Hi all. I promise you that I knew the end of this particular chapter prior to the current GH storyline aired. (I outlined it about a year and a half ago.) Still, I apologize that my writing delinquency may have made the story seem a little redundant. I promise there will still be some surprises. And Baby Morgan arrives next chapter.

By the way, this one is mostly Sexis. As a Sexis fan, I think I wrote it because I haven't liked their scenes lately. (They seem to not have much feeling toward one another.) Hope you enjoy.

Stronger Than Pride –Chapter 17

Sonny loosened his tie before he headed to the minibar. Though Lucky and Sam's wedding had been a joyous event for most, he'd left feeling a bit melancholy. Although, it had only been six weeks since they lost Michael, today it was something more. Today had been the celebration of coupledom. Lucky and Sam looked very happy as did Tracy and Luke, Carly and Jax, and if he was judging correctly, he thought he saw something brewing between Nikolas and Elizabeth. The hardest couple for him to watch was Jason and Alexis. For years, he'd convinced himself that things would have never worked between he and Alexis because of the dangers associated with his world. But the fact that they'd made it work for more than a year now, made him question everything he'd believed to be true.

Alexis had invaded his thoughts more and more over the last months: first, with them working together and again after the way she'd taken care of him since Michael's death. He was as much in love with her as he'd ever been. And he hated it. Nothing good could come from his feelings. Jason was his best friend and he treated Alexis the way she'd deserved to be treated all of these years. Still, when she was around his mind went places he knew it shouldn't.

The knock on the door startled him, but the sight on the other side made his heart burst. Alexis, Kristina and Molly, his three girls as he liked to think of them, were still dressed in their wedding garb. "Papa!" both girls exclaimed.

"Molly," Alexis chastened, albeit gently. "We talked about this. What are you supposed to call him?"

"Un-ca Sonny," she spat out with a pout.

"Come here, button." He swooped her into his arms and hoisted her in the air. Her giggles exploded throughout the Penthouse. "You know, Alexis, she only wants to call me "Papa" because Kristina does."

"I know, but if she's not careful, she's going to make her D-A-D-D-Y, want to put her Uncle Sonny away."

Kristina latched on to Alexis's sentence before the words cleared her mouth. "Mama, where does Uncle Ric want to put Daddy?"

Alexis threw her hands in the air. "I can't win!"

Sonny burst into laughter. "Come here, Princess Spelling Bee." The impromptu nickname made Kristina giggle. He pulled her closer to him and noticed a small box in her hand. "Whatcha got there, girl?"

Kristina burst into a huge smile, "Cake. You left Sam's wedding before they cut the cake. So, I brought you some in this box."

"Thank you. Let's eat it together, later. In fact, why don't you walk real carefully and put it on the counter in the kitchen."

"Okay, papa." Kristina held the box so still as she took each step.

He noticed that Alexis had been watching him and the girls with a smile. "What are you smiling at?"

"Sonny Corinthos being the father he always said he wanted to be." She continued to smile at him, before she added, "I'm going to miss this."

"Me too."

This was the new elephant in the room. Sticking with the tradition of giving paper presents for first anniversary gifts, Jason gave Alexis blueprints for a new home for their family. She'd given him the title to a brand new Harley, though she made him promise he wouldn't ride it until after the baby was born. They'd both talked to him excitedly about the gifts they received. The contractors broke ground as soon as Alexis approved the plans for the house. And because Jason was the head of the organization, Sonny had no doubt that it was only a matter of time before his girls lived somewhere else.

"Where's Jason?" He placed Molly on the sofa beside her.

"Dropping off Jake at Elizabeth's house." Alexis lowered herself to the sofa where he quickly met her back with a pillow. "Poor kid now has two Cassadines for stepmothers, his biological dad is now his step-grandfather and his soon to arrive baby sister or brother will also be his aunt or uncle."

He watched her with amazement. He'd told her once that she had a fascinating mind and it still remained true. "How are you feeling?"

"Pregnant…and old." She tossed her hair from her eyes and then let out a throaty chuckle.

"You look absolutely beautiful." In fact, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was the picture of health; the antithesis of her cancer-ravaged self. It was obvious that she was happier than she'd been in the eleven years he'd known here. Molly became frustrated because she was no longer able to fit on Alexis's lap, which made him laugh. "Come here, baby." He grasped the toddler in his arms. For a second, he pretended they belonged to him, the toddler and her pregnant mother. He knew it was a dangerous game; still, he couldn't help himself. A moment later, his girl ran from the kitchen and demanded to be held in his arms, just like her sister. At seven, he was still able to grant her wish. The four of them felt like a family.

