First off thanks for the GREAT reviews and thanks for reading. There is a long ramble that addresses certain reviews and hopefully will clarify any confusion (and probably tell you a lot more than you needed to know). If you're totally good with how the story is progressing and don't need any answers, don't read. :-P

AN (regarding the Sonny I try to write): So once upon a time S&B was this amazing love story, due in part to the fact that MB had actually once been an amazing actor. He was an incredibly likable, believable character, even Lila was enamored with the hooligan.

Now either the storylines or how MB is playing them is generally laughable. He's no longer believable as a 'kinda good, yet desperate to be powerful, but yet regretful of that quest for power' guy. However, that's the Sonny I write for, if you don't know who that Sonny is, YouTube and read old transcripts, you'll fall in love with him as well. Oh Sonny, how I miss you….

The whole Jason protectiveness thing: I'm pretty sure this threat was never resolved on screen or even mentioned.

Here's a little summed up version of the actual threat I have behind part of Jason's protectiveness (don't need to read all unless you want GH history, I bolded the part you'll actually need for this story).

Rivera: Lily's father (Sonny's first wife, whom he was kinda forced into marrying, still in love with Brenda at the time, but well in jail).

Sonny was supposed to stay away from Brenda. Brenda was hit by a car meant to kill her (Lily saved her I think, I could be lying about that though) after not even doing anything with Sonny (but Rivera thinking they were) after Sonny had been warned to stay away from Brenda (that's how Brenda became addicted to pain meds, hip injury).

Sonny and Brenda decide to run away together. Sonny finds out Lily is pregnant and tells Brenda he has to stay. I think Lily went to leave town or it was at least known the marriage was over (Harry telling Rivera). Rivera puts the hit out, Lily dies instead of Sonny and/or Brenda (while Brenda was getting married to Jax, great scene, totally on YouTube).

Brenda saves Sonny from a drug overdose (he was set up). He tries to break up her marriage (enter Jax's first assumed dead wife Miranda). Harry (close business associate) sets up Brenda and Sonny, trapping them underground with plans to kill them because Lily died because of them. He dies instead. They make love and begin the slow road back to each other (you know as Brenda was still planning her wedding to Jax :-P).

Revenge never achieved for Lily's death Sonny and Brenda are set up, they make it through that, but their lives are still threatened. They make plans to leave town together. Someone comes and tells Sonny that without a doubt he and Brenda will be killed, Brenda first of course and that they will try until they succeed.

So Sonny leaves town to save her (once more, great storyline, great acting, GREAT character in Sonny).

So in this story (and all others I write) I have Jason not being sure the threat has been eliminated. It was a very serious threat (Serious enough for Sonny to leave Brenda the woman he had done everything in his power to be with for years). Not the kind of thing with an expiration date.

You know the scary thing is I did that from memory and only went through a site after to double check. Man I miss old S&B, gonna have to go do a snippet or something on them.

Timeline/storyline v. GH: This story differs from the moment Jason told Monica (as in approaching spoilers are not happening in this). I don't know how much time they had in-between what happened and Thanksgiving, but I'm setting it, so Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Hard to gauge time with a soap, where kids age 10 years in five, yet a day passes over two weeks sometimes. :-P

Onto the story…

Drifting Back Years

Spinelli abruptly stopped his movements and more importantly his whistle as Jason's head sharply lifted as he tucked in a corner of Brenda's sheet. Jason had fortunately come to Spinelli's rescue during the daunting task of replacing the dust ruffle. Not that he couldn't have lifted the mattress on his own, he just wasn't sure the lamp on her nightstand would have survived.

"What's that?"

"Huh," his eyes looked everywhere, but at Jason for a few seconds before he remembered, don't let him see fear. "Oh, Persephone, had a Mighty Mouse in her car. When she awakens, the Jackal, must offer his services as a driving companion."

The confusion remained on his mentor's face.

"Unless you think that would be too bold of the Jackal-"

"I know that song…"

Well duh Dr. Robin was singing it before, "You probably heard it on tv, I think they still play repeats."

