Notes: Because even the better version of word basically stopped giving me
spelling pointers, I've switched everything that I haven't posted (starting
with this) to a second document, so the page count will be substantially
lower now than it was for the other chapters. Just a fair warning. And,
this is chapter 50, let us celebrate! I really didn't intend for this
chapter to be chapter 50, but I guess I just got lucky.
Story-
General Hospital-
Courtney would have made it to the hospital before Sonny and Carly had she not had her less than pleasant altercation with Lorenzo. As it was now, though, they walked in at the same time, in separate elevators. Carly smiled as she turned over and saw her best friend, "It's like we're in synch or something."
"Michael will be happy to see us all," Sonny said, his arm wrapped around Carly's waist. "We shouldn't keep him waiting too long."
"Are you implying that I took too long to get ready, Sonny?" Carly asked jokingly.
"Implying? I'll flat out say it, you took forever."
"You knew what you were getting into when you married me, baby."
"An over-inflated water bill was not part of the deal," Sonny grinned. "Do you realize that with the money you spend on your showers alone I could feed an entire country of starving babies?"
Carly faked being flabbergasted, "Liar!"
"You want to see the bill?"
Courtney giggled. As odd as the topic was, it was good to see them having a bout of playful banter between one another. It had been nothing but yelling and anger earlier. It wasn't what they needed, even if Michael wasn't feeling sick, they needed to fix whatever problems they were having and get over it. From what she saw in front of her eyes at that moment, it looked like they were already on their way. "I haven't seen the two of you acting like this in some time."
"We worked through the problems we were having, for the most part," Sonny said.
"Everything's better," Carly's face lost the gleam that it had. "Well, almost everything." She thought of Michael and him being in the hospital.
"He'll get better soon enough," Courtney said confidently.
"She's right. In the meantime, let's go see him." Sonny walked with Carly down the hallway as Courtney followed behind. She wanted Jason to be there with her, but knew that it was asking too much, he was still watching Morgan, after all.
Michael's Room-
Bobbie had left for a few minutes. Much like Damian, she had her fair share of hospital anxiety. Being in the building for excess hours at a time could indeed prove maddening, even to a seasoned nurse like Bobbie. She wasn't going too far away with Michael still checked in, but she did need some air. Maxie was with Damian, hold his hand as he stood and she sat in the chair. Occasionally her eyes would shift and look at the little boy in the bed, the reason why they were there. But he wasn't the reason they were together, was he? "Damian?"
Damian looked down at her, "Yeah?"
"If he wasn't in the hospital, do you think we would have said the things that we said?"
Damian shrugged his shoulders, "I can't give you an answer to that and have it be certain, Maxie. But, I will tell you that I believe in fate, and I do believe that we were supposed to meet. I waited twenty one years to fall in love, and I'm glad it was with you."
"You're just saying that," Maxie grinned.
"If I was going to attempt impressing you with my romantic ways, don't you think I would have done so in a less verbose manner?" Damian asked, grinning.
"I'm not Georgie," Maxie said. "You need to tell me things in English, not that smart talk."
"We would have realized how we felt for each other, one way or another, Maxie. I really do think that."
She smiled, "I do, too."
The door opened as the three adults walked into the room, smiles on their faces as they hoped to see Michael in better spirits than the night before. He was asleep, so they couldn't be too sure. Sonny looked over at Maxie, "Hello, Maxie."
"Hello," Maxie said a bit uneasily. Sonny Corinthos had an aura about him that couldn't be anything but intimidating. "I hope you don't mind that I'm here."
"I asked her to stay with me," Damian was quick to defend Maxie. He wasn't going to let them think that she forced herself on him, because it wasn't true.
"No, it's fine," Sonny said. "I'm glad that Damian had a friend to stay with him while he watched over Michael. I know it must have been hard staying over night with nothing else to do."
"Check the garbage can for the stacks of crosswords, Sonny," Damian replied smugly. "I was a busy boy last night."
"Nothing happened to him overnight, did it?" Courtney asked.
Damian shook his head, "He slept, a lot. He woke up and ate some food that Bobbie brought him and then he went back to bed." Damian turned to Maxie once more, "We should give them some time alone with Michael."
Maxie was quick to agree, if only to get away from Sonny's penetrating stare. It was then that she realized how nervous she was about being around Sonny, and how she would have to adjust, being that she was in love with his son. She hoped it would work out. "Let's go."
