“How is she,” came four simultaneous voices, all in hurry to know of Carly’s condition.
Bobbie stared at the small group. Actually, it seemed more like a crowd and their continued stares began to unravel her nerves. “She’s fine. Only a small bump on her head, but no serious damage.”
Sonny openned his mouth to ask about the baby, his baby, but AJ beat him to it.
“The doctors are runnig tests right now, but it looks as if everything is fine with her pregnancy,” Bobbie answered as she shot a quick glance in Sonny’s direction, then moved her eyes away to safer territory. “Lucas? What are you doing,” she asked her son.
The boy stopped walking and looked to his mother and the other adults who had turned their attention to him as well. “I’m just doing what they told me to mom. I’m walking in a circle. Can we go home now?”
Bobbie looked to Dani for explanation, but the young woman just shrugged.
“We’ll go home as soon as they release Carly. Now sit down young man.”
Grudgingly, he took a seat in a nearby chair. The circle-walking had actually provided him with some entertainement.
Bobbie returned her attention to the waiting crowd. “Thank you for watching Michael and Lucas,” she told Dani, even when seeing her grandson in the arms of Sonny.
“Oh, it was no problem. Can we...I mean, I see her? Can she have visitors?”
AJ interjected. “If anyone should be able to see her, it should be me! She is still my wife.”
Dani shot him a look.
“Look Ms. Spencer, If I may, I’d like to talk to Caroline,” Darin interjected.
“Well,” Bobbie began, unsure of how to tell him that Carly was adamant about not seeing him.
“You can’t see her,” AJ interrupted Bobbie. “You’re the reason she’s in here!”
Darin turned towards AJ, an angry expression etched on his face. “If I’m not mistaken, it was you that had your grubby paws all over her! For that alone, you should already be rotting in a jail cell!” He moved closer to AJ, not knowing if he could hold himself off from pummeling the small man.
“Excuse me? She saw your face and she fainted! And I don’t have to justify myself nor my actions with my wife to you, whomever the hell you are!”
“Hey guys, maybe you should tone in down or take it outside,” Dani cut in, trying to keep their rising voices down. She looked around for the third act in the circus, but didn’t find him anywhere.
Sonny walked down one of the halls in the emergency room. When AJ and the mystery guy had started fighting, he had thanked God for the opportunity to get away... And see Carly. Peeking behind yet another curtain, he found an elderly woman who looked to be near death, hooked up to every machine the hospital probably had. Her dark eyes looked to him, seemingly asking him for...something. He backed up quickly. He hated hospitals. He always had. Turning, he looked around the hall, feeling more lost by the second.“Excuse me sir, you’re not allowed to wander throught the ER,” a young nurse told him as she was passing by on her way to help someone else . “And small children aren’t allowed back here either,” she continued, pointing towards the sleeping Michael.
Looking down at the carrot-top boy, Sonny cursed himself. “Well...You see, I was...” Sonny stopped, not sure what to say and pretty sure that this was the end of his journey. “Look, I, we rather, just wanted to see his mom. I didn’t really think about bringing him back here. I’m...sorry.” Sonny turned to return to the waiting room, when the nurse’s voice stopped him.
“I’m not supposed to do this, but...What’s his mother’s name? I’m sure she’d be happy to see her son.”
Sonny turned back to the woman, a grateful look now on his face. “Carly...Quartermaine. Or Spencer. Maybe Benson. She has a lot of last names,” he finally stated.
She gave him a questionable look with which he answered “Long story.”
“I’ll take your word for it. Here, follow me. I think I know who you’re looking for.”
Sonny, with a still sleeping Michael in his arms, followed the nurse down the hall...and thanked God again for his luck.
“You know what, you should leave before I call the damn police,” AJ threw in an angry voice.
“If anyone is going to be arrested, it’ll be you! Didn’t your mama ever teach you to be polite or even civil?”
AJ laughed. Who was this guy, anyway? “Look Billy Bob, I think you’re way out of your element here. This isn’t some backwoods hospital where they let just anybody go in and see patients, especially ones they put there themselves. Go back to the mudhole you came from.”
Darin advanced on AJ again, seeing fear come into the other man’s eyes. “The name is Darin Roberts, not Billy Bob. I don’t live in a mudhole and I'm sure as hell not leaving here until I see Caroline.”
“Oh, so now you’re calling her Caroline. You know, she only goes by that name when she’s trying to impress people. But seeing as her past record with men in this town has been the way it is, it’s understandable that she would use that name to ingratiate herself with you.”