"Speaking of beautiful, have you talked to Anna lately?"

He shrugged. After Michael's death, he was unable to continue go through the motions of trying to date someone. Sure, they'd talked on the telephone; they were friends. But something inside him felt it was wrong to expose her to the sadness that now lurked just beneath the surface. "Let's talk about you instead. When's the baby due?"

"Six weeks. And even though I know it will be total chaos when she or he arrives, I can't wait to feel like I weigh less than 900 pounds."

The more he thought about it, the less he wanted to think about her giving birth to his best friend's child. Once more, he changed the subject. "How does it feel to be someone's mother-in-law?"

"I'm just glad Sam's happy. Given my daughter's colorful background, I'm also a little pleasantly surprised that she's married to a cop." Tapping her finger at her cheek, she wondered aloud, "My husband is married to the former D.A. and now, he is stepfather-in-law to a P.C. police detective. I wonder if that aids to or detracts from his standing in "the business."" Whenever Alexis spoke about what Jason did to make a living she used her fingers to make quotes. He could tell she was still bothered by his profession. He watched as she yawned. "Well, that's my queue to head home." She looked from Kristina to Molly. "Who's coming with me and who's staying here?"

Much to his satisfaction, the girls simultaneously chirped, "Staying here."

"Ouch. You guys know how to hurt Mommy's feelings."

"Sorry Mom," Kristina moved to Alexis's side, "Papa cooks better than you and Papo."

"Following the food. You are your mother's daughter." Sonny teased. Pretending to be angry, Alexis shot him a look before she headed out of the door.

Later that evening, he read to the girls, made them a snack and tucked them into bed. They were absolutely perfect. Asleep, they looked like two little angels. As he watched them, he suddenly became grateful for the past few hours during which he felt at peace.

At some point, he fell asleep on the chaise lounge in the girls' room. Later, the sound of banging on the front door awoke him. He took the steps two at a time, in an effort to silence the sound before it woke the girls. He opened the door to find a panicked Max on the other side. "Bos—um, Mr. C. You gotta come next door. Your brother and the police are trying to arrest Jason. And Mrs. M is…"

Sonny cut him off. "What about Alexis?"

"She doesn't look good."

Still dressed from earlier in the day, Sonny slipped on his shoes and yelled to Max, "Stay with the girls." From the door, he saw his brother smugly ordering the officer to place Jason in handcuffs. Jason was resisting, which was completely out of character and could only mean…Alexis. As he approached he could see her doubled over. She appeared to be in pain.

"Ric," Sonny yelled at his brother, "Do you gotta do this now? Alexis is obviously in pain."

"Stay out of it, Sonny. Jason committed a crime and now he has to pay for it." He watched as the officers tightened the handcuffs on Jason.

"His wife, the mother of your daughter, is in pain and you're still doing this? What kind of monster are you?" Ric ignored him and simply continued reading Jason his rights. "Come on, Ric." Sonny yelled.

"I'm taking him. If you're so worried about Alexis, you take care of her. We all know she loves it when you play hero."

"Sonny, get her to the hospital." Jason called out as the cops pulled him out of the door.

As soon as the door closed, he raced to Alexis's side. "Breathe, Alexis." He'd told her that probably 100 times before Kristina was conceived. Despite the pain, his comment evoked a little smile at the corner of her mouth. "I'm going to get you to the hospital and then I'm going to get Jason out of lock-up, okay?" She nodded.

He helped her to the car and sped to the hospital where she was informed her blood pressure had reached dangerously high levels. The doctors warned that they would have to perform an emergency c-section if her blood pressure stayed elevated. Sonny stayed with her until she calmed. He called Diane and asked her to meet Alexis at the hospital. She told him she didn't understand because Jason had asked her to meet him at the P.C.P.D. After he assured her there had been a misunderstanding, she agreed to come to the hospital.

He knew what he had to do next and so, he drove to the P.C.P.D. and demanded he be allowed to speak to Commissioner Scorpio. He also asked that Ric be present. He knew neither Jason nor Alexis would be thrilled with what he was about to do, but it had to be done.

"What is it, Sonny?" Ric exaggerated his irritation.

"Ric, I asked Commissioner Scorpio to be here because I wanted to make sure you did the right thing."

"Oh really?" Ric smiled, smugly. "What is the right thing, Sonny? For the police to release Jason because he's about to be a father? I heard this argument at the Penthouse remember?"

Sonny took a deep breath to brace himself for his next words. "No, Ric. I want you to release Jason because he didn't kill Jerry Jacks. I did."