Sonny & Carly # 7  November 21, 2000 - February 9, 2001 - 8 hrs

Sonny arrived at Kelly's to see Roy. Roy was working in the kitchen to repair all the damage that Luke had done. Sonny asked Roy about his opinion of Zander. Sonny has to make a decision about whether to back Zander and start a war with Sorel or just let Zander go. Roy told Sonny that Zander seemed okay and that he felt he was worth saving. In the middle of their conversation Florence came up to Sonny and introduced herself. She had remembered Sonny from Deke and asked Sonny if he was Deke's son. Sonny told her she had the wrong person. She was quite surprised, but then Taggert came in and swooped her away from Sonny.

Before Carly could begin to talk about the job Bobbie began to talk about Thanksgiving dinner. Bobbie started with the list of people that she knew were not quite big Carly fans (Hannah, Elizabeth, Mac, and Taggert). Hannah she invited because of her being Roy's daughter, Taggert as her date, Mac as Felicia's ex, Elizabeth as Lucky's date. Carly was offended that her mom had even considered inviting all of these people after all family should come first. Bobbie tried to explain to Carly that everyone would be on their best behavior, but Carly could not see her way clear to asking Sonny to dine with two cops who have been trying to put him away, never mind the Fed who spied on him. She told Bobbie that she, Sonny, and Michael will be having their own Thanksgiving dinner at the penthouse. Bobbie decided to just leave because she could not get through to Carly. Later Sonny returned home to find Carly crying on the couch. He asked her what was wrong. She said nothing and he asked again. She asked how he would feel about making Thanksgiving dinner with her. Then Carly began to explain what happened to the dinner at her mom's house. Sonny comforted Carly and told her not to worry that he and Michael were the only family that they needed for Thanksgiving. Then Carly brought up Mike. Sonny immediately withdrew and told her not today, he had enough about fathers today. Carly asked him why he made this statement. Sonny confessed that he ran into a woman that knew Deke and had remembered him from Brooklyn. The whole incident had brought back bad memories. Carly comforted Sonny and told him not to let it get to him. Carly told Sonny that she had an errand to run and proceeded in a cab to Cortland Street. She went into this dive to find Mike. Mike was there all right, but gambling as usual. This situation even made Carly do a double take about Mike. After being so frustrated that Mike was gambling again, Carly left and went out for a cab, but since it was such a bad neighborhood the cab did not wait for Carly. As she was trying to secure another cab two of Sorel's goons showed up to teach Carly a lesson (or to give Sonny a message).

Down on Courtland Street, two men had Carly up against a wall. Mike tried to rescue her but they would punch him and toss him aside. One held Carly while the other started to undo her blouse. She bit one of them on the hand and she did fight and struggle. They heard a car and ran off with a last push to Carly. She fell down and scraped her hands. Sonny came over and helped her up, and after telling Johnny to find Mike a room, get him cleaned up and pay his debts, he took Carly home. He cleaned her hands up and, while she was in the shower, called Benny and asked him to find out about the two goons that attacked Carly. Carly came out and he asked her about the two guys. She described them as big and mean and she wasn't sure where they came from. She had gone to see Mike. She didn't give him any money, she got mad at him and left and wasn't sure if they had followed her from there. Sonny held her and told her he didn't want to lose her. The next day, Carly suffered the after affects of her attack and was too bruised and sore to even get out of bed. She wanted to go to Bobbie's for Thanksgiving dinner, but Sonny thought it would be a good idea to stay home with Michael. He cooked a meal for the three of them and the new family ate their first Thanksgiving meal in the bedroom. The Q's sang their traditional holiday song, followed by a music montage of everyone enjoying in their Thanksgiving feasts.

Sonny and Carly head off to see Scotty and Laura to sign the papers for Deception. Scotty and Laura are waiting at the new office space Laura rented. Scotty is stilled worried that Laura is in over her head with Sonny. He wants Sonny to answer a few questions before he agrees to sell. Sonny tells him that he has proof his money is legit, for Laura, but he does not have to put up with Scotty. Sonny and Scotty are ready to do battle so Carly and Laura have to step in. The women convince Scotty and Sonny to settle and make the deal. Laura gets 50% Carly gets 49% and Sonny will get 1% and be a silent partner. Carly isn't happy with the split, she wants to be a full partner. Sonny tells her she will be if she behaves. He and Scotty leave Carly and Laura alone. Carly and Laura discuss a few ideas and get along fine until Laura tells Carly her office is across the hall. Carly "You mean the small one?" Carly is upset that Laura chose the larger office for herself. She reminds Laura that it was Sonny who put up the money to buy Deception. Sonny gets upset when Michael falls at school after being pushed by an older kid and gets hurt. Sonny overacts at seeing the child hurt and doesn't want to send him back to school. Sonny wants to protect him and keep him safe. Carly talks to Sonny and makes a lot of sense. She gets Sonny to see that pulling Michael out of school isn't the answer. She points out that Sonny is reacting from his past, from the pain Deke caused him. Carly then jokes that they could always send Johnny & Rick to deal with the school bully. Next, Carly complains to Sonny that Laura took the big office and left her with a "broom closet".

