That Ol' Wind
By: Jessica B.
Summary: Alternate reality inspired by one of my favorite songs. Sonny (a radio DJ) and Carly meet at the county fair.
I actually started this story about 5 years ago, but I never finished it. I was looking through some stuff tonight and decided to finish. It made me remember why I used to be a Sonny and Carly fan.
"This is Sonny C., coming to ya live from the Port Charles County Fair. We've got sixty minutes of the latest and greatest comin' up for ya, but first here's a few commercials from the people who keep this station goin'."
Sonny flipped a switch and took off the headset he was wearing. He leaned back with a sigh. He loved his job, but this was his third day doing the show from the fair. It was 7:00 pm. He was tired and he couldn't wait until tomorrow when he made his big move to Seattle. Professionally, Sonny was doing great. His radio show was the highest rated show in Port Charles, mostly thanks to the women of the city. He mostly played music, but women waited with anticipation for the few seconds he would speak (his gravely voice made them melt), and they would line up to see him at special appearances, such as the fair. Over the past three days, he watched as dozens of women passed his booth… the same woman sometimes passing three or four times, but he never acknowledged any of them. This was mostly due to the fact that many of them were toting their kids, and husbands, along with them as they passed his booth to flirt with him. He didn't want anything to do with a woman like that.
Sonny put his headset on again and got back to work.
"Okay, we're back. Here's the new one from Garth Brooks… The Dance."
Sonny pushed a button to begin the song, then looked up. No one had caught his eye during his three days at the fair… not until two blondes passed his booth.
When Carly heard the music coming through the speakers, she grabbed Chloe's arm and pulled her to a stop.
"Carly, what's wrong?"
Carly pointed to the booth with speakers, "I love this song. We have to stop."
Chloe looked at Carly with tired eyes, "Carly, I'm exhausted. We've been here all day. Come on, it will be on the radio in the car."
"Yeah, but by the time we get to the car it will be over. Just two minutes… please?"
Chloe rolled her eyes and threw up her hands in defeat as Carly began to sing loudly.
"…I could've missed the pain, but I'da had to miss…"
Chloe stood quietly, her eyes searching for somewhere to escape to. Finally she spotted a booth with chairs around it. As she walked toward it she yelled back to Carly, "I don't know you!"
Carly laughed as she continued to twirl to the song and sing even louder, if possible. Chloe needed to learn to loosen up.
"I think you've embarrassed your friend."
Carly turned to see the DJ from the booth, now leaning against the outside of it.
"Wow," she thought, "He has GOT to be the most gorgeous thing on two legs."
"Yeah, well… she embarrasses easily," she said.
Sonny smiled, then extended his hand, "Sonny Corinthos."
She took his hand, but didn't shake it. They just stood there holding hands.
"I know who you are. I listen to your show all the time… you play the best music."
Sonny smiled, "Apparently."
He was obviously commenting on her little concert a few moments ago.
Carly couldn't help but laugh, "I'm Caroline Benson. My friends call me Carly."
"So, what do I call you?"
She smiled, "You can call me Carly."
"Well, Carly… I've gotta get back in the booth."
He kissed her hand, "It was nice meeting you."
"Same here."
He released her hand and returned back to his booth.
Carly stood for a moment, lost in what had just happened. When she finally snapped out of it, she went to find Chloe.
Carly walked next to Chloe as they made their way toward the front gate.
"I can't believe you want to leave. They're not closing until midnight."
"Carly… we've been here since 10:00 this morning. Haven't you had enough?"
Carly smiled, and Chloe knew why.
"Oh, I see. This about the DJ."
Carly knew she had been caught, "Go ahead. I'll get a ride home."
"I'm sure you will." Chloe hugged Carly, "You be careful."
"I will, I will."
Chloe walked out of the gate as Carly turned and headed back to Sonny's booth.
As Carly got closer, Sonny began to take shape. First his jet-black hair, then his eyes… and those dimples that seemed to contain the light of the sun.
She waited until he took his headphones off, "Hi."
Sonny looked up and smiled, "Hi."
"When do you knock off?"
