Joy- I do love it when I put the readers through the rigors of an emotional
roller coaster! I mean, if that sounds a little sadistic, sorry, but it
does fill me with a very high amount of enjoyment. Yes, when Michael does
find out it's going to be a very bad thing. As for Sonny's enlightenment to
his son's plight, well, you won't have to worry about waiting too long for
that. Damian's adjustment with his newfound status quo shall indeed be a
trial for him. Let's hope he gets through it.
Story-
Even if Scott Baldwin claimed that he wasn't going to answer questions, Damian was going to ask them. He closed the door behind him just in case Michael may have been woken up and tried to see what was going on. Even now, with his own life apparently coming into danger, he was much more concerned with keeping others safe from what was going on. "What grounds do you have to arrest me?"
Scott snickered, "Your fingerprints were all over one of the many guns that were found at the scene of the crime, kid. Looks like you didn't take all the lessons you needed to in 'covering up the scene of a crime 101.' You may have been able to get by on circumstantial evidence with the wallet you dropped, but this is iron clad!" Scott turned his head to one of the officers that was standing next to him, "Book him."
The officer began to read the rights as he pulled out the handcuffs, "You have the right to remain silent..."
"What the hell is going on here?" Courtney asked, having heard some people coming up the elevator and knowing that they weren't Sonny and Carly. "What are you doing to my nephew?"
"Your nephew is a cold-blooded killer, just like his dad and his uncle," Scott gave Courtney a cold eye. "Maybe I should expect the same from you, Courtney."
"Let him go," Courtney ordered.
Scott only shook his head, "It won't work this time, Courtney. We've got a warrant issued for his arrest dealing with the events that happened on the docks. It is very binding legally. If you even try to help him get out off those handcuffs, I will make sure that you are taken in with him for attempting to aid a wanted criminal."
"He had nothing to do with this!" Courtney's voice went up a few notches. She didn't like Scott when he was just being Scott. Now he was trying to destroy her family, and it made her like him much less.
"Fingerprint evidence seems to point out otherwise."
"That can't be true," Courtney, much like everyone else before her, did not believe that Damian had anything to do with the situation. Of course, she was one of the few with enough inside knowledge to know that he truly had nothing to do with the whole situation, but she wasn't going to say anything about it in front of the cops. Damian wouldn't want her to put anyone else in danger just to save himself, even if he was entirely innocent.
"We can continue this little discussion that we're having down at the station," Scott said. "I know that I'll see you there sometime tonight. Don't let me down."
"Damian..."
"Michael and Morgan are asleep. Don't leave them, Aunt Courtney." Damian knew that his statement couldn't be used against him. He was only looking out for the needs of those that were too young to understand what was going on.
The elevator doors opened. Scott walked in, "I never was a fan of elevator rides, but with you cuffed next to me, I think I can have some fun."
"You're a sick twisted..."
Scott cut Courtney off, "You really should save your strength for trying to explain what happened right now to your brother. I'm sure he's going to love hearing about it." Scott gave a shallow wave, "See you soon, Courtney."
Courtney, fighting back both an angered scream and tears of sorrow, went back to the house. She had closed the door and Jason was none the wiser. He knew that something was wrong by the look on his wife's angelic face. "What is it, Courtney?"
"They took him..." She said. "Baldwin came and arrested Damian."
"They can't arrest him, they don't have any evidence."
"He said something about a fingerprint report coming back from the weapons at the docks. One of them had his fingerprints."
Jason shook his head, "Damian never touched a gun at the docks! He's never touched a gun in his life!"
"I know, Jason," Courtney walked over. "Don't try and fix things right now, okay?" She pleaded. "You're hurt... and it wouldn't help any of us at all to be worrying about you in addition to worrying about him."
"I can't just sit here while someone else takes the blame for what I was involved in."
"You've done it before," Courtney said, and the moment she said it she regretted it completely. "Jason... I didn't mean it like that."
