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Chapter 8 Jason had been standing in silence with Clive for about half an hour. Neither one trusted the other. Jason had no desire to talk to Clive unless he was going to get answers so he waited for them instead. Clive called out the name "Sam!" and Jason turned in the direction that Clive was facing. The man that had responded was in jeans and had on a long sleeved button down red shirt on. His face was partially covered by the shadow of his black baseball cap. Jason decided that the man's attire was very unSonnylike, but the way he carried himself and the way his dimpled smile radiated at the recognition of his friends screamed Sonny all the way. As the man approached the two men, he removed the hat. That is when Jason knew for a fact that he was indeed Sonny Corinthos. ***************************************************************************** Brenda, Jessie and Julia have arrived at Luke's to enjoy the singing of Eddie Maine. Luke's hasn't opened for the evening yet. Workers are frantically trying to set up the stage for Eddie. Lulu and Brooke are sitting at the bar talking with Luke who is stocking the shelves behind the bar. Jessie goes to join Brooke and Lulu. Lois, Brenda, and Julia start a conversation. ****************************************************************************** The echos of Eddie's last song ring out into Luke's. Brenda, Julia, Jessi, Lois, Brooke, and 5 year old Edward Michael Ashton sit at one table. Luke, Laura, Lindsey, Lulu are at another. Lucky, Emily, and their 5 month daughter, Lisa Paige Spencer have just joined the Spencer table. Jason, Clive, and Sonny converse in the back office of Luke's. This is not where Jason wanted to hold a private conversation since anyone could and would walk in at anytime, but there was no where else to go. Jason's apartment was being fumigated, and he had planned on staying with Brenda and Jessi for the night, so a meeting at either one of those two places wouldn't work. Any remotely quiet place outside was out due to the rain and windstorm that was making it's way through Port Charles. That left only Luke's and as soon as they had entered the back door and went into the back office, Jason got a feeling in his gut that Luke's was not a good idea. Back out in the main part of Luke's Eddie has finished singing. Ned has stepped off the stage and Brooke and Little Eddie run to hug him. Ned leans down to scoop them up into a giant hug. Over at the Spencer table Lucky is gently raising Lisa up down as he makes faces at her. She giggles with baby glee. Luke has Lindsey in his lap and is trying to show her how to play musical glasses while Lu sits and laughs at her father's antics. Luke looks at her and tells her that he is the happiest man on earth because he has two beautiful daughters. Laura gives him a hug and helps Luke teach Lindsey how to play musical glasses. Lu grabs a spoon and joins in the fun. Meanwhile Jessi is watching all the happy families around her. She hears her mother and Aunt Julia talking to her but she can't make out the words. She's not paying attention. All she sees are happy families, and that she will never have one. Sure she had people her loved her, but she didn't have a mommy and a daddy living in the same house. As a matter of fact she only had a living mommy. Her daddy was dead. He always had been and always would be. She didn't even know him. She used to wish that he was alive so she could talk to him, but now she didn't know. She was a little bit afraid of the image that her mind and the newspaper had created of a mob boss. She couldn't tell her mother this, because she wouldn't understand. Somehow her mother must have accepted and understood that kind of lifestyle or she wouldn't have fallen in love with him. Jessi wasn't sure if she could trust her mother's feelings on her father. She wanted desperately to love the image of her father that her mother had created, but that was now clouded by the truth that she was scared of. Brenda and Julia are trying to get Jessi to talk to them. Lois has gone over to join her family by the stage. Jessi is not responding to anything they say. She glances at them occasionally, but doesn't say anything. Brenda can tell that she is lost in thought and this worries and frustrates her. Jessi usually tells her everything, but since this afternoon, Jessi hasn't told her anything. She wants to know what is going on in Jessi's head so she can possibly try to help her. She can't do a thing if Jessi won't talk to her. Julia tries to help Brenda get Jessi talk, but the whole situation saddens her. She loves her sister and niece dearly, and can't stand the pain in both of their eyes. Damn Sonny Corinthos. Julia knew he was bad news. She had heard about his reputation before she had left for London. She had tried many times to get Brenda to see the light about her letters. Brenda never saw the light. Julia was sorry about the way that Sonny had died, but she wasn't sorry that he was gone. Brenda knew this, and they both agreed to not talk about Sonny in each other's presence. They wanted to keep their sister relationship in tact better than it had been in the years that they had growing up and during the time that Julia was in London. They had done a good job of it so far. Julia looked before and shook her head. Jessi was such a pretty child. She didn't need the burden of her father on her. Jessi was the only thing that Julia was thankful to Sonny for. Sonny of all people had to be this beautiful child's father, and he was responsible for the pain that she was going through. Silently Julia vowed, "Sonny, I don't care if you're her father. I'll never forgive you for this." Luke looked up from his game and glanced at Jessi. The poor little darling was still so lost looking. Jessi was usually full of life and spirit. Sometimes he swore that Sonny's spirit was reborn in her. She had his looks and his temper. She also had his business mind. Not the illegal activities part, but the math