Chapter 5: Looking for Redemption

Sonny Corinthos reached for another clove of garlic as his sister by love, even if not by birth paced in his kitchen. "I would tell you to relax but that advice usually has the opposite impact," he said.

Dr. Lois Cerullo pushed a button on her phone to send a text and then exhaled with a frustrated sigh as she set her cell phone down on Sonny's kitchen table and pulled out a chair. "It would be much easier to relax if I wasn't on call this weekend," she said.

Sonny could imagine that. He also wasn't sure how when there were five neurologists at PCGH Lois ended up pretty consistently being on call at least two full weekends of every month. "You were on call last weekend," he said.

"Yep, but apparently Dr. Dante has something in his contract that he doesn't have to take Stroke call at all. Dr. Wurth is only taking Pediatric Neurology call and it's probably better if I don't share my opinion of Dr. Thomas, his clinical competence or his call commitment. So that basically leaves Dr. Rosenblatt and I to carry the department. We just are far less gracious about it than Monica and Kurt Rothstein are about taking similar roles with STEMI call." Lois said.

Sonny noted that there was one name that was carefully not mentioned, Dr. Robin Scorpio. After medical school at Yale University and then completing her Neurology residency at Duke in June 2005, Robin had returned to Port Charles and PCGH. He sensed that ideally Robin would also be doing more of her share of call, but Lois wasn't going to call her out on that. Or maybe Lois just wasn't going to call her out on it with him. "I'm sorry," he said. He knew the words were inadequate. It was kind of the theme of his life.

"It isn't your fault. The timing is just horrible and the likelihood of Brookie understanding is slim to none," Lois said.

"Lois, she's a kid and she just buried her best friend. This can't be an easy time for her," Sonny said.

"You didn't see the look she gave me after the funeral," Lois challenged.

Sonny supposed that was true, although that was partly because he had left immediately after Carrie Lorenzo's funeral to deal with the Anthony's latest morning recess playground altercation. "I'm sorry I wasn't there," he said.

"I'm sorry that wasn't really fair. It isn't your responsibility to raise my daughter. It's just a hard time and Brookie just buried her best friend since pre-school so this isn't fair to her. Ned better be home tomorrow night because as much as Tracy and I have come a long way this is not something I want to defer to her," Lois said.

That whole concept went completely over Sonny's head.

"I wish I knew where this all went wrong, and I know I need to tell Ned everything, but I just can't quite go there. Please tell me you're closer to figuring all of that out," Lois said.

Sonny had some ideas of where everything went wrong and a lot of it was his fault. As far as figuring it out he wished he was. He silently shook his head. "No, that kid Max was concerned about I think just has a crush on your daughter. I probably did worse when I was fifteen or sixteen."

"No comment," Lois said.

"I'm touched by your restraint."

"You should be, I believe that was during your dating the Fake Coward period."

"My what?" Sonny asked.

"Connie Falconeri, that's what Spinelli calls her. Basically it's a play on Kate Howard using her given initials."

Sonny smirked in response to Lois' explanation. Finally, there was one of Spinelli's little name phrases he sort of understood.

"I thought it was one of his better ones in fact," Lois said.

"Well, in comparison to the others, yeah, sure," Sonny said as he gave his sauce another stir.

"You should give him another chance he really isn't that bad. He just sees the world a little differently."

Sonny avoided turning back around to face her. He wasn't quite sure why Lois had become Spinelli's prime defender. Maybe it was some biological Cerullo thing he would just never understand because Brooke had apparently befriended the guy too. Or maybe Lois was nice to him because he was Brooke's friend. In Sonny's opinion he was too old to be Brooke's friend though. She had just turned thirteen, he was almost twenty. Spinelli better not have a crush on Lois' daughter. "Don't you think Spinelli is a little old to be Brooke's new best friend?" he asked.

"If she's spending time with Spinelli at least I know where she is," Lois said pointedly.

"Ok, point taken," Sonny said. That was a painful admission.

Brooklyn would never be his daughter, but she was the first little girl he had loved. Perhaps it was hypocritical that he had certainly helped Lois keep Brooke from Ned at first and then been indignant that Ned's cousin, Dr. Mark Quartermaine, and Alexis had done the same thing with Kristina. It was different though; Ned had known he was Brooklyn's father. He hadn't known he was Kristina's. It was just different in more ways than he could explain. It really was but the more he reflected on it, the more he realized that what he had done still wasn't right.

So much he had done wasn't right. He was just unsure how to fix most of it. He hadn't realized how much he had invested in Alexis as his path to redemption until she had dismissed him earlier. Or at least he hadn't allowed himself to realize it. He swallowed that thought down with a gulp when he saw Brooklyn come into the kitchen with her baby sister, Lila Corinne.

