Outside of Damian's room-
Carly had found that her finite amount of patience had since been long used up. Even though she was happy to know that Damian was okay, and she was very happy to know that everyone, the only exception being Jason who would end up finding out later, was aware of that fact she was wondering why Michael hadn't come back yet. She didn't care that she was more than well aware of the fact that Sonny would protect him if something happened, she wanted to know what was going on. She had slipped away from the crowd and soon enough was walking around the hospital, looking at the file names that were on the folders, hoping that one of them would be Damian's. She didn't even have to look at the folders after some time, since she saw Sonny standing outside. But... why was he outside? "Sonny!" Carly quickened her pace, not running but at least power walking.
"Carly... what are you doing here?" Sonny was surprised to see his wife, he didn't expect her to be anywhere near Damian for awhile.
"Where's Michael?"
"Inside," Sonny pointed to the door. "He said that he wanted to spend some time alone with Damian, so I let him."
"Sonny... someone could take him."
"Carly, I've been standing right here since Michael asked me to leave. We're on the 4th floor, nobody is going to sneak up into the window and take either of them."
"I'm just being paranoid," Carly admitted. "When I think about the fact that someone was intending to hurt my Mr. Man... it makes me want to scream."
"Now that I don't have to worry about Damian making it through this, I can focus on other things... one of them is finding the bastard that did this and making that person pay for hurting my family."
"I'm surprised that you're not already on the hunt," Carly said. "You're going to be out for blood, aren't you?"
"Yes, but I have something else that I need to take care of first... before my vengeance can be sated."
"What are you talking about?" Carly asked.
"I'm going to head out to Los Angeles later tonight," Sonny said. "Mike told me that I wasn't being fair to the Zuniga's by keeping them in the dark about this, and for once I agree with him."
"Sonny, you don't owe those people anything," Carly hadn't even met them, but it was true, Sonny didn't have to do anything for them. "They kept your son from you for twenty years!"
"Because I'm a dangerous person and they know that!" Sonny defended his son's family. "Besides, I do owe them. They raised Damian better than I could have."
"Sonny, you're a great father. You've done such a wonderful job raising Michael and making him the type of person that he is today, and you're going to do the same for Morgan when he gets old enough."
"I know I'm a good father," Sonny replied. "At least I know I'm a good father now. Carly, I wasn't even 20 years old when Damian was born, I was barely a kid and I had a son that I didn't even know about. The things that I've learned have been through years of watching families get torn apart because of the things that I did or saw someone else do. I didn't know any of that when Damian was growing up... I wouldn't have been able to raise him. I'm glad that the Zuniga's kept him from me... at least on some level."
"You're not being fair to yourself..."
"And I wasn't fair to them," Sonny cut her off. "But I'm going to try and fix that. They deserve to know, and I don't want to tell them over the phone."
"What if they get angry with you?" Carly was somewhat worried.
"You think I can't take care of myself?"
"You know that I'm well aware of the fact that you can handle yourself without any trouble, Sonny. What I'm saying is that you can only take care of yourself physically, these people, if they do attack you, are going to do it emotionally, and that's where your weakness is."
"I'll be fine, Carly," Sonny hugged her. "But thank you for looking after me."
"Someone has to do it," Carly muttered.
"I'm going to ask Jason to come with me," Sonny let go. "I know how much he doesn't want to be here so I wouldn't ask him to watch over Damian while I was in Los Angeles. Besides, if I get cold feet, which I might, he could force me into going and telling them."
"Courtney will stick around, probably," Carly had a feeling that Courtney would gladly stay watch while Sonny was away.
"Yeah, but Courtney's not good enough to make me not worry. I'm going to have some guards watching outside the hospital until Damian gets out of here. I can protect my family from my house, but I can't be everywhere at once. Michael will be safe, Morgan will be safe, and as long as I know that I have people watching around here, so will Damian."
"See?" Carly stated. "You're putting your children's safety over everything, even your desire to find the person who did this and make them pay. You're a good father, Sonny. How many times do I have to tell you?"
