Do not own General Hospital or any of the characters.

The Flame of Franco

Sleeping Away...

Over the next few days, Sonny's trial continued on it's way. Sonny had decided not take the deal. Jason was right, he wouldn't last one year in prison. So the trial went on. Today, it was Carly's turn on the witness stand.

"Are you coming?" asked Carly on the phone towards Jason.

"No I can't," replied Jason in a dry voice. He had just awoken up. He was still in bed. He had no plans of going anywhere near the courthouse today. He planed on spending the day with Sam. It seemed like ages since they had been together.

"Jason, I need you," whined Carly slightly on the other line.

"Carly, I'm sorry but Sam needs me more," replied Jason as he looked down briefly to a sleeping Sam beside him. She had been up most of the night yet again. She had been spending most of her time with Kristina, who was a wreck. Sam tried putting on a bright face for her sister but she was failing harder and harder each time she saw her. Alexis had confessed to killing Kiefer and was facing charges. Sam was not only trying to keep her self together but her family. Every since the news came out that Alexis had killed Kiefer, his parents had been terrorizing Kristina, saying she had lied about him hitting her. Sending the poor girl even more over the edge. "You will be fine," he went on to explain, "You know what happened that night. You know what to say!"

Carly didn't sound to happy about this but knew that Jason wouldn't leave Sam's side.

"But Jason's the story is crazy! I crash the car, Claudia is knocked out. I am in full blown labour. I make my way to an abandon cabin. Where then of all people, Sam's shows up and helps me deliver Josslyne. Then Claudia shows up waving a gun around. Then Sonny, comes in to the cabin as well. He had been called previously by Sam. He then hits Claudia over the head. It sounds like a lie!" She cried into the phone, she was panicking that she was going to blow it.

"Carly, you are the best liar I know," commented Jason quietly. "You just need to believe in it and you will be fine!"

"Okay, okay," spoke Carly, "I will call you later and let you know how it goes."

After the two friends had hung up with one another, Jason smuggled up against Sam. He didn't want to leave this bed. Closing his eyes, sleep quickly found him. He hadn't been sleeping much either. He had been up with Sam at night and couldn't sleep much with thinking about the outcome of Sonny's trial.

They stayed liked this for most of the day, going in and out of slumber. It was very out of his character to do so, but he knew that it was what Sam needed the most. She was tired of talking. She had talked enough with Dr. Winters. She just felt like sleeping. Of course her dreams were filled with visions of Franco and now Kiefer and Mr. Bauer as well. She was afraid that her mother would not be able to drop the charges against her and that she would be sent to jail. Leaving her sisters without a mother.

"I love you," whispered Jason into Sam's ear as he leaned over her.

"I love you too," she whispered back as he then kissed her passionately on the lips. She kissed him back, placing her hand slightly on his chest as he towered over her slightly. However, they were quickly broken by the interruption of Jason's phone going off. Groaning slightly at this, he gave Sam an apologetic look before sitting up and looking at this phone. It was Sonny. He had texted him. He wanted him to meet him at the restaurant. Jason explained all this at Sam. "What do you want me to do?" he asked towards her, who was now up, her back was resting against the backboard of the bed.

"You should go," she replied as she rubbed the sleep away from her eyes. "I have to go see how Krissy is doing anyways," she added.

"Are you sure?" he asked in a low whisper, his voice filled with tenderness and concern. He didn't want Sam pushing him away. He didn't have to go. Sonny only wanted to discuss the trial with him and probably what Carly had said. But that could wait until tomorrow if she didn't want him to leave. However, Sam just shook her head at him.

"I'm sure," she replied as she leaned over and kissed him quickly on the lips before getting out of bed.

Jason continued to look over at her with concern but did not say anything else as he watched as she began to get dressed. He then glanced over at the clock on the wall, it was just passed four in the afternoon. He could not believe he had stayed in bed this long.

Sam was seated with Krissy on the couch in the Lake House. Alexis was at the PCPD and Molly was in her room doing homework. "Mr. Bauer is saying that I lied about Kiefer beating me," explained Kristina to her older sister. She didn't seem to be too upset about this however. "Is it weird that I can understand Mr. Bauer's side of this? Like why should he believe me when I lied about everything else!"

"Hey, don't blame yourself for this, " snapped Sam at her sister. "You are not at fault. You know the truth and that's all that matters!" She hated hearing her sister like this.

Kristina didn't say anything in reply, she just simply shrugged her shoulders. She looked away briefly from her sister, composing herself before reaching out for a journal which rested on the coffee table.

"What's that?" asked Sam in a soft voice.

"It's Kiefer's journal," stated Kristina, briefly looking up at Sam as she began to slowly flip through the pages, "Mr. Bauer brought it too me! He says that he loves me on almost every page," she added on in a sad voice, as her brown eyes skimmed over the pages. "Mr. Bauer even invited me to the memorial for Kiefer."