"Now."
Sonny got up and let another man take his seat, "'Night, Joe."
"Bye, Sonny."
Sonny smiled, thinking of his move to Seattle. He had almost forgotten for a moment.
He shook Joe's hand, "Yeah… bye."
Sonny left the booth and stood in front of Carly.
"I thought you and your friend went home."
"I told her to go ahead. I was having too much fun to leave."
"You gonna stay until midnight?"
"Yep."
"You want some company?"
Carly smiled, "I thought you'd never ask."
She laughed and Sonny shook his head, "Come on… there are a few rides I've been wanting to hit for the past three days."
Carly and Sonny went from ride to ride, and the long lines gave them time to talk.
Carly was asking most of the questions.
"What's your favorite kind of music? On your show you play a little of everything."
"That's because I like a little of everything," he said as he smiled, "but, my favorite is jazz… blues."
"Favorite artists?"
He sighed, "Ahh… Etta James, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Harry Connick Jr…."
"Okay, okay… that's quite enough."
Sonny laughed, "What about you?"
"Oh, I like everything."
"Oh, yeah? Even Gangsta Rap?" Sonny asked in his best rapper imitation, which wasn't very good.
Carly laughed hysterically, "Oh my God. Now I know how poor Chloe felt. Please, don't ever do that with me in public again."
They both laughed.
"Wasn't very good, was it?"
Carly continued laughing, "It was terrible."
"Ouch."
Sonny stepped out of line and Carly followed.
"Where are you going?"
Sonny held out his hand and she took it.
"I wanna get on the Ferris wheel."
Carly raised an eyebrow as they walked, "That's the most boring ride here."
Sonny smiled, "True," then stopped and, taking both of her hands in his, looked her directly in the eye, "but the view from up there is great… very romantic."
Carly smiled and whispered, "Okay."
Sonny stared at her for a moment, then leaned in to kiss her, giving her time to stop him if she wanted to. When she didn't pull away, he gave her the softest, sweetest kiss she'd ever had.
They separated and began to walk toward the Ferris wheel when they heard the announcement.
The fair will be closing in 5 minutes. Please begin to make your way to the front gate. We hope you had fun… We'll be back next year.
Sonny stopped walking and looked at Carly, "I'm not ready to say goodbye yet."
"Me either… let's go back to my place."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I have a swing on my back porch. We can sit and talk some more."
Sonny gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
Carly smiled, "Or we can do that."
They both laughed and Sonny gave her another quick kiss on the lips.
Now Carly was ready to go, "What are we waiting for? Let's go."
Sonny laughed and they made their way to his car, hand-in-hand.
Sonny looked around her living room. It was perfectly decorated with colors that seemed to fit her personality… bright, but somehow… very calming.
"Nice place."
"Thank you."
"Did you decorate this yourself?"
"Yep… sure did."
"It's really nice."
"Well that's good to hear… I'm studying Interior Design."
"Ahh…"
Carly smiled at him, "Can you help me carry some of these candles outside?"
"Sure."
"It's such a beautiful night, I'd hate to ruin it with harsh, artificial light."
They went out onto the back porch and spread the candles out. Sonny sat on the porch swing and Carly soon joined him. He sat with his head back and his eyes closed, breathing the night air in deep. The breeze happened to pick up her scent and it made him open his eyes and look at her. She was sitting sideways, facing him, with one leg dangling off the swing. The moonlight bounced off her golden hair making her look like a goddess. At this point, he was staring and it was making Carly a little uncomfortable.
"What are you thinking?"
"I'd love to kiss you."
Carly smiled and Sonny captured her mouth in a passionate kiss, leaving them both breathless.
Sonny pulled back and saw the look in her eyes. She leaned in to kiss him again, but he stopped her.
"Wait, wait, wait…"
"What's wrong?"
"I'm moving tomorrow… to Seattle."
"…and your point would be?"
Sonny didn't answer. He just looked at her. She saw it in his eyes; the fear of wondering if what they both wanted to happen was wrong.
"It's okay, Sonny. I knew you were leaving before I invited you here… I listen to your show, remember?"
