Aboard Sonny's plane-
Maxie rested her head in Damian's lap as they sat on one of the couches that was placed inside of Sonny's private plane. Damian had to admit that the plane was a whole lot nicer than spending time on a coach flight with screaming baby and rambling old people who spoke of 'the war,' but he wasn't into materialistic things. He could make do with that which was given to him, and if it included suffering on an extended flight from Los Angeles to New York and then an even smaller plane flight from New York to Port Charles then so be it. Still, the seats were rather cushiony. 'Dad,' the name still felt foreign to him, but he had called Sonny by the title that Sonny should have had from the beginning. In part, he had earned it. Sonny had been supportive of Damian, helping him with the costs of living that came with being a student. He wasn't struggling as much as he would have been if Sonny hadn't been there for him, and he appreciated that. But it was more than the money, Sonny hadn't pushed himself on Damian, giving him the room to accept the part of Sonny's life that he felt he couldn't accept and even somewhat dealing with the fact that Damian had been pushing him away for a time. It was a small thing, but to both of them it meant more than the meaning that it would give off to people at first.
Damian stroked Maxie's hair with his fingers and smiled at her. She couldn't see his smile, and he didn't care. It was still a scary thought when he took note of the situation that he was in. When he realized just how close he was to losing her.
Maxie turned her head up, "I hope Zander is okay."
"I'm sure they got him to the hospital in time, Maxie," Damian told her, although he really wasn't sure if Zander had gotten to the hospital in time. He wasn't even sure his father managed to get Zander to the hospital. He said he was going to, but how much weight could be put on Sonny's word? Damian searched himself for the answer to that question and he came to a conclusion, a considerable amount. He knew that Sonny had worked harder than he had ever in his life to mend the fences that had been driven between father and son. He wouldn't put that newfound trust between himself and Damian at risk already, would he? Even if he wasn't worrying about the value of Sonny's word, there was still the problem of the wound that Zander had been inflicted with while he took that bullet for Maxie. Damian had never seen so much blood in his life, and he had never been that nervous about anything. He wasn't a doctor, he wasn't even close to being one at the time, but he had managed to keep Zander alive long enough to get him some help. It was the least he could do for the man that had saved the life of the woman that he loved. Damian had to ask, "Why did he do that, Maxie? Why did Zander take that bullet for you? It would have been so much easier for him to just watch you die." He thought about it and shook his head, "I'm sorry, that came out extremely wrong."
She shook her head, "I know what you mean, Damian. Why would someone like Zander put any worth on my life, especially over his own?" Maxie got up and looked at him eye to eye, "He's a good guy, Damian. I've seen him when he was acting like a person that people could learn to be friends with. Zander helped me once when I was really scared and I've helped him a few times, too. We weren't close, but we were still friends. I know he didn't want to drag me into danger, but he wouldn't have lived as long as he did if he had disobeyed Faith's orders. But even when I was with them, he promised me that he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me. It looks like he kept his promise. I don't know why he did it, I don't know why he threw himself in front of that bullet, but I won't say I'm not thankful that he did."
"Neither will I," Damian murmured. Hearing Maxie tell her what Zander said gave him an epiphany. There was a lot of things that he would never accept about the life that his father lead, but he could accept that Sonny was, at the core, a decent man. None of them were without their faults. Damian might have seemed saintly to some, but he still had his extreme insecurities about himself and his place in the world, and at times those could lead to severe bouts of depression. Who was he to call his father's character into question when he was blinding himself to one side of the coin?
Damian looked over at Maxie, wanting to speak with her some more. She was, after all, his primary confidante. But he couldn't speak with her, because her eyes were closed as she placed her head on the arm of the couch. She was asleep. Obviously the toll of the past few hours had been too much for her. She deserved the rest. They all did. Damian got up and grabbed a blanket, placing it over her shoulder. He owed Zander a debt that he could never hope to repay.
Damian walked into another section of his father's plane. They had much to discuss. But Sonny was nowhere to be found. Jason was the only one that was there. "Where's my dad at?" Damian asked.
Jason looked over. He was still getting used to Damian referring to Sonny as something other than Sonny. He was still happy that Damian had finally decided to acknowledge that part, and he knew how much Sonny enjoyed it as well. "He's making sure that the people he has hunting down Faith are going to keep her away from you and anyone else in our family."
"Our family," Damian muttered.