Sonny and Carly have lunch at the grill. Carly is excited about "My first business meeting with my husband!" She is over the top with enthusiasm about Deception. Sonny tells her that he loves her ideas for Deception. Carly admits to being a bit nervous but says that she thinks this is one thing that she is good at, visualizing and marketing all of the colors and packaging for the Deception line of cosmetics. Sonny tells her that she is smart and very good at a lot of things and she just needs to have faith in herself and her own ideas. Carly tells Sonny that she will be in meetings with Laura all day and Sonny reassures her that meetings are good. They are about communication and much better than going behind someone's back.(and then he flashes those oh so awesome dimples....) Carly asks Sonny if he would please pick up Michael from pre-school and take him to the park. Sonny agrees and Carly kisses him good-bye and leaves for her "meetings". As soon as she is out of sight, Carly calls Mike and asks him to go to the park to visit with his Godson. Carly tells Mike that Michael will be in the park after pre-school with Leticia. After a little prodding on Carly's part, Mike agrees to go see Michael. When Mike arrives at the park, Sonny, not Leticia, is pushing Michael on the swing and he realizes that Carly set it up for the two of them to run into each other. What he doesn't know is that Carly is hiding behind the bushes to witness the encounter. Mike tells Sonny, "Carly means well, she seems to think that you need me." As Mike turns to leave Sonny says, "You came back Mike, I didn't think you would". Mike tells Sonny that there are no words to describe his remorse for slapping Sonny. Sonny does not look at Mike, but he does let Mike continue to talk, trying to explain what he has attempted to do and why (in Mike's opinion) it has all been in Sonny's best interest. Mike tells Sonny that the wall Sonny has up around him to avoid getting hurt is something that Mike did. Sonny continues to push Michael in the swing and still will not look at Mike.

Sonny asks Johnny to take Michael home, then turns around and says, “You can come out now.” Carly slowly emerges from behind the bushes and cautiously approaches Sonny. Sonny asks, “Are you happy now?” Carly looks him in the eyes, not sure exactly how to read him and the extent of his anger for the stunt she just pulled. As she walks towards him she begins explaining why she set up the “reunion” between Mike and Sonny. Carly is quick to point out that she did it because of how much Sonny has given her and means to her, but Sonny doesn’t see it that way and lets Carly know it. The confrontation between the two is not like the ones in the past, however. Sonny can see that Carly did this out of caring for him and is very calm but firm as he lets her know that he doesn’t like surprises of any kind because they could put her or Michael in danger. Sonny lets Carly know that she means too much to him to risk losing her and that he has to be able to trust that she won’t pull anymore “surprises” no matter how innocent or safe they seem to her. Carly agrees and they seal her promise with a kiss. Carly then invites Sonny out to dinner at the new place that just opened up in the park, to celebrate her promise and her new career. He agrees and they decide to meet back at the park in a couple of hours.

Carly was waiting in the park ALONE for Sonny to join her. Sorel comes upon her and made some caustic remarks to her and then Sonny appeared. He asked Sorel to stay away from Carly. Sorel asked Sonny to quit protecting Zander Smith or due harm could result. Later a pensive, rather sullen Sonny told Carly that he would never let her get hurt. Carly came off the elevator to the newly renovated reception area. She went to her office and saw it newly renovated also. She went storming into Laura's office and slammed her parcels on the desk. Laura got off the phone and told her she wouldn't believe the ideas the ad agency came up with for Deception. Carly told Laura she would have to try a lot harder to get rid of her because that must be what she's trying to do. Laura just stared at her. Carly complained about her going ahead with renovations without consulting her. She asked Laura if she wanted to be called her highness. Laura apologized, saying that she had been helping everyone but herself for so long she just thought of wanting to things on her own. She agreed to consult with Carly in the future. Carly told her she could make her own office boring if she wanted to but the reception area is the first thing people see and it should impress. Laura said she had an appointment with the ad agency and Carly said she wanted to go along. Laura agreed but just then Chloe showed up. Her and Carly hugged and Carly introduced her to Laura. She didn't go with Laura but asked to be kept informed. Carly and Chloe talked about Alexis wedding and the disaster of a shower. Carly said she would step down as Matron of Honor since Alexis didn't really like her anyway and she just got the job by mistake. Chloe said no but she would like to help. Carly had asked Alexis over, it was an emergency. Alexis came by and asked what was wrong. Carly said she wanted to talk about a bachelorette party. Alexis was surprised to get summoned for that reason when she had a job to get to. She finally agreed.

Alexis ran into Sonny on the docks and asked him to help Zander out, since the DA's office had pulled their plea bargain off the table. Sonny agreed to help and later paid Zander a visit. On his way into the station, Sonny confronted Taggert and accused him of jumping to conclusions and using Zander. He also gave Taggert a dig about how the department has lost face, based on all their work on a murder case when the guy (Stefan) wasn't even dead. Sonny gave Zander advice, "think and watch…cops are not your friends" and reassured Zander that his people (presumably on the inside) will take care of him. Sonny gave Zander his word that he would do everything in his power to keep him alive.

Gia brings up that she grew up in the same neighborhood as Sonny and tries to score points with Carly by dropping that Sonny's stepfather Deke always looked out for her brother, Taggert. Carly tells Gia that that's not a good memory and not to bring it up again. Alexis' bachelorette party. Everyone makes Carly swear she didn't get a stripper as Alexis doesn't need anymore publicity. Then music begins, and a buff guy struts in and begins to strip much to Alexis' embarrassment. He sits on her lap as a photographer shoots pictures (set up by AJ no doubt).

Sonny and Carly are adorable at home together. Sonny warns Carly that she is not to go anywhere “without protection.” Carly reluctantly agrees to this and heads to work. Laura and Carly have a showdown over the new face of Deception. They agree that they want someone beautiful, untapped and accessible. . . Laura thinks she has the perfect idea – Elizabeth Webber. Carly, of course, strongly disagrees and she storms out of the room.

Sonny calls Mike and tells him to come to him when he needs money and not to get involved with a loan-shark. Mike promises it won’t be necessary. Carly returns home from work just in time to hear Benny warning Sonny that he could be in danger from Sorrel. She was worried and told them not to deny what she had heard. "Sorel wants to kill you?" she asked Sonny. Sonny told her she should not eavesdrop. She just walked in the door she told him. He told her hears and takes everything out of context. She told him not to treat her like a child. "Sorel is skipping Zander and coming straight for you?" she asked. Sonny told her Benny's job was to worry, but there was nothing to worry about. They both assured her Sonny wasn't in danger but discussed that very danger after Carly left them. Sonny told him to just make sure everyone was safe. Carly came down later and he inquired about her voice. She said she sounded like a boy. She asked if she could talk about Deception. He told her he wasn't interested. Just like we don't discuss my business, we don't discuss yours. She asked him if would then be willing to give her his 1% of Deception. He said no. She told him that they were launching the "Face of Deception" again but Laura wanted to ruin things by having a girl who wasn't even pretty. Elizabeth Webber wasn't the right one for the job. Sonny thought she would be good. Carly made a remark about him marrying Elizabeth in a couple of years if he hadn't been forced to marry her, Carly. He asked why would he marry Elizabeth?