part. Sonny was always good with the numbers for the club. Lulu was two years older than Jessi, but she went to Jessi for help in math. Luke smiles as he knew Sonny would if he could see his girl now. He would be very proud of her. Jessi was also a lot like Brenda. She hated to be lied to. Tonight was pure evidence of that. Luke knew that Jessi was strong, but she could she take this stress? He didn't want to know how Lulu would handle the same situation if it had been him who had died instead of Sonny. Silently he pleaded, "Sonny help your daughter. She needs you know. I promise I'll help her as much as I can, like always, but she needs you buddy." Sonny walked around the office. It had been so long since he had been there. The old desk was still there. Luke's safe was still in the corner. There was a family portrait on the desk. Sonny picked it up. Wow, the Spencer family had grown, he thought. Luke and Laura with Lulu, Lucky, Emily Quartermaine, a small three year girl, a baby girl, Carly Roberts, AJ Quartermaine, a red-haired boy, Bobbie, and his father Mike were in the picture. He figured that Luke and Laura must have had another daughter. Lucky must have married Emily and they had a baby girl. He couldn't figure out why Carly, AJ, and his father were in the picture. Spencers and a Quartermaine in the same picture? What had he missed when he was gone? There was another picture on the desk. Sonny picked it up. It was of three young girls. He recognized Lulu from the first picture, the blue-eyed dark haired girl reminded him of Lois so he thought she must be Brooke. He couldn't place the small girl in the middle. She was a pretty child with dark black hair, intense brown hair, and dimpled smile that would be sure to break a few hearts when she was older. Tell me what you think. :o) Jessi sat at the table with her mother and Julia. Her thoughts drifted back to the present and she listened to her mother. She was trying to get into a conversation on what she did at school or what she wanted to do tomorrow. She was saying something about going on a boat trip for the day with her cousin Michael, Aunt Caroline and Uncle AJ. She had to admit to herself that a boat trip sounded fun. She muttered, "Sure." Her mother smiled at her. Obviously grateful that she had decided to say a word at all. Then her mother asked her if she would feel better if they went home early. They could leave a message for Jason to meet them at the house instead of here. This set Jessi off. She had been so quiet all night, and now all her pain, confusion, and anger got the better of her. She started yelling at her mom. She ran all the way to the back door and outside. She didn't get very far before a gust of wind mixed with cold hard rain blew chased her back inside. She headed for the kitchen, maybe the cook would let her help him. She stopped at the door. She wasn't allowed in there during operating hours, because it got too crowded with workers scurring to get food ready for the customers. She turned around and saw the closed door of Luke's office. She didn't know what, but something was telling her she had to go in there. It should be empty. Luke and Lucky were out front and Jessi hadn't seen Jason all night so she doubted he was in there. She quickly opened the door. Shut it. Put her back against it and sank to the floor crying. She wrapped her hands around her legs, bowed her head and buried it in her knees. She was oblivious to the fact that three grown men and a bodyguard (obviously he needs to freshen up his skills if he can't stop a nine-year old girl from barging in) in the corner were staring at her intently. Jason sees the little girl on the ground. He has no idea what is going on with her, but something definitely was not right. He had to find out what was wrong and get her out of the office before she noticed that her father was in the room. That was something that none of them needed right now. When and if Sonny found out about Jessi it should be from Brenda. If Brenda would even find out about Sonny, Jason didn't even know. Why and how long was Sonny here for? And where had he been? These were answers Jason could get later, he needed to take care of Jessi right now. Brenda was nervously twisting and untwisting her napkin. Lois, Julia, and Laura were telling her that Jessi would come back when she wanted. She needed time to be alone. Brenda knew that, but she still worried. It wasn't like she didn't know where Jessi was. Julia had reminded her that there were only three places in the back that Jessi would be, and only one was available at the moment. It was too wet to go outside, she wasn't allowed in the kitchen, so she must be in the office. It took all her willpower to stay in her chair and not go after her daughter. Her mind told her to stay, but her heart was telling her she must go to the office now. She had a feeling she was being pulled there, but it wasn't because her daughter was there. It was the same feeling she used to get anytime Sonny was around. Maybe his spirit was around trying to help her and Jessi get through this crisis. God, she hoped so, she needed all the help she could get. Her thoughts were interrupted by a child's scream coming from the back. That was Jessi's scream. Brenda got up and ran to the back, she got their in time to hear Jason yell at Renaldo to call 911. She looked on the ground to see her baby lifeless on the floor. She immediately dropped to the floor to kneel beside her as she felt her heart race a million beats a minute and a look of terror shot across her face. Hi everyone. This chapter was a little harder to write than others. I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you think. Jessi sat at the table with her mother and Julia. Her thoughts drifted back to the present and she listened to her mother. She was trying to get into a conversation on what she did at school or what she wanted to do tomorrow. She was saying something about going on a boat trip for the day with her cousin Michael, Aunt Caroline and Uncle AJ. She