Building New Bridges - IV - In Your Face

It wasn't until later that evening that Sonny was able to tear himself away from business. With the new shipments set to be received along with what seemed like continuous negotiations with the dock workers, Benny had been keeping him busy the past couple of days. Add to that the concerns that Jospeh Sorel arose and Sonny could call his life hectic.

Yet, admist all of which was currently happening with his businesses, legit and the other, he still had to put aside time to deal with Carly. It had been hard for him to push away Alexis' words from this morning during the endless meetings and contract signings. Now that he knew the reason for Carly's behavior the last time they had seen each other, he could easily guess at her misdirected anger towards him.

As the limo slowed in front of the Brownstone, Sonny contemplated several ways to deal with the situation. All ended up with him getting yelled at so he figured it wouldn't really matter what he said. He'd just have to find a way to pacify Alexis' concerns without inciting Carly too much. The thought of her keeping company with Jax didn't exactly sit well with his conscious either, he thought to himself.

Knocking soundly on the front door, he waited for an answer. When none came after a second try, he turned the knob to find the door unlocked. Nodding to Johnny, who had taken up post beside the front entrance beside Rick, he walked in futher, closing the door loudly to alert someone of his presence.

Nothing.

His anger was beginning to sky-rocket when he heard a peel of laughter from within the kitchen. Looking around the empty living room, almost as if he was intruding, Sonny made his way through the swinging door into the kitchen only to be greeted with flying flour and the excited laughs of a little boy.

"Unca Sun-eee," Michael screamed excitedly when he spotted the older man.

It was only then that Carly's head shot up, her eyes darting wildly around the spacious kitchen until they landed on him. He thought she would scream at him for intruding at the very least, but he only received a cursory glance, followed by a smirk, and then nothing at all. Her attention had returned to a book she was holding, its contents having captured her attention.

"Hi," he finally spoke, feeling stupid for being ignored by her.

"Unca Sun-eee," Michael called again, louder. Throwing his arms up, he waved them wildly in signal to be taken out of his chair. From head to toe, the boy was covered in flour. In fact, he noticed that most of the room had received much the same treatment, along with a few cracked eggs and lumps of what he thought was dough.

"What are you doing Carly," Sonny ventured to ask.

He walked over to the counter to find a clean towel. Most had already been used to wipe up one spill or the other, forcing him to rinse the least dirty one he found out in the sink. Turning, he saw Michael's hands waving around excitedly while Carly seemed to concentrate harder on whatever she was reading, even more so that he had asked for her attention.

Not willing to give in to her games, Sonny walked quietly over to Michael, trying to clean most of the flour off the toddler even while being fought off with waving arms of part excitement, part annoynance. Finishing the task, he struggled for a few seconds on working the high chair release before popping the small table and picking the young child up. Though he had done a thorough job of cleaning the boy's face and hands, he hadn't expected Michael to have a hidden stash of flour in his lap.

Then, and only then, did he receive any verbal response from Carly, though it came in a laugh.

"Very funny," Sonny muttered, dusting the flour off his expensive Armani suit with his free hand. "You shouldn't play with your food, Michael. I thought I'd taught you that much in the small time we spent together." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Carly's face darken immediately, masked just as quickly by a blank look.

"He's not playing with his food, he's playing with the ingredients. There's a difference," she finally spoke, scraping her stool against the floor as she stood. He watched as she went to the refrigerator, taking out several eggs. "Carly..." His warning came too late as one slipped and cracked on the floor. She didn't even give it a glance.

"What's going on here," he asked again.

"What does it look like? I don't think it takes brain science to figure this one out, Sonny."

Deciding that wasn't the best place to jump in, Sonny walked around the center island so he and Michael were directly across from her. He watched silently as she used a knife to break open an egg. When pieces of the shell streamed into the bowl she was using, she simply used her fingers to fish them out, haphazardly wiping them on her jeans afterward. He grimaced.

"You need some help?"

"No, I don't need your help, oh holy one," Carly mocked.

"Come on, Carly," Sonny said, his anger increasing.

"You don't have to always look over my shoulder, Sonny. There are a few things I can do without you, thanks."

"I don't kn..."

"You know what," she interrupted, looking him, staring him in the eye, "there was a time when we didn't like each other. And even further back, we didn't know the other existed. I survived fine without your help then and I can do it again now."

"Is that what this whole thing is about," he asked, idly bouncing Michael in his arm while the other waved across the room. "Your independance? Self...self-reliance," he finished, returning her bold stare.

"You don't think I can do it by myself. You think I need someone to always take care of my problems and help me out of sticky situations. Well, you're wrong. Because, if anyone in this town was paying a lick of attention, they'd realize I take care of myself and my son. I don't need your money, your penthouse, or you. I can make it on my own and I will and then you'll just have to eat your words."

"I never said that, Carly," he said in gravel tone.