"Maybe I just like hearing it," Sonny murmured. "Maybe I just like knowing that I did something right... at least once."
"How long has he been in there?" Carly wondered, trying to change the focus and get Sonny off the pity train.
"A little over half an hour, I think," Sonny was guessing since there wasn't a clock anywhere that he could see and the cell phones were still down.
"What could he be doing?" Carly walked past Sonny and opened the door a little bit. When she saw what was in front of her eyes she made a gasp and put her hand over her mouth to cover any sound that she would have made. "Sonny, come here..."
"What? Is something wrong?"
"Just look," Carly propped the door open a little more. Michael was asleep, holding his brother's hand, sitting in the chair, his head resting on the side of Damian's bed. "I'd kill for a camera."
"I could arrange it," Sonny remarked.
"Look at him," Carly smiled. "Look at them. I never thought Michael would have someone that he could depend on as much as you and Jason... but I guess he has someone now, doesn't he?"
"Someone who can watch over him and Morgan if something should go wrong," Sonny put his hands on Carly's shoulders. "I'd trust him to bring our boys up."
Carly was quiet for a moment, but she had an answer as well, "So would I..." Even at his worst, which Carly had thought she saw, Damian was still a lot better than she could ever hope to be. Carly had a history of being vindictive and conniving, something that Damian just couldn't bring himself to be.
"Come on, let's leave the two of them alone," Sonny whispered as he pulled Carly softly away from the door, closing it as quietly as possible.
Even though the door didn't make a very big sound, it still stirred Damian from his drug induced slumber. The moment of disorientation passed by safely and he noticed that he had someone holding onto him. He looked down and saw that it was his little brother. Damian laughed a light chuckle that had him nearly tearing up. Michael cared about him as much as he cared about Michael. "Hey, kid... wake up..."
Michael moved slightly, moaning and rubbing his eyes. "What?"
"You didn't have to stay here until you went to sleep, you know," Damian hadn't looked at himself in the mirror, so he didn't know if his appearance was something that Michael would find grotesque and frightening. He was still the same person, but had something happened? He'd seen enough videos, he knew that he could have been disfigured in the accident. It didn't matter though, he was alive, that was all he needed.
Michael smiled, "You're up!"
"Yeah, I'm up."
"I thought you were never going to wake up," Michael admitted. "I thought you were going to leave me again."
"What'd I tell you before? I told you that no matter what, I'd never really leave you."
"Still... I thought you would."
"It's okay to be afraid from time to time," Damian said. "I was worried about you when I woke up."
"I'm okay," Michael replied. "At least I'm not as hurt as you are..."
"You've got a nasty bump on your head," Damian observed.
"So do you," Michael countered.
"I'm sorry about what happened, Michael. I shouldn't have let you go ahead of me... I should have made you wait."
"It's not your fault, it's mine."
"No, it isn't," Damian didn't want his little brother taking the blame for something that wasn't even his fault. "Whatever happened, it doesn't matter anymore, does it? I'm fine, you're fine, and we can still be a family."
"Grandma said that you got hurt pretty bad."
"I'm sure once these drugs wake up I'm going to be in a whole lot of pain, but I can survive the pain if it means that I get to spend another day with you and the other people that I love."
"You were asleep when I came in," Michael said. "I had to watch in order to make sure that you were breathing."
"I'm fine, Michael, I swear."
"But your bones..."
"Are going to heal, so stop worrying."
"Damian, I can't help it."
"Focus on the positive things in life, Michael. It's the only way that we can get through this. Where's dad?"
"Outside, I think. He said he'd wait for me. I didn't think that I was going to fall asleep."
"I'm glad that you stuck around, I don't mind waking up with you around," Damian felt a slight pain in his ribs, but he silenced his agony as much as possible, not trying to scare his brother. "Why don't you go get dad and let him know that I'm up?"
"Okay," Michael walked towards the door. Damian watched, well aware of the fact that he had someone who he'd do anything for. Even if he would have died, he would have known that it was worth it.
