The greatest moment so far had been when Brenda had held his palm to her belly and he had felt the baby move. His palm still tingled in memory everytime he thought about it. Making love with Brenda had taken on a whole new level of erotocism. It gave him an incredible feeling to know when he was inside Brenda's body making love to her, he was almost touching the child they'd created together. That the baby could feel what they were feeling when they were making love and he or she could feel the love they had for each other and the love that had made him. A few times when they had been making love, he had even felt the baby kick him, sort of to let him know he was there too and to pay a little attention to him, as well.
The agony came from Sonny's certainty that the baby was going to die, a fear he tried his best to keep from Brenda. He was certain the reason Stone hadn't come and ended this was because the baby was going to die and that he'd finally see the love in Brenda's eyes for him turn to hate. As bad as the fear of seeing Brenda be killed before his eyes, the fear of seeing their child killed before both their eyes and Brenda turning on him in hate was worse.
And it seemed like Sonny's worst nightmare was about to finally come true when he returned to his office after attending Lamaze class with Brenda and found someone waiting for him. The visitor was Mr. McShane who ran the local pub. "Hello, Michael." He greeted Sonny. In Innesford Sonny was going by the name of Michael Corelli.
"Mr. McShane." Sonny knew something was about to shatter his and Brenda's world. The hair on the back of his neck was standing on end. "What can I do for you?" He added as he took a seat behind his desk, trying to put off the inevitable. "I hope you haven't been waiting too long. Brenda and I just attended our last Lamaze class, today. You know the baby is due any day now."
"I thought you should know." He sighed in response. He'd always liked Michael Corelli, but always had the feeling the boy was running from something. He hated bringing him the kind of news that he had to bring. "There was a man in the pub showing you and your wife's picture around asking if we knew you or knew where he could find you." He added. "Only he claimed your names were Sonny and Brenda Corinthos, not Michael and Brenda Corelli."
"Did you tell him you knew me?" Sonny asked. "And where he could find me?"
"No." He replied. "I like you, so I told him I've never seen you before in my life. But others might not do the same." He added. "Whatever you're running from, it's caught up to you and you best be leavin' Innesford while you still have got a chance."
"Thank you, Mr. McShane." Sonny shook his hand, as he headed for the door. "I think that's exactly what I'll be doing."
Brenda was laying on the couch when Sonny came bursting through the front door. Her back had been bothering her all day and she had a feeling what it meant. She hadn't told Sonny at the Lamaze class, because she wanted to be sure before she worried him needlessly, but she thought she was about to go into labor. In fact, she had been just reaching for the phone to call Sonny, since she was sure that was what was happening to her, when Sonny came bursting through the front door.
"They've found us." He announced. It was raining outside and he was soaking wet.
"What!" She shrieked, as she felt her first contraction ripping through her abdomen. They can't be! Not now!" How was she supposed to make a run for it when she was about to give birth to their baby.
"Mr. McShane came to my office to warn me." He told her, as he rushed over to the closet to retrieve his gun. "Someone was in the pub showing our pictures and asking where to find us." He added as he stuck the gun down the front of his waistband. "There's no telling how long we've got before they get here."
"What are we going to do?" She felt herself being overcome not only by the panic of impending child birth but of another Ziggy and Rocco arriving and shooting them dead at any moment.
"We have to leave here." Sonny told her. "We can't take anything with us. They may even know the make of our car. We're just going to have to run as far as we can on foot from this place and pray they don't find us."
"I don't know if I'm going to be able." Brenda decided she had to tell Sonny and she had to tell him now.
"You have no choice." Sonny told her as he pulled her to her feet. "I know your nine months pregnant, but if we stay here, that baby is going to be dead before it even gets a chance to be born." He water suddenly broke all over Sonny's shoes. "What was that?"
"My water broke." She revealed. "I'm in labor."
"What!" Sonny shrieked like a woman. "You can't be! Not now!"
"But I am." She replied.
"It doesn't matter." Sonny grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out the door into the pouring rain. "Labor or not, we've got to get out of here." He began dragging her through the woods determined to put as much distance from their house as he could.
"Sonny, stop!" Brenda screamed over the rumble of the thunder, as she held a hand to her belly. "I can't go any further."