Sonny smiled.
"Don't think about tomorrow, Sonny. What do you want to do right now?"
He leaned in and kissed her softly, then slowly pulled back. With his eyes still closed he took the biggest step of his life and asked, "Come with me?"
She didn't answer. She simply stood, took his hand, and led him up to her bedroom.
He just lay there and watched Carly sleep. Even in her sleep she could feel his intense gaze on her and when she woke up, she saw Sonny smiling at her. She covered her face with her hands and curled up into a ball.
"Morning, beautiful."
She peaked at him from between her fingers, "Is it morning already?"
"Almost."
"How long have you been awake?"
"All night."
"You never went to sleep?"
Sonny shook his head.
"What have you been doing?"
"Watching you."
Never taking his eyes from hers, he was silent until Carly was visibly uncomfortable. He decided it was time to ask again.
"Come with me…"
"Sonny…"
"I don't wanna walk away from this."
"You have to. That job in Seattle is a huge opportunity for you."
His voice pleaded with her, "Come with me."
"I can't, Sonny. My life is in Port Charles. My friends, my family… I can't leave."
He knew he was asking a lot of her. He slowly nodded, then got out of bed.
"I have to go. My plane leaves at noon and I still have a lot of packing to do."
Carly pulled on her robe, "I'll walk you out."
They both walked around to the driver's side. Sonny opened the door, but didn't get in.
Carly broke the silence when the sunlight finally peaked over the horizon.
"Well, it's official… good morning."
Sonny smiled, but it was a smile masking a great pain.
"Goodbye, Carly."
"Goodbye, Sonny."
He kissed her, then quickly got in the car. Carly watched him drive away until he turned the corner and was gone.
Chapter 5 (10 Years Later)"Okay Mr. Man. Have a good day."
"You too, mom."
Carly watched as her son met his friend's on the school playground, then she headed off to work. She turned on the radio to listen to Billy's show, just like every morning.
She dropped her boy at school on time
One less worry on her mind
Now it's off to work and on the radio
Comes an old familiar song
And then the DJ's voice comes on
And says he's back in town tonight for one last show
"If you're just tuning in this is Sonny C. sitting in for Billy Conrad…"
Carly's grip on the steering wheel tightened, causing her knuckles to turn white. Sonny was back in Port Charles… but for how long?
"I'll be in town until the end of the fair… Yes, it's that time again. Everyone come eat, drink, and be merry… but don't get too drunk…"
Sonny's words began to blur together in Carly's mind. The sudden hunk of someone's horn forced her to focus on the road again, and she realized she was drifting into the next lane. She slowly pulled her car over to the side of the road and put it in park, concentrating on Sonny's words again.
"So, it seems we have time for one more song here."
There was a short pause before Sonny spoke again, this time with a slight hint of sadness in his voice.
"Being back in Port Charles has brought back a lot of memories. There's a song I played on my last show ten years ago… it became very special to me that night, and I'd like to play it for you now. It's The Dance by Garth Brooks. I hope you're listening… you know who you are.
Carly pulled out her cell phone and hit speed-dial. After two rings a woman answered, "Caroline Designs, how may I help you?"
"Becky, It's Carly. I need you to cancel all my morning appointments. Something came up. I won't be in til around 1:00."
"Sure thing, Ms. Benson. I hope everything turns out okay."
"Thank you , Becky." Carly hung up her phone, "So do I."
Her eyes welled up with tears
God, could it be it's been ten years
Since that Autumn night outside the county fair
When two strangers shared the night
And in the darkness found a light
That to this day is still alive and burning here
He asked her twice to come along
They said goodbye at the break of dawn
'Cause you can't hold back the wind
And if it's meant to be again
Then someday he'll find his way back to her arms
Carly parked her car just as Sonny walked out of the radio station. She watched as he walked toward his car.
"Gorgeous," she thought, "After all these years, he's still gorgeous."
Just as Sonny opened his door to climb in Carly honked her horn, causing Sonny to look up. She stepped out of the car and their eyes locked instantly. They walked toward each other, rather quickly, and met in a tight embrace. Sonny held Carly so tight that he lifted her off the ground. Carly's emotions took her over, and she barely choked out his name.
