Baby Now That I've Found You
by aprilhope

Ch. 10 - You Would Have Gotten Me Doves?

"Sonny, I can't believe you did that!"

"What? I thought you wanted somebody to throw rose petals at…"

"No, I wasn't talking about that! Although, that was mighty cute," Carly laughed.

"Glad you thought so, 'cause Benny was a tad reluctant at first."

"No wonder, poor guy. He's nice enough to come to his boss's wedding, and you make him play Tinkerbell."

"Oh, and you're one to talk? After what you did to Johnny?"

"You mean getting him to serenade you? I thought you'd like that."

"It was… memorable." Sonny shook his head, finally laughing with Carly. "But you realize I'm gonna have to give him a raise now, don't you?"

"Good, you should! But he did that 'cause he loves us."

"Mm hmm… Weren't you shocked about something a minute ago?"

"Oh yeah! I was just saying…"

The newlyweds were snuggled in the back of Sonny's limo, being driven from the church. Both were still trying to absorb what had just happened… especially Carly, as most of it had been a surprise to her. They were breathlessly happy, exhilarated, and full of an energy that their playful verbal banter was attempting to keep from coming out in other… more distinctly man-and-wife… ways. They'd been holding hands the whole ride, loving the feel of the rings on each other's fingers. They sat with their sides pressed against each other, Carly's head on Sonny's shoulder, and he would occasionally stroke her hair. But little interaction of a less innocent nature was going on, as both were determined to wait until they had reached their destination to give in to what they'd been dreaming of ever since they'd seen each other across the expanse of that aisle.

After running from the church, officially husband and wife, they would have been happy to just jump into the limo and zoom away without even giving their guests a backward glance. But they knew they couldn't do that, so they had filled the moments by kissing passionately on the church steps, until the small but genuinely supportive group made their way out to join them.

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Carly hugged her mother, her brother, Leticia, and, of course, rained hugs and kisses upon Michael. She even hugged Johnny and Benny, which earned the men threatening looks from Sonny, even as he thanked them. Sonny kissed his mother-in-law on the cheek, high-fived his little brother-in-law, then pecked Leticia on the cheek as well (nodding respectfully at Reginald), taking Michael from her arms and swinging him around, before carrying him over to where Carly stood with Lila, Emily, and Juan.

"Lila, thank you so much for coming." Carly took Lila's hand and kissed it appreciatively, looking down at the beautiful elderly woman. "Did you slip away from the mansion in secret? Or are the Quartermaines all having hissy fits right now?"

Lila laughed, like the tinkle of a bell. "Edward was blustering a bit, as I recall. Fortunately, my dear, I know when to ignore him."

"When's that?"

"Most of the time."

Carly grinned. "That's what I thought."

Sonny stepped up, chuckling at that, and sat Michael down gently in Lila's lap, before taking her hand. "Michael wanted to come see his favorite great-grandmother. Mrs. Quartermaine, you get lovelier every time I see you."

Carly slapped his arm in mock jealousy, as Lila blushed. "Leave it to you to flirt shamelessly with another woman on our wedding day!"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but Lila is my one weakness." He flashed his dimples, full-blast, at both of them.

Carly fought the urge to smile, instead lowering her eyes, and sniffling, "I understand." Then Sonny kissed her nose and she looked up, not fighting her smile anymore.

Juan watched how they were with each other, nudging Emily a bit with his shoulder to make sure she was seeing it, too. He walked forward to hug the man who was still a father figure to him. "Congratulations." Juan hugged Carly, as well, surprising her slightly. "To both of you." He then gave Emily an encouraging look. She finally spoke.

"It really was a beautiful wedding, you guys."

Carly blinked in disbelief. "Thanks, Emily. I, uh… was surprised you came. I know we never exactly got along."

Emily gave a half-smile at her understatement. "True, but I needed to be here. Partly, for Juan… But he's not the only one who asked me to come."

Sonny and Carly exchanged a look, both confused and hopeful.

"I talked to Jason. And he said, since he couldn't be here, he wanted me to in his place."

Tears of joy and relief stung Carly's eyes, an old wound healing. She saw Sonny with his head down, most likely heavy with their best friend's acceptance, guilt so much more natural for him to carry. She wrapped her arm around his waist and felt him relax into her.

"Look, I was really mad at the two of you for hurting my brother. But he's forgiven you, so what right do I have to stay so upset? Sonny, you've always been really good to me. And, Carly, I think, at least for Michael's sake, the two of us can get along."

"I really appreciate that," Carly told Emily, sincerely.

"Besides," Em added, "After that ceremony in there… Really listening to what you guys had to say to each other… I don't know. Maybe everything happened like it was supposed to." She gave them a sly look, taking Juan's hand and walking away.

After letting Emily's words sink in for a moment, Sonny leaned in close to Carly and whispered in her ear, in a deliberately sexy tone. "You ready to get out of here?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

"You're not hungry, are you?"

"For food? No."

He grinned at her answer. "Good." He turned to face their guests. "Everyone? Thank you for coming. I know it means a lot to Carly and myself, and we hope you enjoyed yourself. Now I'd like to invite you all to proceed to The No-Name for dinner, and everything is on me. Ah, I guess you could call it a wedding reception, except that my bride and I won't actually be joining you. We've got, uh… more pressing matters to attend to."

Carly jabbed him in the ribs, and the guests twittered with knowing laughter.

"We get the picture!" shouted Juan.

