Dara, in all of her life, had never heard such noise. The guns that exploded in a ferocious roar around her were deafening. She couldn't even hear her own scream of terror.
But she'd heard Sonny. It was what saved her life.
She had clutched the dirty floor, feeling an immense weight land on her seconds later, holding her down, shielding her from the danger only a few feet away from them. Dara inhaled deeply as he whispered words into her hair that she did not understand.
Sonny.
Protecting her. Comforting her.
It was at that moment that the violent noise around them ceased to exist in her mind. All she could hear was the whispering of a man she'd shared an experience with like no other before.
She was protected.
She was comforted.
In more ways than one.
Her hand clutched his instinctively, twining their trembling fingers together tightly, uniting them through this storm. They clung to each other until the gunfire ceased and only the bitter taste of death and tragedy gave them reason to open their eyes and face the aftermath.
''Dara? Are you alright?'' Sonny's broken voice asked her.
Dara blinked as she turned to the carnage before them. To her right lay Anthony Moreno. Death had greeted him with full force. There were no signs of life as the man bent over him, his head turned away, in a helpless attempt to cope with the gruesome sight.
Near them was Tori, still being tended to by Vincent, who himself had gone unscathed.
Dara turned to Sonny and nodded slowly, shell shocked. ''I'm okay.''
Her hands moved along him, suddenly struck with the fact that he had raced into the crossfire, nearly a dozen feet to get to her. Her fingers felt for any trace of injury, but miraculously, there was none.
''I'm okay too,'' he murmured quietly. Her watery eyes rose to meet his. With a ragged sob, she threw her arms around him, finally allowing herself to breathe. He held her tight, stroking her back gently, silently giving thanks that she had not been struck.
Jason rose from his spot slowly. Before him stood Sonny and Dara, locked in an embrace that seemed unbreakable. As the gun smoke rose to the ceiling, he was suddenly struck by the beauty they seemed to create in their union. A peace came over him as he watched them. Through happiness, through discovery and confrontations, through bitterness and betrayal, grief and comfort, they gravitated to each other once more.
Seems like fate.
The smartest words to ever come from the mouth of Anthony Moreno.
Dominik too, rose slowly, still trembling. He had fired his weapon once in Moreno's direction before a hand had shoved him violently to the floor.
Danté.
He turned and instantly, his worst fears were confirmed. Danté lay in a crumpled heap, turned away from Dominik. ''Danté, no,'' he whispered as he rushed to his brother's side.
Gingerly, Dominik turned Danté over, cradling the younger man in his arms. A cry of despair escaped him as the crimson liquid crept slowly, covering Danté's white shirt underneath his leather jacket. Dominik whipped off his jacket and pressed it against the wound.
Danté awoke with a startled cry of pain.
''Danté! Danté hang on! Help is coming!'' Dominik urged Danté frantically. In the background, the shouts of the P.C.P.D. making their presence known gave Dominik the strength he needed. Help was coming.
Danté's eyes opened, blinking a few times, trying to focus. His body felt numb and yet a searing burned in his belly and made him cringe with pain.
''Domi?'' he whimpered, seeking comfort from the only one who could give it to him.
Dominik's concerned face came into view. ''Danté, I'm here,'' he replied, tears filling his eyes. He was no doctor, but even he could see his brother's injuries were serious. Danté knew too, he had never called Dominik 'Domi' since he was a school boy, when he was afraid and only his brave, big brother could protect him.
He was afraid once more. And Dominik was the only one who could help him.
''Domi? It hurts,'' Danté whimpered again, a tear sliding down the side of his face.
''I know it does, but help is coming. Stay strong,'' Dominik reassured Danté, mustering all his strength into comforting his brother. Danté sighed heavily, his eyes shutting.
''Danté! Stay awake Danté! Open your eyes!'' Dominik shouted in a panic. Danté's eyes reluctantly opened.
''I'm sorry Domi,'' his weak voice croaked. Danté's gaze intensified in a way that Dominik had never seen before. ''You were the only one who loved me. The only one who would always love me.''
Dominik's lower lip trembled as the tears fell from his face. ''You are my brother Danté. My baby brother. I cannot fathom my life without you in it.''
Around the brothers, Dara and Sonny watched wordlessly, as did Jason and Garcia. Taggert took a step forward to inform Dominik that the paramedics had arrived, but Garcia stopped him. This was a moment that no one would touch.
Danté smiled serenely, the tense lines in his face relaxing. ''I'm going to go be with Papa. I can hear him Domi, can you?''
Dominik's stricken face crumpled as the light in Danté's eyes slowly began to fade.
''No, no, no,'' Dominik murmured as he clutched Danté tighter. He couldn't lose Danté. ''Danté, stay with me,'' he begged. ''Please don't leave me.''
Tears slipped down Dara's face as she heard Dominik's plea. Further away, Jason blinked and turned away. Sonny simply held onto Dara, swallowing the lump in his throat as his own tears blurred his vision.
''It's okay Domi, you'll be okay. I promise,'' Danté whispered, his voice so faint that only Dominik heard the words.