Carly and Sonny were in a playful mood. Sonny had promised Carly that if she convinced him well enough, then he would sign over his 1% share of Deception so that she could be a full partner equal with Laura. Sonny was about to leave for work when Carly came down the stairs. He told her that her waffles were awaiting her in the kitchen. She asked how come he was going to leave without saying goodbye to his wife. He told her it was because she was sleeping. Carly asked about their agreement and when was he going to give her the paper. He told her that she had not convinced him. She was shocked and told him he just did not want her to be totally independent. He smiled and said no, she just did not convince him last night. Carly playfully responded that until she receives the stock then Sonny would be sleeping alone. Sonny then said he would miss her and it was going to be a long and cold winter. Carly and Sonny left for work, separately. Several hours later, Sonny and Benny arrived at the penthouse. Benny had told Sonny that he needed to talk to him in a secure place. The phone rang; it was Jason. Jason told Sonny it was time and he had to come to Puerto Rico to finally resolve this issue with Carlos. Sonny agreed and said he would come in 1.5 days. Benny then told Sonny that things in Port Charles were much too dangerous for him to leave. Sonny said he had to straighten things out with Carlos. Benny asked who would be watching out for him and Sonny replied Jason has his back. Benny still insisted that Sonny not go, but realized that this conversation was not stopping him so he told him to be extremely cautious because he could be walking into a trap. A short while later Carly returned home and found Sonny on the phone talking about his trip, but she did not hear anything. Carly begins to disrobe in front of her husband and then throws her coat at him. He asked what she was doing home so early. Carly said that Laura had taken the rest of the afternoon off and so was she besides she could spend extra time with Michael. Sonny asked if he needed to go back to the warehouse and work in order not to be a distraction. Carly countered and said maybe she should go upstairs and work because she may be a distraction. Sonny said he liked the idea of upstairs. Carly then informed him that this was not going to work. She was not going to be with him until he gave her the stock. Sonny started to kiss Carly softly on the neck and ear area. Carly held on for about 5 minutes and then gave up her boycott until tomorrow. Sonny and Carly ran upstairs.

Sonny was on the phone with Benny, telling him that he had to deal with Carlos himself and was going to Puerto Rico that night. Carly came down ready to go to work and Sonny told her this was December and it was almost Christmas, they needed to get a Christmas tree. He told her to get Michael bundled up and they would all go looking for a tree. "The three of us spending the day together?" she asked. "Okay, but you better tell your friend Laura," she added. When they got to the tree lot they let Michael pick out the tree. They took it home and she told Michael that while he had a nap, the elves would decorate the tree. Sonny objected to being referred to as an elf. After Carly finished decorating, she told Sonny that she forgot about the star for the top of the tree. He handed her a box and in it was an angel for the top of the tree. They brought Michael down to watch him putting the angel on the tree. Later, he told Carly he had to go to Puerto Rico. She told him he can't, they have to go to Ned and Alexis' wedding rehearsal dinner.

Carly told Sonny if he really cared about her and Michael he wouldn't go to Puerto Rico. She thought that what was why Jason was there. Sonny said Jason had done what he could but he had to go and finish. They argued and finally she stormed out and went to the Quartermaines' for the rehearsal dinner. She left early and went back home and apologized to Sonny. She said she was afraid for him. They parted on a more friendly footing.

It's Alexis' wedding day and Carly is her matron of honor. Elton becomes frazzled when Chloe fails to materialize with the replacement wedding gown. Carly arrives, reassures them and ushers out Elton. She assures Alexis that hair and make up have arrived. Carly loans Alexis the earrings that Jason gave her for the something borrowed. She points out that her and Sonny are doing very well together and that she wore the earrings when she married Sonny so they will bring Alexis good luck. Unfortunately they don't do the trick. As Alexis is walking down the aisle to her groom, she has visions of the Q's, Ned with a ball and chain. Suddenly overwhelmed with fears about joining the wacky Quartermaine clan, Alexis slows her march down the aisle to a crawl. Alexis finally makes it to the altar but panics and quickly retreats from the church at top speed, leaving behind a gloating Helena and a stunned group of guests.

AJ and Hannah were sitting at the counter at Kelly's when AJ started to harass Carly. Of course Carly retaliated but things escalated into a shouting match when Hannah jumped to AJ's defense. Bobbie came out of the kitchen and through AJ out of Kelly's and Hannah followed him out. Lucky, Elizabeth, Nikolas, and Gia end up at Kelly's after the wedding disaster. They go to sit down at the bar when Gia started to comment on their day. Then she told Elizabeth to share her good news with Bobbie and Carly. Elizabeth told them that she was going to do a test shoot to be the face of Deception. Carly was shocked and said that she could not believe that her partner would do this without her. Carly and Elizabeth go at it for a while, but then Elizabeth stopped and went upstairs. Lucky then asked Carly to ease up on Elizabeth because he will be looking out for her. Carly gets an idea. She grabbed Gia's attention and then offers her the chance to be the new face of Deception. She wants to do a test shoot tomorrow. Gia agreed and said she would see her first thing in the morning. Gia was ecstatic as she and Nikolas left Kelly's. Carly's cell phone started to ring. She grabbed it and said Sonny. It was him. He was brief but told her that he missed her and would be home for Christmas. Carly was glad to hear from Sonny, but extremely worried that she had heard something wrong in his voice.

As Laura preps Elizabeth for her first photo shoot, Carly arrives with her own hand-picked candidate for the new face of Deception, her choice is Gia. After asking Elizabeth and Gia to wait outside in the reception room, Laura blasts her business partner for trying to show her up. Emily arrives at Deception and begs Carly to get an urgent message to Sonny. Laura softens towards Carly after learning why she is so out of sorts. Rattled by Sorel's threats, Alexis also pressures Carly to get an urgent message to Sonny. Carly is thrilled when Sonny returns home ahead of schedule.

