Hi all, at long last I've updated this story. Thanks again for the beautiful reviews on all my stories. (Special shout out to elle).

In this chapter, Sonny provides some angst in Jason and Alexis's marriage. That will continue through the next three chapters, so hang in with me. I hope to finish this one in three more chapters. This chapter is all Sonny and Alexis. I expect Jason back next chapter. I hope you enjoy.

Stronger Than Pride – Chapter 20

When Sonny asked Jason to go find Jerry, he expected the trip to last no longer than a week or so; however, a week had turned to two and two had turned to four. To compensate for Jason's absence, Sonny spent most of his time at Penthouse 2 helping Alexis with Joey and the girls. At least, he blamed Jason's absence for the amount of time he spent with Alexis.

The truth was that he didn't need a reason to spend time as part of Alexis's family, particularly with Jason gone. In Jason's absence, people treated him as though he was Alexis's husband and as though her children were their children. He knew it wasn't a healthy fantasy…and half of Port Charles cautioned him against it. Lectures about getting too close to Alexis had come from Mike, Carly, Diane and surprisingly even Luke. He didn't care. For a man facing murder charges, he felt as though he was on top of the world. Anna flew to London two weeks earlier to be closer to her WSB contacts, which left him with Alexis without distractions.

For the last two weeks, it felt like old times. They'd shared late evening talks over coffee and popcorn. They'd watched movies and fallen asleep together on the sofa. He even let her take him to the Haunted Star once, where they'd danced.

Max opened the door. A smile crossed his face as Alexis and Max entered carrying Joey and a boatload of items to keep him clean, fed and entertained. Sometimes it amazed him that such tiny little creatures needed so much stuff.

"Hi." Within second he had Joey out of Alexis's arms and into his own. A few words of baby talk caused the baby's mouth to open widely in what Sonny was certain was a grin.

"Hi yourself." Alexis began taking arms full of baby stuff from Max and setting up mini play and works stations in his living room.

"I don't know why you insist on hauling the baby and all of this stuff over here when it would be just as easy for Diane and me to work at your place."

She sighed, "I like coming to your place. It gets me out of mine. Everything there reminds me of Jason and how much I miss him."

"And here?"

"Well, here just reminds me of you. " Moving to the window, she pointed. "This is where you brood."

He couldn't help chuckling. "I don't brood."

Next, she moved to the mini-bar. "And this is where you used to throw glassware. It's also where you pretended to get drunk, so you could have fun at my expense.

His mind flashed back to the night she spoke about. He'd had another miserable night at the hands of his family. He'd stopped by to see her. She was wearing black leather boots and a leather skirt; he thought she looked hot. He wanted to spend the night on her sofa but she told him he needed to sleep at his own place. She even walked him over to ensure he would go.

Immediately, he poured himself a drink. She stared at him; he could tell she was worried.

"You hungry?" she'd asked.

Knowing that she was the worst cook on the planet, her offer made him laugh. "What would you do if I were?"

"Order in." Would you like me to warm you some milk?"

"You know how to make milk?"

"I was hoping you did." She continued to stare as he swallowed another gulp of his drink. " I could sing you a lullaby."

"You sing?" He'd known her mother was an opera singer and for a second he thought maybe she'd inherited her voice.

"Like a strangled cat."

Her response made him chuckle. "Don't sing."

With outrage, she demanded, "What do you want? You want me to put you to bed myself?" Her question surprised him. But he pounced on the opportunity she offered before she could back out. Before the night was over he'd ended up in his boxers in bed telling her about the joys of satin sheets.

Her voice brought him back to the present. "I still can't believe you harassed me into taking you to your bedroom. You know with the number of employees in your organization, I probably could have sued you for harassment."

He nodded. "You could have, I was trying to seduce you."

A blush covered Alexis's cheeks. "You were trying to embarrass me."

He stared at her. "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" She crinkled her nose.

"Minimize what I felt for you then."

"What are you talking about? How many times have I heard you tell people that what we had was just a one night stand?"

"It's easier than the truth." He couldn't believe they were having this conversation now, while her husband, his best friend, was out of the country. This conversation was more dangerous than skating on a freshly frozen lake.

"What truth are you talking about?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he walked to the other side of the room and placed Joey in his bassinette.

"Sonny?" She called out. "What truth?"

He walked to where she stood. "The truth is I was falling in love with you. I'd dreamed about you. You were under my skin. But every time I tried to get close, you ran away. So, I tried to seduce you…and it didn't work."

Alexis opened her mouth to speak but stopped twice. Though it was wrong, he felt emboldened. He took a step closer to her and invaded her personal space. "The truth is if Carly hadn't made me believe she was dead, I would have never gone back to her. And I wish I hadn't. Losing you turned me into a shell of the man I was. I resented you for giving up on us and part of me hated Carly for wanting to be with me. I got self-destructive and I'm sorry for all of the people I hurt."

She took a step back. Confusion was splayed across her face. "Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because the only thing that used to help me deal with losing you was knowing that you could have never tolerated my lifestyle. But now I see you with Jason and it kills me to know that the only thing that stopped us from being together was me."

She touched his cheek gently. "Sonny, why are you telling me this now."

"Because the trial is set to start tomorrow and I could go to prison for the rest of my life. I wanted you to know that spending these last few weeks with you, the girls and Joey have been the best of my life." Once more he closed the space between them. "Alexis, the truth is, I'm in love with you. I never stopped."

Alexis stared at him with confusion etched in her brow. "I think I should go." As she moved past him, he caught her by the wrist. It had the affect of stopping her in her tracks. Gently, he pulled her closer to him. "Don't run away from me, not this time."

For a minute, he gazed into her chocolate brown eyes. Then he moved his mouth closer to hers. Suddenly, a loud slam of the door jarred them apart.

"Well, well, well, it looks like I showed up to work just in time." Diane sauntered in with her hands on her hips. "Have the two of you lost your minds?"

"Nothing happened." Sonny said before Alexis could speak.

"I should go." She moved to the bassinette and grabbed Joey.

"Alexis wait." Sonny called after her. She paid him no mind. In a flash, she was out of the door.

Diane prevented him from going after her. "Sonny, are you trying to play Russian Roulette here? Jason holds the keys to your freedom. Do you really want him to come home to find you making a move on his wife?"

"It wasn't like that." The truth was he hadn't planned to tell Alexis how he felt, but something felt right about the moment. He now knew it was selfish and self-indulgent.

"I don't care how it is, Sonny. Alexis and their children mean everything to Jason. You can't seriously think he'll let you take her from him. Unless you have a death wish, stay away from Alexis. " Diane picked up her briefcase and stormed out of the door.

In his heart, Sonny knew she was right. He needed to stay away from Alexis. He just prayed he could.