Author's Notes: I would like to thank everyone who encouraged me to start this story, and all those who gave feedback as this story progressed. This story has been great to write, and I'm glad so many people were able to enjoy it. Thanks for supporting my fic, and keep looking out for more GH stories by me. As long as I get ideas, I'll be writing them LoL.

The sun was bright, Brenda was tired, and with the summer heat bearing down on them, Brenda realized that her sleeveless turtleneck was a really bad idea, no matter how thin the material. Had she not known there would be children around, she'd have forgone the extra coverage. However, she had no desire to scare the little ones. They'd had enough of a shock being taken from their father's house in the middle of the night.

Her initial plan hadn't been to actually see anyone before leaving Port Charles again. She didn't plan to stay away for years, this time, so it wasn't really necessary to say goodbye. She'd not actually said hello to Lois, so that wasn't a problem, and after what she pulled at the board meeting, Ned and the Quartermaines would only be glad to see her gone. Though, she would have at least been able to hear their groans when she told them that they'd be back just in time for Luis to attend the next board meeting. They couldn't have one without him, after all, unless they wanted a different Alcazar at the meeting. Luis had given his proxy to Lorenzo, just in case he didn't make it back in time.

But, Luis said that they had to say goodbye. She figured it was more for his benefit than hers. She was done, for the time being. Reese had gotten Sonny out of an extended stay in lock-up, but she wasn't able to help him keep his children. No judge in town would touch his money for this fix. They didn't want their names so closely attached to such an obvious bribe. The children were back with their mothers.

Jax was on his way to his mother, too, practically begging for some help. Knowing Lady Jane, she would give him a little something. Without the patriarch of the family around and with Jerry still in hiding, Lady Jane would hold on to the only one she had left. But, it wasn't enough to put him back where he was before, and he was just lucky that Brenda hadn't taken his apartment and left him homeless. Besides, Courtney had money. She could take care of them. In the meantime, Brenda was thinking of new names for her hotel. There was just no way she was going to let it remain known as the MetroCourt.

But Luis had his brother. The last time they'd separated, Luis had barely been conscious. He wasn't about to walk away without at least saying goodbye. Though, Brenda was sure it was also to gloat, just a bit. This time, it was Luis making life easier for Lorenzo, instead of the other way around. Granted, he didn't personally do anything that made Carly a happy woman, but by association, he'd come close enough.

So, they stood beneath the summer sun, watching three children play a few feet away. Kristina and Morgan were happy enough. They didn't know what was going on. They were too young to realize what had happened. Michael, though… He kept tossing dark looks at Lorenzo, and when he looked up and spotted her, his dark eyes were for Brenda, too. Yup, she was pretty damn sure that he knew she was the reason he couldn't live with his father anymore. She just hoped that he realized that he was better off. That one day, the brainwashing would wear off and he wouldn't be so upset.

"How long are you planning to stand here and stare at them?"

Brenda sighed and looked up at Luis. "I don't know. Until I can actually go over there?" She shook her head. She'd never been too good at wrapping up things. Even when there wasn't a real finality to it, the whole thing just felt… strange. "I guess we should go and get this over with, huh?"

Luis nodded and she let him lead her across the field. As Luis approached his brother, Brenda knelt down in front of Kristina and Morgan. "Adorable," she muttered, nipping Kristina's chin. She turned to Morgan and ruffled his hair. "And you are just adorable. You're both in better places now." She looked up at Alexis, then stood. "Our little deal is done," she told her. "Don't worry. I won't be asking you to do anything else."

Alexis stared at her, but not her face. Her eyes were on her neck. Brenda put her hand to her throat for a second, then dropped it. She felt as though Alexis could see straight through the fabric to the bruises that surrounded her neck. Her voice was back to normal, but it was taking her skin longer to rid itself of the remnants of Sonny's anger. "How's that doing?" Alexis nodded to her neck.

Brenda cleared her throat and shrugged. She stepped away from the children and Alexis followed her. "It's not so bad," she said with a shrug. "I just didn't want the kids to see the bruises, ya know?" She shrugged again. "It'll go away. All of it."

Luis had been right. She wouldn't admit it, and he loved her enough not to rub it in. She woke every other night, unable to breathe. She choked into consciousness, then held onto Luis for dear life. She held to him tighter than she'd been able to do the day that it happened. But, she could handle it. It had been her plan, after all, and she had to live with the consequences of it. Besides, Brenda figured that she just needed to get out of town for a little bit. Get away from the atmosphere, away from the places where she could run into Sonny. Have a little bit of time to let herself forget. And when she returned, she would be alright and her neck would be completely healed.

A hand grabbed her arm and jerked her to the side. Brenda spun around and stared at Courtney. Her eyes darkened and her body tightened. She jerked away from her and said, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I hope you're happy, now. I guess it's true. You destroy everything you touch. You came to town to take everything away from anyone who ever loved you. I hope you're really happy now, Brenda."

"Oh, I'm extremely happy." She smirked and folded her arms. "What're you gonna do, Courtney? Go all Kung Fu on me? Gonna give me one of those weak ass kicks of yours? I dare you to do it."

