“Well Joe, I must say I’m impressed with how well you’ve done managing your aggression and dealing with your anger. You have proved to me that you’ve become the person you told me you wanted to be,” Kevin assessed.
“I couldn’t have done it without your help, Kevin. You gave me just enough encouragement to show me that it was possible.”
“Ah, well, I guess it pays to have a brother who’s a psychiatrist.”
“It certainly does. Now all I have to do is convince Karen that I’ve worked things out and she can trust me again.”
“Joe, you need to prepare yourself in case she chooses to stay with Sonny. I would hate to see you lose what you’ve worked so hard for.”
“If she wont take me back, then I’ll have to learn to deal with that. I need to respect Karen’s decision because I couldn’t bear to hurt her again,” Joe admitted.
“Sounds like a good answer to me. Anything else you’d like to talk about before we end our session?”
“I think we’ve covered everything.”
“Okay then, I better get home to Lucy and Serena. They went shopping, so I need to estimate the damage!”
“Good luck,” Joe laughed, heading for the door, “Thanks again, Kevin,” He said leaving.”

“I’m really glad you agreed to meet me, Karen. I want to take the time to get to know you,” Kellie said sitting on the stool at the bar.
“I’d like to learn more about you, too. Growing up, I had always wished I had a big family and now, every time I turn around, there’s a new family member.”
“”I’m so sorry I wasn’t around for your childhood. From what Rhonda has told me, you had it pretty hard. I can’t help but wonder if I hadn’t shut her out of my life, would she have still become an alcoholic? And if she did, would I have been able to take care of you and give you the chance to actually enjoy being a child,” Kellie confessed.
“I don’t blame you, Kellie. We all made our mistakes, but they’re in the past and I’m ready to focus on the future.”
“For someone who has dealt with so much, you turned into an amazing young woman. Who would have thought that an intelligent, successful doctor would come out of the Wexler family? I’m really proud of you, Karen,” Kellie said hugging her.
“So, I heard you’re settling into Port Charles pretty well. Reconnecting with family, nice new job, gorgeous new boyfriend,” Karen teased.
“Hey, hey, let’s not get into that, I don’t want to jinx it.”
“Are you kidding me? Frank is a great guy and I think you’re perfect for him. I just know you two will be happy together.”
“Thank you, I just think I needed to hear someone say it in order to start believing it. I haven’t exactly had the best luck with men.”
“I know about that all too well. The Jason thing just never happened, Jagger wasn’t quite who I thought he was and you know about the whole Joe situation. I definitely struck out with the J’s.”
“And have moved onto the S’s I see.”
“I was waiting to see how long it would take for you to bring him up.”
“I was trying not to, but Karen, I’m really concerned about your safety. Sonny deals with some extremely dangerous men and I would hate to see you get caught in the middle.”
“Sonny would never get me involved in his business. He doesn’t tell me anything and I don’t ask. Now, I know that that wouldn’t stop anyone from trying to use me to get to him, but I’m not going to waste my time worrying about that. I haven’t been this happy in a really long time and I’m not going to let the what ifs get in the way of that.”
“For your sake, Karen, I hope you’re right. I’m just now getting the chance to know you and I couldn’t stand to see anything happen to you.”
“Nothing’s going to happen. Sonny and I are going to be fine and we’re going to build a future together.”

“So, Mr. Corinthos has been interfering with my business transactions?” Joseph Sorel put it all together after getting the full report from one of his employees.
“Somehow, Jason Morgan found out about our package coming in and he intercepted it.”
“He knew what was in that package and he didn’t want it to hit the streets. What, is Corinthos working with the cops now that his new little girlfriend’s the niece of the PCPD’s new detective? Is this his way of getting them off his back? I hope he doesn’t think that I’m just going to let this go. Oh no, I’m going to make sure he pays for this. Sonny Corinthos had better be enjoying his time with Dr. Wexler tonight because this will be his last.”