Christmas show - Sonny & Carly make out on the couch. She pulls away saying she has promised to take Michael to the GH Christmas party. He pulls her back to him and says they will both go with Michael- later! They fall back to the living room floor, undressing each other. Johnny knocks and hearing Sonny's voice enters with Alexis on his heels. Alexis is very embarrassed at interrupting them. Sonny readily agrees to bail Zander out and tells Alexis he'll put the boy up in a safe house until he's ready to testify. Sonny promises Carly and Michael he'll meet them at the hospital party following the conclusion of his business. Sorel is pleased to hear that his nemesis has returned to Port Charles just in time for the fireworks to begin. Alan reads the traditional story of the nativity and "Santa" Tony distributes toys to all the boys and girls in the children's ward. Sonny, Alexis, Zander, and Emily were walking out of the Police Headquarters. When Zander was at the steps he let out a primal scream to acknowledge his freedom. He was so happy to be free that he ran down the stairs and began to play in the snow and then started throwing snowballs at Emily. Sonny and Alexis looked on them and were happy that they could finally share some fun times together. Zander picked Emily up and started to spin her around when he noticed two men, in police uniforms with machine guns. Then Sonny turned around and yelled get down. The men were already upon them and with machine guns. Zander covered Emily and Sonny did the same for Alexis. Both Zander and Sonny were shot. The gunmen went up to the four as they laid on the snow. One gunman was about to finish Sonny off, but the other one said let's go. Zander regained composure first and checked on Emily. Emily immediately started to scream. Sonny told Emily to be quiet and asked Alexis to go inside for help and an ambulance. Alexis noticed that Sonny was bleeding so she took off her scarf and used it to apply pressure to his wound. Sonny was unable to move. Finally Garcia and other officers from inside came out and started to take action. Garcia questioned the four and they all told them that the gunmen were police officers but the shooting happened too quickly they could not identify the shooters. Alexis kept asking where the ambulance was. Sonny was getting worst. Alexis kept reassuring him that he would be okay. Sonny asked Alexis to tell Carly that he loved her. Alexis promised that she would. After uttering those words, Sonny lost consciousness. Alexis again wondered where the ambulance was. The ambulance did seem to take a long time to arrive, but finally the EMT's started to work on Sonny and Zander.

At General Hospital, Carly, Michael, and Johnny were walking from the Christmas party when they ran into the Lila, Edward, and Alan. Carly told them that Michael wanted to say goodbye to them. They were thrilled to see Michael again and thanked Carly for her offering. After the Quartermaine’s left, Bobbie went over to her daughter and told her how proud she was of her. Carly thanked her and told her she owed it all to Sonny. He has made her aware of how important family is. Carly told her mom that even though Michael will never live in that house again, she wanted him to know his grandparents and great grandparents. Carly then said that she knew that Sonny and she were working out great, but what really made her realize this is when he left for Puerto Rico and she thought about him day and night. The man is controlling and stubborn, but he has a side that is so very warm, kind, loving, and loyal. We just fit. Bobbie confirmed that Carly and Sonny are a fit, but then asked Carly if she had told Sonny that she loved him. Carly said no. She had not told him because she is scared of uttering the words out loud. Bobbie told her she should not be scared and to let Sonny know her feelings.

Sonny was brought into GH and was in a critical state and unconscious too. Alexis walked in and overhead the nurses saying that Sonny may not make it. Alexis immediately went to look for Carly. Covered in blood Alexis walked off the elevator to meet Carly, Michael, and Johnny. When Carly saw her, she realized that something had happened. She ordered Johnny to take Michael home to Leticia and stay with them. Alexis told her that Sonny was critical and they needed to get down to ER right away. Once the elevator doors open, Carly flew down the hall to Sonny. Alexis ran into Ned and they embraced and hugged each other tightly. Carly was crying and trying to reassure Sonny. She said, "baby I know you can hear me. You are going to be all right all you have to do is get through this. You can do this Sonny. Don't leave me Sonny. Please don't leave me!"

A weeping Carly begs her husband to fight for his life as Sonny is wheeled into the operating room. Carly sits waiting with Alexis who tells her that Sonny asked her to tell Carly that he loves her. Carly sits with tears in her eyes fearing she will never hear these words from his lips. Taggert and Mac arrive and ask Alexis to recount the events of the shooting. As she describes what happened we see the scenes play out. She concludes that Sonny saved her life. Relieved to learn that Sonny survived surgery, Carly dares to hope for the best. But Monica warns her that he is still in very critical condition.

Carly continues her bedside vigil beside a still unconscious Sonny. She confesses her love to him and tells him that he must get better. Bobbie arrives and asks Carly why she didn't have anyone call her and tell her about Sonny. Carly says that there is nothing that Bobbie could have done. Bobbie tells Carly that she could have been there for her and held her hand, even if that was all, and Carly thanks her mother for her concern and her love. Bobbie talks to Monica about Sonny's condition and Monica tells Bobbie that she should probably prepare Carly for the worst. When Carly overhears this she goes ballistic on Monica! Carly tells Monica that Sonny is going to make it through this and live whether Monica likes it or not!

Laura offers a grateful Carly some words of comfort. Carly's hopes are revived when her husband seems to respond to the touch of little Michael's hand. Carly and Michael were sitting with Sonny, Michael with his little hand around Sonny's. Sonny opened his eyes but didn't say anything. Carly got her hopes up because she thought he smiled at them. He closed his eyes again just as Bobbie came in. Carly told her what happened and asked if he was getting better. Bobbie said he was holding his own. Later Mike showed up and Carly asked if Bobbie had called him. He said it was all over the news. He just wanted to see Sonny. They hugged and Carly let him stay but cautioned him not to upset Sonny. Mike sat and talked to Sonny, tears in his eyes. Later Carly was with him when he went into cardiac arrest.

