Hours Later, General Hospital-
"How long has she been with him?" Georgie asked, both worried about what Maxie was doing and wanting to actually see that her friend was okay with her own two eyes as well.
"Georgie," Dillon put a hand on her cheek, "you and I both know that to them it's not like any time has passed. But, if you must know, it's been a few hours since she went in there."
Even though Ric and Elizabeth were 'allowed' to stay at the hospital, the only ones who had so much as passed a look at them since they arrived were the teens. Occasionally Michael would glance over, but he would quickly turn around, his fears and preconceptions about Ric taking control of his mind as they would always do as long as Sonny was allowed to unjustly poison the boy's opinions. Maybe one day Michael would be allowed to think for himself. Ric realized that it was likely a good thing that Damian had spent so much time separated from his father, it allowed him to forge his own path in life, something that would likely be denied to both Michael and Morgan.
The ding of the elevator made the sound that signaled someone arriving. Sonny walked out of it, holding his jacket and in a new suit. He saw Ric, Ric saw him, they shared a moment of intense staring, but they stopped themselves from saying anything. "Everything's ready," Sonny announced. "I just came to tell him that I was leaving..."
"Did Jason agree to go along?" Courtney asked.
"Yeah," Sonny responded. "But he had something that he had to take care of first."
"What could be so important..."
"Making sure that he's okay with my own two eyes," Jason came out from behind the wall that made everyone unaware of the fact that he was there.
Courtney smiled and hugged her husband, "I knew you'd come, I knew you'd find a way to show that you cared about him."
Dillon and Georgie were also pleased with the resulting events. Dillon knew that Jason was driven by a strong sense of family, it was apparently something that didn't die with the accident, although the shift of family did.
"I figured it was the right thing to do," Jason said softly.
"And I'm sure you came to that conclusion all by yourself," Courtney joked.
"No, I had a lot of help," Jason corrected. His eyes looked up at Dillon for a moment before turning towards his wife again. "Have you seen him yet?"
Courtney shook her head, "We've been waiting for a few hours, Maxie's been with him since Sonny left."
"She's still with him?" Sonny wondered. "Girl's got stamina, I'll give her that. The plane is leaving in 45 minutes, so we really need to go in there right now. Come on, Jason."
"I'll tell him that you're still waiting, okay?" Jason knew that it was tearing at Courtney that she hadn't done anything for her nephew since Damian landed himself in the hospital.
"Please..."
"Mr. Corinthos..." Georgie called out meekly, "could you please remind my sister that there are still other people that want to spend a moment of time with her boyfriend and remind her that she shouldn't be monopolizing his time?"
"English, Georgie, English," Dillon whispered.
"I mean, tell her that she should let someone else spend some time with him." Her correction seemed like it was simple enough.
"I'll do what I can," Sonny said.
"I can't believe Ric's here," Jason observed as soon as they were far enough away.
"I told you that he was probably going to be around," Sonny admitted sadly. "Much as I would like it to be otherwise."
"And you're just letting him stick around? That doesn't seem like something you would do."
"I've got to do this," Sonny mentioned. "No matter what my grudges with Ric are, I can't let that get in the way of Damian's recovery. If that means learning how to swallow my pride and let that bastard stick around for a little while then so be it."
"Elizabeth won't let him do anything that would hurt Damian," Jason assured Sonny. "She cares about him and would protect him, especially now."
"I think you're right, but she also loves Ric."
"I've tried to show her that she's wrong," Jason mused. "She just refuses to listen to whatever it is I have to say."
"Her choice, her mistake," Sonny quipped. "I know you'll keep her from being a casualty in Ric's war against us, but you have to be ready to accept that it might happen because she's letting herself be blinded by her foolish love for my brother."
"I just hope that it doesn't get that far," Jason said, holding his hopes up high because he knew that Ric would always end up regressing into the jealous little brother that he was.
Sonny opened the door to Damian's room. Maxie looked over and gave a slight smile. Damian had managed to go back to bed. "Hi," Maxie said, not showing any sort of fatigue despite the fact that she had pretty much been sitting in silence for an extended period of time. Sonny was used to it, but Sonny wasn't a talkative teenager like Maxie. He would have thought that it would have driven her insane. Obviously, it hadn't.
