Walking down the hall, Bobbie spotted her son-in-law. ''She is in surgery now.'' Bobbie explained before greeting him. From the state he was in, it was obvious he was not looking for small talk.
''Surgery?'' Sonny swallowed hard. The last time Carly needed surgery, he lost his son. Would he lose her this time? ''Surgery, for what? Who is doing it?'' Of course, he knew that all of the doctors at General Hospital were professional, but he couldn't get comfortable knowing that not one of them had any reason to like his wife, and most of them hated her.
''Sonny, they are doing every thing they can for her. I have worked at this hospital for longer than I care to admit. They will take amazing care of her, if not for the Hippocratic Oath, then out of respect for me.'' Bobbie felt no reason to fear the motivations of her friends, however, she would say anything to put Sonny at ease.
He nodded silently. They took care of her before; they would do it this time, as well. However, Sonny kept thinking that he spent way too much time in hospitals, always worrying about others: His mother, Stone, Jason, Lily, Juan, Brenda, and now Carly, twice. Sonny grimaced. How many of those accidents had his business practices caused? How many of them were random? Either way, bad things followed him.
Sonny remembered the look in his mother's eye when she realized that her only son was quickly becoming involved in illegitimate business activities. ''I don't want to visit you in the hospital.'' She told him in a pained, teary voice.
''No danger of that, Momma. I only hurt the people I love.'' Sonny mumbled as he thought back over his life. He knew the organization was dangerous; he took precautions to keep himself safe. They never failed. He never got hurt, only his loved ones. It wasn't right. He prepared to be hurt; he prepared for hospitalization. Why could it never be him?
Bobbie watched helplessly as Sonny stood in front of her in a pensive state. ''Maybe we should sit down.'' She led him towards the chairs on that floor.
''The Doctors, what are they doing to her? What happened? What was she even doing out.'' Sonny took a deep breath as he tried to will away his fears. ''She should have been getting ready.'' With great effort he managed to weakly flash his dimples. Because the effort took a lot out of him, his smile quickly faded. ''We were going to go out, dancing. Carly loves to dance.'' Sonny’s voice broke as he spoke his last words.
Bobbie squeezed his hand as she heard his voice catch. ''In no time she will be up complaining that you missed your date.''
''Not soon enough.'' Sonny bit his bottom lip. ''Why won't you tell me what is going on? I need to know what happened, what is happening now.''
Bobbie flinched against the unwelcome memory. Since the accident, every time she closed her eyes, even just to blink, she heard it. Honks, tires screeching, metal clashing against metal, screams, and sirens, it had just been a block away; she heard it all.
''Carly dropped Michael off at Kelly's and sped away. You need to talk to your drivers. She was going way to fast in the parking lot. Children eat at Kelly's. Somebody could have been hurt.''
Sonny glared at Bobbie, her point may be valid, but it was neither the time nor the place for a lecture. ''Carly wouldn't be in the surgery, if the limo hit a pedestrian. That car is built like a tank. Where did the accident happen, Bobbie?''
''The light, at the next block.'' Bobbie shuddered as she spoke. It was so real, so close. ''I went inside with Michael, he wanted a chocolate milk. He loves chocolate milk....''
Sonny cleared his throat to get Bobbie back on topic. ''The accident?''
''While I was outside, AJ came into the restaurant. I didn’t see him until we went back in. You know how AJ is... As soon as we were inside, he started making a scene. 'My son. That is my son. The Godfather and his whore can’t take my son from me.’ He got right into my face. I turned to leave. Michael was upset. I just wanted to get him out, as quickly as possible. I didn’t even think.''
Bobbie paused, but Sonny’s puzzled expression urged her to go on. ''I had heard it, the screeching of the tires, the honking, the crash, everything. I was so focused on protecting Michael that I didn’t make the connection. I didn’t think it was right in front of us; I never dreamed it was Carly.'' Bobbie blinked away a scared, angry tear. ''I thought I was protecting my grandson. I never imagined that the scene outside could be worse than the one inside.''
Sonny flinched. ''What did he see?'' In the time since Carly moved in with him, Sonny had become close to Michael. At first, it was out of an obligation he felt to Jason. However, as time progressed, he grew really attached to the boy. Somehow, no matter how dark things were, playing with Michael made things better.
''The limo was turning, a protected left from what the witnesses say, but the hurry she was in....'' Bobbie sighed. ''A car, going straight through the light, broad sided her. Michael wouldn’t let go of me. I couldn’t go to her. I have medical training, but I could do nothing to help my daughter.'' Bobbie’s voice broke. ''The other car hit the passenger door. Carly broke several ribs and punctured a lung.''
Sonny rubbed his temples trying to release the pressure that worry built up in his head. ''Anything else?''
''She hit her head against the head rest. I don’t know how bad that is, yet. My first priority was to get Michael away. He was so upset when he saw the car.
Sonny nodded. ''Where is he now?''
''Upstairs. They are having a puppet show in the children's ward. He has calmed down quite a bit, but he was really shaken up.''
''He shouldn’t have had to see that.'' Sonny winced. ''Can you bring him down? I would like to see him.'' Bobbie was half way down the hall before Sonny called her back. ''Call Leticia have her come to take Michael home.... And call Jason. Carly would want him here.'' Sonny hated the idea of Jason being there. It always seemed like Carly only responded to him. If Jason could help, however, it would be well worth it.
''I...I... I already called Jason.'' Bobbie paused only a second before adding the reason. ''I tried to call you. Nobody was at the penthouse and Johnny said your cell phone was off. Jason’s number was in Carly’s contact information. I had to call somebody.''
Jason was his best friend. Sonny relied on nobody the way he relied on Jason. However, when it came to Carly, Sonny wanted Jason far, far away. When she had nobody else, Jason was there. Jason heard Michael’s first words and saw his first steps. ''How can I compete with that?'' Sonny muttered under his breath.
''What is that, Corinthos?'' AJ confronted Sonny in a voice that was much too loud for a hospital waiting room. ''Destroy another woman? How many is that, now? Must be some kind of record.'' AJ smirked. ''That is okay though, because when they realize that you are poison, I will get my son back.
Sonny's nostrils flared in anger. ''You will never...''
Before Sonny could say another word, Jason grabbed Sonny’s shoulder. ''Cool it. Carly wouldn’t want this.'' Jason spoke in a calm but forceful voice. ''This is a hospital, not a boxing ring.''
AJ rolled his eyes and started to make a snappy comment when he saw Bobbie walking down the hall carrying his son.
Engrossed in listening to Michael’s attempt to recount the puppet show, Bobbie never saw AJ. ''Somebody has been asking about you.'' Bobbie said as she stopped in front of Sonny.
Michael’s brow furrowed as he looked at AJ. He turned his head and caught a glimpse of Jason, and then at Sonny. Michael continued to look back and forth between the men. With each pass he became more upset. Tears streamed down his face. Finally, in a sad, scared voice Michael sobbed. ''Daddy?''