Carly smoothed her maternity dress over her rounded stomach as the wind
whipped her clothes and hair around. Back in Port Charles she had spent
most of her time wearing baggy clothes to camouflage her pregnancy. A few
days after her arrival on Isla de Vieques she had sent one of the guards
into town to get her some comfortable maternity clothes.
In the month and a half it took Sonny to handle A.J. Carly had grown to
love the island and the isolated beach house that she stayed in. Freed from
A.J. she had blossomed. She was back to being her old self and she finally
stopped looking over her shoulder all the time expecting A.J. to swoop in.
Her friendship with Johnny had also grown. The two of them had become
friends. Carly was on friendly terms with the other guards but she and
Johnny had an understanding.
Life on the island was casual and very relaxed. Carly loved it because
there was nothing to stress over. Every morning she and Michael spent
playing on the beach. Afternoons Carly would explore the island sometimes
accompanied by the other guards but mostly by Johnny. Carly then spent her
evenings relaxing on the deck watching the waves and talking with Johnny.
Carly thought his infatuation with her was cute. It, in fact, made her feel
good. There was actually someone that liked her for her and not because of
a baby. It was very tempting. But Carly wouldn't let herself get involved
with the cute guard. Her life was a three-ring circus and she liked him too
much to bring him into her messed up life. She'd rather keep him as a
friend.
Carly reached up to pull away a strand of hair that blew into her mouth but
a hand beat her to it and gently pulled it away. She smiled up at Johnny
and murmured. "Thank you."
"It's kind of windy. Maybe you should stay inside today." Johnny suggested
even as he helped her down the stairs of the beach house.
She shook her head. "Michael was going a little stir crazy in the house."
The best thing that came from her escape had to be her relationship with
her son. Instead of having Leticia to rely on she had to take care of
Michael herself. The first week was a little rocky but Michael slowly
stopped calling for his nanny and began to trust her. She was amazed at how
adaptable he was.
"Michael! Honey, don't run so fast." Carly called out as Michael ran up
ahead of her and Johnny.
"He'll be fine." Johnny reassured her.
"Mmm, I guess." Carly casually slipped her arm through Johnny's as they
strolled down the beach to where Michael now played in the sand.
"I need to go into town tomorrow." She informed him. "I've grown out of
some of the pants Carlos picked up. I knew I should have gotten the bigger
size."
"I'll take you in the morning then."
"Oh, you don't have to do that. Carlos or one of the other guys can do it."
She knew that he would insist anyway.
"I don't mind." He smiled shyly.
"You really want to go shopping with a pregnant woman who has to pee every
five minutes and a two year old?" She arched her eyebrow.
He shrugged. "I really don't mind."
She grinned up at him. "You are such a sweetheart."
He blushed. Carly giggled and punched him in the arm. "You are so adorable
when you do that! Why is it that some lucky girl hasn't snapped you up yet?
I mean you really are a catch."
"Uh…" He cleared his throat and nodded towards Michael. "He's too close to
the water. I should go get him."
"You know Johnny, we really are going to have to find you are girl soon."
She smiled.
"Really Ms. Benson." He looked away.
"And I told you to cut that 'Ms. Benson' stuff out. It's Carly, okay?"
"Right, Carly." He nodded. "Okay, now he's really too close to the water."
Johnny jogged ahead to grab Michael out of the water before he got pulled
in by the tide. Carly followed behind at a slower pace. Johnny whispered
something into Michael's ear while the little boy squirmed to get out of
his arms.
Carly reached them just as Michael got free. Michael ran straight for Carly
who crouched down just in time to catch him in her arms. The force of
Michael managed to knock them both over.
Johnny shouted out in fear at the sight of Carly tumbling into the sand,
"Carly!" He ran over to them.
By the time he got there the two of them were rolling around in the sand
laughing. He dropped to his knees beside them. "Carly are you okay?"
She smiled. "Did you just call me Carly?"
"Are you okay?" He repeated himself. "The baby?"
"We're both fine, Johnny." She assured him. "I just need a little help
getting up. Could you?" She reached up to him.
"Sure." He grabbed her hand and Carly managed to pull him off balance. He
fell face first into the sand. He could hear her giggling over him. He
turned over and Carly doubled over at the sight of the sand covering his
face.
"Oh my God, you should see your face!" Johnny frowned fiercely at her and
wiped at the sand. Carly stopped laughing. "Ah, Johnny, don't be mad. You
were so upset so I thought…"
Johnny ignored her and walked towards the ocean. He knelt down and splashed
water over his face, to rinse the remaining sand. Carly and Michael
followed behind. She crouched down next to him. "Come on, Johnny, don't
tell me you're mad."
"No," He said slowly. "I'm not mad."
Then he surprised her by splashing a handful of water into her face. She
squealed. "Johnny!"
"Ah, Carly, don't be mad." He mocked her.
"That's it buddy boy, you're dead!" She threw herself at him and knocked
him backwards into the water. The two of them began splashing each other.
Michael ran around them splashing water everywhere but mostly soaking
himself.
Back at the house Sonny watched the scene from the deck. He scowled at the
happy family image they made. While he was back in Port Charles cleaning up
her mess, Carly was obviously having a good time down here. When he first
arrived at the house the first thing he did was call out for Carly. The
guard on duty told him she would likely be on the beach. He didn't say
anything about her being with Johnny.
