General Hospital-
Sonny came up to the family and the friends of his son. Where they had once looked on with somber and misery, they were now filled with hope and bright thoughts. He was grateful that Damian had created a family in Port Charles. The way that he had come from Los Angeles, a young man looking for everything and having almost nothing, finding what he wanted and making an impact on so many lives. It was awe inspiring and humbling to Sonny. Even though he didn't know the boy as well as he would have liked, Sonny could still proudly claim without a doubt that he was honored to have Damian as his son.
"Maxie's in there with him," Sonny said, looking down at Michael who he was also very proud of. Even though Michael had been unstable due to the events that had transpired, he still managed to keep himself as grounded as possible. He cried, he worried, but those weren't unexpected. "Everything seems to be fine. Aside from a few times when he'll drift into a drug induced sleep, he doesn't have any problems with anything. His body is taking the blood that they gave him to help bring the amount up since he lost so much last night. I'm sure he would like to see all of you, but right now his attentions are somewhat diverted."
"We can wait," Dillon said.
"We'd have to," Georgie agreed. "Maxie would kill us if we cut into her time with Damian, she was so worried last night."
"We all were," Sonny concurred. "But that's behind us now. The only thing we have to worry about now is helping him recover."
"Do you know how long that's going to be?" Courtney asked.
Sonny, not being a doctor and having very little knowledge in the ways of medicine and recovery times, could not give his little sister any definite answer, "No clue." Sonny sat in a vacant chair, "We're going to wait until the hospital releases him and then we're going to take him back to the penthouse so he can recover at home. I don't care how much it costs, I'll hire a nurse to watch him until he gets better."
Georgie thought that Maxie would probably volunteer to be Damian's caretaker, which wasn't something that Mac was going to allow, not that it would stop Maxie. Still, Georgie didn't want the two of them arguing about anything, especially after all that had happened. Regardless, Mac would draw the line at letting Maxie hang around Sonny's penthouse. If they ever did end up committing to a long term relationship, which is how things were looking for both of them, the relationships that it would cause between Mac and Sonny would be interesting to see play out, if not potentially dangerous. The crime lord being an in-law with the upholder of the law. It was the stuff that made great fiction, but if it happened in Georgie's life it would be anything but fiction.
"We'll all help, Sonny," Mike said. "Whatever you need us to do, we'll do it."
"Thanks, I appreciate that," Sonny nodded an affirmation to his father, which made Mike even more elated than it would have normally. Sonny thanking him was a rare and beautiful thing, after all.
"Do you need us to do anything right now?" Mike inquired. "I'm sure you're tired, son..."
"I'm fine," Sonny replied. "I've had plenty of years to perfect the sleepless night routine."
"Sonny, maybe you should get some rest... just in case," Carly chimed in, looking out for her husband's health know that Damian's was no longer in danger. Even if it was, she'd still look out for Sonny, even though she knew that it would have then been futile.
"I'll sleep on the ride to Los Angeles." Sonny looked over at Courtney, "Did anyone tell you about that plan?"
Courtney nodded, "I think it's a great idea, Sonny. Those people deserve to know what happened to their grandson, he's as much a part of their family as he is part of ours."
Sonny was still somewhat cautious about talking to the Zuniga's. They would never be friendly with one another, especially Elias and himself. They couldn't forget the past that had created the events that they were in now. They were barely civil with one another the last time Sonny went over. Knowing that Sonny couldn't protect his grandson might anger Elias greatly. Sonny could deal with it, but he would rather there be no more bad blood between himself and his son's maternal side of the family than there already was. That was why he needed Jason, because he needed someone to be there with him, to stop him from running. Partly to stop him from being like Mike was when Sonny needed him. "I need to call the airport, get the jet ready. I should change, too," Sonny got up. "I'll check back before I leave, but if there is anything that happens, find a way to get in contact with me and I'll be back in a flash."
"Give Morgan a kiss for me," Carly requested.
"Of course I will," Sonny gave his wife a kiss on the cheek. "Buddy, you watch out for your big brother, okay? He needs you right now."
"I won't fail him, daddy," Michael replied, somewhat naïve to the situation, but knowing that his father was trusting him with a very important situation.
"I know you won't, buddy," Sonny hugged Michael, "you never fail me, never."
