After the Fire

A General Hospital fan-fiction

Chapter Four: Family Matters

Bobbie and Michael arrived at the penthouse at 7:30 am. "Sweetie, why don't you go put your bag in your room?" Bobbie suggested as she laid her purse on the table by the door. Michael nodded and went upstairs.

Sonny walked out of the kitchen and was surprised to see her. "Bobbie, I didn't expect you this early."

"Hi Sonny," she said with a smile. "I have an early shift today."

Sonny nodded, casting a glance toward the stairs. "Is Michael upstairs?"

"Yeah, he took his bag upstairs." Bobbie paused, unsure of how to approach him with a subject she knew he would not like.

Sonny sensed her apprehension. "Would you like to sit down, Bobbie?" he asked, gesturing her toward the chair opposite the sofa.

Bobbie sighed as she sat down. "I don't quite know how to say this, Sonny," she began, "so I'm going to just be blunt." She took a breath. "Michael has been asking about AJ."

Sonny blinked. He was surprised. Michael hadn't given him any indication of what he had been thinking. "What has he been saying?" Sonny asked, genuinely concerned.

"Well, not much right now," Bobbie answered, "he wanted to know if AJ knew that Carly was dead."

Sonny sighed. "Did he say if he wanted to see him?"

Bobbie nodded. "He's afraid to say something to you," she confided.

Sonny was taken aback. "What? Why? He knows that if he wanted to see AJ on his own, I would be okay with it."

"But he also knows how much you hate AJ, Sonny," Bobbie reminded him. "I tried to tell him that you don't hate AJ so much as you don't get along, but, well, I'm not sure if he believed me."

Sonny nodded. "Yeah, I don't know if I would either," Sonny admitted. "Thank you for telling me this, Bobbie."

"No problem." She looked at her watch. "Listen, I've got to go now or I'm going to be late for work," she added, as she stood up.

Sonny stood and walked her to the door. "Michael! Your grandma's leaving."

Michael appeared at the landing of the stairs. Sonny knew he had been listening to them but didn't say anything. Running down the rest of the stairs, Michael hurried over to hug Bobbie. "Bye, Grandma."

Bobbie hugged him back. "Bye, sweetie, remember what I told you, okay?" Michael nodded. Sonny opened the door for her and she headed toward the elevator. "I love you. Kiss Morgan for me, okay?"

Sonny closed the door and turned to Michael. "Are you hungry, buddy?"

Michael shook his head. "Grandma made pancakes and bacon."

"Sounds delicious," Sonny said, distracted. He put his hand on Michael's shoulder and led him to the sofa. "Sit down here, Michael," he said quietly. "I want to talk to you." When Michael was seated, Sonny began, "Mike, I'm not going to talk to you like you're a little kid, okay? I know that you're going through a hard time since your mom's death and I want to help you." He paused, waiting for Michael to respond but he merely looked down at his hands. "Bobbie tells me you've been asking about AJ."

Michael looked up, stricken. "I didn't mean to, daddy."

"Michael, you didn't do anything wrong," Sonny assured him, pulling him into a hug. "I don't want you to ever think that, okay?" When Michael nodded, Sonny pulled back. "I'm here to help you, okay? But I can't do that if you don't talk to me. We're family, Michael, we have to stick together." He paused to let Michael reflect on his words. "So, now do you think you're ready to talk now?"

Michael nodded again. He looked back down at his hands. "I was just thinking of my mom," he began. "I miss her."

Sonny hugged him again. "I know you do, buddy. I'm sure your mom misses you too."

"You think so?"

"I know so," Sonny told him emphatically.

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It was 3:00 pm when Robin laid the cordless phone on the base and sighed. She just got off with her advisor in Paris who informed her of a problem concerning her leave of absence. If she didn't return to Paris now to start her residency, she'd have to wait two years to continue.

As she was replaying her phone conversation in her head, Maxie and Georgie walked in the front door. It wasn't until they called her three times when she snapped back to reality.

"I'm sorry, girls," she apologized.

"What were you thinking about?" Maxie asked.

Robin waved her hand dismissively. "It's not important."

"Did mom call today?" Georgie wondered.

Robin shook her head. "She'll probably call tonight when you're both home." She settled down on the sofa and picked up her novel. "So, at the risk of sounding like your mother, how was school?"

The girls laughed. "You did that so well, Robin," Georgie teased, as she flopped onto the sofa.

Robin threw a pillow at the younger girl. "Shut up!" she laughed. "I was just asking."

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist," Georgie grinned. "That was really lame, Robin. It reminded me of the first time Mom left town and Mac was left in charge."

Silence descended the room as each of them remembered Mac. Finally, Robin spoke. "Yeah, I remember when he first became my guardian," she said quietly. "He was so serious all the time. He kept wanting to talk to me about everything." She chuckled. "But after awhile, he kind of loosened up. Kind of."

Maxie smiled. "Yeah, Mac could never totally loosen up. He always said he worried about us too much to loosen up."

The three girls laughed as they remembered various times throughout the years in which Mac would blow certain situations out of proportion. Like the times he caught one of them making out with a boy in the living room. "Oh, my God, he scared Stone so bad one day," Robin revealed. "I thought I would never get him back in the house after that."

Their laughter died down as they each remembered the reasons behind Mac's over-protectiveness. He loved them all dearly, as if they were his own daughters and he would do anything to keep them safe.

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To be continued…

A/N: okay, I know this chapter sucks and it's too short, but please review anyway. I can't seem to convey what I want to convey so after I upload this chapter I may end up deleting it. Anyway, let me know what you think. All reviews are welcome.