April 12, 2014

In 2003, the ABC writers decided to let fans play with the storylines. That’s all I remember about the idea for this story. I think I decided to switch roles or just…I don’t know…go insane, because there’s a Sonny/Skye pairing in here that makes no damn sense to me, but eh, such is life. I can’t really explain what this is about.


Segment OneScene One

Jason Morgan stands at the window and looks out over the harbor. His hands are in the pockets of his black dress pants and his expression is thoughtful, bordering on the distracted.

He hears a sound behind him and glances towards it. He allows a small smile to cross his face as his wife slides an arm around his waist and leans into his side. “You know you’re overreacting,” she murmurs. Her other hand traces the lines of his abdomen through his black button down shirt.

He wraps an arm around her shoulders and shakes his head. “Maybe,” he allows. “But it doesn’t change anything.”

She sighs and tilts her head up to look at him. “He’s your best friend, Jason. And she’s your sister. You don’t want them happy?”

“It’s not that,” Jason denies. “It’s–” he stops and shakes his head. “I can’t explain it. You’ll just have to trust me.”

She shakes her head and pulls away from him, wrapping her arms around her upper body. “How would you like it if my brother had said it to you?” she asks softly. She stares out the window. “Would you have listened?”

“You don’t have a brother,” Jason reminds her. She rolls her eyes.

“Don’t be so literal,” she snaps. Her blue eyes meet his. “Do you know how many people told me that you were too dangerous, that you would only hurt me?”

Jason closes his eyes and shakes his head. “Elizabeth, please don’t.”

“I lost count of people warning me about you,” Elizabeth continues. “And I didn’t list to one of them. Because nobody tells me how to live and who to love.”

“You don’t get it–”

“No. You’re right. I don’t,” Elizabeth replies. She shakes her head again and heads for the doorway. “I’m going out.”

“Wait.” Jason turns and watches her pull her coat and flip her hair over the black collar. “Elizabeth”

Elizabeth bites her lip and looks away, pulling the lapels of her jacket tight around her. “I love you, Jason. I am always going to love you. But right now–I don’t like you very much.”

She pulls the door open and it clicks softly shut behind her, but the sound is like a gunshot in the suddenly empty and cold penthouse.

Segment OneScene Two

Skye Chandler paces the docks nervously, her eyes darting to the left set of the stairs and when finding them empty, she turned her attention to the right set. Where was he?

It’d been a hellish few days. Since her brother had found out about her relationship with his enforcer, he’d been giving her the silent treatment. Elizabeth had been sympathetic and promised to talk to Jason, but their marriage was troubled enough these days, Skye knew that. She didn’t want to add to the trouble.

Not to mention that she was almost positive she was about to get her heart broken. She knew her brotherknew him almost better than he knew himself. And Jason had double standards. It was fine and dandy for him to have Elizabeth in his life, but the second Sonny wanted someone for himself, problems came up.

Okay, that wasn’t being fair to Jason. After all, Sonny wasn’t involved with just anyone. He was involved with the boss’s sister. A major no-no. She knew in other organizations, men could be shot for less. If anything, Sonny was extremely lucky to still be breathing, but it didn’t make it any easier to accept.

She hears footsteps behind her and turns to face Sonny Corinthos as he comes down the stairs.

He stops a few feet from her. “Hey.”

“Hey.” She hates the way her voice sounds. Low and breathy with just a hint of tears. “Did-did you talk to Jason?”

Sonny exhales slowly and looks away. “Yeah. I did.”

“Oh.” Skye looks away. “It didn’t go well, I guess.”

“No.” Sonny chuckles a little, bitterly. “No, it didn’t at all.”

She blinks away the sudden tears. “What happened?” she asks softly. She knows how difficult it was for Sonny to even go against Jason in the slightest.

“He’s right,” Sonny says suddenly. “You don’t belong with me. You’d be better off with someone else.”

“No,” Skye says firmly. She shakes her head. “No,” she repeats. “That’s not true and even if it were, it is not your decision to make. It is not my brother’s either. It ismy decision.” She takes a deep breath and meets Sonny’s eyes. “Now, if you want to end this because your feelings have changed, if you don’t love me anymore, that’s fine. But do not hide behind your job or my brother.”

