Corinthos Household-
The whole ride home from the city, Sonny was silent. At times it could be something that Carly wanted, because she knew that his silence at that time meant that he had nothing on his mind, nothing to take over his rational thoughts. However, she knew very well that this was not one of those times, and she knew that she should have been very afraid that Sonny wasn't ranting about something. When he was his most quiet was when he was the angriest at what was going on. She didn't blame him at all for his anger, though. She knew, they all knew, that Damian was innocent. Even if they hadn't been made aware of the fact that he was only at the docks because he wanted to protect his father and Jason, they would have known. Carly wouldn't have believed it, even if the two of them hadn't made the truce that they did earlier. She knew that Damian, for all his faults, couldn't kill someone. He might have been trying to steal her family away from her, but he could never take a life like that.
Carly tried several times to get Sonny to say something, anything, but each time was met with equal success, which was to say that it was met with no success at all. After the third time she knew that the situation, for the time, was entirely helpless. Until Sonny could think clearly, until he could become an effective parent again, she would have to be the one that did the planning. She would have to be the one to hold his temper in check, because she was the only one who could truly do it. Throughout all their ups and downs, Sonny and Carly had a strong bond that could never truly be severed, although there were many times when people tried, and failed after what appeared to be momentary success. Carly, until recently, had seen Damian as one of those people, but she was beginning to realize just how wrong about the boy she was. Now, she wanted to see that he was treated fairly along with the others. Would they believe her sudden change of heart, though? She had spent so long trying to find a way to bring him down to his knees and out of their lives. Carly had made so many mistakes in the recent weeks, and she couldn't even let some of those mistakes be found out by anyone, because it would really tear at her marriage. She knew that she and Sonny could survive a lot, even some forms of betrayal, but if Sonny even thought that Carly had something to do with everything that had happened, it would be over.
They stood in front of the door, Max was guarding it from the outside. Although Courtney could fend for herself, Sonny was still more than insistent that there be a guard around the door, especially now. Seeing Max there did not ease Sonny at all. In fact, all it did was make him even more cross. "Max," Sonny said his name with so much weight that it was frightening, "What happened?"
Max respected Sonny very much, but there was never really a time when Max outright feared his boss... until that moment. Max knew that he could fail Sonny in some ways and manage to maintain his position in Sonny's organization. If there was a botched up shipment or something of the like, Sonny would not be as angry as he could be. Sonny understood, at times, the fact that humans were prone to errors. Sonny refused to understand that errors could be made when it came to being the caretaker of his sons. When it was Michael and Morgan, that was fine, but now with Damian added into the mix without very much time or even knowledge of his existence before he came, it became something of a problem. Max could keep Michael from getting hurt, and he never had to really watch Morgan with any heavy caution, since the baby was almost always with his nanny or at least with one of his parents. Damian was another matter altogether, though. He was an adult, someone who didn't need, nor want, to be treated like he was an infant or a small boy. Damian understood that Michael and Morgan needed certain precautions in order to stay safe, but Max understood and respected Damian's decision to not exactly follow the same protocol as his younger brothers. Had Max been Sonny's illegitimate bastard son, he would have acted the same way, at least in that respect. Now, Max's choice was going to get him into some trouble with his boss.
"I'm waiting for an answer, Max!" Sonny roared.
Max felt the few beads of sweat trickle down his brow. "They... had a warrant, Mr. Corinthos. I wouldn't have let them get past me, but they had every legal document that they needed."
"That shouldn't matter!" Sonny, as predicted, wasn't listening to reason. When he was infuriated, everything was black or white. Max had failed to protect his son, for whatever reason, he had failed. "You should not have let them take him!"
"He's not the only one who let the cops take Damian away, Sonny."
Sonny spun around and saw Jason leaning against the door, still nursing his injury. It was painfully obvious that Sonny had gotten home. He only hoped that Sonny's outburst had not woken up the children. "Jason..."
"We couldn't do anything," Jason said.
Sonny shook his head, "You could have done something, Jason. You can always do something."
Jason agreed on some level, "You're right, Sonny, we could have gotten Damian away from the cops and got him out of the country, which would only have gotten him into more trouble when he came back."
"He wouldn't have come back," Sonny said. "I know how to make people disappear without killing them, I'm doing it for Zander, aren't I?"
"This is different," Jason commented.
"How is it different?" Sonny wanted to know.
