Chapter 6

Sonny awakens early the next morning. The first thing he remembers is how Brenda was there to comfort him last night. He runs his fingers through his hair and puts on his robe. As he is walking down the stairs he hears Stone talking to Brenda. Then he smells something. Breakfast. Then immediately he thinks.. “Brenda’s cooking. I hope she’s not going to poison me”.. he laughs as he pushes the kitchen door open.

MS- Morning daddy. Mommy’s making breakfast.

S- Morning Stone, Brenda.

B- (smiles) Good morning Sonny. You hungry? Do you want some french toast?

S- Umm...okay.

B- Don’t look like that, it’s good I promise.

MS- Mommy’s a good cook, daddy. Daddy do you know how to cook?

S- Do I know how to cook? I happen to be a master chef.

MS- Cool.

S- If it’s okay with your mom, maybe, I can make dinner tonight.

MS- Is it okay mom?

B- Yeah, that’s fine with me.

MS- Daddy, can we still play baseball today?

S- Sure, we can do whatever you want. (eating his french toast) Bren, this is really good.

B- Don’t sound so surprised. My mom was a really good cook, not as good as you, but she taught me well.

S- Yeah she did. I might just have some competition now.

B- Yeah right. (she laughs) I wouldn’t want to steal your thunder. (she picks up Stone) Come on Stone, let’s get you dressed so you can go out and play. (she goes to walk out of the room, but turns around)Sonny there are bath towels, in closet in the bathroom, in case you want to get a shower. Help yourself to anything else you might need.

S- Thanks.

After his shower, he gets dressed in a jeans and

t-shirt. Then he walks out the back door and sees Brenda pushing Stone on the swings and a smile appears on his face.

MS- Hey daddy.

S- He little man. Havin’ fun?

MS- Yup. Can we play ball now?

S- I don’t know, Can we mom?

B- Yeah, let’s do it.

Sonny picks Stone up off the swing and they move to the middle of the yard. Sonny then picks up the bat.

S- Okay. Mommy is going to throw the ball and we are going to try and hit it. Okay Stone?

MS- Yes coach.

S- (smiles)Okay mom?

B- Okay coach. (she laughs)

After a morning of baseball and swings they head in the house.

MS- Can we have lunch mommy?

B- Aww, you hungry baby? Sure, what would you like?

MS- How ‘bout hot dogs on the beach?

B- Sounds good to me.

Chapter 7

They all head to the beach. Sonny, Brenda and Stone all have fun splashing around in the ocean. They build sand castles and play frisbee. Sonny can’t help but notice how beautiful Brenda looks in her bikini. Brenda takes her looks at Sonny, too.

They come back to the house and Sonny cooks them a fantastic dinner. They all laugh and have a fun time. All the while, Sonny is getting to know his son. Pretty soon Stone is sleepy so together they take him upstairs to bed. They come back down and sit next to each other on the couch.

S- I think we should talk.

B- Sure. What would you like to know?

S-I want to know, why you didn’t think you could come to me? You know how important my children are to me. I would have protected you, Stone and your mother.

B- I know you would have, Sonny. That was the hard part. Do you know how much I would have loved to run to you? But that would have put so many more people in danger than necessary. Like Lois, Ned, Brooke, Robin and whoever else I was in contact with. I just couldn’t do it. Instead I had to face this all on my own.

S- That’s not what I wanted for you, Bren. I wanted you safe from all that.

B- I know Sonny. I wanted so much for all this to be different. I always thought we’d be together, married and children, but not be apart.

S- (runs his hand through her hair and down her cheek) God, I’ve missed you so much, Bren.

B- (closes her eyes to his touch) I know, Sonny. I know.

Sonny leans closer and their lips meet in an intense passionate kiss. They kiss again and again. Sonny puts his hands on her cheeks. Brenda is enjoying his kisses when she feels cold metal against her cheek. His wedding ring. She pulls quickly away from him.

S- What’s the matter, Bren? Did I do something wrong?

B- No...yes...I mean, I can’t Sonny. I just can’t. (tears are flowing freely from her eyes) You’re married Sonny. I can’t do this again.

Brenda gets off the couch and runs up the stairs into her room and shuts the door behind her. Sonny puts his face in his hands and thinks ‘If she only knew’. He gets up and slowly walks up the stairs. As he passes her room, he can hear her crying and it breaks his heart. He goes to bed and lays there thinking of what he should do.

Chapter 8

The next few days passed quickly with Sonny spending all the time with Stone possible. Brenda had become distant and didn’t say much to him, unless they were in front of Stone.

It was now time for him to leave and he had a plane to catch. His suitcases were packed and by the front door. Sonny was sitting on the couch talking to Stone.

S- I gotta go now, buddy, but I promise I’ll call and I’ll be back to see you soon.

MS- You promise?

S- I promise.

MS- I’ll miss you, daddy.

S- I’ll miss you, too, Stone. Daddy loves you very much, always remember that.

MS- I love you, too, daddy.