"You're right, I've let people take the blame for things that I've done before, but those people were never people that shouldn't have gotten what they deserved anyway. He's different, Courtney. I didn't want to believe it at first, but you saw it, Sonny saw it, Michael saw it... he doesn't have it in him to do anything that we do. He doesn't have it in him to destroy someone's life."
"Jason..."
"Maybe I should turn myself in..."
Courtney disagreed with that in a hurry, "You can't do that, Jason! I don't want to lose you."
"You'd rather Damian got blamed for doing something that he didn't do?"
"Of course not!" Courtney defended herself. "But it would be a whole lot harder to make you look innocent in front of a jury than it would to make Damian look innocent. Jason, you can't throw yourself into the fire this time, you might not make it back."
"Ric had something to do with this..." Jason quickly surmised. "When my leg heals, I'm going to make sure that he can't hurt anyone ever again..."
"He said he wanted to help," Courtney muttered.
"The only person he ever wants to help is himself, Courtney! You've seen what he's done in order to get what he wanted. He's kidnapped both you and Carly, he's poisoned the woman that he claims to love, he's made it seem like he's slept with people just so he can pull a guilt trip on them. Ric Lansing has no soul."
"You don't have to convince me," Courtney's mind flashed back to every moment that Ric had caused her or her family some sort of grief. She hated him as much as everyone else. "Why wouldn't he be the one to come arrest Damian? Even if he knew that Sonny wasn't here, he'd still have the bragging rights and someone would have seen him take Damian away."
"Are you trying to analyze how that psychopath thinks?" Jason asked.
"I don't know, Jason, all right?" Courtney was frustrated. "I've seen so many people get hurt or get blamed for doing something that they had nothing to do with since I've come here, but every time you or Sonny or Carly have somehow managed to help me deal with the fallout... I don't think that I can deal with this one. I don't think I can just keep on going in knowing that someone like Damian had to be the one to suffer because of this life."
"If you walk out that door, I won't stop you..."
"I can't," Courtney looked into Jason's eyes. "When I married you, I promised to accept the things that happened in our lives... for better or for worse. I don't want to break those vows."
"If they're hurting you emotionally, Courtney, I don't want you to go through with them just to make me happy."
"I can't just walk away from this life, Jason," Courtney got up. "I have people that I care about that live in this tower. I have three nephews, two of which I know wouldn't be able to understand what happened and why I left. I don't want to have Michael asking me why I can't be around him as much if I do leave. I don't want to miss the chances that I missed with Michael and Damian with Morgan as well. I want to be a constant source of love in their lives. I can't do that if I leave."
"You're always putting your needs behind everyone else's, Courtney. I want you to know that we all appreciate how much you sacrifice for all of us."
"I wouldn't make the sacrifices if I didn't feel that it was the right thing to do." Courtney eyed the door for no particular reason, the events of a few minutes before running through her mind. "He told me not to leave Michael and Morgan."
"They're at the house alone," Jason said. "Sonny and Carly are out, they gave Leticia the night off. If you want, I can call her, she'll come back."
Courtney shook her head, "Damian told me to stay with them. That's what I'm going to do."
"Someone has to call Sonny and Carly."
"I'll do it when I get to the penthouse." Courtney went for the door, "Jason, stay here. Don't make me leave the door open just so I can see that you're not trying to fix everything like you always do."
"I won't leave."
"Promise me," Courtney's eyes showed that sincerity in them. They were eyes that made Jason never want to lie, never want to hurt those beautiful eyes.
"I promise."
Courtney closed the door and left Jason alone. Jason looked down at his bandaged leg. If it weren't for Damian... they might have gotten arrested. He could have lost a lot of blood.
Less than a minute later, Courtney opened the door to the penthouse. Everything looked so in order. They kept the place as spotless as possible, even with an infant and a little boy running around freely. Courtney, her hand shaking somewhat, reached out for the phone and hit the speed dial that would give her Sonny's phone. She called Sonny's phone on purpose, not entirely sure how Carly would take the news.
