Notes: Hey!!!! They fixed the ellipsis problem... I think. We just tested it
out, and, should it work, I can use them again. I love using ellipsis',
they're so damned cool.
Story-
Corinthos Household-
Sonny wanted Damian to come with him, he wanted to walk in the door with his son in tow, but that was not to be. Sonny accepted that fact, however disappointed in the outcome he truly was. At least he knew that Jason would be following Damian until he got to the penthouse. Jason would keep his son safe. Jason would keep them all safe.
Courtney and Carly heard the doorknob turn. They watched and waited for Sonny to walk in, both looking for the same thing, but each looking for a different reason. The two women had dropped the argument that they had been engaged in earlier, mostly because Michael was aware of the strife that was going on in the home that Sonny and Carly worked to hard to keep as serene as possible. At times it was impossible, but for the most part they were more than capable of such things. When Sonny came in alone they both feared the worst, but it was Courtney who actually needed to make sure that things went the way she thought they were going. "Sonny, you're alone."
"Yeah," Sonny closed the door and took off his jacket.
"Does this mean that-"
Sonny cut his little sister off before she could finish the comment, "No, he's alive. We got lucky and managed to get everyone out alive. If it weren't for Ric telling me about it, though, we might not have had that good fortune." Sonny hung his head low, "I owe Ric."
Carly scoffed, "Sonny, that madman kept me locked up in a small room with our unborn son for months. There is nothing that he could do that would ever clean the slate between the two of you."
"You wouldn't understand, Carly. He's not your son."
"Even if he was, I still wouldn't think I owed Ric anything."
Sonny glanced over at her, "Really, Carly? If Ric was the reason that Michael or Morgan ended up being saved from a murderous woman like Faith Rosco you wouldn't feel even a little bit indebted to him? Maybe you don't love the boys as much as you claim."
"Don't question my love of my children, Sonny!" Carly demanded. "You know that they mean more to me than anything else."
"As long as they're blood, sure," Sonny walked over to the liquor bar and poured himself some water. "But you can't be like me, can you? You can't accept someone who isn't blood the same way that I've accepted Michael as my son."
"I'm sorry that I don't have the bleeding heart that you do, Sonny," Carly said spitefully. "But that doesn't mean that I don't love my children any more than you do."
"I just happen to have one more."
"Don't do this, you two," Courtney interjected. "Michael's upstairs and he is well aware of what's going on. If he hears the two of you arguing he's going to think the worst, and right now I don't think that either of you want to risk traumatizing him any further."
Sonny turned away. Carly looked at Courtney, "You're right."
Courtney partially ignored Carly, she was still less than pleased with Carly's attitude towards Courtney's nephew and her step-son. "Where is he now? Is he hurt?"
"No," Sonny leaned against the fireplace. "Everything is fine, for now. He took Maxie home. Faith had taken her captive just in case she needed to use Maxie in order to get Damian to do what she wanted. Maxie almost died, but Zander took a bullet for her. She's shaken up, and so is Damian. He insisted on seeing her home. I had Jason follow them until he came here, I don't want to worry about any of my boys like that ever again."
Outside PH4-
Damian stood in front of the door, he was about to knock, but something stopped him. Maybe Mac was right. Maybe he was putting himself and the people that he cared about in danger by just staying around Port Charles. If he left, if he went somewhere else, would things be different? He couldn't go back to Los Angeles, they knew to look for him there. Maybe he could go to Mexico, get a new name, start a new life. It seemed like a good idea to him at the time. It seemed like the best idea. If he left, he wouldn't be hurting the people that he loved. He wouldn't put Michael in danger every time that he was around. Of course, Michael was always in danger by simply being Michael Corinthos III, but if they were together, didn't that just make them a bigger target? If he stayed away from this town he wouldn't put Maxie or Georgie or Dillon in any danger either. He could just leave and everything would be fine, wouldn't it? The doubt set in his heart and Damian turned around, but he didn't get too far.
"Where you going?"
"Uncle Jason!" Damian almost bumped into his newly crowned Uncle, who was standing there like an unmovable brick wall.
"Michael wants to see you, so does Courtney."
Damian turned his eyes away, "I know that."
"So then why aren't you going inside?"
"I'm afraid," Damian admitted. "I came this close to being killed earlier today. Do you know what that feels like?" Damian looked up at Jason before he realized how stupid the question was, "Yeah, I guess you do. Probably a whole lot better than I do."
"More than likely," Jason said. "But you're not dead, Damian. You're alive, and you can go and make the people that care about you very happy just by being there."
"Right now maybe," Damian countered. "But what about down the line? What if the longer that I stay around you people, the more danger I put you in?"
"We're used to danger," Jason replied entirely deadpan.