“Skye,” Sonny begins. “You know how much I love you.” He steps towards her and touches her face. She closes her eyes and leans into his touch. She jerks her eyes open when he pulls away abruptly. “But it’s over.”

Skye glared at him. She took a step back. “Fine,” she said in a short, clipped tone. “If that’s what you want.” She stares at him for a beat before turning on her heel and stalking away.

Sonny stares after her as she walks up the stairs and turns a corner, walking out of his life.

Segment OneScene Three

Emily Quartermaine-Smith sips her hot chocolate and eyes her sister-in-law across the table at Kelly’s.

Elizabeth keeps her eyes trained on the wooden grain of the table, but she can feel her friend’s eyes on her.

“You need to talk to him,” Emily says finally.

Elizabeth shrugs and looks away. “I try,” she replies. “But he doesn’t listen to me anymore.”

“He loves you.”

“And I love him,” Elizabeth says. She twists her small gold wedding band around her finger. “But it doesn’t seem to be enough anymore.” She takes a deep breath, squares her shoulders and looks up. “How are you feeling?”

Emily smiles, absently rubbing her growing tummy. “I’m feeling great right now,” she replies. “Zander is being over protective as always. I was lucky he even let me come here alone.”

“I can’t believe you’ll be a mother in three months,” Elizabeth mused. “I’m so excited for you.”

“You’ll do a mural for the nursery, right?” Emily asked.

“Sure,” Elizabeth agreed, her eyes sparkling at the opportunity to do some painting. “I’ll start some sketches and–”

“When was the last time you painted?” Emily cut in. Elizabeth sighed and looked away.

“Em–can we just not talk about this anymore?” she asks. “Let’s just accept that I’m miserable, okay?”

“Why?” Emily presses. “You have exactly what you always wanted. You’re married to Jason, the person you told me you couldn’t live without. You told me that you loved him more than anyone else in your life and that as long as you were with him, you would be happy.”

“I was young and I was nave,” Elizabeth replies bitterly. Her eyes are distant and cold. “He’s shut me out. He doesn’t talk to me anymore. He tells me to trust him–that as long as I trust him, he doesn’t need to explain the things he does.”

“Is this about his job?” Emily asks hesitantly.

“No. This has nothing to do with the way he’s chosen to live his life. It has to do with the way Jason treats me. Like I’m a fragile doll that needs to be set on a shelf. Never played with, never touched. Just there for show.”

Segment OneScene Four

Carly Quartermaine enters the kitchen of their cottage and stops just inside the room as she observes her husband and their six-year-old son eating breakfast. AJ is reading the newspaper and is in the process of explaining the finer points of the Dilbert comic strip to Michael.

Michael is giggling, his round face messy from eating scrambled eggs dipped in ketchup. She smiles softly and wonders how they managed to get to this place in their lives.

AJ glances up and catches her eye. “Hey.”

Michael looks up and grins. “Mommy!”

“Hey,” Carly greets them. She crosses the room and leans over to kiss Michael on the forehead. She wipes his face with a napkin and tousles his red hair. She moves to kiss her husband good morning but AJ surprises her by wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into his lap.

“Morning,” he says quietly, smiling at her.

His smile is infectious and she can her own spreading across her face. “Morning,” she repeats softly. She leans forward and brushes her lips across his.

“Ewww…Mommy and Daddy are kissing!” Michael squeals. Carly breaks away and laughs.

“That’s because I love Mommy,” AJ explained to Michael. “You’ll find out what that means when you meet a girl as great as her.”

“Ick, girls suck,” Michael said grimacing. He pushes his chair away from the table and starts to run towards the living room. “I’m watchin’ Scooby Doo!” he calls back to them.

Carly wraps her arms around AJ’s neck. “So what are your plans for today?”

“Other than watching a large cartoon dog?” AJ asks, grinning. “I’ve got to go into work for a few hours. After that?” he shrugs.

“I’ve got something to tell you,” Carly says hesitantly. She searches his eyes for a second.

“What is it?” AJ asks, curiously. He tightens his hands at her waist.

Carly bites her lip, trying to contain her smile. “It’s good news,” she tells him. “Really good news.”

“Well, tell me,” AJ urges.

“I’m pregnant!” she announces gleefully.