His heart jumped into his throat when Michael knocked her down. His first
concern was the baby and he wondered if it was harmed. He would have jumped
the railing and went down to her but Johnny got there first. He could tell
that she was fine by the way she threw herself into whatever game she and
Johnny were playing.
Sonny took in all the changes in Carly. The last time he saw her she was
pale with shadows under her eyes. When they were bordering the plane she
kept looking over her shoulder as if A.J. was going to pop up at any
second. Now she was carefree, she glowed, she laughed, and she wasn't jumpy
at all. She was also very pregnant. Sonny couldn't believe how pregnant she
was. He knew she was pregnant but now that he could see *how* pregnant it
was like it finally became real.
How could she even *think* of aborting that child? Sonny didn't even know
it yet but he was so attached to it that he would die before he let
anything hurt his child. Maybe Carly came to the same realization and
that's why she decided against the abortion? Or maybe she figured she could
use the kid as insurance. Sonny didn't know what to think when it came to
Carly.
Sonny rubbed his forehead. He came the long way around to Isla de Vieques
and now he was more than a little tired. If he was going to go toe to toe
with her he needed to be rested up. He glanced once more down the beach and
curiously wondered if Johnny had felt his child kick.
~*~*~
"Sonny!" Carly took a step back at the sight of Sonny sprawled out on her
bed.
She, Johnny, and Michael had stayed out on the beach for hours until
Michael finally started complaining of hunger. So she and Johnny brought
him in, hosed him down, fed him, and tucked him away in his bed for a nap.
She and Johnny had a quick lunch and then they headed for the showers.
Carly had just entered her room when she saw Sonny.
Sonny rolled onto his back and stared up at Carly. He must have been more
tired than he thought because as soon as his head hit the pillow he was
knocked out. He didn't even notice that it smelled like Carly's shampoo.
"Hello." He murmured as he rubbed his hands over his face and threw his
hair.
"What are out doing here? Is it A.J.? Does he know where I am? Is he on his
way here?"
Sonny sat up. "Calm down. I told you I would take care of the A.J. thing
and I did."
Carly tried to shake off her fears. "Good for you. So what are you doing
here and why are you in my room?"
"This is *my* bedroom." He pointed out as he swung his legs over the bed
and got up. "And I'm here because I have to take you back to Port Charles."
"No!" She screamed.
"Carly…" Sonny muttered.
Seconds later Johnny came running down the hall with a towel wrapped around
his waist and a gun in his dripping hand. He didn't noticed Sonny as he
barged into the room.
"What's going on? What happened?" He demanded.
"She's *fine*." Sonny said. "And why don't you go and put some clothes on."
"Boss." Johnny's eyes widened. "You're here."
"Yeah, I'm here. Get some clothes on, now." He ordered him.
Johnny looked down and finally realized that he was half-naked and dripping
water on the floor. He blushed at Carly. "I'm so sorry. I, uh, excuse me."
He quickly left the room.
Carly used the interruption as a chance to pull herself together. She
commented dryly. "Well that was something."
Sonny watched her closely. "What the hell was that about? I mention going
back to Port Charles and you freak out."
"I'm not going back there." She said firmly. "I can't. I go back, A.J. gets
Michael, I end up in that hellhole or worse I end up *dead*." She shook her
head fiercely. "Uh-uh. I'm not going back. I will take Michael and I'll
disappear. I'll go to *China* but I'm *not* going back there! You can't
make me."
"I told you I would take care of A.J., right? I come through on my
promises. The only reason you need to come back is to sign some papers for
the divorce. You got everything you wanted from him and a little more."
"Why can't I just sign the papers down here?" Carly asked.
"You have to meet with A.J. and his lawyer. Carly." He raised his voice
when she walked away from him shaking her head over and over and crossing
her arms over her stomach. The stomach that Sonny couldn't keep his eyes
off. "Calm down, damn it."
She laughed. "You think I'm stupid. This is some sort of trick. A.J. is
going to trap me somehow. He wants me all alone and…"
Sonny walked over to her and gently rubbed her arms. "Listen to me, I'm not
going to let you met with him by yourself okay? My lawyer and I will be
there every step of the way. A.J. will not have a chance to be alone with
you. He knows better to threaten you. He knows I'm protecting you and
Michael now and he can't afford to mess with me."
"How do you know?" She asked softly. "How do you know A.J. won't try
anything. How on earth did you get him to agree to the divorce and to my
terms?"
"I have my ways and that's all you need to know." Sonny said evasively.
"Just know this, A.J. is no longer an issue. And even if he were you have
nothing to worry about because I'm not going to let *anyone* hurt this
child."
"I want to believe you but…" Carly looked away. "For too long the only
person I've had to really count on was me. Yeah I leaned on Jason a lot but
I never really believed that I could count on him to save me all the time.
I knew after a while he would get fed up."
"I'm not about to replace Jason." He warned her. "I'm not going to be your
safety net pulling your butt out of the fire every time one of your schemes
backfire. I'm just doing this for the kid and for Michael."
"I know that." She insisted.