"Sonny…"
"Carly, what are you doing here?"
"I heard the song… I drove right over."
Sonny smiled, "Are you free this morning?"
Carly couldn't help the tears that flowed freely down her face. She laughed, slightly embarrassed at her emotional display.
"Yes, I am."
"Did you eat breakfast?"
"No."
"Come on, let's go to Kelly's"
He guided her to his car and held the door open for her. As he walked around the back of the car to the driver's side, he paused to compose himself. He was finally face-to-face again with the woman who had stayed on his mind for ten years. He got in and looked at her, starting the engine.
"Ready?"
She nodded and he pulled out.
At Kelly's they sat silently. The waitress came and took their orders. After she brought their drinks, Carly finally broke the silence.
"How long are you in town?"
"Just tonight. I'm here for a special event… signing autographs and stuff. When my buddies at the radio station heard I was coming in they asked me to do a show in my old time slot." He smiled, "I couldn't say no to that."
"Why didn't you come to see me?"
He could see she was hurt.
"I wanted to. I just didn't know where you were at in your life. Where you married? Where you even still in Port Charles? I guess I was too scared to find out."
"You could have at least stopped by the house to see if I was still there… say 'Hi.'"
"If I had seen you again… and you were married… I would have been ruined. I would have been happier just living with the memory of us."
"Well, I'm not married."
"Boyfriend?"
"Nope... But I do have a son."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. You can meet him tonight when you pick me up for the event."
He smiled at her.
"You're coming?"
"I would miss it."
"Grrreat."
Later that night, Sonny drove to Carly's and met her son, Michael. They drove him over to her mother's house, where he would be spending the night, then headed to the meet and greet at the banquet hall.
"Sonny, this isn't the way."
"I'm supposed to go in through the back, so I'm taking a side street."
Once inside, they met the event coordinator. He was a hyper man who seemed to take his job a bit too seriously.
"Mr. Corinthos! Welcome back to Port Charles! My name is James. Anything you need, just give me a shout. If you will give me one minute, I'll announce that you're here and then you can come out. There is a long line of people waiting to meet you."
"Really?"
"Oh yes… the line is out the door. And Miss….?"
"Benson."
"Miss Benson, I'll get you a chair and you can sit over to the side with me."
Carly feigned excitement, "Oh goodie!"
Sonny let out a laugh, but James didn't seem to notice. He was already walking toward the staging area.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to the voice of Seattle. Port Charles's own… Sonny C.!"
Everyone applauded as Sonny came out and took his seat, ready to sign autographs and take pictures. His lady fans seemed to be loyal. He could swear he remembered seeing some of these faces at the fair ten years ago. James led Carly off to the side to her seat. All she did was stare at Sonny, watching those dimples appear over and over again has he greeted fans and took pictures.
Carly whispered to James, "How long does something like this usually last?"
"Oh, with a man as popular as Mr. Corinthos… at least three or four hours."
"Really?"
"Mmm hmmm."
About an hour later the crowd died down, and Sonny was only signing autographs for a few people who would walk in every so often. Carly held in a laugh as James started to panic.
"Mr. Corinthos, I don't understand what's going on here. We've been promoting this for over a month. We've had flyers all over town… there's a huge banner out front…."
"It's okay, James. I haven't been here in ten years. A lot of people probably don't remember me."
Carly stood up and walked over to Sonny, "Oh, people remember you. Who could forget you?" She winked at Sonny and decided to have a little fun. "No… I think James here screwed up."
"What! Ma'am, I assure you I did everything I could…."
"Did you James? I'm not so sure."
He walked over to a table toward the back, grabbed a flyer and gave it to Carly.
"These were posted all over town. I had…"
"These flyers that say 'Sunny Dee?'"
Sonny looked up, "They say what?"
"Sunny Dee. S-u-n-n-y D-e-e."
"Let me see that!" James snatched the flyer from here hand. "Mr. Corinthos, I'm so sorry… I'm going to kill Raul!"