Segment TwoScene One

Skye stalks into the penthouse to find her brother standing at the window. “Are you happy?” she demands harshly.

Jason sighs and shakes his head without turning in her direction. “I don’t want you to be unhappy.”

She laughs bitterly. “You could have fooled me. You’ve got a great lapdog in Sonny, I hope you know that.”

His shoulders slump and he sighs. Against her better judgment, Skye comes closer to him. Her voice is a little softer when she speaks. “Where’s Elizabeth?”

“She went out,” Jason replies. He turns then and meets his sister’s eyes. “She’s not happy about this.”

“Please. She hasn’t been happy in a long time,” Skye replies stiffly.

“Yeah. I know that.” Jason shakes his head again. “Do you love him, Skye?”

“More than anything in this world,” Skye replies quietly. “Make me understand, Jason. Why is it not okay for me and Sonny?”

He pulls out a chair and motions for her to sit. Skye does so and he takes a seat across from her.

“We’ve been taking care of each other for a long time,” Jason begins, clasping his hands and keeping his eyes trained on them. “You’ve seen me through a lot of bad times and I like to think I’ve been good to you.”

“You have,” Skye assures him. She reaches across the table and covers his hands with one of her own. “You’ve done everything in the world possible to make sure I have everything I want. That’s why I don’t understand.”

“You helped me to see that I loved Elizabeth and that I needed her. She’s in my life because you wouldn’t let me kick her out. I don’t know if I ever told you, but–”

“Jason, I know of all of this,” Skye cuts in.

“These last few months…things have changed around here,” Jason continues. “Ever since Alcazar–”

“You’ve been shut inside yourself, I know,” Skye replies. “Elizabeth knows it, too.”

“And I haven’t been treating Sonny like the brother he’s always been,” Jason tells her. “Skye, the reason I am opposed to the two of you together…it’s a selfish one. It’s irrational and it’s not fair to you. Either of you.”

“Then tell me,” Skye pleaded. “Tell me and we’ll fix it.”

Segment TwoScene Two

Sonny sits in Jake’s, sipping a beer and staring into space. He hears footsteps behind him and turns.

Elizabeth Morgan is standing there, her hands deep in her pockets. “Hey,” she greets him.

“Liz,” Sonny states. She slides onto the stool next to him and orders a beer. “Are you here to give me the lecture?”

“No,” Elizabeth replies. She sips her beer and sighs. “I’m here to commiserate. I think Skye’s at the penthouse pleading your case again.”

Sonny shakes his head. “I don’t think it’s going to work.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Elizabeth says. “If anyone can change his mind, it’s Skye. He loves her.”

“After everything I’ve done–” Sonny sighs.

“This has been hard on Jason,” Elizabeth says, trying to defend her husband. “He–”

“Save it, Liz,” Sonny cut in. “He got what he wanted. I broke up with Skye and now she hates me. So why don’t you go home to your happy life and leave me the hell alone?”

Stung, Elizabeth pulls out a few bills and lays them on the counter. She stands, and hesitates for a moment before turning around and walking away.

Segment TwoScene Three

Emily enters her apartment and smiles when she sees the door to the guest room. She can see Zander making a vain attempt to put the crib together.

“Hey you,” she says, grinning. “How goes it?”

“Damn thing sucks,” Zander grumbles, consulting the instructions again. “They say Leg B goes into Slot C and I’ll be damned if I can get it anywhere near Slot C.”

She giggles. “I could always call AJ,” she offers.

Zander snorts. “AJ wouldn’t know a crib from a table. He wasn’t around when Michael was born.”

“AJ’s always been good at putting things together,” Emily replies. She sighs. “I could call Jason.”

“No, no. I’ll get this figured out if it kills me,” he replies. He stands and crosses to her, kissing her cheek. “How was breakfast with Liz?”

“It was fine. She’s going to do the mural for the nursery.” Emily hesitates, her hand making slow circles around her abdomen.

“That’s great. You know, the last few times I’ve stopped by the gallery, her wall is kind of bare.”

“Yeah, she hasn’t been painting a lot lately,” Emily tells him. “It’s too bad. Pretty much everything else is going well. She’s got this great art gallery, she’s going to be an aunt–” Emily stops. “Okay, so those are really the only things going well.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Zander asks.

