AN: since my updating skills simply suck, I hope this extra long chapter will earn your forgiveness. I'm almost done with this one and then its off to finish my other incompletes. Happy reading!
Beyond Recollection – A Sonny & Skye FanFiction
Chapter Eighteen – Memory Lane
Outside it was dark.
Night had faded into morning a long while ago, however the heavy storm clouds looming above imprisoned the daylight in a chamber of obscurity. The rain fell in a flood, blinding and binding everything and anything in its assault. Lightening came in sudden flashes, illuminating the city caught in the storm's looming embrace. The howling of the wind was constant, sending a crash of thick branches against the window of the darkened hospital room.
Inside it was dark.
A curtain of sorrow surrounded the two occupants like a noose, griping and squeezing the breath from their bodies. The lights where dimmed per his request and the unsettling shadows and noise from the medical devices where the sole sources of sound and movement in the stilled room. Following each crash of lightening he made his way to her bedside in three quick strides. Watching the even rise and fall of her chest, studying the pale hand grasping the bed sheet, and memorizing the soft contours of her face as they began to stiffen in distress.
Her nightmares where routine during his constant vigil. He could recognize the beginning of one with the sudden unsettled intake of breath her sleeping form inhaled, a sign unnoticed by others.
In an instant he ordered any nurse or doctor in the room to leave immediately, settling himself on the white linen sheet beside her now stressed form. He felt powerless, as she became victim to another nightmare. Each time her reactions where the same. First came the quick and deep intakes of breath, before her hands dug into the mattress to her sides. Silent mumbles then began to escape from her trembling lips; each whimpered 'no' a direct stab to his heart. Unable to watch her suffer any longer, he quickly woke her as a stream of tears pooled from her shut lashes.
"Skye," he spoke gently, bending forward slightly while brushing his hands across her face in soft comforting strokes. "Skye, wake up. It's just a dream." His gentle coaxes registered slowly to her still trembling form. Wiping aside the wet trail from her eyes with the pads of his thumbs, he watched as her breathing began to return to its normal state. Locking her pale hands between one of his larger one, he continued to follow the porcelain trail of her cheek with his other.
"Sonny?" came her whispered query as she blinked away the remnants of her latest nightmare.
"Yea," he smiled softly as her features calmed. "I'm here. You're safe." The fragile soft hand laced within his own tightened quickly as the word 'safe' trailed from his lips. Noticing the tension the word created, he let his drive to protect and care for the women before him power his entire existence.
"You're safe Skye," he spoke more firmly, staring directly into the depths of her gaze. "I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."
"You won't leave?"
"I'm not going anywhere."
Jason was frantic. With confusion and horror he watched as Sonny's eyes rolled back before he slumped forward in his seat in Dr. Greene's office. Calling out his friend's name in worry, he lunged forward and caught Sonny before he could crash to the hard tiles of the office.
"She doesn't want to see you Jax," Sonny spoke with venom, blocking the door to Skye's room with his strong form. "Can't you understand that?"
"You don't speak for her Corinthos!" the blonde man shouted back drawing the attention of the surrounding nurses. "You are not her protector!"
"No Jax," he began harshly, leaning closer to the Australian. "YOU aren't her protector."
"Don't use her like this just to get to me, Sonny!" Jax proclaimed, his voice rising with the anger and betrayal he suddenly felt. "You despise her," he accused, "I'm not buying this feign attachment for Skye you're putting on for everyone. Whatever you've told or promised her is a veil of lies," he spat, anger turning his features crimson with fury. "You're still the man that has wished her dead. The man who tried to murder her own brother, and you're still the man that just last week had her at the top of your list of enemies." Jax's tirade ended with a single push of Sonny's chest as he tried to step past him into Skye's room.
Unfazed by the blonde's words, Sonny was a statue as Jax tried to force his way past him. With a firm hand on his shoulder, he halted Jax's movements.
"This veil of lies you're talking about," Sonny began, remarkably calm. "They're kind of like the ones you must have spoken when you said you're vows to Skye, right?" he ended with a shove of his own, pushing Jax away from the room. "She promised her love, devotion, and trust but all you gave in return was the image of your back as you ran to Brenda's arms."
