Sarah- Please don't worry about not giving me feedback, it is important that you don't feel obligated to do so but rather feel like doing it because you have something to say. Besides, I'm aware of what a hectic time of year this can be, what with all the holidays and whatnot. Still, your praise is appreciated.

Story-

Father and son had their brown eyes meld with one another once more. Sonny's were full of questions, not knowing what his boy had just accused him of. Damian's were full of pain and disgust, now knowing the truth about a large part of his father's life. One that he had asked about, yet Sonny couldn't find it in him to speak the truth. Damian sneered at his father, "I cannot believe you, you lied to me!"

Sonny saw the tape recorder in Damian's hand, "What is that?"

"A tape recorder that tells must just the kind of person you are."

Sonny put out his hand, "Let me see it."

"Why? I've already played the tape. You can't back up and erase this from my memory, Sonny!"

"Just let me see the tape recorder!" Sonny demanded.

"Fine." Damian handed the device to Sonny, "Play it if you need to know why I think you're nothing more than a lying criminal!"

"Where'd you get this?" There was no need to play the tape back. Damian knew now.

"It was delivered to me."

"By whom?"

"Don't try and change the subject, Sonny!" Damian yelled, "It doesn't matter who delivered it, he looked like some delivery guy. What matters is what was inside that tape. You're a mobster. You order people to their deaths without remorse."

"I'm not doing that anymore!" Sonny defended himself.

"Save it!" Damian snapped back, "You don't have any credibility with me anymore. I asked you why they hated you so much. Why the police have a mad- on for making sure that you go to jail for a long time. What did you tell me? Some half-truth about them being jealous because you're successful and they're not. Yeah, I'm sure that it's true, but at least they earn their money legally."

"What did you expect me to do?" Sonny asked, "Tell you, my son who I've just barely begun to know, that I'm a high powered criminal overlord? What would have been easier for you to accept, Damian? The semi-truth that I gave you or the full truth about my past? I didn't want to make you leave."

"I wouldn't have, Sonny," Damian answered, "I can take a lot of things in life. But I cannot take my father lying to me about something like that. I was honest with you, why couldn't you extend the same gesture to me? You say that you didn't want to make me leave with the truth, but now I have to leave because of your lie."

"You're not leaving!" Sonny stated.

"I can't stay here anymore. Maybe living under this cloud of false security might work for you and Carly, and I certainly hope it works for Michael and Morgan, but I am not that type of person. I can't sit around and pretend that everything is fine and dandy when there's something that big looming over me. I'm going back to the apartment." He was already at the doorway to his room when he looked back, "Don't try and stop me."

He rushed into the room and opened the dresser, piling his clothes into his bag. He'd find some way to get everything in one trip, he certainly didn't want to come back. Weighted down with all of his belongings he walked back into the living room and pushed past his father. Sonny made no intention of stopping him. Damian opened the door, "I really wish things could have been different. But I guess your life will always make you lie about something."

The door closed and Sonny waited a few moments, listening for the elevator to open. When he heard it shut he knew that there was nothing he could do. He pounded his fist against the door hard before leaning his head on it. He had done it, he had ruined his relationship with one of his children the same way that Mike had done it with him. He had failed in one of the most important goals he had ever set in life. He felt the cold plastic of the tape recorder in his hand. His thumb went for the play button as he listened in on the information it held. The first voice he heard was Lorenzo's. He should have known that he would do something like this. Lorenzo had already attempted to steal his wife away from him and failed. Now he was after his son, and it looked like he had succeeded. Sonny walked over to the counter and pulled out the dresser that held the gun, the same one that shot Carly. The one he swore he would never use again. Alcazar had already caused so much pain in his life, and it didn't look like he was going to be stopping anytime soon. Not unless someone forced him to stop. Permanently.

Courtney walked in and saw her brother staring at the gun. "Sonny, my God, what are you doing?"

Sonny's hand went for the gun, "I'm going to do something I should have done a long time ago. I'm going to make sure that Alcazar can't hurt my family or anyone else ever again."

Courtney grabbed his wrist, "Sonny, no! You won, Carly still loves you and she doesn't care about him. If you murder this man we both know that the PCPD are going to be all over you. What if you go to jail? What if you never get out and Morgan grows up without his father?"

"Damian turned out fine without me," Sonny pointed out, "Maybe it'd be better if I just stayed out of my children's lives. I only seem to hurt them."

Courtney was in shock, "What makes you say that?"

"He's gone, Courtney. Damian found out about my past and he left."

"How did he find out?"

"Alcazar," Sonny responded, his voice heavy with rage.

"Sonny, Alcazar is a liar and a criminal."

"So am I."

