After The Fall
Chapter One: Beginnings
the Brownstone
"Whoa, whoa," Marcus Taggert left the door of the Brownstone open, dropping his briefcase by the door as he hurried to her side. He reached up to steady Carly just before she lost her very precarious balance, standing on her toes on the arm of a chair she had dragged over in front of the mantel. Taggert left a steadying hand on her back as Carly rose up once more to press down the corner of the banner she had been hanging, then offered her a hand down, looking up at the banner. "It looks good, but not good enough for you to risk your life to hang it," Taggert said, a slight grin taking the heat out of his words. "Setting a nice example for your kids, climbing around on the furniture in your stocking feet."
Carly glared at Taggert. "You know, the last person I need parenting advice from is the Police Commissioner. How's Juan?" she asked, hands on her hips, a knowing smile on her lips. "Run away much?"
Taggert's grin only widened; he was in too good a mood for even Carly to ruin today. "Touché," he said, wryly. "There are pluses to being the Commissioner though; Juan even crosses the wrong street at the wrong time, one of my men picks him up, brings him home. I think he's starting to get the message." Taggert laughed, and Carly smiled reluctantly. "I was just joking before, Carly," he added. "I've seen you with your kids; I know you're a good mother."
A cry from the corner of the room broke the air, and Carly hurried over to the playpen, picking up her daughter. Ginia was her mother's daughter; if she didn't get what she wanted, and quick, she put up a fuss that just didn't stop. "Thanks," Carly said, a moment later, settling on the couch with a bottle in one hand and her baby girl cradled gently in the other arm. She looked up at Taggert. "I didn't mean to snap. I just-- I've been kinda on edge today, you know?"
Taggert nodded, looking at the 'Welcome Home' banner Carly had just risked her neck to hang up. "Yeah, I can imagine. He's coming home today, huh?"
Carly nodded. "Bobbie and Lucas went to the airport a few minutes ago to meet them. The plane doesn't get in for another hour or so, but you know Bobbie," Carly rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I got stuck with decorating duty. Lucky me," she said dryly. Carly adjusted the bottle in her daughter's mouth. "You coming up for the party, later?"
"Probably not," he answered, picking up his briefcase from where he'd dropped it. "I've got to head back to the station tonight."
"Keeping the streets of Port Charles safe, huh?" Carly grinned. One of the totally unexpected bonuses of moving in with Bobbie last month had been Taggert living downstairs in the Brownstone. Once they had both gotten past their initial distrust of the other, they had bonded remarkably quickly. Taggert had taken on the role of the protective big brother Carly had never had and always wanted; he was just -- easy to be with. And, easy was exactly what she needed right now. "Catch any bad guys today?"
"Not enough," Taggert said. "And, not who I wanted to catch. You know, you could help me with that, Carly."
"No matter how many times you ask, Taggert, I'm never gonna say yes." Carly brushed her fingers lightly over her daughter's cheek, seeing her baby's father in the dimple that showed briefly as Ginia smiled up at her mother. "Not that I could if I wanted to; my ex-husband never trusted me enough to give me any information that would incriminate him," Carly couldn't quite hide the bitterness that was still there every time she thought of Sonny.
"Ex?" Taggert lifted his eyebrow, leaning against the doorframe and watching Carly closely. "So that's why you're so on edge today."
Carly lifted her daughter to her shoulder, pressing her lips against Ginia's forehead as she began to rub her back avoiding Taggert's knowing eyes. She sighed finally, turning to look at him as he continued to watch her, refusing to let her silence make him go away. "God, stop staring at me, Marcus!" Carly snapped, throwing a stuffed toy at him. He simply crossed his arms, looking back at her. Carly leaned back against the couch, closing her eyes, her daughter a sweet weight in her arms. "My divorce is final today, okay? Satisfied?" she demanded, opening her eyes to glare at Taggert. "Sonny's probably signing the papers as we speak."
"Good," responded Taggert bluntly, straightening up and heading back out the door and down to his apartment. He paused at the open door, turning to look back at Carly. "You and Corinthos came damn near to destroying each other, Carly," he said, all the joking gone from his face. "But, you managed to get away clean. Most of the people in his world don't. For your kid's sake," he looked pointedly at the contended baby burbling happily in her arms, "if not your own, don't look back. Don't go back. Let him go, and just don't look back. You won't get a second chance," he shook his head once, grimly, his eyes clouded with the past. "Most people around Sonny never even get one."
the Grille
"Right here," Alexis paused, her finger indicating a dotted line. She flipped several pages, then pointed again. "And, here again." She watched as Sonny signed his name, quickly, grimly, then gathered up the sheaf of papers, slipping them in her briefcase, and looked at the man sitting across from her. "That's it, Sonny; it's done. You are now officially divorced from Ms. Caroline Benson neé Corinthos." Sonny made no response, and Alexis sighed, then leaned across the table. "Sonny, it might not seem like it now, but it really will get better. I know this."
Sonny returned her gaze, expressionless. "You don't know a damn thing, Counselor," he said finally. "Not about me, and not about how I'm feeling right now. And, the last thing I need is your pity."
"Good," Alexis retorted, sharply. "Because I wasn't offering it. There is such a thing as empathy, Sonny, and it doesn't have a thing to do with pity, just knowing where someone's been and offering to share the pain. Shared pain is halved, ever heard the expression?" She shook her head, exasperated. "Of course not; you don't believe in sharing, do you? Or empathy."
