Children's Wing, General Hospital-
They sat outside of his room, looking through the window as the doctor continued to look at their son, checking the readouts that had been recently taken from the machine. Neither Carly nor Sonny had the medical knowledge that was needed to understand exactly what was going on, but they could understand one very primal feeling: they just wanted their son to be okay.
"You know," Sonny began as he wrapped his arm around Carly's waist, "you didn't have to stay out here with me. The doctor said you could stay in there while he finished running those tests."
"I know," Carly, who had finally gotten to the point where she believed that she could no longer shed any tears, longed for the moment where she could hold her son in her arms again. Morgan hadn't been touched by either of his parents in hours. What if he thought that they were trying not to touch him? He was awake some of the time, Carly would look at him, talk to him, even laugh, but she never touched. Was Morgan old enough to understand that it was because she couldn't, not because she didn't want to?
Sonny was still unaware of exactly what was ailing his wife. His assumption, while partially correct, was that she was worried about their son. He had no clue that she wanted to find out who her father was. "So why did you?"
"Because I wanted to be with you…" she said simply as she laced her hand with his. "In case something happens…"
"Something won't happen," Sonny was quick to smother the dark thoughts that were swelling in Carly's head, although he would never admit that the same worries had vexed him as well.
"I just feel that it was unfair that you didn't get to be with him, too…"
"I'm still sick," Sonny had been given medication to help with his own cold, which was not life-threatening in any way. "I feel fine, but… until I know for sure that I'm not a danger to Morgan I don't want to risk going near him."
"You're never a danger to our children, or even your son…"
"I didn't mean it like that," Sonny corrected himself. "You know what I meant, Carly. Right now, Morgan's immune system is barely dealing with whatever it is that he has, adding what I have to it might not be all that wise."
"Courtney… she said that she would talk to you before she left the hospital last night. I told her to tell you that you didn't need to stay…"
"You know me better than to think that I would go anywhere when one of my children was in the hospital unless it was absolutely necessary. Remember what happened the last time I left?" Sonny could never forget. If he had known that Damian and Courtney would have been taken from the 'safety' of General Hospital, he would have never gone to Los Angeles in the first place.
"You didn't have any control over that, you couldn't have known." She could have. She should have. Carly knew Lorenzo well enough that she should have known he was going to do what he did. Even talking about it with Sonny made her feel such guilt over her part in that whole debacle.
"Besides… I didn't want to leave in case you needed me."
Carly gave a meek smile before she waved to Morgan as his eyes looked over at her. "He must be so confused right now."
"He's young enough to forget what happened… I hope."
"Could you imagine what we would be like if we could remember everything that happened to us when we were too young to remember?" Carly didn't want to remember the stories of her childhood with any sort of vivid certainty. It was a part of herself that she didn't want to bask in.
"I still remember plenty…"
Knowing that she should have never said anything, she tightened her hold on Sonny, hoping that the bond would help him battle the demons that were swelling in his head. "I'm sorry… but you know how much those memories helped you be a good father."
"To Michael and Morgan maybe…"
"Stop it," she ordered. "You know that Damian doesn't hold it against you for not being there when he was a kid. None of us do. We all know that if you would have known you would have gone and been by his side the minute he was born."
"You're too good to me, you know that?"
"I don't think I could be anything else but Mrs. Carly Corinthos, your wife. It's a full time job… and I don't even get overtime."
"I think the money I give you when you go on a shopping spree is more than enough overtime."
"Really? I think I'm overworked and underpaid, myself…"
"Well, maybe I'll give you a raise then."
"That'd be nice." Although the fact of Morgan's illness had never left her mind, Carly was glad that she could at least momentarily bring herself to a place where it wasn't so emotionally crushing. Any happiness that was felt inside of her was quickly washed away when she saw her mother walking down the hall. She wasn't dressed in a uniform.
Bobbie didn't exactly enjoy seeing her daughter. She still loved Carly, but that didn't make dealing with the pain any easier. However, Bobbie knew that Morgan was the one who needed to be concentrated on and keeping herself away from her grandson simply because of something that didn't involve him in any way would be petty and dishonorable.
"Mom…"
Bobbie noticed the blankness in Carly's voice. Her daughter wasn't going to back down, it wasn't surprising, Carly never backed down. "How is he?"
