A/N: Well, I managed to keep my promise to post on Mondays. This chapter has no JasLexis, but is still very important to the story. We'll check in on JasLexis's honeymoon next chapter. Thanks for reading and as always, let me know what you think.

Stronger Than Pride - Chapter 8

Christmas had come and gone in a peaceful, rather uneventful manner. He'd been surrounded by his children, Krissy, Morgan and Molly. Sonny knew Molly wasn't technically his, but he loved her as much as if she were.

He made dinner for the whole family: the kids, Alexis, Jason, Carly and Jax. He shook his head at the realization that he thought of Jax as family. Dinner conversation was tense, at first, but eventually eased. Still, it led him to have many random thoughts. He thought it odd that Carly and Alexis would each wind up married to the other's best friend. And then he wondered where it left him.

For months now, he'd only played the role of the devoted father and the good friend. Now, Jason and Alexis had taken Morgan and the girls to Italy for two weeks and he was lonely. Though they were due back in a matter of days, it seemed time couldn't pass quickly enough.

He turned the television on and found himself drawn to an episode of Yo-Gabba-Gabba. It was Molly's favorite show. She liked it so much that he made sure Santa brought her a Brobee, the dancing monster that always made her giggle.

The doorbell startled him. He knew who it wasn't. Jason somehow convinced Carly to let Morgan, "Morgy" as he was affectionately referred to by his sisters, travel with them to Italy. Now, Carly and Jax were getting reacquainted again and had made themselves scarce over the last week.

Molly came home distraught after a visit with Ric on Christmas Eve. She explained that her daddy told her Morgy was Krissy's brother and not hers. After he, Jason, Alexis, Carly and Jax tried to convince her that Morgan was just as much family to her as he was to Kristina, Jason decided they should put their money where there mouths were and take Morgan with them to Italy.

Ric was such an arrogant bastard. He should have known his daughter was the President of the Morgan Corinthos fan club; instead, he allowed his own personal feelings to hurt his daughter. One day when he was having Ric tortured, he would remind him of how he'd hurt the girl.

Once again, the doorbell demanded his answer. Eventually, he made his way to answer it.

"I've come to rescue you, Sonny Corinthos." Anna barged in. She wore a fitted black dress that flattered her figure.

He admired her physique before he added, "Save me from what?"

"I don't know? Boredom? The destruction of your reputation?"

He scratched the side of his head. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"It's a Saturday night and you are at home doing what? Watching television?" She moved toward the TV and actually gasped when she saw the image it displayed. "Is that a kids show?"

"Yeah." He dropped his head. "It's Molly's favorite."

"Molly?" She shook her head. "That's it. Tonight you are going to do something that does not relate to Alexis Davis-Morgan in some way."

"So, I'm a bad guy because I miss my children and my niece."

"So you don't miss Molly and Kristina's mother?"

"Anna…"

"Fine, you are a wonderful man precisely because you love your kids. But we are going out tonight and you are going to have some fun. I am your friend and I won't allow you to turn yourself into a boring person."

"What if I don't feel like going out?" Although Sonny had been bored, he was content to remain at home in the Penthouse.

"I don't believe I asked you what you felt like. Now, go get changed." She placed one hand on her hip and pointed toward the stairs with the other.

It reminded him of his failed attempt to seduce Alexis many years ago. She'd yelled at him to get under his covers and go to sleep. The thought made him smile. Generally, he had good luck when women ordered him around; so, he decided to play along. "Yes ma'am."

"And you better come back looking hot."

Sonny laughed out loud. He found himself taking two steps at a time until he reached his bedroom. Later he emerged donning a black tux with a white shirt and no tie. After much care he managed to gel the last of his curls into a straightened position on his head. One glance in the mirror confirmed he still had it.

"Wow." He heard her gasp. "It's nice to know the former boss can follow orders."

"I aim to please." He began to feel like himself, for the first time in ages. "So, where are we going?"

"Manhattan."

Sonny and Anna took the two-hour ride to Manhattan in his limo. Along the way, he smiled as she chatted about Robin and her new baby, Emma. He couldn't believe his Robin was a doctor and a mother now. Stone would be so proud of her. In exchange, he told Anna how he grew up in Bensonhurst and all about the Cerullo family. Both carefully avoided one subject: Alexis.

They hit Jean-Georges for a first class dinner and Dizzy's for jazz and dancing afterward. Anna was wonderful company and she could definitely hold her own on the dance floor. He loved the excitement of the city; the way it made the blood in his veins pulse. Nothing could compare to way the bright lights from the buildings illuminated the black night. It made him feel adventurous in a way he hadn't felt in a long time.

As they rode back to Port Charles, Sonny felt relaxed. Still, he wondered what prompted Anna's spur of the moment invitation. "Ms. Devane, you sure know how to show a guy a good time."

"Did you doubt I did?" She tilted her head to the side in a way that reminded him of Alexis, though he knew better than to tell her.

"Of course not. Still I wonder what made you demand I come out with you. Change your mind about us only being friends?" He allowed his hand to wander to her knee.

"Absolutely not; especially not when you look so handsome. You're way too dangerous." She shoved his hand off her knee.

He rolled his eyes, more than a little disappointed. "Then what was it?"

Anna became suddenly very serious. "Sonny, I wanted you to remember what is was to have fun and what it means to have a life with some balance. You know, where you do something other than obsess about your best friend's wife."

"Will you just tell me what this was about?"

She sighed. "I received some information."

"What information?"

"Promise me you won't try to take matters into your own hands."

"Me?"

"Sonny."

"Fine."

"I had a friend in the WSB do some checking."

Sonny's curiosity was beginning to get the best him. Anna typically didn't mince words. "And?"

"And it turns out, Jerry Jacks never had plastic surgery."

"When?" Maybe Alexis only thought he was dead. "You mean he hasn't had plastic surgery since he disappeared?"

"No. I mean he never had plastic surgery; not even from a less than reputable doctor, which means…"

"Which means the person Alexis was involved with was someone pretending to be Jerry Jacks?" Sonny leaned back onto the limousine seat and closed his eyes. "Who would pretend to be Jerry Jacks?"

"Everett Brighton, although he called himself James Craig. He was a former WSB agent who went rogue a couple of years ago. He'd spent the last several years lining his pockets by doing various jobs for organized crime."

Sonny felt a pain in his heart. "And he was that close to Alexis and the girls?"

"Yeah, and there is reason to suspect he was involved in the shooting of your ex-fiancée."

The wheels began to spin in Sonny's head. Craig or Brighton, whatever he was called was involved with Alexis and somehow implicated in the attempt on his life. Alexis had confirmed the night before that Craig was dead. Still, he needed to know what the authorities knew. "Where is he now?"

"Totally disappeared from our radar."

"When?"

"June of last year."

Sonny's thoughts crystallized. Somehow Jason and Alexis were involved. It was the reason they'd married. It was also the reason Alexis freaked out about Ric and possibly being arrested. "So, if this guy wasn't Jerry Jacks, where's the real Jerry?"

"No one seems to know."

"Yeah, well someone is about to find out."

Anna sighed. "Sonny, please stay out of this. I've pulled some strings. I have two agents looking into it; off-the-record, of course. Hopefully they can find out what's happened to Jerry Jacks."

A million thoughts ran through Sonny's mind; most started and ended with Ric. "I'll stay out of it for now, if you promise to make your friends keep Jerry hidden when they find him."

"I will, if he's alive."