"Courtney's going to be so glad that you're all right. So is Michael."
"I'm pretty thankful that I managed to come out in one piece as well," Damian replied with a small grin. The only way he could deal with the fact that he was relatively steps away from death's door was to at least make a little joke out of it. Humor could be used as a defense mechanism, and in this case it was. "I would have liked it that neither of them knew, though. I hate it when I worry people."
"You always had your father worried about you since the moment you walked out of that door," Jason said.
"I can't change the past," Damian said. "And, even if I could, I don't know if I would. I've accepted what my father is and at times what it makes him do, but I still don't like it."
"No one is asking you to," Jason commented. "At least I'm certainly not."
"Should I start calling you 'Uncle Jason?'" Damian asked.
Rare was it when Jason Morgan found himself at a loss for words, but he was at that moment. "Why would you ask me something like that?"
"I didn't mean to offend you," Damian really wasn't expecting Jason to give him that look. It was actually a bit scary.
"You didn't offend me, I'm just wondering why."
Damian sat down across from Jason, "You're married to my father's sister, that makes you my Uncle. Maybe not by blood, but I've always felt that blood doesn't always make someone family, and marriage certainly does. I guess I'm just old fashioned in that way."
"I'm not even ten years older than you," Jason said.
Damian laughed, "You've obviously had very little experience being around Mexican families. Age doesn't mean anything to us. Some of Aunts and Uncles are barely older than me, and they're still entitled to that title. I don't know, it doesn't make very much sense, but it's the way I was raised."
Jason grinned a little bit. The way Damian was explaining his family seemed like something that was in such contrast to the cold life that the Quatermaine's lead. He didn't even call Tracy 'Aunt Tracy' although she was. There just wasn't any reason to do it, even before the accident. "You do whatever makes you feel the most comfortable."
"Uncle Jason it is, then," Damian said coyly.
"I'm going to need some time to adjust to that."
"So am I."
Sonny walked in from the front of the plane, "We should be back home within an hour. Did I interrupt anything?"
"Just some casual reacquainting," Damian informed his father.
"Why doesn't that fill me with any comfort?" Sonny asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Because you're too cautious about everything, dad," Damian quickly countered. "You can't live your life on the edge all the time, you know."
"It's how I've managed to survive this long," Sonny replied.
"Don't make me have to stop you from dying like I did with Zander," Damian said softly. "Please, I couldn't keep myself contained if I had to be your doctor."
"I can't make any promises," Sonny sat on one of the couches. "But I don't intend on putting you in a situation where my life would depend on you saving it."
"How is Zander?" Damian asked, not wanting to focus on that particular subject at the moment, not to mention he knew Maxie would want to know when she woke up. Plus, he wanted to gauge his father's honesty as best he could.
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Sonny said.
"He lost a lot of blood, dad."
"I've lost more. Got the scars to prove it."
Damian shuddered a bit, "The mental image is more than enough for me to imagine. Still, thanks for doing that for me."
"You made me see that I owed him a favor," Sonny told his son. "If you had seen Maxie die in front of you, I know it would have broken you. You're a strong person, just like me, but you can't survive seeing someone that you love with all your heart killed before your eyes. You can't be helpless like that. We're more alike than you'd like to admit, you know."
Jason got up, "I'll make a call and find out what Zander's condition is."
"Thanks, Uncle Jason."
Jason looked over for a brief second before he walked away. Damian smiled, it was more amusing than it should have been, but he had unnerved Jason with something so simple as compassion. In a way it was sad, but he knew that Jason was capable of compassion, he loved Courtney with all his heart.
"Uncle Jason now, is it?" Sonny asked.
"He's my uncle by marriage, that's more than enough for me. Besides, he put his life on the line for me just as much as you did, it's the least I could do."
"I can never figure you out, kid," Sonny mused. "One minute you're sick to the stomach by the mere thought of what I do, and then the next minute you're coming back on my plane with me and calling me 'dad.' Not that I don't appreciate it, mind you, I just wish I understood your motives more."
"You're never supposed to understand how your kids think, dad," Damian replied. "It's a rule."
"Is Michael going to give me this much trouble when he's your age?"
"Maybe, we'll just have to wait and see." Damian turned away for a second.
Sonny caught it, "What is it?"
"I was just thinking that when Michael is my age, I'll be about as old as you are now. I don't want to be old."
"I'm not old," Sonny muttered.