Elsewhere, New York City, New York-
Sonny and Carly sat at the table in some high priced eatery. Of course, to Sonny Corinthos nothing was high priced, and to Carly Corinthos nothing could be too high priced for her tastes. It didn't matter to either of them, though. For the first time in recent memory, they were truly happy about everything that had happened in their lives. Before it could have just been Sonny who was happy, or just Carly, but now they were both content with the path that had been taken in their lives.
"I don't want this night to end," Carly admitted, resting her head on Sonny's shoulder.
"Neither do I, but we've got a family to get back to," Sonny grinned. "We can do this again, though. We can do this every night if you want."
Carly shook her head, "I love the offer, but I want to be there for my children when they need me. Getting away once in awhile is fine, but I need to be around them more than anything else. Don't you agree?"
"I do," Sonny said. "They should never forget how much we love them, but if we do constantly leave them alone, they might think it."
"Maybe we could do something together... the whole family... like Michael wanted..."
"Getting us all together in the same room for something that wasn't life threatening? Are you sure you're feeling okay."
"Some families get together for happy occasions, Sonny," Carly knew he was being sarcastic, so she replied in the same tone.
"Some families aren't our family. But I'd like that, I'd like that more than anything else." Sonny's phone began to ring.
Carly sighed, "Tell whoever it is to leave us alone..."
Sonny looked at the caller ID, "It's someone from the house, Carly. I should answer it." Sonny pressed the answer button, "Hello? Damian?" He figured that it would be Damian, since he was in charge for the evening. Sonny didn't understand why Carly would just let him watch her children, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Courtney, calm down... what's wrong?" Carly looked at Sonny, trying to hear what Courtney was saying to him through the phone but with very little success. "What do you mean?" Sonny asked. He sighed heavily, "All right, we're on our way back. Make sure the boys stay in bed, please."
Carly studied her husband's face. Something was troubling him. "Sonny?"
"The cops came and arrested Damian, Carly. They said that they found evidence saying that he used one of the murder weapons."
"But..."
"Don't," Sonny said. "Let's go... someone's trying to hurt my son, and I'm going to find out who it is and stop them..."
Story-
Even if Scott Baldwin claimed that he wasn't going to answer questions, Damian was going to ask them. He closed the door behind him just in case Michael may have been woken up and tried to see what was going on. Even now, with his own life apparently coming into danger, he was much more concerned with keeping others safe from what was going on. "What grounds do you have to arrest me?"
Scott snickered, "Your fingerprints were all over one of the many guns that were found at the scene of the crime, kid. Looks like you didn't take all the lessons you needed to in 'covering up the scene of a crime 101.' You may have been able to get by on circumstantial evidence with the wallet you dropped, but this is iron clad!" Scott turned his head to one of the officers that was standing next to him, "Book him."
The officer began to read the rights as he pulled out the handcuffs, "You have the right to remain silent..."
"What the hell is going on here?" Courtney asked, having heard some people coming up the elevator and knowing that they weren't Sonny and Carly. "What are you doing to my nephew?"
"Your nephew is a cold-blooded killer, just like his dad and his uncle," Scott gave Courtney a cold eye. "Maybe I should expect the same from you, Courtney."
"Let him go," Courtney ordered.
Scott only shook his head, "It won't work this time, Courtney. We've got a warrant issued for his arrest dealing with the events that happened on the docks. It is very binding legally. If you even try to help him get out off those handcuffs, I will make sure that you are taken in with him for attempting to aid a wanted criminal."
"He had nothing to do with this!" Courtney's voice went up a few notches. She didn't like Scott when he was just being Scott. Now he was trying to destroy her family, and it made her like him much less.
"Fingerprint evidence seems to point out otherwise."
