Do not own General Hospital or any of the characters.

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The Flame of Franco

A Mother Knows...

It was snowing lightly as Sam stepped outside into the chilly February air. She was off on her own today. Jason was at the PCPD visiting Sonny, trying to talk some sense into him about jumping bail. However, Sonny still wouldn't listen to him. He wasn't leaving Dante, who was still in critical condition. She had told Jason that she would stay at the penthouse but was finding that she was going stir crazy. She needed to get out.

She wasn't sure where she would go. She didn't have a plan in mind. The first thing that had come to her mind was her apartment, but quickly shook that idea away. She knew she had to go back one day but she just couldn't find the courage now. She knew that Dr. Winters wanted her to go and enter her apartment, that once she did, it would feel like a weight being lifted off her shoulder. However, Sam didn't think so. She knew it would just set her back. Too much had happened there. She then thought back to that night, when Franco had appeared in her apartment. How he had looked at her with lustful eyes taking in the sight of her in the hot tub.

"No," she whispered harshly to herself, "You will not let him get to you." She was trying not to think about what had happened to her. She was trying not to let Franco control her life any more. She was tired of living her nightmare every day. She just wanted her life to go back to before. Just then her phone went off in her purse, pulling it out and looked down at the call display. It was her mother.

"Hey Mom, what's up?" spoke Sam into the phone as she began to walk towards the parking garage.

"Oh she just answers the phone, Hey Mom, like nothing has happened," replied Alexis to her eldest daughter. Clearly she was upset about something; she just didn't know what it was. "You could have at least called me!"

"Mom, what happen? What's wrong?" asked Sam in confusion. She didn't know what her mother was so worked up about.

"Why didn't you tell me about what happened at the christening?" asked Alexis calmly to her daughter. She didn't want to upset her by bringing it up. But she was hurt that she hadn't been told sooner about it. Molly had let it slip to her mother what had happened.

"Oh mom," was all that Sam could say as she reached her SUV and opened the door. She knew she should have told her mother. But Alexis didn't know about the rape and that was how Sam wanted it to stay.

"I care about you, you are my daughter," continued on Alexis to Sam. She didn't like being kept in the dark about things like this.

"Are you at home?" asked Sam, cutting her mother off.

"Yes," she replied.

"I'm heading over then," stated Sam as she climbed into the driver's seat. She figured that her mother needed to know. Maybe not about the rape but about everything else. She and Alexis's relationship hadn't been the best but over the years it had gotten to a good place. She didn't want to ruin it now.

After yet again failing to convince Sonny to jump bail, Jason had left and headed over to Carly's to check up on Josslyne to make sure she was doing okay and to find out if there had been any other message from Franco. Spinelli had found out the DVD had not been sent by the artist himself but by his agent in New York.

"How did the meeting with Sonny go?" asked Carly as she took the seat beside Jason on her couch and handed him a mug of steamy coffee. He looked so tired. There were dark circles under his eyes as he looked up at her and thanked her for the coffee. She knew her best friend had lot on his mind at the moment, with everything going in with Sonny and Sam.

"It didn't go good," he answered honestly as he took a sip from the mug. He hadn't slept last night after Sam had had a bad nightmare. He had stayed up keeping her company. The two of them had ended up playing dominos. "Sonny is determined to stay in Port Charles. He doesn't want to leave Dom...I mean Dante's side."He was still trying to wrap his mind around the idea of Sonny having another son.

"Well he's being stupid," stated Carly. She knew her ex husband could be as stubborn as a bull sometimes but he was being really stupid this time. She knew that Sonny put his kids first. But was Dante really his son? Sure they shared the same blood but that was it. Sonny hardly knew the man who was his son. "I understand he wants to be there for his kid. But he doesn't even know Dante. They are strangers to one another. He should be thinking about himself and his other kids at this moment. " she ranted on like this for another moment or two. Chatting Jason's ear off before he finally cutting her off. He didn't have all day to listen to her.

"I agree. That is why I need your help Carly," he had now finished his coffee as he placed the empty mug on the table in front of him and turned to his friend.

"I will help you in any way that I can," replied Carly to Jason. She always there for him.

"I need you to talk to Sonny," he began to explain to her, "I need you to go down to see him and to convince him that jumping bail and fleeing the country is his only option."

"Jason I don't know. What makes you think he will listen to me," began to protest the feisty blonde. "You already tired talking to him. I don't think he will listen to me either."

"Please Carly, just do this for me!" begged Jason to his friend, his blue eyes pleading with hers. "I need your help! If he jump bail, the police will assume that he killed Claudia, case closed, they won't find out it was Michael. He can finally go on with his live. Please just talk to sonny for me!"

She looked into his eyes for a second. She knew that Jason was desperate. He never usually asked for help from anyone. She knew he was at his last resource. "Okay, I will try," she replied, placing a comfortly hand on his.

"Thank you," he whispered as Carly pulled him into a hug.

Alexis had tears in her eyes as she looked on at her daughter. Sam had just finished telling her about hearing Franco's voice again, how she had freaked out. She could tell though however that there was more to the story that her daughter wasn't letting her know. Her brown eyes searched her daughter's face, thinking that the answer would be written there.

Sam looked at her mother briefly before looking away. It was all too much for her. She was trying not to give anything away but it was harder than she thought. She so wanted to tell her mother, however she didn't want her worry, her pity. She was tired of everyone looking at her differently since that night.

"Sam," whispered Alexis softly, reaching out and taking her daughter's hand, "Sam, look at me."

Sam slowly looked back at her mother; tears were streaming down her face as she tried to compress a sob.

"He... he raped you...didn't he?" Alexis could hardly bring herself to say these words. But she had to ask. She knew that her daughter wasn't telling her everything.

She looked at the older woman, their eyes locking together. She knew she couldn't hide it any longer. She had to come clean. She then slowly nodded her head in reply.

"Oh my baby girl," moaned Alexis as she wrapped her arms around her daughter, stroking her hair. Sam cried into her mother's shoulder, finding comfort there in her mother's embrace. It was there they stayed, mother and daughter crying.

Thanks for reading and please review.

Julie