Carly had found that her finite amount of patience had since been long used up. Even though she was happy to know that Damian was okay, and she was very happy to know that everyone, the only exception being Jason who would end up finding out later, was aware of that fact she was wondering why Michael hadn't come back yet. She didn't care that she was more than well aware of the fact that Sonny would protect him if something happened, she wanted to know what was going on. She had slipped away from the crowd and soon enough was walking around the hospital, looking at the file names that were on the folders, hoping that one of them would be Damian's. She didn't even have to look at the folders after some time, since she saw Sonny standing outside. But... why was he outside? "Sonny!" Carly quickened her pace, not running but at least power walking.
"Carly... what are you doing here?" Sonny was surprised to see his wife, he didn't expect her to be anywhere near Damian for awhile.
"Where's Michael?"
"Inside," Sonny pointed to the door. "He said that he wanted to spend some time alone with Damian, so I let him."
"Sonny... someone could take him."
"Carly, I've been standing right here since Michael asked me to leave. We're on the 4th floor, nobody is going to sneak up into the window and take either of them."
"I'm just being paranoid," Carly admitted. "When I think about the fact that someone was intending to hurt my Mr. Man... it makes me want to scream."
"Now that I don't have to worry about Damian making it through this, I can focus on other things... one of them is finding the bastard that did this and making that person pay for hurting my family."
"I'm surprised that you're not already on the hunt," Carly said. "You're going to be out for blood, aren't you?"
"Yes, but I have something else that I need to take care of first... before my vengeance can be sated."
"What are you talking about?" Carly asked.
"I'm going to head out to Los Angeles later tonight," Sonny said. "Mike told me that I wasn't being fair to the Zuniga's by keeping them in the dark about this, and for once I agree with him."
"Sonny, you don't owe those people anything," Carly hadn't even met them, but it was true, Sonny didn't have to do anything for them. "They kept your son from you for twenty years!"
"Because I'm a dangerous person and they know that!" Sonny defended his son's family. "Besides, I do owe them. They raised Damian better than I could have."
"Sonny, you're a great father. You've done such a wonderful job raising Michael and making him the type of person that he is today, and you're going to do the same for Morgan when he gets old enough."
"I know I'm a good father," Sonny replied. "At least I know I'm a good father now. Carly, I wasn't even 20 years old when Damian was born, I was barely a kid and I had a son that I didn't even know about. The things that I've learned have been through years of watching families get torn apart because of the things that I did or saw someone else do. I didn't know any of that when Damian was growing up... I wouldn't have been able to raise him. I'm glad that the Zuniga's kept him from me... at least on some level."
"You're not being fair to yourself..."
"And I wasn't fair to them," Sonny cut her off. "But I'm going to try and fix that. They deserve to know, and I don't want to tell them over the phone."
"What if they get angry with you?" Carly was somewhat worried.
"You think I can't take care of myself?"
"You know that I'm well aware of the fact that you can handle yourself without any trouble, Sonny. What I'm saying is that you can only take care of yourself physically, these people, if they do attack you, are going to do it emotionally, and that's where your weakness is."
"I'll be fine, Carly," Sonny hugged her. "But thank you for looking after me."
"Someone has to do it," Carly muttered.
"I'm going to ask Jason to come with me," Sonny let go. "I know how much he doesn't want to be here so I wouldn't ask him to watch over Damian while I was in Los Angeles. Besides, if I get cold feet, which I might, he could force me into going and telling them."
"Courtney will stick around, probably," Carly had a feeling that Courtney would gladly stay watch while Sonny was away.
"Yeah, but Courtney's not good enough to make me not worry. I'm going to have some guards watching outside the hospital until Damian gets out of here. I can protect my family from my house, but I can't be everywhere at once. Michael will be safe, Morgan will be safe, and as long as I know that I have people watching around here, so will Damian."
"See?" Carly stated. "You're putting your children's safety over everything, even your desire to find the person who did this and make them pay. You're a good father, Sonny. How many times do I have to tell you?"
