Queen of the Elven City- Perhaps you should be scared. After all, this is Port Charles we're talking about, and, with me at the helm, there really is no limit to what could happen. I'll ease your woes a bit by telling you that a body bag will not be necessary… more than likely.

Samsonlove- Kyle was just forgotten on the show, much like Maxie was before Kirsten took over the role. Poor Robyn, she deserved so much better, she did. As for the Lucky/Sam coupling… I thought about it when I wrote the chapter, but I haven't decided one way or the other. Since they're both going to have a relatively small part in the story overall it doesn't seem very important to have either of them establish any sort of romantic ties. Odds are nothing will happen, but you never know. And how do you know she was making friends?

Corinthos Household-

There was one thing that Sonny appreciated about his little penthouse location. Not the fact that he seemed to be above everyone else, although some would claim that it was because of that. No, it was because of the privacy that it gave him, knowing that he was up there only with the people that he cared about, the people that he trusted. Sonny wasn't living in the lower levels of Port Charles, where people could betray him and take out his heart. For all intents and purposes, Sonny Corinthos appeared to be something like the man who didn't care about anything that happened to him, but it was a lie. The things that impacted Sonny hurt him more than they would anyone else. Some accused Sonny of not caring at all, Sonny would accuse himself of caring too much. The smallest things could make him question everything, they could make him go over the edge where he was a danger to not only himself, but the same people who he would always try to protect.

There was always a part of Sonny that wondered if he should have told Damian about that part of his past. He had kept secrets from the boy before, secrets that he thought were for his son's own good, but Sonny had seen how keeping secrets from Damian didn't have the same impact that he would have liked. It wasn't the child's fault, Sonny knew that for a fact. The way that Damian reacted when he felt betrayed mirrored Sonny's own actions under the same circumstances. Sometimes the similarities were striking, to the point of being scary. But it wasn't something that Sonny was keeping from the boy to protect him, or maybe it was. However, there was always the chance, always the chance that something could happen, that whatever made Sonny break down like he did would somehow impact his own child. Michael didn't have to worry about it, because he wasn't Sonny's by blood, and Morgan was too young to really deal with anything of the sort… but Damian was a young man, older than Sonny was when his son was conceived. He seemed to have a strong grip on reality, on himself, but there was always the chance that it could give way underneath him. Sonny didn't want to see his child suffer because of the mistakes that he made.

If there was one thing that kept Sonny away from telling his child about his mental malady it was the fact that Sonny wanted to appear to be some sort of all powerful being in front of the boy. Egotistical and unnecessary, Sonny admitted and understood that, but it didn't change the fact that Sonny didn't want the boy to know that he was so weak and vulnerable. There were only a few people who were 'in the know,' and they were those that directly needed to know. It was different with his family, his sister, his wife, his best friend… they weren't his children. They didn't need a strong father figure. Maybe Damian didn't either. After all, he had managed pretty well without an actual father in his life for twenty years, but now Sonny was in his life, and while he didn't baby Damian like he did his other two children he still wanted to put the blinders on from time to time.

It was nice to have the house to himself, he liked it. Sonny knew that he wasn't truly alone, that there were people right outside his door making sure that if anyone hoped to spring some sort of attack on him they would protect him with their lives. Sonny expected the best from his men, expected them to be incredibly loyal, and, to their credit, they were. But, they had become such a part of his life that it really did feel like he was alone even when they were there, like an extension of his being, eyes that would report to him what they saw so it made it seem like they were his.