“Kellie?  What are you doing here?  Not that I’m not extremely happy to see you, I’m just surprised.  Pleasantly surprised, I might add,” Frank said holding the door open.
“You brought me Chinese the other day, so I figured I’d bring you pizza.  You’re not busy, are you?”
“Not at all, please, come in.  I’m on call tonight, but other then that, I’m pretty much bored out of my mind.  Courtney and Neil are at some meeting about baseball, Joe’s at work and with Lark away at college, this big house feels pretty lonely.”
“Good thing I came when I did,” She said putting the pizza box down and moving in front of him, “I’d hate to see you spend the night all alone.”
“No, we can’t have that,” He said leaning in to kiss her, “So, how was your meeting with Karen?”
“We’re really starting to get to know each other.  Things were going so well until I had to go and bring up Sonny and she jumped into defensive mode.  But, let’s not talk about this now, lets eat!”
“I was waiting for you to suggest that, I’m starving!” Frank exclaimed grabbing a slice, “I’m glad you’re finally getting the chance to know Karen.  And, I’m even happier that I’m getting a chance to know you.  From the moment I met you, I knew there was something about you that I couldn’t just overlook.  From that sexy smile to that brilliant personality, and every time I see you, I fall harder.”
“What are you saying, Frank?” Kellie asked, half stunned, half hoping he’d say the same thing she was feeling. 
“Even I’m not sure.  I haven’t known you for very long, but I feel like we have this connection, like we’re meant to be together.  I know this sounds crazy, but…”
“Not to me it doesn’t.  I’ve been thinking the same thing, but I was afraid to admit it to myself.  We’ve only been seeing each other for a little while now, but already, I think I’m falling in love with you.”

“I can’t believe how beautiful the park gets this time of year.  Look at how the moonlight illuminates the flowers.  What are you staring at?” Karen asked, noticing Sonny looking at her.
“The way you face lights up when you’re excited about something.  I’ve never seen you so…” Sonny searched for the right word.
“In love?” Karen finished the sentence, “You’re the reason my face lights up, Sonny.  You make me happy.”
“I love you, Karen Wexler,” Sonny said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her against him.
His lips fell upon hers, aching for a response.  She met his kiss, running her hands through his dark hair.  The passion intensified as the kiss deepened and Sonny tightened his arms around her.  She leaned into him, not wanting him to let go.  Hearing a slight rustling in the bushes, Sonny opened his eyes to see what was there.  He caught a slight glimpse of something sticking out of the bush and pulled away from Karen.  She turned around to see what he was looking at and before either of them could react, the sound of a gun firing echoed in the night.  Johnny and Francis came running from opposite sides and Francis went in the direction of the shooter.  Sonny tried to shield Karen, but her limp body collapsed onto the ground.
“Karen, wake up,” Sonny said, thinking she had fainted.
“Boss, she was hit,” Johnny informed him noticing the blood covering her shirt and taking out his phone as she started opened her eyes.
“Sonny…my stomach hurts…” She managed to get out before losing consciousness again.
“Karen, c’mon, I need you to come back to me.  Please don’t leave me, Karen, you gotta talk to me,” He pleaded, taking off his jacket to cover her motionless body. 
“The ambulance is on its way, Boss.” 
“Wake up, Karen, you’re not going to die on me.  Can you hear me, baby?” He asked frantically, and got no response, “Damn it, Karen, I can’t lose you!” He yelled, tears sliding down his cheeks. 
 
 

“I should have known you were involved in this, Corinthos,” Taggert said approaching him, “Who’s the innocent victim this time?”
“Back off, Taggert,” Mac warned as the ambulance pulled up and Frank and Emilio jumped out of it.
Frank froze as he saw a woman in Sonny’s arms.  Instantly he knew it was Karen.
“Let’s go, Amigo!”
Frank and Emilio hurried over and started examining Karen and trying to stop the bleeding.
“Time to wake up, Karen.  C’mon, talk to me!” Frank said, trying to get her to regain consciousness. 
“She’s breathing, but her pulse is slow and her BP is seventy over forty,” Emilio just finished saying before Kellie came running over.
“What did you do to her, Sonny?  You were supposed to keep her safe!” Kellie yelled, dropping to her knees beside Karen and grabbing her hand.
Sonny didn’t respond.  He just held Karen’s other hand and held back the tears.
“We’ve got her stabilized, we need to get her to GH.”
“Kellie, you can ride in the back with us,” Frank told her, wheeling the gurney up to the ambulance.
“How did this happen, Frank?  Who would want to hurt Karen?”
“From what I overheard, they were supposedly aiming at Sonny, but Karen got hit.  She’s losing quite a bit of blood, so I’m guessing the bullet must have hit her spleen.”
“I have to call Rhonda and Scott and let them know…Oh my god, Scott’s away with Eve!  I…’
“Kellie, calm down, everything’s going to be fine.  Karen’s a fighter and she’s not going to die on us.”

