Authors Notes: While you've all read up to page 245 (counting this chapter), the story itself just hit page 300 last night, and tomorrow brings the 50th chapter. Celebration is in order!

Journeylove- Thank you for reviewing. I am glad to see that you take time and effort in your schoolwork, something I should probably do as well, but I spend more time writing this than hitting the books. Its okay, I still get passable grades in my classes. Brook will cause trouble very much in the way that any beautiful and talented young woman would. That enough of a cryptic hint for you? Can't lay all my cards on the table right away, now can I?

Story-

Corinthos Household-

The Christmas Season was officially over, and all that remained were the late presents that arrived at various houses around the world. Three days loomed past the festive holiday, with the next big celebration also three days away. They went about their business as usual, talking, conducting business, everything that would have happened after Christmas, nothing was different. Nothing except the distance that Michael was giving his father and his brother. He'd talk to them, but there was something that was missing. The smile, the laugh, everything that made Michael who he was seemed to be gone. It hurt all the parties involved, and even those that weren't. Courtney and Jason had attempted to break the boy's resistance down, but it was to no avail. Michael wasn't happy, but he knew that he still loved both of them.

Sonny was quick to react to the thought of having the distance kept in the long run. For Sonny, who had many fears that ranged from claustrophobia to the fear of snow, the worst fear, the one that he knew he would have the hardest time coping with, was that of not being held in the highest of regard by his children. When it came to Damian Sonny had found a way to cope with their differences, but he was now getting a taste of what it could have been like when Michael truly started to develop into his own unique individual. Sonny didn't much care for that early glimpse into his future, he much preferred the little boy who he had welcomed into his family with open arms.

It wasn't a problem that Sonny could deal with in the regular ways. He couldn't just find a way to 'get rid' of Michael. He wouldn't allow himself to dip that low into his pit of self-pity. He'd never harm a child, ever. The kid didn't even have to be his. There were things that Sonny often said he would never do but ended up having to do it out of necessity. Getting back into the business was such a thing, but he would sooner die than lay a hand on any child. They were innocent and pure. He was an adult, it was his responsibility to keep those qualities intact.

But there was another way that he could fix the problem, and he was quick to decide that it would have to happen in order for him and his family to be happy. Michael was a child, his love came unconditionally regardless, but there were times when a child decided that it needed to be bought. Maybe he was going through one of those times. Sonny was ready to ask Michael what he wanted to make everything right, but he was stopped and it wasn't by Carly, or even Courtney and Jason.

As Sonny sat there on the couch, his brow furrowed, chin perched on his hand, he remembered the conversation that he had with Damian the day after Christmas. The boy knew his father too well, even though they were still quite new in each others lives. Sonny was predictable, or so he had begun to think. Damian was well aware of Sonny's intentions, and he had intentions of his own, ones that would stop his father from doing something that was so… wrong.

"Why shouldn't I do this?" Sonny asked, his eyes intense with both anger and frustration. Normally they would be able to hide the anguish and the sorrow, but they couldn't, not in that moment. "We messed up, we both admit that. Michael's angry at both of us… and this isn't one of those normal little kid reasons like one of us accidentally broke his favorite toy…"

"Which is exactly why we have to let him come to his own conclusions…"

"What?"

"Dad," Damian was barring his father's path in the stairway. Most people Sonny would find a way to make move. It worked to Damian's advantage that he wasn't most people. "I spoke to him already. I told him that we were both extremely sorry for what we did but that was how we felt. He's growing up…"

"He's not even old enough to shave yet!"

"That doesn't matter." Their eyes met. They were both acting in the best interest of someone that they cared deeply about, but their tactics were completely different from one another. They had often found themselves pitted on the opposite side of certain aspects of life, but this was something that was completely different than what they were used to. They weren't talking about Sonny's business or Damian's dream to be a doctor and do things as legally as possible. This was a boy.

"He's nine years old, dad," Damian continued. "Some of us grow up quicker than others. Look at me… do you think I went through life thinking that everything was going to be perfect and that in the end I'd always be happy?"

"I want to make sure that Michael doesn't have to deal with that like you did!" Sonny retracted his bitterness. "I… I didn't mean for it to come out like that. I think that you became a better person because of what happened… even before your mom died, but I still wish to God that you never had to live without me. Michael doesn't have to worry about that…"

"We can't make up his mind for him…"

"You're right… we can't, because you're not his parent, I am. I can make up his mind for him, and if I can't, I can find some way to make everything okay!"

"You won't make it okay, though," Damian argued. "You'll just avoid the problem entirely."

"Is that such a bad thing?"

"Yes, it is," Damian finally moved out of the way, but he wasn't through with his part of the debate. "If you do this for Michael, dad, if you try and buy back his affection it'll only teach him that his own opinion really doesn't matter, that the only things that truly matter are those which can be bought. Do you want to teach him something like that?"

Sonny was silent for a long moment as he thought about the words that were being spoken to him. He hated it when Damian ended up trying to defend someone… because the boy usually had the most level head of anyone involved. Once more, the doctor to be had proven that he was right on some levels.

Turning around and descending down the stairs, Sonny's head was low and his voice was a near-whisper, "I just want my little boy to love me again…"

Carly returned from town. The tension in the house was so thick that she needed to get out and do something that let her forget about her problems for just a little while. The movie didn't appear to be all that interesting, proving that she couldn't really trust Dillon's opinion. Why did she even agree to watch a film that wasn't even in her native language?