"Maybe I just like hearing it," Sonny murmured. "Maybe I just like knowing that I did something right... at least once."
"How long has he been in there?" Carly wondered, trying to change the focus and get Sonny off the pity train.
"A little over half an hour, I think," Sonny was guessing since there wasn't a clock anywhere that he could see and the cell phones were still down.
"What could he be doing?" Carly walked past Sonny and opened the door a little bit. When she saw what was in front of her eyes she made a gasp and put her hand over her mouth to cover any sound that she would have made. "Sonny, come here..."
"What? Is something wrong?"
"Just look," Carly propped the door open a little more. Michael was asleep, holding his brother's hand, sitting in the chair, his head resting on the side of Damian's bed. "I'd kill for a camera."
"I could arrange it," Sonny remarked.
"Look at him," Carly smiled. "Look at them. I never thought Michael would have someone that he could depend on as much as you and Jason... but I guess he has someone now, doesn't he?"
"Someone who can watch over him and Morgan if something should go wrong," Sonny put his hands on Carly's shoulders. "I'd trust him to bring our boys up."
Carly was quiet for a moment, but she had an answer as well, "So would I..." Even at his worst, which Carly had thought she saw, Damian was still a lot better than she could ever hope to be. Carly had a history of being vindictive and conniving, something that Damian just couldn't bring himself to be.
"Come on, let's leave the two of them alone," Sonny whispered as he pulled Carly softly away from the door, closing it as quietly as possible.
Even though the door didn't make a very big sound, it still stirred Damian from his drug induced slumber. The moment of disorientation passed by safely and he noticed that he had someone holding onto him. He looked down and saw that it was his little brother. Damian laughed a light chuckle that had him nearly tearing up. Michael cared about him as much as he cared about Michael. "Hey, kid... wake up..."
Michael moved slightly, moaning and rubbing his eyes. "What?"
"You didn't have to stay here until you went to sleep, you know," Damian hadn't looked at himself in the mirror, so he didn't know if his appearance was something that Michael would find grotesque and frightening. He was still the same person, but had something happened? He'd seen enough videos, he knew that he could have been disfigured in the accident. It didn't matter though, he was alive, that was all he needed.
Michael smiled, "You're up!"
"Yeah, I'm up."
"I thought you were never going to wake up," Michael admitted. "I thought you were going to leave me again."
"What'd I tell you before? I told you that no matter what, I'd never really leave you."
"Still... I thought you would."
"It's okay to be afraid from time to time," Damian said. "I was worried about you when I woke up."
"I'm okay," Michael replied. "At least I'm not as hurt as you are..."
"You've got a nasty bump on your head," Damian observed.
"So do you," Michael countered.
"I'm sorry about what happened, Michael. I shouldn't have let you go ahead of me... I should have made you wait."
"It's not your fault, it's mine."
"No, it isn't," Damian didn't want his little brother taking the blame for something that wasn't even his fault. "Whatever happened, it doesn't matter anymore, does it? I'm fine, you're fine, and we can still be a family."
"Grandma said that you got hurt pretty bad."
"I'm sure once these drugs wake up I'm going to be in a whole lot of pain, but I can survive the pain if it means that I get to spend another day with you and the other people that I love."
"You were asleep when I came in," Michael said. "I had to watch in order to make sure that you were breathing."
"I'm fine, Michael, I swear."
"But your bones..."
"Are going to heal, so stop worrying."
"Damian, I can't help it."
"Focus on the positive things in life, Michael. It's the only way that we can get through this. Where's dad?"
"Outside, I think. He said he'd wait for me. I didn't think that I was going to fall asleep."
"I'm glad that you stuck around, I don't mind waking up with you around," Damian felt a slight pain in his ribs, but he silenced his agony as much as possible, not trying to scare his brother. "Why don't you go get dad and let him know that I'm up?"
"Okay," Michael walked towards the door. Damian watched, well aware of the fact that he had someone who he'd do anything for. Even if he would have died, he would have known that it was worth it.