“So, what happened, Sonny?  I know you want to get to the hospital, so we’ll make this quick,” Mac told him.
“We were just walking in the park and I saw something sticking out of the pushes.  I tried to get her out of the way…I was too late…” Sonny explained, still kneeling next to the spot where Karen was lying and staring at her blood on his hands.
“Looks like Sorel’s at it again.  Was he aiming for you or trying to make a point and going after Karen?  How is it that innocent people always manage to get hurt or killed, but there you stand, unharmed?  You’re like a curse, Corinthos.”
It took all of Sonny’s strength not to jump up and pop Taggert in the jaw.  Instead, he ignored him and turned to Mac.
“I don’t have anymore information for you, so I’m going to the hospital now to see Karen.”
“You need to answer a few more questions…”
“What I need is to make sure that the woman I love is going to live!” Sonny yelled at Mac before walking to the car Johnny had waiting for him.

“Please tell me Corinthos is lying on a slab in the morgue,” Sorel said to the shooter.
“I thought I had a clear shot at him, but…”
“But what?  I want him dead!”
“That Wexler chick got in the way.”
“You shot his girlfriend?  Are you really that stupid?  Can you so <I>anything</I> right?”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Sorel, I swear I thought I could take him out, but he moved and somehow she got in the way…”
“I’ve heard enough.  Now get out of here before I’m forced to kill you!”
The man hurried out of the room and left Sorel standing there, seething with anger.
“Damn it, Corinthos!” He yelled, punching a hole in the wall next to him, “Why can’t you just die already!”

“Here comes the gunshot victim,” Monica alerted Ian as she saw Emilio and Frank bust through the door. 
“Frank please tell me that’s not Karen,” Monica begged noticing her on the gurney.
“I wish it wasn’t.  She has a perforating gunshot wound to the mid-left trunk and she’s hemorrhaging pretty severely.  Her BP’s seventy over forty and she regained consciousness briefly at the scene before we got there, but she’s been unresponsive since then.”
“Alright, I want two IV’s, 3 units of O neg blood and a portable X-ray STAT!  Set up a trauma panel and call down to OR, I want to do an exploratory Laparotomy.”
“Her pressure’s dropping, she’s losing too much blood,” Ian observed. 
“I’m scrubbing in Dr. Quartermaine,” Joe announced hurrying over.
“I’m sorry Dr. Scanlon, but you’re too personally involved, I can’t let you.”
“But I…”
“I don’t have time to argue, we need to get this bleeding stopped!
“How could he let her get hurt like this?  She doesn’t deserve this, Frank.”
“Karen’s going to be okay, you have to believe that, Joe.”
“She has to be,” Kellie said, “I have to go call Rhonda.”
Kellie shook her head and headed to the phone.  From behind the curtain, Monica’s voice could be heard yelling orders as Karen’s condition worsened and the heart monitor let out a shrill beep. 
“We’re losing her!  Get those paddles charged to 250!”
“The woman I love is in there dying and I can’t even get in there to help her,” Joe cried as Frank put his hand on his shoulder. 
“Monica and Ian aren’t going to let her die.  She’s in good hands.”
“Alright, we’ve got a rhythm back, let’s get her intubated and to the OR!” Monica ordered.
“Wow, so the rumors are true?  Karen was brought in?” Chris asked walking up to the brothers.
“Corinthos got her shot.  She’s in there fighting for her life and he’s not even here to take responsibility for his actions!” Joe said angrily.
“I’ll go in and see if I can help.”
“So, Ramsey does have a heart after all,” Frank said as he disappeared behind the curtain. 
The doors to the ER opened and Sonny hurried in, rushing up to the desk.
“I’m looking for Karen Wexler, is she going to be okay?” He asked Colleen frantically.
“Dr. Wexler’s in critical condition, she’s…” 
Colleen was interrupted by Joe, who ran up to Sonny, took him by the collar of his shirt and pinned him to the wall. 

