They just stood there. Holding on to each other for dear life. Sharing their pain, sharing their tears, sharing their fears. They each wept and held on. He held on to the only good thing in his life, the only other person in the world who truly understood his grief. Why, oh why, didn't he remember to call about the cradle? How could he cause her more pain? Hadn't he done enough of that in his life. It seemed like he was always causing someone pain. He pulled away from her and looked deep into her eyes. She stared back at him all the while praying he didn't see the guilt in her eyes. "Does he know it's all my fault? Does he realize Mike was right?," she thinks to herself.

"Carly, are you alright?", Sonny asks, his voice full of concern.

"Not really," she replies and looks down again at the crib. "Oh Sonny," she sobs, "why did it have to be our boy? We would've loved him so much. It's just not fair! How could.........How could I do this to you and our baby? Why does everything I do go wrong? I'm so sorry, Sonny! So sorry........." she repeats over and over as she breaks down and slides to the floor.

"Carly, it's not your fault." he says as he sinks down next to her. "I don't know why this happened, but I know it's not your fault. Carly, please....." He puts his hand on her chin and pulls her face to look him in the eye. "Look at me. Do I look like I'm blaming you? It's not your fault. You loved out baby so much and I know you would've given your life for it."

"Oh Sonny, please believe me, I would have! I swear I would have....." She looks at him with her eyes as wide as they can be. "You have to believe me. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"Shh, Carly, I believe you. I know, I would've done the same." He put his hand out to touch her face. He wiped away her tears. "I know, we both loved our child. Maybe I should've fought for him more. If I had only waited a few more minutes.........but then I would've lost you, too.........Then.......then I had to watch them take our baby, Carly.........oh, it was so hard.........." He fought to control his tears, but he lost it when she reached out to him.

"Sonny, I know....................oh Sonny, I'm so sorry for yelling at you.........you've been so wonderful to me. I'm sorry...." She just held him and let him cry on her shoulder. It felt so good to just touch him. In the instant that she did, she could feel the connection between them grow stronger. The pain and grief flowed between them and they grieved together. It was the first time since the baby died that she actually felt like someday there might be an end to this horrible pain. She knew if they could help each other, that someday it would get better..........maybe. She didn't know how she could ever get over this, but she knew that it would be a whole lot easier with this man by her side.

They sat there for a while like that. Crying and hugging, each just content to feel the other one there for them. Finally, they pulled away. He reached out and wiped her face, and she reached out and wiped his. He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Carly, you're exhausted. You should probably go to bed." he said.

"Yeah, I am tired," she said. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna go to bed, too." He said as he stood up and pulled her up with him. He still held her close, not wanting to lose the feel of her with him.

"What are you going to do with the crib, Sonny?" she asked with a sob in her throat.

"What do you want me to do with it, Carly? I'll do whatever you want."

"Do you think we should keep it? I don't know if I could handle it being here all the time." she asked, with a questioning look in her eyes.

"I think I will have Johnny take it to one of our storage buildings. That way, if we ever want it, we will still have it. Do you think that sounds alright?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea, Sonny. I guess I'll head up to bed now." She reluctantly pulls away from him, and heads toward the stairs. She looks back at the crib, and can feel the tears starting to burn her eyes, so she turns around and goes upstairs.

Sonny watches her go, and turns around to face the crib. "Well, I guess we should get this out of here," he says to himself. He reaches out and touches it. He looks at the beautifully carved crib and has a mental picture of a smiling baby looking up at him. He feels the tears come and lets them spill out. Oh, how he wished his baby were still here. But it's too late for that now, he has to be strong this time, for Carly, and for Michael. He wipes his eyes and walks to the door.

"Johnny, take this crib to a storage building and put it somewhere safe. I don't want anything happening to it."

"Sure, boss." Johnny says, as he moves inside the house to do his boss' bidding.

