Chapter 26

Quartermaine Mansion

When Skye threw her arms around Sonny, she heard him grunt in pain. She pulled back, mortified. "I'm sorry!" Sonny shook his head, and slipped his hand behind her neck, pulling her to him. She blinked back the tears. "I can't believe you did this," she whispered. "I can't believe you accepted," he whispered back. They kissed, still oblivious to the uproar around them. "What the hell is going on here?" exclaimed Alan. "What does it look like?" sneered Edward, "She's out to ruin the family name yet again." Rae shook her head in disbelief. "You think she would marry him just to spite the Quartermaines?" Edward folded his arms. "I think she's capable of anything." Courtney protested, "They're getting married because they're in love. I for one am ecstatic about it." Ned grinned. "I'm ecstatic too. Maybe they'll destroy each other." AJ glared at him. "Put a sock in it, Ned. You're just jealous because two people you hate might actually be happy." Monica hooted. "You think these two will make each other happy? I'd like to see that!" Rae glared at her. "Well they won't be following your example for how to make a happy marriage." Monica glared back. "That's because they don't have the morals necessary to do so!"

The bickering was interrupted by Reginald yelling in the doorway. "Did someone order pizza?" He yelled the question right in Sonny's ear, breaking up the long kiss. Emily smirked. "Its Thanksgiving, Reggie. Of course we ordered pizza." Reginald nodded, and left again. Skye took Sonny's hand and led him over to Rae. "Mother, I'd like for you to meet Sonny. Sonny, this is my mother, Rae Cummings." Rae held out her hand, and Sonny kissed it. "It is a great pleasure to meet you, Ms. Cummings." Rae nodded. "It is a pleasure for me too, since you have saved my daughter's life on no less than two occasions. Please call me Rae." Skye indicated John. "And this is my mother's fiance, John Sykes. He is going to be the new….police…commissioner…for Port Charles." Skye's voice trailed off as she realized the implications. Her mother was marrying the man who would be the top law enforcement agent in town. Skye would be marrying the top lawbreaker in town. She looked at Sonny in apprehension. Wearing a polite mask, Sonny held out his hand. "Welcome to Port Charles, Mr. Sykes." John looked at him speculatively, then shook his hand. "Congratulations on your engagement." Sonny nodded. "And yours too."

Alan horned in. "What is this about Sonny saving your life twice? There was another time besides the masked ball?" Skye sighed. "Later, father. I don't want my pizza to get cold." Alan shook his head. "We'll discuss this now." Rae stepped up to them. "Alan, let her spend some time with her new fiance before giving her the third degree. How about you and I discuss this in private." Skye clapped her hands together. "Sounds like a great idea, Mother. You can fill in the gaps for him." Skye escaped, happy to have gotten out of that conversation for the time being.

Skye walked over to the table and grabbed a slice of pizza. Edward was standing there. "Please reconsider marrying this criminal. I really don't want him this closely associated with the family." Skye raised one eyebrow. "You mean more than he already is?" Edward waved his hand. "That's my point. It would be just one more nail in the coffin of this family's credibility. " Skye snorted. "You didn't think that was a problem when you enlisted Sonny's help to get rid of Janine last year." Edward pointed at her. "I recall that you were furious with me for involving Sonny in our affairs, so to speak. You hated his guts for so long, and now you want to marry him?" Skye smiled sweetly. "Its true I hated him, but that was before I realized he was such a prince." Ned was standing nearby and overheard. "Yeah, the Prince of Darkness." Edward put his hand on Ned's arm. "Can't you do something about this?" Ned shrugged. "Why should I? Like I said before, they will be each other's worst nightmare. Just let it ride, and we will be rid of both of them permanently." Edward shook his head sadly. "I wish I had your confidence."

The discussion between Alan and Rae suddenly got louder. "I am not letting my daughter marry a criminal, I don't care how many times he's saved her life!" Rae folded her arms. "Alan, regardless of how you or I feel, she is going to do what she wants and she needs your support!" Alan pointed at Sonny. "You don't know this man like I do, Rae. He has caused nothing but trouble for this family almost from the moment he hit town. I do not want him becoming my son-in-law!" Rae threw up her hands. "And you're not giving Skye one bit of credit for being an intelligent, discerning woman who can make her own decisions!" Monica looked vastly amused. Skye finally had enough. "That's it! I have had it! I am going back to my townhouse. Anyone interested in playing nice can join me. The rest of you can stay here and rot for all I care." Skye started to gather up her purse. Sonny's lips twitched. Rae and John looked relieved. AJ stood up. "Courtney and I are coming." Emily looked crestfallen. "Oh! Can I come too?" AJ smiled. "Sure!"