"Do you mind if I..." Sonny surprised them both with his request but he
couldn't help it. During their talk he couldn't keep his eyes away from her
stomach. He started to reach out for her stomach but she quickly stepped
back.
She protectively folded her arms over her stomach and turned away. "No."
"No?" He raised his eyebrow.
She hurried to explain. "I just…for so long I've been the only one who
really knew that the baby was here. And you wanting to touch my stomach is
a little too intimate for me. I'm not sure I'm ready to share the baby with
you."
"Well you better get ready to learn how to share, do you understand me?"
"Oh that's great Sonny!" She threw her hands up in exasperation. "Threaten
me. If you haven't noticed threatening me doesn't work. It just makes me
crazy, makes me do stupid things."
"I wasn't threatening you. I was just stating a fact." He stared at her.
"Did I somehow threaten you before? Is that why you were going to abort the
baby and not tell me?"
"Who told you?" Carly gasped. Then she remembered. "Damn Bobbie and her big
mouth! She just can't help herself can she?"
"It slipped out." He shrugged. "But forget her. I want to know why you
didn't tell me?"
"Because I was confused! Because you hate me and I had to deal with this
myself. It's my body and at the time it was my problem. You happy?"
"I'm not *happy* that doesn't satisfy me at all."
Carly started to answer him but Michael's crying cut her off. She knew what
was wrong. Michael had been having nightmares lately because when they were
in town a week ago, a stray cat tried to attack him. "I have to go. He
needs me."
Sonny rubbed the back of his neck while he watched her hurry down the hall.
~*~*~
"If I *have* to go back to Port Charles I'm leaving Michael here." Carly
said stubbornly the next morning at breakfast.
Sonny barely looked up from his plate. "You're being irrational. And you
are going to Port Charles."
He was still angry at the disappearing act Carly pulled on him last night.
After she went to Michael he couldn't find her for the rest of the day. He
found out later that she went into town with Johnny. After that she managed
to hide out from him until he found her curled up and sleeping in her bed.
If she thought she was going to keep avoiding him and the topic of abortion
then she had another thing coming.
"I'd be an idiot if I take him back there. A.J. will not waste a single
opportunity to get his hands on him. I'm not going to let that happen."
"A.J. won't get a chance to close to Michael. Trust me."
Carly just stared at him mutely. Sonny angrily wiped his mouth with his
napkin, threw it down on the table, and stood. "It's time that you stop
being scared of A.J. It's not good for the baby or you."
Carly stood also. "If I let my guard down once A.J. will see use that
weakness and he'll take my son and I won't let it happen!"
"Haven't I proved to you that I can handle A.J.? I got you safely out of
town, I got you your divorce, and I won't let him get to you again. Now
Michael is coming with us and that's final."
"That's final?" Carly raised her eyebrow. "What are you my father?"
"No." He nodded in the direction of her stomach. "I'm the father of *that*
child."
Carly crossed her arms and looked away. Sonny sighed. "Look, did you even
give this much thought? Who are you going to leave Michael with? Carlos?
One of the others? Be realistic, Carly, in case you haven't noticed Michael
depends on you now. He doesn't need you to leave him with some more
strangers."
"Michael is a tough kid. But you," she grudgingly admitted, "you're right.
*But* when we get back I want guards on him twenty-four hours a day. You
hear me?"
"Fine!" Sonny agreed. Anything to shut her up. "Get packed. We're leaving
as soon as you're ready."
Johnny came into the dining room and Carly brightened up. "Johnny, just the
person I wanted to see. I'm going to need some help packing—"
"He's not here to act as your personal maid." Sonny snapped.
Johnny hesitated before saying. "There's a storm coming in, sir. The plane
won't be able to fly out until tomorrow."
Sonny swore softly and glared at Carly. "We should have left last night
like I wanted."
Carly rolled her eyes. "Whatever. So we're stuck here another night. Get
over it. Johnny, I'm taking Michael down to the beach. Want to come along?"
Johnny looked at Sonny before answering. Now that Sonny was here he knew
that things were going to be different between him and Carly. Sonny noticed
Johnny's hesitation and guessed the reason behind it. "Go ahead."
"Oh thank you so much." Carly muttered sarcastically.
Sonny ignored her tone. "Just be ready to go first thing in the morning."
After a whole day of successfully avoiding Sonny, Carly padded out barefoot
onto the deck. She expected to see Johnny waiting for her but was
disappointed to find Sonny already lounging on a deck chair with his feet
propped up on the railing.
Carly scowled and said. "Oh, it's you."
Sonny glanced up at her. "Expecting someone else? Johnny?"
"Yes." She said defiantly. "We always sit out here at night."
"I know. I saw you two last night." He murmured.
"And?" Carly walked around his chair and settled onto the empty chair next
to his. "It's pretty out here at night."
He nodded slowly. "It really is. Even with all the rain."
"Johnny really is missing a great show." She commented. "I wonder where he
is."
"He's doing his job. For once." He muttered.
"Excuse me?"
"Instead of running around catering to your every whim he's doing what he
was sent down here to do. Protect you, Michael, and the baby."
"So you trying to say he couldn't be my friend and still be my bodyguard?"
Carly twisted around in her seat to face him in the moonlight.
"I'm saying you were distracting him too much." Now he twisted around to
face her also. "What kind of game are you playing with Johnny? Huh?"