"Dinner smells great, but I think I left my math book at home. Or I hope I did, otherwise it is on the bench in the locker room," Brooklyn said.

"Do you really need it tonight?" Lois asked.

"I guess not, that problem set isn't due until Monday and I guess since you're on call tomorrow night, Dad will still be in Pennsylvania, and Katelyn won't want to do anything because she has 4 AM swim practice on Saturday morning I can just do it then."

"I'm sorry, honey, I know sometimes it isn't fair to be a physician's child," Lois said.

Sonny had never really thought about it that way.

"I know what you do is important, and it's ok, I get it," Brooke said.

Yet the look that crossed Lois's face showed Sonny that she questioned all of that. He wasn't sure what that meant.

XXXXXXXX

In Dr. Raymond's office, Alexis flipped through a magazine as she waited for the hygienist to finish cleaning and sealing Kristina's teeth. Fortunately, she hadn't had any cavities, so they wouldn't have to schedule another appointment for fillings. Alexis looked up from her magazine a few minutes later when she heard the door open. "Are you all set? Come grab your coat. I'm sure your sister is missing us," she said as she dropped the magazine onto the table beside her.

"You made Daddy Mark leave!" Kristina accused as she stood in the middle of the waiting room and crossed her arms across her chest. Her bottom lip was extended into the classic Cassadine pout, but it was quivering too.

Alexis saw the mixture of indignation, reproach, and pain in her daughter's dark brown eyes. Those were a lot of emotions for anyone but especially for a seven-year-old little girl and once again Alexis felt like the most pathetic possible excuse for a mother.

"He had to go, Kristina, he had plans for dinner already," Alexis said. She doubted Kristina would really accept that explanation.

Kristina's eyes got harder, darker, and colder. "Did you really invite him to come to dinner?"

Well she hadn't actually asked. But Kemsi had mentioned Allison all on her own so Mark must really have had prior plans. Of course, he might have canceled them if she had asked. "I'm sorry, I didn't ask but he mentioned he had to meet someone else," Alexis finally said.

Kristina did not uncross her arms. "He probably said that because you told him he had other plans. Serena says you aren't supposed to do that it's called misleading the witness and judges don't like that."

"It's called leading the witness, Kristina," Alexis said. There were certain disadvantages to letting her boss's daughter baby sit. Scott's daughter, Serena, had clearly inherited the Baldwin litigator genes; even if she swore she had no interest in spending her time arguing, as she put it, and was going to do something with her life that made a difference. The last Alexis had heard she was going to become a marine biologist and save dolphins.

"That's what I said," Kristina said with frustration.

Well not exactly, but, misleading the witness is probably worse, Alexis decided."Kristina, I know you miss Mark, and I am sorry."

"If you were really sorry you would do something about it. You told daddy that before. I heard you!"

Alexis shuddered uncertain what conversation with Sonny Kristina had overheard. That was another matter she supposed to be addressed later. Preferably not in Dr. Raymond's waiting room while his nurse kept looking at her watch, Alexis decided as she picked up Kristina's jacket, stood and then draped it around her daughter's shoulders.

"Come on, Kristina, we can discuss this in the car. I think everyone is waiting for us to go home," Alexis said as she prayed that Kristina wouldn't force her to carry her away kicking and screaming. Sonny was much better at that, he had carried her away the night of the Nurses' Ball when seeing Mark doting on Kensi had been too much for Kristina too take.

"Can we have pizza for dinner?" Kristina asked.

"Yes," Alexis said quickly, nudged Kristina in the direction of the door, and then tried to convince herself that she wasn't doing the same thing she criticized Ally for doing. No, she wasn't caving to avoid the tantrum that was sure to follow she was just culinarily challenged. Yes, that was it culinarily challenged. There were worse foods than pizza. Anyway, it wasn't really bribery unless money was exchanged. She would never dream of paying Kristina a dollar a minute for silence.

Max was standing by his SUV in the parking lot when they stepped outside into the October sunset. Alexis was a little surprised by this as it was after six and usually that meant the night shift guards took over. She still hated the whole concept of guards but after Kristina's kidnapping she had stopped fighting the issue. Once again, the choices she had made had deprived her daughter of any semblance of a normal life.

Kristina ran across the parking lot to Max and he scooped her into his arms. "You waited!" she squealed.

"I said I would, didn't I?" Max asked.

"Yes, yes, but…" Kristina's voice trailed off with uncertainty.

Alexis cringed at the implication of her daughter's words. Too many people had come and gone in Kristina's life for her to trust anyone she was afraid. Max Giambetti seemed like a decent, honorable man. He kept promises. Sometimes Alexis wondered how he had gotten mixed up in the mob in the first place.