"Stop that!" Courtney demanded, "You're not like him! You are a good person with a strong sense of morality. You love your wife and you love your sons. Alcazar doesn't know anything other than how to be a selfish stalker. Most importantly, Sonny, you're not the type of person that will throw your life away just to kill someone." She reached over and pushed in the drawer with the gun back inside, shielding it from view.

Sonny let her put it away, keep it out of his sight. "I'm not the one that you need to convince. Damian is."

Courtney nodded, "If that's what it takes to keep you happy I will."

"Courtney, stop." Sonny shook his head, "I can't expect you to do my work for me. Besides, I don't want to push him away even further. The Quartermaine's tried to keep Jason around and look where it got them. I can't live with my son hating me even more than he does right now. Please, promise me that you won't go and talk to him."

Courtney was quiet. She wanted to help mend the fence between her brother and her nephew. She'd hate for history to repeat itself like it had between him and their father. She couldn't survive that, and she knew for a fact that Sonny could not deal with being hated. It would eat him up inside, it would kill him. "I won't talk to him today, I promise."

"I'd really like to be alone right now, Courtney."

"Of course," She left the penthouse and walked across the hall to her home.

Kelly's-

Damian walked into the building and looked at the counter. Elizabeth wasn't there, he was actually glad that she wasn't. He didn't feel like talking to anyone right now. He walked up the stairs and turned to his room, putting the key in the lock. The door sprung open and Damian looked inside the room that he foolishly thought he would never have to use again. He had let his hopes get high and they had been crushed. He launched his stuff onto the bed in a huff. He was angry. Angry at himself. Angry at his father. Angry at the world. He plopped himself onto the bed face first. Sleep wouldn't help, but it was better than being awake.

Hours Later, Corinthos Household-

Carly returned from a day of festive shopping with bags in tow. She wanted to show Sonny the special clothes that she had gotten just for the two of them. Of course, such displays would have to wait until later that night. She could wait for it, though. It gave her something too look forward to. She saw her husband on the couch and she knew the look on his face. Sonny was brooding. "Sonny, I'm home."

"You got what you wanted," Sonny muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"I said you got what you wanted, Carly!" Sonny looked over at her, "Damian moved out, back to the apartments above Kelly's."

"Oh, Sonny," She put her bags down and rushed over to him, "I'm so sorry."

"Are you, Carly? Are you really?"

She sat next to him and frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. You never liked him, you made it very obvious that you didn't want him around. Now he's gone and he might not ever come back. You won, Carly."

Carly shook her head, "No, I didn't win, Sonny. I don't like Damian, I'll never deny that I do not trust him. But I told you that I wanted you to be happy, and now you're not. Sonny, seeing you hurting makes me hurt, too."

"It's Alcazar's fault."

"What?"

"He taped a conversation that we had and delivered it here. Damian got the package and played the message. He found out who I was, Carly. He found out about the business, about what I did in the past. He found out that I lied to him when he asked me the same question after Kyle had died."

"What would Lorenzo have to gain from doing that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Sonny stated, "He knows that I want to be on good terms with my son, and he knows that I'll have trouble dealing with Damian's hating me. Alcazar had everything to gain and nothing to lose from this."

"We'll manage, Sonny," Carly comforted him as best as she could, "Somehow we'll manage."

"I haven't even told Michael yet. He's going to be so sad."

"Michael's just a little boy," Carly said, "He'll get over it somehow."

"I'm not so sure about that," Sonny placed his hand over his head. He just wanted to forget everything that had happened.

Damian's Apartment-

The cell phone made its melodic ring. Damian opened his eyes and looked at the phone on the counter. It said 'Undisclosed Number'. He had Sonny's cell and home, so it wasn't his father trying to call and patch things up. Damian looked at the time, it was past 8. He was asleep for a good three hours. The phone continued to ring, Damian picked it up, "Hello?"

"Damian, it's me, Maxie."

"Hi, Maxie."

"Listen," Maxie sat on her bed at home, "I took your advice and I continued to read the book, it's gotten a lot better."

"I'm glad."

"Damian? Is everything okay?" She could sense that there was a tinge of depression in his voice.

"No, it isn't."

Maxie couldn't just let him sulk alone. He had been there for her when she needed it. The least she could do was return the favor. "You want to meet somewhere? I can't tell Mac that I'm going to Sonny Corinthos's house, he wouldn't like that very much."

"I'm not living there anymore, Maxie."

"Oh," Maxie was beginning to piece things together, "Where are you? Do you need a place to stay?"

"No, but thank you. I have an apartment at Kelly's."

"I'll be right over."

"Maxie," Damian started, "You don't have to come if you don't want to."

"But I do want to. Don't go anywhere!" Maxie hung up the phone and put her shoes on.