"How long has he been sleeping?" Sonny asked.
"A little over an hour," Maxie moved a strand of his hair away from his face. "We were talking, and then he just stopped talking. I was worried for a little bit, but his monitors didn't show that he was flat lining. He told me that he'd probably get knocked out at random intervals, too."
"Thank you for staying with him." Sonny remembered the message, "Georgie said something about you taking up all the time with Damian and that other people wanted to see him."
"I just didn't want to leave him alone."
"I'm glad that you stayed with him," Sonny agreed. "I'm sure he was glad that you stayed with him, too."
"I can't believe that everything has happened the way it has," She admitted. "We were supposed to do something together... once he got out... but now..."
"Maxie, he's going to be fine," Sonny remarked. "I'm not going to let anything else happen to him, not while I can protect him."
Maxie knew that she could trust Sonny's word. If there was anything that he was good at, it was keeping those that he loved out of danger when he knew how. She got up from the chair, "I'm sure he'd want to talk to you alone, and I've got to get ready for my shift... if he wakes up tell him that I'll be checking up on him as much as I can."
"I'll do that," Sonny watched her leave.
She stopped and looked up at Jason, "He'll appreciate that you came to see him, Jason." She walked away, not giving him a chance to say anything.
"She's right, you know," Sonny spoke for his son. "He wants to see everyone at least once."
"I'm here now, aren't I?" Jason replied.
"If you don't want to stick around, Jason, he'd understand. He wouldn't think less of you. He knows what it's like to have a fear of these places."
"I'll be fine," Jason protested, once again showing that he refused to be treated like a special case just because of his disability.
"You going to wake up, son?" Sonny asked Damian.
The sound of his father's voice broke Damian out of his sleep. He saw his father first, "Hey..."
"Look who came to see you..."
Damian looked over and saw Jason. Still groggy, he managed a smile, "Uncle Jason..."
"Sorry it took so long," Jason's face was still as blank as he could make it, but it was easy to tell that he was relieved that he saw Damian alive and well.
"Its fine, I'm thankful that you came," Damian sat up. "Where'd Maxie go?"
"She has to get ready for her shift," Sonny relayed the message that Maxie had asked him to. "She'll be checking up on you from time to time."
"She doesn't have to..."
"But she will," Sonny remarked. "Nothing's going to stop her from making sure that you're okay. I could put Max in front of the door and she'd find a way to get in."
Damian chuckled, "You're right, she'd find a way."
"We just came to see you before we left," Sonny took one look at the monitors, just to be sure that he needed to go. Everything was stable. "Do you want me to tell them anything?"
"Not to worry," Damian replied. "I'll be fine."
"Anything else?"
"Not to blame you."
Sonny smiled, his son was looking out for him. "You know that you don't have to defend me."
"They'll take you apart, dad," Damian remarked. "My family... is odd. If they think that you're responsible for this, which they will and there's nothing that we can do to convince them otherwise, they're all going to be on you like a pack of rabid wolves. Maybe you could appeal to my Nana... but certainly not Papi."
"I'll do what I can," Sonny was even more nervous now than he was before. "I'm going to get Courtney... Jason, stay with him until I get back."
"Sure." Jason and Damian watched Sonny leave.
"How's the leg?"
Jason couldn't help but let out a light chuckle, "I'm walking around and you're laid up in a hospital bed and you're asking me how my leg is?"
"Gets my mind off of everything," Damian admitted. "Everyone was so scared... and now they're not, but I'm still scared."
"Why? You're going to be fine..."
"This time," Damian muttered. "But what if I don't get so lucky the next time?"
"There won't be a next time."
"There's always going to be a next time, Uncle Jason," Damian stated. "Dad's always going to have enemies that want to take him down by any means necessary. I don't care what happens to me, I just want to keep my family and my friends safe, but if I'm gone I can't do that."
"You shouldn't worry about that right now," Jason sat down. "You need to focus on getting well."
"I'm focused on getting out of this bed, I need to keep on studying..."
"You should take it easy."
"I can't," Damian sighed. "Taking it easy in this family is just going to get me killed..."
