Chapter Thirteen

He rushed into the room not caring if he was interrupting. "We need a doctor, Claudia's bleeding." Johnny exclaimed and then turned and rushed back out the way he had come. Sonny rushed out after him leaving Jason in the foyer he then rushed to the stairs only pausing long enough to yell for Max to get the doctor.


Dr. Rivera entered the room, where Sonny and Johnny had taken vigil at Claudia's bedside. Sonny stayed a short distance away while Johnny kneeled at the side of the bed clutching Claudia's hand with his eyes closed and head bowed in prayer.

"Dr. Rivera," Sonny greeted anxiously. "Uhm…she…my wife's bleeding." At these words the doctor hurried to Claudia, steering Johnny to stand back.

"Are you in any pain?" The doctor asked as he sat on the bed beside Claudia and reached out to gingerly feel her abdomen.

"No," She replied shaking her head. "I didn't even know I was bleeding until John, my brother, told me. Am I losing my baby?" She asked with a hint of fear in her voice, which Sonny took note of along with the fact that this was the first time she had placed a personal claim to the baby by referencing it as 'hers'.

"No not necessarily. I will need do a quick exam ok?" Dr. Rivera said softly as he gently patted her hand. "Gentlemen if you will give us a moment of privacy." He directed to both Sonny and Johnny.

"Could I…would you mind if I stayed?" Sonny asked nervously.

"I would, after what you did. This is probably your fault." Johnny said venomously and Sonny could only bow his head a bit.

"John don't," Claudia said as she threw him a warning glare which made Johnny instantly clamp his mouth shut. "I don't mind if you stay," She then spoke to Sonny who stared back at her, holding her gaze for a moment before she broke eye contact to focus back on her brother, who she could tell was upset by her words.

"Fine," Johnny spat out as he stared Sonny down briefly before focusing back on Claudia. "I'll just be right outside, ok?" Claudia gave a nod and when Johnny exited the room Sonny moved closer, watching silently as Claudia with the doctor's assistance removed her pants and underwear. He clamped his eyes shut for a moment and swallowed down a lump that had formed in his throat at the sight of all the blood that coated Claudia's panties and inner thighs. He then moved around from the door to the side of the bed, not wishing to see what in his mind he had already conceded was yet another child lost to him. His mind reeled with guilt and anguish, over the situation he knew he had caused and he found it difficult to focus on anything else at that moment except his own guilt, until the feel of someone clutching his hand brought him back to his current surrounding. He looked down and found Claudia's hand in his, he then shifted his eyes to her face where he could see fear and panic in her eyes. So he kneeled at her bedside still clutching her hand, and his movement captured her attention, and she turned to face him, his face now mere inches away from hers. Tears filled her eyes as she spoke.

"I'm so sorry," She said in a hushed tone as her tears spilt down her face. "I know that I'm being punished for what I caused to happen to Michael. God is going to take this baby and I'm just so sorry that I've now taken two of your children from you." Claudia sobbed out and Sonny tried to swallow back his own tears, as he shook his head at her words.

"No," He spoke softly. "This is not your fault. I caused this and I now know that I was the cause of what happened to Michael. I know that you put the hit out on me to protect your brother." He said leaning in closer to her and lowering his voice even more so that only she could hear him. "That's your family, and you did exactly what I would have done and what I have done in the past to protect my family. My mind couldn't register that when you first told me what happened, that's why I just lashed out, and now I wish to God I could take that moment back, but…you know…I can't. But if you'll forgive me I promise you, I swear to you I will never, ever, hurt you like that again." He pledged as his lips trembled under the weight of his words and his emotions. Claudia reached out and cupped his face with her free hand.

"There's nothing to forgive, especially considering I thought you would actually kill me when you found out the truth. But almost doesn't count, right." She said with a smile trying to lighten the mood a bit. "How about this, I'll forgive you and I hope you'll forgive me, and we can just start over with a clean slate." She said and Sonny closed his eyes sighing a bit in relief as he leaned into her touch.