Sonny heads up the stairs to his bedroom. He stops at Carly's door and can hear her softly crying inside. He wants to go to her, but he doesn't know how she'll react. He moves on to check on Michael. He walks over to the bed, and ruffles the sleeping boy's hair. How had he come to love this little boy so much in such a little time? He leans down and kisses him goodnight, then walks out and into his room. He takes off his clothes and gets into bed, preparing himself for the night of horrible nightmares to come.

Carly sits in her room, holding the blue bunny and crying for her baby. It was so hard to reach down and feel her belly and know it is totally empty. She was so thankful for Sonny tonight. Bobbie had been right when she told her to hold on to him. It had made them both feel so much better. Just to know that someone was there who understood her pain. She lay back on the bed, knowing she was in store for a sleepless night. She thought of Sonny, and wondered if could help her now. She got up and almost as if she were being led there, she went to Sonny's room. She opened the door and he was laying on the bed. He sat up when she came in.

"Carly, is everything ok?", he asked, seeing her tears.

"Sonny, do you think you could just hold me tonight? Being alone is too hard tonight." she asks in a very small voice, hoping and praying that he would say yes.

He opened his arms to her and she practically ran to the bed. She grabbed onto him, and he wrapped her in his arms. She lay down beside him and lay her head on his chest, relishing the feel of his arms around her. She closed her eyes and finally she drifted off to sleep, feeling safe in his arms.

Sonny felt her breathing grow even and he looked down at her laying on his chest, his hand playing with her hair. He had thought his heart would stop when she came to his room. She had come to him in her most vulnerable time. He thought back to that day many months ago when she had helped him through a most vulnerable time. She had been so brave that day, staying with him. He could remember every detail as he thought about it now. The way she'd been so caring and kind to him. She seemed to truly care about his pain. She had cried with him, and she had listened to him, no matter how scared he knew she must have been. He kissed the top of her head and he vowed to himself not to break down this time. This time he would be there for her. He would be brave for this woman who seemed to have a power over him, the power to make him be strong. He couldn't believe it. He actually wanted to be strong for her. He didn't feel like breaking down and going crazy. When had that happened? The Carly he'd always known had been the one who drove him crazy. She'd never done anything horrible to him before so why had he hated her so? Because of the way she treated Jason? Maybe...........that's surely the reason he had used to rationalize it. Now he began to wonder if she had been right about him, if he had really hated her so much because he wanted her so much. God, he didn't know. He did know he'd always been attracted to her, but now............something was different. He truly did care about her, about how she felt and most importantly, what she thought of him. That was it, she made him want to be a better person. She had made him a father, she had made his life full again. Did he love her? No, he thought quickly and tried to push the thought from his mind. I wonder if she'll leave me now? He decided not to think about it anymore. He needed to sleep. He reached down to grab her hand and as he drifted off to sleep, he thought to himself, She's still wearing my ring.

Carly awoke with a start, the sound of a baby crying still echoing in her head. Every night, the same dream......................babies crying, begging her to save them. Would it ever end? She felt a little better with Sonny's arms around her. Thank God he was here. She had felt so alone these past few days, feeling as though she were empty inside, hollow and carved out. Sonny had been so good to her, and she had said some horrible things to him. Her mind drifted back to when he had had his breakdown. It had been so sad to see him in so much pain. He blamed himself for the deaths of all those he loved. What could be worse than that? He had been so happy about their baby. It was his chance to be something special, to be exactly what he'd always wanted to be. She could see it every time he looked at her and felt the baby in her stomach. She had loved that look in his eye, it made her feel like they would have something good. It made her feel like she'd have all she'd ever wanted. A real family, like she'd tried to have with Jason. No matter how much she regretted sleeping with Sonny in the beginning, she knew that now she would never regret that night. And even though she had lost her baby and life didn't seem fair again, she could always remember the happiness she'd felt as they planned for their new family together. Now she truly knew what a family felt like. She wondered silently if she'd ever get anything that sweet again. God, she hoped so. Feeling a little pessimistic about that, she snuggled closer into Sonny's arms. He felt so good next to her. She felt so safe in his arms, like she belonged there. She heard him awake and knew he was having the same trouble she was having, so she turned in his arms and hugged him close.