Sonny flat lined. As he is out, Sonny experienced an after life vision. Carly was frantic as the doctor and nurses worked to revive Sonny. Sonny walked to this door and opened it. Behind the door there was Lily. She welcomed him home. Sonny told her that he was afraid that he would never see her again. Lily told Sonny that it is easy to love and that they are always with him. "Can't you feel us loving you? Sonny, you love with all your heart even when you hide it from yourself." Meanwhile, the doctor was unable to revive Sonny. Carly demanded that they keep trying. Carly yelled that her husband was not dead try it again when they wanted to declare him dead! Sonny told Lily that he did not want to do this. He confessed that he ached to be with her and to see his children. He wanted to hold her and now that he's here he cannot stay. He told Lily that he has a new wife and a little boy that he cannot leave behind because if he was with her and his two children then Carly and Michael would be alone. Lily reassured Sonny that they could wait for him. "We can love you from here. Don't worry about us because we are safe here there are no laws and no pain." Sonny then said that he loves Carly and does not want to leave her. Lily again told him to go and be happy and be loved. Sonny closed the door and walked back. The doctor got a pulse; Sonny was back amongst the living again. Carly thanked God for Sonny's return to her (as did fans across the world!). The doctor gave Carly the okay to be close to Sonny again. She told the doctor that she was right and Sonny was not dead and he agreed. Carly began to converse with Sonny. She told him that she knew him well. He knew what it was like to be left alone by the one you loved. You become angry, sad, and empty and it takes a long time to ever care about anyone again. Carly said she knew he would not do that to her. She confessed that when his heart stopped beating so did her heart. She told him that she truly loved him it was not a fake love like with Tony and it was different from her love of Jason her friend. Carly talked about how she did not mind when he called her Caroline when they were on the island, even though she won't let anyone else call her that because it reminds her of when she was just poor and trashy. The Carly she was now, well she did not know exactly what she is going to be, but for sure she knew that this Carly was just a woman that loves Sonny so much. At that moment, Sonny began to open his eyes. Tears of joy poured down Carly's face. She began to speak, but Sonny shushed her. He told her that he came back for her. Carly replied with thank you. . Taggert barged into Sonny's hospital room to question him about the shooting and to ask him about his plans for Sorel. Carly berated him for upsetting Sonny and she called Benny to tell him Sonny needed increased security. Sonny woke up to see Carly talking to Benny and panicked. Sonny reminds Benny not to take any orders from Carly no matter what the circumstances. Tony warns Carly that upsetting her ailing husband again could cost Sonny his life.

Zander comes to the hospital and promises Sonny he'll make it up to him for nearly getting him killed. Carly weeps tears of joy as Sonny eloquently declares his love.

Carly came into Kelly's , Bobbie hugged her and said it was nice to see her out and about. Hurt by Sonny's insistence that she not interfere in his business, Carly looks to her mother for sympathy. Carly told Bobbie that Sonny still didn't trust her. He had overheard her talking to Benny and called them both in. He told Benny that he didn't take orders from Carly. Carly was not involved in his business at all. She decided to leave for awhile and get some fresh air. Carly asked Laura if she had signed Elizabeth Webber as the face of Deception and Laura told her she would wait till Carly came back as promised.

Zander went to see Sonny and said he was healing and was Sonny healing also. Sonny said apparently and they were both lucky that Sorel's goons were so terrible at their jobs. Zander asked if Sorel had tried to kill him before and Sonny said he was usually just a nuisance. Zander said that the bullets Sonny got should have been his as he suspected they were really after him that night. Sonny disagreed, he figured they were after both of them and because of the failure, he would be even more desperate. He said that Zander was safe at Alexis' place, but only really safe after Sorel was behind bars or removed. After Zander left, Carly came back to see Sonny. She asked if he really had told Alexis to tell her, Carly, that he loved her. She says probably his last words to Alexis were orders for Benny. He said yes, he did that he didn't want to die without her knowing that he loved her. She said she loved him too. They talk about his near death, Carly tells him how she screamed at the doctors not to give up on him. Carly wants to know when he knew he loved her. He doesn't answer but instead says, "Isn't it enough that I love you now?" She doesn't argue but leans over and kisses him as the heart monitor goes crazy. This sets off a buzzer at the nurse's station. Amy rushes in, figures out what is going on and warns Carly that Sonny needs his rest. Sony talks Carly into getting in bed beside him over her protests that he could have a heart attack. He beseeches her, flashing those dimples, that he needs her (how could a girl resist?). She asks Amy if they could have a couple of hours of private time. Amy snarks that this isn't a hotel but ICU.

Sonny tells her he wants her, needs his wife. She is undressing him, kissing him. Alexis & Zander arrive at the hospital to see him. Alexis asks Amy why the door to Sonny's room is closed. She wants to know when was the last time someone checked on him, "he could be dead!" obviously not understanding that Sonny wasn't alone. Alexis knocks on the door and is shocked (when she realizes why the door is closed) to hear Carly tell her to go away.

At Deception, Elton was on the phone when Carly walked in. He put the person on hold and greeted her, asking about her husband. She said he was fine and asked if he was filling in. He told her he worked at Deception now. Laura stepped out of her office and saw Carly. Carly asked if she had made any other business decisions without her besides Elton. Laura assured Carly he was only on a trial basis until she came back. Carly said she didn't want to fight as soon as she got back. Elton handed Carly some information he had researched on the internet about post-surgery care. She thanked him and asked to see Laura in Laura's office. They went in and Laura told her again that Elton was only on a trial basis until Carly approved also. She didn't want to bother her at the time since she was by Sonny's bedside and the phones had been ringing off the hook. Elton showed up just at the right time. Carly agreed that Elton was okay but what about the face of Deception, had she finalized that. She wanted to be there for the test shots and Laura assured her she would be; she had pushed them back till Carly was ready.

