Corinthos Household-
Boxes were scattered around the room in various places amid torn wrapping paper and demolished bows. The house was usually as clean as it could possibly be, but on Christmas Eve, all bets were off. It was odd, at least for Damian, opening everything on Christmas Eve instead of waiting until Christmas day like he had done every year in Los Angeles, but he was in a new town, a new state and he was in a new family, why wouldn't he have some changes in tradition? Besides, if Michael had to wait until Christmas morning to open his presents, odds were high that the boy was going to burst into flames or start a protest.
With the gifts opened, properly admired and everything in between, there was really nothing else that needed to be done. The excitement had finally taken its toll on the young boy, Michael's eyes were closed, his head placed gently on the cushion of the couch, holding his favorite new toy in a death grip. There was only the smallest smile on his face, but it was there. He was happy, and that was a large part of what Christmas meant to everyone, making sure that the children had a nice Christmas. In truth, it was the first nice Christmas that Damian had in some time, and it was because of the fact that he had so many people who truly cared about him, something that was hugely different from his family in Los Angeles. There, he was tolerated simply because he was blood. In Port Charles, he was accepted, he was appreciated.
Sonny approached his elder son, having ended a short conversation with his own father. He'd never admit it, but having Mike there with him made his Christmas better, too. Maybe he would admit it, maybe he should have, but he wasn't ready, at least not yet. "Why don't you take Michael upstairs?"
He found the request a little odd, and he thought that maybe his father was trying to get rid of him, but it was just a short trip upstairs, nothing that could harm a person. Carly was already up there, placing Morgan back to sleep. She thanked him profusely for the book that he had gotten the infant. Michael liked his video games, too. They all just hoped that he would play them on a sound level that wasn't too loud. "Okay," he complied with the request as he bent down, gently scooping his little brother in his arms. In a few years he wouldn't be able to do that anymore. In a few years, Michael wouldn't even want him to do that anymore. Maybe now, when he was young, he didn't resent his big brother… but what if the time came and he did?
Realizing that worrying about things that might or might not have ever happened did no good for anyone, he shelved the problem, hoping that it wouldn't return, hoping that the pain of rejection from someone that he accepted so fully into his life would never come to pass. Damian didn't turn on the light in Michael's room, the pale moonlight that pierced through the window was enough to show him where he needed to avoid stepping so he didn't trip on one of Michael's toys. Kneeling low, he used his free hand and pulled the comforter out just enough to place Michael comfortably in his bed.
As he covered Michael up, he heard the boy stir. Michael's eyes fluttered open, but they remained barely open at best. "I'm not tired…"
"Funny," Damian sat on the edge of the bed. It was a child's bed, so he was still close to Michael. "That whole falling asleep on the couch thing pretty much showed that you were tired to me."
"Well… maybe I'm a little tired," he yawned, adjusting himself so that he was comfortable.
"Go to sleep, kid," Damian grinned, getting off the bed. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Wait," Michael's voice was soft, but he had one last thing that he needed to know about, "did you like your presents?"
"Yeah, I did," he saw that the boy was content with the answer and that he could finally rest. Damian shut the door softly.
"You've always been so good with him," Carly had come out of the nursery and had been observing the whole conversation. She didn't need to judge Damian, or put any sort of weight on his ability to be a positive influence in her the lives of her children, but it was nice to watch someone else becoming a person that Michael could lean on. "Ever since that first day… I'm amazed at how easily you adjusted. If I didn't know better I'd swear that you were already a big brother."
"Michael and Morgan give me the chance to do something that I always felt I wanted to do, Carly," Damian had never had the chance to be a big brother before, it was something that he didn't exactly enjoy. People thought that being an only child made things so easy, but they were wrong. "I like helping out when I can, and with them… I don't know, I just feel that I have to do something for them, all the time."
"Morgan will depend on you, too," Carly looked over at the nursery door. Unlike Michael's door, it was open, just in case Morgan got fussy. "I'm sure he does already in some way, but when he gets old enough to talk and understand things, he'll look to you and to Michael."
"I'll do what I can for both of them," he just hoped that it was enough. "Come on, we should get back downstairs… or maybe we should just wait."
"Why wait?"
"Because, Grandpa's down there, with his two children, alone," Damian thought about the three of them downstairs. "Shouldn't we give them some time to just bond, a father to his children?"
"Mike isn't like that," Carly shook her head. "The gesture is nice, Damian, and I know that Mike wishes he could be alone with his son and daughter, but it's hard on him to be alone with just the two of them. His mind just keeps going back to the times that he failed both of them. It's pretty uncomfortable for him. He always says that all he wants is acceptance from his children, but what he really wants is acceptance from himself, something that he's probably never going to get because of the way that he judges himself. We'd be doing him a favor going back downstairs and hopefully ending something before it started, or before it got too ugly."
"You're right," it was hard to admit it. Not because he hated admitting that Carly was right, she was right quite often, but because what she was right about was something that he wished she wasn't right about.
As the two walked down into the living room once more they saw Courtney and Mike picking up the remains of the Christmas mayhem. Boxes were stacked, wrapping paper stuffed inside each individual box, bows bunched together. What had once been a war zone was slowly starting to look like a regular living room once again.
