Joy- Let me tell you that your name sums up what I felt when I saw someone
had reviewed the story again! 8 days and not a comment from anyone, I was
starting to feel like no one cared. Insecure, me? You bet. Anywho, I really
hope that you didn't read this all in one sitting, because it's like 250
pages, and I really wouldn't want someone to have to sit through all of
that just within the span of a few hours. If you did, I am really sorry. I
seriously did not anticipate that the story would be this long, although it
is a pleasant surprise knowing that I can keep something going for such an
extended period of time. It's probably like 3/4ths of the way done, and
that's a very rough estimate. Thank you for praising me as a writer. I do
try very hard to be the best that I can be when it comes to writing, and
tackling this was something that I looked on as a true challenge, mostly
because of my very limited knowledge of the world that these characters
live in. People that have been writing for several years would have a much
better chance of doing things the way that they should be done than someone
who barely had half a year watching the show with any sense of regularity,
but as I've been told, I'm doing pretty good with the characterization and
the backstory, and for that I'm very thankful. I will say this, though, and
I don't think I'm being mean at all. I enjoy writing my story and knowing
what comes out of my head more than I do with most of what is happening on
the soap at the moment. That's not to say that I'm a better writer at the
characters than those that actually get paid to do it, I just find it more
entertaining and less hokey. After all, I don't have people running around
looking for treasure and doing flashbacks to the times when they looked
like pirates, right? Plus, GH is seriously trying to destroy every single
good relationship that is on the show at the same time. I realize that
soaps are supposed to be about the ups and downs that happen to the
characters that inhabit the city, but they're dissolving GQ, S/C, and to a
lesser extent Journey all at the same time while trying to shove NEm down
our throats, and I for one don't much like it. Even though I've got plenty
of S/C conflict in here, and still more coming up, at least it's the only
relationship that is teetering, and even then it won't be destroyed
completely. Of course, none of us believe that the show will end S/C for
good, because that would be stupid. One of the things that I feared when it
came to creating Damian was that people wouldn't like him. I know how
original characters go, they're pretty much used as a ploy for the writer
to do something that they want to place themselves into the story for, and
while that is partially true for Damian (He is basically a character that I
would love to play in the off chance that I could act and get on the show,
and in a lot of ways is an extension of myself as a person) I certainly
don't go to the levels that some of the less shameless people do. I try and
keep Damian as true to the other characters as I possibly can, and I'm
pleased that no one has said that they hate him. Of course, these people
could just be keeping quiet, although I would like to know that some people
have a problem with him and why they do. I agree that such a character
would be good for the show, because it would give Sonny the humanity that
he's very quickly losing, not to mention throwing in an actual MINORITY on
the show, giving us more than just the token African-American, who isn't
even part of the core cast to begin with. I have no idea what ethnicity
Sonny is, but even if he is a minority he really doesn't show it. I've made
sure that Damian shows at least part of his heritage, mostly by calling his
grandparents names that people of Hispanic descent would call their
grandparents. It's a very small thing, but considerable to who I want him
to be as a character. Plus, the Maxie factor is indeed true. If they kill
her in the fire, I will not be pleased. As for an actor, again, outside of
the sheer vanity that comes with casting myself, I could see Jay Hernandez
as Damian, yes. I haven't really watched Crazy Beautiful, but what I did
see was certainly not something I didn't like. Another possibility would be
that guy who played the lead role in the short lived Skin, I don't recall
his name, but he looks like he could be the Damian type. Thank you so much
for reading and reviewing, any support makes me a very happy person. Sorry
I rambled, but apparently I had a lot more to say than I thought.
With that taken care of it's time for the story-
Corninthos Household-
Although the house was not decorated with flashing signs that proudly displayed 'Welcome Home, Michael,' the air that radiated from the home was giving that particular vibe off strongly enough that the signs were not needed. Everyone was happy to see Michael back where he belonged.
"I can't believe it's only been a day," Michael said as Sonny placed him down.
"It felt like so much longer," Carly knelt down and hugged her son. "So much longer."
Michael grabbed her tightly, "Mommy, I'm sorry I scared you. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I shouldn't have been so mean about everything. It wasn't fair to you."
"You don't need to apologize for anything, baby. What happened wasn't your fault, and I don't ever want you thinking that it was. You didn't do anything wrong. You understand that, don't you?"
"I do now," Michael told her. "You and daddy have fights sometimes, but you still love each other and you still love me and Morgan. Just because Damian isn't here doesn't mean that he doesn't care about us. Right?"
