Corinthos Household-
The family walked into the house after a day at the zoo. It was cut short for a reason, Sonny wanted everyone to be home in the off change that Justus was able to get his son out. He hadn't heard anything, due to the less than pleasant service that everyone in Port Charles was getting on their cell phones. Apparently something had happened and there was a downed line somewhere that took out the service for most of the area. Sonny should have known better than to depend on other people to keep him under the best possible conditions. He would surely make a complaint as soon as the offices were opened again. It was unacceptable. For now, though, it could wait. His concentrated was focused on two things, Damian and Michael. He couldn't do anything for the first at the moment, but the entire reason that they had left was so that Michael could get something in his life that would bring him a small amount of happiness. He'd been so miserable since the arrest and no one could blame him. They were just all very happy that Michael wasn't awake when it happened. Damian, in his last act and showcasing his ever protective nature, didn't do anything that would cause alarm to anyone in the house, even going so far as to tell Courtney that she couldn't risk making them aware of his plight.
Sonny looked at the nanny. He was holding his infant son, something that he never got to do as much as he would like. He felt a small sense of comfort while he held Morgan in his arms, as if he knew that he had done at least one thing in his life that was worth doing. He had been there for Morgan through it all, even if the boy was just a baby. But, Sonny knew that he needed to stay around Michael, since the boy was very sensitive and aware of what was going to happen, or at least what could possibly happen if things went bad. "Leticia, could you take Morgan and put him down for a nap?"
Leticia smiled and took Morgan from Sonny's arms, softly and easily. She knew how to care for children better than almost anyone that Sonny knew. It was the reason why she was hired to take care of them. "I'll make sure that he gets to bed without being fussy," Leticia walked the baby up the stairs, leaving Michael with Sonny, Carly and Courtney. They were three of the most important people in his life. Michael would almost always be happy to be around them, but it had been different. Sonny knew it. They all knew it. Even Michael did.
"Did you have fun at the zoo, buddy?" Sonny asked.
"I guess," Michael sat down on the couch, dangling his feet as a means of distraction.
Carly and Courtney shot looks at each other, the gloom apparent in both their eyes. Carly forced a smile, the best that she possibly could under the given situation, and sat down next to him. "You liked seeing the monkeys didn't you? You always loved the monkeys."
"They were okay," Michael replied with only a small amount of interest. He never looked up at anyone, though.
Courtney wasn't going to try and make her nephew feel any better. If his parents couldn't do it, what chance did she have? "Maybe I should go check on Jason..."
"Thanks for coming, Courtney," Sonny said. "I wish it could have been better... for all of us."
"Yeah," Courtney replied solemnly. "So do I." She eyed Michael once more, "I'll be back later, okay, Michael?"
"Okay," Michael replied, his voice utterly monotone. "Bye, Aunt Courtney."
"Bye," Courtney was almost breathless. Michael was too young to be going through the pain that he was going through. It wasn't fair. But there weren't many things in life, especially the life that they had, that were fair.
As she opened the door and walked out she noticed that Max had returned. He looked at her and smiled before giving a brief nod of his head. She thought that he looked too happy, and she didn't know why. She thought that maybe Sonny had managed to get rid of Alcazar, that would be reason for Max's ecstatic behavior. She would have to ask Jason when she got back into their home.
She walked into her house and, putting her purse on the table spoke without looking, "Jason... is there a reason that Max should be so..." She looked up at saw her husband and her nephew sitting on the couch, both looking up at her. "Happy?"
Damian grinned, "I'd think he would have a reason to be happy, yeah."
"Damian?" Courtney walked over and hugged him, "It's you, you're out!"
"I've been cleared of all the charges," Damian said as he embraced his aunt. "They let me out earlier this morning. Justus was to bring me back, but no one was home when I did get back so I came over here to see if either you or Uncle Jason were home."
"We went out... tried to think of something that would make Michael a little bit happier." Courtney pulled away, "He's been so miserable lately."
"I know... and I have something to do with that," Damian looked away. He should have never caused Michael pain, even if he truly had nothing to do with it.
"You don't need to blame yourself. You couldn't have stopped what happened."
"How's dad?"
"You know your father," Courtney mused. "He's not going to show just how much pain he's feeling. He's trying to hide it from everyone, but he's not succeeding. We know that he's hurting. But that doesn't matter anymore, because you're here again."
"If they're home... I should really go back over there," Damian got up and walked passed Courtney. "I never got around to thanking you for watching over them that night..."
"I wanted to help you."