"Game? I'm not playing any game. We're *friends*. I know the concept might
be a little foreign to you but that's exactly what Johnny and I
are—friends. He actually cares about *me*. It's about time someone did."
Sonny laughed. "Don't give me that crap."
"And don't *you* even try to tell me that you care about me. All you care
about what's in here." Carly pointed at her stomach.
"I wasn't talking about me. I meant Bobbie. She's worried about you."
"She'll get over it. The next time I see her I'll get some lovely lecture
on how I'm a screw up and can't do anything right. You might want to join
in. Do a little tag team. That way I won't have to go through it twice. You
know what's funny?"
"What?"
"We've been around each other two days straight and you haven't said one
insulting thing to me yet. Wait you have, you just haven't gotten as nasty
as you usually are."
Sonny shrugged and stared out at the waves. "There really hasn't been any
reason to do it."
"There never is any reason for it. What's so different about now? Is it the
baby?"
"You think you'd be happy with a truce."
"So that's what this is a truce? And how long will it last? A week, a
month, until the baby is born?"
Sonny looked at her. "Why don't we just go with the flow. See who breaks
first."
Carly laughed a little. "I already know who'd break first, Sonny, cause you
just can't help yourself."
"Whatever." Sonny leaned back into his chair.
"And what about after the baby comes?" Carly said softly.
"What do you want to know now?" Sonny asked slightly aggravated.
"I don't want to raise this child in Port Charles. I can't go back there.
It holds too many bad memories and I won't subject Michael or this child to
any negativity that will come from just being my children."
"No one in Port Charles is a saint." He pointed out.
"Yeah but you never know it from all the high horses they ride around on."
Carly said derisively. "Right now I'm the town whipping boy and I won't
pass that onto my kids. So I want to know what we're going to do. I like
this island. I'd love to stay here forever if I could but unfortunately for
me it's all up to you."
"I'm not going to just give up my child."
"I know that. How many times have you said that we're same? So I really
know what you're mean. So we're going to have work out some sort of
custody."
"Not right now, Carly."
"When?" She pressed.
"Not now. We'll just wait and see what happens. I don't want to stress you
too much, it'll only end up harming the baby."
"News flash, Sonny, I'm already a little stressed." Carly snapped. She
struggled to get up on the chair. Sonny got up to help her out but she
shrugged off his arm. "I'm okay. I'm going to bed and don't worry I've
packed. We can head for the airport right after breakfast."
~*~*~
"I don't like this." Carly murmured as she clutched Johnny's arm. Her other
hand was pushing Michael's stroller. Johnny was guiding Carly, Sonny, and
Michael through the unnaturally crowded airport. "Why are there so many
people here?"
"It's an airport." Sonny said slowly as if she was an idiot. "There are
always a lot of people here."
"I know that." She snapped. She looked around. "But still…"
"This isn't some sort of diversion created by the Qs, believe me, Junior
isn't that clever. Let go of Johnny." He ordered her. "What did A.J. do to
you in that house?"
"I'm not being separated from him." She ignored his remark.
"He can't do his job if you're clinging to him." Sonny reasoned. He
narrowed his eyes.
She glanced up at Johnny who nodded regretfully. He loved the fact that she
relied on him but he needed to be able to move freely. "Sorry, Ms. Benson."
"Carly." She absentmindedly corrected him. She released his arm only to
grab Sonny's. He looked at her in surprise. She snapped. "Don't get a big
head."
"I guess I'm the next best thing."
"You said it not me." She suddenly heard her name being shouted over the
din and looked around with fear in her eyes. "No!"
"Calm down, it's just Bobbie. I called her this morning to let her know we
were on our way. I guess she decided to meet us here."
"Carly!" Bobbie pushed her way through the crowd and embraced her daughter.
"You scared the life out of me. I didn't know where you were, if you were
okay or hurt or what. I didn't even know you were missing for a week."
"I'm fine, Bobbie, really." She laughed weakly.
"If you ever disappear on me again I swear I'll kill you myself." Bobbie
threatened before hugging her tightly again. She pulled back and gaped at
Carly's stomach, which she was finally seeing for the first time. "Carly…"
"What? You knew I was pregnant." She frowned.
"Yeah but you'd always wore those baggy clothes. It's just…it just finally
hit me." Bobbie started to reach out but Carly blocked her. Bobbie didn't
even notice. "How is the baby?"
"Fine. I found a doctor on the island and had a check up last week. He said
we're both in perfect health."
"Island? So that's where you went. No wonder you look so tanned." Bobbie
touched the side of Carly's face.
"Yeah it was a nice getaway. Could we get out of here now? I don't like
being out in the open like this." Carly looked around. "Bobbie, you didn't
tell any of the Quartermaines that I was coming back did you?"
Bobbie smiled. "No, but yesterday A.J. showed up demanding I tell him where
you were. He's in bad shape."
"Sonny!" Carly widened her eyes and stared up at him angrily. "I thought
you handled him."
"I did. Don't even worry about him. He's just blowing smoke out of his
ass." Sonny assured her.
"You know maybe we *should* get out of here." Bobbie said. "I assume you
and Michael will be staying at the Brownstone with me?"