Carly nodded, "Exactly."
Jason walked down the stairs, holding Morgan in his arms. Jason looked at the baby, "See, I told you that he was going to come home today."
Michael turned around, "Uncle Jason!"
Courtney quickly took Morgan in her arms so that Jason could prepare himself for Michael's charge. He was strong enough to hold Michael with no problem, but holding both Michael and Morgan was certainly out of the question. The last thing they needed was another trip to the hospital. Jason grabbed Michael in his arms, "You know better than to worry all of us like that."
"I didn't mean to."
"I know you didn't, buddy."
"You mad at me?" Michael asked lightly.
"Of course not."
Sonny called out to the boy, "Hey, Mike, how about you come with me to the kitchen and I make you whatever you want!"
"Can I help you make it, daddy?" Michael asked. "I promise I won't make a mess like last time."
Sonny grinned, "Even if you did, I wouldn't care. Come on."
Jason placed Michael down and the boy bolted to the kitchen with his father. Carly laughed and felt like everything that she had been worrying about for the last two days had been completely wiped away. "It's so great to see them talking again."
"We had a scare," Courtney said. "But we all knew that Michael was going to be okay. How could he not? He's a fighter."
"Just like his godparents," Carly wrapped her arms around them both and sobbed gently. "I really don't know what I'd do if I didn't have the two of you to help me with everything. Have I told you how much I love you?"
"Not lately," Courtney joked. "But you don't need to tell us anything, Carly. We help because we love you and we love the boys like they were our own children."
"We're just happy we could help a little," Jason added.
"You've helped more than a little, Jase," Carly said. "Why is it whenever I have a problem I can count on you to help me?"
"Carly, don't think about anything that will make you sad. Not right now. Now isn't the time for stuff like that. You're supposed to be happy, your son is fine and he's back home where he belongs." Jason looked into her eyes," Go be with your family." It was an order, but Jason always had to order Carly around at some point. He did it in a way that was more of a suggestion than anything, and that was why Carly was welcome to whatever Jason would tell her. She knew that she could trust him with the lives of herself and her children. It was a faith that was rock solid, even when the world seemed to crumble around them both.
"I'm going to go check on the boys," Carly said. "Hopefully I can keep them from making a mess of the kitchen." She grabbed Morgan from Courtney's arms, "You want to go see daddy cook, Morgan? Maybe you can get a few pointers and become a chef. Or at least learn how to do something more than make toast. You'd be a better cook than mommy if you could." Carly held Morgan in her grasp and walked away.
Courtney looked at Jason, "I know you went there last night."
Jason turned to her, "You were right. I realized that after you left. He needed to know that I was going to be there for him no matter what."
"Why didn't you stay?" Courtney asked. "I mean, the card was great, it let Michael know what you wanted him to know, but he would have loved you being there, even for a few minutes."
Jason shook his head, "I couldn't do it, Courtney. I couldn't stare into those eyes of his and not be able to give him some sort of answer. He wouldn't ask me what was wrong with him because he couldn't, but I know he'd be thinking about it and he'd look to me for what he was looking for. I had to make sure that I saw him when he was asleep, because if he wasn't, I would have been crushed. Going there was bad enough. When you've been in the hospital it's been hard, but it's been something that I could understand. With Michael we didn't have anything but a bunch of speculation. It reminded me too much of my accident, of what I lost."
"You still think about it, don't you?"
"How can I not?" Jason replied. "I was a different person when I was Jason Quartermaine. I've heard the stories, seen the home movies. I hate having such a large part of my life be nothing but haze. I wish I could make it come back."
Courtney hugged him, "If you could, would you leave us?"
"Why are you asking me this?"
She pulled away and looked at him, her eyes wide. "You said it yourself, Jason. Jason Quartermaine and Jason Morgan are two entirely different people. If you could remember who you were, you'd have to make a choice. The Quartermaine's wouldn't want to share you with anyone."
"I know," Jason said. "That's why, even if I could remember everything, I wouldn't go back to them. A part of me would be happy that Alan and Monica could look at me and not feel the regret that they have now when I see them. But the Quartermaine's don't let you act anything but the way that they want you to act. I've think I've always known that. When I see how I was I find myself wondering how I could act like that, and then I look around and know that it's because I was raised to be like that. You let me be who I am, even when you have problems with it. I need to feel that I'm not being controlled."
"I love you, Jason. And that love is unconditional."
Jason kissed Courtney, "Mine is, too."