Across the room, Rhonda rushed off the elevator, running to Kellie’s arms.
“Please tell me she’s alright.  I can’t lose my little girl!” Rhonda cried.
“We haven’t heard anything yet, but Karen’s strong, she’s not going to give up the fight.”
“She’s too stubborn to die, she’s got her father’s blood,” Lee tried to reassure her.
“I talked to Scott before I got here and he and Eve were just waiting for his plane to fuel and then they’d be on their way,” Rhonda said, noticing Sonny sitting with Mike, “Excuse me for a moment.”
“Rhonda, wait…” Kellie attempted, but she was ignored.
Sonny stood up when he saw her approaching.  He prepared himself for the worst.
“How did this happen, Sonny?” She asked calmly, shocking him.
“We were just taking a walk in the park.  I saw the gun and tried to get her out of the way…”
“Were they aiming at you or my daughter?  Did she get shot because of you or did she just get in the way?”
“I honestly don’t know, but I promise you, I intend to find out.”
“I’m going to worry about Karen right now, and just walk away, but I’m going to warn you, her father’s on his way,” Rhonda told him before returning to where Kellie was standing.
Moments later, Ian came through the doors and removed his mask.
“Please tell me she’s going to survive this!  She’s okay, right?” Rhonda asked.
“We were able to keep her stabilized, but we had a few close calls.  We had to intubate because she was having trouble breathing on her own.  The bullet hit between her ninth and tenth ribs, cracking the tenth and hitting her spleen, which is why she’s hemorrhaging.  Dr. Quartermaine and Dr. Ramsey managed to stop the bleeding and they’re just finishing the spleenectomy now.  The bullet also slightly nicked her left kidney.”
“What are her chances of making it out of this surgery?  And don’t lie to me,” Rhonda demanded.
“Well, as long as she doesn’t start bleeding again, her chances are pretty good.  I have to get back to the ER, but Dr. Quartermaine will come see you the minute the surgery is over,” Ian said before leaving.
“He’s right, Rhonda,” Joe said noticing the apprehensive look still covering her face,” Karen’s really lucky all she’s losing is her spleen.”
Everyone waited patiently, eyes fixed on the doors, hoping they’d fly open any second with news of Karen’s condition.  Finally, Monica came out.
“Monica!  Is my baby alright?” Rhonda jumped to her feet.
“The surgery went well, she held in there.  Dr. Ramsey is with her now, getting her settled in the ICU.  We want to keep her there until she wake up and we’re sure that there were no hidden complications.”
“Was there any permanent damage?” Gail asked worriedly.
“Aside from a pretty little scar, we expect a full recovery.  Karen’s an extraordinary person and an incredibly talented doctor, we’re all quite relieved that she made it through this.”
“Can I see her?” Rhonda smiled through her tears.
“Of course, but not too many visitors tonight, she needs her rest,” Monica said leading them down to ICU.

“What was I thinking? Agreeing to let her see Sonny…if she dies, I’m going to kill that son-of-a-bitch!” Scott cursed as they flew over the Atlantic Ocean. 
“She didn’t need your permission, Scott, she was going to see him anyway,” Eve said, still wiping away tears, “Karen loves him and there’s nothing you can do about it.” 
“Are you defending that criminal?” 
“No, I’m just saying that there wasn’t anything you could do but love her and support her, which you did. You shouldn’t feel guilty for that. Believe me, I would never defend Sonny. It’s going to take every ounce of strength I have not to put him in a hospital bed!” 
“What am I going to do if she dies, Eve? I only just found her a few years ago. I’ve missed out on so much of her life already, I can’t lose her now,” Scott sobbed trying to fly through clouded eyes. 
“That’s not going to happen, Scott. Too many of her friends and family members are pulling for her and you know Karen hates to let anyone down.” 
“You always seem to know what to say to calm me down. Thank you.” 
“Well, it’s not always easy. You can be quite argumentative at times. But, that’s all just part of why I love you so much.” 
“I love you, too,” He said, kissing her. 