Before Darin could respond, Bobbie cut it. “That’s enough AJ! I know Carly has done some horrible things to you and others in the past, but can we look past that for the moment? She’s in the hospital, which can partly be attributed to you.”
AJ opened his mouth to respond, but decided against it. “Fine then. I will just take my son and...” AJ stopped. He looked around for Michael, who had been in Sonny’s arms, but neither of them were in sight. Turning back to Bobbie, “Where’s Corinthos?”
Bobbie looked around, just now noticing that Sonny was not present. “I don’t know. I wasn’t really paying attention since you and Darin couldn’t keep your opinions of each other to yourself.”
“Oh, well great,” AJ exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. “Now a reported mob boss had disappeared with my son. What else can I look forward to today, huh?”
“Don’t worry about it AJ. I’m sure he just left to go check on Carly,” Dani told him. “He’s probably with her right now. And Michael is there too.”
“Fine then, I’ll just go back there and get my son.” AJ moved to leave but Bobbie stepped in his way.
“You’re not going back there to upset both Micheal and Carly. I’ll go and get Michael and bring him out to you. Stay here.” Bobbie turned, catching Darin’s look of total helplessness on her way. She wished there was something she could do for him. But as her daughter had cried on her shoulder, her one and only request had been to keep him away from her...and she would have to do just that.
Sonny looked at Carly. She was lying in the hospital bed, covered in blankets. Her face was very pale and he could see the tear marks all over them. Why had she been cyring, he wondered. Carefully shifting Michael to his other arm, he reached out to touch her, but thought better of it. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.
“I’m sorry Carly. I didn’t mean it,” were the mumbled words from Carly.
He scooted the chair closer to the bed, trying not to make too much noise. Was she having a dream? It sounded more like a nightmare though. She had begun to toss as well. And why the hell was he talking to herself?
“Please, don’t leave. We can talk about it.”
Now he was nervous. What was she dreaming about? And why was it upsetting her so much. He should probably wake her up before she woke Michael. “Carly,” he whispered,” wake up.”
“No Darin. Don’t go too. Please. I love you! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry,” came the louder moans from Carly. She reached out her unbroken arm, her hand touching Sonny’s face. He wanted to pull back, knew he should, but something keep him in place.
“Don’t leave Darin,” she whispered as she caressed Sonny’s cheek. “I love you and we can work it out. I’m sorry. I love you.”
This is ridiculous, Sonny thought to himself. For a minute, he had actually thought himself to be this Darin. Actually thought her to be in love with him. Actually thought that he... He shook his head furiously, the action pushing her hand away.
“Nooooo! Darin, please.” Carly jolted awake. The tears started again. It had been a dream, but it had seemed so real. She had felt him and he had pushed her...
“Carly.”
She jumped at the voice, and looked over to see Sonny, holding a sleeping Michael, staring at her.
“Are... Are you all right,” he asked in a concerned voice.
She looked around, just to make sure she was still in the hospital. Satisfied that she was, she returned her gaze to Sonny. He was holding Michael reassuringly in one arm, while his other hand held her son's back steady. He looked so right with him, as if he was his father.
“Carly,” Sonny said again, this time louder.
“What,” she snapped back. Noticing the look of surprise, maybe even hurt, on his face, she instantly felt sorry for having snapped. “I’m...” She stopped, then started laughing.
Sonny looked at her as if she had grown a second head. “What’s so funny,” he asked. He looked down at himself, thinking there was something wrong with his clothes.
Carly continued to laugh, noticing the direction of his eyes. “It’s not you, Sonny. It’s just that... I don’t know, I’ve been saying sorry a lot in the past few days. It kind of seems like a habbit now.”
Sonny nodded his understanding. “What were you dreaming about Carly?”
She looked at him, not really sure what to say. “How long has he been asleep,” she asked about Michael, hoping that would be enough to deter the previous question.
“Not long. Maybe twenty minutes or so. What was the dream about? And who is Darin,” he added, afraid to know. He had a pretty good clue who Darin was and if he was right, then he already didn’t like the guy.
“You know Sonny, that’s none of your damn business,” she threw at him. “And how the hell do you know about Da... About him anyway?”
Sonny looked at her, unsure if he really wanted to go into a scene with Carly here, now, today. Sighing, he persisted on. “You were dreaming about him. You said you loved him.”
Her eyes opened wide with surprise, then went blank. “He’s nobody.”
“Yeah, well I think nobody is out in the lobby trying to get in here to see you.”
“No! I don’t want to see him. Just... Just keep him away from me.”
