Chapter 10
When they reached the 10th floor of the Port Charles Tower and exited the elevator. She saw the bodyguard Sonny told her about earlier and smiled a greeting at him. He nodded his head in acknowledgment but that was it. She thought to herself, 'I sure am glad I got Johnny instead of this guy.' Alexis stepped out first and looked around. There were two doors. One was for Penthouse 4 and the other was Penthouse 2. She waited to see which one Sonny would enter and looked curiously at him when he walked straight ahead toward the wall at the end of the corridor.
She watched curiously as he stepped up to the wall to press a concealed button that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. The wall moved back to reveal a third door. She instantly became concerned that Michael might possibly feel that he was being held in a prison of sorts. Something didn't feel right about holding a child behind a wall of seclusion. But, before making any judgements she waited to see the rest.
Sonny opened the door and stepped into what appeared to be a normal apartment. She saw a flash of red hair and heard the high pitch squeal of a child and before she got run over she stepped back and allowed Michael enough room to launch himself into the waiting arms of Sonny.
"Hey, sport. Whatcha been up to?" The smile on Sonny's face played havoc with Alexis' heart and she once again found herself battling to refocus her attention on the child whose arms were wrapped around his daddy's neck, giggling helplessly as Sonny tickled him.
Sonny stopped tickling Michael and put both arms around the small boy and hugged him not caring who saw how much he loved the child. Michael quieted down when he suddenly remembered that his Daddy wasn't alone.
Sonny felt the body of his son tense and Alexis saw it almost as quickly. She took another step back to give Michael a little more space. He turned his head so he could peer at Alexis from under the chin of his dad.
Sonny, knew it was up to him to make the next move. As he kept his arms around his boy he gently and quietly spoke to Michael.
"Son, I have a new friend that I want you to meet. It is very important to me that you meet her. I don't want you to be frightened of her. She will not hurt you in any way. But, I will not force you to speak to her. It has to be your choice."
Alexis only heard part of Sonny's words and she was more impressed by the tone of his voice than the words he spoke. She now knew why this child placed so much faith in this man. Michael was given the ability to make choices for himself when he was in the company of his father. That was a gift every child treasured.
Michael slowly lifted his head from his dad's shoulder and looked directly at Alexis. Alexis did not take a step forward, did not make any advance toward him at all. She placed a hesitant smile of greeting on her face and waited for Michael to make the first move. Michael took his eyes from Alexis and looked at his dad and gently pushed his hands against his dad's chest to let Sonny know he wanted down.
Sonny knelt with him and set his feet on the ground. He did not immediately take his hands from around his son. He allowed Michael to move out of his embrace in his own time. At a pace he could handle. Once Michael was free of Sonny's arms he turned to face Alexis and took a tentative step forward. Alexis could see in the child's face the emotions that were gripping the child and wanted so much to step up to the child and take him in her arms. She knew she couldn't so did the only thing she could that had proved time and again to each child she defended that she was on their side. She simply knelt to his level and waited.
Once Michael could see her eyes on his level, he knew she did not intend to harm him in any way. He shyly lifted his hand to shake hers. "Hi, my name is Michael. What's yours?"
Alexis breathed a sigh of relief as she gently placed her hand in his. "Hi, Michael. My name is Alexis."
Michael let go and took a step back toward his dad and with the innocence of a child simply stated. "Hey, dad, she's pretty."
Sonny looked at his son and replied, "I know son, I know."
Sonny looked at Alexis and noticed she had not taken her eyes from Michael. She was so different around children. In court, she was ruthless. If she saw any weakness, she dealt with it firmly and completely. But, when it came to children, everything changed. She catered to them; she gave them every advantage. He had seen it just now and he saw it in court two weeks ago as he watched her with the little boy she defended that day he first met her.
She didn't know he watched her in court that morning and he honestly felt he had every right to watch her in action. After all, he had been planning to talk to her about his son. He was impressed with her handling of that case. She dealt with every witness and every motion the prosecution sent her way quickly and efficiently without emotion. He never once heard her raise her voice during the entire process.