"Yeah, but I'm not like you," Damian stated. "I didn't know anything about this life before I came here, and I don't know if I can find a way to be comfortable with it, let alone being comfortable with the reality that my mere presence here makes me and anyone that I get close to a target."
"You're exactly like Courtney," Jason stated.
"What do you mean?"
"Courtney struggles with the fact that she is married into the mob and that her brother is a mob king every day of her life, and yet she finds a way to have that center where she can find a way to co-exist." Jason looked at the door, knowing that Courtney was in there, "Sometimes it's really hard on her, Damian. There are a lot of times where she thinks that she cant' do it, but she realizes how much the people that are inside that penthouse mean to her and how much it would hurt them if she just left. And then she finds a way to live with everything that's been happening around her, because she knows that it's the right thing to do. We don't deserve you or Courtney. We don't deserve to have people around us that keep us grounded to the humanity that we have to throw away at times in order to survive. If it weren't for people like her, I don't know if I'd be alive, and even if I were I don't know if I'd be the same person that I am right now. I don't think I would be. I think I'd be worse than I am right now. There are times when I doubt that I even remember what its like to feel emotions for the people that I know, but then I look at Courtney and I realize how much I love her and it keeps that small part of me that can still feel alive."
"I'm not strong like she is," Damian said. "She's been able to live through so much, including losing your child. I don't know if I could do something like that. I mean, I know I can't do it physically, but emotionally it would probably break me."
"You're stronger than you think," Jason said. "You were able to stare Faith down and not show any fear. How many people could face their own mortality without being even a little scared?"
"I was petrified, Uncle Jason!" Damian shook his head, "If there wasn't so much on the line, I would have broken down right there."
"But you stayed strong to keep the people that you care about safe, didn't you?"
Damian didn't even have to think about the question, he knew the answer, "Yes, I did."
"And you care about some of the people inside that room over there, don't you?" Jason used the word some because he was very aware of the fact that Carly was inside there.
"I do."
"Then you really don't have to worry about hurting them intentionally, Damian. Because you'll never do it, you don't have that capability inside of you."
"Still," Damian let his thought hang, the word alone gave all the implication that was needed.
"You're letting Mac get into your head, Damian."
Damian looked up, "How do you know about Mac?"
Jason sighed, "Sonny asked me to follow you, to make sure that you made it back without any problems."
"You were spying on me?" Damian asked.
"No, I wasn't spying on you, I was keeping you safe. You were just held at gunpoint by one of your father's enemies on the other side of the country than the place that he has his center of operations. Now that we're home, don't you think it's more than little bit understandable that Sonny would want to make sure that you were okay?"
"I wouldn't have minded you coming with us, if he would have asked," Damian said.
"Would Maxie have?" Jason asked. "And if Mac saw me standing next to you, then what? He already thinks lowly of you for being part of this family, having one of us around you as a bodyguard would only prove him right, at least in his mind."
"Should I stay away from her?" Damian asked. "I mean, everyone here has people that can protect them, but Maxie doesn't have guards that are armed to the teeth. She has Mac, but he's gone most of the time." Damian's eyes showed the sadness that festered in his heart, "She almost died, simply because she loves me. If I love her, shouldn't I try to protect her?"
"You should," Jason said. "And you will. But you're only going to be hurting her more by breaking everything off. I know how that goes. I've lost people that I cared about because I pushed them away, it isn't a good feeling, and it isn't one that I'd want to see you go through."
"They'd all be hurt if I just left, wouldn't they?"
Jason nodded, "More than you even imagine."
Damian grabbed the door knob, "I hope I don't live to regret this."
"If you didn't see them you'd live with the regret."
Damian sighed and turned the knob. Jason was right. He couldn't just break free without hurting people and hurting himself. He didn't want to put anyone through that. Anyone. He smiled at Courtney as she turned her eyes over to the door, "Sorry to worry you, Aunt Courtney."
Courtney walked over and hugged him, "Just don't do it again, okay?"
"I don't intend on it," Damian told her.
"Did Maxie make it home okay?" Sonny asked.
Damian looked over at his father. He wasn't entirely sure of the answer, but she did make it home fine. "Just fine, dad."
Although he wasn't watching her, Damian wouldn't have been surprised to see the looks that Carly was giving him when he addressed Courtney and Sonny under their new monikers. She didn't like it at all. But she would remain silent, at least for now.
"Michael!" Sonny hollered up the stairs. "Come down here!"
Michael came down the stairs and looked over, seeing his brother. His face lit up like never before as he rushed over to Damian. Damian got down on his knees and hugged Michael. "I was so scared," Michael said. "The bad man that kidnapped mommy said that you were in trouble."