"You know how it's different, Sonny," Jason responded immediately. "If you actually take the time to curb your anger and think about Damian, think about who your son is, you'll find the answer. You know him better than ever, Sonny. You've gotten a better relationship over such a short time. Think about it."
Sonny did think about it. Even when irate, he still took Jason's opinions to heart. No matter how much Sonny thought otherwise, he knew deep down that Jason would always act in Sonny's best interests. He thought about his son, someone who he could respect and care for. Someone that he felt so much pain over not being around when he was needed, not being there to watch his son grow. Damian claimed that he didn't care about those things, but Sonny knew better. Sonny had the same thing happen to him, and even if he had said to Mike that he didn't care about the past, it would have been a lie. There was no way that anyone could just not care about not having a father around. Sonny knew that for a fact. He also knew that maybe, just maybe, Damian was better without him being around. Sonny wasn't the best influence, no matter how hard he tried to be around Michael and Morgan. He knew that there would be a time when he would be exposed for what he really did. Damian took it hard, very hard, and he had only been living with Sonny for a few weeks at the time. Michael and Morgan, when they would eventually find out, would be living with Sonny for most of, if not all of, their lives. Would that only amplify the feeling of betrayal? The shadow of doubt loomed over Sonny's heart, and at that moment he needed to be as confident as possible. His son depended on him being flawless.
Sonny also knew that Damian was selfless. He wouldn't let anyone get in trouble because of him. It was the reason why he was staying silent about what really went down at the docks, even though it had apparently cost him his freedom. Even if Max had tried, Damian would have stopped him. Damian wouldn't have wanted Max to get in trouble as well, it just wasn't who he was. Sonny sighed, "I'm sure you did what you could, Max. I'm sorry that I jumped on you like that."
Max brushed it off, "Don't worry about it, Mister Corinthos. If Damian were my son, I'd act the same."
Sonny nodded. "Jason... go back to the house and rest."
"You sure you don't need me?" Jason asked, since he really didn't think that spending more time on his back was going to help anyone, least of all him.
"Jason, I need you fully healed from the wound, and in order for that to happen I can't let you do anything that would make the healing time any longer. Get some rest." That last part was a direct order.
Jason, never one to doubt his mentor and best friend, succumbed. Even though he knew it was the right thing to do, he didn't enjoy it at all. "If you need anything..."
"I know where you are," Sonny quickly cut in.
"Stay healthy, Jase," Carly said.
Sonny returned his focus to his guard, "Max, if anything happens, if anyone tries to get back up here and they don't have a warrant, make sure you stop them and call me."
"Can do, Mister Corinthos."
Sonny walked into the house, with Carly holding his hand. When they closed the door, Carly shook her head, "You had no right to take Max's head off like that."
"I wasn't thinking."
"And if you don't start thinking you're never going to help you son," Carly pointed out. "You don't want Damian to be in that prison cell forever, do you?"
"Do you?" Sonny asked.
"I told you already, Sonny... I'm over it."
Sonny grabbed his temples, "I'm sorry, Carly. This is just so hard for me to get a grip on. Don't get angry at me for saying things right now, I don't mean them."
"Maybe you should get some rest."
"No!" Sonny opposed that idea very forcefully. "I'm not getting any rest until I know that my son is okay."
"Sonny..."
"It's out of the question, Carly," Sonny said. "I am not going to rest, because even if I tried I know that I would just keep on flashing back in my mind to the part where I failed my son, and that would keep me up enough."
"You didn't fail him."
"Maybe not in your eyes, maybe not in his eyes, but I did in my own."
Carly's face showed her sadness, "You're being way too hard on yourself, like always. Sonny, you can't always be responsible for the world's pain."
"But I am responsible right now."
"You're not thinking..."
Sonny sat down, "No, Carly, I'm not thinking about turning myself in. I wouldn't survive there... and as much as I want to help him, I know that I can't just let myself get confined in that cell... it would kill me. People might not come after me, but that's the least of my worries if I ever go to prison."
"We won't ever let you go," Carly said in a comforting tone. "Jason and I would do anything to make sure that you got out. We'd run away, we'd never be seen again. We could take the kids and start over."
"It's so easy with me," Sonny observed. "I'm willing to do anything in order to get out of trouble, but Damian wouldn't agree to that if we gave him that solution in order to fix his problems. He wouldn't leave this town, he wouldn't leave this family. Right now my biggest worry is that my worst enemy in solving this problem is my own son..."