They left, Courtney smiled at Damian, she knew what was going on, and she was happy for him, and for Maxie as well. She had gotten the short end of the stick too many times before, she deserved someone that could treat her well. She knew Damian would.
Carly turned to Sonny, "I'll be right back." She followed the two out of the room, leaving Sonny and Courtney with a look of questioning on their faces. "Wait!" She called out as she watched them walking away.
Damian and Maxie turned around. Damian's eyebrow went up, "You need something, Carly?"
"Maxie," Carly started, "Could you leave the two of us alone for a few minutes?"
"Yeah, sure." She turned to Damian, "I'll wait for you in the hallway."
Damian nodded an affirmation, his eyes still fixated on Carly. What did she want. "Okay, Carly, we're alone. What do you want?"
"This isn't easy for me," She said. "But I need to tell you that I do appreciate how you watched over Michael last night."
"You found out?"
"Sonny told me."
"He shouldn't have," Damian replied.
"Why not?" Carly asked.
"Because you're thanking me not out of the goodness of your heart, but because you feel that you have to in order to keep your conscience from eating you up. You can't hide it from me, Carly, I know that you do not enjoy having me around anyone in this family."
"You're absolutely right," Carly agreed. "But those are my feelings, and I am entitled to feel however the hell I want about anything. That doesn't mean that everyone else can't have their own feelings about you as well. Michael loves you, I don't understand why, but he does. I see how important you are too him, and I can't deny it. So, with that said, thank you."
"You're welcome," Damian smugly replied. "If you'll excuse me."
"I'm not done yet, Damian," Carly said. "You need to give Sonny another chance. He really didn't mean to hurt you, he was only trying to protect you."
"I can protect myself, Carly."
"Not from everything."
"Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to push my father and me together when you were only trying to keep us apart a few days ago?"
"He cares about you, and I love him," Carly replied. "When he hurts, so do I. He's hurting right now, and you're the main reason that he is."
"I can't just forgive what he did, Carly. I cannot ignore his lies."
"You're a lot like him in that way, you know," Carly commented. "Sonny hates it when people lie to him, it's the easiest way to break the bond of trust between Sonny and whoever it was that lied. You know why you share that? Because you're blood related, he's a part of you and you're a part of him. You can't erase that, no matter how hard you try."
"Or how hard you try," Damian retorted bluntly.
"I suppose I deserved that."
"That and a whole lot more," Damian added. "But this isn't the place for us to have another one of our sparing matches, is it?"
"No, it isn't."
Inside of the room Michael's eyes were closed, but his mind was active. It was always active. He dreamt, and they weren't pleasant dreams. They weren't spiders, either. They were a fear much worse than that of spiders. Spiders could only hurt you for a while, the wound would heal and everything would be okay once again in time. No, his nightmare was something that couldn't be repaired. The severed family bond. He saw his mother and his brother at each other's throats, always arguing, never doing anything else, never being friends. Michael would watch and try his hardest to smooth things over, but it wouldn't work. No matter how hard he tried, it would never work. He saw Damian leaving and never coming back, breaking the promise that he made to always be there because he couldn't stand being around Carly. It was his worst fear. Michael moaned in his sleep as he started to toss and turn. It was slow at first, but it quickly hastened itself.
Sonny watched his son obviously going through something traumatic, "Courtney, get Carly in here, now!" He grabbed Michael's hand, "Buddy, don't worry, daddy's here with you!"
Courtney opened the door and interrupted the talk that Damian and Carly were having, "Michael's acting strangely."
"What's wrong?" Carly asked.
"I don't know, just come in, both of you!" They listened to her without a second thought. Michael was more important to them both than their dislike for each other.
"Sonny!" Carly cried. "What's going to happen?"
"I don't know."
"Should we get a doctor?" Courtney was near the door in case the answer was yes.
"He's having a nightmare," Damian said. "Try talking to him, all of you. He'll respond to our voices if he can hear them."
"Are you sure?" Sonny asked.
"Not entirely, but I remember reading about it in psychology. It should work."
They did as they were told, all of them saying Michael's name over and over again. Telling him that everything was going to be fine if he just woke up. Michael heard them, and their voices helped him battle the dream that was hurting him. It shattered inside his head. He opened his eyes slowly and saw everyone looking at him. Michael smiled. He spoke, but it was a weak tone, "You're all here. All of you."