“Nothing substantial, I don’t think. I think it’s just this whole Skye and Sonny thing,” Emily replies. “I think it’s wearing on Jason and in turn, not helping Elizabeth. I’m going to try and keep her mind off it.”

Zander leans forward and brushes a kiss on her nose. “You’re such good friend. That’s why I love you.”

Emily raises her eyebrows. “That’s the only reason?” she asks.

He grins. “Okay. So it’s not the only reason.”

Segment TwoScene Four

AJ grins. “You’re pregnant?” he repeats. “Seriously?”

Carly nods, excitedly. “Completely and totally serious.” She laughs as AJ pulls them both to their feet and spins her in a circle

Michael, hearing the commotion, runs into the kitchen and starts jumping up and down, excited. “What’s going on?” he asks, happily.

“You’re going to have a little brother or sister!” AJ announces swooping Michael up into his arms and hugging him.

Michael’s face creases. “This is good news?” he asks.

Carly tousles Michael’s hair. “This is extremely good news,” she tells her son.

Michael shakes his head. “Uh uh. I’m the baby,” he states clearly.

“No, you’re a big boy,” AJ corrects.

“No, I’m the baby.”

“Big boy.”

“Baby.”

“Big boy.”

Michael squirms out of his father’s hold and takes off down the hall towards the stairs, screaming. “I don’t want another baby!”

Carly looks at AJ, stricken. “What are we going to do?” she asks.

AJ sighs and presses a kiss to Carly’s forehead before heading towards the stairs. “I’ll talk to him,” he promises.

Segment ThreeScene One

Jason sighs and looks away. “I’ve seen what living this life has done to Elizabeth,” he tells his sister. “I know that you’ve grown up with it and that you can handle it,” he assures Skye before she can rip into him. “But it’s one thing to be my sister and another to be with Sonny.”

“I don’t understand,” Skye replies. “Jason–”

“In the past three years that we’ve been married, Elizabeth has become withdrawn and quiet. I know you see it.”

“Yeah,” Skye admits. “But I’m not Elizabeth and Sonny isn’t you. We’re not like you. We don’t hide from our problems. We scream and yell at each other until we’re done. We don’t pretend everything’s great.”

“Is that what you think Elizabeth and I do?” Jason asks, stung.

“Jase, you and Elizabeth are the masters of hiding behind walls and that’s what you’ve been doing since the day you got married.” Skye sighs and pushes her hair behind her shoulders. “She’s terrified of losing you and you’re terrified she’ll leave you. So you both have erected these high walls to keep the other out and neither of you can see it’s killing the other person.”

Jason sits back and stares ahead. “Maybe you’re right.”

“I know I’m right.” She shifts in her seat. “Is that why you don’t want me with Sonny? Because you think what’s happened to Elizabeth will happen to me?”

“I just don’t want to see someone else I love destroyed by this life.”

“You haven’t destroyed Elizabeth,” Skye says firmly. “She loves you. She wants nothing more than to be with you. You just have to let her, Jason.”

“I want you to be happy,” Jason tells his sister. “And I know you’re going to do what you want anyway.”

“So, me and Sonny?” Skye asks, hopefully.

“If that’s what you want,” Jason replies. “I can talk to Sonny about it.”

Skye throws her arms around her brother and hugs him fiercely. “It means so much to me that you approve,” she says softly.

Jason hugs her back. “And I’m glad you found someone who can make you happy.”

Skye pulls away and studies him. “Are you going to talk to Elizabeth about this?”

Segment ThreeScene Two

Elizabeth sits on the bench at Vista Point and pulls her knees into her chest. When did her life get soout of control? It seemed like just yesterday she’d been happy. She closes her eyes and sighs.

When winter comes in summer
When there’s no more forever
That’s when I’ll stop loving you

“I love you,” Elizabeth whispers, touching Jason’s face. He stares at her for a moment, swallows hard and gives her tremulous smile.

“I love you, too,” he replies.

That’s when I’ll stop loving you
I’m sure you’ve heard these words before
And I know it’s hard for you to trust them once more
You’re afraid it all might end

“Oh, you two are ridiculous,” Skye says, rolling her eyes. She puts her hands on her hips and glares at the two of them who’d just come in from a ride. “It’s so obvious!”