The whole ride home from the city, Sonny was silent. At times it could be something that Carly wanted, because she knew that his silence at that time meant that he had nothing on his mind, nothing to take over his rational thoughts. However, she knew very well that this was not one of those times, and she knew that she should have been very afraid that Sonny wasn't ranting about something. When he was his most quiet was when he was the angriest at what was going on. She didn't blame him at all for his anger, though. She knew, they all knew, that Damian was innocent. Even if they hadn't been made aware of the fact that he was only at the docks because he wanted to protect his father and Jason, they would have known. Carly wouldn't have believed it, even if the two of them hadn't made the truce that they did earlier. She knew that Damian, for all his faults, couldn't kill someone. He might have been trying to steal her family away from her, but he could never take a life like that.
Carly tried several times to get Sonny to say something, anything, but each time was met with equal success, which was to say that it was met with no success at all. After the third time she knew that the situation, for the time, was entirely helpless. Until Sonny could think clearly, until he could become an effective parent again, she would have to be the one that did the planning. She would have to be the one to hold his temper in check, because she was the only one who could truly do it. Throughout all their ups and downs, Sonny and Carly had a strong bond that could never truly be severed, although there were many times when people tried, and failed after what appeared to be momentary success. Carly, until recently, had seen Damian as one of those people, but she was beginning to realize just how wrong about the boy she was. Now, she wanted to see that he was treated fairly along with the others. Would they believe her sudden change of heart, though? She had spent so long trying to find a way to bring him down to his knees and out of their lives. Carly had made so many mistakes in the recent weeks, and she couldn't even let some of those mistakes be found out by anyone, because it would really tear at her marriage. She knew that she and Sonny could survive a lot, even some forms of betrayal, but if Sonny even thought that Carly had something to do with everything that had happened, it would be over.
They stood in front of the door, Max was guarding it from the outside. Although Courtney could fend for herself, Sonny was still more than insistent that there be a guard around the door, especially now. Seeing Max there did not ease Sonny at all. In fact, all it did was make him even more cross. "Max," Sonny said his name with so much weight that it was frightening, "What happened?"
Max respected Sonny very much, but there was never really a time when Max outright feared his boss... until that moment. Max knew that he could fail Sonny in some ways and manage to maintain his position in Sonny's organization. If there was a botched up shipment or something of the like, Sonny would not be as angry as he could be. Sonny understood, at times, the fact that humans were prone to errors. Sonny refused to understand that errors could be made when it came to being the caretaker of his sons. When it was Michael and Morgan, that was fine, but now with Damian added into the mix without very much time or even knowledge of his existence before he came, it became something of a problem. Max could keep Michael from getting hurt, and he never had to really watch Morgan with any heavy caution, since the baby was almost always with his nanny or at least with one of his parents. Damian was another matter altogether, though. He was an adult, someone who didn't need, nor want, to be treated like he was an infant or a small boy. Damian understood that Michael and Morgan needed certain precautions in order to stay safe, but Max understood and respected Damian's decision to not exactly follow the same protocol as his younger brothers. Had Max been Sonny's illegitimate bastard son, he would have acted the same way, at least in that respect. Now, Max's choice was going to get him into some trouble with his boss.
"I'm waiting for an answer, Max!" Sonny roared.
Max felt the few beads of sweat trickle down his brow. "They... had a warrant, Mr. Corinthos. I wouldn't have let them get past me, but they had every legal document that they needed."
"That shouldn't matter!" Sonny, as predicted, wasn't listening to reason. When he was infuriated, everything was black or white. Max had failed to protect his son, for whatever reason, he had failed. "You should not have let them take him!"
"He's not the only one who let the cops take Damian away, Sonny."
Sonny spun around and saw Jason leaning against the door, still nursing his injury. It was painfully obvious that Sonny had gotten home. He only hoped that Sonny's outburst had not woken up the children. "Jason..."
"We couldn't do anything," Jason said.
Sonny shook his head, "You could have done something, Jason. You can always do something."
Jason agreed on some level, "You're right, Sonny, we could have gotten Damian away from the cops and got him out of the country, which would only have gotten him into more trouble when he came back."
"He wouldn't have come back," Sonny said. "I know how to make people disappear without killing them, I'm doing it for Zander, aren't I?"
"This is different," Jason commented.
"How is it different?" Sonny wanted to know.