"Sonny....", she whispered, as she felt the familiar tears start to well in her eyes. He just held onto her, silently thanking God that she was there, and praising her for knowing exactly what to do. He'd needed her for so many nights now, and now that she was here, he just wanted to hold her.

"Carly, you ok?" he said, as he pulled back a little bit to look at her tear-stained face. He saw the proof of what he already knew on her face, that she wasn't ok, and that she needed him. He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her gently. He kissed away the tears and he pulled back again. "Everything's going to be okay Carly. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." he said. A sob broke free of her mouth and he just held her close. "Try to sleep, Carly," he gently said. He felt her nod and they lay like that, as close as they could possibly be, until morning.

IN A BAR, ACROSS TOWN

AJ Qaurtermaine sat at a bar stool, looking at his ..............oh, he'd lost count of how many drinks he'd had. He was thinking about what it seemed like he always thought about lately, Carly. Man, he hated her. She'd never loved him, she'd only loved Jason. Jason, Jason, Jason. That's all anyone ever seemed to want to talk about. Jason is so good, he thought. Jason is such a saint. Yeah, well, so what! He was sick of hearing about Jason. He'd had enough of it. He thought to the day Carly had fallen down the stairs. He didn't remember all the details, but he knew it had been mostly his fault. He hadn't really meant for that to happen, had he? He began to wonder now, about how much he hated Carly. He began to think that maybe subconcsiously he might have wanted something like that to happen. I mean, he had hated Jason before for being so wonderful, and what had he done? Ran into a tree and caused him brain damage. Now, he REALLY hated Carly, and look what he'd caused. Sonny Corinthos had spared his life for Michael. He was really mad about this. Why was Corinthos allowed to make decisions about his child? He stood up to leave and said out loud, "I will get Michael back, Corinthos, No matter what!" As he turned to go, he stumbled and fell to the ground. He could hear everyone around him laughing, they were taunting him and calling him names. "Shutup!" he yelled violently. He looked up and all he saw was Corinthos in his face laughing and pointing. Carly standing there with her hands on her hips, her head thrown back in laughter, Grandfather pointing at him and saying "I knew it, AJ. I knew you'd mess up!", and he also saw Jason shaking his head, knowing truly what AJ was. He could hear them all, they all hated him. He was worthless. He began shouting, "I'll show you all! I'll get my son back and show you all!" He ran out of the bar, leaving behind some very confused patrons looking around the almost empty room wondering who in the world that nut had been talking to.

Part three

PH4, Harborview Towers

When Sonny woke up, Carly was already awake. She was just laying there in his arms, staring out into space. When she heard him wake up, she turned to look up at him and offered him a smile.

"Good morning," she said. "I didn't want to get up yet," she offered weakly at his questioning look.

"Good morning,' he said, looking into her eyes for a sign that she was okay. He started to get up, but she held him to her. He looked at her and settled back into the bed, holding her close. The door opened just then and Michael walked in.

"Mama, Unca Sonneeee!" he squealed, and threw himself on the bed. Carly reached down and pulled him up with her and Sonny, giving him a hug and putting on her best smile for him.

"Good morning there, Mister Man! When did you wake up? Say good morning to Uncle Sonny, huh? Aren't you glad to see him?" she said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Good morning there, Michael. How ya doin' this mornin'?" Sonny said. Michael reached over and gave him a big hug. Sonny felt his heart melt. Carly smiled and thought of how much she loved seeing them together. This was what a family was supposed to be all about. And then she remembered. How could she have forgotten? She felt the tears spring to her eyes and got out of the bed.

"Mommy'll be right back, Mister Man. Why don't you and Uncle Sonny play trucks?" she said as she headed for the bathroom before any tears could spill out. She didn't want Michael seeing that. She had to be strong for him now.

Sonny watched her go and wondered if she were alright. He got out of bed, and took Michael downstairs to play trucks.