Sonny answered for her. "No, they're staying at the penthouse with me."
whipped her clothes and hair around. Back in Port Charles she had spent
most of her time wearing baggy clothes to camouflage her pregnancy. A few
days after her arrival on Isla de Vieques she had sent one of the guards
into town to get her some comfortable maternity clothes.
In the month and a half it took Sonny to handle A.J. Carly had grown to
love the island and the isolated beach house that she stayed in. Freed from
A.J. she had blossomed. She was back to being her old self and she finally
stopped looking over her shoulder all the time expecting A.J. to swoop in.
Her friendship with Johnny had also grown. The two of them had become
friends. Carly was on friendly terms with the other guards but she and
Johnny had an understanding.
Life on the island was casual and very relaxed. Carly loved it because
there was nothing to stress over. Every morning she and Michael spent
playing on the beach. Afternoons Carly would explore the island sometimes
accompanied by the other guards but mostly by Johnny. Carly then spent her
evenings relaxing on the deck watching the waves and talking with Johnny.
Carly thought his infatuation with her was cute. It, in fact, made her feel
good. There was actually someone that liked her for her and not because of
a baby. It was very tempting. But Carly wouldn't let herself get involved
with the cute guard. Her life was a three-ring circus and she liked him too
much to bring him into her messed up life. She'd rather keep him as a
friend.
Carly reached up to pull away a strand of hair that blew into her mouth but
a hand beat her to it and gently pulled it away. She smiled up at Johnny
and murmured. "Thank you."
"It's kind of windy. Maybe you should stay inside today." Johnny suggested
even as he helped her down the stairs of the beach house.
She shook her head. "Michael was going a little stir crazy in the house."
The best thing that came from her escape had to be her relationship with
her son. Instead of having Leticia to rely on she had to take care of
Michael herself. The first week was a little rocky but Michael slowly
stopped calling for his nanny and began to trust her. She was amazed at how
adaptable he was.
"Michael! Honey, don't run so fast." Carly called out as Michael ran up
ahead of her and Johnny.
"He'll be fine." Johnny reassured her.
"Mmm, I guess." Carly casually slipped her arm through Johnny's as they
strolled down the beach to where Michael now played in the sand.
"I need to go into town tomorrow." She informed him. "I've grown out of
some of the pants Carlos picked up. I knew I should have gotten the bigger
size."
"I'll take you in the morning then."
"Oh, you don't have to do that. Carlos or one of the other guys can do it."
She knew that he would insist anyway.
"I don't mind." He smiled shyly.
"You really want to go shopping with a pregnant woman who has to pee every
five minutes and a two year old?" She arched her eyebrow.
He shrugged. "I really don't mind."
She grinned up at him. "You are such a sweetheart."
He blushed. Carly giggled and punched him in the arm. "You are so adorable
when you do that! Why is it that some lucky girl hasn't snapped you up yet?
I mean you really are a catch."
"Uh…" He cleared his throat and nodded towards Michael. "He's too close to
the water. I should go get him."
"You know Johnny, we really are going to have to find you are girl soon."
She smiled.
"Really Ms. Benson." He looked away.
"And I told you to cut that 'Ms. Benson' stuff out. It's Carly, okay?"
"Right, Carly." He nodded. "Okay, now he's really too close to the water."
Johnny jogged ahead to grab Michael out of the water before he got pulled
in by the tide. Carly followed behind at a slower pace. Johnny whispered
something into Michael's ear while the little boy squirmed to get out of
his arms.
Carly reached them just as Michael got free. Michael ran straight for Carly
who crouched down just in time to catch him in her arms. The force of
Michael managed to knock them both over.
Johnny shouted out in fear at the sight of Carly tumbling into the sand,
"Carly!" He ran over to them.
By the time he got there the two of them were rolling around in the sand
laughing. He dropped to his knees beside them. "Carly are you okay?"
She smiled. "Did you just call me Carly?"
"Are you okay?" He repeated himself. "The baby?"
"We're both fine, Johnny." She assured him. "I just need a little help
getting up. Could you?" She reached up to him.
"Sure." He grabbed her hand and Carly managed to pull him off balance. He
fell face first into the sand. He could hear her giggling over him. He
turned over and Carly doubled over at the sight of the sand covering his
face.
"Oh my God, you should see your face!" Johnny frowned fiercely at her and
wiped at the sand. Carly stopped laughing. "Ah, Johnny, don't be mad. You
were so upset so I thought…"
Johnny ignored her and walked towards the ocean. He knelt down and splashed
water over his face, to rinse the remaining sand. Carly and Michael
followed behind. She crouched down next to him. "Come on, Johnny, don't
tell me you're mad."
"No," He said slowly. "I'm not mad."
Then he surprised her by splashing a handful of water into her face. She
squealed. "Johnny!"
"Ah, Carly, don't be mad." He mocked her.
"That's it buddy boy, you're dead!" She threw herself at him and knocked
him backwards into the water. The two of them began splashing each other.
Michael ran around them splashing water everywhere but mostly soaking
himself.
Back at the house Sonny watched the scene from the deck. He scowled at the
happy family image they made. While he was back in Port Charles cleaning up
her mess, Carly was obviously having a good time down here. When he first
arrived at the house the first thing he did was call out for Carly. The
guard on duty told him she would likely be on the beach. He didn't say
anything about her being with Johnny.