Maxie rested her head in Damian's lap as they sat on one of the couches that was placed inside of Sonny's private plane. Damian had to admit that the plane was a whole lot nicer than spending time on a coach flight with screaming baby and rambling old people who spoke of 'the war,' but he wasn't into materialistic things. He could make do with that which was given to him, and if it included suffering on an extended flight from Los Angeles to New York and then an even smaller plane flight from New York to Port Charles then so be it. Still, the seats were rather cushiony. 'Dad,' the name still felt foreign to him, but he had called Sonny by the title that Sonny should have had from the beginning. In part, he had earned it. Sonny had been supportive of Damian, helping him with the costs of living that came with being a student. He wasn't struggling as much as he would have been if Sonny hadn't been there for him, and he appreciated that. But it was more than the money, Sonny hadn't pushed himself on Damian, giving him the room to accept the part of Sonny's life that he felt he couldn't accept and even somewhat dealing with the fact that Damian had been pushing him away for a time. It was a small thing, but to both of them it meant more than the meaning that it would give off to people at first.
Damian stroked Maxie's hair with his fingers and smiled at her. She couldn't see his smile, and he didn't care. It was still a scary thought when he took note of the situation that he was in. When he realized just how close he was to losing her.
Maxie turned her head up, "I hope Zander is okay."
"I'm sure they got him to the hospital in time, Maxie," Damian told her, although he really wasn't sure if Zander had gotten to the hospital in time. He wasn't even sure his father managed to get Zander to the hospital. He said he was going to, but how much weight could be put on Sonny's word? Damian searched himself for the answer to that question and he came to a conclusion, a considerable amount. He knew that Sonny had worked harder than he had ever in his life to mend the fences that had been driven between father and son. He wouldn't put that newfound trust between himself and Damian at risk already, would he? Even if he wasn't worrying about the value of Sonny's word, there was still the problem of the wound that Zander had been inflicted with while he took that bullet for Maxie. Damian had never seen so much blood in his life, and he had never been that nervous about anything. He wasn't a doctor, he wasn't even close to being one at the time, but he had managed to keep Zander alive long enough to get him some help. It was the least he could do for the man that had saved the life of the woman that he loved. Damian had to ask, "Why did he do that, Maxie? Why did Zander take that bullet for you? It would have been so much easier for him to just watch you die." He thought about it and shook his head, "I'm sorry, that came out extremely wrong."
She shook her head, "I know what you mean, Damian. Why would someone like Zander put any worth on my life, especially over his own?" Maxie got up and looked at him eye to eye, "He's a good guy, Damian. I've seen him when he was acting like a person that people could learn to be friends with. Zander helped me once when I was really scared and I've helped him a few times, too. We weren't close, but we were still friends. I know he didn't want to drag me into danger, but he wouldn't have lived as long as he did if he had disobeyed Faith's orders. But even when I was with them, he promised me that he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me. It looks like he kept his promise. I don't know why he did it, I don't know why he threw himself in front of that bullet, but I won't say I'm not thankful that he did."
"Neither will I," Damian murmured. Hearing Maxie tell her what Zander said gave him an epiphany. There was a lot of things that he would never accept about the life that his father lead, but he could accept that Sonny was, at the core, a decent man. None of them were without their faults. Damian might have seemed saintly to some, but he still had his extreme insecurities about himself and his place in the world, and at times those could lead to severe bouts of depression. Who was he to call his father's character into question when he was blinding himself to one side of the coin?
Damian looked over at Maxie, wanting to speak with her some more. She was, after all, his primary confidante. But he couldn't speak with her, because her eyes were closed as she placed her head on the arm of the couch. She was asleep. Obviously the toll of the past few hours had been too much for her. She deserved the rest. They all did. Damian got up and grabbed a blanket, placing it over her shoulder. He owed Zander a debt that he could never hope to repay.
Damian walked into another section of his father's plane. They had much to discuss. But Sonny was nowhere to be found. Jason was the only one that was there. "Where's my dad at?" Damian asked.
Jason looked over. He was still getting used to Damian referring to Sonny as something other than Sonny. He was still happy that Damian had finally decided to acknowledge that part, and he knew how much Sonny enjoyed it as well. "He's making sure that the people he has hunting down Faith are going to keep her away from you and anyone else in our family."
"Our family," Damian muttered.
