"Daddy, may I stay over Stone's house while you go get Mommy?" Michael asked, sitting on Sonny and Carly's bed watching Sonny pack.
"No, Michael, I think it's better if you and Leticia stay here until I get back," Sonny replied looking up from the suitcase to see a frown on his son's face. "But he can come over here and play with you," he added, although the frown still remained.
"Stone doesn't need a babysitter," Michael mumbled under his breath.
"Well, he is older than you." The frown didn't move. "I'm sure when his mommy goes out, she doesn't leave him alone," Sonny said, trying to appease his young son. He already felt bad enough leaving him with Leticia. Damn Carly, she should have stayed home like he asked her to.
"He doesn't live with his mommy, he stays with his aunt," Michael replied.
"His aunt, huh? Well, the same principle applies," Sonny said running his fingers through his hair.
"Can I spend at least one night with him, please?" His son pleaded.
"I'll think about it after I meet and talk to his aunt."
A large smile appeared on Michael's face as he jumped up and down on the bed. "Thank you, Daddy! Thank you!"
Sonny closed his suitcase and put it on the floor in time for his son to leap into his arms, showering him with kisses.
"Aunt Dara, I'm ready. Are you ready?" Stone asked from the doorway of her office.
Dara looked up from the mounds of paperwork on her desk. "Ready?"
"You didn't forget pizza/movie night?" He asked with worry lacing his voice.
Dara shook her head. Of course she had forgotten. She had been planning to ask either Maxie or Georgie to babysit for her tonight. One of the perks of sharing office space with Felicia's PI business was the babysitting she had discovered since Stone had come into her life. At their first meeting, all of the Jones-Scorpio women had fallen hopelessly in love with him and had offered their services. Now one night a week, either or both of the girls babysat sometimes with the help of Lucas, so Dara could have one uninterrupted night of work.
"Let me pack my bag and we'll leave," Dara reassured him.
Clearing her desk, she saw on her calendar as big as day "Pizza/Movie night 6PM." She shook her head. Hopefully the roads would be accident free, so they could get there in less than the usual twenty minutes. She was really going to have to learn how to use her Outlook calendar program. It seemed she did need reminders from her computer about upcoming events. She shoved the rest of her files in her briefcase. How did Felicia do this with two kids and a full-time job?
"Okay, let's go," she announced to the fidgeting Stone.
After closing her office door, they walked through the small lobby before Dara came to an abrupt stop. She turned to Stone. "Did you go to the bathroom?"
Stone shook his head. "I don't need to go, Aunt Dara."
"Humor me, please."
Opening his mouth to argue, he thought better of it, took off his backpack and ran to the restroom.
Maybe she was finally getting the hang of this parenting thing, Dara thought.
"Is fluorescent lighting the best light to be reading important legal documents under?" A voice that was becoming more and more familiar to Dara questioned.
Why did she keep running in to him? Was it too late to switch schools? She could ignore him, but as she was thinking that she felt the booth shift as he took a seat. "It's better than the light at my old offices," she replied continuing her work.
"The offices for my new lawyer have the best lighting in the world along with a leather chair so soft and comfortable it feels like you're resting on pillows," Sonny said with a cocky grin.
"Yeah, and all he or she has to do is sell his or her soul to the devil," she whispered to Sonny.
"I'm the devil?" he asked, laughing. "You think I'm the devil. And the corporate raider Candyboy is what-- the tooth fairy?"
Something in his voice compelled her to look up into his smiling face. She tilted her head to the side. "True, well then, you're a- -," Dara paused for a moment to think, "wolf in sheep's clothing definitely."
Sonny laughed out loud. "If I'm the wolf, are you Little Red Riding Hood?" he asked staring at her red hooded sweater jacket.
"I'm not that gullible. After the big eyes question, I would have been out the door."
"Tags couldn't have broken your heart so much that you're mistrustful of the opposite sex."
How did this conversation turn personal all of a sudden, she wondered. "It's the natural side effect of my profession."
"Ah, you've let it make you cynical." He shook his head. "That's a shame."
"Not cynical, a realist."
"That's what all cynics say. Did you ever stop to think that maybe the guys on the opposite side of the courtroom are really innocent?"
"Occasionally, some are. They are just victims of circumstances and I try to help them as much as possible." Dara nailed Sonny with her intent look. "The ones that make me a realist," she emphasized the word, "are the ones who keep coming before the judge, but use the law in such a way that they are just beyond the reach of the law, time after time." Oh my gosh, did she know who she was talking to. I'm sure he's killed people for saying less offensive things to him. Well, maybe he didn't. He didn't seem like an insane mob boss. But she had to remember who he was.