But he wouldn't listen, as he continued to drag her further and further into the dense woods, knowing that if they stopped, they were all going to die.
Brenda's knees suddenly buckled on her and she collapsed in the mud with another painful contraption. "Sonny." She looked up at him when she could finally speak. "The baby's coming. I can feel it."
"It can't be." He yelled back. "The first time is supposed to take for hours."
"Well," She snarled. "Your child obviously wants to be born now."
"It has bad timing." Sonny declared. "We're running for our lives. If we stop, we're gonna die."
"It obviously takes after you." She sniped back, as she rolled on her back and got into position. "You're going to have to deliver it."
"I don't know how to deliver a baby." He got down on his knees between her thighs and he could see the top of the baby's head.
"Well, you sure knew how to make it." She grabbed him by the front of his shirt with strength neither knew she possessed and spat in his face. "So you can damn well help bring it into the world."
What followed was both just going on their instincts of what they should do. As the rain continued to pour down in sheets, the earth beneath them rumbled with thunder and a tree not ten feet from them was struck by a maverick bolt of lightning, Brenda arched her body and pushed their child out of her body and into Sonny's awaiting hands.
"Oh, god, Sonny." Brenda whimpered in pain. "It hurts so much."
"I know it does, sweetheart." It was tearing him apart seeing her in so much pain. "But it's almost over. One more push and it'll be over."
"I don't think I can." She looked at Sonny in exhaustion. "I just don't have the strength."
"Yes, you do." Sonny urged her on. "You're a fighter, you're not a quitter. I know you can do it."
Her hand fastened on to Sonny's for dear life, as their eyes locked with each other and she gathered her remaining strength and pushed with all her might.
"You did it, sweetheart." He cradled the baby in his arms, trying to use the pouring rain to clean it up as much as he could. The baby protested the rain pouring down on its face by letting out a huge scream of protest that filled the air around them. "We've got ourselves a daughter."
Brenda laid back on the ground crying in happiness and exhaustion. "Let me see her, Sonny."
Sonny brought the baby up to her and put her in her arms. "You did it, sweetheart." He kissed her on the forehead as he cradled both her and their baby in his arms. "I knew you could."
"No." She corrected him, as she looked up at him with all the love she felt for him. "We did it." Then she looked down at their daughter. "She's so beautiful."
"Just like her mother." He kissed Brenda on top of the head. "So what do you want to name her?"
She looked up at him again and caressed his cheek. "I want to name her after you." She told him. "I want to call her Michele Corinthos." Brenda had given this a lot of thought. If it was a boy, she wanted to name it Brendan after her and if it was a girl Michele after Sonny.
Then their happiness was shattered as they heard a rustling in the bushes coming towards them. "Oh god, no!" Brenda screamed in horror as she clutched the baby protectively to her breast.
They'd found them. They hadn't run far enough. Now they all were going to die.
Sonny took out his gun and waited for the men to come through the bushes with guns blazing. Even if he could hold them off with gunfire, Brenda was too weak to try and escape with the baby. Sonny's only hope was to hope he could kill them, before they could them.
Sonny suddenly looked up at the sky and prayed for Stone to come and end this now. To not make him live through the horror of watching Brenda and his baby be murdered before his very eyes. But Stone didn't come and this living nightmare kept creeping its way to its bloody conclusion
"I love you, Sonny." Brenda looked at Sonny, knowing this was the end, and wanting his face to be the last thing she saw before she died. "I don't regret one moment of the time we've had together." She pulled his face down to hers and kissed him hard on the mouth. "Even knowing how this would all turned out, I wouldn't change a thing."
"I love you, too." Sonny kissed her back hungrily, knowing this was the last kiss they would ever share, then he stared at the bushes as they parted and a man came into the clearing.
Sonny blinked the rain out of his eyes as he aimed his gun at the lone figure, sure he must be seeing things. But he wasn't. The man was Jason.
"Don't shoot, Sonny." Jason yelled to halt Sonny from pulling the trigger. "It's me. It's Jason."
"Jason?" Sonny still couldn't believe it. "What are you doing here."
"It's over, Sonny." Jason told him and Brenda. "We've found the men in the organization who wanted you and Brenda dead. We've taken care of all of them. It's all over, Sonny. You and Brenda can come home."