"Courtney's going to be so glad that you're all right. So is Michael."
"I'm pretty thankful that I managed to come out in one piece as well," Damian replied with a small grin. The only way he could deal with the fact that he was relatively steps away from death's door was to at least make a little joke out of it. Humor could be used as a defense mechanism, and in this case it was. "I would have liked it that neither of them knew, though. I hate it when I worry people."
"You always had your father worried about you since the moment you walked out of that door," Jason said.
"I can't change the past," Damian said. "And, even if I could, I don't know if I would. I've accepted what my father is and at times what it makes him do, but I still don't like it."
"No one is asking you to," Jason commented. "At least I'm certainly not."
"Should I start calling you 'Uncle Jason?'" Damian asked.
Rare was it when Jason Morgan found himself at a loss for words, but he was at that moment. "Why would you ask me something like that?"
"I didn't mean to offend you," Damian really wasn't expecting Jason to give him that look. It was actually a bit scary.
"You didn't offend me, I'm just wondering why."
Damian sat down across from Jason, "You're married to my father's sister, that makes you my Uncle. Maybe not by blood, but I've always felt that blood doesn't always make someone family, and marriage certainly does. I guess I'm just old fashioned in that way."
"I'm not even ten years older than you," Jason said.
Damian laughed, "You've obviously had very little experience being around Mexican families. Age doesn't mean anything to us. Some of Aunts and Uncles are barely older than me, and they're still entitled to that title. I don't know, it doesn't make very much sense, but it's the way I was raised."
Jason grinned a little bit. The way Damian was explaining his family seemed like something that was in such contrast to the cold life that the Quatermaine's lead. He didn't even call Tracy 'Aunt Tracy' although she was. There just wasn't any reason to do it, even before the accident. "You do whatever makes you feel the most comfortable."
"Uncle Jason it is, then," Damian said coyly.
"I'm going to need some time to adjust to that."
"So am I."
Sonny walked in from the front of the plane, "We should be back home within an hour. Did I interrupt anything?"
"Just some casual reacquainting," Damian informed his father.
"Why doesn't that fill me with any comfort?" Sonny asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Because you're too cautious about everything, dad," Damian quickly countered. "You can't live your life on the edge all the time, you know."
"It's how I've managed to survive this long," Sonny replied.
"Don't make me have to stop you from dying like I did with Zander," Damian said softly. "Please, I couldn't keep myself contained if I had to be your doctor."
"I can't make any promises," Sonny sat on one of the couches. "But I don't intend on putting you in a situation where my life would depend on you saving it."
"How is Zander?" Damian asked, not wanting to focus on that particular subject at the moment, not to mention he knew Maxie would want to know when she woke up. Plus, he wanted to gauge his father's honesty as best he could.
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Sonny said.
"He lost a lot of blood, dad."
"I've lost more. Got the scars to prove it."
Damian shuddered a bit, "The mental image is more than enough for me to imagine. Still, thanks for doing that for me."
"You made me see that I owed him a favor," Sonny told his son. "If you had seen Maxie die in front of you, I know it would have broken you. You're a strong person, just like me, but you can't survive seeing someone that you love with all your heart killed before your eyes. You can't be helpless like that. We're more alike than you'd like to admit, you know."
Jason got up, "I'll make a call and find out what Zander's condition is."
"Thanks, Uncle Jason."
Jason looked over for a brief second before he walked away. Damian smiled, it was more amusing than it should have been, but he had unnerved Jason with something so simple as compassion. In a way it was sad, but he knew that Jason was capable of compassion, he loved Courtney with all his heart.
"Uncle Jason now, is it?" Sonny asked.
"He's my uncle by marriage, that's more than enough for me. Besides, he put his life on the line for me just as much as you did, it's the least I could do."
"I can never figure you out, kid," Sonny mused. "One minute you're sick to the stomach by the mere thought of what I do, and then the next minute you're coming back on my plane with me and calling me 'dad.' Not that I don't appreciate it, mind you, I just wish I understood your motives more."
"You're never supposed to understand how your kids think, dad," Damian replied. "It's a rule."
"Is Michael going to give me this much trouble when he's your age?"
"Maybe, we'll just have to wait and see." Damian turned away for a second.
Sonny caught it, "What is it?"
"I was just thinking that when Michael is my age, I'll be about as old as you are now. I don't want to be old."
"I'm not old," Sonny muttered.