Sonny picks Stone up and hugs him tightly then kisses him upon his head. Brenda comes in and picks Stone up as Sonny grabs his bags and opens the door.

MS- Please stay, daddy, please!

S- I’m sorry Stone. I’ll be back soon.

Sonny walks out the door and he can still hear Stone begging him to stay. Tears run from his eyes as he realizes he’s doing the one thing he promised himself he would never do. He was leaving his family, Brenda and Stone.

S- (to himself) I’ll make this up to you soon. I promise. I promise.

BACK IN PC

Sonny walks in the club with his bags. There Luke is at the bar.

Lk- Hey man, how did it go?

S- Not now. I don’t want to talk about it. (Sonny goes upstairs)

Lk- Oh boy.

Chapter 9

It’s been two weeks and no one has heard from or seen Sonny. He hasn’t come out of his apartment since returning from Miami. Luke has tried to get in but Sonny keeps the door locked and tells him to go away. Luke is growing more and more concerned so he decides to call Lois. Lois is now outside Sonny’s door and is knocking.

L- Come on Sonny open up the door.

S- Lo, just leave. I don’t need you here.

L- You better open this door before I break it down. I’m not kidding, Sonny.

S- (opens the door) Look, I’m fine, so you can go now.

L- It doesn’t work that way. I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s going on.

S- Fine then I’ll leave.

Lois can smell the liquor on his breath and notices the empty bottles scattered around the apartment.

L- Sonny, you can’t go anywhere like this. Please, just sit down and tell me what’s wrong.

S- (relents and sits down) I did it, Lois. I promised I’d never do it and I did it. (he’s getting sleepy so he lays down)

L- Did what?

S- I left them. I should have told her the truth, but I couldn’t. I can still hear his voice, in my head, begging me to stay, but I left. I left them just like Mike left me.

Tears run down his cheeks as he closes his eyes and gives in to exhaustion. Lois just sits there still confused by what Sonny was talking about. She goes to the club hoping maybe Luke would understand what he was talking about.

L- Luke, do you know what he’s talking about?

Lk- Maybe, what did he say?

L- He keeps saying that he left “them”. That he did what Mike did and he left “them” there. Who are they?

Lk- Oh boy. Long story. I don’t know if I have the right to say.

L- Please tell me. I need to know so I can get through to him.

Lk- Ok, it’s about Brenda. He got a letter from her from Jax. She’s alive and has his son Michael Stone. He went to see them and then came back. He’s been locked up in there ever since.

L- Oh my God. She’s alive, but come she didn’t tell us before?

Lk- Something about her mother having dangerous people after her and Brenda didn’t want all of you in danger, too.

L- Oh my. So Sonny feels like he left them there, like when Mike left him with his mother.

Lk - That must be it.

L- I hafta get in touch with Bren. I need to find out what happened when he seen them. Can you find out her number for me, as soon as possible?

Lk- Yeah, I’ll try.

L- Thanks. I need to help them straighten this mess out.

Chapter 10

Lois goes back upstairs to sit with Sonny. Lois cleans up his apartment while he sleeps. After she’s done cleaning she puts on a pot of coffee and makes him a sandwich.

A while later Sonny wakes up. He opens his eyes and quickly closes them again. His hand goes to his head as he tries to sit up.

L- It’s about time you woke up.

S- What are you still doing here?

L- I want you to tell me what’s got you so upset. Now I know where you were last week and who you were with. Now what happened?

S- (smiles) Who told you? Luke?

L- I bugged it out of him. You said you left “them” and I wanted to know who they were.

S- So you know about Brenda and Stone?

L- Yeah. How are they?

S- They’re great. I’ve got pictures, you wanna see them?

L- I’d love to.

Sonny gets up to get the letter and his pictures of Stone. Lois reads the letter and then looks at the pictures.

L- Oh, Sonny. He’s so cute. He looks just like you, but he has Bren’s eyes.

S- Yeah he does.

L- So, what’s he like?

S- He’s a real good kid. He knows everyone here. He loves baseball and the beach.

L- That’s wonderful. How’s Brenda?

S- She’s beautiful, Lo. She’s a wonderful mother. She’s even a good cook. You should see her house. It’s beautiful. It’s right near the beach and it has a huge back yard. Brenda made sure Stone has everything he wants. His room is the kind I dreamed about when I was a kid.

L- Yeah, but is she happy?

S- I don’t know, Lo. I know she loves being a mother and taking care of Stone. But, I don’t know if she has the kind of love that she deserves.

L- Do you still love her?

S- I will always love Brenda.

L- Does she know how you feel about her?

S- Well, I tried to show her but she reminded me that I was married.

L- So you didn’t tell her about Carly?

S- No, I couldn’t. She doesn’t know that I married Carly to stay out of jail. To her, it would be Lily all over again.

L- Well, if you love her like you say you do, you have to tell her everything. You said that she’s changed, trust her enough to tell her the truth.

S- Thanks Lois. You always know how to set me back in line.

L- No problem.

S- Hey, how about I call Stone and you can talk to Brenda?

L- Okay, go ahead.