Chapter 14
'What am I going to do?' Faith thought to herself as she sat in the doctor's office. She ran her fingers through her hair. 'What if it comes back positive? What if it's true? What will Jason think?' It had been seven months since the shooting and Faith was thriving. She still hadn't gotten any of her memories of her life before the shooting back. But things had begun to move quickly for many residents of Port Charles. One significant thing that had happened was that Faith and Carly were friends now. Carly had come to terms with the fact that Faith wasn't about to take responsibility for the things she couldn't remember doing. Sonny had befriended her as well, so Faith often felt stuck between a rock and a hard place when she heard them talk about each other. Not all of Port Charles had forgiven Faith, however, so she just kept a low profile and stayed with Jason, Carly, or Sonny.
"Mrs. Morgan?" Dr. Meadows asked as she walked into the room. Faith turned in her chair. She and Jason had been married for three glorious months.
"Hi, Dr. Meadows," Faith replied with a smile.
"Well, your test results did come back positive. You are pregnant," she replied. Faith's eyes went wide. She smiled happily.
"Oh God, what am I gonna tell Jason?" she asked with extreme happiness in her voice.
"Well, you an tell him that you should be having a baby within the next six months. Your baby is due in April."
"Oh wow," Faith whispered.
"I want to run a few tests, so if you'll step back into the exam room . . ."
"Sure," Faith replied. She did as the doctor asked. She hopped up onto an exam table and the doctor turned on the sonogram machine. Faith lifted her shirt a little and the doctor dimmed the lights. She put some jelly-like goo on her belly and started the test. Right away, the image of Faith's baby was visible. The doctor nodded and pointed to the screen.
"There are your babies."
"Babies?" Faith asked with wide eyes.
"You're having twins, Mrs. Morgan. Congratulations." Faith smiled happily and she looked at the doctor.
"What am I going to tell my husband?" she asked with a laugh.
"Well, I'd suggest telling him to sit down first," the doctor replied. "Then tell him he's got six months to prepare for fatherhood." Faith laughed happily.
"From what it sounds like, I was never a maternal person," Faith began. "But I really want this. I want a family with Jason. I married him because I love him and I want these children because I want to be a mother. They'll be a symbol of the love Jason and I have."
"I'm happy for you, Mrs. Morgan," the doctor replied with a smile. "I wish the best of luck to you. See you in a month." Faith thanked the doctor again and headed home to tell Jason the news.
**
Bianca hurried downstairs as soon as she heard Michael throwing a fit. She had seven-month-old Miranda on her hip. Bianca immediately saw Mark and Michael in the living room and Michael was stomping his feet angrily.
"What's going on?" Bianca asked quickly.
"Mark's being mean! He's making me pick up all my toys and clean my room!" Michael exclaimed.
"Well, he's your step-father, Michael. You've got to listen to him."
"I want daddy! Mark's not my daddy!" Michael screamed.
"Stop yelling!" Carly exclaimed as she hurried into the room with year-old Morgan in her arms. Cadence came through the back yard and into the living room.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Everybody just leave me alone!" Michael screamed. He ran upstairs and Carly looked at Mark.
"What are we going to do with him?" Carly asked. "He won't stop throwing tantrums. Ever since Sonny and I agreed for him to have no visitation rights, Michael has been worse than ever. I know Sonny loves Michael and I know he wants to see him. But Michael needs to understand the rules. The rules are that he can't see his dad because of what we decided."
"He'll be okay. I know he doesn't trust me yet," Mark replied. "I mean, his mom just married a new man after she got divorced. He got a new sister and he moved into a new house. This house is a house he helped pick out."
"Yeah. He also thought Sonny would be living here . . . not you," Bianca replied quietly. She did like Mark, but she just worried about Michael's behavior.
"Maybe I should go talk to him," Mark started.
"I'll do it," Carly replied. "Honestly, I don't know why he can't try to accept this."
Bianca took Cadence's hand.