Alexis went to see Sonny, who was out of ICU. He was on the phone with Benny but hung up when Alexis came in. She asked if he should be using the cell phone with all the heart monitors around. He said he had already had all the lectures from the nurses but business was business. Alexis told him Zander's testimony at the Grand Jury hearing had gone admirably. They had to talk about the charges against Sorel but also about coffee contracts. She paused, uncomfortable, and Sonny asked what was wrong. She said she didn't know how to do this; she was having an unusually hard time expressing herself. She wanted to thank him for saving her life. "So you thanked me," he said. "I didn't do that much," he continued. She said that he took the time to push her away, took the bullets himself. He told her he didn't remember much about it; just Emily and Zander fooling around in the snow, then lying on the ground. He tried to ask Alexis to tell Carly he loved her. Alexis told him he shouldn't have to wait till he was at death's door to tell his wife he loved her. Not that she was a relationship expert; it took almost getting shot for Ned to forgive her; she guessed she had Sonny to thank for that too. She said he's the last person she ever expected to care about, but she did, very much. "Right back at you," he replied. Carly came in and asked if they could cut the therapy session short as Sonny just got shot a few days ago and didn't need to listen to Alexis' problems with Ned. Alexis asked Carly what was that in ICU a couple of days ago, touch therapy? Alexis left and Sonny and Carly were getting all cozy when Mike showed up. He was going to leave but Carly told him to stay. He said he was glad Sonny was better. He didn't stay long and then Carly and Sonny got cozy again, Carly telling about her fantasy of their life. She was just afraid, because as soon as things started going well, something bad always happened.

Sonny woke up to find Carly sleeping in a chair next to his bed. He told her to go home and get some rest before she collapses. Carly argued but Sonny got his way and she left, reluctantly. Zander went to see Sonny and Sonny asked how he was doing. Zander told him better since the Grand Jury indicted Sorel. Sonny told him Alexis praised him on his testimony; told him to do the same thing at the trial, and Sorel would be put away for good. He asked what else was on his mind and Zander said he hated to ask but he felt he was in the way at Alexis' place and needed a place of his own. He asked if Sonny could lend him the money. Sonny didn't think it was safe for him to be on his own yet but gave in and lent him two months worth of rent. Zander said he would repay him and Sonny said the best way to repay him would be to get Sorel arrested. Zander said he owed him his life and someday, somehow he would pay him back. Carly came back later and Sonny said she was supposed to be resting. She told him she brought him a visitor, Michael. Michael had a get well card for him and Sonny thanked him and said he would get the nurse to put it up for him. Carly held Michael up to kiss Sonny and Sonny told Michael to take care of mommy and then they left.

As Sorel was about to kill Sonny with a pillow, Carly arrived and started to beat him with her purse. She also yelled quite loud for police and help. Sorel told Sonny that this was not over. Sonny then asked Carly to calm down. A hospital worker arrived and asked why the commotion. Sonny kept quiet and told Carly that she must have been mistaken. After the hospital worker left, Sonny told Carly that he did not want the police involved. Carly was stunned by his comment. First, Sonny called for Rick to come and watch his back. Then he explained that Sorel would be more useful to him alive. There was no way that Sorel has enough intelligence to keep an organization together. He has to be working with someone and Sonny is waiting for Sorel to lead him there. Carly accepted Sonny's reasoning and said it made sense. She said she was so scared that he was almost killed twice. I don't want to lose you because I love you. Then Sonny came back with the wonderful smile and said you are not going to lose me. A knock on the door and a voice about food from the Port Charles Grill. Carly told her husband that she was taking him out for dinner. She started to feed him and he teased her a little. He asked how come she was not home in bed and she asked him what is it with you and me in a bed (inside joke). She said that they had something to celebrate. Carly's phone rang, it was Laura and there was an emergency at Deception. Carly tried to get out of it, but Sonny insisted that she take the meeting. Carly reluctantly agreed. She asked why did he want her to leave? He told her that he wanted her to know how it felt to have to leave for work, not because you want to go, but because the job has to be done. She told him to finish eating, but not the dessert because she really bought that for her. She kissed him and went off to meet Laura at the office. Alexis tells Sonny about Zander skipping town. Sonny thinks it is because Sorel got to him. Once Alexis tells Sonny about Emily they realize he must have gone to California to see her. Alexis wants Sonny to get some of his men to find Em and Zander. Sonny tells her to calm down and he will get someone on it but it will take a few days because he doesn't want Sorel to find out Zander is gone.

Laura tells Carly about the problem at Deception and she needs to leave town to take care of it. Carly is all for Laura going and handling the problem without her.

Finding Sonny dressed and anxious to leave the hospital, Carly gently reminds her husband not to rush his recovery by pushing himself too hard. Marcus endures a tongue lashing from Carly when he returns to the hospital to harass Sonny. Bobbie confides her fears to Felicia. Lucky gives Alexis added grief right on the heels of her fight with Ned. Carly asked Sonny why he wasn't coming home with her, was he going to see Sorel? He said he had an errand to run and would be home soon. She said she loved him but wasn't supposed to worry about him. He told her it was because of her he was still alive. He finally convinced her to go home. Carly was back at the penthouse with Johnny, driving herself and him crazy with her questions and her worrying about Sonny's safety and health. Alexis stopped by to see Sonny but was told he was off on some errand with Rick instead of with her. She complained that he did what he wanted, didn't tell her anything. Alexis asked if they fought a lot, she hears them from across the hall. Carly asked if that was supposed to make her feel better. Alexis asked Carly if she married Sonny not knowing if he loved her. She said she hoped Carly knew how fortunate she was and Carly said she could be fortunate too but she made things so complicated. Alexis said she would keep that in mind. Carly was talking to Michael later, telling how careful they had to be with Sonny, he still hurt. Sonny came in and they kissed him to welcome him home. Later she came down and asked if he was tired and sore and would like to go to bed. She hoped he noticed she didn't ask where he was earlier. He told her to come over and they kissed. She told him she loved him, was she not allowed to worry about him.