Michael laughed at the compliment, thinking that there was something that was amusing about it. When Sonny let go and headed for the elevator, Michael waved, "Bye, daddy."
"Bye," Sonny grinned and looked at everyone else, giving a silent farewell to them all.
Courtney looked at Carly, "It's great to see him so happy again."
"I know, I thought we were going to lose him again, but we didn't. We didn't lose anything."
"Mommy?"
"Yeah, honey?"
"Can we go get a soda?"
Carly grinned, "Yeah, sure."
Courtney got up, too, "I'll come with you, I could use a drink." She looked over at the teens and her father, "You guys want anything?"
They all shook their heads, none of them being thirsty.
Some Time Later, Corinthos Household-
Sonny came into the house, throwing his jacket over the couch. He hadn't been home in over 12 hours, it felt good to step inside a place that he was comfortable in. It felt even better to know that he could bring his son home to that very same place in time. "Leticia?" Sonny called out for the nanny.
"Yes, Mr. Corinthos?" Leticia came down, holding Morgan in her arms from his room on the top floor. "Is everything fine?"
"Everything is great," Sonny remarked. "Damian pulled through and he's going to be fine."
Leticia was very happy, "Oh, thank God."
"That's who we need to thank," Sonny mused, mostly to himself, wondering if his prayers had any sort of effect on the situation. "Could I hold Morgan?"
"Yeah, sure," Leticia handed him over without any doubts in her mind. Sonny was the boy's father, and while he often allowed himself to let his temper get in the way of his judgments, she knew that Sonny was a good father. "I'll go and get some food ready for him."
"Thanks, Leticia," Sonny called out as she walked into the kitchen. Holding Morgan in his arms made Sonny somewhat nostalgic. He loved it when he held his children, when he felt that he was the one person that could protect them from anything and everything. "Hey there, little guy," Sonny put his index finger out to Morgan, who grabbed it with his diminutive hands and gurgled. "Did you know what was going on?" Sonny asked, not really expecting an answer from an infant who couldn't even talk. "Did you know that big brother was in trouble? Well, even if you did know, you don't have to worry anymore, Morgan. We saved him, the doctors and God saved him from leaving us. You're going to grow up with one of the best role models that you could ever get. He'll watch out for you, I know he will. If anything should happen to me, I know that he'll do his best to see that you and Michael grow up and become good men." Sonny was slightly overcome with his emotions. He felt himself shaking. He had come so close to losing everything that mattered to him, so close. "Sometimes daddy forgets just how precious you boys are to me, but I know that I'll never forget that again."
Jason came in, hearing Sonny call his name when Sonny came up via the elevator. He saw Morgan in Sonny's arms, "Something wrong with Morgan?"
"Does there have to be something wrong with my baby for me to hold him?" Sonny asked, somewhat snappy, although that wasn't his intention.
"No," Jason said, "I just jumped to conclusions because I don't really know what to feel right now, I don't know what's going to happen to our family, Sonny. I'm sorry."
"Don't be, Jason, I know what you're going through better than you think. You know how many times I swore on everything that I was, the entirety of my being, that I couldn't let my son die last night?"
"Sonny, what happened wasn't your fault. I know that you're thinking it was, but you can't think like that. It couldn't have been helped. You had no way of knowing that it was going to happen."
"There's always a way, Jason," Sonny corrected his right hand man. "There's always a way of knowing that someone is trying to come after my family. I was just sloppy and I wasn't paying attention, look at the price that I paid because of it."
"Why'd you call me?" Jason wondered. It wasn't that he didn't want to know that everything was going to be okay with Damian, but Jason sincerely doubted that it was the reason Sonny had wanted him to be around.
"We're going to Los Angeles tonight," Sonny said.
"Sonny, should you really be concentrating on something like that right now? Your kid is in the hospital, I don't want you to be irrational again, my leg's just starting to get back to what it used to be."
"I don't intend on going there with any sort of violent intentions," Sonny said. "I want to tell the Zuniga's what happened."
"Is that a good idea?" Jason wondered. "I mean, the last time that you went over there it was to save their grandson from being killed by the widow, and now you're going to tell them that he was almost killed again..."
"Jason, they have to know," Sonny gazed at Jason. "I can't go through my life thinking that they don't exist. They mean too much to Damian, I can't expect him to abandon the people that made him the man that he is today just for my selfish needs."