"That can't be true," Courtney, much like everyone else before her, did not believe that Damian had anything to do with the situation. Of course, she was one of the few with enough inside knowledge to know that he truly had nothing to do with the whole situation, but she wasn't going to say anything about it in front of the cops. Damian wouldn't want her to put anyone else in danger just to save himself, even if he was entirely innocent.
"We can continue this little discussion that we're having down at the station," Scott said. "I know that I'll see you there sometime tonight. Don't let me down."
"Damian..."
"Michael and Morgan are asleep. Don't leave them, Aunt Courtney." Damian knew that his statement couldn't be used against him. He was only looking out for the needs of those that were too young to understand what was going on.
The elevator doors opened. Scott walked in, "I never was a fan of elevator rides, but with you cuffed next to me, I think I can have some fun."
"You're a sick twisted..."
Scott cut Courtney off, "You really should save your strength for trying to explain what happened right now to your brother. I'm sure he's going to love hearing about it." Scott gave a shallow wave, "See you soon, Courtney."
Courtney, fighting back both an angered scream and tears of sorrow, went back to the house. She had closed the door and Jason was none the wiser. He knew that something was wrong by the look on his wife's angelic face. "What is it, Courtney?"
"They took him..." She said. "Baldwin came and arrested Damian."
"They can't arrest him, they don't have any evidence."
"He said something about a fingerprint report coming back from the weapons at the docks. One of them had his fingerprints."
Jason shook his head, "Damian never touched a gun at the docks! He's never touched a gun in his life!"
"I know, Jason," Courtney walked over. "Don't try and fix things right now, okay?" She pleaded. "You're hurt... and it wouldn't help any of us at all to be worrying about you in addition to worrying about him."
"I can't just sit here while someone else takes the blame for what I was involved in."
"You've done it before," Courtney said, and the moment she said it she regretted it completely. "Jason... I didn't mean it like that."
"You're right, I've let people take the blame for things that I've done before, but those people were never people that shouldn't have gotten what they deserved anyway. He's different, Courtney. I didn't want to believe it at first, but you saw it, Sonny saw it, Michael saw it... he doesn't have it in him to do anything that we do. He doesn't have it in him to destroy someone's life."
"Jason..."
"Maybe I should turn myself in..."
Courtney disagreed with that in a hurry, "You can't do that, Jason! I don't want to lose you."
"You'd rather Damian got blamed for doing something that he didn't do?"
"Of course not!" Courtney defended herself. "But it would be a whole lot harder to make you look innocent in front of a jury than it would to make Damian look innocent. Jason, you can't throw yourself into the fire this time, you might not make it back."
"Ric had something to do with this..." Jason quickly surmised. "When my leg heals, I'm going to make sure that he can't hurt anyone ever again..."
"He said he wanted to help," Courtney muttered.
"The only person he ever wants to help is himself, Courtney! You've seen what he's done in order to get what he wanted. He's kidnapped both you and Carly, he's poisoned the woman that he claims to love, he's made it seem like he's slept with people just so he can pull a guilt trip on them. Ric Lansing has no soul."
"You don't have to convince me," Courtney's mind flashed back to every moment that Ric had caused her or her family some sort of grief. She hated him as much as everyone else. "Why wouldn't he be the one to come arrest Damian? Even if he knew that Sonny wasn't here, he'd still have the bragging rights and someone would have seen him take Damian away."
"Are you trying to analyze how that psychopath thinks?" Jason asked.
"I don't know, Jason, all right?" Courtney was frustrated. "I've seen so many people get hurt or get blamed for doing something that they had nothing to do with since I've come here, but every time you or Sonny or Carly have somehow managed to help me deal with the fallout... I don't think that I can deal with this one. I don't think I can just keep on going in knowing that someone like Damian had to be the one to suffer because of this life."
"If you walk out that door, I won't stop you..."
"I can't," Courtney looked into Jason's eyes. "When I married you, I promised to accept the things that happened in our lives... for better or for worse. I don't want to break those vows."
"If they're hurting you emotionally, Courtney, I don't want you to go through with them just to make me happy."