The mob boss and dedicated husband and father paced through the house after he left the balcony. So many memories of his family rested in each inch of the penthouse. The corner where the Christmas tree was, the tree that they decorated as a family, a complete family for the first time ever. The only thing that was missing was his mother, but he knew that it would never happen. Instead, he kept Adella's memory close to his heart, and on his mind always. The mantle, where pictures of his family were adorned above the hearth. They hadn't taken one yet, not together. Too much was going on, especially now that his boy was busy trying to help people, help them in ways that he couldn't be helped when he was a child. But, Damian was represented next to the rest of them. One of the pictures he had gotten from Elias and Victoria was the picture he took for his senior class yearbook. When Damian saw it, he grimaced. Sonny laughed to himself as he remembered the story that was told, the story about how the boy had tried in vain to make sure that he never made it into the yearbook as long as he was in school but they ended up forcing him to take it because they wanted at least one picture of him before he left, one picture where he was alone, a reminder of everything that he stood for, the woman who had created him, who died leaving a very important print on his soul. Damian may have hated the picture, but Sonny loved it, and was appreciative of the fact that he had it. One day, they would take a picture together. All of them. A family, a whole family, and it would be put where it belonged, in the center.

Jason walked in, unannounced as always, the same look that he had on his face almost all the time. "Where's Carly at?"

Sonny turned around, having picked up the picture a moment before his best friend walked in. When Jason arrived, he placed it back where it formerly was. "She's out with Morgan. Carly wanted to spend some time with him and give Leticia a little break so she could do something for herself." It was unlike Carly to actually care enough about the nanny to give her a break, but Sonny was certain that Leticia appreciated it. How could she not? "Why, do you need to talk with her about something?"

"Actually, I need to talk with you, I just didn't want her to come barging in and asking questions. You know how Carly gets when she's worried about something. The last thing we need is for her to take a bat to Durant's apartment and threaten to bash his head in."

"She only did that once…"

"And you don't think she would do it again?" Jason asked.

Some would take his comments for sarcasm, but Sonny was not one of them. He knew that everything Jason Morgan said was entirely serious, even when it sounded like it wasn't. Well, almost everything. There were rare times when Jason allowed himself to be more than the stoic right hand man, mostly around the children. Jason had been the best uncle that Michael and Morgan could have hoped for. Sonny wished more than anything to have a chance to return the favor, and he thought he would have been able to, but it wasn't possible. Another reason he was glad that Alcazar was dead. Not only was he a threat to Sonny's direct family, but the extended family as well. "Point taken, but I want to think she wouldn't…"

"That's your opinion. I know Carly. The first thing that she always does when she's worried about the people that she loves is she tries to find some way to make everything better, but it doesn't work out that way. Instead of finding a way to fix everything she ends up finding a way to make everything worse, and then we have to try and fix it." Jason added the 'we' because he didn't want to make it sound like he was the only one who tried to fix their problems, although, if one wanted to be perfectly honest, it was true.

"Carly isn't what we need to worry about, and I don't think that you actually came in here looking to talk about her. What's wrong, Jason?"

"I just wanted to know what you were thinking about doing in regards to what was formerly the Alcazar territory. I know that you've got a lot on your mind, but it doesn't negate the fact that what's going on there is a problem, something that we really need to deal with as soon as possible."

"There's no problem with that, Jason. We've taken care of it. We talked to the Sandoval's and we've told them to make sure they pass the message along. Unless your stock as the enforcer has somehow managed to go down since our meeting with him I highly doubt that anything has changed."

"The longer we sit on that problem the worse it's going to get. I know you think we can handle it, and right now we can without any trouble but that's why I think we should do it before it gets out of hand. If someone finds out what happened, Sonny, if someone finds out that your son killed Alcazar they're going to try and strike, take it for themselves… and maybe they won't attack Damian directly, or you, but there's no guarantee that they won't find their way over to Los Angeles and take down his family."

"We've got a threat that is right in our backyard right now, Jason," Sonny reminded Jason, just in case he had forgotten. "John Durant is a problem, right here, right now. Anything involving Damian and the Alcazar territory is not in our face…"

"But it can be…"

"I can't deal with something that might happen, I need to face facts. The fact is that right now it's taken care of, which means I can't worry about it. Don't you think I have enough on my plate? Durant is looking for whatever he can get from anyone around him about us… he wants to take us down and he's cruel enough to actually find a way to do it."