"Yea," Jason nodded, "that's probably it," though he continued to still look confused. "Why don't you go set up your room. I'll finish in here?"

"You sure?" he paused looking at his friend.

"Yea," he nodded, "just try to keep it down.

-x-X-x-

Persephone,the name rang in Jason's mind as he watched her sleep clutching his pillow, turned towards Robin, who too was asleep on the bed. She would have woken up and talked for a few minutes before falling back asleep, Brenda never missed the opportunity to talk.

The name fit, despite the fact that he would never admit it to Spinelli. Sonny's great joy and there was a part of him that would keep her with him, despite what it would do to her, despite what it would do to everyone else.

He wouldn't let that happen.

"Like two peas in a pod," Spinelli informed him with a slap on his back as he approached the doorway Jason was standing in. He shot his permanent houseguest a look and the hand was quickly removed.

"The divine sisters," Spinelli offered with his hand firmly at his side, "Longevity and strength; beauty and frailty."

Jason turned and looked at young grasshopper, seeking an inner strength to survive him today or more importantly for him to survive the day.

"Japanese mythology, when Ninigi sought a wife, two sisters came to him, the divine sisters, one a rock deity, the other flower deity. He chose the latter as most…" His eyes widened and he shot a look at the angelic Dr. Robin, "Not that Dr. Robin is in any way ins-"

Another look from Jason.

"It's why human life is so short, so fragile. Beauty was chosen, but to live in a world without…" Spinelli took on a philosophical gaze at the two divine creatures resting in Stone Cold's bed; he knew he would remain the grasshopper for quite some time.

"We need to do something about how much free time you have," Jason shook his head as his eyes closed. "Try to watch what you say around her, she's upset," Jason ordered walking away.

"The Jackal would never dare-" he said chasing after Jason only to stop as he realized he'd been left.

-x-X-x-

He heard her walking. Down the stairs. Around the sofa...But he didn't move. He just sat. He'd been sitting for the past hour. His mother's words replaying in his head. His sister's body. His father's.

Saw them grieving for Jason. Then Lila. Then AJ. Then Alan. Every time one less. She was on her own now. He had left his mother alone.

So while he heard Brenda's move, he didn't. He managed to swallow hard as she sat next to him, but that was it.

It wasn't supposed to be this hard. It hadn't been this hard once.

Swallowing because he knew something was expected of him, but all of it was beyond him.

One arm went around his neck and the other his chest until they joined. Her head dropped to his shoulder, her body rested against him. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

He roughly nodded, but didn't say anything.

He wanted to hug her, but the thought of it made him more uncomfortable than being unable to act.

"I don't know what else I'm supposed to say."

"I…I don't either. I tried with Mo-" his eyes closed. "I left her all alone."

"It's a lot for her Jason. She needs someone to be angry at," she continued from her position on his shoulder. If she wasn't looking at him, maybe it wasn't quite so weird. She needed to feel strength beneath her, feel something solid.

"I'm the right person-"

"You didn't kill her. You didn't cause the storm. You didn't throw the party."

"I should have stayed away from her. I did this-"

"She would have gone off that roof Jason. She would have never gotten to be a woman. To fall in love. Raise a baby."

Even if that weren't true, he couldn't imagine a life without Emily in it. She pushed and she prodded, she was annoying, yet loyal, compassionate and he always knew she would always love him. Now he'd be living a life without her anyway. "I should have listened to them."

"J-"

"I should have tried harder to be the person they wanted me to be."

She hadn't been expecting that one.

"I should have listened to Robin, you, Ned, even AJ. It wasn't just my life you were trying to control," his voice was slow and unsteady, "everyone's life around me. I didn't understand how connected they were, I didn't care."

"Everyone chose; you didn't control their choices Jason, could have walked away, stayed away. And you know without you, I would have been dead too many times to count."

"You could have made better choices," was his crisp answer.

Valid argument.

"She was throwing a party, she was getting engaged. And her life is over because of a choice I made."

"Stop making it about you, when you know this is all supposed to be about me," Brenda ordered.

His lips twitched up, her plan worked. "Sorry, I forgot."

She let out a tender smile.