Kellie stepped out of the hospital room and ran into Frank’s waiting arms. 
“She looks so weak, Frank. Her skin is so pale and she has a tube down her throat…Rhonda refuses to leave her side.” 
“How is she holding up? I’m sure this must be awful for her to see Karen like that. I know I couldn’t deal with it if it was Lark in that bed.” 
“She’s okay. I think she’s still in shock. She hasn’t said a work since we went into the room.” 
“Why don’t we go in and see if we can help in any way,” Gail offered as her and Lee went into Karen’s room. 
“I just don’t get it. She leaves me because she’s afraid I might seriously hurt her and leaves me for a man who puts her in the middle of a street war and nearly gets her killed! And the worst part is, I bet she stays with him!” Joe complained, looking at Karen through the window. 
“I wish I had an explanation for you, but even I don’t understand why things turned out the way they did. Maybe you should think about going to see Kevin tomorrow,” Frank suggested. 
“I was planning on it. I just wanted to wait until Karen wakes up.” 
“That probably won’t be until morning. You’re better off going home and getting some sleep.” 
“Kellie’s right, you just worked a double shift, you should head home.” 
“You can go, too, Frank. I want to wait with Rhonda.” 
“I’d rather be here with you.” 
“I know, I’d love for you to stay, but you have to work in the morning and it would be better if you went home to sleep. I’ll be fine.” 
“Alright, but promise me you’ll call me and let us know if anything changes.” 
“I promise,” She agreed, kissing him before he and Joe left. 

“You might as well go, too, Mike,” Sonny told him as he watched Joe and Frank walk away, “There’s nothing left to do but wait.” 
“Okay, but just make sure you don’t let them get to you. Sorel is to blame, he did this to her, not you.” 
Sonny just looked up at Mike, unable to make the promise. Mike touched his shoulder and gave him a ‘hang-in-there’ look, then headed to the elevator. Sonny saw Lee and Gail exit Karen’s room and take Rhonda to get come coffee and fresh air, so he walked over to Karen’s window. 
“It doesn’t even look like her in there, does it?” Kellie asked, trying to be civil for Karen’s sake. 
“That should be me in there. Karen didn’t deserve this.” 
“You’re damn right she didn’t. This should not have happened. I can guarantee you right now that I intend on doing all I can to find the evidence to nail Sorel for this and make him pay,” Kellie vowed. 
Sonny didn’t respond because he was going over in his head how he would handle Sorel. However, he couldn’t go broadcasting these ideas to a member of the Port Charles Police Department. 
“Don’t even think of going after him yourself, Sonny,” Kellie warned, almost reading his mind, “From what I’ve heard, you two have been after each other for years. Well, you’re both still standing and the ones getting hurt or killed are the innocent people. Could you stand to risk putting Karen in the line of fire again?” 
“Do you think it’s easy for me to sit here and watch the woman I love use every ounce of strength her weak body has left to fight just to stay alive, knowing that I’m responsible? Knowing that all I had to do was ignore the fact that I was falling in love with her and lie to her and tell her I felt nothing! Then she’d be safe and we wouldn’t be camped out here in the ICU!” 
Kellie stood there speechless after his explosion. It was then that it hit her that Sonny really did love Karen. Despite what it said in his file, here he was taking responsibility for the part he played in the shooting. 
“Sonny, I’m sorry that I neglected to consider your feelings. All I could think about was the fact that a senseless act of violence almost took the life of an innocent person. I guess I just wanted to believe that you were using Karen and taking advantage of her vulnerability. I see now that you really do love her.” 
“I need to see her,” Was his only response before he entered her room. 
He stood back for a moment, watching all the machines that were helping her. Seeing her pale, white skin and the tube in her throat, like Kellie had described before, made his heart sink. The pain of knowing that he had inadvertently put her in this situation was eating away at him. He sat in the chair next to her and gently touched her cheek. 
“I’m so sorry, Karen, I never meant for any of this to happen. I wanted to keep you safe from Joe, but I was too selfish to keep you away from me,” He confessed, taking her hand as tears slid down his cheeks. 
He closed his eyes and thought back to just before the shooting and how happy Karen was. It killed him to realize that he had to make sure that that was the last night they would spend together.