"But he yelled at you at the hospital," pointed out Sam to the teen. She didn't really understand why Kristina was sympathising with Mr. Bauer. Sure he had lost his son but his son had been the one to beat her up.

"He was upset! And he apologized," replied Kristina, looking up at her older sister.

"Can you see how Mr. Bauer is kinda treating you the way Kiefer did, being nice to you one minute and blaming you the next and then being really nice to you all over again, then mean again!" she spoke in a slow quiet voice. She didn't want to upset Kristina but it was important for her to understand how Mr. Bauer was mutilating her like Kiefer had.

"Well none of this would have happened if it wasn't for me!" cried Kristina, suddenly her voice filling with emotion.

"No, no, no! Don't do that!" cried Sam at the teen, "Don't blame yourself. Kiefer would have found an excuse no matter what to hit you! He was an abuser! That is what abuser do!" She closed her eyes briefly as a sudden memory flashed through her mind. She could feel the tears beginning to fill in her eyes but she could not let them fall. She couldn't break down now. Her sister needed her. "Trust me, Krissy. He was one! I have been around enough of them to know!" She added in a low whisper as she looked briefly away from her sister. She had to compose herself. Kristina knew very little from her past with men.

However, Kristina didn't seem to hear her sister, "Kiefer wasn't an evil person!" The teenager then sighed before reaching out for her laptop. Sam watched her as she opened it up and pulled up a webpage. It was a memorial page set up for Kiefer.

"Look it!" spoke Kristina, pointing at the screen. " He was a good person! He did a lot of great things! He had good friends! Real friends!"

Sam however remained quiet as she watched as Kristina began to click on the webpage. She then began to flick through the pictures that someone had posted there. Picture, after picture appeared up on the screen before Sam. There were some of him alone and some of him with friends. Smiling and laughing. From an outsider's point of view, anyone would have seen him as a good out going kid who had everything going from him. But Sam knew the truth. "Yeah, I was a jerk to him but we had some good times together too!" spoke Kristina who had suddenly stopped clicking and looked intensely at a photo of her and Kiefer. He had his arm over her shoulder. They were seated outside on a log. It had been taken last summer, when they had first started going out. They were both smiling broadly up at the camera. They looked so happy, she thought to herself. She remembered that night clearly like it was yesterday. He had asked her previously from when this photo had been taken if she would be his girlfriend.

Sam's eyes shifted away from the photo on the screen to her sister, who had tears running down her cheeks. "Krissy," she spoke softly, "You have to stop doing this. Romanticizing Kiefer."

"I'm not romanticizing him!" cried out Kristina in outrage, "it's right there!" she pointed dramatically at the photo.

"Krissy, listen to me," spoke Sam as she reached out and closed the screen on the laptop. She then placed both of her hands gently on Kristina's shoulder, making her face her. "I know you don't want to hear this but I'm going to have to say this anyways. You are going to have to take responsibility for making a choice for staying in a relationship with a guy who hit you. Because, if not you are going to wind up doing it all over again! " She herself had made that stupid mistake over and over again until just recently. She didn't want her little sister to travel down the same path.

"I can't think about that now!" cried Kristina, " I miss Kiefer! and I'm scared for mom!" The teen then broke down and began to cry against her sister's shoulder.

"I know baby," whispered Sam as she wrapped her arms around her sister. She was scared for their mother too.

After leaving the Lake House, Sam got into her vehicle and began to head towards the PCPD. She hadn't planned on going to go see her mother. But she had the need to talk to someone. She didn't want to run to Jason and worry him. Dr. winters was out of the question. She just wanted to be comforted. She felt vulnerable as she drove down the street. She knew were Kristina was coming from and didn't like seeing her like this. Blaming herself about what had happened. She herself had done that. She remembered blaming herself every time a man had hit her. That if she had just done this differently or hadn't said that.

But as she arrived at the PCPD, she saw Alexis in a heated debate with Mr. Bauer himself. Sam hadn't seen The Bauer Family since everything had happened.

"KIEFER NEVER PUT A HAND ON THAT GIRL!" cried Mr. Bauer as he talked over Alexis.

"He did, he did over several times. Two of them put her in the hospital!" spoke Alexis. The mother of three was desperate for Mr. Bauer to believe her. That Kiefer had indeed hit her daughter.

"ETHAN LEVETT PUT HER IN THE HOSPITAL!" he cried once again over her. He knew his son. And he knew that Kiefer wasn't an abuser.

"No he didn't! You see Kristina blamed him because she was scared and trying to protect Kiefer! I don't know why but she was!" spoke Alexis in a calm voice but was losing it. She wanted this man to stop bashing her daughter. Kristina was not a liar. "You can deny it all you want but the truth is that Kiefer beat my daughter!"