"Sonny…"

Sonny shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts. There were many times when his emotions got the better of him and he needed to take a moment to collect himself, now was such a time. He realized what he had said, and how it sounded. "I'm sorry that I snapped at you like that. You know how much I value your opinion as a friend and as a partner, you know how highly I think of you. I appreciate everything that you're trying to do. Damian's only been here for a few months and I know that you didn't like him or think that he was being honest with us when he came…"

"I just didn't want to see anyone get hurt. Not you, not Carly, not the boys." Did Jason regret the way that he had treated Damian at first? Yes. Would he have done it again if the same thing had happened once more? Probably, because Jason dealt with everything that he could think of, and, as much as he hated to admit it now there was a time when he thought that Damian was capable of doing something that would hurt the people who Jason loved. In hindsight it was foolish, but at the moment it happened… Jason had no regrets for his actions.

"But we've all managed to make peace with everything that we thought could have happened…"

"Yes, we have. It doesn't change the fact that we're dealing with something big, Sonny. What happens if we act too late? Elias, even at his best, wasn't good enough to actually fend off what could come, the attack that people could send his way if they find out that he's in control of some pretty powerful territory. Not just in the states, but in the world… they won't stop to kill Damian's family, all of them, anyone who gets in his way. How do you think he's going to react when he finds out that everyone he cares about has been slaughtered… and that we could have done something to prevent it?"

"I won't let that happen…"

"Then you need to do something about it right now in order to make sure that it doesn't happen." Jason's advice as sound and to the point. If Sonny didn't it take it… there was no telling what could happen, but Jason was almost certain that the end result wouldn't be pretty.

Sonny nodded. Though Jason continued to push on an issue that he would have much rather ignored it was for the good of his entire family, and the family that Sonny would always be indebted towards. Without further hesitation, as he felt he had hesitated enough, Sonny walked over to the phone and dialed a number. "I need constant protection around my son's grandparents' home in Los Angeles. You have the address. No, I don't care how much it costs. Make sure that they don't know what's happening, and don't let it get out. Your best men, for as long as it's necessary. Thanks." When the call ended, Sonny hung up the phone and turned his eyes onto Jason, "Satisfied?"

"Yes."

"Good." Sonny didn't mind throwing away his money. After all, he had made sure that he had enough money to do anything that could have come up, no matter what it was. That was why he was able to pay for Lois's needs, even though they were no longer necessary. "Can we deal with the Durant problem now?"

"I don't know what to tell you about that, Sonny. We still haven't found anything about Durant that will let us take him down, just that one tape that we can't hope to decipher." Stan was a good man, one of the best in his field, but there were limits to his abilities, and, if there were no words, only a door that opened and closed in a hurry… nobody could do that.

At that moment, Stan knocked on the door, which was still partly open from when Jason came in minutes before. "I know that this couldn't come at a better time, but I've got another tape that you should probably listen to…"

"Does it have anything we can use?" Sonny wondered.

Stan could only shrug, "Either John Durant knows that we're listening in on his conversations in his room, or he's just really good at making sure that nobody can understand what's going on. Listen…"

Stan, Sonny and Jason all listened to the tape that played. It was obvious that John was talking to someone, and more than talking, John was making a threat to someone, threatening to do something that the other person obviously didn't want them to do. But, like Stan said, there wasn't anything that was said about what was going on specifically, and the other voice was so soft that it was unable to make out. When the tape ended, Stan hit the stop button.

"I need you to trace the call," Sonny ordered.

"Easier said than done. The Quartermaine's know that stuff like this can happen at their hotel, and they've got a pretty good security system which makes it hard for me to punch through their defenses."

"Find a way, Stan!" Sonny barked. "Or I'll find someone who can. Is that easy enough for you to get motivated?"

"Yes, I'll make sure that I get on it right when I get back to the equipment. I'll give you a phone call as soon as I can."

Sonny watched Stan leave and then he walked over to the mini-bar, he needed a drink. "Jason… when this hits the fan… I don't know what's going to happen. So, I need you to do something for me, all right?"

"Name it."

"Take my sister out tonight," Sonny looked over. "Make Courtney feel like she matters. Because… there's a chance that it could end up being the last time you ever can." Sonny swirled the drink in his hand. Time was like the drink, so easy to drain and disappear.