baby girl!" Sonny held out his arms and waited for his daughter. She was a gorgeous girl, petite like his mother and smart and beautiful like her mother. Of all of the things he'd come to regret in his life, having her as his daughter was not one of those things.

He held one of his girl's hands and pulled her suitcase with the other.

Kristina squeezed his hand. "I'm so sorry about Olivia…and Connie."

Sonny silently nodded twice. He then cocked his head from side to side as he weighed how he should respond. He decided to remain silent as he put her baggage in the trunk of the car. They got in and began to drive.

Kristina spoke again. "Dad, you know what happened is not your fault, right?"

"Yeah, yeah." He whispered. "You sound like your mother and Michael."

"They're right, you know."

"If it wasn't for me, Connie wouldn't have lost it and killed Olivia. "

"Dad, you couldn't have known—"

"Kristina, don't." He cut her off.

Olivia and Connie were simply two more casualties in the mess he called his life. There had been so much loss around him: his mother, Joe Scully, Lily, three of his children, and even his daughter's namesake, her aunt Kristina. Those who survived hadn't fared much better. Two of his three sons had been shot. Michael and Kristina had been kidnapped. His life was a mess. Dante hated him. He was losing Michael to AJ. And Morgan was half afraid of him.

He would not allow Kristina to make excuses for him. She needed to see him, as he was, warts and all. That way, she would always keep a safe distance from him and she wouldn't be disappointed when he let her down…like he let everyone down.

Kristina didn't say another word for awhile. She simply placed her hand on top of her dad's.

Halfway to the Lakehouse, Kristina spoke again. "How's Dante?"

"Wish I knew. He's not talking to me. " Sonny sighed. "I don't blame him."

"He'll come around."

Sonny shrugged.

"Are you okay?" Kristina squeezed his hand a bit. "I know Olivia and Connie were important to you. I liked them both."

He nodded.

Kristina thought it was best to change the subject. "I'm glad you came to pick me up yourself…without the guards. We don't get to spend much time together. I hate that it's under these circumstances. "

"Me too."

Though she appreciated the absence of the guards, she suddenly became concerned that they weren't around. Kristina sighed. "Is there some reason you don't have the guards?"

"Don't need them."

"Are you sure?"

Sonny chuckled. "You sound like your mother."

"Really?" Kristina raised an eyebrow. "I've only heard Mom talk about how she hates the guards."

Sonny shook his head. "No, I meant you sounded like your mom back when we were neighbors."

"You were neighbors?" The surprise in Kristina's voice was evident. "You guys never talk about that."

"Some things are better left unsaid." Sonny smiled sadly. He considered elaborating, but there were so many memories that he didn't need to have haunt him again.

As they pulled into the driveway, Sonny saw Alexis, Sam and Molly waiting together for Kristina on the top steps near the terrace. Their arms were interlinked. He looked to the right and saw a bright smile bursting from Kristina's face as she looked back at them. The four "Davis girls" were so close. For a moment, Sonny felt a pang of jealousy. It had been a long time since he'd felt that connected to anyone.

He looked behind the women and saw Michael, Morgan, and his brother Zander. Though each of these guys were part of his family, they felt individually and collectively comfortable at the Lakehouse with these women. Something over the years caused them to be much more comfortable here than they ever were at Greystone.

As the car pulled to a stop Michael and Molly raced to the car door. Sonny's car was barely in park when Kristina hopped out and hugged her siblings. Sam, Alexis and Zander soon joined them. Morgan remained on the terrace.

Sonny watched as the rest of his daughter's family embraced her tightly. He looked toward the terrace and gave Morgan a slight nod. In response, Morgan walked back into the house.

As the group made it's way toward the house, Sonny made his way back to his car. As much as he wanted to spend time with his daughter, he was not in a mood to hear how he'd screwed everything up…again.

Kristina was the first to notice Sonny was leaving. She called out, "Dad, aren't you going to stay?"

"Nah, I'll come by tomorrow after Olivia's funeral."

Alexis knew Sonny's routine all too well. She was sure he was blaming himself for Connie killing Olivia, but it wasn't his fault. He should have known not to become involved with one woman before he had completely broken ties with another woman, especially given their past. Still, Connie pushing Olivia off of the hospital roof was a tragic event that resulted from Connie placing her desire to have Sonny over her own mental health.

"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow." Kristina's voice was soft, barely audible.

Alexis could practically feel the disappointment emanating from her daughter's body. She squeezed her daughter's shoulders and then walked to Sonny's car. She leaned into the window.

"Sonny," she spoke softly, "do you know what your daughter asked me whenever we've spoken in the last week?"

He remained silent. He knew Alexis well enough to know that she would tell him regardless whether he asked.