"How long has she been with him?" Georgie asked, both worried about what Maxie was doing and wanting to actually see that her friend was okay with her own two eyes as well.
"Georgie," Dillon put a hand on her cheek, "you and I both know that to them it's not like any time has passed. But, if you must know, it's been a few hours since she went in there."
Even though Ric and Elizabeth were 'allowed' to stay at the hospital, the only ones who had so much as passed a look at them since they arrived were the teens. Occasionally Michael would glance over, but he would quickly turn around, his fears and preconceptions about Ric taking control of his mind as they would always do as long as Sonny was allowed to unjustly poison the boy's opinions. Maybe one day Michael would be allowed to think for himself. Ric realized that it was likely a good thing that Damian had spent so much time separated from his father, it allowed him to forge his own path in life, something that would likely be denied to both Michael and Morgan.
The ding of the elevator made the sound that signaled someone arriving. Sonny walked out of it, holding his jacket and in a new suit. He saw Ric, Ric saw him, they shared a moment of intense staring, but they stopped themselves from saying anything. "Everything's ready," Sonny announced. "I just came to tell him that I was leaving..."
"Did Jason agree to go along?" Courtney asked.
"Yeah," Sonny responded. "But he had something that he had to take care of first."
"What could be so important..."
"Making sure that he's okay with my own two eyes," Jason came out from behind the wall that made everyone unaware of the fact that he was there.
Courtney smiled and hugged her husband, "I knew you'd come, I knew you'd find a way to show that you cared about him."
Dillon and Georgie were also pleased with the resulting events. Dillon knew that Jason was driven by a strong sense of family, it was apparently something that didn't die with the accident, although the shift of family did.
"I figured it was the right thing to do," Jason said softly.
"And I'm sure you came to that conclusion all by yourself," Courtney joked.
"No, I had a lot of help," Jason corrected. His eyes looked up at Dillon for a moment before turning towards his wife again. "Have you seen him yet?"
Courtney shook her head, "We've been waiting for a few hours, Maxie's been with him since Sonny left."
"She's still with him?" Sonny wondered. "Girl's got stamina, I'll give her that. The plane is leaving in 45 minutes, so we really need to go in there right now. Come on, Jason."
"I'll tell him that you're still waiting, okay?" Jason knew that it was tearing at Courtney that she hadn't done anything for her nephew since Damian landed himself in the hospital.
"Please..."
"Mr. Corinthos..." Georgie called out meekly, "could you please remind my sister that there are still other people that want to spend a moment of time with her boyfriend and remind her that she shouldn't be monopolizing his time?"
"English, Georgie, English," Dillon whispered.
"I mean, tell her that she should let someone else spend some time with him." Her correction seemed like it was simple enough.
"I'll do what I can," Sonny said.
"I can't believe Ric's here," Jason observed as soon as they were far enough away.
"I told you that he was probably going to be around," Sonny admitted sadly. "Much as I would like it to be otherwise."
"And you're just letting him stick around? That doesn't seem like something you would do."
"I've got to do this," Sonny mentioned. "No matter what my grudges with Ric are, I can't let that get in the way of Damian's recovery. If that means learning how to swallow my pride and let that bastard stick around for a little while then so be it."
"Elizabeth won't let him do anything that would hurt Damian," Jason assured Sonny. "She cares about him and would protect him, especially now."
"I think you're right, but she also loves Ric."
"I've tried to show her that she's wrong," Jason mused. "She just refuses to listen to whatever it is I have to say."
"Her choice, her mistake," Sonny quipped. "I know you'll keep her from being a casualty in Ric's war against us, but you have to be ready to accept that it might happen because she's letting herself be blinded by her foolish love for my brother."
"I just hope that it doesn't get that far," Jason said, holding his hopes up high because he knew that Ric would always end up regressing into the jealous little brother that he was.
Sonny opened the door to Damian's room. Maxie looked over and gave a slight smile. Damian had managed to go back to bed. "Hi," Maxie said, not showing any sort of fatigue despite the fact that she had pretty much been sitting in silence for an extended period of time. Sonny was used to it, but Sonny wasn't a talkative teenager like Maxie. He would have thought that it would have driven her insane. Obviously, it hadn't.
