Chapter 16

It was 11:00am and Alexis was just wrapping up the mornings work. It had been a very productive morning and she knew Sonny would be pleased. She knew exactly what time Carly would be served and it left just over 4 hours before she expected Carly at the penthouse. Alexis needed to talk to Johnny before Carly arrived though. He needed to be aware of how she wanted the scene to play out. She reached for her cellphone to call Sonny. She missed him that morning and simply wanted to take in the sight of him with her eyes. He answered immediately.

"Sonny? I'm on my way back to the penthouse. It was a good morning for us. Do you want to meet me there with Michael?"

"Sure, we'll meet you there. Are you okay?

"I'm fine, Sonny. Don't worry."

"I have to. It's my new job."

"See you in a few..." Alexis almost didn't hear his reply it was so low, but she did and it made her smile.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Sonny had a surprise for Alexis. He and Michael had come up with it this morning and Michael was so excited he could hardly contain himself. Alexis didn't know that Sonny answered her call from her penthouse. He and Michael had been there all morning getting ready for lunch. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face.

As she stepped off the elevator her face brightened when she saw Johnny.

"Hi, Johnny."

"Hey, sis."

"Come on in."

As she let herself in the penthouse, Johnny followed close behind and almost knocked her down when he ran into her. He didn't notice her stop dead still. He looked to see what was wrong with her and finally saw what she stopped her.

There were balloons everywhere. There were streamers hanging from the ceiling and every doorframe. Johnny turned to Alexis just as she turned to him. They both recognized at the same time that neither one of them knew what was going on. Just as Alexis started toward the center of the room she heard laughter coming from the kitchen. She reached back for Johnny's hand and pulled him with her toward the sound.

Entering the kitchen hesitantly, she gasped as she took in the sight in front of her. Sonny was covered in flour and the little boy standing next to him didn't look much better. The kitchen was covered in flour. She felt Johnny's hands come down on her shoulders and she looked back at him. Johnny was laughing so hard he hung on to her to keep from falling.

Sonny and Michael noticed the two at the door at the same time and quick as a wink both shouted.

"He did it!"

"You know, you two could pass for ghosts. And I hope you don't think Johnny and I are going to clean up this mess." She was trying so hard not to laugh.

Sonny looked at her sheepishly and tried to explain what was going on, but Michael had other ideas. He wanted to tell her. He didn't want her mad at his dad.

"Miss Davis, me and Dad wanted to share my birthday with you. But, we wanted to surprise you so we came over here. Almost everything is ready. Dad cooks great and we just got a little crazy. We'll clean it up."

Alexis was afraid that Michael would think she was upset.

"Michael, I think its great that you get along so well with your dad. And everyone needs to have a flour fight just once in their life. It's really fun, isn't it?" She reached over and very gently pick up a small bit of flour from his shoulder and turned to throw it.

Johnny thought she had lost her mind as he realized he now had a face full of flour. How very undignified! Seeing the twinkle in her eye, a low chuckle escaped before he could contain it.

They both heard Michael at the same time. The boy was laughing so hard; he was rolling on the floor. Michael had known Johnny all his life and it was the first time he had ever heard Johnny laugh.

Sonny walked over to his son wiping flour off his shirt. As he looked down at Michael he asked...

"Hey, sport, you reckon we ought to clean up a bit and get on with this party?"

Michael immediately got up from the floor. He knew what was coming and he couldn't wait. He grabbed Sonny's hand and drug him back into the kitchen.

"Hurry dad, we have to hurry."

Sonny looked back at Alexis with the most tender of looks and her breath caught in her throat.

"Why don't you and Johnny go sit down and we'll be in there in a minute."

She nodded and turned, pushing Johnny back toward the living room as Johnny attempted to brush the flour off his face.

Once they reached the couch, Alexis felt this would be the best time to let Johnny know what she would need from him this afternoon.

Johnny noticed the change from playful to business and sat down beside her to listen as he pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket.

"Johnny, Carly will be served at approximately 3:30. She should get here around 4:00. I would like for you to stay in the bedroom. But, don't get so far away that you can't hear what's being said. If she begins to lose control, quietly come in and stand in the doorway. She will catch sight of you when I look toward you. That should calm her down some. I do not know Carly, but from some of the information I've come across, I wouldn't put anything past her. Can you do that for me?"

Johnny took Alexis hands in his and stared at them. He couldn't trust himself to look at her. She was asking him to take care of her. She was putting her trust in him and he again painfully remembered a small child looking up at him with trusting eyes. This time it would be different. If it came right down to it, he knew he would kill Carly if she threatened Alexis.

"Don't worry, Lexie. I'll take care of you."

Alexis didn't know if Johnny realized he called her by his little sister's name. But, she was well aware of it. She couldn't let him know she knew about his little sister. That was his story to tell.

But, Johnny actually was aware of his use of the beloved nickname. And it felt good to hear it aloud again. He could remember his little sister now without the constant pain. And it was because of Alexis. Over breakfast Sonny told him about talking to her about Lexie. He would have preferred doing it himself, but understood that Sonny was just trying to look out for him. He knew she didn't know the whole story yet, but that was something he was going to rectify just as soon as all the Carly business was done.

Johnny finally looked up into Alexis' eyes. He needed her to know what was in his heart.

"I hope you don't mind your new nickname. It;s a very special name to me. It was my sister's name.

I lost her when I was fifteen. But, you gave her back to me and the only way I know to honor you both is to give you her name."

Alexis was crying again. She was going to definitely have to lay some ground rules in the future with the two new men in her life. She simply could not go around crying every time she engaged them in conversation. It wasn't professional. It made her look like a wimp. She looked lovingly into the eyes of the man who sat beside her. They had chose each other. And it was good. She reached over to wrap her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder as his arms encircled her protectively.

"Johnny, thank you. You have made it possible for me to belong to a family again. I will share my mother with you and you can share your sister with me. Now, can we get back to the party? I am suddenly as hungry as a bear." She let go of him and then hesitated a moment tenderly laying her hand on his cheek. "I love you, big brother."