Kristina looked at her watch. Sonny had been in surgery for two hours, and there was still no word from the doctor. She looked at Carly, who was fidgeting with her purse. Kristina knew Carly was even more nervous than she was, if that was possible.
She tried to smile at Carly, and Carly tried to smile back, but they both knew they were too worried to comfort the other. Morgan hugged his mother and his sister and said, "Guys, dad told me once that he would always be with us, no matter what. Even if he's not here, he'll still be with us, and then at least he'll be at peace."
Kristina was upset by the comment, and she knew it wouldn't be what Carly wanted to hear.
"And what do you think is going to happen if he dies?" Do you think we'll still be protected? Do you think any of his enemies will hesitate to kill us when he's dead?" Carly yelled at her son.
And as angry as Morgan's comment had made Kristina, Carly's made her ten times as angry. "Is that all you think about, yourself? You don't even care if he dies, do you? As long as you're protected, right Carly," Kristina said angrily. Morgan looked at his mother, accusing her also.
"Kristina, Morgan, I care about your father more than anything in this world. You both know that if he dies, I'll be the most inconsolable person on this earth. I'm trying to face reality here. I know the chances are against him, and I'm trying to think about you guys. If he dies we're all in danger, and I want my children to be protected," Carly told them.
Kristina raised her eyebrows in disbelief, and Carly added, "Even you, Kristina. God, it amazes me sometimes. You are so much like me. How you think everyone is against you, and you're so reluctant to let anyone in, and how you always mean well, but your plans never seem to go your way. You've always been my daughter, Kristina, and you always will be.
Tears filled up in Kristina's eyes, and for the first time in a long while, she didn't try to fight them. "Whether I like it or not?" she asked, smiling through the tears.
Carly nodded, "Whether you like it or not."
A doctor entered and all three looked up eagerly. "Sonny made it through surgery, but he's going to be kept under observation for a while. No one will be allowed to see him. I suggest you all go home until then. We'll call when he wakes up," he told them.
"We can't, we have to be there when he wakes up," Kristina protested.
"I'm sorry, but I can't permit anyone to see him. If you would like, I can allow one, and only one, of you to wait outside his room," he said.
Kristina was happy about that, but she didn't get her hopes up. She knew Carly would be the one to stay. Morgan did too, because he said, "I'll call the car for us, mom."
Carly nodded and said, "Tell your brother and sister that daddy made it, and tell them I love them, okay?"
Morgan and Kristina agreed to do so, and after hugging Carly, they left.
Kristina stepped through the doors of the hotel and went straight to the chapel. She didn't want to pray again, she just wanted to sit there and be angry at God for what he'd done.
She lit three candles and then sat down at a pew. She heard the door open and figured it was Morgan, and looked up to smile at him.
"Shit," she thought when she saw it was Jamie and not Morgan,
"Kristina," he said happily. "I've been looking for you. I never expected to find you here though."
"Well, my dad's in the hospital," she told him sadly. For some reason she didn't want to tell him that Sonny had been shot.
"Oh," Jamie said, upset. "I'm really sorry. I guess this isn't a good time to see if you wanted to go to get some ice cream on the beach then."
Kristina shook her head no, but then changed her mind. "Actually, that's just what I need right now. Let me just get my purse," she told him.
"No, no, it's on me," Jamie replied. "Let's go."
"Thanks," Kristina said smiling, and thinking what a cute first date it was.
Jamie took her hand and Kristina smiled at him as they walked outside.
They passed Thalia on the way, and Thalia gave her a look, which Kristina knew meant, "What the hell?"
Kristina let go of Jamie's hand and said, "Can you just wait a minute? I have to tell my sister something."
"Yeah, sure," Jamie replied.
Kristina turned around and ran toward her sister. "Isn't he cute?"she asked.
"Yes," Thalia said enviously. "Where'd you get him?"
"By the pool. Now we're going to get ice cream," she explained.
