And her father being here, by his own volition, was a first.
Sonny Corinthos was usually called or cajoled or informed by someone else, whether it was Jason or Alexis or even Carly.
Someone let him know. Someone needled him to show his face. Someone prodded him to care.
And he did care.
She had to believe that.
To believe otherwise was a painful well too deep for her to consider. When he was ‘on’? When he was in the picture and focused?
He made her feel like she was among the stars.
But those stars were nestled around the blue moons that were ‘Sonny Corinthos pays attention to his daughter’ moments. They were fleeting and they were precious and they left her confused and angry and bitter.
Marcus and her mother skirted the issue, time and time again. They did their best over the years to be a truthful as possible, without kicking her when she was down.
And Marcus was her true father. The one who was always there when Sonny wasn’t. The one who was always there even if Sonny was. Brimming with patience and love and respect for her and her sister, Molly.
And there was Andresj. And Stefan. And Nikolas. And Jack.
The other men in her life who guided her and taught her and were simply THERE.
And now Sonny was here. By the reaction in the room and, in particular, from her mother and Marcus, his arrival had been a stunner. He had not been notified or pushed.
And now he was here.
He studied her, serious dark eyes gauging her, the cogs in his mind whirring away. She imagined it was a look of contemplation that his underlings and rivals knew well. He was waiting for a response, for her to say something that would help the cogs turn faster or slower and for his choices to become clear on what was the next step.
Normally, she would rush to fill him in, work overtime to please him and prove her worthy of his attention and time. Set aside everything else and put him in the priority position.
But there were so many other things going on right now that couldn’t be pushed aside.
She was here because of someone she cared about. Her family had come to support her.
She would not make the first move. She was tired and scared and the events of earlier in the day, watching Sabrina and the doctors work feverishly to help a broken and battered Ronan survive just a little bit longer and then a little bit more after that was pressing on her mind.
And maybe she was a little annoyed.
“So who told you?” Her manner was brusquer than she intended and by the slight recoil on his face, it was not the reaction he’d anticipated either.
“I always have eyes on you.”
A flutter rose up, that of a delighted daughter, basking in her father’s attention, but it only lasted a few, brief moments.
“Oh.”
She paused but found other than the one word; she had no real desire to elaborate any further.
Sonny shifted slightly in his seat adjacent to her, a flicker of uncertainty passing over him.
“I was told you were unhurt, but I decided I needed to see for myself.”
As the words passed his lips, he winced. He sounded like the conceited, selfish fool he normally was, congratulating himself on barely passable fatherhood. She turned her gaze out the window, noticing the sun fading as dusk settled in.
“Now you’ve seen me.” Her voice was flat and distant and she turned her gaze back to him, her eyes mirroring her voice.
Sonny paused; agitated at how out of his league he was in this position. With Michael, despite having no experience with children, he seemed to slip into parenting mode with ease. Even now, with Morgan, he felt a connection to the child almost from the moment his son was born.
With Kristina? It had always been a struggle. And like a coward, he had given up to quickly and to easily.
“I’m sorry about your friend. I hope he pulls through.” There was a gentle openness this time, his timbre calm and Kristina found herself wanting to respond in kind.
“Thank you. I hope so too.” Then her mouth clamped shut, ever fearful that she was sliding back, giving too much, not waiting enough for him to do the work.
He fidgeted for a few more seconds. “Do they know what happened yet?”
Kristina let out an angry sigh. “Jesus freaking Christ!” she growled through gritted teeth. Her eyes were like flint and her body tensed up with irritation. “Don’t you do anything, do you understand? This has got NOTHING to do with you, so don’t start interfering!”
As was always the case, the ebb and flow of their conversations, or battles, synchronized perfectly. Their moods lined up and the cylinders fired.
Sonny’s hands flew out in defense. “I haven’t done anything! I’m just asking a question!”
It was the bite she was looking for. “You never just ask a question! You either ignore me completely or you’re like a damn bull in a china shop! What do you want from me here?” Her words were selected and flung with exact precision, a world of pent up hurt and frustration fueling them.
“I’m here to support you! That’s it!” he insisted, trying to reign in the increasing volume and volatility of his own emotions.
Doubt swirled over her countenance as she considered his words. She took a calming breath. “If you’re here to support, then fine.” She pointed a shaking finger at him, her voice trembling as she continued. “But if you do ANYTHING that does more damage to Ronan or hurts me or anyone else I care about because you need to make a statement about the fact that I am your damned daughter and nobody gets away with hurting the daughter of Sonny Corinthos then you can just fuck right off, right now. Nobody in my family needs that shit.”
He wanted to scream in frustration, not at her, but at himself. That she spoke to him that way, that he let her, that he deserved it, that she was right about him and that she would continue to be right about him as long as he kept heading down this path, dragging her with him.
Kristina could see that he was a moment’s breath away from exploding, his temper dangerously close to bubbling over. She felt a surge of power, an ugly desire to be the one to set him off. It was what he deserved.
But she kept her tongue and simply stared him down, daring him with her silence.
He heaved great breaths of air, expelling them with a loud woosh before taking in more through his nostrils. It was a calming technique. He’d seen Dara use it in the courtroom, just before the case against him crashed down. He’d seen her anger and fear and sheer panic and then the counterattack to calm the raging storm. She’d placed her hands on the mahogany table, closed her eyes and simply breathed in and out. When she opened them a half minute later, she was composed and cool, collected and sharp.
Now, he was mirroring the gestures he’d seen before, feeling the blood in his head pound against his skull. He clenched his fists briefly, before remembering Dara had relaxed her hands. In turn, he placed his on his knees and felt a smidge of tension ease from him. With every passing second, with every breath he took, the blood pounded less, the cacophony of negative emotion receded and he felt himself gather more and more control.
When he opened his eyes, Kristina was eyeing him warily and he realized, he hadn’t replied to her yet.
There was only one thing to say.
“You’re right.” His voice was hoarse, but it was strong. “You don’t need that at all.” He looked down at his hands. “I promise, I won’t interfere.”
Her vision suddenly blurred and she blinked rapidly, not wanting the tears to fall. She stood and swiped the tears away before he noticed. “Good. Thank you.”
Sonny stood, finding himself shaky on his feet. “Would it be alright if I stayed?” He almost laughed at himself. Sonny Corinthos didn’t ASK, he just DID.
Until now.
Kristina blinked her surprise, but straightened her shoulders and nodded. “Sure.” Her voice was soft, still guarded, but light as well. He felt encouraged by it.
She moved towards the door and then, as if remembering something, turned back. She narrowed her gaze ever so slightly, but there was an almost playful hint to her demeanor.
Almost.
“Oh, and that promise?” She waited a beat. “I’m holding you to it.”
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