had to admit to herself that a boat trip sounded fun. She muttered, "Sure." Her mother smiled at her. Obviously grateful that she had decided to say a word at all. Then her mother asked her if she would feel better if they went home early. They could leave a message for Jason to meet them at the house instead of here. This set Jessi off. She had been so quiet all night, and now all her pain, confusion, and anger got the better of her. She started yelling at her mom. She ran all the way to the back door and outside. She didn't get very far before a gust of wind mixed with cold hard rain blew chased her back inside. She headed for the kitchen, maybe the cook would let her help him. She stopped at the door. She wasn't allowed in there during operating hours, because it got too crowded with workers scurring to get food ready for the customers. She turned around and saw the closed door of Luke's office. She didn't know what, but something was telling her she had to go in there. It should be empty. Luke and Lucky were out front and Jessi hadn't seen Jason all night so she doubted he was in there. She quickly opened the door. Shut it. Put her back against it and sank to the floor crying. She wrapped her hands around her legs, bowed her head and buried it in her knees. She was oblivious to the fact that three grown men and a bodyguard (obviously he needs to freshen up his skills if he can't stop a nine-year old girl from barging in) in the corner were staring at her intently. Jason sees the little girl on the ground. He has no idea what is going on with her, but something definitely was not right. He had to find out what was wrong and get her out of the office before she noticed that her father was in the room. That was something that none of them needed right now. When and if Sonny found out about Jessi it should be from Brenda. If Brenda would even find out about Sonny, Jason didn't even know. Why and how long was Sonny here for? And where had he been? These were answers Jason could get later, he needed to take care of Jessi right now. Brenda was nervously twisting and untwisting her napkin. Lois, Julia, and Laura were telling her that Jessi would come back when she wanted. She needed time to be alone. Brenda knew that, but she still worried. It wasn't like she didn't know where Jessi was. Julia had reminded her that there were only three places in the back that Jessi would be, and only one was available at the moment. It was too wet to go outside, she wasn't allowed in the kitchen, so she must be in the office. It took all her willpower to stay in her chair and not go after her daughter. Her mind told her to stay, but her heart was telling her she must go to the office now. She had a feeling she was being pulled there, but it wasn't because her daughter was there. It was the same feeling she used to get anytime Sonny was around. Maybe his spirit was around trying to help her and Jessi get through this crisis. God, she hoped so, she needed all the help she could get. Her thoughts were interrupted by a child's scream coming from the back. That was Jessi's scream. Brenda got up and ran to the back, she got their in time to hear Jason yell at Renaldo to call 911. She looked on the ground to see her baby lifeless on the floor. She immediately dropped to the floor to kneel beside her as she felt her heart race a million beats a minute and a look of terror shot across her face. Hi everyone. This chapter was a little harder to write than others. I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you think. Sonny watched as the terrifying scene unfolded in front of him. The girl in the picture that Jason had called Jessi had come barging in. She seemed very upset as she curled herself into a ball on the floor. His heart went out to her as he watched Jason try to ease her pain. Something made the girl scream and faint. He wasn't sure what, but he hoped she was okay. When the child's mother came into the room, his heart about stopped. It was Brenda. His Brenda. She had a daughter. She probably had a husband and many kids by now. He was probably a distant memory for her. Wait, what was he doing feeling sorry for himself? Brenda's daughter was in trouble. He wanted to help, but he had no idea what he could do. And when Brenda looked up and her eyes met his eyes, he couldn't move or speak. She looked so beautiful. He could only nod an answer to her question. She looked so scared that all he wanted to do was to go to her and pull her into his arms and tell her everything was going to be fine. His mind was telling him not to, she doesn't need her life complicated right now. He heard the roar of the sirens in the background. Luke, Laura, Lois, Ned, and Julia entered the scene. They say Jessi, Jason, and Brenda on the floor. They tried to hover around thinking they were helping, but Jason yelled at them to stay back, the EMTs needed to get in. Brenda had gone back to pleading with Jessi. She knew that she had just saw her dead husband and her forever disapearing uncle, but her mind wouldn't let her deal with it right now. She needed to deal with her daughter. She was aware that her friends had joined her in the hall, but she didn't talk to them, not even when Julia leaned down to try to comfort her. She barely noticed. She watched as the EMTs strapped Jessi onto the gurney and wheeled her to the ambulance. As she climbed in after Jessi, Jason told her that they would meet them at the hospital. "Sonny, too?" She asked. "Yeah, Sonny, too" He answered. The ambulance doors shut and they headed to the hospital. Jason walked back into the club. He felt like he was in the twilight zone. Everything that was the unexpected happened today. He wasn't too surprised when he walked back into the offiice to see Lois hyperventilating, Ned trying to calm her down, Julia glaring daggers through her eyes at Sonny, and Luke hugging Sonny and Laura getting emotional about the whole deal. What he would give right now for some of Robin's advice.
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