Somebody Told Me… Every man sees in his family a reflection of himself
My uncle used to say that. He's a smart man. This was the second time Alexis and Sonny had seen what their family could look like. The first time was when they saw all their kids in the hospital after the attack, well, not all their kids.
Today was the day; Kristina would be able to leave the hospital. Sonny and Alexis went to the hospital to pick her up while everyone else was preparing for her arrival. Sonny was anxious to speak with Kristina or even be in the same room with her. Kristina had agreed to see him. The good news was that she had calmed down and wasn't so afraid of him anymore, but if that would translate to a happy reunion, no one could tell. Sonny hoped it would. Alexis was going to play referee.
While Alexis was sorting out Kristina's release and appointments with a physical therapist, Sonny and his daughter were left alone. In silence. Sonny was about to break said silence, but his daughter beat him to it. Her tone was harsh. He had hurt her and it would take a long time for her to heal.
"I have nothing to say to you. You must be angry, scared, whatever, I don't know and I don't care." She punctuated every phrase. "You are my father and I can't change that. I only want one thing from you. An answer, a truthful answer," she asked pointedly.
He waited stoically.
"Did you kill Claudia?"
"No," he answered. The best answers were always short and truthful.
She looked at him defiantly prompting him to continue.
"I made a deal with Johnny Zacharra," he replied truthfully. He couldn't tell whether she believed him or not.
"Okay."
When Alexis and Sonny walked in with a wheelchair bound Kristina, the Lakehouse erupted with chants of joy and excitement along with streamers and balloons. But nothing compared to the huge smiles on everyone's faces. Sam, Dante, Michael, Morgan and Molly were waiting for them. There was huge banner running from one end of the room to the other with the words, "Welcome Home!"
In one corner of the room, there were flowers, stuffed animals and gift baskets from her loved ones. The dinner table was set for eight people and it looked like there was going to be a party.
Alexis held back tears to see her daughter so loved after this ordeal. Kristina's face broke into a huge smile while Sonny was dumbstruck.
"You got me guys, I was totally surprised. This is so awesome!" Kristina gushed.
"And we are not done yet," Morgan piped.
"You should have seen your face, Kris, good thing we have it on video," Michael added.
Molly walked up and gave her sister a hug, "Good to have you home, sis." Everyone followed suit and hugged Kristina. Alexis made sure to hug the little ones for putting all this together.
"Let's get this party started," Dante yelled.
"First, dinner and then entertainment," Sam said and disappeared into the kitchen followed by her faithful servants, Morgan, Molly and Sonny of all people.
"Yes, mom," Dante replied cheekily.
Alexis walked Kristina's wheelchair over to see all the packages that were sent. There was a huge bouquet of flowers from Nikolas, Spencer and Brook Lynn. Jax sent a care package of movies, books and comics to keep her busy, Diane sent over huge boxes of chocolate, chips, cookies and other junk food especially pop corn. There were stuffed animals from her friends at school. Kristina was very touched by the outpouring of support and love and that made Alexis very happy.
Dinner was an interesting affair.
"Then I slid into home. That was the home run that won us the game," Morgan was regaling everyone with his latest practice game. "The championship game is in a couple of weeks and you all have to be there," Morgan asked innocently.
"We know Morgan, you keep telling us, you'd almost think it was your birthday," Michael complained.
"So, what else has been happening?" Kristina asked.
"I got an A+ on my History test." Molly answered.
"Show off!"
"Nerd!"
"Girls!"
"Wow! I haven't seen you guys bicker before," said Dante.
"Oh, that's a sight," Michael supplied. "This is nothing. Sometimes, you need a dictionary to figure out what they are saying to each other. They are all into using big fancy words like penurious, rapacious, cantankerous, iniquitous, and…oh, my favourite repugnant."
"They are their mother's daughters after all," Sonny interrupted with a huge smile on his causing Alexis to blush.
"Not like me and Morgan," Michael continued puffing his chest.
"Puh - lease !" Kristina sighed while Molly guffawed.
"Yeah, Michael and I are tight. We never fight. Hey, that rhymes," added Morgan.
"What about when Michael accidently broke your PS3?" Sonny asked, "You didn't speak to him for a week."
