Title: Moving Beyond
Author: Tasha
E-mail: General Hospital
Rating: PG
Characters: Carly
Pairings: small mentions of Sonny/Carly, Carly/Lorenzo, Carly/Jax
Word Count: 531
Genre: Gen
Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me, they are property of ABC, Disney and General Hospital. No copyright infringement intended.
Summary: Set in current GH, Carly thinks about her marriage to Sonny. Written for the 100 Songs challenge on Livejournal. This is 007: I Survived You.

Feedback and constructive criticism is appreciated.

Carly stared at the picture in front of her, one that Michael had insisted they bring to the new house. It had been taken in the old penthouse when Morgan was still a baby. She and Sonny sat on the couch with Morgan sitting on both of their laps, between them, and their older son kneeling on the couch behind them. When she looked at it, she could see what no one else could, which was everything that had happened during her time with Sonny. The smiles on their faces didn't matter, it was all a facade, she knew. There was more brewing under the surface of this. She wasn't even sure if Michael had noticed it that day.

It was hard to believe they'd been a family, but she wouldn't admit that to anyone; she could barely acknowledge it to herself. That time was so long ago, before her breakdown, and yet it had only been a little over a year they'd been apart. It'd been difficult and painful, but there were some good times, too. She was at her lowest of lows during that time, even after. She hadn't been sure last summer if she would survive. She was destructive and finally, she broke.

Everything in her life, it seemed, had been leading up to that moment. Four years of marriage to Sonny, everything they'd gone through, including the affairs, the violence, the loss of their first child, the hatred, the passion, the love; it had all lead up to her breakdown. Of course, her relationships with other people, including Lorenzo Alcazar, had led her there as well. And, if she were to be honest with herself, being that broken had been a relief. It had felt like release had finally come for her, instead of holding everything inside. The burden had become too much to bear and she just let her overtake her.

But now, six months later, she felt better than she could ever remember. She'd survived everything, the lies, the betrayal and she'd come to see the truth about Sonny. He wasn't the good man she'd thought was buried beneath the surface all along. They'd crashed and burned together and in her opinion he was still in that place. But she wasn't, she'd gotten through it and now she had a new beginning with Jax, her sons and baby John. She was past all of that now, she couldn't worry about Sonny anymore.

Carly set the photograph down on the mantle and stared at it again. They would always be family, an unconventional one, but she couldn't keep this picture displayed in her house, no matter how much her son wanted her to. It was a reminder of the darkest days of her life and that was no way to live. She removed it from where she'd placed it, turned and went up the stairs. There was a box in the attic with things she couldn't throw away but didn't belong in the new house and that was where the picture would go. She'd explain it to Michael later and make him understand. She needed to move on and this was one way to do it.