Chapter 13

As Sonny hung up the phone from Johnny's call he received another. It was the one he had been waiting for. When Sonny realized he couldn't trust the men in his organization, he called Puerto Rico and summoned some of his boys there to fly in. He knew these men and could trust them. They would die for him at a moments notice. They had just landed at the airport and were on their way to the penthouse.

Sonny walked to penthouse 2 and went inside. He stopped in front of Max and saw that he was still lucid.

"Do you realize that your life was saved today by Alexis Davis?"

"Yeah."

"Do you realize that you can never been seen in Port Charles again?"

"Yeah."

"Do you also realize that I am having a hard time in keeping my word to the woman who saved your life by not killing you?"

"Just go on and do it, Sonny. But, be man enough to do it yourself. Are you man enough to do it?"

"Do you think it's a good idea to goad me while your sitting there tied up like an animal in a woman's apartment?"

"You don't have the guts man. You're soft and everybody knows it."

"Not in the eyes of my men. Not any more. You provided the means today for me to regain the respect of my men. You see they'll never lay eyes on you again. To them, you are dead. And I have regained my position. So really, I should thank you for solving a problem for me. Oh, and by the way. You will be taking a trip tonight, Max. But, I promise that once you get to your destination, you will wish I had taken care of you in a less, shall we say torturous manner. I guarantee it."

As Sonny spoke his last 3 words, he leaned in closer to Max to make sure his point was made and was rewarded by a flicker of fear in Max's eyes. Sonny heard a knock on the door and went to answer it. He welcomed Manuel into the penthouse and pointed toward Max.

"That's your first assignment. Remember that little out of the way hellhole we have down in Puerto Rico?"

"Yes, Mr. Corinthos?"

"Make sure our guest here is comfortable on his last travel experience. I don't expect him to last long once he arrives, but let's at least give him the chance to try, shall we? And Manuel, make sure our friend Max is thoroughly welcomed to his new home by our slithering guests there."

"Consider it done, Mr. Corinthos."

"Thanks, Manuel. Are the rest of the boys here?"

"Yes, sir. They are waiting for your orders right outside."

"Good. Good. Let's get busy."

Alexis heard Johnny tap lightly on her bedroom door and understood he was letting her know it was time to go up to the roof. She opened her door and walked right past him without acknowledging him. She was focused on what she needed to do and did not want any distractions.

Johnny knew he hurt her badly. He also recognized that her state of mind was very fragile. Everything she had believed in for the past twenty years was based entirely on what Helena had allowed. The same was true of him, but his past had been so much more different than hers. He didn't expect anything of life. He chose to be a bodyguard because it was simple. You did what you were told, end of story. He hadn't wanted any more than that. Taking care of Sonny was enough for him. The law was just an obstacle and it was part of his job to find a way around it. But, Alexis had based her life on it. The law provided the boundaries that she needed. There was control in the law, there was protection in it. She hid herself behind those walls. Alexis was able to walk away from Natasha Cassadine and succeeded in making a name for herself. She was proud of that name. Johnny did not know what the next few minutes would hold, but he knew they would be painful for her and he would be there. He would remain with her just in case she needed him.

Alexis walked ahead of Johnny on her way to the roof. She was single-minded in her pursuit of what she needed. She had only one focus. She needed her mother. Tonight she needed to return to the ritual she created so many years ago. It would bring her the only comfort that would get her through the crisis she was in. As she opened the door to the roof and stepped into the garden full of gardenias, her knees buckled and she sank to the ground. The fragrance of her mother so invaded her senses that she crumbled beneath the weight of it. Great agonizing sobs shook her body as she cried out to her mother for the answers she so desperately needed.

"Mama, help me. Help me understand. Mama, why didn't you leave him? Why couldn't you see the danger we were in? You stayed and we were all ripped apart. Now look at us. I don't know who I am anymore, I don't know who I can trust. And my brother, your son, he...he..kills. Now they've come back. They've come for us again. Why didn't you just leave? Why didn't you protect us?"

Johnny listened as he heard his little sister cry out her agony. He sank to his knees and covered his head with his hands. He couldn't bear to hear her. He couldn't bear to hear her pain. Her life had been torn apart and he had been a part of it. He had to help her. He needed to help her somehow survive this. Johnny slowly rose to his feet and walked toward Alexis.

"Lexie, little one. Come with me. We must go to her. Please Lexie. I need to ask her forgiveness and I need you to forgive me. Please Lexie, please."

Alexis heard him and looked into his eyes. She saw in him the same agony she felt. Even with her broken heart she could see that his was broken as well. She lifted her arms and put them around his neck. "Johnny."

He led her to the railing and they both looked toward the dying sun.

"Mom, I'm not the man you would have wanted me to be. And today, in my little one's eyes I saw her disappointment of me. Mom, I can't live like this. I need you to forgive me. Please, forgive me."

Standing there a moment more he turned to Alexis and pulled her down to sit with him on the bench next to them. He took her face in his hands and with tears running down his face he asked her to forgive him.

"Lexie, life is important. I have always known that. When I escaped the island I promised myself that I would never willingly stand by and watch someone get hurt. What they did to me on that island left me scarred. Not just the physical scars, but in here, in my heart. But, I didn't know it at the time. I would hurt people in the name of protecting others. In my own twisted way, I thought that I was doing the right thing. I couldn't see how wrong it was. Today, with Max, I thought I was doing the right thing. He allowed you to get hurt and it was my right to hurt him to protect you. I saw your face when you looked at what I did done to him, and something kind of gave way in me. For the first time, I saw what you saw and it sickened me. Lexie, I don't want this anymore. I don't want this anger in me anymore. But, I don't know how to change who I am. We've got a problem to deal with and I don't know how to handle it without violence. Lexie, please, help me. I don't know what to do."

Johnny leaned toward Alexis, lay his head against hers and let her shoulder collect his tears.

Alexis put her arms around him and cried with him. The healing process had begun for both of them. She let him cry as she stroked his back. She gave him a few minutes and then placed her hands on his arms to guide him back to his feet beside her.

"Johnny, we, both of us, we have to start over. We have to begin to look at ourselves as who we want to be, not who they have forced us to be. They have ruled our lives from the moment of our first contact with them. Whether we want to believe it or not, they have. It must stop now. We have to choose right here and right now who we want to be. For me, I enjoy being Alexis Davis. I enjoy being an attorney. She gives me what I need and she is respected. She is an honorable and caring woman who stands up for those who can't stand up for themselves. I don't want to lose her to Natasha Cassadine. I choose to be Alexis Davis. I am comfortable with her and she is my strength. She is my stability. Who do you want to be, Johnny? It is your choice now. Yours alone."

"Lexie, is it possible to leave behind the fact that we were born Cassadine? Can we possibly do that? I want nothing more than to leave them all behind; to forget them as if they never existed. Can I do that, Lexie?"

"Johnny we will always remember what they did to us. But, that memory can make us stronger. We don't have to let the memories consume or defeat us. It is our right to determine for ourselves who we are."

Johnny let the warmth of her gaze spread through him as he finally came to a decision and allowed a small smile to peek through.

"Lexie, I'm choosing to be John Mitchell Davis. Little sister, will you adopt me?"

Alexis threw her arms around him and laughed freely. They both turned toward the sun one final time and smiled contentedly. In unison they turned to go as their mother's smile, painted in the golden hues of the sunset, lingered briefly on their retreating backs before finally resting beyond the horizon. Alexis and John Mitchell Davis were ready to finish the job they started. And they would finish it honorably.