"Yeah, well, I specifically asked him not to touch my stuff," Morgan explained.
"And when you borrowed his cool sunglasses," Molly asked.
"Okay, okay, fine, we fight too, but we still each other," Michael added.
"Yeah, so do we. I rest my case." Molly finished. Kristina crossed her arms and added a "humph" to the conversation.
"Easy, counselor," Michael told Molly, which caused Alexis to look up at Sonny. She was greeted with a dimpled smile.
Sam and Dante watched their younger siblings' banter and couldn't help but smile. Their childhoods were so different.
"This was the best meal I've had in years," Alexis said finishing up her dessert.
"Compliments to the chef," Sam said raising her glass to Sonny.
"And not to forget the two little chefs," Sonny added. Everyone raised their glasses their Morgan and Molly. "And to the organizer of this lovely dinner, Sam."
"This has been the best company I've had in years," Sonny added.
"And the party isn't over yet," Michael said excusing himself to go into the living room.
"What was that about?" Sonny asked.
"You'll see," Dante replied taking Kristina's wheelchair into the living room, beckoning everyone.
In the middle of the living room, hooked up to the TV was a Karaoke machine. This was Michael's and Dante's surprise for the evening. The only rule: everyone had to sing. Alexis was amused while Sonny looked like he was going to throw up.
Molly and Morgan volunteered to go first and they sang Michael Jackson's "ABC," to loud cheers from everyone. Michael and Dante sang Wham's "Wake Up Before you Go-Go," which caused everyone to double over in laughter. While Alexis, Sam and Kristina laughed their heads off, Sonny couldn't believe his sons' even knew the song. He looked a little mortified which caused everyone to laugh even more.
Kristina and Sam sang Pat Benetar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," which seemed appropriate considering everything that had gone through. Alexis looked on proudly as her girls belted that tune.
Alexis tried singing and dancing to ABBA's, "Dancing Queen," dragging Molly in as well, who didn't want any part of it.
It was Sonny's turn to sing and since he didn't have a preference, everyone had an opinion on what he should sing. But it was Alexis' choice that won, which was readily accepted by everyone. Alexis chose Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca." Just the thought of it made Dante and Michael laugh. Molly and Morgan were oblivious to the song, it was before their time. So, before Alexis handed Sonny the mike, they Googled the song and boy, were they in for a treat! Sonny just groaned while Alexis dared him to do it.
Sonny, not one to back down from anything, started singing which caused Sam and Dante to get up and dance the crazy dance while Morgan and Molly looked on with their jaws on the floor. As Sonny was belting it out, off key, and gyrating to the music, he kept glancing over at Alexis, who couldn't wipe the smile off her a face. She had to admit he always had a natural rhythm, while Michael made sure he got it on video. Even Kristina couldn't help but laugh at the crazy scene.
Sam, Kristina and Molly sang Spice Girls' "Wannabe," which was followed by the boys trying to outdo them with Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock" and "Houndog," to which the girls replied with "Dancing on the Ceiling." All the while, Sonny and Alexis looked on happily and cheered their children.
At the end of the night, Molly and Morgan insisted that Sonny and Alexis sing the last song. They had chosen Elton John's & Kiki Dee's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." It was cheesy but Molly and Morgan insisted and Alexis and Sonny couldn't get out of it. The "Just do it" chants from the rest of the kids didn't really help matters.
Sonny started hesitantly, "Don't go breaking my heart," followed by Alexis whispering, "I couldn't if I tried."
Sonny grabbed Alexis with his left hand, while holding the mike in his right hand and belted the next part, "Honey, if I get restless." A surprised Alexis missed her cue which earned her a smug grin from Sonny. Not one to be easily rattled, Alexis grabbed Sonny too and in classic duet form, continued with the song. She too had gained confidence.
It started out as a fun cheesy song but the words were taking on a more serious note. "Nobody knows it," "I gave you my heart," "When I was down, I was your clown," "So, don't misunderstand me," "You put the light in my life," "You put the sparks to the flame," and "And now it's up to us babe, I think we can make it."
In between the smiles and laughs, Alexis and Sonny saw something else in each other's eyes. They weren't the only ones, as Kristina looked on thoughtfully at her parents.