"Oh wait, 'picture'! I didn't take any yet! Hold on!" Bobbie fumbled in her purse, finally coming up with her camera. She whispered to Michael, now held by his Aunt Emily, and he piped up.

"Say 'mawwied'!"

"MAWWIED!" Even though Sonny hated having his picture taken, he couldn't help but call out Michael's new favorite word along with Carly. Their laughing faces were pulled into pose-perfect smiles, as Bobbie clicked her camera mercilessly. When it seemed she had come to the end of her roll, Mike, who had been standing somewhat off to the side this whole time, finally approached his son and new daughter-in-law.

"I just wanted you two to know how honored I was to be a part of this." He smiled warmly at both, then his gaze alighted on the gold rose pinned to Carly's dress, and he felt tears fill his eyes. "I think Adella feels the same way." Mike hugged Carly tightly, his emotion causing her eyes to glisten as well. Mike then stepped over in front of Sonny, putting his hands on his son's shoulders. "Looks like you just might have to get used to being happy, Michael."

Carly watched as Sonny gave in and let himself embrace his father. It was a sight that tugged at her heartstrings, and she was thrilled to notice Bobbie capturing the moment on film. Luckily, her mother had brought a backup roll.

Silently, Sonny left the arms of his father and joined hands with his wife, kissing her quickly and guiding her towards the limo door, held open by Francis.

Carly was just about to step inside, when Leticia yelled, "Girl, if you don't throw that bouquet already, I'm gonna come grab it out of your hands and beat you over the head with it!"

Carly looked down, realizing for the first time that she was still holding her bouquet. Without turning around, she threw it, over her head. "Okay, but I'm not aiming!"

The sweet bundle of roses flew through the air… Bobbie ran in the other direction, too many failed marriages under her belt for her to have any interest in catching a bouquet… Emily, stars in her eyes over Juan, was tempted to go for it, but knew she didn't stand a chance… Leticia, on the other hand, jumped like Michael Jordan and caught it with one hand, crying "Yes!!!" as she did so. Everyone applauded, including Carly from inside the limo.

"Way to go, Let! That means your turn next! Bye, everybody! And we'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Man!" She blew her son kisses. "We love you!"

Francis shut the door, and Sonny and Carly watched through the tinted glass, loved ones waving goodbye. As the car pulled away, Sonny rested a hand on her stomach, and an arm around her shoulders, and looked deeply into her eyes.

"We did it, Mrs. Corinthos."

"I was just saying, I can't believe you threw a wedding reception and didn't invite US!"

"You said you weren't hungry… for food, that is." He quirked his eyebrow at her, suggestively.

She bit her bottom lip and tried to not let his teasing get her overheated. "Oh, shut up."

"Other than your disbelief on that point, how did I do?" He touched her cheek and asked seriously, "Did you like your wedding?"

"Are you kidding? I loved it!"

"I did okay with the guests, and the dresses, and Mike, and all that?"

"Sonny, it was perfect."

"You didn't want, like, doves or something?"

"Doves?"

"Yeah, you know… flying around, or whatever they do. Don't people have doves at weddings?"

"You would have gotten me doves?" Carly stroked his chin, as she did her best to stifle both a giggle and a tear. "That is the sweetest and most ridiculous thing I have ever heard."

"I just… I didn't want you to think I didn't care enough to ask what you wanted, but I really wanted to surprise you."

"You did, all wonderful surprises, even… Did you ask Father Coates to take some of the prayers and things out of the ceremony?"

"Yeah. I mean, I know you believe in God, but I also know you're not that big on church. And a traditional Catholic wedding can be a little intimidating. I wanted to make sure you were completely comfortable."

I barely heard anything Father Coates was saying, I was so lost in your eyes. "Thank you, Sonny, for thinking of me like that. But are you sure it was still okay with you? I know being Catholic is important to you, and I'd hate it if you felt like you shortchanged yourself somehow…"

"I don't, Carly. To me, what was most important was the vows and 'I now pronounce you husband and wife.'"

"And 'You may now kiss the bride'?"

"Oh yeah, your favorite part. Definitely that, too." He inched his face closer to hers, until he could feel her breath on his face, forgetting all about making temptation wait.

Carly, however, didn't forget. She put a finger to his lips and continued to talk. "Did I say that was my favorite part? Well, okay, you got me there. But I'd say the vows ran a close second. I think we even managed to improve on the ones we said when you proposed."

"Yeah?" He kissed her fingertip as he spoke the word.

She shivered, deliciously. "Yeah. You, uh… said some pretty nice stuff."

"So did you."

"Yeah? Well, thanks. I just kinda followed your lead for most of it. The rest, I guess I just…"

"Spoke the truth?"

Carly made a face like he'd lost his mind. "ME?? The truth??" she said, sarcastically and playfully. "Couldn't be, not Carly Benson!"

"You're Carly Corinthos, now."

"Oh, yeah!" She snapped her fingers and smiled brightly, loving the sound of her new name. "Good point."

They gave up on restraint and came together in a kiss that turned passionate quickly, but ended too soon… or just in time, depending on how you look at it… when they realized the limo had stopped.

"You know, you never did tell me where we were going." She wiped her lipstick (actually, Leticia's) from his lips with her thumb, as she wondered where they might be. A five-star hotel? Or maybe some beautiful old out-of-the-way inn, the kind with a four-poster bed and a fireplace in the room?

"No, I didn't. Guess you'll find out in a minute." Sonny wore a decidedly impish smile on his face.

Carly found herself holding her breath until Francis opened the door, and she found herself being helped out of the limo, looking at…

"Harborview Towers???"