"Why do you need me?" Jason didn't mind that Sonny wanted him around, but he still wanted to know.
"I'm worried about what is going to happen to me, what I'll do. I don't really want to go see them by choice, Jason. I feel that I have to do it for my son and that is the only reason why I'm even thinking about it."
"You're putting what your children want in front of yourself, Sonny. You've always done that. Why is this any different?"
"It just is, Jason." Sonny looked at Morgan again. "I think about everything that I did as a father with Michael, and with Morgan. We didn't have a perfect time raising Michael and Morgan's birth was one of the most complex times in my life, but I managed to be around for my children when they needed it. I wasn't there for Damian. Everything about our relationship is different from the ones that I have with his brothers because he's such a different person."
"You're still a good father to him," Jason said. "He's told me that you're a better father than he would have ever expected."
"Has he?"
"Yes," Jason walked over to the bar and poured himself some water. "He might not always show it, Sonny, but he cares about you more than you think. He looks past the fact that we do what we do, that you're the person that you are. It's hard for him, and sometimes he can't do it as much as he'd like, but he manages to separate the person you are professionally to who you can be to him as a father. It's an important distinction, one that lets him keep on being around us."
"How do you know this?"
"It's strange... we talk," Jason took a drink of his water. "You know how much I don't like doctors, and I don't think that I ever will... but with him, I know that I'd feel safe if he were the one that was doing something to me, no matter what it was. I wasn't expecting to care about Damian as much as I do, maybe because I was so cautious about him in the beginning or just because I don't open up a lot, but I do care about him."
"He cares about his Uncle Jason," Sonny smirked.
"That's still a little hard for me to hear," Jason retorted. "But I'm glad that he views me in that way. When do we leave?"
"Later tonight. I'm going to change and then head back to the hospital to say goodbye before I leave Port Charles. You're more than welcome to come."
"I'll think about it. You need anything special?"
"I doubt it, but just to be on the safe side we're going to take a couple men with us."
"Good idea," Jason put the glass down and head out. "I'll get on it right now."
"Thanks, Jason," Sonny called out as the door closed. Looking down at Morgan again, Sonny Corinthos saw a future that he could be proud of.
Sonny came up to the family and the friends of his son. Where they had once looked on with somber and misery, they were now filled with hope and bright thoughts. He was grateful that Damian had created a family in Port Charles. The way that he had come from Los Angeles, a young man looking for everything and having almost nothing, finding what he wanted and making an impact on so many lives. It was awe inspiring and humbling to Sonny. Even though he didn't know the boy as well as he would have liked, Sonny could still proudly claim without a doubt that he was honored to have Damian as his son.
"Maxie's in there with him," Sonny said, looking down at Michael who he was also very proud of. Even though Michael had been unstable due to the events that had transpired, he still managed to keep himself as grounded as possible. He cried, he worried, but those weren't unexpected. "Everything seems to be fine. Aside from a few times when he'll drift into a drug induced sleep, he doesn't have any problems with anything. His body is taking the blood that they gave him to help bring the amount up since he lost so much last night. I'm sure he would like to see all of you, but right now his attentions are somewhat diverted."
"We can wait," Dillon said.
"We'd have to," Georgie agreed. "Maxie would kill us if we cut into her time with Damian, she was so worried last night."
"We all were," Sonny concurred. "But that's behind us now. The only thing we have to worry about now is helping him recover."
"Do you know how long that's going to be?" Courtney asked.
Sonny, not being a doctor and having very little knowledge in the ways of medicine and recovery times, could not give his little sister any definite answer, "No clue." Sonny sat in a vacant chair, "We're going to wait until the hospital releases him and then we're going to take him back to the penthouse so he can recover at home. I don't care how much it costs, I'll hire a nurse to watch him until he gets better."
Georgie thought that Maxie would probably volunteer to be Damian's caretaker, which wasn't something that Mac was going to allow, not that it would stop Maxie. Still, Georgie didn't want the two of them arguing about anything, especially after all that had happened. Regardless, Mac would draw the line at letting Maxie hang around Sonny's penthouse. If they ever did end up committing to a long term relationship, which is how things were looking for both of them, the relationships that it would cause between Mac and Sonny would be interesting to see play out, if not potentially dangerous. The crime lord being an in-law with the upholder of the law. It was the stuff that made great fiction, but if it happened in Georgie's life it would be anything but fiction.