“Hey, hey, hey. All right Carly, I’ll keep him away. Calm down, you’re going to wake Michael.”
Carly looked to her sleeping son and nodded. “Okay. I’m calm.”
“Good,” Sonny nodded. “How are you feeling? Are you okay? I mean, Bobbie said you were fine, just a bump on your head, but... Are you sure? Do you hurt anywhere?” His eyes dropped down to her stomach, which had not yet began to show of her pregnancy.
Carly too looked down. “I’m... Fine. I just hit my head, but... I’ll be fine. The baby though... I don’t know, they’re doing tests. But hey, if I can get hit by a car and he didn’t get hurt, then what’s falling and hitting my head on a table to him?”
Just the mention of her accident had his stomach curling in shame. Trying to take his mind off that incident, he focused on her words. “Him,” Sonny asked. “You know its a boy. This soon?”
Carly rolled her eyes. “No, I don’t. I guess since Michael’s a boy, I’m just used to having a ‘him’. I guess this,” she patted her stomach, “could be a girl. I kind of hope its not though.”
“Why not,” Sonny asked. “I’d kind of like a girl. I mean, as long as the baby is healthy, I don’t care.”
Carly looked into his eyes and saw a sincerity there. She smiled at him. “Well, you know, girls always have boys coming after them. I don’t exactly see you handling that situation in a non-violent manner.”
Sonny chuckled at that comment. “Well, you’re probably right on that one. But, I mean...a girl wouldn’t be that bad. I don’t know...I’ve never had a kid and...” he shrugged.
“Yeah,” Carly whispered. She was almost positive he was thinking about Lily and his lost child. “Well, now you have one. So, don’t worry.” Carly turned her head to look at anything, as long as she wasn’t looking at him...into his eyes.
“Carly, until this child is born, I will worry. You know that. You know about Lily. And now, with all that’s happening...”
She turned her eyes back to him. “What’s happening? You don’t mean me, do you?”
Sonny looked to her. Sure, she had a right to know if she was in any danger from him. But now it was his job to make sure nothing happened to her...and so far, he was doing a lousy job of it.
No, he didn’t need to scare her with any of his problems. He just had to make sure he took better care of things. Of his baby. Of her. “Nothing Carly.”
She stared at him for a moment, sure that he was keeping something from her. Of course, she really shouldn’t expect Sonny Corinthos to be giving away secrets of his trade, now should she? “Fine.”
They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a long time, Sonny’s thoughts on his earlier feelings towards Carly while she thought about Darin. The curtain opened and in stepped both her mother and the doctor from earlier. “I have the test results back Mrs. Quartermaine.”
“Spencer,” Sonny, Bobbie, and Carly all said at the same time.
“Um, okay. Ms. Spencer. Your child is just fine. No complications showed up in the tests we ran. Though, I see from your chart that you have a son,” he looked towards the sleeping boy in the man’s arms.
“Yeah, and so,” she shrugged.
“Well, since you had a tough pregnancy with him, your doctor would just want to make sure that he kept a close eye on you during this pregnancy. To forsee any future problems and whatnot.”
“Well, I don’t really have a doctor, “ Carly told him.
“I have one...for you that is. She’s the best in the area in her field. Dr. Hutchinson over at Mercy.”
“Yes, I’ve heard of her. But, I do assure you that we have great doctors here at GH, if you would like a referral.”
“She won’t need one. She has a doctor, Doctor.”
Hearing the meanacing tone in the man’s voice, the young doctor stopped with his earlier persistence. “Okay. As long as she sees someone on a regular basis starting with a preliminary check-up. You should schedule that as soon as you find out about your pregnancy,” he looked towards Carly, trying to gauge whether or not she had.
“Well, I haven’t really...”
“She has an appointment for next week,” Sonny cut in.
Carly turned to him, ready to lay in on him about making appointments without her knowledge, but Bobbie’s words stopped her.
“Carly, Dr. Hutchinson is one of the best Ob/Gyn’s in the state. You should be thankful that you even have an appointment with her. She’s very hard to get.”
Carly gave her mother a ‘So What?’ look, then just let it go.
“So, can my daughter leave now Dr. Stuart,” Bobbie asked the intern.
“Yes. Here are her discharge papers,” he handed them to Carly. “I also wrote you a small prescription for painkillers, in case your head starts to hurt. It’ll only last a few days, but by then you should be better.”
“Won’t that affect the baby,” Sonny asked in nervousness.
“They’re a mild painkiller so no, they shouldn’t have any bad side affects on her pregnancy. Any other questions?”
“No,” Carly said before Sonny could come up with a hundred more.