Thalia just looked at Jamie and Kristina added, "Look, I don't know if Morgan told you, but daddy's out of surgery. He's in observation right now. And your mom says she loves you, okay? I have to go." She gave Thalia a quick hug and the went back to Jamie.
"Ready?" he asked, taking her hand again.
"Kristina nodded. "Yup."
"So, where are you from?" Jamie questioned.
"Port Charles, she replied, and added, "It's in New York," when Jamie looked confused.
"That's cool. I live in Martus, you know, Arizona," Jamie told her.
"What's it like?"
"It's hot. It's really hot. It's pretty cool though. It's a lot like New York, but there's less traffic. Maybe it's more like Boston, now that I think of it," Jamie said. "What's Port Charles like?"
"It's right by the water. You can see it right from our penthouse. It's kind of a small town, but a small city at the same time. There's a lot of drama," she explained.
"Sounds nice. Do you like it?"
"Yeah, I mean, it's home. It's all I've ever known, and most of my family and friends are there."
"What kind of music do you listen to?" Jamie asked.
"Well, I like sort of older music. Do you know Hootie and the Blowfish?" Kristina questioned.
"Hootie and the Blowfish," he said skeptically. "Don't you think that's like fifteen years too old for you? What else do you like?"
"Um, Matchbox 20, Switchfoot, Billy Joel, Joss Stone, Alanis Morisette, Sergio Mendes, Meatloaf, um... stop laughing at me. Who do you listen to?"
"James Bryson, Tightrope, Lay Me Down, One Time, Melissa Sanchez, Tabitha Bloom, Stewart Ebson, Nick St. John, Eddie Sarna, and I guess that's about it," Jamie replied.
Kristina nodded. "I think I've heard of most of them. My sister probably listens to them, or my brothers. And I know my friend Sarah is obsessed with One Time. I've heard them a few times. They're pretty good. I think we're going to see their concert later this summer."
"Are you serious? How did you get the tickets? They're already sold out," Jamie said, amazed.
Kristina had gotten them from her father, who'd been able to get them through his ticket broker, but Kristina was pretty sure it wasn't a legal deal. She didn't want to tell Jamie that, so she just said, "Oh, my dad was able to get them for us. He knows someone who works at the arena, and he gave us some tickets."
"So, what's your favorite ice cream flavor?" Jamie asked.
"I don't like many flavors. I'm really picky. Mostly just vanilla, chocolate, chocolate chip, and cotton candy," Kristina replied.
"You can only pick one," Jamie told her.
"Well, in that case, I can't pick one," Kristina said.
"So, I guess you don't want any ice cream because that's why I was asking you," Jamie said, amused.
"Kristina looked ahead and saw the ice cream stand. She laughed at herself, saying, "Oh, I didn't even realize we were here. I'll have a small cup of vanilla frozen yogurt, please."
"And I'll have a medium cone of chocolate ice cream," Jamie said as he handed the cashier money.
They were handed their ice creams and then Jamie led her to the beach. They sat down and ate their ice creams in silence. Kristina had finished, but Jamie was still eating his. She laughed when she saw he had gotten ice cream on his face.
"What?" Jamie asked, clearly not knowing what was wrong.
"You... You have chocolate right there," Kristina said, and pointed to where it was.
Jamie tried to wipe it off, but he wasn't getting anywhere, so Kristina reached up and wiped it off with her napkin. Jamie was looking straight into her eyes, and Kristina felt like he could see right through her and into her soul. Jamie leaned closer. "If you don't want me to kiss you, you have to stop me now," he said, waiting for her to say something, but she didn't, and Jamie kissed her.
It wasn't Kristina's first kiss, and yet she'd never felt anything quite like it, and neither had Jamie. "Wow," he whispered, as their lips parted. He began talking again, but Kristina stopped him.
"Hey, let's do that again okay?" she replied before kissing him.
How did you like it? I know the kiss part was kind of corny. Please review. It will be a few more chapters before you find out about Sonny, but he is going to be able to go home. That's all I'll reveal.
