Grasping Sonny's hand, she brought it to her lips and kissed it. "It's going to be okay," she whispered.
"Yeah, but for whom? Her," he said, motioning his head towards the window, "or for us?" he asked, as he stepped out of the limo and slammed the door.
"For Nia," she replied, but her words were lost in the wind.
Taking a deep breath, Sonny knocked on the front door. A young woman answered the door.
"Buenas Tardes. Yo soy Michael Corinthos- -"
"Beatriz, who's at the door?" a voice cried out.
"It's my horticulture professor, Papi. He came to see my garden," the raven haired woman lied flawlessly, "we'll be in the back."
Sonny stepped back so Beatriz could come out.
"Follow me," she said.
Sonny followed her to the spacious backyard. Beatriz offered him a seat under a shaded area adjacent to a garden.
"La Senora promised there would be no contact. Are you not happy with your hija?"
"Yes, I adore Ni- -"
"Please no names," she requested, with fear in her brown doe like eyes.
"I'm very happy- -"
"Good. La Senora said you would be pleased, but I wasn't sure. Most men want boys."
"No, I feel blessed with whatever God gives me," Sonny assured her.
She nodded. "Like my Papi," she said, more to herself than to Sonny.
"What else did Car- - la Senora say to you?" Sonny asked. He had to know everything that Carly did and said to this young innocent woman.
"Please don't be embarrassed, Senor, or ashamed. She told me the truth."
Sonny waited to hear what Carly's "truth" was.
"She told me how she was raped, but was too ashamed to tell you. She did not want the blood of her attacker on your hands. And by the time she found out she was pregnant, you were thrilled that you two were having another baby to replace the one you lost. I'm so sorry for your loss. But I'm glad la Senora had the courage to finally tell you the truth," Beatriz finished, with her head bowed.
He sighed mentally when all he really wanted to do was laugh. Laugh at the lies that Carly spun this poor girl. Carly could lay it on thick and believable to those who didn't know her. Shaking his head, Sonny hated to ruin her faith once again in mankind after the head trip her rich, preppy, white ex did on her. "La Senora didn't tell you the truth."
Beatriz gasped.
"She switched the babies because she had an affair and found the baby she carried was her lover's and not mine."
Beatriz turned away from him. "Mi Dios…but the tall guy—"
"Knew the truth," he informed her.
"Oh," she cried softly.
Sonny took her in his arms. "Shh, mijita," he crooned. He handed her his handkerchief.
After a few minutes, she collected herself. "What am I going to do? My parents don't know. They'll be so hurt."
"No, no," Sonny told her, quickly pulling out the documents from his inner jacket pocket. He showed her the adoption paperwork and handed them to her. "I would like to adopt her legally and properly," he said eloquently.
With tears and disbelief shining in her eyes, she asked, "Really?"
"Yes, really," Sonny said sincerely.
"Okay," she nodded, "the fat- - the man."
Sonny nodded.
"He won't sign these. He won't even admit she's his daughter," Beatriz said softly.
"Don't worry about it. I'll talk to him," he said convincingly. As a matter of fact, Sonny had already chatted with Chad Howells III and made his opinion clear on a lot of subjects, including Chad's treatment of Beatriz.
Taking the pen from Sonny, she paused as the tip touched the line. "Do you love her?"
"She is my little girl in my heart and soul. I love her with all that I am. And now I want the whole world to know it's legal and that no one can ever take her from me," he finished eloquently.
"She won't be around her?" she asked, tentatively.
Sonny instantly knew of whom she was speaking. "No," he assured her. We're divorced and she has no ties to- - to the baby."
Beatriz nodded with tears streaming down her face and signed the paper.
"Are you sure?" he asked concerned. His heart went out to this poor young woman.
"Si, senor, these are tears of joy. I'm so happy she has such a good man as a father, like I have."
"You can't be certain I'm a good man."
"Si," she said, drying her tears, "You didn't have to come back here. I never would have known la senora lied. The baby is lucky to have such a good moral father."
Sonny wanted to laugh at her observation, but before he could comment Beatriz's father walked over to them.
"Beatriz, are you crying?" he asked concerned and looking suspiciously at Sonny.
Beatriz jumped up and ran over to her father and hugged him.
"Que pasa?" he questioned.
"I got an 'A,' Papi. Yo recibo un 'A.'"
"Ah," he smiled, "I'm so proud of you. See how much better your grades are now that you go to school near home and not all the way up there in Jacksonville."