Carly and Courtney felt the tears fall down their cheeks, they didn't care at all. They were so happy, Michael was going to be all right. Carly hugged her son, "We're always going to be here for you, baby."
5
Story-
General Hospital-
Courtney would have made it to the hospital before Sonny and Carly had she not had her less than pleasant altercation with Lorenzo. As it was now, though, they walked in at the same time, in separate elevators. Carly smiled as she turned over and saw her best friend, "It's like we're in synch or something."
"Michael will be happy to see us all," Sonny said, his arm wrapped around Carly's waist. "We shouldn't keep him waiting too long."
"Are you implying that I took too long to get ready, Sonny?" Carly asked jokingly.
"Implying? I'll flat out say it, you took forever."
"You knew what you were getting into when you married me, baby."
"An over-inflated water bill was not part of the deal," Sonny grinned. "Do you realize that with the money you spend on your showers alone I could feed an entire country of starving babies?"
Carly faked being flabbergasted, "Liar!"
"You want to see the bill?"
Courtney giggled. As odd as the topic was, it was good to see them having a bout of playful banter between one another. It had been nothing but yelling and anger earlier. It wasn't what they needed, even if Michael wasn't feeling sick, they needed to fix whatever problems they were having and get over it. From what she saw in front of her eyes at that moment, it looked like they were already on their way. "I haven't seen the two of you acting like this in some time."
"We worked through the problems we were having, for the most part," Sonny said.
"Everything's better," Carly's face lost the gleam that it had. "Well, almost everything." She thought of Michael and him being in the hospital.
"He'll get better soon enough," Courtney said confidently.
"She's right. In the meantime, let's go see him." Sonny walked with Carly down the hallway as Courtney followed behind. She wanted Jason to be there with her, but knew that it was asking too much, he was still watching Morgan, after all.
Michael's Room-
Bobbie had left for a few minutes. Much like Damian, she had her fair share of hospital anxiety. Being in the building for excess hours at a time could indeed prove maddening, even to a seasoned nurse like Bobbie. She wasn't going too far away with Michael still checked in, but she did need some air. Maxie was with Damian, hold his hand as he stood and she sat in the chair. Occasionally her eyes would shift and look at the little boy in the bed, the reason why they were there. But he wasn't the reason they were together, was he? "Damian?"
Damian looked down at her, "Yeah?"
"If he wasn't in the hospital, do you think we would have said the things that we said?"
Damian shrugged his shoulders, "I can't give you an answer to that and have it be certain, Maxie. But, I will tell you that I believe in fate, and I do believe that we were supposed to meet. I waited twenty one years to fall in love, and I'm glad it was with you."
"You're just saying that," Maxie grinned.
"If I was going to attempt impressing you with my romantic ways, don't you think I would have done so in a less verbose manner?" Damian asked, grinning.
"I'm not Georgie," Maxie said. "You need to tell me things in English, not that smart talk."
"We would have realized how we felt for each other, one way or another, Maxie. I really do think that."
She smiled, "I do, too."
The door opened as the three adults walked into the room, smiles on their faces as they hoped to see Michael in better spirits than the night before. He was asleep, so they couldn't be too sure. Sonny looked over at Maxie, "Hello, Maxie."
"Hello," Maxie said a bit uneasily. Sonny Corinthos had an aura about him that couldn't be anything but intimidating. "I hope you don't mind that I'm here."
"I asked her to stay with me," Damian was quick to defend Maxie. He wasn't going to let them think that she forced herself on him, because it wasn't true.
"No, it's fine," Sonny said. "I'm glad that Damian had a friend to stay with him while he watched over Michael. I know it must have been hard staying over night with nothing else to do."
"Check the garbage can for the stacks of crosswords, Sonny," Damian replied smugly. "I was a busy boy last night."
"Nothing happened to him overnight, did it?" Courtney asked.
Damian shook his head, "He slept, a lot. He woke up and ate some food that Bobbie brought him and then he went back to bed." Damian turned to Maxie once more, "We should give them some time alone with Michael."
Maxie was quick to agree, if only to get away from Sonny's penetrating stare. It was then that she realized how nervous she was about being around Sonny, and how she would have to adjust, being that she was in love with his son. She hoped it would work out. "Let's go."
They left, Courtney smiled at Damian, she knew what was going on, and she was happy for him, and for Maxie as well. She had gotten the short end of the stick too many times before, she deserved someone that could treat her well. She knew Damian would.
