CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
         home again


         She'd been drowsing on the trip back from the airport and hadn't even realized that her head had dropped down to rest on Sonny's shoulder. After the emotional intense highs and lows of the night, Alexis had fallen into an emotionally exhausted sleep. It was warm and comfortable and Alexis didn't ever want to move. 

"Hey Alexis," Sonny's whispered voice brought her gently to her half-drowsy awareness. "'We're home."
 
         For a moment, she looked at him in sleepy confusion. The words had meshed so perfectly with the dream that had invaded her thoughts without her even realizing it. That they were just any other couple, returning home from a trip.

         But that wasn't the case at all. 

Sonny watched Alexis as she slowly came awake. He'd been staring out the darkened window as dawn rose over the horizon. It had taken the rest of the night to complete their trip back to PC. Once they had landed and gotten into the waiting limo, he was lost in his own thoughts until, he became aware of a soft weight on his arm. Sonny turned his head carefully, his heart doing a little leap as he saw Alexis's head snuggle instinctively against him. He slipped one arm through her own and she shifted closer in response, her fingers seeking out and twining themselves in his. Sonny smiled softly and tightened his fingers around hers, enough to enjoy the silky texture of her skin, but not enough to wake her.

Regret fluttered through him. Regret over what almost was, what might have been…Sonny knew he was being selfish; he knew that it was part and parcel of who and what he was. And the truth be told, he didn't often regret it. But in this moment, he regretted everything, with all of his heart. His voice softened. "Hey, Alexis…" And then those great big beautiful eyes were looking up at him. Unthinking, Sonny slipped the fingers of his free hand under her chin and raised her lips to his, brushing his own against hers lightly.

But when they stepped from the limo, it was as though nothing had changed between them. Sonny's men were there in the garage, and there was nothing in their manner that gave them away. It was the same in the trip in the elevator that took them upstairs to the penthouse. The two of them go straight to his apartment. Sonny went to sit at his desk, flipping open his laptop. At the same time, he opened his phone and started dialing. Alexis went to the sofa and sat down. Nothing showed on his face, but Alexis knew he was seething. She waited until he hung up.

"Are you ready to talk yet?" Alexis asked.

Sonny looked up from his desk, his dark eyes hooded. "What's there to talk about?" his voice was deceptively calm. "I'm just trying to locate my sister. "

         "And when you find her? What happens then, Sonny?"

He shrugged; but that was never good enough for her before, and it certainly wasn't going to be good enough for her in particular now. Alexis stood and faced him. "What happens if she's with AJ? What are you going to do?"

His façade of coolness cracked a little; the heat of his anger showed in his voice. "What do you think will happen? What are you so afraid of?"

"I don't know, and that's what I'm afraid of." Alexis just wanted to reason with him and touch the part of him that listened to her. "I know you love Courtney already. I know that her protection is the uppermost thing in your mind. But you've been awake most of the night. And you may not be thinking as clearly as you ought to be. As you need to be."

Before Sonny could answer, there was a chiming coming from the laptop. He pushed a button and an email opened up. She couldn't see the screen from where she stood, but something in his face changed; the sudden look in his eyes sent her rushing to his side.

"Oh my God…" her voice trailed off. There were pictures; pictures of Courtney in bed. Despite the sheet covering her, an obviously naked Courtney smiling up at the camera. And the final picture was what Sonny had feared most. A smirking AJ smiling, in bed with Sonny's sister.

Sonny sat there, silent for a long moment before he slammed himself away from desk. "Do I need to think any more clearly, Alexis?! You can see for yourself…everything is crystal clear!"

"Sonny, wait…" Alexis started, but he overrode her.

"Wait for what? I did wait… I tried to give Courtney every benefit of the doubt…I tried to warn her...she wouldn't listen…I stepped back – just like you suggested - and this is what happened! A man who hates me just as much as I hate him has used my sister to strike out at me!" Before she could say anything else, Sonny held up a hand, while he picked up his cell phone. He dialed a number and began barking out orders to whoever had picked up at the other end.

When he had hung up, Alexis tried again. "I just want you to wait a few hours, that's all. A few hours aren't going to make that much of difference as far as Courtney is concerned." Her eyes met his. "She and AJ are a done deal at this point, Sonny. You have to recognize that."

His response was a growl of anger. Sonny walked to the bar and poured himself a healthy shot. He downed it in a single swallow.

         Alexis wanted to tell him that a drink was the last thing he needed, but she was wise enough to know better. She bit her tongue.  "Get some rest Sonny. Before you do anything else, promise me that you will do that. That's all I ask. For your sake as well as Courtney's."

"How am I supposed to rest?" Alexis saw through the anger to the pain just underneath and without thinking, she moved to stand before him. Unthinking, her hands reached out to hold his. His hands tightened on hers almost painfully, but she refused to let go. "Do you know what I will see if I close my eyes?"

         "I know, Sonny." Alexis wished somehow that she will her strength into him. "I know what you will see. And I know how much it will hurt. But you have to remember, this is your sister.. if you hope to salvage any kind of relationship with her, then you are going to have to step back from the situation. When you see her, you are going to have to really see her. And listen to her. If you don't, you could loose her forever. And AJ will  have won. And you can't do that if you let your temper get the best of you. You need to rest. So you can to be in control. Of everything. And that means you need to rest."

Her words brought a semblance of  calm to him. Alexis always had the power to do that for him. As usual, she was right, and the thought forced a half smile to his face. Sonny sensed her relief. "Why are you always here when I need you?"

"Maybe because this is where I'm supposed to be?" Alexis answered him softly.

         A knock on the door interrupted anything else they might have said. At a word from Sonny, Jason entered.

Sonny turned back to Alexis. "I think you should take your own advice, councilor. A nap in the limo doesn't replace a few hours of rest. One of us needs to be clear-headed about the situation. And since you're better at that than I am, we should make sure that you are in top shape. I promise that I'll do the same as soon as I get the ball rolling on a few things."

"All right." Alexis said. More than this, she knew she couldn't hope for. Sonny was not a man to be pushed into anything. But he could be induced into listening to reason. And he counted on her for that. 

         Sonny watched as Alexis turned, and nodding slightly to Jason, left the room. She was always the voice of reason; her words lingered in his mind and why?… maybe it was because she was supposed to be.

"Alexis was with you when you got the call about Courtney?" Jason's question brought Sonny's attention back to the situation at hand. He nodded. He walked to the bar, his hand hovering over the scotch and then slowly withdrew. He remembered the look in her eyes when he'd had the first one. She hadn't said anything, but she hadn't had to. It wouldn't do his mood any good and she was right, damn her. Sonny smiled inside, however reluctantly. Alexis was right; he needed to go into this as clear headed as he could.

            "Yeah, and she made some good points. Now what do you have for me?"  First he'd find his sister, then he'd deal with the rest.