Sonny went to Lily's grave and talked to her about his near death experience and that he didn't remember much, but thought he had seen her and his kids. He said she was in a good place, she was happy and that he was too. Despite her penchant for driving him crazy, Carly did love him and he loved her too. He couldn't leave Carly for her.

Carly helped Sonny to their bedroom and gently placed him on the bed. She said that she missed him every minute and she missed being alone with him without the audience at the hospital. Carly started to unbutton his shirt, and was shocked by the bandages on his chest. She quickly turned her head and got up. She said I need to get you some PJ's. Sonny said, you are going to get me what? PJ's she said. He said, I have a bed to sleep in and a wife to sleep with, so tell me Carly what has you so scared? Carly hesitated and tears started rolling down her face. It scares me that I almost lost you and seeing the bandages remind me that you have two bullet holes in your chest. Carly continued I guess I live in denial along with a lot of people, because nothing is promised. If you think about how many ways you can loose a loved one you could go crazy. Sonny replied that, I know the scares are ugly and I wish that they were gone, especially because it hurts you to see them. But they are proof that I survived. You gave me something to live for. Carly kissed Sonny and moved on top of him. I have been ready for a while now, and I want to be with my wife. Carly told Sonny that she did not want to hurt him. He said does it look like I'm hurting. Carly playfully stated that she was in charge and Sonny replied more or less. Carly said, I will make you a deal. You just lay there and don't move or do anything. Then she started to kiss his chest, and then she took her blouse off and started to kiss him on the face too. The two carefully made love. Later Sonny shared his after life vision with Carly. He told her about his children and their child being with Lily. He said I know it sounds strange, but it is comforting to know that their baby is safe with Lily. He also made it clear that Carly and living was his choice. He had a choice to cross over but he just could not leave Carly. Carly had a confession as well. She began, when your heart stopped beating, I thought that I would die too because I knew that I would never find anyone like you again. Sonny, you are everything to me. It is crazy because you are not exactly the person I thought that I would fall in love with. Sonny agreed and said that was true for him too. Carly expounded and stated that he was very controlling, demanding, and did not share their kitchen. Sonny remarked that it was his kitchen. Carly continued and said that you have to share baby because we are married. There are certain things that you'll never be able to give me that I need, but it does not matter because I love you. You just make me better than I have ever been in my whole life (what a terrific line). And if you ever come this close to death again, I will make you pay. Sonny smiled and replied, I know what it cost you to be with me and I know what it takes to let somebody in and love them. Carly told him, you are worth it. Loving you is worth anything and everything. They kissed more and fell asleep together. Later that night, Sonny had a nightmare about the shooting and woke up screaming. Carly did her best to comfort him, but Sonny still remained unsettled.

Carly caught Sonny heading to the kitchen. She knew as soon as she left, he would be cooking; by the time she was at the elevator the omelet would be in the frying pan. He said he was only going for some juice. She said she would make him an omelet. He told her she was scaring him. She knew how to make an omelet and he told her to scrape the black stuff off the toast before buttering it. She said she should let him starve, he was so mean. She helped him back to the couch and he told her she should leave or she would be late; wasn't it Elizabeth Webber's test shoot today? She said she wasn't going till he told her about her surprise. He wouldn't say and she finally left. Sonny called Jason and asked if there was any word on Sorel. He told him he wanted Sorel gone and his family safe. Jason told him Carlos had disappeared about the same time as Sorel so they assumed they were working together. He told Jason to handle things as discussed; he didn't want Carly and Michael at risk. Benny came to see Sonny and Sonny told him about Carlos and Sorel working together. Benny said Sonny was still the target. Sonny said his first priority was Carly and Michael and they had to be protected. He didn't want Carly to know anything about Sorel; she would try to protect him and end up getting them all killed. Benny agreed to double guard everyone but Sonny was still the target. With Sorel and Carlos working together they would be coming at Sonny with everything they had. Later Sonny had a nightmare about the shooting only Carly was shot in the dream.

Carly came into Laura's office and introduced herself to Theo (the photographer), saying she loved his work. She told Elizabeth to go have a catnap, because she looked a little puffy-eyed. Laura rescued Elizabeth and took her out to the reception area. She asked Elton to give Elizabeth the address to the photographer's studio and assured Elizabeth that she looked gorgeous. When she came back into her office Carly was showing Theo a picture of her choice, Gia. Theo said he was confused, wasn't he just to take pictures and see who comes out looking the best. It wasn't up to him to make their decision for them. Laura reassured him they just wanted to take the pictures objectively and they would decide. Objective is something he could do. After he left Laura and Carly had their usual argument about the face of Deception. They agreed that the pictures would decide who should be the next "face".

Sonny was having a nightmare about the shooting only Carly got shot and he yelled out her name. She came running down the stairs and came over and pulled him to her. She asked what was wrong but he said it was nothing; the drugs made him crazy. She said she didn't have to go to the shoot, Laura didn't want her there anyway. He said that she wanted to be there and he didn't want her to lose anything because of him. He continued to say that if Liz Webber got the job he would never hear the end of it. She finally left and Jason called and told Sonny that their plan for Sorel would work. It would be more than anyone expected.

Elizabeth was having a rough time during the photo shoot. Nothing seemed to help her loosen up. She looked stiff and not comfortable at all. Carly was pleased, but Laura was worried for her candidate. Lucky showed up and Elizabeth's eyes brightened. They hugged and said they missed one another as the make-up artist rushed over to Elizabeth and told Lucky not to smear her. Laura finally called a break and asked everyone to give Lucky and Elizabeth a moment. Carly walked in and saw them playing around with Lucky taking pictures of Liz with the photographers camera, she was not too happy about it (especialy since Liz loosened up for Lucky), but she did let them continue with out incident.

Sonny was on the phone with Jason telling him to stay out of sight. Jason agreed. He said they have to keep their advantage and surprise Sorel. Sonny said that he wanted Sorel gone before he takes something that he can't afford to lose. Jason reassured Sonny that Sorel would not go for Carly because she doesn't hold anything for him; he will come directly for Sonny. Sonny again said that this has to be done right to take down Sorel. Jason answered that he will be waiting when Sorel goes after Sonny again.

