They were all extradicted back to Port Charles to sort everything out. The tape, the confessions… Well, as much of a confession as they were going to get. No one had any intention on revealing the true nature of Royal's disappearance, and no one had yet to ask. As far as those involved could see, Ric and Agent Marshall were content with the idea that he skipped town.

The only one of the wanted quartet not in the Port Charles police station was Jason. He'd been taken to a local hospital, then transported by helicopter to General Hospital when he was stable. By that time, the other three had been in the police station for hours. Pretty soon, the sun would be coming up, and everyone was tired. However, the ordeal was far from over.

John Durant sat handcuffed in the interrogation room. As Carly and Sam looked on from outside the room, they both wondered what he would say. He didn't know anything about Royal, so he couldn't get them there, but he could still try to say something else. He could claim that the tape had been doctored, possibly put together before they'd even arrived at his place in Manhattan. Though, they were sure anything to the contrary of the truth would be contradicted by the Russian nanny he'd hired to take care of Kristina. She had already been visited by INS in Manhattan, and the threat of deportation was strong and real.

"I don't like this," Carly muttered. She wasn't cuffed, but neither was she free to go. For the time being, with enough evidence against John, she and Sam were unchained in the outer area of the police station, but they weren't completely off the hook yet. There was still that whole aiding and abetting thing, as Sam was under police custody at the time she was taken away. "Where did they take Lorenzo?"

Sam sighed and shook her head. She wished she could make a move without the police getting twitchy. Though there had been no weapons found on them or in the vicinity of the apartment, Durant had been quick to claim that they'd come in with guns blazing. Every time she moved, some rookie cop's hand went to the butt of his gun. "I think Mac took him out of the room. The two of us sitting together is bad enough. They don't want Alcazar telling us what to say."

Carly groaned. "They're going to try and railroad him, I know it. Somehow, this is all going to end up Lorenzo's fault, and it's not." She turned her head towards Sam and sighed. "It's mine," she said softly.

"Carly…"

"I brought him here, Sam. Momma told me to leave it alone, but I wouldn't listen. In the middle of being a hypocrite, I brought this down on everybody." She leaned back in her chair and threw her head back. "Right now, I wish my father had really been just some john. At least then… Then, this wouldn't have happened."

"You can't blame yourself for this, Carly. How could you have known the lengths Durant would go?" Sam turned in her chair, slowly so as not to freak out the newbies in blue. "He was here to take down Sonny, and as much as you hated that he was trying to do that…" She shook her head. "If you didn't blame yourself for that, you shouldn't blame yourself for Kristina."

"Then who do I blame, huh? Because somebody's at fault, and it's not just John. Somebody else is behind whatever trauma this starts in that little girl's life. What if she can't forget this? What if it haunts her?"

"First of all," Sam told her, "she's young enough and she wasn't hurt. She'll be able to put it behind her and it'll be like nothing ever happened. And after that…" Sam ran her hand through her hair and a jerk from across the room made her eyes roll. She looked at the cop and said, "I know I've got a lot of hair, but it's not enough to hide a weapon in." She muttered, "Moron," under her breath, then turned back to Carly. "That guy is really starting to piss me off."

Carly chuckled. "Yeah, he's jumpy." She smirked. "Almost makes me miss Taggert. At least he didn't act afraid of small woman. Though, he probably would have been afraid of Faith Roscoe. That woman…"

"Crazier than I am," she said with a snorted laugh. Her head shook slightly from side to side, then Sam let out a heavy breath. Turned to the side, she put her arm up on the back of the chair and rested her head in her hand. "Right now, Carly, you just have to think about what you want to do. Stop blaming yourself, because it's not your fault. The cops are gonna put Durant away, and that part of our lives will be over."

"But there's so much more," Carly said with a groan. "How about I go back to placing blame? It's easier. And even better, I can go back to blaming you for everything. Now that would be the start of getting us back to where we were."

"Tell me about it." Sam groaned, but there was a laugh underneath. "Well, if it weren't for me and my baby…" Sam paused for a moment, and her eyes dropped. She wondered how long it would feel that way when she remotely mentioned her daughter. How long would it be until she could think of her, maybe even say her name, without forcing back the urge to cry. She shook her head and sighed, then popped her head back up. "Enough of that. If it weren't for us, then Jason wouldn't have been brought into the middle of all of this."