"They, too, could be victims of bad timing, no?" He smirked.
She returned his smirk. "If you believe that, then I have a playground you can resurface."
Sonny laughed out loud. He hadn't had this much fun, since he didn't know when. Now that he thought about it, it was the last time he spoke to Dara. She provided a spark that he didn't realize was missing from his day. "I should have never told you that story, now you're going to use it against me whenever it's handy. But this time you're not distracting me from answering my question about who first broke your heart."
She rolled her eyes and went back to her paperwork.
"Or you can explain to me why a beautiful, single woman is at a pizza parlor working on a Friday night?"
Dara stomped her foot on the floor. Damn him, he knew she didn't want to answer that question. "Jack Forbes."
"Alden Enterprises, Jack Forbes?" Sonny asked in wonder.
Dara raised her eyebrow.
"What! I can't get a daily subscription of the Wall Street Journal. I need to read about the competition." He paused. "Did he two time you?"
Dara shook her head. "No, Jack isn't a cheater. We were Chem. Lab partners my sophomore year. We started dating and the Christmas of my senior year, I found my engagement ring in his apartment."
Sonny watched as Dara became lost in the past.
"I'd been applying to law schools in the New England area. One weekend, we went to Corinth to visit his family. On Saturday afternoon, Jack helped with the youth group at St. Monica's. I walked into the kitchen and saw him and a high school friend, Stacy, washing dishes together. I was stunned. I felt like I had walked in on an intimate moment and all they were doing were talking and washing dishes. Nothing shady, but I knew in that moment Jack and I never would have that connection." Dara chuckled. "He wasn't even aware of what they shared. But I wanted to marry and love someone who even washing dishes was a thrilling experience. And besides Stacy, there was Ava."
"And she was?" Sonny asked caught up in the story.
"Ava was madly in love with Jack or rather thought she was. She worked 24-7 trying to get with Jack. He only saw Ava as a friend, that's it. I knew he would never cheat with Stacy or Ava, but did I want to spend the rest of my life knowing what existed between him and Stacy and fighting off Ava?" She tapped her pen on the table. "I decided in the doorway of the kitchen that this wasn't the life for me. I left the church basement and left Jack that day."
"Jack gave you up that easily?" Sonny couldn't believe a man would just let Dara walk away and he wasn't going to examine his thoughts on why that was.
"No, he didn't. But it was our last semester and it was easy to avoid him, then I got into USC Law School and that was the end of that," Dara finished, avoiding looking in Sonny's direction.
"What happened to Jack?"
"Ava was able to snag him one night and got pregnant. They got married, lost the baby, and got divorced. He and Stacy realized their feelings for each other, got married and now live in the house with the white picket fence, the dog, and 2.5 kids. We see each other at least twice a year. I'm actually better friends with Stacy and Ava than I am with Jack now." She smiled.
"You're friends with the woman who was trying to steal your man?" Sonny asked in disbelief.
"Ava has calmed down a lot, after a few marriages. She married Jack's uncle, Alex."
Sonny opened his mouth.
Dara raised her hand and shook her head. "Don't ask. It's way too complicated. But she's happy and they have six kids now. And while she and I are friends, she and Stacy won't ever be." She laughed imagining a world where Ava and Stacy were friends. She looked at Sonny. "Who first broke your heart? Your first love?"
Looking deadly serious, Sonny simply answered, "Brenda."
"The wire." She said more to herself than to him.
He gave her a puzzled look.
"Best friends with Mac. But don't worry, I never told anyone."
Sonny nodded.
"He was just trying to protect his niece and her best friend," Dara told him as if justifying Brenda's actions.
Sonny snorted.
"But look you found love again with Carly. Where is she by the way?" She inquired to change the touchy subject, but from the look on his face she stepped into another one.
"She's in Florida."
"This late in her pregnancy!" Dara exclaimed.
Giving her "Don't you think I know" look, Sonny ran his fingers through his short dark brown locks. "I'm going down there to bring her back home." The frustration was evident in his voice.
Dara paused for a moment. "Her mom," she stated to Sonny.
"No, Bobbie didn't go with her. I would have felt better if she had."
She shook her head. "No, Carly is in Florida maybe to be closer to her mom, Mrs. Benson."
Sonny gave her his undivided attention.
"Her mom came to Port Charles as soon as she found out about Michael. Like any mother would do. Her second pregnancy ended with Robert's premature death. I'm sure she's scared about the pregnancy and missing her mother. Maybe being in Florida is helping her feel closer to her mom and her past."
