Hi all, this is a story I started writing in 2006 and I finished it last year. I originally published it on a justbreathe, but I thought you all my like to read it too. This one will be updated much more quickly than my other stories (that I am still working on) because I only need to read and edit for consistency. Hope you enjoy.

TURNING TO STONE - CHAPTER 1

Darkness surrounded Sonny Corinthos; it even crept into his pores. He removed his black suit jacket and laid it on the arm of the sofa before sinking deep into its plush cusions. He swirled rum in the glass he held tightly in his hands. Why did he reach for rum when he felt his worse? Maybe he should just go back to Puerto Rico. There he could swim until he fell asleep. Or he could enjoy the view for which he'd paid so dearly.

For years he'd worked to become something and he'd made it from a two-bit hustler to the most powerful man on the Eastern seaboard. Now he was alone in his large vacant home. Carly left him and took the boys when she learned he'd tricked her into marriage for the umpteenth time. Things were better between him and Alexis, but he doubted they'd ever be best friends again. His sons still loved him, but he wished he could connect with his daughter. Maybe he felt guilty because he'd missed so much of her life. And now he found himself alone and that was a problem all his money and all his power couldn't solve. Why was it that he was so much happier before he'd achieved his dream?

When he was a younger man, his life was so full. Of course, he'd been too stupid to realize it. His modest apartment above Luke's bar was oft visited by friends: Luke and Laura and Lucky, Robin, Lucy Coe, Brenda, and Stone. Granted Brenda and Stone weren't visitors; they actually lived there with him at various times. Stone. He smiled as he thought of him.

Michael "Stone" Cates was Sonny's best friend, though he felt more like a brother. When Stone was fifteen, Sonny saved him from the streets. Stone was a homeless teen, who'd run from the last in a series of foster homes. Sonny took him in, mentored him and began to watch him grow into a man before AIDS cut his life too short. Even still, during his short life, he'd managed to find love. Sonny was there when Stone fell for Robin Scorpio. In fact, one of his favorite memories was when he saw Stone and Robin perform Romeo and Juliet at the Nurse's Ball. Romeo and Juliet was the name of the same ballet he'd taken his mother to see when he was 16. The very ballet he and Alexis had spoken about after they'd been together. Alexis. He swirled the liquor in his glass before finishing it quickly.

An hour later, Sonny lay on his sofa and glared at the empty bottle. He cursed it for being empty. His brain fought his eyelids, which demanded closure. Sonny wished for the rum that remained in his glass but an invisible weight kept his arm from rising. Eventually, he stopped fighting, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

A bit later, a warm, pleasant sensation spread across Sonny's shoulder. His eyes fluttered open. Turning around, he sought the source of the heat. Disbelief suddenly clouded his brain. Stone Cates, his friend and his brother stood before him. Death had been kind to the youth. He was as handsome as ever with a certain barely noticeable glow.

Petrified, Sonny almost forgot to breathe. A single word escaped his lips, "Stone?"

The younger man wore a white sweater and a simple pair of blue jeans. His hair kept the same nearly shoulder-length style as when he'd known him before. Sonny forgot how tall the young man had been and how pleasant his face was.

"Yeah man, it's me." Just as it had done when he was alive, Stone's smile illuminated his face. "It's so good to see you, man."

"You can't be real. I watched you die." Though his knees felt like Jell-o, Sonny rose to his feet.

Stone closed the space between them. "I'm real, man." He stretched his arms to embrace his friend.

Sonny hugged Stone tightly. Joy filled his heart. Although he was certain he was dreaming; he didn't want the dream to end. "It's so good to see you. What are you doing here?"

"I'm doing the only thing that's important enough for me to come back: saving your life."