“Okay then. Try to stay off your feet for a day or two, just to rest up yourself and for the baby.” He left then, leaving the remaing three adults in silence.
Bobbie was the first to speak. “AJ wants to see Michael. That’s why I came here, to get him.” She threw a pointed look at Sonny but he gave no response back.
“Well, now that I’m going home, he can just see Michael later.”
“Maybe it would be a good idea if Micael spent the night with AJ, don’t you think? I mean, the doctor did say you needed rest. And with a two-year old and a broken arm, how much rest could you possibly get?”
“I can take care of my son, mother,” she replied in a terse tone. “Let me just get up,” she said as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and scooted forward until her feet touched the floor.
“Take it easy Carly,” came Sonny’s concerned voice. Again.
Carly just rolled her eyes at him. “Hand him over to me Sonny,” she commanded.
Bobbie stepped in. “Look Carly. I think it would be wise if Michael spent the night with AJ. I’ll even take you over there in the morning to pick him up. You seriously need some rest tonight and you won’t get any with Michael present.”
Before her daughter could offer another defense, Bobbie walked over to Sonny and gingerly removed her sleeping grandson from his arms. “Don’t worry Carly. AJ will take care of him. He’s the only other person that loves him as much as you do. Remember that.”
Watching her mother leave with her son, Carly shook her head. It was amazing how Bobbie could take charge of a situation the way she did, especially one concerning Michael.
“Well,” Sonny began, but not really having anything to say, he let his sentence trail, hoping she would pick up the conversation.
Silence.
“You can leave now,” came Carly’s unsure voice.
“I could...stay. That is, until Bobbie gets back.”
“Don’t worry about me. I don’t need the company.”
“Well, I’m staying anyway,” he said, having already made the decision.
“Whatever,” Carly said in disgust.
“Look, just because you're mad doesn’t mean you can take it out on me. I’m not doing anything to you. I’m tyring to help you.”
“Who told you that you could get me a doctor’s appointment? Huh? I mean, I specifically asked you to give me some time and...”
“Hey, you got the custody issue settled this afternoon, right? That’s as much time as you asked for. I gave it.”
“Just barely. What was this morning? Coming into my workplace. Placing a guard there. Do you know how difficult it was to explain that to Dani’s clients today? What was that all about anyway,” she asked. She had been curious about the sudden close guard.
Sonny looked at her, unblinking. “Well, you know... Just for your own safety. How many times do I have to explain it Carly?”
“I’m not as stupid as you seem to take me for. Extra protection means there’s an extra threat out there. I did live with Jason, remember? And even though I didn’t know the exact happenings of his business deals, I was always aware of the safety issue. So please, spare me the ‘I’m-keeping-things-from-you-for-your-own-good’ act.” Carly put her hands on the mattress and pushed herself up into a standing position. “Just tell Bobbie I started on my way home.”
“You can’t just leave by yourself. You’re going to walk home,” he asked in disbelief.
“You know, that’s why God gave us legs...to use them!”
He frowned as he watched her open the curtain and start walking down the hall. He didn’t even remember making the conscious decision to follow her. “When should I pick you up for the appointment,” he asked, hoping she would let their earlier converstation topic rest.
“I’ll have my people call your people,” was her response.
“Don’t be smart with me Carly. I’m serious.”
“I thought you said it was next week.”
“It is.”
“Then why does it matter that I tell you a specific time to pick me up right this second? Huh?”
“Because then I will at least know that you agree to seeing someone.”
“God! You would think this is the Christ child!’
Sonny winced at her last comment. “No, it’s not the Christ child. It’s my child. And... Like I said before, I’ve never done this...the whole way through. I had just found out about Lily and... Then...” His gaze flicked over to her as the walked back towards the front entrance. “Carly. I know we don’t like each other. We can barely tolerate one another. But... This child... This child means a lot to me. The world even. And I just don’t want anything to happen to him. Or her... Or... You.”
Carly stopped and turned towards him. “Me? You actually care what happens to me? What a joke!”
Sonny reached out his hand and placed it on her arm. “I do care what happens to you Carly. You’re the mother of my child. No matter we may have gone through in the past or what we will go through in the future, the only thing that matters to me is right now. The present. And right now, all I care about is taking care of you and my baby. I’m not asking for you to understand it. I’m just asking that you accept it.”
Carly stood there, about to come up with a cutting response that would make the warmth of his words disappear. The last thing she needed right now was that warmth. But before she could even get a word in edgewise, she saw him. Out of the corner of her eye, there he was.
Darin Roberts.