Sonny stared off into space and contemplated Dara's words. He had never thought about it like that. Sometimes he neglected considering Carly's feelings, but that's because Carly could be so infuriating. He spent so much time dealing with her surface feelings, they never really got a chance to discuss their fears, their worries, the things that made them who they were. Never having met Virginia, he thought of Bobbie as her mother. Her adoption and how she came to town were subjects they never talked about. As much as he missed his mother, Carly must miss hers equally as much.
Dara brought up a good point. Robert's death must be weighing heavily on her mind. It was never far from his. The one time he tried to broach the topic with Carly, she quickly changed the subject. Dr. Meadows had assured them that this baby would be fine. She hadn't detected any heart problems like those Michael had suffered from. This news had relieved some stress in his life, but not all of it. If having the baby in Florida was something that Carly wanted, then he would make sure that it happened. He chuckled. In some ways Dara was a total stranger, yet she was helping him understand Carly in ways he had never thought about.
Sonny's chuckling snapped her back to the present. She shared an inside joke with Sonny. What was she doing? She wasn't friends with him. She shouldn't be giving him advice about Carly or having private jokes that were reserved for friends like Marcus, Alex, or Mac. She needed to make an appointment with Kevin or Gail because this was ridiculous. But Dara's heart warred with her mind; she was attracted to this side of him. She felt like she was a member of an exclusive club that had the privilege to see the warm, caring, funny man that Michael Corinthos, Jr. was. He made her open up like no one before. Neither Marcus nor Justus knew about Jack. Something about Sonny said you could trust him. Dara sipped her coke. Needing to put some space between them, she excused herself from the table.
"Of course," Sonny said as she stood up and walked away.
What an odd world, he thought, as he watched her leave. The woman who tried with all her might to send him to Statesville for the rest of their lives, was now the same woman he kept running into at the strangest places, yet having the most wonderful conversations with. It was nice to see this other side of the counselor.
He had noticed her in the well-tailored blazers with skirts that stopped just at the top of her knees, in the courthouse, the police station, and around town. Her skirts and dresses tantalized the hell out of him. He was always hoping for a glimpse of thigh, but it never happened, except when she wore her power suit. She only wore it on critical court dates, the split in the back showed a hint of skin. On those days, he made sure to go to court with Alexis and to always walk behind Miss Jensen. He smiled at the thought of that particular skirt, though he was enjoying the casual Dara.
He liked seeing her relaxed. Not since the beginning of his relationship with Brenda could he remember having this much fun with a member of the opposite sex. It wasn't like this with Lily, Hannah, and definitely Carly. There was something about Dara that was making- -
"Daddy, Daddy!"
Sonny looked up to see his constantly in motion son come barreling towards him with a dark-haired boy in tow. They skitted to a stop right in front of the booth.
"Daddy, we had so much fun," Michael declared enthusiastically.
"That's good, but who is we?" Sonny asked in his best parental tone.
"Sorry, Daddy." Michael apologized. Pointing to Stone, "Daddy, this is my friend Stone. Stone, this is my Daddy, Mr. Corinthos," he said proudly.
Sonny studied the dark-haired boy he had heard so much about. The dark hair and eyes reminded him of his own Stone. This little boy could have been what Stone's and Robin's son would have looked like, well if the world were a fair place. But it wasn't. "Nice to finally meet you, Stone."
"Nice to meet you," Stone replied looking Sonny dead in the eyes. He shook Sonny's hand with a firm grip.
Sonny liked this kid. He was about to engage Stone in a bit of conversation when he noticed that Stone kept looking around the pizza parlor. Sonny looked around also, but only saw a few workers cleaning up for the night.
"Who are you looking for?"
"My aunt," Stone replied.
Sonny looked at his watch. "She should be here- -"
Stone took off running to the returning Dara. He leapt into her arms and she caught him happily.
Was this her secret, she was babysitting, Sonny asked himself. No, that couldn't be it. That would be way to simple.
With Stone on her hip, Dara returned to the booth and began gathering her belongings.
"Hi, Miss Jensen," Michael said remembering her from the park.
"Hello, Michael. It's good to see you again," she replied genuinely. She tried to quickly finish putting everything in her briefcase.
"Aunt Dara, you know my friend, Michael?" Stone asked in amazement
"Yes, but I didn't realize we were talking about the same Michael," she responded.
Sonny smiled watching the interaction between Dara and Stone, until he felt a tug on his leg.
