Joy- Carly's a slow learner, but once you hammer knowledge into her head hard enough, it seems to dent her thick skull. Indeed, Damian could be a catalyst towards a better relationship between Adella's boys, but it won't happen... at least not unless I do a sequel (don't get your hopes up).

Daxamillian is a fusing of Damian and Maxamillia (Maxie's full name), in the same light of Journey, Liason, and other such pairings. I don't know what you're going to do, I'm already feeling a huge void since I don't spend hours working on the story at a time. Maybe start reading something else?

I love characterization and dialog, it's what I do.

Dillon's more than a Japanese Anime influenced hairstyle boy. He's pretty damned smart and insightful, too! Besides, I wanted to make him an important character, even more so than before. Everyone can 'accept' what Ric did, but they don't have to like it, nor do they have to like him.

Go pathos! Go pathos! Or, maybe, you're just too emotional? Not that it's a bad thing, mind you...

Story-

Waiting Area-

Sonny came back, officially ending his shortest visit with his son since Damian had been admitted into the hospital, it actually meant that things were getting better so the lack of length was a good thing. He saw that Georgie was gone and figured that she had gone to chase after her sister, probably starting with her shift at the same time as Maxie since they often volunteered at the same time. "Courtney, we need to get going, but... I know how much you want to see him and I feel better knowing that someone is with him at all times," Sonny walked over, "Jason's waiting for you to get into the room before he comes with me."

Courtney got up, "I know his room number, I'll go right now," Courtney walked passed Sonny but halted. "Sonny, remember why you're going back to Los Angeles, to tell his family about what happened, nothing else. Don't make this a crusade to make yourself look better in the eyes of those people, just tell them what they need to know and come back."

"I don't have any intentions of sticking around there, Courtney," Sonny said. "Believe me, I don't want to stay very long."

"Daddy..."

"Yeah, buddy?" Sonny looked down at his boy.

"Why are you so afraid of going to see Damian's family in Los Angeles?" Michael's question was innocent only because they all knew that the boy didn't understand the subtext behind everything.

"It's complicated, Michael," Sonny muttered.

"But it shouldn't be. They're his family and we're his family, should that mean that we all get along?"

"I wish everything could be so simple," He moved his eyes to look at Ric, who also knew that Sonny was looking at him. If things were that simple, being family would be enough. "But I did something that I shouldn't have done when I was younger than Damian is... and it hurt them very much."

"What was it?"

"I'd rather not talk about it right now, buddy," Sonny admitted. "But, when you're older I will be happy to tell you..."

"Why do I always have to be older in order to understand anything?" Michael huffed. "That isn't fair! I'm not a little boy!"

"Michael..." Carly grabbed her son. "Don't lash out at your father like that, this isn't his fault."

Michael calmed himself down slightly, "Sorry, daddy..."

"It's okay, buddy, I know how frustrating it can be to not understand everything and still have questions that you only want to have answered. But you have to understand that you don't know what it's like to go through the things that grown ups go through right now. When you do everything will become a lot clearer."

"Promise?"

"Yes. Michael, I promise." Sonny grinned. "Now, give daddy a hug and make sure that you watch over your brother while I'm gone, okay?"

"When are you coming back?" Michael asked as he wrapped his arms around his father's waist.

"I should be home by dinnertime tomorrow," Sonny was giving himself some time to talk to them and then fly home right away. "Maybe earlier, maybe later. You'll know when I'm on my way home because I'll call."

"We might be here..."

"I'll call his room, then," Sonny remarked. "You can't keep me from anything, Mike, you know that."

"Because you always get what you want, right, daddy?"

"Always," Sonny finished. He moved over and kissed Carly, "Tell Jason that I'll be waiting for him in the car."

"Be careful, Sonny."

"I'm always careful, Carly." Sonny walked away, leaving the family alone again.

Damian's Room-

Jason wasn't sure what he should have been doing. He knew that he was supposed to watch Damian until Courtney got there, but Damian had shared with him a depressing thought that Damian knew was a fact of life. He couldn't be carefree anymore. He had managed to maintain a certain level of innocence about life in Port Charles up until that point, but it was shattered along with his ribs the night before. How was Jason supposed to respond to that? He supposed that he should have known something, anything. If he couldn't do it with Damian, how was he supposed to do it with Morgan? With Michael?