Sonny blew out an explosive breath threw his teeth, looking past Alexis for a long moment, before turning back to her. "Thank you," he said, finally, much more quietly. "For handling this so quickly and for just now. I took out how I'm feeling on you, and you deserve better from me. It's been -- a hell of a day." Of a week. Of a month. Of a year. His whatever-it-was with Carly this past year had been a roller coaster ride. The highs had been so high, but the lows had been too damn low. And, in the end, the lows had been all there'd been. Sonny sighed. At least they had their baby, their beautiful daughter, Virginia Esperanza Corinthos. The light of his life and the only reason he still held on to what little bit of faith he had left. He looked back at Alexis. "Ginia's always gonna be taken care of; that's clear, right?"
Alexis nodded. "Yes. The amount of child support you stipulated is more than generous, Sonny. Your daughter will never want for anything. And, the custody agreement is iron-clad; you and Carly share custody pretty much 50/50. As long as you stay clean, at least on paper, Carly can never deny you access to your child."
Sonny shook his head. "That's the one thing I'm not worried about. Carly won't stop me from seeing Virginia; we may not agree on anything else, but we both know our daughter needs both her parents. She may rip out my heart," his eyes flashed darkly, "but she won't do the same to our kid." He lifted his scotch glass to his mouth, draining it in one smooth motion, placing the glass back on the table with a bang.
Alexis gazed across the table at her client. She reached across the table, placing her fingers lightly over his. "Sonny," Alexis said softly, "you're right, you know; I can't know exactly how you feel. I wouldn't presume to know that. But, I do know how it feels when a relationship ends, when love isn't enough to make things work," she couldn't hide the sadness in her eyes as she gazed at him. "You go on, Sonny, because you have to. Because there are people depending on you to do so -- like your daughter. At first it's just going through the motions, yes, but sooner or later, before you realize it, it's not just the motions, it's your life, and you're living it. It's hard, and it hurts, but it gets better, I promise you." She squeezed his hand gently, aware that somewhere along the line she'd crossed the line between a mere lawyer/client relationship and something more. But, then with this particular client, that line had always been a tenuous one, drawn in the sand.
Sonny caught Alexis' gaze with his, something in his eyes making her catch her breath in her throat. He lifted her hand to his lips, opening it and placing a kiss in the center of her palm. "Come home with me, Alexis," Sonny said, his eyes very dark and his voice very smooth. "Shared pain, halved pain, like you said. And, if we bring ghosts in the bedroom with us," he shrugged, sinuously, "it won't be the first time in the history of men and women."
Alexis' mouth tightened, and she snatched her hand away from his. "I think not," she said, briskly, not meeting his eyes as she gathered up her papers, putting them into her briefcase and closing it with a sharp snap. Alexis stood up, picking up her purse. She looked at Sonny, then placed her palms on the table and leaned over it, facing him. "As 'tempting' as your offer is, I have a party to go to, one you're expected at as well." She shook her head once. "You may not have a very high opinion of women, Sonny, and after seeing the women you've chosen to spend time with, frankly, I can see why. However, here's a tip -- just because a woman extends a hand to you, it doesn't mean she wants to share your bed. And, if you ever speak to me like that again, no matter how much pain you're in," Alexis leaned down to him, her words clear and distinct, "not only will our attorney/client relationship be severed, I'll be in the Police Commisioner's office so fast offering to join the other team that your head will spin." Alexis straightened up, composing her face with an effort. "I'll bill you for my time; the advice is free." She pushed in her chair, and stalked away.
Sonny gazed after her, signaling the waiter over. He was about to order another scotch, then surprised himself by deciding against it. "The check," he said, his eyes still on the doorway Alexis had just stormed out of. Sonny further surprised himself as he started to chuckle, long and low, the first time he'd laughed since Carly had walked out the penthouse door.
a small private plane, in the air over Port Charles
Laura exchanged a glance with Luke, then walked over, sitting down beside her son, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. It still thrilled her to be able to do that; for so long, if she'd so much as breathed in his direction, Lucky had flinched away, his eyes cold. It had taken them months of rebuilding, of fixing what Helena had broke inside of him to allow them to reach the place where they were now. But finally, Laura thought, looking over at Luke, holding LuLu in his arms as he pointed out the window, spinning one of his tale tales for her, their family had begun to heal. And, become whole and stronger than it ever had. Leaving Port Charles, though painfully hard, had been the best thing they had ever done. There had been too many ghosts around ever corner for them to stay. Laura hadn't wanted to come back. But, he had; her hand lifted to Lucky's hair, as she smoothed it out of his eyes. Her son had announced, a few weeks ago, that he was ready to go back. And, so, they had packed up, left North Carolina, and were on their way back to Port Charles, to face all the those ghosts they had left behind. "Are you sure, Lucky?" Laura asked her son, gently. "We don't have to do this; you don't have to prove anything to any one."
Lucky turned from the window to face her. "Yeah, I do, Mom," he said, slowly. "I have to prove to myself that I can do this. That Helena didn't win. If I let her take Port Charles away from me, then she does; it's check and mate all over again. And, everything we did this past year is worthless." He turned back towards the window, leaning his chin on the back of the seat.
Laura squeezed his shoulders lightly and stood up, walking over to Luke. He let LuLu down, and she ran to her big brother, squealing in delight as he picked her up, smiling down at her. Laura smiled through tears as she watched them together; each time she saw her babies laugh together it was like a gift. She had learned about not taking things for granted. Laura turned back to Luke who was watching her. "It's too soon, Luke" she protested, her voice pitched low. "What if he's not ready? What if we're not?"
Luke pulled her into his arms, placing a kiss on the top her her head. "It was Lucky's call, angel," he said, not hiding the small note of worry in his own voice. "If it were up to me, we'd never come back; you know that. But," he shrugged, "our boy's stronger than me, always has been. If he says he's ready -- we got to give him that. Maybe it is time, Laura." Luke looked at Lucky, the boy's face caught in the setting son. "Maybe it's time for all of us to go home."
