Ka-BOOM!

The force from the explosion threw Sonny several yards from the SUV. Shards of glass rained down over him and a fiery blaze singed his flesh. The world became chaotic and he suddenly flashed back to another explosion many years ago. One where he lost a wife and a child, and then he fast-forwarded to the present. A heart-wrenching scream tore from his throat.

"MICHAEL!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Smoke filled his lungs. He reached out his hands toward the burning inferno. Tears stung his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. Then, everything faded to black.

~*~

The meeting with Laura ended soon after Carly's telephone call to Sonny. The two women decided on the shots of Gia to use for their marketing campaign and Carly was free to leave.

She came close to calling Sonny and telling him that she could ride with him after all, but thought better of it. It would be a waste of time to go all the way back to the Penthouse. GH wasn't too far away. She could meet him there or better yet, she could be there when he arrived. Mentally, she patted herself on the back. Sonny would be surprised to see her and she could just imagine how his dark eyes would light up when he saw her there ahead of him.

She pulled into the parking lot just as several fire trucks and ambulances went tearing down the street. She didn't think anything of the sirens or the emergency vehicles. It wasn't like it affected her.

After entering the hospital, she rode the elevator up to Lucky's floor. She waved at Bobbie who smiled and waved back. Carly stepped inside Lucky's room. He didn't look too sick to her. Just a little pale, but not much to worry about. She sat on the edge of his bed and ruffled his hair. "Hey, there. What's up?"

He ran a hand through his hair, putting it back in place. "They're running tests on me. Have you ever had a bunch of blood tests? I'm beginning to feel like a pin cushion."

"Oh, yeah?" she asked. "I almost wish I was in nursing training again. Then I could do the honors."

He grimaced. "You're all heart. Do you know that?"

She shrugged. "I've been told, but seriously, how are you? What's wrong with you? Is the Cassadines again?"

Shaking his head, Lucky looked away. "Nobody knows. From what I hear, I freaked out a little. I can't remember much."

"Sounds like the Cassadines to me-"

"Look," he interrupted, clearly agitated and irritated, "you don't know anything about them. They're not all bad."

"Yeah, right-"

"Nikolas is a Cassadine," Lucky reminded her. "You know, Gia's boyfriend?"

She nodded. "Oh, yeah, I know and I know that his family has been giving her grief. Again. I also know that the further you stay away from those people the better."

"You sound like the old man."

"Your old man blows a lot of hot air," she said, "but there are times when he's right. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. Maybe you should listen to him."

Lucky shook his head. "Not this time. Nikolas didn't do this to me. Somebody did, but it wasn't my brother."

The door opened before Lucky could say more or Carly could reply. Both turned at the slight noise. Bobbie stood in the doorway with an eerily calm look on her face. "Carly, I need to speak with you. Could you come out here, please?"

"Sure." She stood up and glanced down at Lucky. "I'll check on you later. Think about what I said."

She left and joined Bobbie in the hallway. By now, Bobbie's calm facade evaporated and Carly could read the sorrow and the terror in her eyes. She grabbed Bobbie's hands. "Mama, what's wrong?"

"I hate to be the one to tell you this," Bobbie said, tears choking her voice, "but there's been an explosion. An SUV carrying Sonny, Michael and a few bodyguards exploded in front of the HarborView Towers-"

A chill came over Carly. Her fingers dug into Bobbie's flesh. "Were there any survivors?"

Tears streamed down Bobbie's ashen cheeks. She nodded. "Y-Yes. There was one-"

"Who?"

"Sonny. He's in the ER now. They're working hard to save him."

A sob tore from Carly's mouth. Falling to the ground, she cried, "MICHEAL!!!!!!!"

~*~

Night fell over the city while Jason, Elizabeth, Johnny and Carlos searched the brownstones and hangouts for any sign of Emily or Zander. Johnny called Jason and told him they'd had no luck, but would keep trying. Jason thanked him and ended the call. He glanced at Elizabeth who looked as tired as he felt. He was about to suggest they take a break when he noticed a mane of chestnut brown hair and a bright-colored top that was too familiar to be a coincidence.

"Em."

"Where?" Elizabeth asked, looking in the direction of his stare. "I don't see her."

"She just went in that building over there. She's alone." Jason grabbed Elizabeth's hand and headed towards the brownstone. "Let's go."

They ran across the street, pushing their way through the crowd. Jason pushed a series of buttons until someone just didn't give a damn and buzzed them in. Releasing her hand, he ascended the staircase two stairs at a time. He heard Elizabeth racing behind him, but he didn't pause. He had to get to his little sister.

There were only two floors and he was thankful for that. It would cut down on the search time. He started banging on the doors and screaming her name. A door towards the middle of the hall squeaked open and her head poked out.

"Jason? What are you doing here?"

He ran to her and pulled her into a warm hug. Behind him, he could hear Elizabeth's footsteps as she joined them. "I'm here because you're here."

"Come in," Emily said as their hug ended. She smiled at Elizabeth as the other girl entered and quickly locked the door behind them. "It's not much, but this is our place. I would offer you something to drink or eat-"

"Em, we don't have time for you to play hostess," Jason interrupted. "We need to go now. Where's Zander?"

She shook her head. "No. We're not leaving. We're not going back to Port Charles-"

"You don't have a choice," he interjected.

She looked at him with disappointment in her eyes. "I never thought you'd act like this, Jason. You always said the Quartermaines were this and that, but look at you. You're acting like them. You're taking away my choices and I'm not gonna let you!"

He ran his hand over his face and released a deep sigh. "Dammit, Em, don't do this. This has nothing to do with them."

"You're hypocrite," she said.

"Emily, that's not fair," Elizabeth defended. "Jason is not a hypocrite!"

"As if you should talk," Emily said, giving Elizabeth a hard look. "You broke Lucky's heart to be with my brother. If that's not hypocritical, I don't know what is."

"You know nothing about me and Lucky," Elizabeth quietly told her, "and frankly, it's none of your business."

"Neither is my life with Zander any of your business," Emily fired back at them. "I'm tired of people trying to rule my life! I'm not having it anymore!"

She pushed past them and ran out of the room. Jason raced after her, but couldn't catch up with her before she flew out the door into the sidewalk. He reached the sidewalk just tires screeched and a sickening thud brought silence to the block.

His heart leapt to his throat and he ran to the car. His fear became reality. Battered and unconscious, Emily lay on the asphalt. The driver left the car and knelt beside them.

"I swear I didn't see her," the kid kept saying. "I swear."

"Get a doctor!" Jason yelled. "Somebody call 911!"

"I got it Jase," Elizabeth said, joining them. She pulled out her cell phone and punched in the trio of digits.

Jason pulled his jacket off and covered Emily with it. Tears blurred his vision as he whispered, "Please, Emily, whatever you do, please don't die."