Monica found the question to be unexpected, but she wasn't exactly surprised by it. She hadn't yet looked at the young man, at least not fully, but when he asked her that question, drudging up history that he had no part of, she did. It was a lot like what Dillon and Emily had gone through when they first came into the Quartermaine family. A history with a lot of enemies and past regrets that were automatically thrust onto them simply because they were members of the family. Damian didn't really know anything about what had happened with Michael, he wasn't there, but he was the impartial third party, thrust into a problem that wasn't his to begin with.
"We let Sonny take Michael away from our son," Monica began, "because we didn't really care about what happened at that time. We weren't acting like we should have. But by the time we came to our senses it was too late. Sonny was already the father that Michael needed. We lost our chance. But we never stopped loving him. Michael might well be the only grandchild I'll ever have, Damian, and yet he'll never actually see me as anything more than his biological grandmother. There won't ever be that connection that he has with Bobbie."
"You… you didn't answer the question."
"I was getting to it. I know what its like to love someone even when they're not really yours. Jason and Emily are both my children through adoption. I didn't bring them to life, they weren't developed inside of me, but it doesn't matter. I love them just as much, sometimes more, than I do AJ. I may not agree with Sonny's parenting methods at times, it actually happens quite frequently, but I know the love that you can feel for a child that isn't even yours. Michael gives Sonny that same look that Jason… used to give me." It was painful to admit that Jason would never see her as the person that she wanted to be in his life. She'd never let herself forget that, no matter how hard she tried. "And he does the same for you. You're his big brother, Damian."
"I'm very lucky to have someone like him in my life. I didn't know how to do anything, at least I thought I didn't. But there was something inside of me, Monica… something that told me that I needed to do whatever I could to make sure that he had a happy childhood. I thought of him as a member of my family before I thought of my own father as my father. It was strange… and I know that even if I didn't acknowledge Sonny Corinthos as my father… or anyone else for that matter, Michael and Morgan would be my brothers."
"You're so much like Jason at times that it's actually a little scary." With Lila gone, Emily was pretty much the only one who Jason actually used the familial term on. Emily would always be Jason's 'sister.' Even when nobody else was his 'mother,' 'father,' or anything else, Emily would somehow merit that acknowledgement. She envied Emily, but she didn't want to take that away.
"You might not want to tell him that…"
"He cares about you. You know that, right?"
"I'm not his favorite person right now. I learned the hard way that doing something for Jason Morgan isn't exactly as favorable as doing something with him."
"Believe me, I know what that feels like. All too well."
Damian saw Morgan move in the small area that had been allotted to him. His hopes were dashed when he realized that the baby was just moving in his sleep. It was better than not moving at all, but he was really hoping that he would see Morgan's eyes open, or something that would let him know that the baby was okay.
Monica saw the shift, too. She wasn't as saddened by the implication as Damian, but she knew what he was hoping for. The same thing that she was hoping for. "To answer your question… I gave you the offer because you deserve it. It has nothing to do with the fact that your father is Sonny Corinthos. Just because your father and I may not see eye to eye doesn't mean that I have to hold it against you."
"Do you mind sending a memo out to all the people who do hold the fact that he's my father against me?" Damian requested, knowing full well that it wasn't going to do anything. "Your sister-in-law would be at the top of that list."
"Don't worry about Tracy. She has nothing better to do with her time than make sure that everyone else is having a horrible time with their lives. It's like she's playing some sick, twisted game and only she knows the rules or how to win, which she's never actually done, incidentally."
"So… you made the offer based entirely on my merits as a person alone? Not because of who my father is… or because Bobbie thinks of me as a member of her family? Or even because I'm your nephew's best friend, your grandson's big brother and your son's nephew?"
"I would have made the offer to you even if you weren't all those things, because the connections that you make with people aren't really who you are. You're a bright young man, Damian… you're also more than capable of being a doctor. I still don't understand why you didn't jump on the offer when you had the chance. We're running out of time before the semester starts up again."
"I didn't know if I was ready for the responsibility that came with being an intern yet. I know that it's not exactly the same as being a full time doctor, but there's still going to be plenty of pressure on me and a lot of expectations. What if I crack under everything?"
"That's why you're an intern… it's not your job to do everything. Leave it to us. You just watch us, learn from us, help us when we need it. Believe me, I've been an intern before, I can tell you that compared to being a doctor, a full time doctor, it's essentially next to nothing."
He knew that she was right. He would have the safety net that the doctors would give him while he was interning. And he had to do it eventually. It was better for him to get it done quicker, to get the experience that came with actually being at the hospital on a semi-fulltime basis. He would know then what he would have to deal with when he did become a true doctor.
But there were other things that seemed more important to him at that moment. "Even when I was off, I'd still be on call, right?"
"If we felt that you were needed, yes, it's part of the agreement that you be readily available even when you're not scheduled."
"Which means that I couldn't just ignore a phone call, because it might be from you or Bobbie or anyone else."
Monica didn't understand what was going on, but she was answering the questions that he was giving her. "That's correct."
"This whole thing with Morgan… I could have been here a few minutes earlier."
"It might not have helped either way, Damian," Monica said softly. "You have to realize that. Doctor's can help save people, sometimes we can even pull a person back when there doesn't seem to be any sort of hope for them, but we can't always do it."