"Don't worry about it, Michael," Damian said softly. "Just don't worry about it."
93
Story-
Corinthos Household-
Sonny wanted Damian to come with him, he wanted to walk in the door with his son in tow, but that was not to be. Sonny accepted that fact, however disappointed in the outcome he truly was. At least he knew that Jason would be following Damian until he got to the penthouse. Jason would keep his son safe. Jason would keep them all safe.
Courtney and Carly heard the doorknob turn. They watched and waited for Sonny to walk in, both looking for the same thing, but each looking for a different reason. The two women had dropped the argument that they had been engaged in earlier, mostly because Michael was aware of the strife that was going on in the home that Sonny and Carly worked to hard to keep as serene as possible. At times it was impossible, but for the most part they were more than capable of such things. When Sonny came in alone they both feared the worst, but it was Courtney who actually needed to make sure that things went the way she thought they were going. "Sonny, you're alone."
"Yeah," Sonny closed the door and took off his jacket.
"Does this mean that-"
Sonny cut his little sister off before she could finish the comment, "No, he's alive. We got lucky and managed to get everyone out alive. If it weren't for Ric telling me about it, though, we might not have had that good fortune." Sonny hung his head low, "I owe Ric."
Carly scoffed, "Sonny, that madman kept me locked up in a small room with our unborn son for months. There is nothing that he could do that would ever clean the slate between the two of you."
"You wouldn't understand, Carly. He's not your son."
"Even if he was, I still wouldn't think I owed Ric anything."
Sonny glanced over at her, "Really, Carly? If Ric was the reason that Michael or Morgan ended up being saved from a murderous woman like Faith Rosco you wouldn't feel even a little bit indebted to him? Maybe you don't love the boys as much as you claim."
"Don't question my love of my children, Sonny!" Carly demanded. "You know that they mean more to me than anything else."
"As long as they're blood, sure," Sonny walked over to the liquor bar and poured himself some water. "But you can't be like me, can you? You can't accept someone who isn't blood the same way that I've accepted Michael as my son."
"I'm sorry that I don't have the bleeding heart that you do, Sonny," Carly said spitefully. "But that doesn't mean that I don't love my children any more than you do."
"I just happen to have one more."
"Don't do this, you two," Courtney interjected. "Michael's upstairs and he is well aware of what's going on. If he hears the two of you arguing he's going to think the worst, and right now I don't think that either of you want to risk traumatizing him any further."
Sonny turned away. Carly looked at Courtney, "You're right."
Courtney partially ignored Carly, she was still less than pleased with Carly's attitude towards Courtney's nephew and her step-son. "Where is he now? Is he hurt?"
"No," Sonny leaned against the fireplace. "Everything is fine, for now. He took Maxie home. Faith had taken her captive just in case she needed to use Maxie in order to get Damian to do what she wanted. Maxie almost died, but Zander took a bullet for her. She's shaken up, and so is Damian. He insisted on seeing her home. I had Jason follow them until he came here, I don't want to worry about any of my boys like that ever again."
Outside PH4-
Damian stood in front of the door, he was about to knock, but something stopped him. Maybe Mac was right. Maybe he was putting himself and the people that he cared about in danger by just staying around Port Charles. If he left, if he went somewhere else, would things be different? He couldn't go back to Los Angeles, they knew to look for him there. Maybe he could go to Mexico, get a new name, start a new life. It seemed like a good idea to him at the time. It seemed like the best idea. If he left, he wouldn't be hurting the people that he loved. He wouldn't put Michael in danger every time that he was around. Of course, Michael was always in danger by simply being Michael Corinthos III, but if they were together, didn't that just make them a bigger target? If he stayed away from this town he wouldn't put Maxie or Georgie or Dillon in any danger either. He could just leave and everything would be fine, wouldn't it? The doubt set in his heart and Damian turned around, but he didn't get too far.
"Where you going?"
"Uncle Jason!" Damian almost bumped into his newly crowned Uncle, who was standing there like an unmovable brick wall.
"Michael wants to see you, so does Courtney."
Damian turned his eyes away, "I know that."
"So then why aren't you going inside?"
"I'm afraid," Damian admitted. "I came this close to being killed earlier today. Do you know what that feels like?" Damian looked up at Jason before he realized how stupid the question was, "Yeah, I guess you do. Probably a whole lot better than I do."
"More than likely," Jason said. "But you're not dead, Damian. You're alive, and you can go and make the people that care about you very happy just by being there."
"Right now maybe," Damian countered. "But what about down the line? What if the longer that I stay around you people, the more danger I put you in?"
"We're used to danger," Jason replied entirely deadpan.