"Sam…" Carly sighed and shook her head. Before all of this, she would have been able to easily get back into the blame game. Of course, before all of this, she wouldn't have been sitting with Sam in the PCPD, having a conversation, either. "Okay, if it weren't for you, Jason wouldn't have been involved, and Lorenzo and I wouldn't have gotten involved."

"And if Jason hadn't been shot and you and Alcazar weren't involved, then Sonny wouldn't have lost his mind."

"And I wouldn't be wondering what the hell I'm supposed to be doing right now, and when it's all over." Carly sighed heavily. She closed her eyes for a moment, then reopened them and stared off, facing away from Sam. She stared at the door to the interrogation room. "I can't just go back to him, not when I've seen what he can do. But, do I let John win? I mean, he did this so I would stay away from Sonny."

"It doesn't matter what Durant wanted, Carly. It only matters what you think is right for yourself." Sam shrugged. "Sonny… I don't know. When you're desperate, I think you show what you're really made of and what he's made of…"

"Is exactly what his step-father was made of. He doesn't know how to control his anger. I mean, he's thrown things, ya know? He's shouted and more than once, I was afraid, but then I always figured, he'd never hurt me."

"Alcazar gets mad, too, Carly. You told me that he totally trashed his stateroom."

"But the difference is that he never does it in front of me. He may rage and vent, but he won't show it to me. He only shows me the calm man, the loving man… the man who just wants me to be happy. And ya know, even if I didn't go to him, I think he would be happy as long as I wasn't in danger."

Sam sat forward and dug her elbows into her knees. She folded her hands and rested her chin on the back, just below her wrists. "Are you in love with him, Carly?" She turned her head to the side, resting her cheek against her hands. Her hair fell to the side. "Are you in love with him and finally realizing that you're not in love with Sonny, anymore?"

Carly looked to her and wondered just how this woman could know anything at all about her. How she could see the truth inside, even if she did her best to hide it. "I don't think I've been in love with Sonny for a long time, Sam," she said with a sigh. "I think I've been in love with the idea of him, with the man that I fell in love with a long time ago. And now… I don't know. I shouldn't love Lorenzo. He kidnapped me, he stalked me…"

"And he gave up his business so you wouldn't lose your children."

"Yeah, but he took it back," she told her with a smirk. "I realized that when I came back to the yacht the other night. I looked at all of those men, thought about what he'd accomplished, and I knew he couldn't have done it without his connections. And you know what? I really don't care. I mean… I've lived the life of a mobster's moll for so long, it's unreal. First Jason, then Sonny, now Lorenzo… I don't know what I'd do if that weren't my life."

"And you know that he'll keep you safe."

"Exactly!" Carly sat up quickly, and this time, she was the one that caused the rookie to jump. "Ya know, that guy is gonna make me slap him in a second." She sighed and shook her head. "But, it's true. I mean, I know that if I or my boys were ever really in danger, Lorenzo would leave again. I know that he loves me, and I think… I mean, I know… I'm in love with him."

"Then you need to tell that to Sonny, Carly. You need to tell him so you can both leave all of this behind. So you can get on with your life and being happy." Sam reached out tentatively, her fingers tapping Carly's wrist. "So you can move beyond this, and realize that unlike me, you don't have to go that far to find the guy who won't ever do this to you, again."

Carly closed her eyes and sighed. "How do I manage to do that without getting this done, again?"

"You do it with others around you. I mean, I don't know if you want me to go with you or not, but I will. And he can't keep the boys from you now, so if you don't want me, you can always go with a police escort. You do have custody of Michael and Morgan, so you can have somebody go with you to get them and tell him then."

"No… You can go." Carly looked at her and shrugged. "Why stop the adventure so early, huh?" She sighed again and shook her head. The rest of the conversation had been strange enough, but what she was about to do next was so painful she thought her head would explode and her body would cave in on itself. "Thanks, Sam."

She looked at her shocked, and wanted to make a joke out of it. Carly Corinthos, thanking someone other than Jason or Alcazar. That was a laugh and a half. But, she was so serious about it, so sincere… Sam couldn't bring herself to make light of the moment. "Carly… you don't have to."

