ENTANGLED by Yash

CHAPTER 19

Walking out on the verandah, she gave a quick glance

around and almost missed him. But there he was

sitting in the dark, nursing a drink, and staring out

into the starless night. She took a seat across from

him and stared out into the night too.

"When Mike left I hated him with all the passion a

seven year old boy could muster and when Deke revealed

his true nature my hatred for Mike knew no bounds.

But when Mike came here looking for me, part of me was

excited my dad had come back and was looking for me,

but a larger part of me was pissed that he left in the

first place. Every time I saw him and he tried to

apologize, all I could remember was everything my mom

and I went through at Deke’s hands."

Dara moved her seat behind his, wrapped her arms

around him, and laid her head on his shoulder. She

felt him tense up instantly. He wasn’t used to

sharing his pain with others. She gently yet firmly

began to massage his neck and back, and slowly he

loosened up a bit.

"Then I think of Kristina and how Alexis was going to

let her go through her whole life thinking Ned was her

father and maybe one day tell Kristina the truth. In

Carly’s eyes when she was being honest and open, I

could see the pain of losing her father. I don’t want

that for Michael. I don’t want him one day to turn to

me with a look of disgust, anger, disappointment,

hurt, and ask, ‘Why? Why did I keep him for AJ, yet

thought Carly was a good influence? Why didn’t I let

him get to know his grandparents, great grandparents,

aunt, cousins? Why?’" Sonny paused and took a swig

of his drink. He reached beside himself and put a

tape recorder on the table along with some tapes. "I

remembered what you said and asked as I listened to

these tapes. An addict is an addict is an addict.

Whether you’re addicted to drugs, booze, food,

gambling, power. You’re still an addict. And I

wonder if I’m trying to stop Michael from living with

the fear that I have every time Mike isn’t acting like

himself. I instantly wonder if he’s gone back to

gambling."

She lightly kissed his neck.

"How can I forgive one addict, but can’t forgive

another? Because Mike’s gambling and leaving killed

my mother’s spirit just as surely as Deke killed her

body. How is that any different from AJ except Jason

is still alive?"

Dara held him tighter.

"AJ’s changed. The tapes prove it, but Carly

unfortunately hasn’t," he admitted, fiddling around

with the tape recorder. "Yet time after time, I

forgive her, Jason forgives her, and Bobbie forgives

her. And who suffers? The kids because she never

learns. She just dumps them on Leticia and is off to

her next scrape that she’ll need bailing out of. Do I

want Michael and Nia to think that marriage is for

marrying whoever will help you out of the jam you’re

in at the time? Or that you can always rely on

someone else to get you of trouble of your own making?

Or that you can lie yourself out of every situation

or if that fails blame someone else because it’s never

your fault?" Sonny ran his fingers through his

disheveled hair. "AJ is coming by tomorrow. If he

screws- -"

"He won’t. And if he feels like he’s getting in over

his head, we’ll be here, so will his sponsor, and his

family. We’ll protect Michael," she reassured him.

He nodded and they sat in silence continuing to stare

out in the night.

_________________________________________________________

Hearing the doorbell ring, Dara ran to the front door

and was surprised to see Robin Scorpio standing on

Sonny’s doorstep.

"Robin, how are you? Come in," she said, hugging

Mac’s niece.

"Good. How are you?" Robin asked in return.

"I’m good."

Dara wondered what Robin was doing here.

"Robin?" Sonny questioned in disbelief, walking down

the stairs.

"Yeah, it’s me, Sonny," she confirmed.

He opened his arms and Robin walked into them.

"I’m so sorry, Sonny," she whispered.

"No, hermanita, it’s me who’s sorry."

"I’ve missed you so much. I love you."

"I love and missed you too," he said, stepping away

from her and looking into her eyes. "I promise never

to let anyone or thing separate us again."

"I promise the same."

"What are you doing here?"

"She’s here for me, actually," AJ said, stepping into

the hallway.

Robin walked over to AJ and kissed him on the lips.

Sonny and Dara shared a puzzled look.

"Sonny, Dara, meet Dr. Robin Scorpio-Quartermaine."

"Congratulations," Dara said.

"How did this- -" Sonny asked.

"I went to Paris to regroup. I called the only person

I knew who lived there and it started from there.

Sometimes you can find out how much you have in common

with someone when you meet each other outside of your

comfort zones."

Sonny and Dara both gave each other covert glances and

smiled.

"I have drinks out on the verandah, if you’d follow

me," Sonny said, leading the group away from the front

entrance.

"Dara, aren’t you coming?" AJ questioned.

"This is concerning- -"

"You’re a part of Sonny’s life so it concerns you,

too."

Dara had been afraid of how people would react to her

relationship with Sonny so it warmed her heart to know

someone supported them, particularly someone who

wasn’t a fan of Sonny.

Dara and AJ walked outside together. After

refreshments had been given, Sonny began.

"I called you here to discuss Michael," Sonny started.

"Did Carly not agree to give you primary custody of

Michael?" AJ asked concerned.

"No, I haven’t even talked to her about it yet. But

she’ll agree. After listening to the tapes you got,

no judge in his or her right mind would allow Carly

even supervised visits. Michael is your biological

child AJ and after some consideration and what your

cousin, Ned, and Alexis tried to pull with me and

Kristina, I thought it was time that you and Michael

should know each other."

Sonny reached for Dara’s hand and clasped it.

"You’re giving me visitation rights?" AJ inquired

stunned.

"No, Michael should live with you," Sonny informed

him.

AJ looked at Robin, then Dara, as if searching for

confirmation that he was hearing Sonny correctly.

Then finally his gaze rested on Sonny. "What’s the

catch?"