"Yeah, but I'm not like you," Damian stated. "I didn't know anything about this life before I came here, and I don't know if I can find a way to be comfortable with it, let alone being comfortable with the reality that my mere presence here makes me and anyone that I get close to a target."
"You're exactly like Courtney," Jason stated.
"What do you mean?"
"Courtney struggles with the fact that she is married into the mob and that her brother is a mob king every day of her life, and yet she finds a way to have that center where she can find a way to co-exist." Jason looked at the door, knowing that Courtney was in there, "Sometimes it's really hard on her, Damian. There are a lot of times where she thinks that she cant' do it, but she realizes how much the people that are inside that penthouse mean to her and how much it would hurt them if she just left. And then she finds a way to live with everything that's been happening around her, because she knows that it's the right thing to do. We don't deserve you or Courtney. We don't deserve to have people around us that keep us grounded to the humanity that we have to throw away at times in order to survive. If it weren't for people like her, I don't know if I'd be alive, and even if I were I don't know if I'd be the same person that I am right now. I don't think I would be. I think I'd be worse than I am right now. There are times when I doubt that I even remember what its like to feel emotions for the people that I know, but then I look at Courtney and I realize how much I love her and it keeps that small part of me that can still feel alive."
"I'm not strong like she is," Damian said. "She's been able to live through so much, including losing your child. I don't know if I could do something like that. I mean, I know I can't do it physically, but emotionally it would probably break me."
"You're stronger than you think," Jason said. "You were able to stare Faith down and not show any fear. How many people could face their own mortality without being even a little scared?"
"I was petrified, Uncle Jason!" Damian shook his head, "If there wasn't so much on the line, I would have broken down right there."
"But you stayed strong to keep the people that you care about safe, didn't you?"
Damian didn't even have to think about the question, he knew the answer, "Yes, I did."
"And you care about some of the people inside that room over there, don't you?" Jason used the word some because he was very aware of the fact that Carly was inside there.
"I do."
"Then you really don't have to worry about hurting them intentionally, Damian. Because you'll never do it, you don't have that capability inside of you."
"Still," Damian let his thought hang, the word alone gave all the implication that was needed.
"You're letting Mac get into your head, Damian."
Damian looked up, "How do you know about Mac?"
Jason sighed, "Sonny asked me to follow you, to make sure that you made it back without any problems."
"You were spying on me?" Damian asked.
"No, I wasn't spying on you, I was keeping you safe. You were just held at gunpoint by one of your father's enemies on the other side of the country than the place that he has his center of operations. Now that we're home, don't you think it's more than little bit understandable that Sonny would want to make sure that you were okay?"
"I wouldn't have minded you coming with us, if he would have asked," Damian said.
"Would Maxie have?" Jason asked. "And if Mac saw me standing next to you, then what? He already thinks lowly of you for being part of this family, having one of us around you as a bodyguard would only prove him right, at least in his mind."
"Should I stay away from her?" Damian asked. "I mean, everyone here has people that can protect them, but Maxie doesn't have guards that are armed to the teeth. She has Mac, but he's gone most of the time." Damian's eyes showed the sadness that festered in his heart, "She almost died, simply because she loves me. If I love her, shouldn't I try to protect her?"
"You should," Jason said. "And you will. But you're only going to be hurting her more by breaking everything off. I know how that goes. I've lost people that I cared about because I pushed them away, it isn't a good feeling, and it isn't one that I'd want to see you go through."
"They'd all be hurt if I just left, wouldn't they?"
Jason nodded, "More than you even imagine."
Damian grabbed the door knob, "I hope I don't live to regret this."
"If you didn't see them you'd live with the regret."
Damian sighed and turned the knob. Jason was right. He couldn't just break free without hurting people and hurting himself. He didn't want to put anyone through that. Anyone. He smiled at Courtney as she turned her eyes over to the door, "Sorry to worry you, Aunt Courtney."
Courtney walked over and hugged him, "Just don't do it again, okay?"
"I don't intend on it," Damian told her.
"Did Maxie make it home okay?" Sonny asked.
Damian looked over at his father. He wasn't entirely sure of the answer, but she did make it home fine. "Just fine, dad."
Although he wasn't watching her, Damian wouldn't have been surprised to see the looks that Carly was giving him when he addressed Courtney and Sonny under their new monikers. She didn't like it at all. But she would remain silent, at least for now.
"Michael!" Sonny hollered up the stairs. "Come down here!"
Michael came down the stairs and looked over, seeing his brother. His face lit up like never before as he rushed over to Damian. Damian got down on his knees and hugged Michael. "I was so scared," Michael said. "The bad man that kidnapped mommy said that you were in trouble."
"Don't worry about it, Michael," Damian said softly. "Just don't worry about it."
93