"Yeah I'd like that." He replied nodding his head as he gazed at her with kind eyes.

"Yeah?" She repeated with a slight smile and a look of hope.

"Yeah," He said again and then leaned in and captured her lips in a gentle yet sensual kiss.

"You know I don't want you two having sex for at least a week, it may not be good for you or the baby right now." Dr. Rivera spoke out as he removed his surgical gloves. Sonny and Claudia instantly pulled apart and focused back on him.

"So the baby's ok?" Claudia questioned her voice filled with nervousness.

"Everything looks fine but I still want you to stay off your feet for a few days, and I'm going to check your cervix every few hours. Also Mr. Corinthos I would like to bring out one of our ultrasound machine so I can take a look inside to make sure everything is ok with the development of the fetus."

"Sure anything you need I'll have one of my guards take you back to the main lands, get anything that you need to help my wife." Sonny stated. "So what caused the bleeding, is that normal?" Sonny asked still not convinced that everything was ok.

"Yes, many women have slight vaginal bleeding after the egg implants in the uterus, which can be mistaken for a threatened miscarriage. A few women bleed at the time of their monthly periods through the entire pregnancy. Your wife had no cramping and her cervix is still closed so, you're not miscarrying. However, bleeding could also indicate a potentially life-threatening condition known as ectopic pregnancy. This is when the fetus implants at a site other than the inside of the uterus. Most often this occurs in the fallopian tube. To check this I'll need the ultrasound machine."

"OK," Sonny said as he quickly stood, releasing Claudia's hand and moving to the door. "Max," He called out to the man just outside the door, waiting with Johnny.

"Yeah boss," Max replied as he stepped closer to the door, with Johnny moving up right behind him.

"Dr. Rivera needs to go back to the main lands and get some equipment, and I need you to take him personally. Get him whatever he needs, if he doesn't have at his clinic, buy it, got it?"

"Yeah boss."

"He's finishing up with Claudia and he'll be right out."

"Is she ok?" Johnny asked in concern.

"Yeah the doctor says that both she and the baby are fine from what he can tell, he's needs the ultrasound machine so he can make sure all is well on the inside. She's going to have to stay calm and off her feet for a few days, which means that you can't be upsetting her…"

"Me!" Johnny said in outrage. "You're the one who tried to kill."

"See this is what I'm talking about." Sonny spoke as he moved outside the room, closing the door behind him. "Your ranting at me isn't helping this situation. I know you're angry with me, hell I'm disgusted and angry at myself. I know I did a bad thing and that I caused this situation, and I will regret it for the rest of my life, but I can't do anything about that now, accept say I'm sorry, which…I've already apologized to Claudia and she's accepted my apology and we've agreed to start over with a clean slate."

"Yeah, for how long until the next time she pisses you off?" Johnny asked in anger. "I'm not going to give you another opportunity to hurt my sister again Sonny. When we get back to Port Charles I'm moving her out of your house."

"If that's what Claudia wants to do I won't stop her, and I will never lay my hands on her again."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I don't know!" Sonny yelled throwing a hand in the air as his anger got the best of him. "I just do, all right!" He then took a moment of pause to calm himself and lower his voice. "Look what happened, what I did was a terrible thing but I've been building up the hurt and anger over what happened to Michael for so long, and I always said if I ever got my hands on the person responsible I'd kill them. So when Claudia told me she put the hit on me, I just reacted. All of that stuff that I had been carrying around came out. I know it was wrong but I can't take it back now. But I can tell you that I know in my heart it's not Claudia's fault, the only person to blame is me. I hit first when I kidnapped you, and Claudia simply retaliated. That's the world we live in right?"

"Yeah," Johnny said in a more calmly voice. "That's why I got the hell out of it."

"Hey that's great and I really hope that works out for you, I tried it didn't go so well for me and your sister…well you know Claudia she loves the life and the power that comes with it."

"Just like you," Johnny stated and Sonny had to nod his head at the words.