"You didn't have to do that," Carly appreciated the effort, it gave her less to clean, but she knew that if they did it at someone else's house she wouldn't lift a finger to pick up the mess. As it was, she was more than willing to just leave the mess there until someone else came to clean it.
"Well, it was better than sitting around here doing nothing," Mike winked at Carly. "Sonny's forbidden us to follow him."
"Follow him where?" His wife was unsure of what Sonny was planning, and whenever that happened it was something that she really didn't like. Sonny kept secrets and when those secrets came out it usually didn't mean anything good for her.
"He's just over there, Carly," Courtney pointed towards the back of the house. "I don't know what he's got planned, but he wanted it to be a surprise for everyone."
The man in question walked into the living room, smiling profusely. "Oh, good, you're all here again. I wanted the boys to be up for this, too, but there's really no reason that we should wake them up, besides, they're probably a little too young to appreciate this."
Carly's eyebrow went up as she tried to decipher Sonny's cryptic message. "What are you talking about?"
"I guess you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?" Sonny wasn't about to give away his special surprise. It was really only for his son, but everyone else could see it, he wanted them to see how much he cared for Damian. "Come on, let's go."
They followed Sonny, Courtney and Mike being the first to see what they had been kept unaware of. They were both shocked, but it was a pleasant surprise. Carly was also stunned when she saw what was there. "Sonny…"
"Well, dad… what…" Damian stopped himself when he walked into the room. There were two items that were stored in the corner and while both meant something to him, he was certainly more taken by the portrait. His mother. "M… Mom…"
Grinning, Sonny knew that his gift had the intended response from his son. "You didn't think that those clothes I got you were the only thing you were going to get from your dad, did you?"
"How…"
"You remember that day I was gone for most of the day, last week?" Sonny looked at the picture. Ana-Maria was beautiful. She deserved better than what she got. She deserved better than him. "I went to Los Angeles and I went to see your grandparents. I wanted to do something special for you, Damian, but I didn't really know what I could do. I didn't go over there looking for help, at least not for a gift idea… but I knew that they would be the ones who would help me find something, anything, that would help capture the essence of your mother."
"She's beautiful," Courtney wiped away a tear. She knew that Sonny was a caring individual, but his current display showed just how much he could do.
"Victoria said that it was her favorite picture of her daughter. I gave them a portrait, too. They lost their daughter, I felt that it was only right."
Damian was touched, deeply touched. "You didn't have to do that, dad."
"I know," Sonny stood next to his son, "but I wanted to. Remember what you told me, about presents? About how they should come from the heart more than anything else? This is what I wanted to give you, what I felt I needed to give you." Sonny hugged Damian, "Merry Christmas, son."
Damian wasn't sure how he was going to take the gesture. He loved the picture, he loved the way that she looked. He was just numb from everything. He would survive, because he wouldn't let himself give up, and it wasn't like he didn't think that it was the most touching thing that his father could ever do for him. Maybe it was just seeing her like that… beautiful, healthy, the way that he always wanted her to be, but the way that he knew she would never be again.
Mike broke the silence, "You think I could take you up on that offer, Damian?"
"What… offer?"
"The piano playing."
"Oh… right…" he didn't even notice the piano, the picture was just so engulfing, but when he forced himself to think of something else, the piano did come into view.
"If you can't do it right now, I understand." Mike just figured that it would get his mind off the picture, touching as it was, it probably brought back more than a few painful memories.
"Maybe he shouldn't," Carly liked the picture, but she wasn't sure how she was going to take having the woman that had given Sonny his first son looking at her constantly, that was a title that used to be hers. She hoped she could deal with it. "I mean, I'm sure he's good at the piano, but Michael and Morgan are sleeping right now. We don't want to wake them up."
"She's got a point," Damian agreed. He didn't want to wake them up either. "How about a rain check?"
"Sure," Mike nodded.
"I'll be right back," Damian headed out of the area.
"So… that was where you went," Carly remembered wondering where Sonny had taken off to. "You went to Los Angeles, and you didn't tell anyone."
"I wanted it to be a surprise, to everyone… I didn't want him to get any hints. The piano was purchased earlier today, that's why I didn't let anyone come into this area, not just because of the kitchen."
"Well, I'll say this, Sonny, you are nothing if not a master strategist," Carly was glad that it wasn't anything dangerous. "What you did for him… it really took a lot of personal strength. You should be proud of yourself."
Damian came back in with something wrapped in his hands. "You're not the only one who needed to get help from my grandparents, dad." He held out the item, "Here… take it. Open it."
Sonny looked at the gift cautiously before doing as he was asked. He didn't know what it was, but when he opened it he had an idea. "A baby book?"
"Mine," Damian informed his father. "Well, not exactly mine, but I had them make copies of everything that was in the baby book that they have. They didn't want to lose it… so we compromised. There's more in there, too. Pictures of me when I was growing up, yearbook pictures and the like, report cards… just the random stuff that normally wouldn't mean that much to us… but since our relationship is hardly normal…" he watched as Sonny thumbed through the book, "You said that you wanted to get to know me better… I figured this would help."
Sonny closed the book, he would look at it… look at it many times over. "This is… one of the best gifts that I could have ever gotten, only a few things are better… like knowing that you're my son. Thanks."