His heart jumped into his throat when Michael knocked her down. His first
concern was the baby and he wondered if it was harmed. He would have jumped
the railing and went down to her but Johnny got there first. He could tell
that she was fine by the way she threw herself into whatever game she and
Johnny were playing.
Sonny took in all the changes in Carly. The last time he saw her she was
pale with shadows under her eyes. When they were bordering the plane she
kept looking over her shoulder as if A.J. was going to pop up at any
second. Now she was carefree, she glowed, she laughed, and she wasn't jumpy
at all. She was also very pregnant. Sonny couldn't believe how pregnant she
was. He knew she was pregnant but now that he could see *how* pregnant it
was like it finally became real.
How could she even *think* of aborting that child? Sonny didn't even know
it yet but he was so attached to it that he would die before he let
anything hurt his child. Maybe Carly came to the same realization and
that's why she decided against the abortion? Or maybe she figured she could
use the kid as insurance. Sonny didn't know what to think when it came to
Carly.
Sonny rubbed his forehead. He came the long way around to Isla de Vieques
and now he was more than a little tired. If he was going to go toe to toe
with her he needed to be rested up. He glanced once more down the beach and
curiously wondered if Johnny had felt his child kick.
~*~*~
"Sonny!" Carly took a step back at the sight of Sonny sprawled out on her
bed.
She, Johnny, and Michael had stayed out on the beach for hours until
Michael finally started complaining of hunger. So she and Johnny brought
him in, hosed him down, fed him, and tucked him away in his bed for a nap.
She and Johnny had a quick lunch and then they headed for the showers.
Carly had just entered her room when she saw Sonny.
Sonny rolled onto his back and stared up at Carly. He must have been more
tired than he thought because as soon as his head hit the pillow he was
knocked out. He didn't even notice that it smelled like Carly's shampoo.
"Hello." He murmured as he rubbed his hands over his face and threw his
hair.
"What are out doing here? Is it A.J.? Does he know where I am? Is he on his
way here?"
Sonny sat up. "Calm down. I told you I would take care of the A.J. thing
and I did."
Carly tried to shake off her fears. "Good for you. So what are you doing
here and why are you in my room?"
"This is *my* bedroom." He pointed out as he swung his legs over the bed
and got up. "And I'm here because I have to take you back to Port Charles."
"No!" She screamed.
"Carly…" Sonny muttered.
Seconds later Johnny came running down the hall with a towel wrapped around
his waist and a gun in his dripping hand. He didn't noticed Sonny as he
barged into the room.
"What's going on? What happened?" He demanded.
"She's *fine*." Sonny said. "And why don't you go and put some clothes on."
"Boss." Johnny's eyes widened. "You're here."
"Yeah, I'm here. Get some clothes on, now." He ordered him.
Johnny looked down and finally realized that he was half-naked and dripping
water on the floor. He blushed at Carly. "I'm so sorry. I, uh, excuse me."
He quickly left the room.
Carly used the interruption as a chance to pull herself together. She
commented dryly. "Well that was something."
Sonny watched her closely. "What the hell was that about? I mention going
back to Port Charles and you freak out."
"I'm not going back there." She said firmly. "I can't. I go back, A.J. gets
Michael, I end up in that hellhole or worse I end up *dead*." She shook her
head fiercely. "Uh-uh. I'm not going back. I will take Michael and I'll
disappear. I'll go to *China* but I'm *not* going back there! You can't
make me."
"I told you I would take care of A.J., right? I come through on my
promises. The only reason you need to come back is to sign some papers for
the divorce. You got everything you wanted from him and a little more."
"Why can't I just sign the papers down here?" Carly asked.
"You have to meet with A.J. and his lawyer. Carly." He raised his voice
when she walked away from him shaking her head over and over and crossing
her arms over her stomach. The stomach that Sonny couldn't keep his eyes
off. "Calm down, damn it."
She laughed. "You think I'm stupid. This is some sort of trick. A.J. is
going to trap me somehow. He wants me all alone and…"
Sonny walked over to her and gently rubbed her arms. "Listen to me, I'm not
going to let you met with him by yourself okay? My lawyer and I will be
there every step of the way. A.J. will not have a chance to be alone with
you. He knows better to threaten you. He knows I'm protecting you and
Michael now and he can't afford to mess with me."
"How do you know?" She asked softly. "How do you know A.J. won't try
anything. How on earth did you get him to agree to the divorce and to my
terms?"
"I have my ways and that's all you need to know." Sonny said evasively.
"Just know this, A.J. is no longer an issue. And even if he were you have
nothing to worry about because I'm not going to let *anyone* hurt this
child."
"I want to believe you but…" Carly looked away. "For too long the only
person I've had to really count on was me. Yeah I leaned on Jason a lot but
I never really believed that I could count on him to save me all the time.
I knew after a while he would get fed up."
"I'm not about to replace Jason." He warned her. "I'm not going to be your
safety net pulling your butt out of the fire every time one of your schemes
backfire. I'm just doing this for the kid and for Michael."
"I know that." She insisted.
"Do you mind if I..." Sonny surprised them both with his request but he
couldn't help it. During their talk he couldn't keep his eyes away from her
stomach. He started to reach out for her stomach but she quickly stepped
back.