GATEHOUSE, QUARTERMAINE MANSION

AJ thinks about the present he'd bought. Oh yes, he had a plan now. Why were people always trying to get him to stop drinking, he wonders. I do my best thinking when I'm drunk, he laughed out loud. He looked at his watch and thought, It should be there by now. He wondered what she'd do when she saw it. He could just see the expression on her face. Yeah, she'd really be crazy now. This was going to work. He was going to show everyone.

PENTHOUSE

Carly came down the stairs, feeling more herself than she had in the past few days. She had made up her mind. She was going to be strong for Michael. She could do this for Michael. She could do anything for him, I mean, she had slept with AJ after all. Her thoughts went to him, and she got angry all over again. She hated him so much. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Yes, she knew she should've walked away, but so should he. He had been warned by Sonny to stay away. Sometimes, she thought if she'd just walked away and let AJ call after her like she was going to do in the first place, instead of turning around, would her baby still be alive today? Probably so, and that thought scared her more than anything else could. She felt a tug on her pants and looked down to find Michael reaching up for her. She bent down and picked him up, pushing the thoughts out of her head. She was going to do this for Michael. Maybe if she said it enough, it would be easier. She looked over at Sonny, who was busy picking up the toys and cleaning up. God, he's so compulsive, she thought and rolled her eyes, smiling in spite of herself.

"Alright Mister Man, let's get you some breakfast." she said, and started to walk to the kitchen when the doorbell rang. Johnny stuck his head in the door and said, "This just came for you, Miss Benson."

"Carly......." she said automatically. A package for her? Oh Lord, not another one. She looked at Sonny apprehensively, and he shrugged his shoulders as if to say he didn't know. She put Michael down, took the box from Johnny, and started to open it. When she saw what was inside, she screamed in horror, and sank to her knees, crying.

Sonny raced over to her, and seeing what was in the box, kicked it away from him in disgust and grabbed Carly into his arms. He called out, "Leticia!"

"Yes sir," she came running.

"Take Michael upstairs!" he yelled, still holding Carly. Leticia picked up the crying Michael and took him upstairs. "Johnny!" he screamed, "Get that thing out of here!"

He looked down at Carly, who was sobbing uncontrollably, a look of pure pain on her face. "Carly.......... Carly, it's going to be okay." he said, trying to calm her down. He was so upset by what he saw, he felt like killing someone. "Carly, it's alright, I'm here, I won't let anything hurt you."

"Who..................who would do something like that Sonny? Why would they do that?" she screamed out in anger and pure hatred for the one who would sink to such a level. "Why........why....." she kept saying over and over. Sonny didn't know what to do, so he just held her. He made a silent promise to himself to find whoever did this, and no matter what else happened, when he found that person, they would pay. Of that he was sure.

HALLWAY

Johnny stared down in disbelief at the thing he'd been ordered to take out of the room. What kind of sick person did this? You'd have to be seriously messed up to do this to a lady who just lost her baby. He looked down once more and tried to see if he could find any clues on it as to who this might be, because he knew Sonny would want to know. There was a baby doll, covered in blood. It's head was smashed in, and it was laying in a fetal positon. Then he found the note inside:

Oh yes, this was one sick dude, whoever it was. And as far as he was concerned, it was one stupid dude, too. What kind of idiot messes with a mob boss and his family? The dead kind, that's who.