"Don't go killing anyone on my account. Besides… you have the banner out front. Wherever you go in this town you pass this hall. People knew I was here."
James looked sick. "Maybe not… Raul had the banner made too."
Carly and Sonny smiled at each other and all three of them went out to see the banner. Sure enough, it said "Sunny Dee."
"How could Raul have made this mistake?"
"James… don't worry about it. I was ready to go home anyway. It's no big deal."
"Mr. Corinthos…"
"Not another word, James. Really… it's no big deal."
"I'm so sorry."
James went back inside to clean up. Sonny and Carly just stared at the misprinted banner.
"Carly…. Are you laughing?"
"No."
"Yes you are."
"Fine, I'm laughing… but this is funny."
"My misfortune is funny to you?"
"You know that's not what I mean."
"I know. I'm kind of glad this happened."
"Really?"
"Yeah, now I get to spend the rest of the night with you."
"I like that idea."
"Why don't we go back to your place and I'll cook you dinner?"
"Sounds like a plan."
When Sonny walked through Carly door, his senses went on high alert. Her scent was even stronger in her house, just as he remembered. He had redecorated, but he had a flash of the last time he was there, and it made him smile.
"The place looks great."
"Thanks… I wasn't sure you'd notice it had been changed."
"I remember everything about that night, Carly."
"Me too."
He pulled her into an embrace and held her for a moment.
"I'll go make dinner… point me to the kitchen."
That night, they picked up right where they left off. It was as if he had never gone to Seattle… as if they had been together the entire ten years, completely in love.
The marquee misspelled his name
And not too many people came
But that didn't matter to them
They laughed and loved all though the night
And as they faced the morning light
They found themselves standing there again
Sonny looked at the clock. It was 12:07. He had to get back to the hotel to pack.
"Carly…." He placed a kiss on her shoulder, trying to wake her up.
"Hmmm?"
"I have to go. My bus leaves at 7:00 am."
"So early?"
"It was the only one I could get."
Carly wanted to cry. The day had been so wonderful, it only made it harder to say goodbye.
"I'll go with you to the bus depot. I'm not quite ready to let you go yet."
He smiled at her, "Okay."
As she got out of bed he grabbed her arm.
"Come with me… to Seattle."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"Michael…. I can't take him away from his family and friends. It would be too big of a change for him."
They pulled up to the bus depot just as the sun was coming up. Carly realized this was the second time she'd say goodbye to him at daybreak.
"I'm beginning to hate sunrises."
Sonny knew what she meant. He asked her one more time.
"Please come to Seattle. I have to go now, but we can make arrangements for you and Michael to come later."
"Sonny… I can't."
He could see that she was about to cry so he let it go. He would miss her so much.
They got out of the car and walked over to his bus where the driver was loading everyone.
"Luggage?"
"Just this carry-on."
The driver waved for him to get on. He turned to Carly and kissed her goodbye, then stepped onto the bus.
And he asked her twice to come along
They said goodbye at the break of dawn
The driver shut the doors and started the engine. Not able to see Sonny though the tinted windows, Carly walked to the other side of the bus, back toward her car. When she heard the bus pull off she turned to watch Sonny go from her life once again, and she burst into tears when she saw him standing there with his bag at his feet.
As his bus left out she cried
With him standing by her side
That ol' wind had once again found it's way home.
She ran to him and he lifted her off the ground, kissing her.
"I'm going to need a place to stay. I won't be able to afford that hotel much longer."
"Oh, you're moving in with me." The she realized… his job." Sonny, what about you're job in Seattle."
"I'll have to quit. I'm sure they take me back at the station here."
"That's won't be anything near the salary you have now."
"That's okay. I'd rather be with you."
She was crying again, but these were happy tears.
Sonny smiled at her, "Come on. Let's go home."
Some day he'll tell her about the money he hid
And someday she'll tell him that the boy is his kid
But for right now they're both in love
The only thing they're thinking of
Is that they're finally where their hearts have always been
Song Credit: That Ol'Wind by: Garth Brooks