"Come on. Let's go outside and push MiMo on the swing." Cadence nodded and she and Bianca headed outside. Bianca began to think of all of the changes over the last seven months. Morgan had just celebrated his first birthday. Carly had married Mark a few months earlier. They were happy. Michael and Morgan hadn't seen Sonny in months. Carly and Sonny had agreed to no visitation rights for Michael. Sonny didn't want Michael and Morgan to have to see him ruining his life with Brenda. Michael was blaming Carly and Mark. He had been getting in trouble nearly every day.
Bianca knew Carly felt horrible about everything. Carly cried a lot because she missed Sonny. Carly even told Mark that she still loves Sonny. She told him she loves him too. Mark knew that Carly could never love him the way she loved Sonny. But he loved her and he loved her kids. He wanted to make things work.
"Why does Michael have to be so mean all the time?" Cadence asked.
"He's going through a rough time," Bianca replied.
"I know. He and Morgan need to see their daddy. If I didn't have my daddy, I'd be so sad," Cadence whispered.
"You're a sweet little girl, Cadence. I'm glad you're looking out for Michael. You're the same age as him so now he has somebody that he can confide in that will be able to talk to him at his level."
"But it's bad when I hear Michael called up to the office every day," Cadence replied. "I keep yelling at him at recess because he's always picking fights. One boy at school told him that he's going to be just like his dad one day. The told him he was going to be a criminal. Michael just punched him and broke his nose."
"It's awful, I know," Bianca whispered. "But we've got to make sure Michael knows he's loved. Carly and your dad are doing their best, but I know he's angry at them both right now. You know we've got to help out your brother, right?"
"Right," Cadence replied. Bianca smiled.
"Thank goodness we've got you in our lives, Cady. You're a good kid." Cady grinned as Bianca placed Miranda in the swing.
"Do you think Carly and Michael's daddy will ever get back together?"
"Why do you ask that?"
"Well, I really like Carly as my mom right now," Cadence explained. "But Michael really wants his mommy and daddy back together. I think that's the only thing that will make him happy."
"Let's not talk about this, okay? This isn't for us to decide. It's between your daddy, Carly, and Sonny."
**
Brenda waddled down the stairs of the penthouse with her year-old son Stone on one hip and Sonny's nearly two-year-old daughter Kristina on the other. Stone had just turned one and Kristina was going to turn two in a month.
Over the last seven months, Brenda and Sonny had gotten married, Sonny had gained full custody of his daughter, Alexis had been sent to jail for paternity fraud, and Sonny and Brenda had gotten married. That wasn't the only thing. Brenda was seven-months-pregnant with her and Sonny's first biological child together.
Brenda knew that Carly still loved Sonny, but she didn't want to lose him. He was a great father to Stone and to Kristina. She wanted him to be there for her and their new baby. Brenda had told Carly that Stone wasn't Sonny's real son, and the two had actually bonded. Not only had they bonded with each other, they had bonded with Faith. They were friends now, which was quite strange. Brenda knew Carly was hurting because she was carrying Sonny's child, but Carly had told her that she was happy with Mark and that she and Sonny were over.
It was an odd situation. With Carly Conrad, Brenda Corinthos, and Faith Morgan as friends, Jason, Mark, and Sonny were in strange positions. Jason and Sonny were still friends and Jason was still working for Sonny. Sonny hated Mark with a passion although Brenda tried to get them to be friends. Sonny loved Carly and wanted Mark out of her life, and Brenda knew that but she needed Sonny.
"You shouldn't be carrying them around like that," Sonny said as he saw Brenda descend the stairs. He was sitting in his wheel chair with some files in his lap.
"Sonny, relax," Brenda said with a laugh. "Dr. Meadows said I'm in perfect shape. Don't worry about me." Sonny sighed as Brenda put Kristina and Stone down. The kids ran around and Brenda walked over to Sonny. "The baby's kicking. Wanna feel?" Sonny reached out and put a hand on Brenda's belly. He didn't want to be married to Brenda, but he had married her as soon as they found out she was pregnant with his child, which was just a couple of weeks after she arrived in Port Charles.