Lorenzo's Home-
The phone rang as Lorenzo sat on the couch awaiting any news for the varied things that he was involved with at the moment. Of course, there was one matter that seemed to be the most important. As usual, it involved Carly, the woman of his dreams, however twisted those dreams may have been. He was pained because he knew that she was dealing with the problem of her child's illness. He had his best people searching the globe for doctors that could give them answers that he could give her. The easiest way to Carly's heart was through her children. If he could provide her with answers that Sonny could not it would be just another reason that he was a much better man for her than Sonny ever could be. "Yes?" He spoke into the reciever as he picked up the phone.
"Mr. Alcazar?" Lorenzo could tell from the voice that it was his contant at the hospital.
"Has there been an update on the condition of Michael Corinthos?"
"He has been checked out. The momentary inability to speak has been dealt with. Carly and Sonny took him home already."
"I see," Lorenzo said softly. "Thank you for the information. If he gets checked in again, please keep me informed." Lorenzo hung up the phone and sighed. The bigger part of himself was happy because with Michael no longer ill he knew that Carly would be in a better state of mind, but there was still the part of him that always wanted to be her knight in shining armor. He had a window and now it had closed without him taking the chance. There were still plenty of ways that he could gain her favor. He thought of them and smiled. A moment later he thought of the boy, of Damian. Already there was so much mistrust between father and son. He could easily manipulate that into his favor. After all, Damian had already came to him looking for answers. He placed more worth on Lorenzo's word than he did his own father's. Lorenzo could use that. But he knew that Damian wasn't an idiot. He hated Sonny's life, and knew that Alcazar had a similar way of handling things. Why would he turn away from one mobster only to go into the camp of another? Lorenzo doubted that Damian loathed his father that much. "You're a very complex piece of the gameboard, Mr. Zuniga. It will make you all the more fun to break down, I suppose." Lorenzo smiled as he walked out of his house, he had things to do.
With that taken care of it's time for the story-
Corninthos Household-
Although the house was not decorated with flashing signs that proudly displayed 'Welcome Home, Michael,' the air that radiated from the home was giving that particular vibe off strongly enough that the signs were not needed. Everyone was happy to see Michael back where he belonged.
"I can't believe it's only been a day," Michael said as Sonny placed him down.
"It felt like so much longer," Carly knelt down and hugged her son. "So much longer."
Michael grabbed her tightly, "Mommy, I'm sorry I scared you. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I shouldn't have been so mean about everything. It wasn't fair to you."
"You don't need to apologize for anything, baby. What happened wasn't your fault, and I don't ever want you thinking that it was. You didn't do anything wrong. You understand that, don't you?"
"I do now," Michael told her. "You and daddy have fights sometimes, but you still love each other and you still love me and Morgan. Just because Damian isn't here doesn't mean that he doesn't care about us. Right?"
Carly nodded, "Exactly."
Jason walked down the stairs, holding Morgan in his arms. Jason looked at the baby, "See, I told you that he was going to come home today."
Michael turned around, "Uncle Jason!"
Courtney quickly took Morgan in her arms so that Jason could prepare himself for Michael's charge. He was strong enough to hold Michael with no problem, but holding both Michael and Morgan was certainly out of the question. The last thing they needed was another trip to the hospital. Jason grabbed Michael in his arms, "You know better than to worry all of us like that."
"I didn't mean to."
"I know you didn't, buddy."
"You mad at me?" Michael asked lightly.
"Of course not."
Sonny called out to the boy, "Hey, Mike, how about you come with me to the kitchen and I make you whatever you want!"
"Can I help you make it, daddy?" Michael asked. "I promise I won't make a mess like last time."
Sonny grinned, "Even if you did, I wouldn't care. Come on."
Jason placed Michael down and the boy bolted to the kitchen with his father. Carly laughed and felt like everything that she had been worrying about for the last two days had been completely wiped away. "It's so great to see them talking again."
"We had a scare," Courtney said. "But we all knew that Michael was going to be okay. How could he not? He's a fighter."
"Just like his godparents," Carly wrapped her arms around them both and sobbed gently. "I really don't know what I'd do if I didn't have the two of you to help me with everything. Have I told you how much I love you?"
"Not lately," Courtney joked. "But you don't need to tell us anything, Carly. We help because we love you and we love the boys like they were our own children."
"We're just happy we could help a little," Jason added.
"You've helped more than a little, Jase," Carly said. "Why is it whenever I have a problem I can count on you to help me?"
