Family Reunited
by de

Chapter 10

Sonny became a permanent fixture in the guest room of the Puerto Rican villa where he had reconnected with Alexis after more than three years, and met his children for the first time.

As Alexis' month-long vacation came to an end, Sonny became fearful he would lose his family. Neither he nor Alexis would broach the subject of what happened when the vacation was over.

They had quickly returned to the easy banter and friendship they had always shared. But that had been it. Alexis never led Sonny to believe she wanted anything more than to re-establish their friendship and he didn't want to push the issue for the sake of the children. He had told her when he first arrived, before he knew she had given birth to his children, that he wanted whatever she could give him. He left it up to her. He hoped that one day he could win her heart again and they could share more than just their children.

One night, after the twins had been tucked in their beds, three nights before the scheduled end of the vacation, Sonny sat on the couch reading the newspaper. Alexis stood and began pacing. Sonny placed the paper on the coffee table and watched her.

"What happens now?" She asked him as she turned to face him.

"See...I think you asked me this before," He said as he displayed his dimples in response to a question she had asked the morning after their children had been conceived...before things had gone so wrong. "Let's see if I can get it right this time."

Alexis smiled shyly and looked at Sonny.

"Okay...here goes," he said as he took a deep breath and let it out. "You and the twins have been living in London all their lives. I've been living in Puerto Rico for the most part, except when I travel to Port Charles to see Michael...So...it's time for my weekend with Michael. I was thinking I would fly to Port Charles...see him...and then maybe I could come to London and stay with you and the twins for awhile...you know...get to see where they live...I can handle my business from there," Sonny said. "If...if that's okay."

"I think that would be wonderful Sonny," Alexis said with a shy smile.

"Good. Then...that's what we will do....I...want to take this a step at a time, Alexis. I don't want to mess anything up."

"Neither do I Sonny...neither do I," Alexis agreed.

And that's what they had done.

For the most part, Sonny moved into the London flat. It was large enough that, not only did Sonny have a nice bedroom near those of his children, he had a large office downstairs. This allowed him to conduct most of his business from London. Sonny made monthly trips to Port Charles to visit Michael and, with the help of Jason, who was once again involved with Carly, had almost convinced Carly to agree to let Michael accompany him to London to meet his brother and sister. Sonny made occasional trips to Puerto Rico to take care of business. He had tried to get Alexis and the twins to accompany him, but she had refused, claiming she couldn't take the time off.

The truth was that Alexis was not ready to handle another Puerto Rican vacation with her little family. She and Sonny had done a good job being parents to their children. And they were best friends. But what they had not become was anything more.

Technically, Alexis and Sonny had lived together for almost a year, and they had done so comfortably. Of course there had been heated arguments over what was best for the children. One of the hardest things for Alexis had been sharing the decisions with Sonny. After all, from the time she found out she was pregnant, she had always made those decisions on her own. Alexis convinced herself to stay focused on the fact that the twins were much better off with their father in their lives. The one thing that seemed to make the most difference was that Sonny had really changed. He was willing to listen to Alexis' opinion and then expressed his opinion. His patience and the fact that he didn't demand it be done his way, made compromising easier.

Alexis and Sonny had become experts at communicating where the twins were concerned. So many things had changed, but there was one thing that remained the same. Communicating their feelings about each other was taboo. Sonny continually told himself that he had told Alexis that he was willing to take whatever she was willing to give and that he needed to wait for her to make the first move. However, a little voice kept reminding him how Alexis had handled her feelings for him the first time, she didn't. So, Sonny figured he could wait until Hell froze over, or he could give Alexis a little nudge.

It had been almost a year since he had sought out Alexis in Puerto Rico. Almost a year since he had found out he was a father and Sonny decided he was ready to celebrate the re-birth of his life.

After dinner one evening, Sonny pointed out how long it had been since Alexis had taken a vacation.

"Stefan and Nicholas have both taken their extended vacations," Sonny stated. "Have you made plans yet for your extended vacation?"

Sonny locked eyes with Alexis. He saw uncertainly and fear.

"I haven't really thought about it, Sonny," Alexis said quietly.

"Well...I have...the kids are going to be starting school next year Alexis...how about we take a family vacation this April in Puerto Rico...like you did last year?"

After what seemed like hours. Alexis blew out a puff of air and answered.

"Okay."

"If it's okay with you Alexis, I'd like to make the plans," Sonny asked hopefully.

Alexis' head snapped up and her eyes locked with Sonny's. Sonny thought he saw panic before her eyes dropped to her hands.

"O...Okay," she whispered.

And that was that.

chapter 11