"You know nothing about us Sonny!" Jax's enraged shrill echoed over the passerby's. "Skye was my wife and my friend. That's more than she could and will ever be to you! She needs care from someone she knows and trust, not from a man whose wished her dead."
"What Skye needs is for you to stop making this about what you want," Sonny countered. "Skye is the one laying in the hospital bed, let her decide who she wants to help her!"
"I could," he voiced. "If it was anyone but you, Sonny."
"Well, it is me Jax," he spoke with fire. "It was me who found her and carried her the miles to this hospital. It was me she trusted to stay beside her through all of this. I am the one that wakes her when her nightmares come each night. I wipe her tears and hold her hand when she cries," Sonny hissed. "You're right, I did once see Skye as an enemy. I plotted against her and hated everything I saw in her. I was blind and stupid, Jax, to let my hate for AJ cloud the person Skye is. All she did was love a brother that fed her the same lies of love and trust that you did. You both used her and tried to change who she was." Jax was silent as the Sonny's words imprisoned him with self-loathing.
"No one is perfect, Jax. The white knights armor you wear has a few flaws of its own, and still you build this mold of perfection the women in your life have to fill in order to be with you. Well, you are blind and stupid Jax. You see her faults as imperfections and her love as dispensable as the gold band that's been removed from your finger.
"I'm no where near perfect Jax, but perfect isn't what she needs. Skye needs someone who doesn't give a damn about the lies she has told or the wrongs she has committed. She was able to look past my faults long enough to let me in. She trusts me to care for her Jax. I'm the only one.
"She might be broken, but I'm not here to fix her, I'm here to help her heal. If you care for her the way you say you do, then back off and give her what she wants."
"Sonny?" Jason spoke worriedly, gently shaking his friend's shoulders. "Damn-it Sonny,what's going on?" Starring down at the unresponsive man, he watched in confusion and uneasiness as Sonny's eyes moved rapidly beneath his tightly closed lids, veiled in unconsciousness.
"What about Carly, Sonny?" Jason yelled, closing the penthouse door behind him with a hard crash.
"Our marriage has been over since the night she slept with Alcazar. We pretended to be happy for Michael's sake, but how is that fair to anyone" Sonny countered. "I can't live this lie anymore."
"It's over with Alcazar, Sonny," Jason argued.
"No, Jason! There's someone else!" he shouted losing his temper. "She lies everyday to my face, she sneaks out in the middle of the night and doesn't return till morning, but I don't care Jason. I stopped caring her the moment I took her back."
"You're just going to throw it all away? The home you built, a wife, your children? Can you just turn your back on them?"
"The only one I'm turning my back on is Carly. I will never stop being a father to those boys!"
"This is about Skye, isn't it?" Jason accused, temper rising.
"This has nothing to do with Skye. We are just friends," Sonny stated looking away from Jason.
"Friends?" Jason protested. "Sonny, she can't be trusted. She is still the same person she was before that night."
"You haven't spent one minute with her!" he turned and shouted. "Don't stand there and tell me what kind of person she is!"
"She'll use you and then she'll stab you in the back!"
"Jason—
"Skye is selfish, stubborn, unreliable, dishonest—
"Jason—
"Undependable, deceitful, self-destructive—
"Jason!" Sonny yelled, quieting him with a firm hold on his shoulders. "She is not AJ, Jason!" he voiced strongly. "You can't keep hating her because he got to her first. Underneath everything everyone sees wrong with her, is a good person. Would I be defending her if I didn't really believe that?"
"Dr. Greene, what's wrong with him?" Jason asked as he watched the doctor kneel beside Sonny on the ground. Waiting patiently, Jason sat quietly as the Dr. Greene examined Sonny. "He was fine and then he just fell to the ground. There was no warning," Jason added.
"Have you been present during the other two times Sonny blacked out?" Dr. Greene asked.
"No," he answered looking up from his friend. "No one was. Is that what's happening? He's remembering something?"
"Is this your mother?" Skye asked softy, picking up the small frame from the table beside the couch. Adding the last log to the now growing fire, Sonny moved quietly to Skye's side looking ruefully towards the aged photo.
"Yea, that's her," Sonny finally answered, sitting down beside her.