She protectively folded her arms over her stomach and turned away. "No."
"No?" He raised his eyebrow.
She hurried to explain. "I just…for so long I've been the only one who
really knew that the baby was here. And you wanting to touch my stomach is
a little too intimate for me. I'm not sure I'm ready to share the baby with
you."
"Well you better get ready to learn how to share, do you understand me?"
"Oh that's great Sonny!" She threw her hands up in exasperation. "Threaten
me. If you haven't noticed threatening me doesn't work. It just makes me
crazy, makes me do stupid things."
"I wasn't threatening you. I was just stating a fact." He stared at her.
"Did I somehow threaten you before? Is that why you were going to abort the
baby and not tell me?"
"Who told you?" Carly gasped. Then she remembered. "Damn Bobbie and her big
mouth! She just can't help herself can she?"
"It slipped out." He shrugged. "But forget her. I want to know why you
didn't tell me?"
"Because I was confused! Because you hate me and I had to deal with this
myself. It's my body and at the time it was my problem. You happy?"
"I'm not *happy* that doesn't satisfy me at all."
Carly started to answer him but Michael's crying cut her off. She knew what
was wrong. Michael had been having nightmares lately because when they were
in town a week ago, a stray cat tried to attack him. "I have to go. He
needs me."
Sonny rubbed the back of his neck while he watched her hurry down the hall.
~*~*~
"If I *have* to go back to Port Charles I'm leaving Michael here." Carly
said stubbornly the next morning at breakfast.
Sonny barely looked up from his plate. "You're being irrational. And you
are going to Port Charles."
He was still angry at the disappearing act Carly pulled on him last night.
After she went to Michael he couldn't find her for the rest of the day. He
found out later that she went into town with Johnny. After that she managed
to hide out from him until he found her curled up and sleeping in her bed.
If she thought she was going to keep avoiding him and the topic of abortion
then she had another thing coming.
"I'd be an idiot if I take him back there. A.J. will not waste a single
opportunity to get his hands on him. I'm not going to let that happen."
"A.J. won't get a chance to close to Michael. Trust me."
Carly just stared at him mutely. Sonny angrily wiped his mouth with his
napkin, threw it down on the table, and stood. "It's time that you stop
being scared of A.J. It's not good for the baby or you."
Carly stood also. "If I let my guard down once A.J. will see use that
weakness and he'll take my son and I won't let it happen!"
"Haven't I proved to you that I can handle A.J.? I got you safely out of
town, I got you your divorce, and I won't let him get to you again. Now
Michael is coming with us and that's final."
"That's final?" Carly raised her eyebrow. "What are you my father?"
"No." He nodded in the direction of her stomach. "I'm the father of *that*
child."
Carly crossed her arms and looked away. Sonny sighed. "Look, did you even
give this much thought? Who are you going to leave Michael with? Carlos?
One of the others? Be realistic, Carly, in case you haven't noticed Michael
depends on you now. He doesn't need you to leave him with some more
strangers."
"Michael is a tough kid. But you," she grudgingly admitted, "you're right.
*But* when we get back I want guards on him twenty-four hours a day. You
hear me?"
"Fine!" Sonny agreed. Anything to shut her up. "Get packed. We're leaving
as soon as you're ready."
Johnny came into the dining room and Carly brightened up. "Johnny, just the
person I wanted to see. I'm going to need some help packing—"
"He's not here to act as your personal maid." Sonny snapped.
Johnny hesitated before saying. "There's a storm coming in, sir. The plane
won't be able to fly out until tomorrow."
Sonny swore softly and glared at Carly. "We should have left last night
like I wanted."
Carly rolled her eyes. "Whatever. So we're stuck here another night. Get
over it. Johnny, I'm taking Michael down to the beach. Want to come along?"
Johnny looked at Sonny before answering. Now that Sonny was here he knew
that things were going to be different between him and Carly. Sonny noticed
Johnny's hesitation and guessed the reason behind it. "Go ahead."
"Oh thank you so much." Carly muttered sarcastically.
Sonny ignored her tone. "Just be ready to go first thing in the morning."
After a whole day of successfully avoiding Sonny, Carly padded out barefoot
onto the deck. She expected to see Johnny waiting for her but was
disappointed to find Sonny already lounging on a deck chair with his feet
propped up on the railing.
Carly scowled and said. "Oh, it's you."
Sonny glanced up at her. "Expecting someone else? Johnny?"
"Yes." She said defiantly. "We always sit out here at night."
"I know. I saw you two last night." He murmured.
"And?" Carly walked around his chair and settled onto the empty chair next
to his. "It's pretty out here at night."
He nodded slowly. "It really is. Even with all the rain."
"Johnny really is missing a great show." She commented. "I wonder where he
is."
"He's doing his job. For once." He muttered.
"Excuse me?"
"Instead of running around catering to your every whim he's doing what he
was sent down here to do. Protect you, Michael, and the baby."
"So you trying to say he couldn't be my friend and still be my bodyguard?"
Carly twisted around in her seat to face him in the moonlight.
"I'm saying you were distracting him too much." Now he twisted around to
face her also. "What kind of game are you playing with Johnny? Huh?"