Elizabeth frowns. “I’m sorry–you’ve lost me.”

“You’re in love with each other. Now stop making the rest of us sick and get it over with,” Skye replies, waving her hands. She pushes past them and walks out of the penthouse.

In a broken heart it’s scared of breaking again
Cause you gotta believe me
I’ll never leave you
You’ll never cry as long as I’m am there
And I will always be there
You will never be without, no

Elizabeth folds her arms across her chest and takes a deep breath. “Okay.”

“Okay, what?” Jason asks, amused.

“Okay–kiss me,” she tells him.

“Kiss you,” he repeats slowly. He frowns. “Are you sure?”

“Jason,” Elizabeth says rolling her eyes. “Don’t be so difficult. If I wasn’t sure, then I–”

He grasps her elbows and pulls her toward him to kiss her.

When winter comes in summer
When there’s no more forever
When lies become the truth
Well you’ll know then baby
That’s when I’ll stop loving
That’s when I’ll stop loving you

She opens the velvet box and her eyes dart up to meet his. “Jason. You–this is–” She takes a deep breath. “Oh…wow…”

He takes the box from her and pulls out a small gold ring with an average-sized diamond in it. “I love you,” he tells her. “More than I thought I could ever love anyone. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He swallows hard. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she says the second he’s finished speaking. “Yes, yes, yes–” She stops abruptly and kisses him hard.

That’s when I’ll stop loving you, yeah
As long as sunlight lights the sky
The light of love will be found in these eyes of mine
(These eyes of mine)
And I will shine that light for you
You’re the only one I’ll ever give this heart to
What I’m trying to say is nothing will change this
Loving on time you will find there
Cause I will always be there
You will always have all my love

“I, Elizabeth Webber, take you, Jason Morgan, to be my lawfully wedded husband,” she says in a trembling voice. “To love and to cherish, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, forsaking all others, all the days of my life.”

Jason clears his throat and stares into her glossy sapphire eyes. “I, Jason Morgan, take you, Elizabeth Webber, to be my lawfully wedded wife. To love and to cherish, to have and to hold, in sickness and in healthy, for richer and for poorer, forsaking all others, all the days of my life.”

When winter comes in summer
When there’s no more forever
When lies become the truth
Well you’ll know then baby
That’s when I’ll stop loving
That’s when I’ll stop loving you

Segment ThreeScene Three

Emily twirls the phone cord around her fingers. “Yes, Mom,” she replies. “Uh huh. Yeah. I’ve been going to–right, Mom. Okay–definitely–I’m eating well–tell Grandfather over my dead body. Right. Okay. Bye–Okay, yeah. Right. Bye.” She hangs it up and leans back to let out a loud frustrated groan. “What is it with my family?” she asks.

Zander enters the room with a plate of salad. He hands it to his wife, before taking a seat next to her. “What’s wrong?” he asks.

Emily sighs. “Well, Mom wanted to know if I was seeing a doctor and to let me know that any time I wanted to come home I could.”

Zander frowns. “They do realize that we’re married, right?”

“I sure hope so. Who paid for the wedding otherwise?” Emily asks. “Not to mention that Grandfather is pushing for me to drop the Smith entirely so that the baby will be the Quartermaine heir.”

“What happened to Michael?” Zander asks.

Emily shrugs. “I think AJ finally made them realize he’s a grown man and will do whatever he pleases with his children. Including keeping Michael away from Grandfather.”

“How long do you think it will be before they realize you have that right, too?” Zander asks.

“A good ten years,” she says dryly. She gasps suddenly. “Oh!”

“What’s wrong?” he asks, leaning forward. He studies her. “Em?”

“The baby kicked,” she breathes. She takes one of his hands and presses it against her abdomen. “Can you feel it?”

Zander waits and then a grin breaks out on his face. “Oh my God. I can feel it! We’ve got one hell of a soccer player here!”

“Oh my God, I’m so excited!” Emily squeals. “The baby is kicking!”

He brings his other hand up to brush hair away from her face. “I love you,” he murmurs, leaning in for a kiss.

Segment ThreeScene Four

AJ pushes Michael’s bedroom open. “Hey, buddy,” he murmurs, taking in the sight of his small son sitting on his bed, his arms tightly crossed and his mouth set in a firm scowl.