"I can't just walk away from this life, Jason," Courtney got up. "I have people that I care about that live in this tower. I have three nephews, two of which I know wouldn't be able to understand what happened and why I left. I don't want to have Michael asking me why I can't be around him as much if I do leave. I don't want to miss the chances that I missed with Michael and Damian with Morgan as well. I want to be a constant source of love in their lives. I can't do that if I leave."
"You're always putting your needs behind everyone else's, Courtney. I want you to know that we all appreciate how much you sacrifice for all of us."
"I wouldn't make the sacrifices if I didn't feel that it was the right thing to do." Courtney eyed the door for no particular reason, the events of a few minutes before running through her mind. "He told me not to leave Michael and Morgan."
"They're at the house alone," Jason said. "Sonny and Carly are out, they gave Leticia the night off. If you want, I can call her, she'll come back."
Courtney shook her head, "Damian told me to stay with them. That's what I'm going to do."
"Someone has to call Sonny and Carly."
"I'll do it when I get to the penthouse." Courtney went for the door, "Jason, stay here. Don't make me leave the door open just so I can see that you're not trying to fix everything like you always do."
"I won't leave."
"Promise me," Courtney's eyes showed that sincerity in them. They were eyes that made Jason never want to lie, never want to hurt those beautiful eyes.
"I promise."
Courtney closed the door and left Jason alone. Jason looked down at his bandaged leg. If it weren't for Damian... they might have gotten arrested. He could have lost a lot of blood.
Less than a minute later, Courtney opened the door to the penthouse. Everything looked so in order. They kept the place as spotless as possible, even with an infant and a little boy running around freely. Courtney, her hand shaking somewhat, reached out for the phone and hit the speed dial that would give her Sonny's phone. She called Sonny's phone on purpose, not entirely sure how Carly would take the news.
Elsewhere, New York City, New York-
Sonny and Carly sat at the table in some high priced eatery. Of course, to Sonny Corinthos nothing was high priced, and to Carly Corinthos nothing could be too high priced for her tastes. It didn't matter to either of them, though. For the first time in recent memory, they were truly happy about everything that had happened in their lives. Before it could have just been Sonny who was happy, or just Carly, but now they were both content with the path that had been taken in their lives.
"I don't want this night to end," Carly admitted, resting her head on Sonny's shoulder.
"Neither do I, but we've got a family to get back to," Sonny grinned. "We can do this again, though. We can do this every night if you want."
Carly shook her head, "I love the offer, but I want to be there for my children when they need me. Getting away once in awhile is fine, but I need to be around them more than anything else. Don't you agree?"
"I do," Sonny said. "They should never forget how much we love them, but if we do constantly leave them alone, they might think it."
"Maybe we could do something together... the whole family... like Michael wanted..."
"Getting us all together in the same room for something that wasn't life threatening? Are you sure you're feeling okay."
"Some families get together for happy occasions, Sonny," Carly knew he was being sarcastic, so she replied in the same tone.
"Some families aren't our family. But I'd like that, I'd like that more than anything else." Sonny's phone began to ring.
Carly sighed, "Tell whoever it is to leave us alone..."
Sonny looked at the caller ID, "It's someone from the house, Carly. I should answer it." Sonny pressed the answer button, "Hello? Damian?" He figured that it would be Damian, since he was in charge for the evening. Sonny didn't understand why Carly would just let him watch her children, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Courtney, calm down... what's wrong?" Carly looked at Sonny, trying to hear what Courtney was saying to him through the phone but with very little success. "What do you mean?" Sonny asked. He sighed heavily, "All right, we're on our way back. Make sure the boys stay in bed, please."
Carly studied her husband's face. Something was troubling him. "Sonny?"
"The cops came and arrested Damian, Carly. They said that they found evidence saying that he used one of the murder weapons."
"But..."
"Don't," Sonny said. "Let's go... someone's trying to hurt my son, and I'm going to find out who it is and stop them..."