"I know," Damian's mind flashed back to his mother's final days. There was nothing that they could do. They were just waiting for it to take her away from him. He knew that the doctor's couldn't work miracles. Even when they claimed that it was a 'miracle' it really wasn't. "But I was away, with Maxie, when this was happening. Dad even tried to call me when he found out that I was the best shot that Morgan had at staying alive. I was too far away from the phone to hear it, Monica. Even when I could hear the phone, I thought about ignoring it, thinking that there wasn't anything that was so important that it could interrupt the time that I was having with Maxie… but it ended up being a matter of life and death, and I could have cost my baby brother his life. I still could be costing him his life."
"You can't feel guilty for just being alive and doing what you thought was the right thing. How were you supposed to know that Morgan was sick? There was no way that you could have foreseen this happening, that he would need your blood to make it through this procedure."
"But if I were an intern I would have to answer the phone all the time. I couldn't just ignore the call." It wasn't entirely true, he could ignore the call as long as it wasn't from someone who was at the hospital. But he would have to look and he would likely end up answering the phone anyway. "If I would have been an intern with you already, Monica… then I wouldn't have even got the impulse to ignore the phone call to begin with."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that… I want to do this. I need to do it. I need to start helping people, like I've wanted to do for the past seven years. I know that I'm sacrificing a lot of my spare time, that I'm going to work even harder because of my classes at the college… but I don't care. I don't want to have another thing like this happen, where someone that I love is in need of me and I don't think that it's important enough to answer the damned phone."
"You're sure about this?" Monica wondered. "Damian, right now your mind is… well, I don't know what you're going through right now, what possible state your mind could be in, but I don't want you to regret this decision. You can back out of the internship, but if you do the odds are that you won't get a second chance unless you have a good reason for backing out in the first place."
"I'm sure about it, Monica," he looked up at her. "Right now my mind is focused on doing the right thing, both for Morgan and for myself. I knew that I should have taken the offer right away, but I was scared. I'm still scared, but I have to deal with that fear and face it, running away, not doing this, it isn't what I need."
"I'm very happy with the decision that you've made."
"Thank you. But, please, do me a favor… right now everyone is busy with worrying about Morgan, like they should be. I know that they'll be happy for me, but they can find out later. I'll tell them once I know that everything is all right. Could you just keep this between us for right now?" The request was simple and concise. Diverting the attention from a baby in peril to some great offer that he had taken would be selfish. It might have been selfish to even talk about it while they were right there in front of Morgan, but it was seeing Morgan in peril that made Damian force himself to make up his mind.
"Of course," Monica knew that it wasn't the time to give happy news. It wouldn't be received the same way. She didn't want people to not realize how momentous the chance was. "I've got some patients that I need to check up on… my break's over. Sometimes I wish it could be longer, but my job is important. Goodbye, Damian."
"Bye, Monica."
Damian fixated his vision on the child once more. "I wish that you weren't going through this pain right now, Morgan. But in a way it helped me make a decision that's going to have a huge impact on the rest of my life. The only way thing that would make it even better is if you pulled through. Do it for me… do it for everyone who is waiting around for you to wake up and just be yourself again. We want to see you grow up, make mistakes, fall in love. Don't take that away from any of us, please."
Waiting Area, Hours Later-
Mike had long since been called and had dropped everything to be at the hospital. Courtney was also informed, but felt it better to stay with Jason and Michael. Her support would be given even if her physical being was not present. Dillon and Georgie had left at the behest of the adults. It wasn't because they weren't family, there was just nothing that they could do. Aside from Maxie, who was on a shift, everyone that was inside the lounge was blood related to Morgan in some way.
"They should have had answers by now," Sonny had been pacing in spurts. Often sitting down for a few minutes before the anxiety got the better of him and made him get up and walk around again. "The doctor hasn't even been here for over an hour."
"What's worse, Sonny?" Mike tried to calm his son down. He had never been any good at doing the task, but that didn't stop him from trying. "The doctor coming and telling you that nothing has changed once again, or the doctor coming and letting you know that something has changed?"
"Actually, I can answer the question myself," Doctor Jenkins had appeared. "I'm sorry that this has taken as long as it has, but as we had anticipated there was no estimate that could have been given as to when Morgan would react to the blood. However, he has… and we managed to do everything in time. Your son might not be able to be as active as he was before he got sick, but he'll regain his energy in a few days. He's going to be fine."
"Thank God," Carly felt the weight lifted from her being as she wrapped her arms around Sonny, the tears returning, but no longer tears of anguish and sorrow, they had become tears of sheer joy.
"We'll need to keep him here at least overnight, but in the morning, if everything checks out like we're almost certain it will, you can take him home."
"Can we see him?" Sonny asked, wanting to see the child that he knew was going to be fine, at least for now. He gave his silent thanks to Stone for doing what he had asked, knowing that his old friend had heard him.
"Of course, if you'll follow me."
"You two go right now," Mike said, standing next to Bobbie, "you're his parents, you deserve to see him first."
"Mama… can you call Michael and let him know everything is going to be all right?" Carly saw her mother nod and pull out her cell phone as she walked away.
When Carly and Sonny got to the room they saw Damian standing near Morgan, who was still in the environmentally safe area that he had been in just as a precaution. The young man walked to the side, giving them both the room that they needed. They were Morgan's parents, they deserved the chance to be alone with him.
Before he could leave, Carly grabbed his arm softly, the two looking at one another. Carly smiled and softly spoke, "Thank you…"
"Go be with Morgan right now, Carly, you don't need to thank me." Damian walked out the open door, watching through the window for a moment before walking away completely.