"It's a strong baby," Sonny said quietly.
"You feeling anything today?" Brenda asked. Sonny nodded. While he was able to function as a man after the accident, his legs had been of no use. However, lately he had been feeling twinges and tingles in his legs and feet. Sonny pointed down at his bare feet. Brenda looked and saw Sonny's toes move. She grinned widely.
"Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "Sonny, that's amazing! You'll be walking in no time!" Sonny didn't look too excited about it. "Uh, can you take the kids out? I kind of want to be alone for awhile. I'll send Tony with you." Tony was a new bodyguard Sonny had hired for his new family.
"Okay," Brenda replied. She walked over to the closet and pulled the double stroller out. "C'mere kids." Brenda loaded the kids into the stroller and walked over to Sonny. "You sure you don't want to go?"
"Yeah," Sonny replied before wheeling himself out of the room. Brenda sighed and shook her head.
"Come on kids. Let's go to the park."
**
Bianca carried Miranda into Kelly's later that afternoon. She was meeting her new girlfriend Natalie English for lunch. Natalie and Bianca had been dating for several months. Bianca hadn't even tried to contact anybody in Pine Valley. She didn't want to go back to that place. It was nothing but a reminder of the way her mother treated her during her pregnancy . . . and of Michael Cambias.
Natalie was seated at a table and she already had a high chair scooted up to it. Bianca leaned down to kiss Natalie and she put Miranda in the high chair.
"Hey," Natalie said with a smile.
"How was work this morning?"
"Pretty hectic," Natalie replied. "Being an intern isn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. But I know I want to be a doctor. This is definitely the path I should be taking."
"Well, hopefully I can get a better job soon. I know I work here at Kelly's and everything, but it's not going to help me for the rest of my life. It's enough to pay rent to Carly and Mark, but that's about it."
"You'll be fine," Natalie replied with a smile. "Besides, I'll take care of you."
"Nat, you don't have to do that," Bianca replied. "You're too good to me."
"You deserve it," Natalie replied with a mischievous grin. Her pager went off and she sighed. "Damn. I just left that place."
"Hey, you need to go," Bianca replied. "We'll have lunch some other time."
"You sure?" Natalie asked.
"Of course," Bianca replied. Natalie jumped up and grabbed her jacket. She bent down to press a kiss to little MiMo's cheek and then she kissed Bianca. She hurried out of the diner and Bianca sighed. "You hungry MiMo?" Miranda giggled and banged her hands on her high chair. Bianca shook her head. "We'll see Natalie later, okay?" This wasn't the first time Natalie had to run off on an emergency. Bianca knew it wasn't going to be the last, and if they were going to be in an intimate relationship, Bianca knew she was going to have to get used to it.
**
Mark was at the hospital now while Carly was with the children. It was the weekend so Carly decided to take them to the park. They were taking a walk and Max wasn't too far behind. Even though Sonny had practically abandoned his family because he didn't want them to have to suffer because of his condition, he still wanted them protected.
Cadence was helping Carly push Morgan's stroller. Michael was walking ahead quietly, a look of anger and hurt in his eyes. Carly frowned for a moment when she saw Brenda walking her way with Kristina and Stone. But she smiled a moment later. Sometimes it was weird seeing Brenda being a mother to children that Sonny claimed as his own. It hurt sometimes, but somehow, Carly had grown to really care about Brenda.
What had happened was after Brenda told Carly about Stone not really being Sonny's, Carly and Brenda both went to Jake's bar, got extremely drunk and then proceeded to verbally duke it out with each other. Once both women were satisfied with the ending of their argument, they bought each other a final drink and from then on, they had become friends. After Jason married Faith, they had taken her under their wings and they had all become friends. It had become tradition now for Carly to take the kids to the park to meet with Brenda and Sonny's kids. They were all siblings now and Carly and Brenda wanted them to know each other.
"Hey," Carly said, waving at Brenda.