Part Four

PH4, Sonny's Bedroom

Carly lays awake that night thinking. Who would do this to her? Who would be this sick? She can think of a lot of enemies, but none who would stoop this low. In her mind, the image of the baby doll covered in blood keeps floating through her head. She can see it as clear as crystal. She feels Sonny move behind her and wrap his arm around her. After he'd calmed her down, he'd promised to take care of this. He'd told her he would stop at nothing until this person was found. He'd been so gentle with her, telling her he was sorry for letting the package get to her. He always blamed himself, even when it wasn't his fault at all. She was really glad when they'd decided to go up to bed after him just sitting there holding her for awhile, and he'd grabbed her hand in his and led her to his room. She hadn't had to ask, he'd just known she needed him tonight. They were finally reconnecting, and it made her feel so much better. She knew he had to be hurting as much as she was, but he was being strong for her, and knowing just exactly how bad things with Sonny could get when he was upset, she was so thankful for it. It meant so much to her that he was willing to put aside his own grief to help her and take care of her, especially after the things she'd said to him before about the nursery. Knowing she would have to trust Sonny to take care of the person who did this, she tried to block the thoughts of her enemies from her head. She closed her eyes snuggling closer to Sonny, knowing she needed her sleep. As soon as she did, the image came back to her. She felt like crying again, but was too drained to do so. She knew she had to sleep, so she forced herself to keep her eyes closed this time, mentally preparing herself for the night of terror she was about to face.

BAR ACROSS TOWN

AJ sat there smiling, thinking about how upset Carly must have been. He could just see her screaming in horror. The thought made him have a little tingle of excitement. Now, if he only knew what to do next. He needed someone to help him. Sonny would get suspicious of him, if things like that kept happening all the time. He looked across the room and made eye contact with a dark-haired beauty checking him out. He said, "What the heck, it's been a while," and smiled at her, lifting his drink to greet her. She slowly got up and walked over to the bar where AJ was sitting.

"Hello there, you look like you could use some company," she said. "How many does that make for you tonight?"

"I don't know, I lost count a long time ago." AJ replied, hoping she wasn't like Hannah, and wanted to save him from himself. He liked Hannah, but sometimes she could be so annoying.

"Well, I admire a man who can hold his liquor well. Mind if I join you Mr...........?" she asked, fishing for his name.

"Quartermaine. AJ Quartermaine. Nice to meet you........." he replied, doing the same.

"Joanna. Joanna Sorel." she reached out and shook his hand. "So, what, or should I say who, are you trying to forget? A man doesn't drink this much unless he's trying to lose a memory."

"My slut ex-wife." AJ replied bitterly.

"Oh really, you know, I've got some free time on my hands if you'd like to talk about it. I'd, uh, really love to hear about you....." she said coyly, trailing her finger up his arm seductively.

"You sure you wanna hear about my traitorous wife? It's a really sordid tale." he asked.

"I really do, baby."

He proceeded to tell her all about his married life, and how Carly had used him and taken away his son. Every once in a while, she'd reach up and touch his shoulder, reassuring him that he could trust her. He really didn't know why he was telling her all this, except that he felt comfortable with her.

"And so, she left me, because she was pregnant with another man's baby. She got her new boyfriend to dig up info on me, and they got my son. I hate Corinthos. He doesn't deserve to be my child's father."

She looked taken aback for a moment and said, "Did you say Corinthos? As in Sonny Corinthos?"

"Yeah, as in the mob boss. Why?" he asked, curious as to how she knew Sonny.

"Ha!" she laughed, and looked him in the eye. "Did you hear me say who I was?"

"Yeah, Joanna." He was a little confused, and being drunk didn't help matters.

"Joanna Sorel........." she said, giving him time to catch on. When he didn't she said, "As in Sorel, the OTHER mob boss Sorel. I'm his daughter."

"Wow. So, what does that have to do with me?" he asked, still not fully grasping what she was getting at.

"So........................Maybe I could help you out. Help you get your son back. I've think I've got an idea that just might work." she said, anxiously. She'd been wanting to do something to show her father she was right for mob life for a while now. If she helped him take down Sonny Corinthos, she'd definitely be the one to take over the family business. Not her brother Paul, like her Dad now wanted. She would have to make this guy understand.

As she told him of her plan, AJ thought to himself, "Maybe driving Carly crazy on my own isn't the way to go. This could work out much better."

They talked for a while, and when they finally left, each one did so with a smile on their face. Oh yes, this was going to work out just fine. They'd both get what they wanted. They'd just have to be patient.