"But you wouldn't have helped me. You would have only made it worse. He would have taken you in, too. And, unlike with me, he would have had reason to hold you even further. I don't think that Uncle Ric would have just nonchalantly thrown you into the deal." Damian put his hand on the knob, "Regardless, it's over with now." He opened the door and left, closing it softly behind him.
Courtney looked over at Jason, "What does he mean? What did Ric have to do with any of this?"
"Ric had a plan to get Damian out of jail. He got evidence that proved Baldwin was working the system to keep him there illegally."
"He probably got it illegally," Courtney muttered. "I can't believe that Sonny trusted him."
"Neither can I, but can you blame him?"
"No."
"Sonny would have done anything to get Damian out, even make a deal with his devil of a half brother. I didn't want him to do it, but I wasn't going to make Sonny's mind up for him, not that I could do it if I tried."
"You knew about this?" Courtney asked, somewhat disgusted.
"He confided in me, like he always does." Jason turned and grabbed Courtney's hand, "Like I said before, no one makes Sonny's mind up for him. I gave him my opinion on trusting Ric, but I couldn't make him listen to me anymore than you could. I hate Ric for a lot of reasons, none of them stronger than what he did to you and Carly. That hate is never going to go away, Courtney. I can't turn it off like it was never there. But that doesn't mean that I won't admit that Ric, on some level, actually came through for us today. It will never make me forgive him, but I can't ignore that."
"Neither will Sonny," Courtney believed that Jason wanted nothing to do with Ric Lansing. It was the smartest thing that any of them could have done. Working with Ric was always going to cause more problems than it was likely to fix. "I should just be thankful that whatever Ric was thinking about doing actually did work for once, shouldn't I?"
"I think it would be the best thing to do," Jason replied.
Courtney moved closer to him, "But I don't know if I really can, Jason. I don't know if I can ignore everything that he's done. I know I can't help but think that he's going to turn this against all of us somehow."
Across the Hall-
Michael had barely moved and looked up since he had gotten home. They had given him everything that he could want. They let him have all the candy he wanted. Sonny and Carly gave him every single desire that he had. And, it could be thought that they were actually happy at least a few times during the time that they spent at the zoo. The same couldn't be said for Michael, though. He only went with his parents because he felt that they wanted him to go with them. He knew that they were trying to make him feel better, but he didn't know why they didn't realize that making him happy would have meant getting Damian out of the jail cell. Did his parents really understand what was going on in his head?
"Mike?" Sonny had been sitting next to his boy, cautiously eying him from time to time. "Come on, buddy. Talk to me. Talk to daddy. I can't help you unless I know what's going on in your head."
"Why couldn't you save him?" Michael asked. "Why couldn't you bring him home like before? You've always saved everyone. You saved mommy and Aunt Courtney before. You were supposed to be able to do everything."
"I wish I could have done something, Michael," Sonny admitted. "But there are times when even I can't fix every single problem."
"But you've never had that problem before."
Carly bit her lip, "Honey... you have to know that what happened wasn't anyone's fault. It wasn't daddies, it wasn't yours and it certainly wasn't Damian's."
"I know that," Michael replied. "I know that inside, but it doesn't make it any easier to believe."
"I can't tell you what to believe, Mike," Sonny knew there would be a time when he would fail Michael in the eyes of his young son. He had hoped that it wouldn't come so quickly, but he was facing it at that moment and there was nothing he could do about it. "But I can tell you that I honestly did everything that I could have done, and I'm still doing everything that I can do."
Michael got up, "I want to play my video game... can I?"
The door opened. "Not before you spend some time with me first, I hope."
The three of them looked at the door. Damian was leaning against it nonchalantly, as if everything that he had been through over the past week just faded away when he saw that his family was home. They looked happy to see him, even Carly. It was good to see that she didn't hold some contempt when he had finally got home.
"Damian!" Michael, forgetting his woes since they were no longer important, dashed over, showing exuberance that he hadn't shown in some time. He grabbed his elder brother's waist. "I thought I'd never see you again."
"I'd come back, Michael, you know that."
"But the bad men took you away again... and daddy couldn't fix it right away," Michael looked over at his father. "I'm sorry I doubted you, daddy."
"Its fine, Mike," Sonny said. In truth, he was beginning to doubt himself as well. There was no reason for Michael to know that, though. Michael could be happy again, and his other son was home. That was all that mattered. "He's back now, nothing else matters."
Damian averted his eyes from the red-head that was latched to him. Michael wasn't going to be letting go anytime soon. "Dad... thank you."
"I've never done anything like that before in my life, Damian. I never thought I could wait that long. You showed me that I could be better than I thought I could be." Sonny hugged his son. "Welcome home."