"You're right, Papi. I'm glad I came home too. Profesor Estaban, este es mi Padre, Antonio Lopez. Papi, este es Profesor Estaban," Beatriz said, introducing the two men.
Sonny shook the older man's hand.
"Nice to meet you," Sonny greeted him, "you have a wonderful daughter.
Antonio beamed. "It's nice to meet you too. My wife and I are proud of our little girl."
"I'll see you in class, Beatriz. Thank you."
"No, gracias, Profesor."
Sonny nodded. "Senor."
"Vaya con Dios," Antonio told Sonny as he left.
Sonny nodded again and walked away. As he reached the corner, the limo pulled up next to him.
"So?" Dara asked, before he could even get settled in the car.
Reaching into his inner jacket pocket, he handed the document to Dara.
"She signed," she said with glee which instantly turned to concern. "How is she?"
"She's going to be fine. She's putting her life back together."
"Does Nia look like her?"
He thought about the question for a moment before answering. "From the nose down."
Dara nodded, imagining what Nia's birth mother looked like.
Sonny took out his phone and dialed quickly. "Jason, buy the companies, promote Antonio and Angela Lopez and give them a twenty thousand- -"
She shook her head.
"Fif- -"
She shook it again.
"Ten thousand- -" he waited for her response this time.
She nodded.
"Dollar raise and make arrangements for scholarships for the kids," he concluded and hung up. "How would you like to become a full-time mother?"
Desperately trying to keep the shock and excitement out of her voice, she stared him dead in the eyes, "I was raised in the church. And the Good Book teaches marriage before babies."
He nodded in agreement. "I was an altar boy and I was taught the same thing. That's why I got one of these," he informed her, handing her a piece of paper.
A marriage license.
"Dara Elizabeth Jensen, will you do me the honor of marrying me?"
Dara leapt across the backseat into his lap and ravaged him.
Standing next to Sonny, Dara was fulfilling her life long dream. She was about to become someone's wife, someone's mother, but most importantly she was creating a family. Like all girls over the years, she'd imagined what her wedding day would be like. Her in a white dress with creline under it, hundreds of guests in a large church with stained glass windows. As she got older, the dream changed to a small intimate one with just family and close friends in attendance.
But she never imagined this in her wildest of dreams. Here she stood in a white slip dress with a matching shawl and the man she was pledging her life to wore black tailored pants rolled up at the ankle and a white button down silk shirt with the top few buttons open. They stood before the minister repeating sacred vows with the sand beneath their feet, the clear blue water occasionally hitting their feet and the perfect sunset in front of them.
Her surprise matron of honor, Brooke Logan, stood by her side in a pale blue a-line dress. Brooke who had listened endlessly to her frustrations about never putting Sonny, Jason, or anyone connected to them behind bars, had not hesitated when Sonny asked her to be part of this surprise wedding. When she saw Brooke she'd been secretly waiting for the inevitable lecture about the dangers of Sonny Corinthos, but it never came. Instead she was told to be vigilant and not let the naysayers destroy this precious, incredible gift called love that she and Sonny had been blessed with. After Brooke's years with Ridge and the endless break-ups, she knew of what she spoke and Dara took her words to heart.
The surprises kept coming. She'd expected to see Jason standing up for him; but while Jason, Michael, Kristina, Stone, Nia, Courtney, and Mike were family, he had another family when he first came to Port Charles and there stood Robin in a black a-line dress, the same shade as Sonny's pants. Robin, his little sister, and the woman who loved his little brother and his eldest son's namesake.
This was the picture perfect wedding. Nothing she could have planned or dreamed could have been better than this. Because when it all came down to it, all she needed for a perfect wedding was the man of her dreams by her side.
"You may now kiss the bride," the minister commanded.
Her new husband pulled her flush against him, not leaving a millimeter of space between their bodies. Their first married kiss was slow, thorough, and sensuous. Slowly leaving her lips, he trailed kisses across her cheek, and neck, ending at her earlobe. "Where would you like to spend your honeymoon, Mrs. Michael Corinthos, Jr.?" he asked with a nibble.
"In our bedroom that I decorated with our kids in the next room."
Sonny pulled away slightly and looked into her eyes. "You read my mind," he smiled and then kissed her silly.
"Okay, you two, enough, that's what the honeymoon is for," Brooke announced.
Grinning at each other, they pulled apart and thanked their guests and minister.
"Oh, one last thing," Sonny said to her, motioning Max forward.
Max stepped in front of Dara with a pen and documents.
She quickly put her John Hancock on the line.
Now everything was right in the world. She was a wife and mother.