"So why were you at Sonny's?"

Damn, too well. The smile fell. "That house is like a time capsule. I was in Jason's room. Surrounded by pictures and things that seem like they happened in another life," she looked a little over at him, "guess there's a reason for that though." Her head shook it off, "And I was remembering being so miserable with Jason over that Karen and Jagger loved each other, not us. It felt like our world was ending. There were so many things that just seemed so insurmountable then and now…They're nothing. I was remembering just how good we had it. How all we had were possibilities and now…I was so angry over how much we lost. And Sonny…He was a good target for it at the moment."

"Brenda," he condoned and pleaded with her in a single word.

"Hey wise is never one of the words used to describe me," her lips lifted in a gentle smile.

He groaned slightly.

-x-X-x-

"Dr. Robin and I-" Spinelli announced. "Oh," he began in horror seeing them in an embrace on the couch. He turned to run nearly slammed into Robin's chest, If only that had happened instead of that cold little cup.

Robin looked over the mop of brown hair, to her two friends? Both turned and staring in bewilderment at the back of Spinelli.

"Were you two getting along?" she returned the befuddled gaze.

"You were right. He's being nice it's kinda freaky."

Why did it seem everyone she considered a friend wanted to mortify her in front of Jason lately?

"I'm always nice," Jason defended dryly, "you normally just don't like what I have to say."

Brenda turned and gave him a transparently disagreeing look.

"Spinelli and I are hungry, we were wondering if anyone else was?"

"I can always eat pizza," Brenda announced though she hadn't been hungry since she had heard the news, just like Robin hadn't, just like Jason hadn't, just like a lot of people in Port Charles hadn't. Pizza seemed like a good idea though.

"Spinelli, you know where the menus are," Jason ordered.

"Want me to order?" he asked walking off.

"I'm fine with anything," Jason conceded.

"Robin," was all Brenda said.

Robin laughed, "I'll make sure he doesn't order anything weird."

Brenda shifted as the other two walked into the kitchen, turning sideways to view Jason, her legs now bent next to her from the move instead of underneath, her side resting against the couch instead of him, leaving him suddenly cold.

"So what is up with that?" she asked once she was sure Robin was in the kitchen.

"Excuse me?"

"You being nice to Robin

"I'm normally nice to Robin," he quickly replied.

"No you were civil to her, after treating her like she was AJ, making it so she didn't want to come home for years. And considering that only occurred after she saved your life."

He opened his mouth when she seemed to take a pause only to realize she wasn't done.

"Oh wait no, you were nice, when Lila died."

"What's the point of this?" Not even realizing he was so caught up in the drama that was Brenda that he'd forgotten just for a few minutes.

"You nice is freaky," she declared before tossing him a smile.

He chuckled.

"Seriously," she demanded.

His head shook, his lips tightened, "I don't know. I guess one day it was just easier. It didn't-" his head shook again, "I was his father. Blood didn't make AJ his father."

"Robin-" Brenda's voice softened.

"She was doing what she thought was the right thing," he nodded. He'd known that all along, it hadn't made it easier. "And I'd always respected that about her…" he had loved it about her. Loved, but never understood why she'd always try so hard to do the 'right thing' always trying to think of everyone else.

"Yea, you respect it about her, right up until it bites you in the ass," Brenda said making a face.

He laughed again.

"You know it's nice to know some things haven't change," Brenda suddenly smiled. "Good two-shoes Robin; solid, dependable Jason and…" she waved her hands at herself.

"And what are you?" he asked smiling ignoring how undependable he felt.

"Girl with two really good friends," she embarrassedly laughed at herself, "who save her from herself when she thinks it's a good idea to go beat up her ex-fiancée."

She groaned in embarrassment and let her head hit the couch. "So was that his girlfriend I made an ass out of myself in front of."

"That was Kate."

"Seemed kind of cold. Pretty though," she continued making a face.

"They grew up together in Bensonhurst."

"Bensonhurst?" Brenda shot him a disbelieving look for that. "Land of the Cerullos?"

"Yea," he nodded in agreement.

Her eyes lifted, but she said nothing, "Interesting."