"But you thought it just as well. You think it all that time. What was that stunt you pulled with Alexis, huh? Get her to move into my place..."

"My place Carly. The one you just finished telling me you don't need."

"Oh my god. You knew I was moving in, Sonny. You knew Michael and I were all packed and ready to move in but you had to screw it up and let Alexis lease the place. It wasn't even yours to lease out."

"Jason..."

"Forget it," she interrupted again. "Whatever. You know the point I'm trying to make." Walking over, Carly deftly removed Michael from Sonny's arm, telling the boy to say goodnight to his uncle.

"But Unca Sun-ee wanna play," the litte redhead objected.

"Michael, say goodnight," Carly told him in her best stern tone. This time, her command was met, though stoutly.

"Bye Michael," Sonny returned, kissing the boy on his cheek before they both disappeared up the stairs. Knowing it would take a while to put him down, he walked over to see what she had been trying to prepare before his appearance. A smile tugged the corner of his lips when he saw the cookbook, open to a page holding the recipe for Upside-Down German Chocolate Cake.

To this day, he had yet to figure out how she kept her figure so trim. Carly ate more sweets than any human had a right to, evidenced during her pregnancy with their son. He absently rubbed his chest, the memory bright but the loss still felt. Shrugging out of his suit jacket, he looked the the stairwell Carly and Michael had just disappeared up.

'Maybe I'll just help her out a little,' he thought to himself as he rolled the sleeves of his silk shirt up his forearms, ready to tackle the recipe. As much as it had hurt to hear her words, he figured they had been coming. His plan to strong-arm Carly into moving back in with him had failed miserably, leaving them in the situation they currently lived. But sooner or later, he figured she would get tired of  "making it on her own" and come back, at which time he would gladly accept her and Michael. If there was one thing he had learned over the past few weeks, it was that the penthouse was nothing without people to share it with.

Minutes later, he had almost finished with the mixing of the recipe. He wasn't so surprised to find half of the ingredients needed missing, but had made the proper substitutions where needed. At the thirty-seventh second count for mixing the batter, he felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. Looking up, he saw a very solemn Carly watching him from the bottom step.

"Don't yell," he began after dropping the spoon and holding both hands in the air. "I was just trying...

"To help," she finished for him, pushing off the step to walk towards him "And I already told you I didn't need your help," she told him, looking into the bowl. "But thanks anyway," she said with a small smile.

"You're not going to eat the whole thing by yourself, are you," he asked with his own smile. For some reason, whenever she smiled, he ended up doing the same.

"Actually, I was thinking about calling it a night," she told him, giving the kitchen an assessing glance. "Boy, this place is a mess," Carly said with a small laugh.

"Tell me about it," Sonny murmured, only to receive a swat on his arm. He rubbed the spot mockingly, giving her a slow smile. "How about I help you clean up," he offered her, already looking for Saran wrap to cover the mixing bowl.

"And what do you get out of it," she asked with a non-trusting glare.

"Anyone ever tell you your moods change faster than the weather," Sonny asked her.

Carly's face dropped suddenly, remembering Jax's words from earlier today. She only answered with a shrug, beginning to help in the clean up process. Four hands better than two, they finished putting things away in record time.

"Well, if that's all," she told him, waiting for his inevitable exit.

"Acutally, its not all," he turned to face her after wiping the counter. "In fact, I actually came here to talk to you about what happened the other night."

"Wrong girl," she smirked, hands on hips.

"Funny. I mean with Jax."

Carly sighed, letting her hands drop to her side. "What? Alexis' mouth yapping a mile per minute?"

"No, but she did tell me a few interesting things. I don't want you hanging around him, Carly," he told her with a blank face.

His continued interference only stemmed to make her angry. "First off, I wasn't 'hanging around' with anyone. I was at work. Second off, I can see whomever I want, whenever I want. I'm not your wife, not your girlfriend, and not even your bedpartner anymore. Third off," she said raising her hand to stop his beginning speech, "Alexis has it out for me. She practically took my head off at the Bail desk at PCPD. She thinks I started the fight, which I didn't. You should have a talk with her about showing some goddamn manners."

"Alexis is not my problem," he began.

"But I'm yours?" She quirked an eyebrow.  "You should be one to talk about changing moods, Sonny. You act like you care so much about me yet it pains you to even show a little bit of that concern. All you care about is the fact that I was seen in the same place with Jax, when you should be concerned with the fact that your lawyer, and new neighbor, thinks she can put me down whenever the need arises." Carly shook her head, still fuming.  "I'm going to sleep. You can let yourself out."

"Carly, we're not finished," he spoke gravely.

"I'm finished, Sonny," she threw over her shoulder, already on the second stair.

"W-what about the door," he sputtered, needing something to keep her down here.

"Rick's out there," she told him from some where in enclosed stairwell. Moments later, he heard the sound closing of her door.

"Damn," he muttered, picking up his suit jacket to leave.