"Yeah, your sister and I are a lot alike." Sonny couldn't help but to smile a bit at these words. "I will never lay my hands on her again," Sonny said sincerely. "And if I ever do you have my permission to put a bullet in my head, all right?"

"Oh you can count on it." Johnny replied and Sonny nodded knowing that they had reached an understanding and the matter wouldn't need to be brought up again.

"Alright, I'm going to go back in to see if she's decent and help her get cleaned up, then I'll come get you, ok?"

"Yeah…thanks," Johnny said begrudgingly as he moved back to lean against the wall, adjacent to the door, as Sonny re-entered the room.

"Is everything ok?" Claudia asked as she watched him nervously, having heard the commotion outside. "Is Johnny still outside?"

"Yeah, yeah he's right outside and everything's fine now, we just had to clear the air. He's pissed at me you know and I can't blame him. If some punk had laid hands on my sister Courtney I'd probably have beaten him to death with my bare hands. Luckily for me your brother is a little more forgiving, but just barely." Sonny said as he moved back to her bedside. "Dr. Rivera my guard is waiting outside also. His name is Max and he's going to take you to get whatever you need."

"Thank you," The doctor said as he grasped his medical bag and moved to exit.

"Gracias por ahorrar a mi bebé, Dr. Rivera" Claudia said with a kind smile to the doctor, who in turned smiled back and bowed a bit as he replied.

"De nada, Mrs. Corinthos." He then left the room, closing the door behind him.

"You speak Spanish?" Sonny asked in a toned that told he was impressed.

"Yeah, and Italian of course, French and also German." Claudia replied. "So don't think you can badmouth me in Spanish and get away with it." She joked and Sonny laughed out because that was his exact thought.

"I'll have to remember that."

"Would you mind helping me up?" Claudia asked as she reached out her hand for him to grasp.

"What for, the doctor said you have to stay off your feet." Sonny replied as he moved to her and grasped her hand anyway.

"And I will as soon as I get cleaned up and the bedding get changed, you don't expect me to lie in this do you?" She asked with a look of disgust on her face. Even still Sonny hesitated.

"OK how about we compromise, get me a wet washcloth and clean towel from the bathroom so I can clean up a bit, and we can place the towel under me in case I bleed some more. I really would like to take a hot bath and change these sheets, but I understand that we really don't want to tempt fate anymore right now."

"No we don't, so you stay put for right now, and I'll help you take a bath later 'if' the doctor oks it and Consuela can change the sheets then," Sonny said as he went into the bathroom to get the washcloths. Claudia waited quietly until he returned with them in hand. "I got you a couple of them." He said as he held one out to her.

"Thanks," She said as she grasped the warm cloth and began cleaning herself. She then gave the soiled cloth back to Sonny and grasped the second cloth to finish up. When she was done Sonny took both cloths back into the bathroom, and placed them in the hamper. He then washed and dried his hands before re-entering the bedroom, where he helped Claudia to situate a couple of thick towels beneath her, and then helped her into a white cotton nightgown and underwear which he had gotten Consuela to purchase before their arrival. Once they were finished he covered her back up with the blanket. "So you have a sister named Courtney?" Claudia asked no longer able to contain her curiosity.

"Yeah…I had a sister, but she died a couple of years ago." Sonny said as a flash of grief sweep across his face.

"I'm sorry to hear that, God I can't even imagine. If something were to happen to my brother I think I'd probably lose my mind."

"Well we weren't that close, not like you and Johnny." Sonny spoke as he sat on the bed near her feet, which he reached out and began to rub. "I had only known her for a couple of years before she died, we weren't raised up together. Courtney was a child Mike had with another woman."

"That doesn't matter she was still your sister, and I'm sure you loved her and you miss her." Sonny could only nod to her words. "God you've lost so much." She added with sadness in her voice.

"Yeah I have, and what about you?" He asked as he looked at her under hooded eyes and she stared back at him, confused by the question. "Have I lost you too?"