“Go away.”

AJ sits next to him and is amused when Michael moves down the bed. He certainly had Carly’s stubborn streak.

“You know how much I love you,” AJ begins. “Your mother and I both love you.”

“Then what do you need another baby for?” Michael demands gruffly. Or as gruff as a six-year-old could be.

“Because your mother and I love each other. And we want more children,” AJ tries to explain. “We aren’t trying to replace you with another baby.”

“I’m the baby,” Michael tells him, seriously.

“You’re a big boy,” AJ corrected him. “Big boys get to go to the park and swing on the swings. Big boys get to go to work with me and help Mommy cook.”

Michael eyes him. “And big boys get to visit Uncle Jason?” he asks hopefully.

AJ tries to control his instinct to scowl. “Sure. But babies don’t get to do those things. Babies have to sleep in cribs and lay around all day. They can’t watch television or walk around.”

Michael’s noses wrinkles up. “Being a baby sucks.”

“Well, it doesn’t suck,” AJ says, grinning. “It’s just not a lot of fun. Besides, you get to be a big brother.”

“What does a big brother do?” Michael asks, intrigued.

“Well, a big brother looks out for their little brother or sister. They take care of them, make sure no one else messes with them.”

“Can I order them around?” Michael asks eagerly.

AJ grins. “Within reason, I guess. Hell, what’s the fun of having siblings if you can’t mess with them a little.” He reaches over and tousles Michael’s hair. “So, you read to go back downstairs and congratulate your mother?”

Michael heaves a big sigh. “Yeah. I guess.”

Segment FourScene One

Elizabeth opens the door to the penthouse to find Jason still in the same place as when she’d left. She closes the door quietly and clears her throat.

He turns and a look of relief crosses his face. “Elizabeth.”

“We need to talk,” she says softly. She makes no move to cross to him and he stays where he is. “We can’t go on like this.”

“I know,” he admits. “I talked to Skye earlier. I gave her my blessing.”

“You did?” she asks, surprised. “But I thought you–”

“It comes to mind that I was doing it for the wrong reasons,” he replies. “I wasn’t happy about it because I didn’t want Skye hurt. And even though I knew Sonny would cut off his right hand before he hurt her–I didn’t want them to be like us.”

“Us,” Elizabeth repeats.

Jason shoves his hands in pockets and sighs. “We’ve been walking around here these past few monthsthe last year or so especiallylike strangers. And I hate it.”

“I hate it, too,” Elizabeth tells him.

He holds his hand out to her and she crosses the room to take it. The second her hand is in his, he pulls her to him and wraps his arms around her. She slides her arms around his waist and looks up at him.

“I love you,” he says. “But I still think you’re going to see me for who I am–and your face will change and you’ll leave.”

“Don’t you get it?” she asks. “I love you, Jason. I’m not leaving. Ever. I know who you are and I love you. I know what you do…my face isn’t going to change,” she swears.

“I know that most of the time. But–” he stops and shrugs a little. “Sometimes I think about it. And I think about what my life would be like if you did…leave.”

“When you walk out that door,” she begins in a quiet voice, “some days, I am so terrified that you won’t come back. I try not to show it because I want to be better than that, I want to be the strong wife that you need, but some days it’s worse than others and I can’t…I can’t deal with the idea.”

He rests his forehead against hers and sighs. “We’re a mess,” he murmurs. “Skye was right. We’re both so scared the other is going to leave….that we’re not even seeing what our fears are doing to the other person.”

“I don’t want to be like that anymore,” she tells him, closing her eyes. “I don’t want to be scared that you’re going to leave and I don’t want you to think that there’s ever a day that’s going to come when I’m not going to love you and that I’m not going to be here.”

“I guess we’re just going to have to trust each other.” He moves his face and presses it into her soft brown curls.

“I can do that,” she replies, tightening her arms. “How about you?”

“I can try.”

Segment Four
Scene Two

Skye takes a deep breath and knocks on Sonny’s door at Jake’s briskly. She waits a few minutes, hearing some shuffling noises from inside. When it becomes apparent that he isn’t going to answer, she pushes the door open.

Sonny is slumped in a chair, a beer bottle in his hand. He frowns. “Skye.”