"KRISTINA NEVER SAID ONE WORD ABOUT KIEFER HITTING HER UNTIL YOU KILLED HIM!" cried Mr. Bauer with rage as he took a step towards Alexis. The two of them were just inches a part now.

Alexis eyes filled with fear as she brought her hands to her face. "I promise you it was an accident!" she whispered. She felt terrible for killing the boy.

"IT WAS HOMICIDE AT BEST! THAT'S WHY YOU AND ALL OF YOUR BOYFRIENDS ARE RUNNING AROUND HERE TRYING TO COVER IT UP! BUT I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE KNOWS THAT! YOU! ARE! A MURDER!" His voice range off of the wall of the building. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked towards the two them. Sam who was standing just a few feet away, was shaking with rage. How dare this man first threaten her little sister and now her mother.

"AND THAT YOUR DAUGHTER, KRISTINA IS NOTHING MORE THEN A PROMISCUOUS LITTLE TRAMP WHO GOT BEAT UP BECAUSE SHE WAS ASKING FOR IT!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" cried Sam, suddenly taking a step towards Mr. Bauer and punching him the face. She hated this man that stood before her. Her body was blazing with rage as her fist hit him straight on. The next events that occurred were all a blur to her as she watched as Mr. Bauer screamed out in pain, clenching his nose. While she heard her mother call out her name in surprise. She felt someone arms around her, holding her back. She didn't know what had come over her to hit him like that. But she felt the weight on her shoulders go away. It had felt good to hit him.

Then all commotion broke out as Mr. Bauer began to shout at the top of his lungs for someone to arrest both Sam and Alexis. He was outraged. Lucky, who had seen the whole thing tried to calm Mr. Bauer down and prevent him from pressing charges against Sam.

Sam was seated at Lucky's desk as this went on. She didn't make a scene as she just sat there, looking down at her throbbing right hand. She looked blankly over at Alexis who was standing over her, whispering something to her. Sam just shook her head. She didn't understand. Tears filled her eyes, she didn't know what to think anymore. She was confused. Franco had changed her. She no longer could think straight she found. She could no longer look at something head on and know what to do. She had lost apart of herself.

"I'm going to take my daughter home," stated Alexis towards Lucky. Mr. Bauer had just left. Lucky had managed to talk him down and not prevent him from pressing charges. Sam was now free to go.

"She should be taken to General to get her hand looked at," pointed out Lucky with concern, gesturing to Sam's hand resting on the desk. It was slightly swollen and red. Alexis looked down at her daughter's hand and then her face. She looked like a lost little child as she appeared up at her mother.

"I am taking my daughter home," and with that Alexis helped Sam up and lead her out of the PCPD. She knew how much Sam hated the hospital. right now she needed to be in comforting surroundings. If her hand was worse tomorrow, she would make sure she got it checked out.

Jason was seated in Sonny's office when Dante came barging through the door. Jason looked up from the newspaper he was reading and up at the detective. He was surprised to see him.

"Where's Michael?" demanded Dante towards Jason.

"Michael?" asked Jason in confusion.

"Yes, Michael! Where is he?" asked Dante again.

"He isn't here," pointed out Jason blankly as he leaned back in his chair and eyed Dante. Dante knew all this, so why was he asking for him.

"Maybe I should draw you a map," replied Dante, taking a step into the office. "Ronnie as we speak is on the Island with a subpoena which will allow for him to bring Michael and make him testify at the trial. "

"You don't give a damn about Michael!" spoke Jason coldly towards Dante. "All you care about is bring down Sonny."

"Ronnie is on Sonny's Island, you need to give your people a heads up!" continued on Dante, he knew how the business worked. He remembered how quickly things got done. "You don't want Michael to testify against his father that he saw him kill Claudia! I thought we agreed on this!"

"How does Ronnie know that Michael's on the island?" asked Jason, still not giving anything away to Dante.

"I have no idea!" stated Dante to Jason.

"Did you tell him?"

"Yeah, because you notice how I came back from the Island without Michael, even know he was standing ten feet away from me as I was talking to Mac and Milo," spoke Dante sarcastically at Jason. He had not told his partner anything.

"So what's going on then?" asked Jason, "Oh let me guess. Your prosecutor is getting desperate now that Sonny has refused her offer. So you want to help Claire out by bring in your brother to testify."

"You know what, you can be right and I can be wrong. I can be the lying rat cop if you want me too. But in the mean time, Michael is in harm's way," spoke Dante in a firm voice before leaving the office. Jason waited until the detective had left before picking up his phone and calling Mac. They needed to relocate Michael and quickly. It was best to move him to Puerto Rico and stay at a hotel.

Thanks for reading and please review!

Julie