"'How's dad?' She's worried about you. All of your children are worried about you. It's all I heard while you were picking Kristina up." Alexis stared at him for a minute. "So, why don't you forget your plans to spend the rest of the evening at home brooding, come inside, spend some time with your children and have some food. I promise, I didn't cook any of it." She winked at him.

He chuckled. When had he ever been able to tell Alexis no for anything? "Promise you didn't cook?"

"Ha, ha." She rolled her eyes at him before breaking into a smile when she heard him laughing. "Besides, I have a lovely bay window that overlooks the lake…just in case you get a sudden urge to brood."

"I don't brood."

"Of course you don't."

They walked up the hill together with Alexis holding Sonny's arm. Once inside, Sonny was surprised when he saw a familiar face holding Danny.

"Oh my, oh my, oh my. Is that my old friend Sonny Corinthos? I haven't seen you since the Nurses Ball."

"Hey, Lucy." Sonny walked to where she was standing and kissed her cheek. "I didn't realize you and Alexis were friends."

"I didn't realize a lot about you and Alexis when I came back to town." She smirked. She looked to her left and she saw a petite brunette who was the perfect cross between Sonny and Alexis. "Oh my gosh, you must be Kristina! You are so, so beautiful." Kristina was the only one of Alexis's daughters that she hadn't had a chance to meet.

"Thank you. And you are?"

"I'm Lucy Coe. I'm a very good friend of your mother's and an old friend of your father's. And you are simply beautiful. You know, Laura Spencer and I recently relaunched Deception Cosmetics. You would be perfect as the new face of Deception…"

"Lucy!" Both Sonny and Alexis said at the same time. They then looked at each other.

"Don't worry. You guys can breathe." Kristina chuckled. "After last year, I'm perfectly happy being a college student."

"Fine." Lucy's face morphed into an exaggerated pout. Seconds later, she began to smile. She turned her attention back to Alexis. "Alexis, I didn't realize you were having a party when I stopped by. I only wanted to see Rafe while Doc was seeing a patient in the area."

Sonny eyed a teenaged boy that was sitting closer to Molly than he would like. "Are you, Rafe?"

"Yes sir."

Molly could read the look on his face. "Don't worry Uncle Sonny, we're just friends."

Sonny looked at Alexis and then back at Molly. "Somehow that doesn't make me worry any less."

The doorbell rang.

"Oh that must be Doc!" Lucy bounced over to the door. Her psychiatrist husband, Dr. Kevin Collins appeared with a smile. He went way back with both Sonny and Alexis and he greeted them both warmly. Alexis invited them both to stay for dinner.

Throughout dinner, Kevin watched Sonny. The distance he observed between Sonny and his children surprised Kevin. It was particularly jarring when he thought of the way Sonny had been with Stone. He treated Stone like a younger brother. Yet, Sonny didn't seem to be as close to his own brother, Zander. It was more than just the relationship challenges. There was a sadness about the man that disturbed Kevin. Sonny had always been a bit of a hothead, even more than two decades earlier, but this was different. It was enough to make Kevin worry. The only one who even seemed to be able to make the man smile from time to time was Alexis…or Danny who had everyone in room wrapped around his pinky.

Shortly before the evening ended, Kevin found Sonny on the terrace alone.

"Sonny, I was very sorry to hear about Olivia. I understand she was your son's mother. "

"Yeah and a good friend." Sonny dropped his head.

"How are you holding up?"

Sonny closed his eyes and shook his head.

"If you ever need to talk to anyone, give me a call." Kevin handed him a business card.

Sonny chuckled. "No offense Kevin, I've already tried the therapy thing."

"How about trying the friend thing? We could grab a cup of coffee or something. You could take pity on a man who lives in a house full of Deception cosmetics."

Sonny began to laugh.

"I'm serious. My home is a sea of pink."

"When you put it like that, I'll give you a call."

Sonny remained on the terrace after Kevin departed. He breathed in the night air. He thought of Connie and how well she was doing before she got involved with him again. He thought of Olivia and her kindness. They both deserved better than him.

"I thought I would find you out here…brooding." Alexis moved to his side. "At least I'll be able to sleep well tonight knowing that you had food and human contact for a little while."

"I'm fine, Alexis, but thank you for having me here tonight." The way she was looking at him reminded him of their time in Puerto Rico. "After everything that's happened between us, why are you still looking out for me? "

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"You're family: Kristina's and Molly's. After everything we've been through, I feel like you're my family as well. Do you remember what you did for me when I had cancer?"

He laughed. "The pot?"

"No, not just the pot." She laughed. "You kept the girls for me. You visited me in the hospital." Alexis placed her hand on top of his. "Do you remember our toast in Puerto Rico?"

"Friends 'til the end?"

She nodded. "Friends 'til the end. And nothing is going to change that."