"She's beautiful, Sonny," Skye smiled to him. The bruises on her cheeks where hardly visible anymore, he noted while looking at her warm smile. The glow from the cabin's fireplace danced across her face, hiding the remaining traces of her attacker's brutal hand. "And you have her eyes."
"This was taken before I was born," he paused. "Before my stepfather." Taking the photo from Skye, he looked down at it in a moment of sad silence before returning it to its place beside them. Lost in the disturbing memories of his tainted childhood, Sonny stared out at nothing. He could almost hear his mother's cries and screams when suddenly he was pulled from his somber memory by a gentle hand wrapping around his own. Looking at it through a suddenly blurred vision, he watched a tear fall onto her pale skin and pulled away.
Not wanting to burden her with his misery, he stood and blinked away the few tears that had escaped. Preparing to hide his remaining memories with a familiar drink, he was stilled by a hand once again holding onto his own. Looking down at his feet in remorse, he urged his tears to stay unseen.
"Sonny," her soft voice breathing against his face, drying the streak of wetness. "Please don't hide your pain." Her pleading and concerned voice meant the world to him in that moment. "Let me help you like you've been helping me." Slowly moving his shaking hand, Skye kissing it gently before cradling it against her cheek. He was immobile, her comforting gesture creating a storm of suppressed emotions. Closing his eyes, he felt her move closer and when her warm hand pressed against his cheek it felt only natural to lean into it.
"Here, help me get him off the ground," Dr. Greene ordered gently before he and Jason slowly helped Sonny's immobile form into the chair he had fallen from.
"What can we do? Will he wake?" Jason asked frantically.
"Just stay with him," Dr. Greene spoke as he stood and moved towards the door. "I'm going to get something to help him wake.
"Mr. Corinthos?" Max's voice echoed through the silent penthouse.
"Yeah Max," he asked walking from the kitchen, a dishtowel draped over his shoulder.
"Ms. Quartermaine is here to see you," the guard answered and hid a smile watching his boss' blushing reaction.
"S-send her in," he spoke quickly, unknowingly straightening up and rubbing away the invisible wrinkles on his shirt. Laughing softly, Max turned away and let Skye in.
"I'm sorry I keep coming by so unexpectedly," she smiled her apologies once Max had shut the door with his exit.
"It's not a problem," he smiled himself. "I like it when you stop by." Watching with amusement as a small blush tinted her complexion, a larger smile grew inside. "Are you hungry? I was just about to make something for myself."
"I do love your cooking," she smiled remembering the meals he had cooked during their time at the cabin.
"Then you'll stay for dinner?"
"I'd love to," she answered.
"Make yourself comfortable and I'll get started," he spoke before he turned towards the kitchen.
"Wait!" Skye voiced, anxiousness washing over her. "I-I just," she paused taking a deep breath, calming herself. "I just wanted to give you this first," she admitted, pulling a small wrapped package from her purse. "It's why I came tonight."
"What have you got there?" he inquired with a playful smile, taking the small gift from her shaking hands. "A present?"
"A thank you," she smiled nervously, looking down at her feet briefly. "For taking such good care of me."
"Skye—," he began to protest but was interrupted.
"Please let me say this." Taking another calming breath, her eyes locked with his before she began. "You've done so much for me. You saved me that night, Sonny. Then you stayed with me and protected me. You've kept me sane, really." she smiled teasing herself.
"Skye, you don't have to do this," he spoke softly, stepping closer.
"But I do," she protested. "Because you don't see how much you've done for me."
"Anyone would have helped you that night, Skye. Don't paint me to be a hero, I'm far from one."
"Sonny, if I've painted an image of you, it's the one I see. Anyone might have helped me that night but would they have stayed with me after they got me to General Hospital?" she asked. "Sonny, you stayed by my side through everything. Through the anger, the pain, the tears, and the nightmares, you where there for it all.
"When it all became too much, you took me to the cabin and kept me hidden from the world," she spoke softly, reaching out slowly and taking his hand in her own. "And it was exactly what I needed. I will cherish the weeks we spent there. You never forced me to talk or to try to remember any of it. You never pressured me once," a single tear fell as Skye tried her best to convey what she was feeling into words.
"Never in a million years did I image this could happen but it did, you've became a friend. I never want to loose that, Sonny." She cried softly.