''Promise?'' Dominik asked, removing his blood soaked hand from the jacket to gingerly run his fingers against Danté's damp hair, down his julienne before clutching his brother's smaller hand in his.
''Promise.'' Danté's last words passed through his lips.
Dominik felt Danté's body tense once more, and then sag against him. Before releasing him to the anxious paramedics nearby, Dominik drank in the sight of his brother in his arms. Relaxed and at peace, perhaps for the very first time in his young, tumultuous life. Dominik bent forward and placed a gentle kiss against Danté's forehead.
''Go be with Papa.''
****************
The man sat back in the car as it moved along the bickered quietly. He'd narrowly missed being seen by the swarm of police, but once he'd confirmed Moreno was dead, he'd made his exit, confident that in the confusion, few would think to question his whereabouts.
''Where to? Back up to Albany?'' his guard asked from the driver's seat.
The man sat back and shook his head. ''We have one more task before we leave this dump.''
****************
Moreno's Warehouse
Garcia watched as Vincent Tyson jumped into the ambulance with Danté Vitali's injured girlfriend. Danté's lifeless body was rolled into another, despite the obvious signs that it was a fruitless effort to attempt reviving him.
He turned to where Moreno still lay. ''What about him?'' he asked the young officer who knelt near him.
''No pulse. No heartbeat. Multiple gunshot wounds to the chest. He was dead before he hit the ground,'' the officer reported, trying to sound as official as possible.
But even in the shadow of death, there was a fleeting moment of life.
Rooted entirely in evil, it rose up, and with a mighty roar, grabbed the young officer's service revolver and extended his arm at the only target he wanted.
''CORINTHOS!!!''
Moreno's crazed scream filled the warehouse as he gasped for air, pulling together the strength he needed.
Sonny turned, horrified to find Moreno, barely alive, pointing a loaded weapon at him.
''NOOOOO!!!!!!!!'' Dara screamed in terror, racing from where Taggert stood to Sonny.
Jason.
Garcia.
Taggert.
Mac.
All four fired one single shot at Moreno, effectively silencing him before his bullet riddled body hit the ground for the second time that night.
But fate was fate.
The lone bullet whizzed across the room and struck its target, full force.
And the last thing Sonny Corinthos remembered was Dara weeping and the touch of her tears splashing onto his face.
Then everything faded to black.
*******************
GH-ER
''Well, I know I can speak for Mr. Cassadine as well as the staff of General Hospital when I say it will be a pleasure having you on our staff. We've followed your career for years and we are delighted that you have chosen our hospital to continue your successful work.''
Alan took a breath and smiled. Relax, she's already signed the contract, he assured himself. Eying the usually busy ER, he showed GH's newest surgeon around, noting with interest that both Danté Vitali and his buxom girlfriend had been brought in. With sadness, he noted that Danté was almost the same age as Jason.
''Call it,'' he said to the resident, the shrill noise of the flat line making the image of Jason's lifeless frame on the gurney, more real than he'd ever imagined. Walking out of the trauma room, he nodded to the redhead.
''How's her prognosis?'' he asked.
Amy patted his arm, she'd seen the look on his face and could sympathize. ''She'll be fine, the wound wasn't as bad as we originally thought. She's being moved to Recovery in a bit.'' Both watched as Vincent silently left Tori's side to make a call on his cell phone.
''I heard Moreno's gone too,'' Amy noted softly. ''Dead at the scene. I wonder who's going to take over now that both of them are gone.'' She shuddered.
Alan's eyes flashed knowingly at Vincent. ''You're looking at him.''
Amy opened her mouth to respond, but the ER doors crashing open cut her off. In rushed two paramedics and Sonny Corinthos, near death.
''Help him!'' Jason shouted in frustration, bringing up the rear. The foyer quieted down as each person took a moment to regard the man who'd just come through their doors. A greater shock rested in the A.D.A. who'd tearfully hung onto Sonny's hand, pleading with him to hang on.
Alan shook his head and opened his mouth to set everyone to work when a new voice beat him to it.
''Trauma 2 now!'' The new surgeon flew into the room with half a dozen nurses and doctors and with amazing speed and cool professionalism, set about saving Sonny's life.
Dara stood frozen outside the doors of the trauma room, Jason beside her. They watched helplessly as the experts buzzed around the room at lightning speed. Dara craned her neck, but she couldn't see Sonny's face.
Her eyes rose up to the leader of the pack and for once, the thought of Sonny vanished from her mind.
''Sabrina!'' she exclaimed.
Sabrina DeLane's eyes rose at the sound of the familiar voice calling her name. Her mouth dropped open slightly at the sight of Dara Jensen.
Her nearest and dearest friend.
Dara's gaze went back to Sonny before returning again to Sabrina, her eyes now filled with a desperate plea.
Realization set in as Sabrina glanced down at Sonny and then back at Dara.
There was great love between these two.
A renewed determination filled Sabrina. Dara would not lose this man.
His life was in her hands and she would not let go.
Unless he had already slipped through the fingers of life and passed on into the hands of death.
For the first time in a long time, Sabrina began to pray.