"I'd love nothing more than to kick your ass right now, but I'm not going to do it with my nephews and my neice over there. You… You're just a little tramp, Brenda, and you always will be. You went to the only man who didn't care where you've been and doesn't seem to realize that you run off at the drop of a hat. How could you do this to Jax? How could you do this to Sonny and Jason?"

"I've done nothing to Jax and Sonny that they didn't deserve. And I've done nothing at all to Jason. He can still see any of these children whenever he wants. Oh, boo hoo, he has to realize that Sonny's not the perfect brother that he always pictured him to be. Well, good for him. And good for him that he doesn't have to have anything at all to do you with."

"You're such a bitch."

"Yeah, she is, but right now, I prefer this bitch around my children more than you." Carly's arrival on the scene was unexpected. She may not have been Courtney's biggest fan, but compared to her feelings towards Brenda, the two were close as could be. "Don't come here starting trouble, Courtney. You haven't cared about the boys or Kristina in a long time. And don't even get me started on Jason." Carly sighed. "Just go away, Courtney. Right now, Brenda has more right to be here than you do."

"Carly…"

Carly ignored her and turned around. She took Brenda's arm and pulled her away, but didn't head straight back to the children. Carly looked up to Alexis, nodded towards the children, then pulled Brenda off to the side. Alexis reluctantly turned her eyes away from them. Luis and Lorenzo were engrossed in their own conversation. Unless Courtney was going to keep coming where she was unwanted, they would be undisturbed for a few minutes.

"Why would you do this, Brenda?" She pointed to Brenda's neck, then folded her arms. "You and I hate each other, and you could care less what happens to Alexis. Why would you go to these extremes just to get us our children back."

Brenda sighed and rolled her eyes. "Again, you think it's all about you. Carly, the fact that you got your children back is just you getting a treat. That wasn't my main goal. Honestly, until I felt his hands around my neck and more truthfully, until I saw those kids today, I didn't care where they ended up. I just wanted Sonny and Jax to pay for what they did to me. Don't think I was trying to get you in my debt or anything. And I damn sure wasn't doing anything magnanimous. I just wanted them to pay and where Sonny's concerned, I knew the only way to really hurt him was for him to lose his children."

"Figures," Carly said with a snort. "You doing something selfless is about as impossible as me admitting that I was wrong about something." She snorted again. "But… In the end, you did give us our children back. I'm not gonna stand here and praise you or anything else like that. It would be fake, and I may lie, but I'm not fake. But on behalf of my children…"

Carly stopped, stuttered, and the words just wouldn't come. Brenda almost laughed, but kept it inside. Not like she'd have done it if she were in Carly's shoes. To actually thank each other would have been… well… It would have just been disgusting. Brenda had done a lot of dirty things since coming back to Port Charles, but she wasn't ready to get that filthy.

"Forget it," she said with a wave of her hand. Brenda walked to Luis, her feet shuffling in the grass. She slid in beside Luis, and his arm went around her shoulders. She looked up at Lorenzo and smiled. "You won't be without your brother for too long. We've got a wedding coming up, and Luis has to have his best man." She smirked. "I'll even be nice and let you bring Carly. Oh, and thinking of…" She turned to Alexis. "One last favor? Can I use Kristina as flower girl?"

Alexis looked at her with one raised eyebrow. "Do I really want to be near you, in a church? With your luck…" She sighed and shook her head. "I guess I can give you that one last favor."

"Great!" She grinned and bit her bottom lip, then turned back to Lorenzo. "It'll be a small affair, don't worry. Not like I have many friends left in this town anyway, but…" She stopped when she realized that Lorenzo's eyes had gone past her and Luis, staring behind them. She turned and, with her arm around him, Luis turned, too.

Sonny stood across the park, Reese on one side of him and Courtney on the other. She didn't think Courtney would have had the time between seeing them all there and Sonny's arrival to have called him, but she was with him nonetheless. He tried to walk towards them, but Reese held him back. Whatever she told him angered him, but it held him back.

Brenda turned to the side at a ruffling, struggling sound and saw Carly holding Michael back. Yes, it would take some time for him to realize that being with Sonny wasn't the best for him, but he was young enough… He'd understand eventually. When that time came, though, wasn't Brenda's problem. That was for Carly and Lorenzo to do. Her only priority was Luis, and getting out of Port Charles for a little while.

Brenda stared at Sonny for a few more seconds, then as Reese pulled him away, she turned to look up at Luis. "I think we've done all we need to do here. For the time being, that is."

"Bags are packed?"

"Yup." She leaned her head against him and smiled. "Packed and I had them taken to the yacht, already. We don't even have to go back to the penthouse." And she didn't want to go back there until their return to Port Charles. She didn't want her last memories of the town to be of avoiding Jason or worse… actually running into him. "To Ibiza?"

"To Ibiza," Luis said. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, then turned them back towards Lorenzo. Goodbyes were said and between the women standing around, lingering glances were shared. None of them would say it, but they had an understanding. They may not have liked one another, but Alexis and Carly would get along for the sake of their children. And Brenda most definitely didn't want to be best friends with either of them, but because of what she'd been through, because the line of Sonny's mistreated women seemed to start and end with her, she would be civil.

And because of Luis, she would try to get along with Carly. She was going to be his wife, after all. Mrs. Brenda Alcazar. It was the least she could do for a man who had given her so much.