Her own worries were pushed aside when she saw her husband. Even though she was still upset at both of them for what they had done to Michael she could see that they both just wanted everything to be okay again. Lois had even agreed that she shouldn't have been so cold, although that conclusion was wrought only after many minutes of yelling and snide remarks from both females. It hadn't come to blows, so that was at least a show of some restraint.

"Hey…" she said blankly. Before she would have rushed into his arms for some cuddle time, but until things were smoothed over that really didn't seem to be something that she could handle.

Sonny lowered his hand as his eyes traveled over to her. She was still beautiful, the most beautiful woman that he had ever laid eyes on. He'd been in love before, with many people, and even some who he just told himself that he loved because he was lonely, but with Carly it was so obvious that they cared about one another.

"I didn't hear you come in," he admitted. "I've got a lot on my mind right now."

"Probably not something that you can talk about, so I won't even ask…"

"It's about Michael."

"Oh," she knew that it was common ground. She'd been there before with Michael, too. She knew how he could be. The way that he would hold back from his natural attitude, it hurt her, too. The pain was still fresh. He had acted cold and distant to her while she was still coping with the idea of another child in Sonny's life. If anything, Carly should have been Sonny's number one supporter, but she couldn't find it in herself to do that.

Sonny coughed a few times, each cough in succession becoming louder and harder. His eyes watered, but it wasn't something that he couldn't recover from. Even Sonny Corinthos got sick every now and again. He just hoped that he didn't pass it on to one of the other people around him.

"Did you drink that lemon, honey and mint tea?" Carly asked. She walked over to feel Sonny's forehead. It didn't seem to be that hot, maybe a little more than normal.

"Yeah, it helped a little." Sonny's eyes were clearly showing a slight glazing as the fatigue was beginning to wear him down. "Took me awhile to actually get the nerve up to drink it, though."

"What do you mean?"

"Well… it came from Damian's grandmother," Sonny was touched the way that his son got to work on trying to help him get better the moment he saw that his father wasn't up to par. Even more, Sonny was amazed at how the would be doctor relied on cultural remedies as opposed to pure medicine. It showed deep roots to his culture. "She's not an enemy… but I don't see why she would have reason to want to help me."

"Because you're Damian's father," Carly knew that it was obvious. "She knows how much you mean to him now. Why would she want to take that away from her grandson?"

"To get back at me for what I took from them?"

"They're not petty like that…"

"Maybe not Victoria," Sonny had personal experience with both the elder Zuniga's, Carly had only gotten secondhand information. "But Elias… he'll never forget and I don't think he'll ever forgive, not that I can say that I blame him for that."

"He'll see that he was wrong about you," Carly said sympathetically. "I know he will. People are just like that sometimes. Stubborn. Both of us should know that better than anyone else around here."

"It's a trait we've passed to our children…"

"Yeah, well, that's ending right now," Carly looked towards the stairs. She was tired of the way that they were treating each other. She wanted Michael to tell his father that he was fine with everything and let them all live in peace. "M…"

Sonny put his hand over her mouth, effectively silencing her. "Carly, don't, please."

She nodded her head, speaking when Sonny removed his hand from her mouth. "I can fix this, Sonny. Why don't you let me?"

"Because I agreed to let Michael make up his own mind… he deserves that right, don't you think?"

"Michael can make up his mind about a lot of things, like what color shirt he wants to wear to school… he doesn't get to decide that he wants to stop being your son and stop loving you!"

"Michael still loves me…" Sonny didn't need to keep on telling himself that it was the truth, but he did it silently in his own mind. "Carly, please. I don't know how long this will take, and don't you think this is hurting me more than anyone else? You know how I feel about my children… I've been through this once before and I thought that I would do everything in my power to make sure that I never had to do it again."

"You don't…"

"Yes, I do," Sonny corrected her. "Because if I try and bully my way back into Michael's good graces, or if I try and buy him off then that doesn't prove anything to any one of us. It just proves that I can't let my children make decisions about me and how they feel about me… at least my own father didn't try and dissuade me from hating him."

"This isn't like what happened with Mike, Sonny! And I'll be damned if I let Michael ever say that he hates you!"

Sonny closed his eyes, coughing a little bit more. "Look, all I'm saying is that I want to give him the time that he deserves."

"This isn't like Damian, Sonny. Michael is our son, both yours and mine, you don't get to make decisions about him without talking to me about it."

"If you want to go and patch things up, go ahead, I can't stop you. But I am asking you again not to do it so quickly. Michael will come around, Carly. He still knows that he can depend on me for anything that he needs. That's more than I ever got growing up."

"I'm giving him a few days…" Carly finally gave in to the plot. "But, Sonny, it hurts me to see you tearing yourself up like this. Even though I know that you were the person who hurt our son I can't help but feel sorry for you. Does that make me such a horrible person?"

"Of course not, it makes you a very loving and generous woman, someone who I probably don't deserve in my life."

"We'll do this your way… for now," Carly sat on the other end of the couch, putting her feet on the cushion that was between the two of them. She knew that she had a choice. She could have marched up to Michael's room and told him that he needed to stop playing the hurt little boy card, but she didn't. She didn't because she hoped that Sonny was right, and hoped that she wasn't doing something that would only hurt the both of them in the overall scheme of the situation.