"You know how it's different, Sonny," Jason responded immediately. "If you actually take the time to curb your anger and think about Damian, think about who your son is, you'll find the answer. You know him better than ever, Sonny. You've gotten a better relationship over such a short time. Think about it."
Sonny did think about it. Even when irate, he still took Jason's opinions to heart. No matter how much Sonny thought otherwise, he knew deep down that Jason would always act in Sonny's best interests. He thought about his son, someone who he could respect and care for. Someone that he felt so much pain over not being around when he was needed, not being there to watch his son grow. Damian claimed that he didn't care about those things, but Sonny knew better. Sonny had the same thing happen to him, and even if he had said to Mike that he didn't care about the past, it would have been a lie. There was no way that anyone could just not care about not having a father around. Sonny knew that for a fact. He also knew that maybe, just maybe, Damian was better without him being around. Sonny wasn't the best influence, no matter how hard he tried to be around Michael and Morgan. He knew that there would be a time when he would be exposed for what he really did. Damian took it hard, very hard, and he had only been living with Sonny for a few weeks at the time. Michael and Morgan, when they would eventually find out, would be living with Sonny for most of, if not all of, their lives. Would that only amplify the feeling of betrayal? The shadow of doubt loomed over Sonny's heart, and at that moment he needed to be as confident as possible. His son depended on him being flawless.
Sonny also knew that Damian was selfless. He wouldn't let anyone get in trouble because of him. It was the reason why he was staying silent about what really went down at the docks, even though it had apparently cost him his freedom. Even if Max had tried, Damian would have stopped him. Damian wouldn't have wanted Max to get in trouble as well, it just wasn't who he was. Sonny sighed, "I'm sure you did what you could, Max. I'm sorry that I jumped on you like that."
Max brushed it off, "Don't worry about it, Mister Corinthos. If Damian were my son, I'd act the same."
Sonny nodded. "Jason... go back to the house and rest."
"You sure you don't need me?" Jason asked, since he really didn't think that spending more time on his back was going to help anyone, least of all him.
"Jason, I need you fully healed from the wound, and in order for that to happen I can't let you do anything that would make the healing time any longer. Get some rest." That last part was a direct order.
Jason, never one to doubt his mentor and best friend, succumbed. Even though he knew it was the right thing to do, he didn't enjoy it at all. "If you need anything..."
"I know where you are," Sonny quickly cut in.
"Stay healthy, Jase," Carly said.
Sonny returned his focus to his guard, "Max, if anything happens, if anyone tries to get back up here and they don't have a warrant, make sure you stop them and call me."
"Can do, Mister Corinthos."
Sonny walked into the house, with Carly holding his hand. When they closed the door, Carly shook her head, "You had no right to take Max's head off like that."
"I wasn't thinking."
"And if you don't start thinking you're never going to help you son," Carly pointed out. "You don't want Damian to be in that prison cell forever, do you?"
"Do you?" Sonny asked.
"I told you already, Sonny... I'm over it."
Sonny grabbed his temples, "I'm sorry, Carly. This is just so hard for me to get a grip on. Don't get angry at me for saying things right now, I don't mean them."
"Maybe you should get some rest."
"No!" Sonny opposed that idea very forcefully. "I'm not getting any rest until I know that my son is okay."
"Sonny..."
"It's out of the question, Carly," Sonny said. "I am not going to rest, because even if I tried I know that I would just keep on flashing back in my mind to the part where I failed my son, and that would keep me up enough."
"You didn't fail him."
"Maybe not in your eyes, maybe not in his eyes, but I did in my own."
Carly's face showed her sadness, "You're being way too hard on yourself, like always. Sonny, you can't always be responsible for the world's pain."
"But I am responsible right now."
"You're not thinking..."
Sonny sat down, "No, Carly, I'm not thinking about turning myself in. I wouldn't survive there... and as much as I want to help him, I know that I can't just let myself get confined in that cell... it would kill me. People might not come after me, but that's the least of my worries if I ever go to prison."
"We won't ever let you go," Carly said in a comforting tone. "Jason and I would do anything to make sure that you got out. We'd run away, we'd never be seen again. We could take the kids and start over."
"It's so easy with me," Sonny observed. "I'm willing to do anything in order to get out of trouble, but Damian wouldn't agree to that if we gave him that solution in order to fix his problems. He wouldn't leave this town, he wouldn't leave this family. Right now my biggest worry is that my worst enemy in solving this problem is my own son..."