The family walked into the house after a day at the zoo. It was cut short for a reason, Sonny wanted everyone to be home in the off change that Justus was able to get his son out. He hadn't heard anything, due to the less than pleasant service that everyone in Port Charles was getting on their cell phones. Apparently something had happened and there was a downed line somewhere that took out the service for most of the area. Sonny should have known better than to depend on other people to keep him under the best possible conditions. He would surely make a complaint as soon as the offices were opened again. It was unacceptable. For now, though, it could wait. His concentrated was focused on two things, Damian and Michael. He couldn't do anything for the first at the moment, but the entire reason that they had left was so that Michael could get something in his life that would bring him a small amount of happiness. He'd been so miserable since the arrest and no one could blame him. They were just all very happy that Michael wasn't awake when it happened. Damian, in his last act and showcasing his ever protective nature, didn't do anything that would cause alarm to anyone in the house, even going so far as to tell Courtney that she couldn't risk making them aware of his plight.
Sonny looked at the nanny. He was holding his infant son, something that he never got to do as much as he would like. He felt a small sense of comfort while he held Morgan in his arms, as if he knew that he had done at least one thing in his life that was worth doing. He had been there for Morgan through it all, even if the boy was just a baby. But, Sonny knew that he needed to stay around Michael, since the boy was very sensitive and aware of what was going to happen, or at least what could possibly happen if things went bad. "Leticia, could you take Morgan and put him down for a nap?"
Leticia smiled and took Morgan from Sonny's arms, softly and easily. She knew how to care for children better than almost anyone that Sonny knew. It was the reason why she was hired to take care of them. "I'll make sure that he gets to bed without being fussy," Leticia walked the baby up the stairs, leaving Michael with Sonny, Carly and Courtney. They were three of the most important people in his life. Michael would almost always be happy to be around them, but it had been different. Sonny knew it. They all knew it. Even Michael did.
"Did you have fun at the zoo, buddy?" Sonny asked.
"I guess," Michael sat down on the couch, dangling his feet as a means of distraction.
Carly and Courtney shot looks at each other, the gloom apparent in both their eyes. Carly forced a smile, the best that she possibly could under the given situation, and sat down next to him. "You liked seeing the monkeys didn't you? You always loved the monkeys."
"They were okay," Michael replied with only a small amount of interest. He never looked up at anyone, though.
Courtney wasn't going to try and make her nephew feel any better. If his parents couldn't do it, what chance did she have? "Maybe I should go check on Jason..."
"Thanks for coming, Courtney," Sonny said. "I wish it could have been better... for all of us."
"Yeah," Courtney replied solemnly. "So do I." She eyed Michael once more, "I'll be back later, okay, Michael?"
"Okay," Michael replied, his voice utterly monotone. "Bye, Aunt Courtney."
"Bye," Courtney was almost breathless. Michael was too young to be going through the pain that he was going through. It wasn't fair. But there weren't many things in life, especially the life that they had, that were fair.
As she opened the door and walked out she noticed that Max had returned. He looked at her and smiled before giving a brief nod of his head. She thought that he looked too happy, and she didn't know why. She thought that maybe Sonny had managed to get rid of Alcazar, that would be reason for Max's ecstatic behavior. She would have to ask Jason when she got back into their home.
She walked into her house and, putting her purse on the table spoke without looking, "Jason... is there a reason that Max should be so..." She looked up at saw her husband and her nephew sitting on the couch, both looking up at her. "Happy?"
Damian grinned, "I'd think he would have a reason to be happy, yeah."
"Damian?" Courtney walked over and hugged him, "It's you, you're out!"
"I've been cleared of all the charges," Damian said as he embraced his aunt. "They let me out earlier this morning. Justus was to bring me back, but no one was home when I did get back so I came over here to see if either you or Uncle Jason were home."
"We went out... tried to think of something that would make Michael a little bit happier." Courtney pulled away, "He's been so miserable lately."
"I know... and I have something to do with that," Damian looked away. He should have never caused Michael pain, even if he truly had nothing to do with it.
"You don't need to blame yourself. You couldn't have stopped what happened."
"How's dad?"
"You know your father," Courtney mused. "He's not going to show just how much pain he's feeling. He's trying to hide it from everyone, but he's not succeeding. We know that he's hurting. But that doesn't matter anymore, because you're here again."
"If they're home... I should really go back over there," Damian got up and walked passed Courtney. "I never got around to thanking you for watching over them that night..."
"I wanted to help you."