Even when the boy's mother took the stand and became so infuriated at her inability to reason with Alexis she actually threw a glass of water at her. Alexis simply sidestepped the air born glass making sure it would not hit the boy. She never lost her professionalism and she never let the boy see her flinch at the accusations sent her way. Sonny knew in that moment that she was who he wanted to represent him in his custody fight against Carly.
Sonny stood and took his sons hand playfully yanked on it to get Michael's full attention. "Hey, buddy. How hungry are you?"
Michael's eyes lit up. He knew that question. The only time he heard that question was when his daddy wanted to take him to their special place. He loved their special place. There was nothing in the world like it. Especially to a little boy.
With barely concealed excitement Michael looked up at his dad's face and whispered: "Can we dad, can we really?"
"Sure son, I don't see why not. You go get ready while I make a few calls and we'll head out."
As Alexis watched the exchange she quietly stood back up and again waited. It was too soon for her to enter into their conversation. It was too soon for her to make any effort at joining them. She knew that although Michael had taken a big step in meeting her, he was still wary of her. He was still in a self-protection mode and that was something Alexis knew first hand. So she quietly stood out of the way and let Michael have his time with Sonny.
Sonny watched his son run from the room and could hear him opening his dresser to pull out several pants and shirts trying to find just the right thing to wear out with his dad. As Sonny reached for his phone he heard his son grow quiet in the next room.
"Michael, you okay, son?" He watched the child's door until he saw Michael appear. The child's hand rose to clutch the door frame. "Yea dad, I'm ok." Sonny knew by his face that he wanted to say something else, so he took a few steps toward Michael further away from Alexis. "What is it, son? You know you can tell me anything."
Michael refused to look at Alexis and she automatically knew what was coming and she was prepared for it. She knew it was coming and it was ok with her. She only hoped Sonny would allow her to handle it without questioning her.
Sonny looked back at Alexis and caught her eye. Without a word spoken he knew what she wanted and he agreed, for Michael.
He looked back at Michael. He knew this would be tough on the little guy because Michael always wanted to please him.
"What son, tell me."
Michael drew in a deep breath and quietly asked his dad, "Dad, can we go by ourselves? You know, just me and you." And with an even quieter voice he hesitantly added. "Without her."
Sonny looked back at Alexis and barely nodded to her to let her know he trusted her to answer the question.
Alexis looked at the child from across the room and gently called his name, "Michael?" She waited for him to shyly look at her. She could see that his request was bothering him. She knew instantly that the child was afraid that he would not only hurt his dad's feelings, but he was afraid that he would hurt her feelings as well. He finally met her gaze once and quickly dropped his eyes to the floor again. It was enough for Alexis to know she could continue.
"Michael, I think that you and your dad should go out together this afternoon. And I don't mind. Its okay for little boys to love their daddy so much that they want them all to themselves. Could I ask you a favor first though?"
Alexis watched Michael lift his head to meet her gaze. And she saw what she wanted to see. There was no fear of her in his eyes, just gratitude toward her for understanding the heart of a little boy who had seen to much hurt already in his young life. She watched as his hands fell away from the doorframe and a little crooked smile crossed his face. "Are you sure you shouldn't be asking my dad?"
"No, I think in this instance, you should ask him for me. You see I came over in the car with your dad and I need to find a way back to my hotel. Do you think you could help me out with my problem?"
"Oh sure, that's an easy one. Well just take you back when we go out. But, first I have to change." As he disappeared back into his bedroom Sonny and Alexis laughed as he yelled at them, "Be right back!"
Sonny turned to Alexis and with nothing but gratitude for how she handled his son walked over to her and gently took her into his arms. He wanted her to know just how much he appreciated the way she was able to communicate with his son.
Alexis allowed the hug, but still very conscious of Michael in the next room. She did not want the child returning to find her in the arms of his father. It was entirely too soon for that. And as the concern took root in her mind it was quickly followed by that voice that had been finding its way into her head entirely too much lately. 'You idiot, you sound like you're expecting to be in his arms again. Get a grip!.'
She gently disengaged herself from Sonny's arms and at his questioning glance turned her eyes toward Michael's room to let him know where her concerns still were. He nodded his understanding and went to open the door for them to leave as Michael raced out of his room; ready for his outing with his dad.