"Brenda," he warned.

"What?" she shot him an innocent look, "All I said was interesting."

"Behave," he ordered.

"Always," she brightly smiled.

-x-X-x-

"Thanksgiving's tomorrow," Brenda said with a slice frozen upon approach.

"Yea," Robin nodded, also surprised by that fact.

"Came so fast this year," Brenda thoughtfully pondered. Where had the year gone? Where had the decade gone?

"Every year it seems to speed up," Robin responded. The conversation was stifled, Emily's name a strict taboo.

"Georgie said she invited you," Robin nodded at Spinellli.

"Uh yes, she has extended the most kind invitation. Though a meal shared with-"

"Remember that Maxie is my cousin," Robin cut him off.

"What's wrong with Maxie?" Brenda frowned.

"Maxie's been uh-" Robin thoughtfully looked to the side, "challenging," she decided with a nod, "these past couple…years," she ended with a face.

"The-"

"Spinelli," Jason stopped him.

"Well its Thanksgiving," Brenda nodded, "suck it up for a day."

"You're welcome to-" Robin began to offer to Brenda.

"I think this is enough Thanksgiving," Brenda nodded at her slice, "an old fashioned Quartermaine Thanksgiving," a bittersweet smile graced her face.

"Pizza?" Spinelli questioned.

"It's a long story," Robin smiled.

"Huh, I guess everyone will be around tomorrow except for Luke and Tracy." And one other, but that's who they were returning for.

The table grew silent.

"Maybe I'll swing by with Brooke and Lois," she said realizing how long the day would be.

"They're always welcome," Robin offered.

"Is that the rock goddess I've seen-"

"Goddaughter," Brenda stopped him.

"Ah," he nodded.

"Sonny's as well," Jason added.

"Point taken," Spinelli forlornly nodded and took a bite of a garlic knot.

-x-X-x-

Jason's phone rang over lively stories the girls were entertaining Spinelli with. Everything from him using a hard hat as a planter, to Mac's car being used in the decimation of a skunk. He'd been sitting back, chuckling on occasion, from time to time defending himself, but mostly just watching them.

Carly.

He stood, answering the phone as he walked away from the table.

"What's going on?"

"I'm just checking in on how you're doing. Jax and I…Or actually I decided not to tell the boys today. I want them to have a good Thanksgiving, they've been looking forward to it."

"When are you going to tell them?"

"I don't know," she wiped away tears he couldn't see, she'd been wiping away tears all day, lying about their cause. "Tomorrow night. The next morning."

"Michael is going to want-"

"To go to the funeral I know. I called over to the house, I talked to Ned. He understands about the holidays and said Monica would too. So I'll tell the boys tomorrow night or…I guess I have to tell them tomorrow night. Do you want me to call you before Jax and I sit them down? I know you said you didn't want to come to dinner."

"If you think I should be there when you-"

"I do. Michael's going to need to see you-"

"Then I'll be there," he curtly replied.

"Maybe I should come over after the boys go to-"

"Jason," Brenda's voice called out, "were you there the time Sonny snorted wine out of his nose?"

"Who is that?" Carly's curt voice demanded.

"No it wasn't Jason, it was…Oh my god who was there," Robin pondered while laughing.

"Two someones," Carly said not fully hearing the voices, but hearing enough to know they were different.

"Brenda and Robin are over, we're in the middle of dinner."

"Brenda and Robin," her voice lifted, a full fight ready to emerge. "You know what, I'm not going to. I'm going to say goodnight and if you need me, call me. I call you tomorrow with what time to come over. Enjoy your night Jason."

He groaned as the phone went dead.

"Jason tell Robin you were there," Brenda demanded.

He walked back over to the table, "He almost felt out of his chair."

Brenda laughed and slammed the table, "He's taken being shot better than having a little alcohol come out of his nose."

Robin laughed louder, "I've seen you laugh while taking a shot, you didn't shut up about the entire night."

"It was a higher proof," was her quick retort.

"Can we go back to the Godfather making a fool out of himself?" Spinelli eagerly asked.

Thanks for still reading. I hope you're enjoying.