"Hey girl," Brenda replied.
"Do you need to sit down?" Carly asked. Brenda rubbed her belly gently as Max and Tony waved their greetings to each other.
"Nope, I'm okay. You're starting to sound like Sonny."
"Hearing that tugged a little at Carly's heart. She sighed a little."
"I'm sorry," Brenda began. "I'm sorry this whole situation is the way it is."
"It's okay. I'm happy," Carly replied.
"Me too," Brenda answered with a slight smile.
"Kids, why don't you go play on the swings?" Carly asked. She was talking to Michael and Cadence. Cadence nodded and she hurried over to the swings. Michael crossed his arms and stared angrily up at Brenda.
"You stole my daddy!" he yelled. Carly closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Michael, stop it," Carly warned. Brenda kneeled down and looked at Michael.
"Sweetie, I didn't steal your daddy," she began. "Your daddy loves you so much. He talks about you and your little brother all the time."
"I want to see him," Michael replied. "I want to ask him myself."
"Michael, you know the rules."
"I hate the rules!" Michael exclaimed. "I don't know why I can't see my own dad! He's my dad! I want to see him even if he doesn't want to see me!"
"I'll make a deal with you," Carly replied angrily. "I'll let you visit your daddy when you grow up and start acting like you're almost eight years old; not three!" Michael shook his head and walked off toward the swings. Brenda looked at Carly.
"Maybe I should leave."
"No, you just got here. How are Stone and Kristina?"
"They're doing good. I think it's weird that Stone and Morgan were both born on October 24th, do you?"
"Yeah," Carly replied with a laugh. "But not as weird as this whole situation."
"I'm sorry I ruined . . ."
"Brenda, you didn't ruin anything. Sonny and I were over before you came back. I'm just glad he's got somebody that loves him. How's he doing?"
"He's distant," Brenda replied. "He loves the kids and the one on the way, but when he looks at me, it's obvious that he's angry that I'm not you."
"Maybe he'll get over it when your baby is born," Carly replied, sitting down on a bench, parking Morgan's stroller next to Kristina and Stone's.
"Carly, you look so sad," Brenda replied. "I know you still love Sonny. He still loves you. I love him too and I'd do anything to hold onto him . . . but I know that he needs to be happy."
"He's fine," Carly replied. "Brenda, you and Sonny are fine, okay?"
"You may say that but you don't know. You have no idea how hard it is when your own husband won't sleep in your bed, the only time he wants to be around you is when he is asking about the baby you're carrying, and he doesn't even care that you love him. Carly, Sonny doesn't love me. He is my friend but he isn't my husband."
"He is . . ."
"No. A husband doesn't look at a wife's faults. He doesn't see her as a replacement for what he wants."
"Faults? Sonny only focused on my faults," Carly replied. She shook her head. "It wasn't meant to be. Mark makes me happy."
"Not the way Sonny makes you happy," Brenda replied. Carly nodded.
"I'll admit that. But my kids deserve a stable environment. Sonny is so spontaneous. You never know when he's going to kick you to the curb."
"He talks in his sleep."
"I know," Carly replied.
"I've gone downstairs several nights to hear him calling your name. He cries in his sleep too."
"He cries in his sleep?" Carly asked with surprise. Brenda nodded.
"It really hurts."
"I'm sorry," Carly whispered.
"Me too," Brenda replied. "Look, since you're trying to make things with Mark work, I'll try my best with Sonny. I want my kids to be happy and to have a good father. If . . . if things don't work out and Sonny outright tells me that he wants you, I'll have to leave."
"You can't leave him. He needs somebody," Carly replied with tears in her eyes.
"Yeah. You," Brenda replied. She gave Carly a hug. Carly shook her head.
"Things are going to work out, Brenda, one way or another," Carly replied. In her head, she wondered if Sonny really did still love her as much as Brenda said he did. Was he still in love with her? She didn't want to hurt Mark, but Carly was still in love with Sonny as well. But she knew she could never go back to him for the sake of the families at stake, could she?
