A/N: Sorry for the delay. I hope you find this worth the wait. Actually, I hope you're still reading and you find it worth the wait.

Without Hate – Chapter 18

Alexis smiled to herself as she allowed the warm water to trickle down her face in the shower. In a few hours, she and Sonny would be sitting at the ballet. She loved the ballet but rarely had a chance to go. In her experience, she rarely found straight men who loved the ballet; it was exceptionally rare to find the love of ballet in a man as macho as Sonny.

Perhaps tonight would be the night they took their relationship to the next level. So far, Sonny had been nothing but the perfect gentleman. She heard his voice in her head.

"I have no problem kissing you as many times as you ask me to."


"But I didn't ask you..." She heard herself protest, though she knew it was a lie.


"I'm more than happy to kiss you as many times as the opportunity presents itself, but I won't make love to you until you tell me it's what you want."

She stepped out of the shower and looked in the mirror. Deciding on a practice run, she squinted in an attempt to create bedroom eyes, "Make love to me, Sonny." "Ack," she thought. She reminded herself of the overacting she'd seen in a B-rate movie."

Maybe, she thought, just maybe she could get Sonny to tell her it was what he wanted. Looking down, she patted her still flat stomach. "Little one do you think you could stay hidden until your mama can see some action?"

Downstairs, Carly strummed through the pages of a fashion magazine. In her mind she picked out outfits for Jason to buy her. "Jason," she practically whispered then sighed. For the first time in her life, Carly had found paradise. She had immediate access to the love of her life, her best friend and her son. Now, thanks to AJ's crisis of conscience that was prompted by the female Quartermaines, she could lose it all.

For the last two weeks, since AJ kept his promise and dropped the charges, Jason had been bugging her about finding a place of their own. Under ordinary circumstances, she would have jumped at the chance. But now, she wanted more. She wanted her best friend in close proximity to keep her from doing something that might wreck her life. She wanted utopia. And for Carly, utopia was Alexis and Jason swapping addresses.

She thought of how perfect it would be to have Jason living in Penthouse Two with her and Alexis living across the hall with Sonny. They would both have their men and they would still see each other all of the time. Unfortunately, it didn't seem her dream would become a reality anytime soon. Sonny and Alexis were taking things slowly; too slowly for her tastes.

She heard Alexis's cellular phone go off in her purse. "Alexis, phone," she screamed. The cellular phone stopped and the house phone started. After several rings, she screamed out "I guess I'm answering the phone." Annoyed because she knew it was for Alexis, she answered "Yeah?"

"Hello Carly. Is Alexis home?" The sound of the familiar Aussie accent sent chills up her spine. Why was he so insistent about reaching her?

"Jax, um, you just missed her." Carly crossed her fingers; all the while wondering why crossing her fingers seemed to make a lie less of a lie.

"That's unfortunate, I need to speak with her. I tried her on her cellular, but she didn't pick up." She could feel the urgency in his tone. "Do you know where she is?"

"Um, she's out of town, I think."

"Do you know if she'll be home by Friday? I'll be back in town then and I'm anxious to see her."

"I doubt she'll be back. I think she's gone for the next couple weeks."

"Where is she?"

Carly felt herself panic. Remembering Jason once told her Sonny had a casino in Puerto Rico, she blurted, "Puerto Rico."

"What is she doing there?"

"Um, I think I hear Michael crying. I'll tell Alexis you called. Bye."

Carly panicked. She had no intention of telling Alexis that Jax called. But what if he called again? Carly paced then she ran to Alexis's purse and grabbed out her cellular phone. Quickly, she took the battery out of the back of the phone. Looking around, she saw a bowl containing the gardenias Sonny sent Alexis earlier that day. She held the battery in the water for nearly a full minute, took it out, dried it on the tail of her blouse and stuck it in the phone.

Running, she made it to the sofa just in time to see Alexis practically floating down the stairs.

Carly took in Alexis's evening gown: muted bronze, strapless, fitted at the bodice and full beneath. With her hair pulled into an elegant, low bun, Alexis reminded her of the actresses on the awards shows she used to watch with her mama, Virginia. "Wow! You look good."

"Thanks."

"Date with Sonny?"

Alexis thought of him with his olive skin, dark eyes and dimpled smile. She grinned widely. "Yep."

"So, you'll be home late?"

"Probably."

"Why?"

"Well, we're having dinner at the No Name and then going to the ballet…"

Carly sighed loudly. "I mean why are you going to be home tonight at all? When are you and Sonny going to take the next step?"

"Carly, Sonny and I are taking things slowly. Our relationship is complicated enough without rushing into something."

"You two have been seeing each other every day for the last month and a half. What are you waiting for?"

"The right time."

Back in Penthouse four, Sonny took the stairs two at a time. He was excited about his date with Alexis. He was especially excited about taking her to the ballet. The last time he'd gone to the ballet, he was a teen. He'd taken his mother to see Romeo and Juliet soon after he'd started in the business working for Scully. She died less than a year later. Tonight, it felt like he was introducing Alexis to his mother.

In the living room, Jason paced about nervously. "Hey."

"Hey. What's going on?"

"Tonight's the night. I'm going to ask Carly to marry me."

Sonny extended a hand that turned into a hug. "Congratulations man!"

"I hope she says, 'Yes.'"

"I don't think you have anything to worry about. If she wasn't your woman, Carly would come close to being a stalker. She's crazy about you."

"Thanks, man." The two men embraced once more.

Sonny strolled over to Penthouse Two. In his mind, he wondered if his and Alexis's relationship would change that night as well. When she answered the door, he felt his knees go weak. She was a vision. "Alexis, you look absolutely amazing."

At that same moment, Alexis felt her heart flutter. Sonny was so handsome in his black tuxedo with his hair slicked back. As soon as he flashed his dimples, she was done for.

The two stood transfixed for a full moment until they heard a scream come from the kitchen.

"What was that?" Alexis turned toward the kitchen.

Soon, she and Sonny arrived in the kitchen only to see Carly on the floor holding her ankle.

"Carly, what happened?"

"I tripped on the chair and twisted my ankle."

"Let me help you up."

"No," Carly looked around frantically. "Sonny can help me up. Can you just get Michael and bring him downstairs until Jason gets back?"

"Sure." Alexis was proud of the maternal instinct that kicked in with Carly. She was hurt and yet her first thought was Michael. She headed upstairs toward Michael's room.

Sonny lowered himself to help Carly up. As he reached for her torso, she slapped at his arms. "Move. Move. I can get up myself. I needed to talk to you alone."

Sonny stepped back and watched as Carly stood up and walked toward the living room. In a daze he followed, "Look Carly, I don't know what this is all about, but I'm not interested…"

"Get over yourself. This is important." She flopped on the couch, extended her leg and propped a couple of pillows beneath it. "You gotta stop playing around and get Alexis in bed; tonight if possible."

"What?!"

Carly lowered her voice. "Jax is on his way back."

"What are you talking about?"

"He called. He'll be back on Friday."

Sonny was confused. Alexis hadn't mentioned anything about Jax coming back to Port Charles. "Alexis didn't say…"

"She doesn't know."

Sonny dug his hands in his pockets. "You think she's not gonna find out?"

"Not if I have anything to say about it. That means you've got five days to make her fall in love with you." Carly held up five fingers for emphasis. "Five days is not a lot of time."

Neither heard Alexis come in. "Five days isn't a lot of time to do what?"