"Game? I'm not playing any game. We're *friends*. I know the concept might
be a little foreign to you but that's exactly what Johnny and I
are—friends. He actually cares about *me*. It's about time someone did."
Sonny laughed. "Don't give me that crap."
"And don't *you* even try to tell me that you care about me. All you care
about what's in here." Carly pointed at her stomach.
"I wasn't talking about me. I meant Bobbie. She's worried about you."
"She'll get over it. The next time I see her I'll get some lovely lecture
on how I'm a screw up and can't do anything right. You might want to join
in. Do a little tag team. That way I won't have to go through it twice. You
know what's funny?"
"What?"
"We've been around each other two days straight and you haven't said one
insulting thing to me yet. Wait you have, you just haven't gotten as nasty
as you usually are."
Sonny shrugged and stared out at the waves. "There really hasn't been any
reason to do it."
"There never is any reason for it. What's so different about now? Is it the
baby?"
"You think you'd be happy with a truce."
"So that's what this is a truce? And how long will it last? A week, a
month, until the baby is born?"
Sonny looked at her. "Why don't we just go with the flow. See who breaks
first."
Carly laughed a little. "I already know who'd break first, Sonny, cause you
just can't help yourself."
"Whatever." Sonny leaned back into his chair.
"And what about after the baby comes?" Carly said softly.
"What do you want to know now?" Sonny asked slightly aggravated.
"I don't want to raise this child in Port Charles. I can't go back there.
It holds too many bad memories and I won't subject Michael or this child to
any negativity that will come from just being my children."
"No one in Port Charles is a saint." He pointed out.
"Yeah but you never know it from all the high horses they ride around on."
Carly said derisively. "Right now I'm the town whipping boy and I won't
pass that onto my kids. So I want to know what we're going to do. I like
this island. I'd love to stay here forever if I could but unfortunately for
me it's all up to you."
"I'm not going to just give up my child."
"I know that. How many times have you said that we're same? So I really
know what you're mean. So we're going to have work out some sort of
custody."
"Not right now, Carly."
"When?" She pressed.
"Not now. We'll just wait and see what happens. I don't want to stress you
too much, it'll only end up harming the baby."
"News flash, Sonny, I'm already a little stressed." Carly snapped. She
struggled to get up on the chair. Sonny got up to help her out but she
shrugged off his arm. "I'm okay. I'm going to bed and don't worry I've
packed. We can head for the airport right after breakfast."
~*~*~
"I don't like this." Carly murmured as she clutched Johnny's arm. Her other
hand was pushing Michael's stroller. Johnny was guiding Carly, Sonny, and
Michael through the unnaturally crowded airport. "Why are there so many
people here?"
"It's an airport." Sonny said slowly as if she was an idiot. "There are
always a lot of people here."
"I know that." She snapped. She looked around. "But still…"
"This isn't some sort of diversion created by the Qs, believe me, Junior
isn't that clever. Let go of Johnny." He ordered her. "What did A.J. do to
you in that house?"
"I'm not being separated from him." She ignored his remark.
"He can't do his job if you're clinging to him." Sonny reasoned. He
narrowed his eyes.
She glanced up at Johnny who nodded regretfully. He loved the fact that she
relied on him but he needed to be able to move freely. "Sorry, Ms. Benson."
"Carly." She absentmindedly corrected him. She released his arm only to
grab Sonny's. He looked at her in surprise. She snapped. "Don't get a big
head."
"I guess I'm the next best thing."
"You said it not me." She suddenly heard her name being shouted over the
din and looked around with fear in her eyes. "No!"
"Calm down, it's just Bobbie. I called her this morning to let her know we
were on our way. I guess she decided to meet us here."
"Carly!" Bobbie pushed her way through the crowd and embraced her daughter.
"You scared the life out of me. I didn't know where you were, if you were
okay or hurt or what. I didn't even know you were missing for a week."
"I'm fine, Bobbie, really." She laughed weakly.
"If you ever disappear on me again I swear I'll kill you myself." Bobbie
threatened before hugging her tightly again. She pulled back and gaped at
Carly's stomach, which she was finally seeing for the first time. "Carly…"
"What? You knew I was pregnant." She frowned.
"Yeah but you'd always wore those baggy clothes. It's just…it just finally
hit me." Bobbie started to reach out but Carly blocked her. Bobbie didn't
even notice. "How is the baby?"
"Fine. I found a doctor on the island and had a check up last week. He said
we're both in perfect health."
"Island? So that's where you went. No wonder you look so tanned." Bobbie
touched the side of Carly's face.
"Yeah it was a nice getaway. Could we get out of here now? I don't like
being out in the open like this." Carly looked around. "Bobbie, you didn't
tell any of the Quartermaines that I was coming back did you?"
Bobbie smiled. "No, but yesterday A.J. showed up demanding I tell him where
you were. He's in bad shape."
"Sonny!" Carly widened her eyes and stared up at him angrily. "I thought
you handled him."
"I did. Don't even worry about him. He's just blowing smoke out of his
ass." Sonny assured her.
"You know maybe we *should* get out of here." Bobbie said. "I assume you
and Michael will be staying at the Brownstone with me?"
Sonny answered for her. "No, they're staying at the penthouse with me."