Hi all, I'm sorry I missed my last two Monday deadlines, but I'll do my best to update this again on Monday. Hope you're still reading. Replies are greatly appreciated.

Stronger Than Pride – Chapter 11

Sonny smiled at Kristina and Molly who gobbled the eggs he'd fed them. Three weeks ago, they'd refused to eat eggs; this week they'd asked for them. Both girls had grown so much in the two weeks they'd been away. Now, one was out chirping the other as they vied for his attention. He wouldn't have it any other way. He thought of running next door and asking Alexis if he could keep them for the day. It wasn't yet the weekend; still, he had no intention of sending Kristina to school.

He was startled by the loud banging on the door. As he moved to answer it, he heard Alexis call out, "Sonny, it's Alexis. I need to take the girls."

As soon as he opened the door, he could tell she was on the brink of tears. Without being asked, she moved into the center of his living room. In one hand she held a small suitcase.

He ran his gaze over her, trying to read her as he had done so many times before. "What's going on?"

"It's over." With two words, Alexis crumpled into his arms.

He rubbed her back, taking in her scent. He was amazed that she still smelled of vanilla and gardenias. After a moment or so, he picked up her suitcase and ushered her to the sofa. "What happened?"

"I can't do this."

"Shh," he whispered. He ran his fingers through her chestnut-hued hair. In the process, he marveled at its silky texture and its thickness. Two years ago, she'd been bald from chemotherapy. And now, there was no trace of the cancer. Her resilience, not only from the cancer, amazed him. "Talk to me."

"There was a hit on Jason, Sonny. A hit. For six months, his life was in jeopardy. And I had to overhear it from Claudia, of all people."

He sighed. Somehow Alexis wanting to leave Jason made her marriage to his best friend feel more real than ever. When the option was love or run; Alexis always ran. It was the only way he could explain how she could have left him but stayed in a marriage with Ric. "So, you're leaving Jason because you could have lost him? I may not be a smart guy, but it seems like you lose him if you leave him."

"It wasn't just his life he was risking, Sonny. Me, the girls, the baby; we could have all been killed."

"Jason's careful." Sonny closed his eyes as he wondered when the universe had shifted. Through some strange turn of events, Alexis had stopped belonging to him, to his past and to his heart. And now, she belonged to his best friend as his wife and the mother of his child. Out of respect for Alexis's relationship with Jason as well as his own, he knew he had to do the right thing. "If we didn't both believe he could handle the danger, we wouldn't trust him with the girls. What's really going on? Did you give him a chance to explain?"

"What's to explain?" She wiped at her eyes. "Besides, I know this is the beginning of the end."

"What are you talking about?" He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You just came from your honeymoon."

"It always starts with a pregnancy, Sonny. You. Ric. Sam's father started the pattern. I get pregnant and my relationship with my child's father is doomed. Some relationships end sooner than others."

Sonny felt a pang of guilt as he wondered if Alexis's last statement was a jab at him until he noticed the sadness in her eyes. "Don't you think that's a little superstitious?"

"It's true. Jason's not the only one who has been keeping secrets. I've got a real doozy of one. And if it comes out, it will blow my marriage apart."

"So, you thought you'd do that instead?" He ran the back of his hand against her cheek. His heart warmed as she leaned into his touch.

"You're supposed to be on my side."

"I am always on your side even when we're at each other's throats. What's going on with you, Alexis? I thought I was the self-destructive one."

"I'm scared, Sonny. My marriage wasn't supposed to be real, but now it is. But there are so many forces against us. I think maybe we should just give up now, before we hurt each other."

Being supportive was breaking Sonny's heart. He had no choice. Alexis married Jason and was carrying his child. She would always be off-limits, now. Even still, he ached to tell her, "Leave Jason and come be with me." It wouldn't be right. Alexis, through some kind of divine payback was in love with his best friend. "Go home, Alexis. Go home, throw all your cards on the table and see if you can work it out. You owe it to yourself, to Jason and to the kids."

He watched as the tears streamed down her cheeks. She nodded her head in quiet agreement. The two sat in silence for nearly a full minute until they were interrupted by a knock on the door. It was Jasper Jacks. He'd almost forgotten he scheduled a meeting with Jax to gather more information on Jerry. Jax immediately flew to his friend's side. "Alexis, are you okay?"

She simply nodded and whimpered, "I've got to go home."

Alexis moved to leave, but suddenly stopped in her tracks. She turned and embraced Sonny tightly. He rubbed her back and whispered, "It will be okay." As she crossed the hall, he noticed Jax watched her as carefully as he had himself.

Two minutes after he saw Alexis enter her Penthouse, Jax lit into him. "What did you do to her, Corinthos?"

"Nothing. Would you stop it with the knight-in-shining-armor routine, Candyboy?"

"Why did you ask me to come here? And why did you want me to bring old and new pictures of Jerry? Have you heard something?"

"About Jerry? No. I'm just curious about something."

Jax frowned. "Tell me he doesn't have plans to go against Jason to get even for him stealing Alexis from him?"

Sonny saw the worry lines cross Jax's face. For many years, Sonny had seen the toll that worrying about Jerry had taken on Jax. And even though his brother had shown up with a different face and a slightly different accent, Jax had fallen into old patterns. Suddenly, he was very grateful that he and Ric hadn't been raised together. For if they had been, Ric would have caused him even more pain and he might have made the same mistake as Jax and loved his brother.

"No, I just want to make sure that nothing Jerry did this time around is going to come back on Alexis." Sonny knew James Craig, or whoever he was, currently swam with the fishes. Still, he couldn't afford to give Jax false hope the brother he loved was alive and wasn't some kind of monster.

"Fair enough." Jax sighed. "Sonny, you do realize that Alexis is married to Jason, don't you? Because I certainly hope you haven't decided you want Alexis now. She doesn't need to be in the middle of a mob war between you and Jason."

"What are you talking about, Jax?"

"I was there, you know, when you and Alexis were whatever you were. I saw how she could get through to you when no one else could. No matter how many times you tell people how she was just a one night stand; I saw how deeply you cared for her."

"Do you have a point?" Sonny felt the need to cover.

"The point is: you want what you can have, Corinthos. At least, until you actually get it. You did it with Brenda. You did it with Carly. I won't all you to do it with Alexis. I don't like Morgan or what he does, but for the first time since her involvement with you, she's happy. Don't ruin it."

Sonny would have been angry, if he hadn't known at least part of what Jax had said was true. He sighed. "Look Jax, Jason and Alexis have only been married for a few months."

"Seven."

"And now that Ric is the DA, they don't need any of Jerry's garbage giving Ric a reason to come after them."

"Fair enough." Jax handed Sonny a packet of photos. "But trust me; relationships survive better when you're not in the middle of them. Don't think about yourself this time. Think about the kids: yours, Alexis's and Jason's. They're a family, now."

"Let it be, Candyboy. I'm just trying to help them out." Before Sonny could respond further, his two favorite cherubs ran out of the kitchen and into the arms of their Uncle Jax. As Kristina and Molly laughed and flirted with Jax in a way only little girls could; Sonny thought about Jax's words. He knew Jax was right. The girls had never been happier. And so, quietly, he vowed he'd never come between the family Alexis and Jason created.