Sonny shook his head. "There’s no catch. All I ask

is that you allow him to see Nia and Stone, they’re

brothers now. And also that you allow him some to

time to get to know you and Robin in his own time and

not let the Quartermaines push."

AJ’s laughter filled the room. He laughed so hard,

tears leaked from his eyes.

Looking around the room, Sonny’s eyes settled back on

AJ. "Did I say something funny?"

Robin smiled and shook her head. "No, Sonny."

"No, you didn’t. I went from being a father of none,

to a father of three, now four, in the space of one

day. I asked God to bless me with a family I didn’t

expect it all in one day."

Seeing the confusion on Sonny’s and Dara’s faces,

Robin

reached into her purse and handed Sonny a Polaroid.

He and Dara looked at the picture of Robin, AJ, and

three biracial kids.

"The pre-schooler in AJ’s right arm is Robert Sean,

after my dad and godfather. He’s 3. In AJ’s left arm

is Duke Casey, after my other dad and a close family

friend. He’s 2. And the hair challenged baby in my

arms is Anna Jaime, after my mom and her dad. She’s

10 months. The adoption was finalized in Pine Valley

this morning."

"Robin, that’s great," Dara congratulated her.

"Honey, that’s fantastic. You’re going to be a great

mother," Sonny stated. "Is the stress of having three

kids affecting your health?"

"No, I’m fine. The cocktail is still working for me.

We’re just trying to find the right combo for Duke."

Sonny raised his eyebrow.

"Their birth mother was HIV positive. Jaime’s tests

have come back negative. But Duke is still testing

positive."

"Robin, honey, are you going to be able to go through

all of that again?"

"Yes," she said, nodding. "I cherish those last

months with Stone taking care of him, spending time

with him. I know he was at peace when he died, and

I’ve seen a lot of families in my line of work that

can’t say the same about their loved ones." Taking

AJ’s hand into hers, she continued. "Tomorrow isn’t

promised to any of us, Sonny, so AJ convinced me that

I need to take life one day at a time and enjoy it for

all it’s worth. And there’s nothing I enjoy more than

being Mrs. Quartermaine and the mother to the next

generation of Quartermaines. And I have the added

benefit to know that my dad, Duke, and Stone are

watching over my babies."

"I can’t wait to meet them," Sonny said with a smile.

"They can’t wait to meet their Uncle Sonny."

"Sonny, do you think Robin and I can have a few

minutes?" AJ asked.

"Sure. We’ll be inside when you’re ready."

Giving the couple some privacy, Sonny and Dara left AJ

and Robin alone. As soon as they stepped inside the

house, Dara wrapped her arms around Sonny and kissed

him softly on the lips then slowly turned up the heat

before stepping away from him slightly and resting her

forehead against his shoulder.

"What was that for?"

"I just wanted you to know that I was proud of you. I

know that wasn’t easy."

"Thanks."

"It’s good to know they’ll be other kids in the

house."

"Yeah, I can’t believe my little sister is a mom. I

wonder how Stone would feel about this, especially

being married to AJ. Is it just me or is that odd?"

he questioned as they walked into the living room.

"I think Stone would be happy that she’s happy. And

she’s glowing. And it’s super odd that those two got

together, but I’m sure people will say the same thing

about us."

"There’s an us?" he asked, looking into her eyes.

"Isn’t there?" she questioned, keeping his gaze,

praying her fear wasn’t so readily apparent.

Leaning forward and pulling her into his arms, he

kissed her passionately. "There is no me without

you."

"Regardless of what AJ says?"

"Regardless."

She sighed and laid her head on his chest as he

stroked her hair. She was home. She had finally

found her home in Sonny Corinthos.

"I love you, Dara Jensen."

"I love you, Michael Corinthos, Junior."

"Why are you saying it for the first time, when you

can’t show me how much you love me?"

"Anticipation is the spice of life," he smiled.

"I’ll have to remember you said that," she grinned.

"Am I going to live to regret I said that?" he asked

as he rained kisses down the side of her face and

neck.

"Oh, yeah."

Sonny loved her. When was the last time she heard

that. Was it Jack? Was Jack Forbes, the last man,

besides Stone and Michael, that said, "I love you," to

her? She and Justus never said those words to each

other because they knew that their relationship was

missing several key ingredients that would allow them

to be together for the rest of their lives. Her

relationship with Taggert had been one based entirely

on honesty. And they both sensed, while they loved

each other, they weren’t in love with each other and

never would be. And the years between Jack and the

men of Port Charles were filled with forgettable men

who never touched her soul or spirit. Sonny was the

first. He touched her in ways that she never knew

existed. If only they could block out the whole world

and just love each other. But that wasn’t going to be

possible. Was this connection enough to with stand

whatever fallout that would come? Well she was about

to find out. And if this didn’t work, she might as

well call Ellen because she would give up on men all

together.

Hearing footsteps, Sonny gave her one last lingering

kiss on the side of her neck then lifted his head.

"Robin, AJ, please come have a seat."

AJ and Robin sat on the loveseat opposite of them.

"Sonny, we don’t get along. We don’t even like each

other. I think for good reasons on both sides. But

that’s neither here or there. My wife loves you, my

kids are dying to finally meet their Uncle Sonny in

person, and my son loves you so I’m willing to put

that all aside. I, we," AJ corrected himself, asking

Robin’s forgiveness for his slip of the tongue, with

his eyes; when she gave it, he continued, "don’t think

Michael will be happy if he leaves your house and

comes to live with us. He doesn’t know me, he doesn’t

remember Robin. And while our kids would help ease

the transition, it wouldn’t be fair or the right thing

to do to Michael. So we thought it best for him to

gradually spend time with us. At our house alone with

just us, then with the kids. And then once he’s

comfortable, we can revisit the custody arrangement."