'What am I going to do?' Faith thought to herself as she sat in the doctor's office. She ran her fingers through her hair. 'What if it comes back positive? What if it's true? What will Jason think?' It had been seven months since the shooting and Faith was thriving. She still hadn't gotten any of her memories of her life before the shooting back. But things had begun to move quickly for many residents of Port Charles. One significant thing that had happened was that Faith and Carly were friends now. Carly had come to terms with the fact that Faith wasn't about to take responsibility for the things she couldn't remember doing. Sonny had befriended her as well, so Faith often felt stuck between a rock and a hard place when she heard them talk about each other. Not all of Port Charles had forgiven Faith, however, so she just kept a low profile and stayed with Jason, Carly, or Sonny.
"Mrs. Morgan?" Dr. Meadows asked as she walked into the room. Faith turned in her chair. She and Jason had been married for three glorious months.
"Hi, Dr. Meadows," Faith replied with a smile.
"Well, your test results did come back positive. You are pregnant," she replied. Faith's eyes went wide. She smiled happily.
"Oh God, what am I gonna tell Jason?" she asked with extreme happiness in her voice.
"Well, you an tell him that you should be having a baby within the next six months. Your baby is due in April."
"Oh wow," Faith whispered.
"I want to run a few tests, so if you'll step back into the exam room . . ."
"Sure," Faith replied. She did as the doctor asked. She hopped up onto an exam table and the doctor turned on the sonogram machine. Faith lifted her shirt a little and the doctor dimmed the lights. She put some jelly-like goo on her belly and started the test. Right away, the image of Faith's baby was visible. The doctor nodded and pointed to the screen.
"There are your babies."
"Babies?" Faith asked with wide eyes.
"You're having twins, Mrs. Morgan. Congratulations." Faith smiled happily and she looked at the doctor.
"What am I going to tell my husband?" she asked with a laugh.
"Well, I'd suggest telling him to sit down first," the doctor replied. "Then tell him he's got six months to prepare for fatherhood." Faith laughed happily.
"From what it sounds like, I was never a maternal person," Faith began. "But I really want this. I want a family with Jason. I married him because I love him and I want these children because I want to be a mother. They'll be a symbol of the love Jason and I have."
"I'm happy for you, Mrs. Morgan," the doctor replied with a smile. "I wish the best of luck to you. See you in a month." Faith thanked the doctor again and headed home to tell Jason the news.
**
Bianca hurried downstairs as soon as she heard Michael throwing a fit. She had seven-month-old Miranda on her hip. Bianca immediately saw Mark and Michael in the living room and Michael was stomping his feet angrily.
"What's going on?" Bianca asked quickly.
"Mark's being mean! He's making me pick up all my toys and clean my room!" Michael exclaimed.
"Well, he's your step-father, Michael. You've got to listen to him."
"I want daddy! Mark's not my daddy!" Michael screamed.
"Stop yelling!" Carly exclaimed as she hurried into the room with year-old Morgan in her arms. Cadence came through the back yard and into the living room.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Everybody just leave me alone!" Michael screamed. He ran upstairs and Carly looked at Mark.
"What are we going to do with him?" Carly asked. "He won't stop throwing tantrums. Ever since Sonny and I agreed for him to have no visitation rights, Michael has been worse than ever. I know Sonny loves Michael and I know he wants to see him. But Michael needs to understand the rules. The rules are that he can't see his dad because of what we decided."
"He'll be okay. I know he doesn't trust me yet," Mark replied. "I mean, his mom just married a new man after she got divorced. He got a new sister and he moved into a new house. This house is a house he helped pick out."
"Yeah. He also thought Sonny would be living here . . . not you," Bianca replied quietly. She did like Mark, but she just worried about Michael's behavior.
"Maybe I should go talk to him," Mark started.
"I'll do it," Carly replied. "Honestly, I don't know why he can't try to accept this."
Bianca took Cadence's hand.