She enters the room and closes the door behind her. “Sonny.”

He takes a sip of the beer. “What’re you doing here?” he asks bluntly.

“I talked to my brother,” Skye replies. “And I know why he was against us.”

Sonny shakes his head. “I know why. Because I’m nothing but a killer–”

“No!” Skye stalks towards him and takes the bottle from him. “That’s not it, and you’re not a killer!”

“We’ve had this discussion,” Sonny says, sighing. “You know what I do for your brother–”

“Yes, I know that!” Skye snaps. “But to say that you are nothing but one is just ridiculous. I would never have fallen in love with you otherwise!”

“Skye, the point is–”

“The point is that Jason never had a problem with you!” Skye retorts. He stares at her for a second.

“Then what?”

Skye sighs and sits down on the bed. “It’s no secret that Jason and Elizabeth haven’t been…wellthat they’ve been having problems these last few months.”

“Yeah” Sonny sighs. “I saw her, today. Snapped at her pretty badly.”

“I think it hit an all-time low today. She walked out of the penthouse and I know Jason was worried she wouldn’t come back. See, he’s always been worried that she’s going to leave him. So scared he’ll lose her…he shut her out. And Elizabeth has been withdrawn and quiet…she shut him out, too.”

“What does that have to do with us?” Sonny demands. “Was he taking his frustrations out on us?”

“No directly. He was worried about me,” Skye confides. “Worried that what happened to Elizabeth–would happen to me.”

“That’s stupid,” Sonny cuts in. “I’m not Jason and you’re not Liz.”

Skye sighs. “I know. But he was worried about me. I talked to him about it–and it’s done. He’s finished with it. He’s going to talk to Liz.” Skye stands. “And he’s stopped objecting to our relationship.”

Sonny eyes her warily. “Are you sure?”

Skye nods. “He wants me to be happy.” She smiles tremulously. “And you make me happy.”

Sonny stands and crosses her to her. “I know you were disappointed when I chose to end our relationship instead of losing my job–”

“I was,” Skye interrupts. “But I understood. Jason’s not just a job to you. He’s your best friend.” She takes his hands in hers. “I love you, Sonny. And I don’t want to go through life without you.”

He pulls a hand free and touches her face. “I love you, too,” he tells her softly.

Segment FourScene Three

Emily giggles. “Come on. Just give me the ice cream already!”

Zander shakes his head and holds it away from her. “Nope. You’ve had enough.”

“Maybe,” Emily allows. She smiles. “But little Zander, Jr. doesn’t think so.”

He glares at her mockingly. “Not fair, bringing the tyke into this.” He hands the carton back to her.

“You can’t refuse me anything,” Emily teases, digging into the Rocky Road.

Zander studies her for a moment. “Em?”

“Yeah?” Emily asks, her words muffled by the ice cream.

“We haven’t really discussed names,” he says, “but I was wondering…if maybe for a boy, we could” he shrugs. “Peter?” he suggests.

Emily’s eyes soften and she sets the carton down on the coffee table. She touches Zander’s cheek. “I think that would be a great name,” she tells him. “And what about Paige for a girl?”

Zander covers her hand with his own, holding it to his face. “You’ve got it,” he promises, leaning over to kiss his wife.

Segment FourScene Four

Carly is sitting on the couch. She stands up quickly hearing her husband and son’s footsteps on the stairs. “Hey,” she says.

“Now, Michael,” AJ says, shoving the boy forward. “Don’t you have something to say to Mommy?”

Michael sighs. “I’m sorry,” he mumbles.

“And?” AJ prompts.

“And I’m happy about the baby.”

Carly kneels in front of him. “You know that this baby could neverever replace you in my heart,” she tells him softly. Michael shrugs and looks away. Carly grips his chin her fingers and forces him to look at her. “You are my first baby, the love of my life.”

“Hey,” AJ grumbles from behind them.

“What if it’s a girl?” Michael asks stubbornly.

“Then you’ll have a big job ahead of you,” Carly says firmly. “Because it’s going to be your job to make sure that she’s safe and happy. That no one hurts her.”

“But you’ll still love me?” he asks, hopefully.

Carly pulls him into a tight embrace. “Nothing could ever change how I feel about you,” she swears. “I love you so much.”