"The doctor is checking up on him right now," Sonny pointed at the window. "He should be done soon."
"I tried to get some sleep… but I couldn't. I'm so worried about him."
"We all are," Carly knew that her mother loved her son. Even if things didn't go the way Carly wanted, Bobbie would always be a part of her children's lives.
Bobbie walked over to the window, standing closer to Sonny than Carly, something that she hoped her daughter noticed. "Who did the balloons come from?"
"Lois and Brook Lynn." Sonny was glad that Lois was there with him the night before. He needed someone, and even though his father was there, it was better to talk with a friend.
"I should have known," Carly said snidely. "The gaudy colors and designs could only come from someone who is so tasteless…"
"Actually, Lois let Brook pick the balloons."
"Then I guess she passed the gene onto her daughter. Poor girl. I'd hate to see what her prom dress looks like. Lime chiffon, maybe?" Carly was going to try and do something to help the poor child out. Lois was a lost cause, but there was no need that Brook should suffer the same fate.
Sonny turned a disapproving glance down at his wife, "Lois told me to tell you that she was praying for Morgan's safety."
"Well I'll make sure to thank her for that." They understood each other on that level and that level alone. They were both mothers. If Brook were in pain, Carly would only hope for the best.
The doctor stopped looking at the chart and at Morgan, turning around and walking outside, standing in front of the gathered adults. "Thank you all for waiting, I know that when a child is in pain it can be among the most time consuming period of a parent's life. Or a grandparent…"
Carly finally released her hold on Sonny. "Can we take him home? Can Sonny see him?"
Doctor Jenkins smiled, "Morgan's going to be fine. The virus is losing its hold on his immune system. The blood transplant worked, better than we had hoped. You've both got a strong little baby."
"Is there anything that we should be looking out for?" Sonny wondered. "Any sort of relapse?"
"Right now Morgan's immunity is still frail, but is getting stronger by the moment. If he gets sick in any way within the next few days I would highly suggest that you bring him back in just for the sake of being cautious."
"What about me? Am I a risk to him?"
"It's my understanding that you've been given medication…"
"Yes, I have."
"Then you should be fine. Until you feel completely well, you should avoid any prolonged exposure to Morgan for the time being, but there's no need to keep yourself from him completely."
"Come on, Sonny," Carly pulled at his hand once more, "let's go see our baby…"
"Thank you," Sonny's gratitude was clear.
"Always a pleasure to help save a child. Bobbie, I'm assuming you can remind them of the checkout procedure?"
Bobbie nodded, "Of course."
"Then I've got some other babies to check up on. If there are any problems, if you have any questions, feel free to call my office."
Sonny and Carly weren't paying much attention to the doctor. He had served them well, and they would be eternally grateful for his help and expertise, but that wasn't important at that moment in time. Morgan was.
"Mom," Carly called to Bobbie, "how to do we get him out of that thing?" She had no idea how to remove Morgan from his protective plastic environment, and she would hate to break it.
"Here," Bobbie walked in. It was actually simple to do, but she was trained in using all of the medical devices. She couldn't do surgery, but she could put on an IV, or in this case, take a baby out of a box. Opening the lid, Bobbie smiled as she reached her hands down, touching Morgan. "There's my favorite baby in the whole wide world." She picked the infant up and kissed him on the forehead. "Someone's been dying to touch you for the longest time."
"Hi, Morgan," Carly made the widest possible smile as she reached over, giving him kiss after kiss.
Sonny reached over, his fingers running over his child's, "Let's get him out of here, Carly. I'm sure he doesn't understand why he's here. We should get him back where he belongs."
"I'm sure he'd love that," Carly nodded. "Wouldn't you, Morgan? You want to go back home and be with your brothers and all your toys."
"Here, Sonny," Bobbie handed her son-in-law the balloon bouquet. "I'll head over to the station and get the paperwork that you need…"
When Bobbie was gone, Sonny felt that he had the safety to ask the question that was on his mind, "Are you mad at your mother?"
"What makes you say that?"
"You two just seemed distant… it's not like you."
"We're both just stressed out right now," she lied, but it was a believable lie. She didn't want Sonny to know about her plans, at least not yet. Courtney knew, she might tell Jason, but that was it. It needed to be kept small. "Come on, let's get him out of here."