"How long has he been sleeping?" Sonny asked.
"A little over an hour," Maxie moved a strand of his hair away from his face. "We were talking, and then he just stopped talking. I was worried for a little bit, but his monitors didn't show that he was flat lining. He told me that he'd probably get knocked out at random intervals, too."
"Thank you for staying with him." Sonny remembered the message, "Georgie said something about you taking up all the time with Damian and that other people wanted to see him."
"I just didn't want to leave him alone."
"I'm glad that you stayed with him," Sonny agreed. "I'm sure he was glad that you stayed with him, too."
"I can't believe that everything has happened the way it has," She admitted. "We were supposed to do something together... once he got out... but now..."
"Maxie, he's going to be fine," Sonny remarked. "I'm not going to let anything else happen to him, not while I can protect him."
Maxie knew that she could trust Sonny's word. If there was anything that he was good at, it was keeping those that he loved out of danger when he knew how. She got up from the chair, "I'm sure he'd want to talk to you alone, and I've got to get ready for my shift... if he wakes up tell him that I'll be checking up on him as much as I can."
"I'll do that," Sonny watched her leave.
She stopped and looked up at Jason, "He'll appreciate that you came to see him, Jason." She walked away, not giving him a chance to say anything.
"She's right, you know," Sonny spoke for his son. "He wants to see everyone at least once."
"I'm here now, aren't I?" Jason replied.
"If you don't want to stick around, Jason, he'd understand. He wouldn't think less of you. He knows what it's like to have a fear of these places."
"I'll be fine," Jason protested, once again showing that he refused to be treated like a special case just because of his disability.
"You going to wake up, son?" Sonny asked Damian.
The sound of his father's voice broke Damian out of his sleep. He saw his father first, "Hey..."
"Look who came to see you..."
Damian looked over and saw Jason. Still groggy, he managed a smile, "Uncle Jason..."
"Sorry it took so long," Jason's face was still as blank as he could make it, but it was easy to tell that he was relieved that he saw Damian alive and well.
"Its fine, I'm thankful that you came," Damian sat up. "Where'd Maxie go?"
"She has to get ready for her shift," Sonny relayed the message that Maxie had asked him to. "She'll be checking up on you from time to time."
"She doesn't have to..."
"But she will," Sonny remarked. "Nothing's going to stop her from making sure that you're okay. I could put Max in front of the door and she'd find a way to get in."
Damian chuckled, "You're right, she'd find a way."
"We just came to see you before we left," Sonny took one look at the monitors, just to be sure that he needed to go. Everything was stable. "Do you want me to tell them anything?"
"Not to worry," Damian replied. "I'll be fine."
"Anything else?"
"Not to blame you."
Sonny smiled, his son was looking out for him. "You know that you don't have to defend me."
"They'll take you apart, dad," Damian remarked. "My family... is odd. If they think that you're responsible for this, which they will and there's nothing that we can do to convince them otherwise, they're all going to be on you like a pack of rabid wolves. Maybe you could appeal to my Nana... but certainly not Papi."
"I'll do what I can," Sonny was even more nervous now than he was before. "I'm going to get Courtney... Jason, stay with him until I get back."
"Sure." Jason and Damian watched Sonny leave.
"How's the leg?"
Jason couldn't help but let out a light chuckle, "I'm walking around and you're laid up in a hospital bed and you're asking me how my leg is?"
"Gets my mind off of everything," Damian admitted. "Everyone was so scared... and now they're not, but I'm still scared."
"Why? You're going to be fine..."
"This time," Damian muttered. "But what if I don't get so lucky the next time?"
"There won't be a next time."
"There's always going to be a next time, Uncle Jason," Damian stated. "Dad's always going to have enemies that want to take him down by any means necessary. I don't care what happens to me, I just want to keep my family and my friends safe, but if I'm gone I can't do that."
"You shouldn't worry about that right now," Jason sat down. "You need to focus on getting well."
"I'm focused on getting out of this bed, I need to keep on studying..."
"You should take it easy."
"I can't," Damian sighed. "Taking it easy in this family is just going to get me killed..."