Author's Note:  I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to add to my story, but I've been extremely distracted by other things in my life...namely work. I was going to wait until I had a few more chapters finished before I uploaded anymore, but I decided not to. So without further ado, let's resume the story of Sonny and Angel. Oh, yeah, I don't have any affiliation to GH, Disney, or ABC.

True Love Never Dies

Chapter Nine: There's more to the Story

Zander and Emily walked all day. They found an abandoned cabin in the woods and after checking to make sure it was unoccupied, they decided to camp there overnight. Dumping their small bag of snacks on the table, Zander turned to Emily. "Are you hungry?"

Emily shook her head; a glance at her watch told her it was 7:00 PM.  "I'm too exhausted to eat," she told him, collapsing on the sofa.  "I think I'm going to lie down here and sleep for 12 hours."

As she stretched out on the ratty sofa, Zander sat down in a nearby chair. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head back and sighed. He was exhausted too. They had walked for hours through the woods, but they were still in Pennsylvania. Zander had hoped to be on the other side of Ohio by now, but with no car, they were at the mercy of time.

Hearing Zander sigh, Emily opened her eyes. Watching him, Emily thought about how things might have been different if she had met Zander under different circumstances. What if he hadn't been a drug dealer?  'Wait a minute,' she told herself, 'what about Juan?' Emily had forgotten all about her boyfriend over the past few days. She closed her eyes and drifted off into a restless sleep.

It was hours later when Emily jolted awake. Forgetting her whereabouts at first, she glanced around the room. She spotted Zander asleep on the chair and relaxed. She had been having a dream about him going to jail.

She smiled as Zander stirred. He looked so uncomfortable all scrunched up. She quietly stood up and carefully placed his legs on the table in front of him. Zander stirred again but didn't wake up. Emily bent over him and gently pushed a lock of his hair from his forehead.

*****

Sonny knocked on Alexis' door. He smirked as he heard noises coming from the inside. Obviously, Ned was there, he surmised.

Alexis opened the door. Seeing Sonny, she suddenly became aware of her disheveled appearance.  "Hi," she said, as she ran her fingers through her hair.  "You need me or something?"

Sonny smiled, flashing his dimples.  "Can I come in?" he asked, looking over her shoulder, where he saw Ned standing with his clothes in a similar state.

"Is this important, Sonny?" Ned asked, impatiently. He did not like Sonny and he hated the fact that Alexis lived right down the hall from him.

Sonny talked to Alexis. He had no use for Ned, so his obvious disdain for him had no effect.  "Can I talk to you, please?"

Alexis realized the seriousness of Sonny's request and turned to Ned.  "Can you excuse us, please?"

Ned was disgusted. Shaking his head, he told Alexis, "you know what? You do what you want, I'm out of here."

"Ned, you don't have to leave," Alexis protested, "this will only take a minute." Turning to Sonny, "this will only take a minute, right?"

But Ned was already out the door. Alexis wanted to go after him, but she knew that nothing could make Ned calm down. The best thing for her to do would be to wait for him to calm down on his own. Closing the door as Sonny stepped inside.  "What can I do for you, Sonny?" she sighed.


I'm sorry I interrupted your um, whatever, here, but this is important," Sonny told her as he walked to the couch and sat down.  "I've been thinking about what you told me."

"About Carly marrying you?"  Alexis asked, joining him on the couch.  "Well, that's good, I mean, it's good that you'll be able to stop her from testifying, but…"

"No, no, no, no," Sonny interrupted, "that's not what I've decided."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not going to marry Carly," Sonny announced, "We're going to have to think of something else."

***

Angel woke up alone in her apartment. Looking at the clock, she saw that it was 8:00 PM. There was no sign of Sonny as she sat up on the couch.

As she stood and folded the blanket that had been covering her, the doorbell chimed. She opened the door to find Sonny standing there.  "Michael, I was wondering where you went," she told him, as she stepped aside to let him in.

"I had to go do something," Sonny replied.

Angel smiled at him. As he walked by her, she pulled him into a tight hug. As she clung to him, she whispered, "thank you for coming back."

Sonny closed his eyes and breathed in her scent. A part of him didn't want to let go, so he just held onto her.

Nicholas appeared at the top of the stairs and stood watching. He didn't know what to think. His mother and Sonny Corinthos…what was going on?

*****

Zander woke up suddenly. He was sweating and his pulse was racing. He had been having a dream where he was in jail. The convicts were surrounding him and just as he about to defend himself, he woke up. Looking around, he saw that it was dark outside. This would be a perfect time to continue on their way to the border. They would be in no danger of being spotted on the road as they would be in broad daylight. He looked over at Emily. She was sleeping so peacefully; he hated to have to wake her.

Just then, he heard a noise coming from outside. Someone was at the door, he reasoned. Gently shaking Emily, Zander whispered, "Em? Wake up, we have to hide."

Drowsily, Emily mumbled, "what? Zander, what's going on?"

Pulling her up, Zander told her, "Someone's outside. We have to hide."

Suddenly alert, Emily widened her eyes in alarm.  "Zander, where are we going to hide? This cabin only has one room."

Zander looked around. Spotting the kitchen cabinets, he motioned for her to follow. "Get inside here," he said, opening one of the cabinets under the sink.

Emily didn't waste any time arguing. The noise was getting louder. She squatted inside the cabinet while Zander closed the door. He found another cabinet for himself and just as he closed the door, the front door opened. A man walked in, stopping at the couch where Emily had been sleeping. Spotting the bag on the table, he opened it up, pulling out the kids' snacks: cheese and peanut butter crackers, candy bars and Pixie Sticks.

Jason called out.  "Emily, I know you're here," he said, "I know you wouldn't go anywhere without your Pixie Sticks."

"Jason?" Emily called out in disbelief. She burst out of the cabinet and scrambled out of the kitchen.  "I can't believe it's you!" she exclaimed, running into his arms.

Jason was relieved to see that she was okay and squeezed her appreciatively. He tensed up when he spotted Zander coming out of the kitchen slowly.

Emily sensed his tension and pulled back.  "It's okay, Jason," she tried to assure him, "Zander didn't hurt me."

"Well, that's good," Jason said, "but I need to get you home now."

"No, Jason, I can't," Emily said, "I promised Zander that I'd help him get to Canada safely."

"No, Emily, you're not going anywhere else with this guy," Jason said, firmly, "and that's final."