Lila waved her hand. "Oh no! No, please! Not all my grandchildren are leaving, are they?" Skye felt bad. "AJ, Emily, why don't you guys stay here for grandmother's sake." Lila shook her head. "No, Skye, I want you to stay too." Skye's shoulders slumped. "My presence here is just making everyone crazy. I want you all to have a more peaceful Thanksgiving." Alan sighed and came over. "Skye, if you think that you are the only reason we argue on Thanksgiving, you are sorely mistaken. You just happen to be a convenient subject. Please stay. I'm sure we'll find something else to bicker about in no time." Skye paused for a moment, then shrugged. "Okay, but only because grandmother asked." Rae and John came over. "Darling, we would love to stay too, but John and I haven't seen each other in awhile. We're heading over to the Grille and have dinner there. I hope you don't mind?" Skye smiled and shook her head. "Go. Escape while you can. I'll see you later." Rae nodded, relieved, and they left. Sonny came over. "Skye, I'm going over to see Mike for awhile, then we're heading over to Bobbie Spencer's place later, around 7. I'd like you to come." Skye smiled hesitantly. "Of course I'll be there." Sonny looked over at AJ and Courtney. "Carly and Jax will be there with Michael. Can we expect you?" Hiding his surprise, AJ nodded. Sonny walked out the door.

Skye stared after him, amazed at all that had taken place in just the last half hour. She certainly had her share of impulsive moments, but she rarely acted on anything without thinking it through. This time, though, she was tired of second guessing herself. She didn't want to be plagued by doubts and fears, by the need to be in control. She knew that this was right. She knew that he was the one. She had felt the connection to him the first moment they met. Which was why she took it so hard when he rejected her so emphatically. People looked down on her and called her names all the time and she didn't give a damn. But his words had struck her to the core. She never questioned it, just allowed her hate for him to grow, fueled by AJ's desire for revenge. It was rather amusing when she thought about it in hindsight. Mostly when she was around people she loathed, she remained cool as ice. Only when she was extremely provoked did she get flustered. However, whenever Sonny entered the room, she either started out yelling or took about 10 seconds to completely lose it.

Jax had said some nasty things on a number of occasions, and she had reacted in a number of ways. First she ignored it because she was bent on getting his help in taking ELQ from Edward. Then in Louisiana she broke down crying. But that weekend she had been particularly vulnerable. It was right after the debacle of her first Quartermaine Thanksgiving, and she was feeling like nothing was going right. That was why she had been completely disarmed when Jax was so nice to her the next day. It didn't take long for her to fall in love with him. He was every woman's fantasy come true. The knight in shining armor, coming to rescue her from her dragons.

Unfortunately, that was all she had ever seen in Jax – a rescuer. She was so desperate for him to love her back, that she abused his desire to help damsels in distress – by lying to him over and over. While it was understandable that she would want him to love her, she almost lost his friendship because of it. In a way she was relieved that he had fallen in love with Carly, instead. Skye had not liked the person she became in order to try and keep him, and realized that she would not have respected him if he fell for the act. With Sonny she had been much more real, more herself. Sure, being herself often involved scheming, lying, blackmail, and mind games. But at least, with a few exceptions, they knew where the other stood. For the most part their feelings were always clear: lust, hate, compassion, distrust, respect, anger, love.

Skye's reverie was broken when she felt a hand on her arm. She looked to her side and saw AJ standing there. "Hey, sis. That's quite a serious look on your face. Do you regret saying yes to Sonny's proposal?" Skye smiled and shook her head. "On the contrary, I'm thinking that this may be the best decision I ever made." AJ raised one eyebrow. "I'll save my lecture for later. I'd like to hear what led you to that conclusion." Skye sighed and motioned him over to a secluded corner. She cleared her throat and looked at AJ earnestly. "Every action I take is usually planned and thought out well in advance. Everything I do is motivated by the desire to be in control, to avoid being hurt. For example, when I fell in love with Jax, my feelings were a total roller coaster. Whenever he complimented me, or showed that he was attracted to me, I'd be suspicious or bolt for the door. Then later I would be back, wanting more and doing whatever it took to get it. I wanted what he had to offer, but I needed to be in control. If I wasn't calling the shots, I couldn't deal with it. I didn't want to be vulnerable to hurt." AJ nodded. "I'm with you so far."

Skye looked at the ceiling. "With Sonny, its like I don't care about control. I'm always reacting to him, and the plans for revenge were just an extention of that first ripple of emotion. I don't feel in control, and yet I don't feel vulnerable either. I'm just going with my gut, and not worried about getting hurt. Whether its walking into a restaurant full of mobsters in order to pick a fight with him or handing him the key to my house so he can take care of my cat. There have been a few times where my insecurities got the better of me, but for the most part, whenever I'm around him I feel like I am….well, to use a worn cliché…I'm flying blind. And it feels wonderful." When she had finished, AJ looked at her thoughtfully for a few minutes, and then nodded slowly. "Well, Skye, I can certainly understand. Being with Courtney is the most wonderful experience of my life. I live in fear that she will find out I was using her in the beginning, but being with her is so worth the risk. And since I can relate so well to your situation, I will refrain from paying you back for the many lectures you gave me about her. I wish you well." Skye grinned and hugged him. "That means so much to me, AJ."