"So how was the dentist?" Max asked.

"Ok, we're getting pizza. You can come," Kristina said.

"I'd like to, but I have class tonight at seven," Max said.

Alexis' ears perked up. Max was taking a class? Was there really such a thing as mafia 101? Did he have alternative career plans? Would he even be allowed to have alternative career plans? "What course are you taking?" she asked.

"Communication 256-The language of adolescence. Port Charles schools won't renew coaching certificates without evidence of progress towards a degree unless you already have a bachelor's degree, which I don't."

Alexis had forgotten Max was coaching cross country at Port Charles. Sonny had only mentioned it in passing as explanation for why most afternoons Marco would be the one actually bringing Kristina home as Max had to get over to the high school for practice. Somehow Alexis had a feeling that Max's new interest in coaching wasn't really of his own volition. "Right, Stallions run fast!," Alexis said. That annoying pre-race chant was still stuck in her head. Emily Quartermaine had been a junior on Port Charles undefeated cross-country team the first autumn she had been married to Mark.

"They do, very fast, I need my mountain bike to keep up." Max joked.

"Can I come the next time?" Kristina asked.

"You mean to the next meet?" Max asked.

"No, the next time you go bike riding with Brooke and Anthony," Kristina said.

Max looked a bit uncomfortable. "Umm I'm probably not taking Brooke and Anthony bike riding together any time soon," he said.

Alexis had heard about that encounter as well. Anthony thought bike helmets were uncool. Brooklyn had pointed out that brain damage was even less cool. Helmets went flying, namely Anthony's at the back of Brooklyn's head. Tempers flared from there. Lois was understandably protective of her child. Ally was indignant that it wasn't Anthony's fault, because, at least in Ally's mind, nothing was really Anthony's fault. Alexis supposed it was genetic. Ally was always completely faultless in her own mind as well.

Alexis shuddered more as she recalled the Corinthos custody battle of early 2002. That had been a nightmare and a half. Not only did she have to put up with Ally on a daily basis for two months, but she had to listen to her godmother in law's editorials on the importance of experience in family law at Quartermaine Sunday Brunch. The honorable Tracy Quartermaine-Grabler never came out and said that Alexis has no business representing Ally Rescott Corinthos and Alexis supposed that she tried to change the topic when she and Mark showed up at family gatherings. She didn't always succeed, but that was probably partly none of the family understood why Alexis had taken a leave from the DA's Office to take the case in the first place.

The tabloids spun tales about how Ally Rescott Alden Bowman Rescott Corinthos had three sons with three different fathers: Cooper Alden, the heir to the Alden Hedge Fund; Jason Morgan, Mob Enforcer for the Corinthos Orgagnization; and Michael Corinthos Jr, the Godfather. But Jason Morgan had largely been raised as a Quartermaine and even held ELQ Enterprises Stock, so it was suggested that Alexis was representing Ally as a favor to Quartermaine Family which she herself had married into. She wasn't, but the rumors were enough that Tracy attempted to recuse herself. Of course, then the tabloids leapt onto the story of Alexis' 1997-1998 affair with family court judge, Justus Ward. Of course, Justus had actually been a criminal law attorney at that time, Alexis' co-counsel when she defended her brother Stefan against murder charges. That had been Justus' final criminal trial. He was sworn in as a family court justice three months later. Although he frequently claimed that family law was harder to stomach than criminal law on most days, and more frequently threatened to leave it all behind, he still hadn't.

So, without an impartial judge to reassign the case to and Alexis' motion to block Sonny's attorney, Jordan Baines', appeal for change of venue the ball, figuratively, remained in Tracy's court. It was ironic, Alexis supposed, that she had agreed to represent Ally in exchange for Ally's silence that Sonny was Kristina's biological father. Yet, when Alexis was forced to reveal that truth herself, a little more than a year later, the original custody battle gave Jordan Baines all kinds of ammunition for the Davis-Corinthos custody battle of late 2003.

Max set Kristina back down on the parking lot pavement. "I've got to get over to CCCC or I will be late for class, Krissy. I will see you in the morning," he said. He turned back to Alexis. "Ernesto is parked right next to you," he said.

Alexis nodded acknowledgment and reached for Kristina's hand. "If you want pizza we should go before Fratelli's closes," she said. That wasn't bribery, that was consequences based parenting, yes, consequences based parenting, yes, that was it indeed.

Kristina let her mother take her hand. "Bye, Max!" she called as they walked across the parking lot.

Alexis smiled. Ally had been wrong, consequences based parenting could work!