"Come on. Let's go outside and push MiMo on the swing." Cadence nodded and she and Bianca headed outside. Bianca began to think of all of the changes over the last seven months. Morgan had just celebrated his first birthday. Carly had married Mark a few months earlier. They were happy. Michael and Morgan hadn't seen Sonny in months. Carly and Sonny had agreed to no visitation rights for Michael. Sonny didn't want Michael and Morgan to have to see him ruining his life with Brenda. Michael was blaming Carly and Mark. He had been getting in trouble nearly every day.
Bianca knew Carly felt horrible about everything. Carly cried a lot because she missed Sonny. Carly even told Mark that she still loves Sonny. She told him she loves him too. Mark knew that Carly could never love him the way she loved Sonny. But he loved her and he loved her kids. He wanted to make things work.
"Why does Michael have to be so mean all the time?" Cadence asked.
"He's going through a rough time," Bianca replied.
"I know. He and Morgan need to see their daddy. If I didn't have my daddy, I'd be so sad," Cadence whispered.
"You're a sweet little girl, Cadence. I'm glad you're looking out for Michael. You're the same age as him so now he has somebody that he can confide in that will be able to talk to him at his level."
"But it's bad when I hear Michael called up to the office every day," Cadence replied. "I keep yelling at him at recess because he's always picking fights. One boy at school told him that he's going to be just like his dad one day. The told him he was going to be a criminal. Michael just punched him and broke his nose."
"It's awful, I know," Bianca whispered. "But we've got to make sure Michael knows he's loved. Carly and your dad are doing their best, but I know he's angry at them both right now. You know we've got to help out your brother, right?"
"Right," Cadence replied. Bianca smiled.
"Thank goodness we've got you in our lives, Cady. You're a good kid." Cady grinned as Bianca placed Miranda in the swing.
"Do you think Carly and Michael's daddy will ever get back together?"
"Why do you ask that?"
"Well, I really like Carly as my mom right now," Cadence explained. "But Michael really wants his mommy and daddy back together. I think that's the only thing that will make him happy."
"Let's not talk about this, okay? This isn't for us to decide. It's between your daddy, Carly, and Sonny."
**
Brenda waddled down the stairs of the penthouse with her year-old son Stone on one hip and Sonny's nearly two-year-old daughter Kristina on the other. Stone had just turned one and Kristina was going to turn two in a month.
Over the last seven months, Brenda and Sonny had gotten married, Sonny had gained full custody of his daughter, Alexis had been sent to jail for paternity fraud, and Sonny and Brenda had gotten married. That wasn't the only thing. Brenda was seven-months-pregnant with her and Sonny's first biological child together.
Brenda knew that Carly still loved Sonny, but she didn't want to lose him. He was a great father to Stone and to Kristina. She wanted him to be there for her and their new baby. Brenda had told Carly that Stone wasn't Sonny's real son, and the two had actually bonded. Not only had they bonded with each other, they had bonded with Faith. They were friends now, which was quite strange. Brenda knew Carly was hurting because she was carrying Sonny's child, but Carly had told her that she was happy with Mark and that she and Sonny were over.
It was an odd situation. With Carly Conrad, Brenda Corinthos, and Faith Morgan as friends, Jason, Mark, and Sonny were in strange positions. Jason and Sonny were still friends and Jason was still working for Sonny. Sonny hated Mark with a passion although Brenda tried to get them to be friends. Sonny loved Carly and wanted Mark out of her life, and Brenda knew that but she needed Sonny.
"You shouldn't be carrying them around like that," Sonny said as he saw Brenda descend the stairs. He was sitting in his wheel chair with some files in his lap.
"Sonny, relax," Brenda said with a laugh. "Dr. Meadows said I'm in perfect shape. Don't worry about me." Sonny sighed as Brenda put Kristina and Stone down. The kids ran around and Brenda walked over to Sonny. "The baby's kicking. Wanna feel?" Sonny reached out and put a hand on Brenda's belly. He didn't want to be married to Brenda, but he had married her as soon as they found out she was pregnant with his child, which was just a couple of weeks after she arrived in Port Charles.
