Chapter 6

Alexis entered General Hospital running. She had the taxi driver deliver her to the emergency room entrance and she went to the nurse's station.

"Excuse me, please. Can anyone tell me where I can find Mr. Sonny Corinthos?"

One of the nurses turned around and politely asked who she was and what relation she was to Mr. Corinthos.

"My name is Alexis Davis, I'm his attorney."

The doctor she noticed upon entering the ER turned and approached her.

"Miss Davis, I've been expecting you. He is awake and alert. The bullet entered his body just below the collar and made a clean exit. He was very lucky, however, his bodyguard wasn't."

"His bodyguard?"

"Yes, I believe he is referred to by his first name... Johnny."

"Johnny?" Alexis felt herself losing consciousness and willed herself stay in the moment.

"Is he...?"

"He's alive, but barely. He took two bullets meant for Corinthos."

This couldn't be happening. She couldn't lose someone else. She just couldn't. Alexis was in trouble. Her heart was fighting to stay with the men she loved but in her mind, she wanted to run. Run as far and as fast as she could to keep herself safe from pain, from loss. Her heart won the battle; she wouldn't leave them. She needed both of them too much. Alexis didn't know which one to go to first. They both meant so much to her. Sonny, the one she loved with all of her heart and desperately needed, or Johnny, her self-adopted brother whom she also loved and had been investigating. She went to Sonny.

She quietly entered his room and saw that he was indeed awake and seemed to be waiting for her. She walked over to him and leaned down to kiss him resting her hand lovingly on his cheek. She could tell he was very agitated.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I need you to check on Johnny. Alexis, he did it again. He stepped right in front of me. I couldn't stop him...didn't have time to. She came at me and fired and when she started to again, he was there. He didn't hesitate. He just stepped in front of me. That's what I've paid him to do all along, but, Alexis... it was Johnny." Sonny was scared. Johnny was a trusted friend to him, but Johnny meant so much more to Alexis and if he died because of what he had done for him...

"I remember what he did back then. I remember how it made me feel to know that someone cared about life, anyone's life, enough to protect it that way. He wouldn't lay down, Alexis. He wouldn't stop until he called Max and then... you. He refused to think about himself until I was taken care of. I need to know where he is. I need to know if he's... alive. Find him, Alexis. Find him."

"Shh... Sonny. Shh. I'll go check on him right now. He's here, he's alive."

Alexis couldn't tell him how serious it was yet. She needed him to calm down for his own safety. And she needed to get to Johnny. She went back out to the corridor and stopped the first nurse she saw.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where they've taken Mr. Corinthos' bodyguard?"

"Yes, he is two doors down on your right. But, he's not conscious at this time."

"Thank you."

Alexis turned toward where the nurse pointed and stopped outside his door. She steeled herself to accept what she would see and quietly opened the door. She wasn't prepared... She saw him lying there and in that one moment, who he was no longer mattered. This was her brother, they had chosen each other; they had wanted to be a part of each other's life. She needed him in her life more than she realized. Looking at him here, like this, it stunned her to also realize just how much it would cost her if she lost him. Whether it was by death or to 'them'.

He looked almost... dead as he lay there with tubes coming out of what seemed every part of his body. She saw the faint rise and fall of his chest and needed to touch him. She needed to feel his chest rise and fall. Trembling she walked over to the side of his bed and carefully laid the palm of her hand on his chest.

"Johnny, it's Lexie. Can you hear me? Johnny?"

He didn't move. He didn't wake. He just lay there. Alexis pulled a chair up beside the bed and sat down. As she sat there she placed her hand is his and laid her head down on the side of the bed and quietly let the tears fall. She knew she needed to tell Sonny that Johnny was still alive, but she couldn't leave him yet.

"Johnny, Sonny's fine. You saved his life. You did your job."

Somewhere in the recesses of Johnny's mind he faintly heard her voice and relaxed. She was here. She had come just like she said she would. He had trusted her and she didn't let him down.

"Johnny, you guys need to take turns at this sort of thing. I don't know which room to be in."

Alexis was trying to let him know that everything was ok and knew he heard some part of what she was saying when she felt him very weakly squeeze her hand. He was not conscious, and he was not out of danger yet. But, he somehow heard her.

"Hey big brother, if you'll promise to behave, I'll go report to Sonny and be right back, ok?

As she left his room to go to Sonny she heard the alarm go off in Johnny's room. She tried to get back in, but there was such a rush of people running by her into his room she couldn't get in. She anxiously waited outside, waited for someone to tell her what was happening.

Several minutes later a nurse finally came out of Johnny's room and Alexis asked her what happened.

"He flat-lined. We had a pretty difficult time bringing him back, but we made it. He is by no means out of the woods yet. But, at least he is still alive. The amount of blood he lost is making it difficult to keep him with us. You won't be able to go in for a while; they need to make sure he is as comfortable as possible. It's going to be a long night for him."

"Thank you. Thank you." Alexis knew she needed to stay with Johnny, but before she could she had to talk to Sonny.

"Sonny?" As she entered his room she found him trying to get out of bed.

"Alexis, what's going on? I heard an alarm. Is it Johnny? Did you find him?"

"Yes, Sonny. I found him and he's alive. Sweetheart, you have to stay in bed. He's got an army of doctors in there right now making sure he's comfortable for the night. Please calm down. Are you alright?"

"I want out of this bed. I want to see for myself that Johnny's ok?

Alexis knew Sonny was having a hard time dealing with Johnny being shot because of him and she knew she needed to calm him down any way she could.

"How about I find a dotor to come in and talk to you?"

"Would you mind? I need to know."

"Be right back?"

As Alexis left his room she thought to herself. If it were anyone other than these two particular men, the situation would be hysterical. She knew it was going to be a long night running back and forth between the rooms. She looked toward the nurse's station to see if the doctor she spoke to earlier was still there. He was. This time as she approached him, she checked his ID for his name.

"Dr. Jones, may I have a moment of your time, please?"

"How can I help you, Miss Davis?"

"I have a very disturbed client over there who is working himself into a frenzy because he's worried about his friend down the hall, and I was wondering if you could help me figure a way of appeasing him until he's in better condition to be told the truth."

"Miss Davis, I believe Mr. Corinthos is capable of knowing the truth about his bodyguard now. His condition is not so bad that knowing the truth would cause further damage."

"Do you think a wheelchair ride two doors down would cause any damage?"

"I don't think I would go that far yet, but, maybe I have another solution that would make it easier on you as well. Why don't we move Mr. Corinthos into the cubicle beside his bodyguard first thing in the morning."

"Would that put any undue stress on Johnny?"

"We have sedated Johnny enough to hopefully keep any outside influence from registering with him."

"Okay, if you don't think any further harm will come to them by the move then I will let him know of the move scheduled for in the morning."

"No more harm than normal given their career choice" he mumbled as he walked off.

Alexis heard the statement and called him back.

"Dr. Jones, I would appreciate it if in the future you kept your opinions to yourself when dealing with my clients. They have enough to deal with without having snide remarks made by uninformed personnel possibly getting back to them. Do I make myself clear?"

"I apologize, Miss Davis. I was out of line."

"Thank you."

Alexis walked back towards Sonny's room to give him the news and found him asleep. She leaned over and gently kissed him on the forehead so as not to disturb him and left to go to Johnny.