"We'll all help, Sonny," Mike said. "Whatever you need us to do, we'll do it."
"Thanks, I appreciate that," Sonny nodded an affirmation to his father, which made Mike even more elated than it would have normally. Sonny thanking him was a rare and beautiful thing, after all.
"Do you need us to do anything right now?" Mike inquired. "I'm sure you're tired, son..."
"I'm fine," Sonny replied. "I've had plenty of years to perfect the sleepless night routine."
"Sonny, maybe you should get some rest... just in case," Carly chimed in, looking out for her husband's health know that Damian's was no longer in danger. Even if it was, she'd still look out for Sonny, even though she knew that it would have then been futile.
"I'll sleep on the ride to Los Angeles." Sonny looked over at Courtney, "Did anyone tell you about that plan?"
Courtney nodded, "I think it's a great idea, Sonny. Those people deserve to know what happened to their grandson, he's as much a part of their family as he is part of ours."
Sonny was still somewhat cautious about talking to the Zuniga's. They would never be friendly with one another, especially Elias and himself. They couldn't forget the past that had created the events that they were in now. They were barely civil with one another the last time Sonny went over. Knowing that Sonny couldn't protect his grandson might anger Elias greatly. Sonny could deal with it, but he would rather there be no more bad blood between himself and his son's maternal side of the family than there already was. That was why he needed Jason, because he needed someone to be there with him, to stop him from running. Partly to stop him from being like Mike was when Sonny needed him. "I need to call the airport, get the jet ready. I should change, too," Sonny got up. "I'll check back before I leave, but if there is anything that happens, find a way to get in contact with me and I'll be back in a flash."
"Give Morgan a kiss for me," Carly requested.
"Of course I will," Sonny gave his wife a kiss on the cheek. "Buddy, you watch out for your big brother, okay? He needs you right now."
"I won't fail him, daddy," Michael replied, somewhat naïve to the situation, but knowing that his father was trusting him with a very important situation.
"I know you won't, buddy," Sonny hugged Michael, "you never fail me, never."
Michael laughed at the compliment, thinking that there was something that was amusing about it. When Sonny let go and headed for the elevator, Michael waved, "Bye, daddy."
"Bye," Sonny grinned and looked at everyone else, giving a silent farewell to them all.
Courtney looked at Carly, "It's great to see him so happy again."
"I know, I thought we were going to lose him again, but we didn't. We didn't lose anything."
"Mommy?"
"Yeah, honey?"
"Can we go get a soda?"
Carly grinned, "Yeah, sure."
Courtney got up, too, "I'll come with you, I could use a drink." She looked over at the teens and her father, "You guys want anything?"
They all shook their heads, none of them being thirsty.
Some Time Later, Corinthos Household-
Sonny came into the house, throwing his jacket over the couch. He hadn't been home in over 12 hours, it felt good to step inside a place that he was comfortable in. It felt even better to know that he could bring his son home to that very same place in time. "Leticia?" Sonny called out for the nanny.
"Yes, Mr. Corinthos?" Leticia came down, holding Morgan in her arms from his room on the top floor. "Is everything fine?"
"Everything is great," Sonny remarked. "Damian pulled through and he's going to be fine."
Leticia was very happy, "Oh, thank God."
"That's who we need to thank," Sonny mused, mostly to himself, wondering if his prayers had any sort of effect on the situation. "Could I hold Morgan?"
"Yeah, sure," Leticia handed him over without any doubts in her mind. Sonny was the boy's father, and while he often allowed himself to let his temper get in the way of his judgments, she knew that Sonny was a good father. "I'll go and get some food ready for him."
"Thanks, Leticia," Sonny called out as she walked into the kitchen. Holding Morgan in his arms made Sonny somewhat nostalgic. He loved it when he held his children, when he felt that he was the one person that could protect them from anything and everything. "Hey there, little guy," Sonny put his index finger out to Morgan, who grabbed it with his diminutive hands and gurgled. "Did you know what was going on?" Sonny asked, not really expecting an answer from an infant who couldn't even talk. "Did you know that big brother was in trouble? Well, even if you did know, you don't have to worry anymore, Morgan. We saved him, the doctors and God saved him from leaving us. You're going to grow up with one of the best role models that you could ever get. He'll watch out for you, I know he will. If anything should happen to me, I know that he'll do his best to see that you and Michael grow up and become good men." Sonny was slightly overcome with his emotions. He felt himself shaking. He had come so close to losing everything that mattered to him, so close. "Sometimes daddy forgets just how precious you boys are to me, but I know that I'll never forget that again."