"It's a strong baby," Sonny said quietly.
"You feeling anything today?" Brenda asked. Sonny nodded. While he was able to function as a man after the accident, his legs had been of no use. However, lately he had been feeling twinges and tingles in his legs and feet. Sonny pointed down at his bare feet. Brenda looked and saw Sonny's toes move. She grinned widely.
"Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "Sonny, that's amazing! You'll be walking in no time!" Sonny didn't look too excited about it. "Uh, can you take the kids out? I kind of want to be alone for awhile. I'll send Tony with you." Tony was a new bodyguard Sonny had hired for his new family.
"Okay," Brenda replied. She walked over to the closet and pulled the double stroller out. "C'mere kids." Brenda loaded the kids into the stroller and walked over to Sonny. "You sure you don't want to go?"
"Yeah," Sonny replied before wheeling himself out of the room. Brenda sighed and shook her head.
"Come on kids. Let's go to the park."
**
Bianca carried Miranda into Kelly's later that afternoon. She was meeting her new girlfriend Natalie English for lunch. Natalie and Bianca had been dating for several months. Bianca hadn't even tried to contact anybody in Pine Valley. She didn't want to go back to that place. It was nothing but a reminder of the way her mother treated her during her pregnancy . . . and of Michael Cambias.
Natalie was seated at a table and she already had a high chair scooted up to it. Bianca leaned down to kiss Natalie and she put Miranda in the high chair.
"Hey," Natalie said with a smile.
"How was work this morning?"
"Pretty hectic," Natalie replied. "Being an intern isn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. But I know I want to be a doctor. This is definitely the path I should be taking."
"Well, hopefully I can get a better job soon. I know I work here at Kelly's and everything, but it's not going to help me for the rest of my life. It's enough to pay rent to Carly and Mark, but that's about it."
"You'll be fine," Natalie replied with a smile. "Besides, I'll take care of you."
"Nat, you don't have to do that," Bianca replied. "You're too good to me."
"You deserve it," Natalie replied with a mischievous grin. Her pager went off and she sighed. "Damn. I just left that place."
"Hey, you need to go," Bianca replied. "We'll have lunch some other time."
"You sure?" Natalie asked.
"Of course," Bianca replied. Natalie jumped up and grabbed her jacket. She bent down to press a kiss to little MiMo's cheek and then she kissed Bianca. She hurried out of the diner and Bianca sighed. "You hungry MiMo?" Miranda giggled and banged her hands on her high chair. Bianca shook her head. "We'll see Natalie later, okay?" This wasn't the first time Natalie had to run off on an emergency. Bianca knew it wasn't going to be the last, and if they were going to be in an intimate relationship, Bianca knew she was going to have to get used to it.
**
Mark was at the hospital now while Carly was with the children. It was the weekend so Carly decided to take them to the park. They were taking a walk and Max wasn't too far behind. Even though Sonny had practically abandoned his family because he didn't want them to have to suffer because of his condition, he still wanted them protected.
Cadence was helping Carly push Morgan's stroller. Michael was walking ahead quietly, a look of anger and hurt in his eyes. Carly frowned for a moment when she saw Brenda walking her way with Kristina and Stone. But she smiled a moment later. Sometimes it was weird seeing Brenda being a mother to children that Sonny claimed as his own. It hurt sometimes, but somehow, Carly had grown to really care about Brenda.
What had happened was after Brenda told Carly about Stone not really being Sonny's, Carly and Brenda both went to Jake's bar, got extremely drunk and then proceeded to verbally duke it out with each other. Once both women were satisfied with the ending of their argument, they bought each other a final drink and from then on, they had become friends. After Jason married Faith, they had taken her under their wings and they had all become friends. It had become tradition now for Carly to take the kids to the park to meet with Brenda and Sonny's kids. They were all siblings now and Carly and Brenda wanted them to know each other.
"Hey," Carly said, waving at Brenda.
"Hey girl," Brenda replied.