"But you wouldn't have helped me. You would have only made it worse. He would have taken you in, too. And, unlike with me, he would have had reason to hold you even further. I don't think that Uncle Ric would have just nonchalantly thrown you into the deal." Damian put his hand on the knob, "Regardless, it's over with now." He opened the door and left, closing it softly behind him.
Courtney looked over at Jason, "What does he mean? What did Ric have to do with any of this?"
"Ric had a plan to get Damian out of jail. He got evidence that proved Baldwin was working the system to keep him there illegally."
"He probably got it illegally," Courtney muttered. "I can't believe that Sonny trusted him."
"Neither can I, but can you blame him?"
"No."
"Sonny would have done anything to get Damian out, even make a deal with his devil of a half brother. I didn't want him to do it, but I wasn't going to make Sonny's mind up for him, not that I could do it if I tried."
"You knew about this?" Courtney asked, somewhat disgusted.
"He confided in me, like he always does." Jason turned and grabbed Courtney's hand, "Like I said before, no one makes Sonny's mind up for him. I gave him my opinion on trusting Ric, but I couldn't make him listen to me anymore than you could. I hate Ric for a lot of reasons, none of them stronger than what he did to you and Carly. That hate is never going to go away, Courtney. I can't turn it off like it was never there. But that doesn't mean that I won't admit that Ric, on some level, actually came through for us today. It will never make me forgive him, but I can't ignore that."
"Neither will Sonny," Courtney believed that Jason wanted nothing to do with Ric Lansing. It was the smartest thing that any of them could have done. Working with Ric was always going to cause more problems than it was likely to fix. "I should just be thankful that whatever Ric was thinking about doing actually did work for once, shouldn't I?"
"I think it would be the best thing to do," Jason replied.
Courtney moved closer to him, "But I don't know if I really can, Jason. I don't know if I can ignore everything that he's done. I know I can't help but think that he's going to turn this against all of us somehow."
Across the Hall-
Michael had barely moved and looked up since he had gotten home. They had given him everything that he could want. They let him have all the candy he wanted. Sonny and Carly gave him every single desire that he had. And, it could be thought that they were actually happy at least a few times during the time that they spent at the zoo. The same couldn't be said for Michael, though. He only went with his parents because he felt that they wanted him to go with them. He knew that they were trying to make him feel better, but he didn't know why they didn't realize that making him happy would have meant getting Damian out of the jail cell. Did his parents really understand what was going on in his head?
"Mike?" Sonny had been sitting next to his boy, cautiously eying him from time to time. "Come on, buddy. Talk to me. Talk to daddy. I can't help you unless I know what's going on in your head."
"Why couldn't you save him?" Michael asked. "Why couldn't you bring him home like before? You've always saved everyone. You saved mommy and Aunt Courtney before. You were supposed to be able to do everything."
"I wish I could have done something, Michael," Sonny admitted. "But there are times when even I can't fix every single problem."
"But you've never had that problem before."
Carly bit her lip, "Honey... you have to know that what happened wasn't anyone's fault. It wasn't daddies, it wasn't yours and it certainly wasn't Damian's."
"I know that," Michael replied. "I know that inside, but it doesn't make it any easier to believe."
"I can't tell you what to believe, Mike," Sonny knew there would be a time when he would fail Michael in the eyes of his young son. He had hoped that it wouldn't come so quickly, but he was facing it at that moment and there was nothing he could do about it. "But I can tell you that I honestly did everything that I could have done, and I'm still doing everything that I can do."
Michael got up, "I want to play my video game... can I?"
The door opened. "Not before you spend some time with me first, I hope."
The three of them looked at the door. Damian was leaning against it nonchalantly, as if everything that he had been through over the past week just faded away when he saw that his family was home. They looked happy to see him, even Carly. It was good to see that she didn't hold some contempt when he had finally got home.
"Damian!" Michael, forgetting his woes since they were no longer important, dashed over, showing exuberance that he hadn't shown in some time. He grabbed his elder brother's waist. "I thought I'd never see you again."
"I'd come back, Michael, you know that."
"But the bad men took you away again... and daddy couldn't fix it right away," Michael looked over at his father. "I'm sorry I doubted you, daddy."
"Its fine, Mike," Sonny said. In truth, he was beginning to doubt himself as well. There was no reason for Michael to know that, though. Michael could be happy again, and his other son was home. That was all that mattered. "He's back now, nothing else matters."
Damian averted his eyes from the red-head that was latched to him. Michael wasn't going to be letting go anytime soon. "Dad... thank you."
"I've never done anything like that before in my life, Damian. I never thought I could wait that long. You showed me that I could be better than I thought I could be." Sonny hugged his son. "Welcome home."