Carly turned to Sonny, "I'll be right back." She followed the two out of the room, leaving Sonny and Courtney with a look of questioning on their faces. "Wait!" She called out as she watched them walking away.
Damian and Maxie turned around. Damian's eyebrow went up, "You need something, Carly?"
"Maxie," Carly started, "Could you leave the two of us alone for a few minutes?"
"Yeah, sure." She turned to Damian, "I'll wait for you in the hallway."
Damian nodded an affirmation, his eyes still fixated on Carly. What did she want. "Okay, Carly, we're alone. What do you want?"
"This isn't easy for me," She said. "But I need to tell you that I do appreciate how you watched over Michael last night."
"You found out?"
"Sonny told me."
"He shouldn't have," Damian replied.
"Why not?" Carly asked.
"Because you're thanking me not out of the goodness of your heart, but because you feel that you have to in order to keep your conscience from eating you up. You can't hide it from me, Carly, I know that you do not enjoy having me around anyone in this family."
"You're absolutely right," Carly agreed. "But those are my feelings, and I am entitled to feel however the hell I want about anything. That doesn't mean that everyone else can't have their own feelings about you as well. Michael loves you, I don't understand why, but he does. I see how important you are too him, and I can't deny it. So, with that said, thank you."
"You're welcome," Damian smugly replied. "If you'll excuse me."
"I'm not done yet, Damian," Carly said. "You need to give Sonny another chance. He really didn't mean to hurt you, he was only trying to protect you."
"I can protect myself, Carly."
"Not from everything."
"Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to push my father and me together when you were only trying to keep us apart a few days ago?"
"He cares about you, and I love him," Carly replied. "When he hurts, so do I. He's hurting right now, and you're the main reason that he is."
"I can't just forgive what he did, Carly. I cannot ignore his lies."
"You're a lot like him in that way, you know," Carly commented. "Sonny hates it when people lie to him, it's the easiest way to break the bond of trust between Sonny and whoever it was that lied. You know why you share that? Because you're blood related, he's a part of you and you're a part of him. You can't erase that, no matter how hard you try."
"Or how hard you try," Damian retorted bluntly.
"I suppose I deserved that."
"That and a whole lot more," Damian added. "But this isn't the place for us to have another one of our sparing matches, is it?"
"No, it isn't."
Inside of the room Michael's eyes were closed, but his mind was active. It was always active. He dreamt, and they weren't pleasant dreams. They weren't spiders, either. They were a fear much worse than that of spiders. Spiders could only hurt you for a while, the wound would heal and everything would be okay once again in time. No, his nightmare was something that couldn't be repaired. The severed family bond. He saw his mother and his brother at each other's throats, always arguing, never doing anything else, never being friends. Michael would watch and try his hardest to smooth things over, but it wouldn't work. No matter how hard he tried, it would never work. He saw Damian leaving and never coming back, breaking the promise that he made to always be there because he couldn't stand being around Carly. It was his worst fear. Michael moaned in his sleep as he started to toss and turn. It was slow at first, but it quickly hastened itself.
Sonny watched his son obviously going through something traumatic, "Courtney, get Carly in here, now!" He grabbed Michael's hand, "Buddy, don't worry, daddy's here with you!"
Courtney opened the door and interrupted the talk that Damian and Carly were having, "Michael's acting strangely."
"What's wrong?" Carly asked.
"I don't know, just come in, both of you!" They listened to her without a second thought. Michael was more important to them both than their dislike for each other.
"Sonny!" Carly cried. "What's going to happen?"
"I don't know."
"Should we get a doctor?" Courtney was near the door in case the answer was yes.
"He's having a nightmare," Damian said. "Try talking to him, all of you. He'll respond to our voices if he can hear them."
"Are you sure?" Sonny asked.
"Not entirely, but I remember reading about it in psychology. It should work."
They did as they were told, all of them saying Michael's name over and over again. Telling him that everything was going to be fine if he just woke up. Michael heard them, and their voices helped him battle the dream that was hurting him. It shattered inside his head. He opened his eyes slowly and saw everyone looking at him. Michael smiled. He spoke, but it was a weak tone, "You're all here. All of you."
Carly and Courtney felt the tears fall down their cheeks, they didn't care at all. They were so happy, Michael was going to be all right. Carly hugged her son, "We're always going to be here for you, baby."
5