Jason came in, hearing Sonny call his name when Sonny came up via the elevator. He saw Morgan in Sonny's arms, "Something wrong with Morgan?"
"Does there have to be something wrong with my baby for me to hold him?" Sonny asked, somewhat snappy, although that wasn't his intention.
"No," Jason said, "I just jumped to conclusions because I don't really know what to feel right now, I don't know what's going to happen to our family, Sonny. I'm sorry."
"Don't be, Jason, I know what you're going through better than you think. You know how many times I swore on everything that I was, the entirety of my being, that I couldn't let my son die last night?"
"Sonny, what happened wasn't your fault. I know that you're thinking it was, but you can't think like that. It couldn't have been helped. You had no way of knowing that it was going to happen."
"There's always a way, Jason," Sonny corrected his right hand man. "There's always a way of knowing that someone is trying to come after my family. I was just sloppy and I wasn't paying attention, look at the price that I paid because of it."
"Why'd you call me?" Jason wondered. It wasn't that he didn't want to know that everything was going to be okay with Damian, but Jason sincerely doubted that it was the reason Sonny had wanted him to be around.
"We're going to Los Angeles tonight," Sonny said.
"Sonny, should you really be concentrating on something like that right now? Your kid is in the hospital, I don't want you to be irrational again, my leg's just starting to get back to what it used to be."
"I don't intend on going there with any sort of violent intentions," Sonny said. "I want to tell the Zuniga's what happened."
"Is that a good idea?" Jason wondered. "I mean, the last time that you went over there it was to save their grandson from being killed by the widow, and now you're going to tell them that he was almost killed again..."
"Jason, they have to know," Sonny gazed at Jason. "I can't go through my life thinking that they don't exist. They mean too much to Damian, I can't expect him to abandon the people that made him the man that he is today just for my selfish needs."
"Why do you need me?" Jason didn't mind that Sonny wanted him around, but he still wanted to know.
"I'm worried about what is going to happen to me, what I'll do. I don't really want to go see them by choice, Jason. I feel that I have to do it for my son and that is the only reason why I'm even thinking about it."
"You're putting what your children want in front of yourself, Sonny. You've always done that. Why is this any different?"
"It just is, Jason." Sonny looked at Morgan again. "I think about everything that I did as a father with Michael, and with Morgan. We didn't have a perfect time raising Michael and Morgan's birth was one of the most complex times in my life, but I managed to be around for my children when they needed it. I wasn't there for Damian. Everything about our relationship is different from the ones that I have with his brothers because he's such a different person."
"You're still a good father to him," Jason said. "He's told me that you're a better father than he would have ever expected."
"Has he?"
"Yes," Jason walked over to the bar and poured himself some water. "He might not always show it, Sonny, but he cares about you more than you think. He looks past the fact that we do what we do, that you're the person that you are. It's hard for him, and sometimes he can't do it as much as he'd like, but he manages to separate the person you are professionally to who you can be to him as a father. It's an important distinction, one that lets him keep on being around us."
"How do you know this?"
"It's strange... we talk," Jason took a drink of his water. "You know how much I don't like doctors, and I don't think that I ever will... but with him, I know that I'd feel safe if he were the one that was doing something to me, no matter what it was. I wasn't expecting to care about Damian as much as I do, maybe because I was so cautious about him in the beginning or just because I don't open up a lot, but I do care about him."
"He cares about his Uncle Jason," Sonny smirked.
"That's still a little hard for me to hear," Jason retorted. "But I'm glad that he views me in that way. When do we leave?"
"Later tonight. I'm going to change and then head back to the hospital to say goodbye before I leave Port Charles. You're more than welcome to come."
"I'll think about it. You need anything special?"
"I doubt it, but just to be on the safe side we're going to take a couple men with us."
"Good idea," Jason put the glass down and head out. "I'll get on it right now."
"Thanks, Jason," Sonny called out as the door closed. Looking down at Morgan again, Sonny Corinthos saw a future that he could be proud of.