"Guys, I'm going in the house to help Daddy with dinner," Brenda announced to the playing foursome of Michael, Glory, Morgan, and Robbie.

"Brennie, will you be there when we come inside?" Michael asked, unsure.

Brenda's heart broke at the fear and doubt in Michael's voice. Getting down to his level, she looked him directly in the eye and said, "Yes, and I'm never leaving you again."

"Why did you?" he asked for the first time since she returned.

"Because I was scared and so I ran away, but that was an incredibly stupid thing for me to do."

Michael shook his head. "Brennie, don't you know daddy will protect you."

"Yeah, dads are good at that, I forgot."

"Well, don't forget again. Morgan wouldn't stop crying for you no matter what Dad, Aunt Courtney, Uncle Jason, Aunt Terri, or Grandma did."

Her heart broke a bit more. "I'm sorry."

Michael nodded then gave her a kiss and a hug. "I missed you."

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she refused to cry in front of him. "I missed you, too," she whispered back before he ran off to join his playing siblings.

Brenda stood and walked inside the house, wiping the tears from her face. She hadn't meant to hurt Michael or Morgan, and for a while she considered taking them with her. But emotionally she couldn't do that, not to Sonny and not to Bobbie, after the woman had buried her second daughter. And on a practical side it was harder to go unnoticed as a single mom of four as compared to a mom of two.

She sighed. Coming back, she never thought about how long it would take for everyone to forgive her and to earn their trust again. At home, due to everyone's various backgrounds and life experiences, she was forgiven as soon as she explained why she left. They all understood what it was like to not completely trust in love or people. But she could see hurt in Anna's, Tad's, and Robin's eyes. Hurt that their love wasn't enough or she didn't trust them enough to come to them first. The Quartermaines and the Cerullos were ecstatic she was back, though they did reprimand her for taking off.

Sonny. Sonny was a different story altogether. Brenda took down some plates and began setting the table. He was cordial to her, but cold. He wasn't nearly as bad as when she wore the wire or was sleeping with Miguel but sill cold. She wondered when the freeze would end.

"I take it this means you want to eat in the kitchen," Sonny commented, as he walked into the kitchen.

Putting the last fork on the table, she turned to the man who had just been on her mind. "Yes, if it's okay with you."

He nodded as he put on his apron and started dinner.

Maybe it was up to her to end the cold war. "I'm sorry you were hurt by my leaving."

"Brenda, I don't want to get into this now."

"Well, we have to deal with this sometime and I hate that everything always has to be on your time table."

"There's nothing to deal with. You had a problem, you didn't trust me so you left. End of story."

"I was going to lose my daughter."

"Well, I did lose her for four months, both of them. I didn't know if they were dead or alive. I didn’t know if another Alcazar had their mother and forced them to watch as he tortured and raped her."

Tears fell down Brenda's face. She never once imagined that anyone would think that. But why hadn't she? Alcazar was always on her mind, their years together, so why wouldn't they be on anyone else's? "I didn't mean to hurt you- -"

"Right," he agreed sarcastically, throwing the steaks in the pan, "you took my children like a thief in the night because you thought I would enjoy it."

"No, I was trying to protect you," she vented, wiping tears from her face. "Does that sound familiar? Because strangely enough that's what you told me when you explained why you left me at the altar. It was for my own protection."

Sonny stalked towards her. "Is that what this is? Payback? I was protecting you- -"

"And I was doing the same for you. But of course, you're Michael "Sonny" Corinthos, Junior, so you can't need help from anyone. You don't need protecting by some lowly creature like a woman- -"

"Don't you dare turn this into some sexist crap!"

"I just call it like I see it. I refused to lose my daughter, my baby. You remember how it felt when Morgan was placed in your arms. That's how it felt when I first held Glory. I vowed when I picked her up from that emergency foster home that I would move heaven and earth to protect her and to keep us together. I wasn't going to renege on that promise for anyone. In my zealousness to keep my vow, I forgot that didn't mean I couldn't ask for help," she finished, the steam finally running out of her.

He watched the numerous emotions run across her face and couldn't be angry with her. She was the mother he had longed his own mother to be, that he had longed for Carly to be. Brenda Barrett was a fierce lioness and would take on any and everyone to protect her babies even at the cost of her own happiness. "If you ever do something like this again, I will hunt you down and kill you with my bare hands," he threatened in a casual voice.

"You'd have to find me first," she smiled, knowing they were on the road to recovery.

"So tell me about how you first found Glory," he commanded, as he went back to his dinner preparation.

Brenda stared out the bay window, watching her eldest brunette daughter play happily. "It was a windy and cold day…."