"Carly, don't think about anything that will make you sad. Not right now. Now isn't the time for stuff like that. You're supposed to be happy, your son is fine and he's back home where he belongs." Jason looked into her eyes," Go be with your family." It was an order, but Jason always had to order Carly around at some point. He did it in a way that was more of a suggestion than anything, and that was why Carly was welcome to whatever Jason would tell her. She knew that she could trust him with the lives of herself and her children. It was a faith that was rock solid, even when the world seemed to crumble around them both.
"I'm going to go check on the boys," Carly said. "Hopefully I can keep them from making a mess of the kitchen." She grabbed Morgan from Courtney's arms, "You want to go see daddy cook, Morgan? Maybe you can get a few pointers and become a chef. Or at least learn how to do something more than make toast. You'd be a better cook than mommy if you could." Carly held Morgan in her grasp and walked away.
Courtney looked at Jason, "I know you went there last night."
Jason turned to her, "You were right. I realized that after you left. He needed to know that I was going to be there for him no matter what."
"Why didn't you stay?" Courtney asked. "I mean, the card was great, it let Michael know what you wanted him to know, but he would have loved you being there, even for a few minutes."
Jason shook his head, "I couldn't do it, Courtney. I couldn't stare into those eyes of his and not be able to give him some sort of answer. He wouldn't ask me what was wrong with him because he couldn't, but I know he'd be thinking about it and he'd look to me for what he was looking for. I had to make sure that I saw him when he was asleep, because if he wasn't, I would have been crushed. Going there was bad enough. When you've been in the hospital it's been hard, but it's been something that I could understand. With Michael we didn't have anything but a bunch of speculation. It reminded me too much of my accident, of what I lost."
"You still think about it, don't you?"
"How can I not?" Jason replied. "I was a different person when I was Jason Quartermaine. I've heard the stories, seen the home movies. I hate having such a large part of my life be nothing but haze. I wish I could make it come back."
Courtney hugged him, "If you could, would you leave us?"
"Why are you asking me this?"
She pulled away and looked at him, her eyes wide. "You said it yourself, Jason. Jason Quartermaine and Jason Morgan are two entirely different people. If you could remember who you were, you'd have to make a choice. The Quartermaine's wouldn't want to share you with anyone."
"I know," Jason said. "That's why, even if I could remember everything, I wouldn't go back to them. A part of me would be happy that Alan and Monica could look at me and not feel the regret that they have now when I see them. But the Quartermaine's don't let you act anything but the way that they want you to act. I've think I've always known that. When I see how I was I find myself wondering how I could act like that, and then I look around and know that it's because I was raised to be like that. You let me be who I am, even when you have problems with it. I need to feel that I'm not being controlled."
"I love you, Jason. And that love is unconditional."
Jason kissed Courtney, "Mine is, too."
Lorenzo's Home-
The phone rang as Lorenzo sat on the couch awaiting any news for the varied things that he was involved with at the moment. Of course, there was one matter that seemed to be the most important. As usual, it involved Carly, the woman of his dreams, however twisted those dreams may have been. He was pained because he knew that she was dealing with the problem of her child's illness. He had his best people searching the globe for doctors that could give them answers that he could give her. The easiest way to Carly's heart was through her children. If he could provide her with answers that Sonny could not it would be just another reason that he was a much better man for her than Sonny ever could be. "Yes?" He spoke into the reciever as he picked up the phone.
"Mr. Alcazar?" Lorenzo could tell from the voice that it was his contant at the hospital.
"Has there been an update on the condition of Michael Corinthos?"
"He has been checked out. The momentary inability to speak has been dealt with. Carly and Sonny took him home already."
"I see," Lorenzo said softly. "Thank you for the information. If he gets checked in again, please keep me informed." Lorenzo hung up the phone and sighed. The bigger part of himself was happy because with Michael no longer ill he knew that Carly would be in a better state of mind, but there was still the part of him that always wanted to be her knight in shining armor. He had a window and now it had closed without him taking the chance. There were still plenty of ways that he could gain her favor. He thought of them and smiled. A moment later he thought of the boy, of Damian. Already there was so much mistrust between father and son. He could easily manipulate that into his favor. After all, Damian had already came to him looking for answers. He placed more worth on Lorenzo's word than he did his own father's. Lorenzo could use that. But he knew that Damian wasn't an idiot. He hated Sonny's life, and knew that Alcazar had a similar way of handling things. Why would he turn away from one mobster only to go into the camp of another? Lorenzo doubted that Damian loathed his father that much. "You're a very complex piece of the gameboard, Mr. Zuniga. It will make you all the more fun to break down, I suppose." Lorenzo smiled as he walked out of his house, he had things to do.