Segment Five

When the road gets dark
And you can no longer see
Just let my love throw a spark baby
And have a little faith in me
And when the tears you cry
Are all you can believe
Just give these lovin’ arms a try baby
And have a little faith in me

Jason and Elizabeth are sitting on the couch in the penthouse, his arms tightly wrapped around her. She leans against his chest, her eyes closed.

“Maybe we need to move,” she murmurs.

“Move?” he echoes.

“Yeah. We could pretend we’re almost normal. Like with a house or something. With a backyard.” She shifts, snuggling deeper into his embrace. “And a front lawn where we can have a mailbox.”

“A mailbox,” Jason repeats, highly amused.

“Mmm-hmmm…I can plant a garden and the yard would have to be big enough for a swing set.”

Curious, “A swing set?”

She opens her eyes and tilts her head to the side so that she can look at him. “Oh. Right. I didn’t tell you.”

A smile begins to tug at the corners of his mouth. “No, I guess you didn’t.”

“Well…about six months after Emily’s kid is bornhe or she is gonna have a cousin,” Elizabeth reports.

Instead of answering her, he tilts her face further and leans down to kiss her.

Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me

Skye opens her eyes, and rests her chin on Sonny’s chest. “I love you,” she tells him again.

“I love you, too,” Sonny replies. He runs his fingers through her dark red hair. “Marry me,” he says suddenly.

She raises her eyebrows. “Marry you.”

He nods. “See, I love you, you love me-why not?”

“Why not, indeed,” Skye smirks. “That’s the most romantic proposal I’ve ever heard in my life.”

“So I’m not the hearts and flowers type,” Sonny shrugs. “I can deal with it if you can.”

“I suppose if I must,” Skye replies, sighing. “Sure, why not?”

He grins. “That’s the most half-hearted acceptance of a proposal I’ve heard,” he teases.

When your secret heart
Cannot speak so easily
Come here darlin’
From a whisper start
Have a little faith in me When your back’s against the wall
Just turn around, you will see
I will catch you, I will catch your fall
Just have a little faith in me

“Okay, we’ve decided,” Emily declares. “Paige Lila for a girl and Peter Alexander for a boy.”

Zander wrinkles his nose. “Not to be picky, but Lila Paige kind of flows better.”

Emily repeats both names. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Hey, what if we have twins?”

Zander shudders. “Lord, don’t even joke about that. I barely survived one crib!”

Emily grins evilly. “Or triplets.”

“I can’t hear this!” Zander cries, clamping his hands over his ears. “We’re having one kid at a time.”

“Must be nice to think you have a choice,” Emily cracks. “But I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work that way.”

“It will,” he says fiercely. “I just won’t accept anything else.”

Emily rolls her eyes. “Honestly, sometimes you’re such a baby.”

Well, I’ve been loving you for such a long, long time baby
Expecting nothing in return
Just for you to have a little faith in me
You see time, time is our friend
For you and me there is no end
And all you gotta do is have a little faith in me

Carly shuts off Michael’s light and closes the door. “I think that went rather well,” she remarks to AJ as they head for their bed room.

AJ groans. “Easy for you to say. You’re not the one that had to explain where babies come from. You’re taking the next kid.”

Carly opens her dresser and pulls out a nightgown. “It wasn’t that bad.”

AJ heads for the bathroom. “Uh huh. So when Michael asked you why boys were different from girls, you didn’t pretend to have morning sickness?”

Carly scowls. “I was not pretending,” she said indignantly. She pulls the nightgown over her head. “I did have morning sickness.”

“Pretty convenient timing,” he teases. He stares at his face in the mirror of the bathroom. “Maybe I should grow a beard.”

“Maybe you can sleep in the guest room.”

AJ digs out his shaving cream. “Too hot for a beard,” he grumbles.

She appears in the doorway and leans against the door jamb. “I love you,” she says. “I just wanted you to know that.”

He sets the shaving cream aside and pulls her into his arms. “I love you, too.”

I said I will hold you up, I will hold you up
Your strength is enough
So have a little faith in me
I said hey baby oh baby
All you gotta do is have a little faith in me
All you gotta do is have a little faith in me

SongHave A Little Faith In Me by Jewel