"Daddy, ask her," Michael whispered loudly.
Dara stopped what she was doing and looked at Sonny expectantly.
"Dara, would it be okay for Michael and Stone to play together while I'm in Florida?" Sonny asked politely.
A million things flashed through Dara's mind. She couldn't, didn't need to be any closer to Sonny or associated with him in any way, shape or form. Yet who better to protect Stone and by extension, herself, than Sonny. But didn't more time with Sonny put them in more danger?
She looked into the faces of Stone and Michael. Their eyes were begging her to say yes.
"Please, Aunt Dara," Sonny pleaded.
"Yeah, please, Aunt Dara," Stone and Michael joined in.
Stone had been uprooted from all he's ever known, with his mother being God knows where. Who was she to deny him spending time with the first friend he's made in Port Charles. Sonny would be out of town, and they could always meet at the park. She definitely couldn't have Michael's nanny and guards come to her place and no way in hell was she going to the penthouse. Okay, the park it was. She tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear- -
"Aunt Dara is just keeping me until my mommy comes back," Stone said to Sonny.
Dara's heart stopped. Oh, my gosh. Don't panic, she repeated to herself and don't change your facial expressions or Sonny will notice.
"Right, Aunt Dara?" Stone asked.
"Right. Stone, go get your backpack and jacket, please," she said putting him back on his own two feet.
"Aunt Dara, Michael's dad knows Aunt Lois, Uncle Louie, Granma, and Grandpa," Stone informed her.
Dara nodded, "That's great, now go get your stuff, so we can go."
Stone walked away with Michael, then he paused. "So may I play with Michael while his parents are gone?"
"Yes, you can."
With cheers, the boys ran off to get their belongings.
Sonny had watched the play of emotions on Dara's face and was now more suspicious than ever. How did Dara know the Cerullos well enough to keep one of their kids and whose kid was Stone's?
"I didn't know you and Lois were so close," Sonny commented seemingly casually.
Dara wasn't fooled for a moment. Using his same tone, she replied, "We became close when she was trying to woo me away from the DA's office to sign with L&B."
Sonny nodded. "Which Cerullo does Stone belong to?"
She was ready for this. She and Louie had gone over this story millions of times. "Mario's son."
"Ah, Mario," Sonny shook his head. "Where is he?"
"Visiting his friends in the pen for the next five to ten."
"I guess Mario hasn't changed his ways," Sonny replied.
"Unfortunately not," Dara answered.
"Where's the mother?"
"Regrouping, I'm just babysitting until she gets back." She really hoped he would stop with the questions. What was taking Stone and Michael so long?
"How did you get involved?" Sonny could tell she was getting annoyed with his questions, but something didn't seem right.
"Lois knew I had my license to be a foster parent, so she asked me if I would help out."
Sonny nodded. As he was about to continue his inquiry, the boys returned.
Dara quickly looked at her watch. "It's late. Stone say, goodnight to Michael and his father, so we can go home and go to bed."
"Goodnight," Stone said to Michael and Sonny.
"Goodnight," Dara repeated as she headed for the door.
"Night," Michael yelled after them.
Dara kept stepping out the door.
"Counselor," Sonny called out.
Damn, she thought, so close to getting away from him and his nosy questions. She slowed her stride, but didn't stop completely. "Yes," she said.
Sonny walked over to her. He pulled her to the side to make room for the other parents coming to get their children.
Great. Now, other people have seen them together. Why did she ever let him sit down at her booth? "Yes?" She repeated.
"Your number?"
Her eyes widened. What in the world?
Sonny showed her the famous dimples. "For Leticia, so she can call you and make arrangements for the boys' play date."
"Of course, but why don't you give me her number. I got a new cell phone number and I can't remember it."
"I remember it, Auntie. 396-2079," Stone said proud of himself for remembering his aunt's new number.
Sonny had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at Dara. He took his pen and a card out of his inner jacket pocket and wrote the number down. He handed a second business card to Dara with Leticia's number and his home number on it.
Dara reluctantly took it. "Thanks."
"You can call anytime," he said, with a grin on his face.
She could no longer contain her frustration with him and this evening. She rolled her eyes, "Whatever," she said under her breath.
Dara walked to the door, but Sonny beat her to it and opened the door. "Goodnight," he whispered softly for her ears only.
She felt his breath on her neck and it sent shivers throughout her body. She stepped up her pace without saying a word.
Sonny watched her and Stone get safely into her car and drive off. "That's one for me." He smiled; he finally got the best of her. He turned and walked back to his son.