"Do you need to sit down?" Carly asked. Brenda rubbed her belly gently as Max and Tony waved their greetings to each other.
"Nope, I'm okay. You're starting to sound like Sonny."
"Hearing that tugged a little at Carly's heart. She sighed a little."
"I'm sorry," Brenda began. "I'm sorry this whole situation is the way it is."
"It's okay. I'm happy," Carly replied.
"Me too," Brenda answered with a slight smile.
"Kids, why don't you go play on the swings?" Carly asked. She was talking to Michael and Cadence. Cadence nodded and she hurried over to the swings. Michael crossed his arms and stared angrily up at Brenda.
"You stole my daddy!" he yelled. Carly closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Michael, stop it," Carly warned. Brenda kneeled down and looked at Michael.
"Sweetie, I didn't steal your daddy," she began. "Your daddy loves you so much. He talks about you and your little brother all the time."
"I want to see him," Michael replied. "I want to ask him myself."
"Michael, you know the rules."
"I hate the rules!" Michael exclaimed. "I don't know why I can't see my own dad! He's my dad! I want to see him even if he doesn't want to see me!"
"I'll make a deal with you," Carly replied angrily. "I'll let you visit your daddy when you grow up and start acting like you're almost eight years old; not three!" Michael shook his head and walked off toward the swings. Brenda looked at Carly.
"Maybe I should leave."
"No, you just got here. How are Stone and Kristina?"
"They're doing good. I think it's weird that Stone and Morgan were both born on October 24th, do you?"
"Yeah," Carly replied with a laugh. "But not as weird as this whole situation."
"I'm sorry I ruined . . ."
"Brenda, you didn't ruin anything. Sonny and I were over before you came back. I'm just glad he's got somebody that loves him. How's he doing?"
"He's distant," Brenda replied. "He loves the kids and the one on the way, but when he looks at me, it's obvious that he's angry that I'm not you."
"Maybe he'll get over it when your baby is born," Carly replied, sitting down on a bench, parking Morgan's stroller next to Kristina and Stone's.
"Carly, you look so sad," Brenda replied. "I know you still love Sonny. He still loves you. I love him too and I'd do anything to hold onto him . . . but I know that he needs to be happy."
"He's fine," Carly replied. "Brenda, you and Sonny are fine, okay?"
"You may say that but you don't know. You have no idea how hard it is when your own husband won't sleep in your bed, the only time he wants to be around you is when he is asking about the baby you're carrying, and he doesn't even care that you love him. Carly, Sonny doesn't love me. He is my friend but he isn't my husband."
"He is . . ."
"No. A husband doesn't look at a wife's faults. He doesn't see her as a replacement for what he wants."
"Faults? Sonny only focused on my faults," Carly replied. She shook her head. "It wasn't meant to be. Mark makes me happy."
"Not the way Sonny makes you happy," Brenda replied. Carly nodded.
"I'll admit that. But my kids deserve a stable environment. Sonny is so spontaneous. You never know when he's going to kick you to the curb."
"He talks in his sleep."
"I know," Carly replied.
"I've gone downstairs several nights to hear him calling your name. He cries in his sleep too."
"He cries in his sleep?" Carly asked with surprise. Brenda nodded.
"It really hurts."
"I'm sorry," Carly whispered.
"Me too," Brenda replied. "Look, since you're trying to make things with Mark work, I'll try my best with Sonny. I want my kids to be happy and to have a good father. If . . . if things don't work out and Sonny outright tells me that he wants you, I'll have to leave."
"You can't leave him. He needs somebody," Carly replied with tears in her eyes.
"Yeah. You," Brenda replied. She gave Carly a hug. Carly shook her head.
"Things are going to work out, Brenda, one way or another," Carly replied. In her head, she wondered if Sonny really did still love her as much as Brenda said he did. Was he still in love with her? She didn't want to hurt Mark, but Carly was still in love with Sonny as well. But she knew she could never go back to him for the sake of the families at stake, could she?