He was also unsure of what he was going to say just in general, to make conversation. He hated being in the hospital. He forced himself to be around because he knew that his nephew wants him there, but it didn't make it any easier. Instead he stood there in stoic silence like always, but it was the one time that he wanted to actually say or do something.

Courtney knocked on the door, breaking the silence and causing Jason's body to stop being so tense. When she pushed it open, she saw that there was nothing that was going on. "Did... I interrupt something?"

"No," Jason replied.

"Uncle Jason was just being my enforcer," Damian added. Jason looked at him. Damian shrugged, "Well, you were..."

Jason snickered, "You know, if anything your attitude is going to get you into more trouble than who your father is."

"I'm in here because of my attitude, got it," Damian was being nonchalant. He was doing something that he was good at. "Uncle Jason... thanks for coming."

"No problem."

"Keep my dad from running away with his tail tucked between his legs, would you?" Damian requested. "Make sure he actually talks to my family. They're not as scary as they seem once they stop flashing their rabid fangs."

"Should I use that wording?"

"Only if you want dad to have even less reason to go see them," Damian flashed a smile. He wasn't even on any sort of drugs that would make him act so irregular, that was the part that was hard to believe.

"I'll call you when I get into Los Angeles," Jason told Courtney.

"Okay, have a safe trip," Courtney kissed him, watching as he left the room, closing the door behind him. She focused her attentions on her nephew, "You're a sight for sore eyes."

"Just don't give me too close a look, you'll see the stitches. I doubt they're pretty."

"How many people have thanked you for doing what you did?" Courtney asked.

"Counting you? That would be 3."

"You do know why we're so grateful, don't you?"

"I have an idea," Damian retorted. "I couldn't just let him get hit by that truck, Aunt Courtney. I didn't care what happened to me at that moment. The only thing on my mind was saving Michael."

"And that's what you did, you're a hero."

"But, unlike Superman, or depending on how you look at it, Uncle Jason, I happen to be very average, I've got the broken bones to prove it."

"It doesn't matter what you're made out of, Damian. What you did showed that you're one of the best people that I've ever met. You acted selflessly, and while I wish that you didn't get hurt like you did, I won't say that I don't think you did it for nothing."

"I still hurt Michael," Damian admitted. "I should have made sure that we were both able to get away without any harm. I could have stopped the whole thing from happening..."

"Do you really think that?"

"Yes, I do," Damian replied.

"Why?"

"Because I shouldn't have gone with him to Kelly's, I shouldn't have even thought about it. If I had just stayed at home with him instead of taking him out everything would have been different."

"You were in jail for a week! You wanted to do something that showed Michael you still cared about him."

"I didn't need to take him out, though!" Damian's expression caused him to move his torso too much and he felt the pain in a single moment. He grabbed his waist and groaned.

"What is it?"

"No more yelling on my part," Damian muttered, still breathing a little heavier to block out the pain as best he could.

"Why don't you get some rest?" Courtney suggest. "I'll stay around and watch you until you get up."

"How long have you been here?"

"Since earlier this morning."

"I don't want you all staying around here forever just for me," Damian said. "I'd rather you all went home and got some rest yourselves."

"Sonny wants me to stay with you while he's in Los Angeles. I already told him that I would do it."

"I can watch myself," Damian replied. "I mean, I don't think that you can't keep me safe, but I don't want to put you in danger either."

"You can't watch yourself," Courtney pointed to all the machines. "If you weren't hooked up to all these machines and nursing broken bones, then you could. But, face it, Damian, you're not going to get rid of me today."

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Depends on the favor," Courtney said.

"When I wake up, send someone to get Uncle Ric and Elizabeth..."

"Why?"

"I owe them my life..." He could see that Courtney didn't like the expression. "No matter what you feel about them, Aunt Courtney, it's true. Please... they won't do anything, I just want to say thanks."

"Fine, but you have to get some more rest first." Courtney plopped down on the chair and watched as her nephew drifted asleep. She didn't like the idea of asking Ric to come around, but she wouldn't say no. She couldn't say no.