Prior to Alexis leaving for the Quartermaine's, she informed Sonny that Emily and Zander were back in town. Sonny told Alexis that Zander must be ready to testify and she was to do everything possible to ensure this. Sonny iterated to Alexis that Zander was not important, only his testimony because Sorel is a nuisance. He tried to kill me, and I find that inconvenient. Alexis, you must make sure that Zander testifies and puts Sorel away this is my only concern. As Alexis left, she told Sonny that it is a good thing that we are on the same side, otherwise you would be terrifying. Sonny took that as a complement.

Carly came home to champagne and a candle lit penthouse. She was surprised and not sure how to take it. Sonny came out of the kitchen and poured them champagne. Carly asked about the surprise that he had for her. He told her to be patient. She told him that he was torturing her. Sonny went over to hand Carly the champagne and she again started to ask about the surprise. He playfully asked if she could be quiet for more than one second. She told him that it was impossible for her. They both laughed. Sonny toasted to a long noisy life. Then he gets down on his knees and asked Carly to sit down. He started to say, I love you, more than I ever though possible. You have made my life complete and I want to spend the rest of it with you. Mrs. Corinthos will you marry me? Deeply touched by Sonny's romantic gesture, Carly happily agrees to remarry the man she loves. Sonny suggests to a delighted Carly that they renew their vows in a cozy little chapel on the island of Martinique.

Carly is excitedly guessing possible wedding locations. Sonny remains secretive, but promises it is "private and far away from everything. "Sonny and Carly begin to kiss, but are interrupted by a knock on the door. It is Elton, he shows Carly the test shoot proofs, but he is far more interested in the fact that he is standing in the same room as super cool rock star mobster Sonny Corinthos. For Elton's sake, Sonny plays up the tough guy act a bit and leaves the room. We hear another knock on the door. This time it's Alexis, who is on the receiving end of a lengthy tirade from Elton for running out on "his" wedding. Alexis is saved by Sonny and the two leave to go deal with Zander. Out in the hall, Sonny affirms that he wants Zander out of jail, and won't withdraw his bail money. Back inside, Carly and Elton look at the proofs. Carly refers to Liz as "her usual boring self,". They discover that some of the pictures look much better than the others.

Carly rushes in to Kelly's, telling Gia that she has scheduled a practice shoot for her for tomorrow. Gia leaves and Carly asks Tammy where Lucky is. Lucky and Emily are headed out. Carly stops them, asking Lucky to shoot Gia tomorrow like he did for Elizabeth. They have a brief argument then Lucky agrees to do it for a $2000 fee.

Sonny and Zander come in, sans Alexis. Zander's protests are silenced. He apologizes and Sonny relents a little, not before telling Zander to "mind Alexis" and "treat her like a lady." Jason calls Sonny, saying that he's "ready for Sorel." "This better work," says Sonny. Carly comes back, and is scolded by Sonny for being late and not calling. She grins loving that he was worried.

Sonny hung up the phone after talking to Jason and Carly told him she was too busy to worry about his business. She had a secret weapon and was going to stage a coup; Gia Campbell would be the next face of Deception; and she would gain creative control over the whole company. Sonny tried to get Carly to go, he had to make some calls. She accused him of hiding something and she wasn't leaving till he told her what was going on. He told her he was trying to make wedding plans. "So that's why you scare apologized for being suspicious but things were going too well, she didn't know how to handle happiness on a daily basis. They kissed and she finally left.

Carly watched in delight as a lovely, sexy, photogenic Gia did her poses. Gia did seem to be more relaxed than Liz in front of the camera. Gia was quite striking during her photo shoot. Carly was smart to hire Lucky to handle the gig. Even the staff was impressed with how the camera loved Gia. Carly was quite pleased with Gia and her efforts.

Jason informed Sonny that Carlos arrived today from Panama and was probably in Port Charles to kill him. Sonny replied that stakes just got a whole lot hotter. I made it easy for Sorel to ambush me. He tried to kill me in Puerto Rico and didn't succeed. Then he shot at me in front of the police station, but it will be difficult to kill me now. Sonny then asked Jason if everything went according to plan. Jason confirmed that he left the casino in Puerto Rico and played the unhappy employee and gave every indication that he was on his way to Italy. Sonny sat down on the sofa and gave Jason a blow by blow account of what happened when he was shot. Sonny also confided that he is having nightmares about the shooting, but the outcome is different in his dreams, because the person next to him is Carly and when he rolls her over she is dead. Jason assured him that Sorel is not after Carly; because if he ever hurt Carly he knows he is as good as dead. Sorel has to take down you, Sonny. Sonny continued his sad story and asked Jason if he remembered how he used to dream about Lily's death and seeing the flashes of pink. He can barely stand it and he wakes up every night screaming. Carly is there to hold me. I just tell her it is the medicine or I'm in pain and she believes that everything is okay and it's not. Jason we have to get Sorel. His information is too good, which means that he has someone on the inside of my organization. We can't just deal with Sorel we also have to trap and deal with the traitor. Now I remember how much it costs to have a family, a wife and child. They live the pretty life and in order to keep them safe you have to make yourself so powerful so that your enemies know that if they touch you it's over.

Sonny and Carly are making out and in walks Alexis who is having a panic attack because her life evolved around Ned and now he doesn't want her. Sonny asks Carly to go upstairs so he and Alexis can be alone. Jealous Carly doesn't want to leave but she finally does. Alexis tells Sonny she can't give up her carreer for Ned. She loves Ned but can't deal with the rest of it. Carly told Sonny about her fight with Laura and how Laura thought she lied and manipulated; she wanted Carly out of the company. She was pleased and surprised when Sonny stood up for her. He said Laura would have a fight on her hands if she tried to get rid of Carly. They hugged and were kissing when Sonny spotted movement in time to throw Carly to the ground as a bullet whizzed by them.

**The End**

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