"You won't, you never will," he whispered as he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her form. Skye's own arms quickly found their way around him and she held onto him tightly. They stood for a long moment just embracing the other, silently admitting what feelings they where beginning to feel for the other.
"Open it," her voice broke the long silence, as she looked up to him from his chest.
"Huh," he questioned, momentarily forgetting the reason she had stopped by in the first place until he remembered the small box he still held. Slowly moving from each other's embrace, he blinked at the sudden lack of her warm body against his own.
Pulling away the neatly tied bow, he glanced up at the red head once more before lifting the lid of the box. Brushing aside a sheet of tissue paper, a sudden gasped escaped his throat as he discovered the box's contents. The gold cross that had once been worn by his mother smiled back at him with its newly polished surface and gold chain.
Holding his breath, his trembling fingers reach towards the cross and turn it over. Quickly his hand covered his mouth, dulling his sudden cry and heavy breathing. Engraved in the center are the initials "AC", Adele Corinthos, his mother.
"At the cabin you spoke of mother so often," Skye's voice broke through the silence. "I could hear how much she meant to you and how much loosing her effected you, Sonny. You spoke of her beauty, her gentleness, and her heart. Your memories of her painted a similar picture as to one I see of you.
"You are an amazing person, Sonny. Filled with the same gentleness and heart you say your mother had. You looked past my exterior and many, many faults and found the person I have always wished to be. I am not a victim, because of you I am a survivor. You helped me survive myself, and to help me paint my own picture. For the first time I like the person I am becoming and I thank you for that, because it was your beauty, gentleness, and heart that helped me heal. You are your mother's son, and I hope the cross will remind you of that every time you look at it. You are a hero, my hero."
Wordlessly, Sonny let her take the box from his hands and with a tear-filled gaze he watched her set the box aside. Sliding her hands around his neck, she clasped the gold chain and once the cross fell in place against his chest, her fingers found the warm streaks of tears littering his face. Brushing them aside, Skye stood on the tips of her toes and placed a warm kiss to Sonny's forehead.
Before she could step away he moved quickly, cradling her face in his palms and locking her gaze with his own intense one. Unable to express what he felt in words, he let his actions speak volumes and lowered his lips to her own.
Blinking away the remains of darkness, Sonny slowly registered bright overhead lights and the frantic voice of his best friend. The final remains of unconsciousness faded away as he sat up slowly and recognized his surroundings as Dr. Greene's office.
"Are you alright, Sonny?" Jason asked, kneeling before him.
"I—I'm fine," he spoke looking slightly dazed.
"You scared the shit out of me Sonny," Jason admitted. "What happened to you? One second we where talking and then you where just gone. Sonny?" Jason questioned as he watched him bolt from his chair and quickly exit Dr. Greene's office without a word or hesitation.
"Sonny!" Jason called, following him towards the elevators. "What are you doing?"
"She's there, I know she is."
"Who? What are you talking about, Sonny?"
"Skye's at the cabin, Jason," he spoke while pressing the elevator buttons repeatedly.
"You remember the cabin?" Jason asked with amazement.
"Jason," he began as turned to his friend with a soft smile of realization. "I remember everything."
Time would never erase the hatred that coursed through her veins. The time she wasted loving, obeying, forgiving, and defending a husband who would never give his full trust or self would never be recovered. But she no longer needed, wished, or even wanted to recover or salvage anything with her ex-husband. Oh, no. Carly wanted something so much more appealing.
Revenge.
That had been the motive for her affair with Ric, brother to the man who had disposed of the life she built. Ric's hate for Sonny was just as powerful as her own. Who better to have on your side, right?
But over time her affair with Ric developed into the connection she had always dreamed to have with Sonny. He listened, trusted, cared, loved, and believed in her. He became her world, a world that was tragically torn from her without forewarning.
Was it fair that she again had nothing, while Sonny, the cause of her pain, still had everything? No broken heart, empty soul, lonely bed, or torturing fate?
She would have died for Ric.
She would have killed for him.
On this night, armed with her lover's blade and her enemy's own gun, she will kill for him. The car slowed to a stop at the site of the cabin's lights through the trees and she smiled a devilish grin.
For Ric's memory and for their revenge she would take what Sonny took from her.
Everything.
TBC