"Yeah, I do," she said as she leaned back. Carly folded her arms and sighed. "I put a lot of trust in you tonight, and you came through. I'm so mad at John right now, but I know I wouldn't have been able to take it if I'd…" She sighed. "You know." Carly shrugged. "I don't show my gratitude often, and I'll probably never show it to you again, but for what it's worth. Thanks."

"You're welcome," she told her. "And thanks, yourself. I mean, you didn't have to help us, and I know you did it for Jason. But I'd like to believe that, at some point, it became about us, and not about Jason or Alcazar." She shook her head. "Whatever the reason, thanks. I appreciate it, and I won't forget it."

"You're welcome." Carly sighed and looked around the room. For as much as the police stayed around her, they should have been keeping an eye on Sonny. She was almost positive that he was planning a hit on Durant, and with everything slowing down, she knew that she didn't want him dead. She just wanted him behind bars. Royal, on the other hand…

Her thoughts stopped when Sam poked her in the side. Carly's head turned as Lorenzo came walking from the back, his wrists free, though he massaged his right with his left hand. He walked straight to Carly, and before he was halfway across the room, she was up and in his arms. She didn't care if the stupid guard jumped. She needed to hold him.

Sam watched them and wished that Jason were there. She wanted to hold him, show him that she was alright, and let him tell her that everything was going to be fine. She wanted the relief that she knew Carly felt the moment Alcazar embraced her. She wanted to get the hell out of the station so she could go to the hospital and stand watch beside Jason's bed.

"Alright, ladies." Ric Lansing came out of the interrogation room and he looked tense. Both were sure that he'd have rather been with Alexis right then, instead of stuck in the room with the man who'd kidnapped his step-daughter. "You're free to go. You, too, Alcazar."

Ric sighed and Mac Scorpio came up beside him. "Durant finally confessed." Mac shook his head. "I can't believe this, but you're free to go. We're dropping the existing charges against you."

"Because you don't want us to sue you," Sam said with a groan.

"Because we have every right to," Carly growled, "especially since that idiot FBI agent shot Jason, and you treated us all like we were criminals."

"At the time, Carly, you were," Ric told her. "Look, I'm not going to apologize for Agent Marshall because I'm not her boss. Talk to the feds about her. And I won't apologize for the way we handled things, because at the time, our only and most viable suspect was Sam. So, you can be angry, but you're better off just being glad. Be glad you have your lives back."

Carly looked at him, sighed, then looked at Lorenzo. "I hate when other people are right besides me." She groaned and looked at Sam. "Are you still up for that trip?" Sam nodded and she turned to Lorenzo. "One more thing, I swear. But… it's something I have to do."

"With her," he said softly.

"Yeah," she told him. Carly bit her bottom lip, then rose her hand to his face, cupping his cheek. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his touch. Lorenzo turned his face in and kissed her palm, then she opened her eyes again. "I'm coming to you when this is over, Lorenzo. I'm going to get the boys and then…" She shrugged. "I don't know. I think I'll go to Momma, go to the Brownstone. I'll call you when I get there because we need to talk."

"You really need to talk," Sam muttered. Carly shot her a look and she shrugged. "What? I'm just sayin'." She sighed. "Fine, have your moments. I'll do the driving, because I'm not getting in a car again with you behind the wheel. I'll drop you all off and then go to the hospital. I'll let Jason know you're okay."

"Uh huh." Carly rolled her eyes. "And for the record, you almost crashed us twice. You don't drive any better than I do. You just happen to have a license." She snorted, then turned back to Lorenzo. "If I call… will you come?"

"Carly, you should know by now that I'll always come when you call." He bent over and kissed her lightly. His lips were loose, and her bottom lip slipped between his. He pulled back, tugging lightly on her lip, before looking down at her with a half-smile. "I wish you'd let me go with you but… if you think this is best, then I'll wait for your call."

"Thank you." She smiled at him, touched his face again, then turned to Sam. "Alright, let's get this over with. And no smart ass comments from you in the car, either."

"Oh, but Carly, it's so fun." Sam snickered and turned to walk out. The knowledge of freedom made her feel lighter, as though she were close to floating. Things were nowhere near as great as her release made them seem, but for the time being, she'd just accept them. There was too much more to come that night. And she thought Carly felt the same. "Okay, how about this? Love-life mockery is off-limits, but I'm free to make fun of your driving. Come on, Carly, you can't deny me that. It's just way too easy."