Friends Til the End

Kristina sighed as she slipped her toes into the water, the light of the moon causing the water to sparkle around her black toe nail polish. It was nice to get away from home for a bit. Tensions with her sister were wearing on her and the checklist for her nonprofit seemed to be growing rather than tasks crossed off. Her father's wedding to Nina had been a respite. Port Charles seemed a world away, and she didn't mind it staying that way for a few more days.

"There you are," she heard the familiar voice as he walked out onto the terrace. "Nina, went back to the hotel? She was tired and the roulette table wasn't very kind to her. Gambling is not really her thing." Kristina turned to look at him.

"She must be exhausted. It's been quite the whirlwind."

Sonny grinned at her.

"That's the right word. Isn't it? Feels funny when you say it ... Whirl - wind?"

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I needed to get some air. Oh! Is this not okay?" She asked, pulling her feet from the fountain, quickly standing.

As if he had been ready, he ran up slipping his arm around her waist as her slippery feet rendered her unsteady. Almost, if he knew she would stumble..

"Good?"

"Y-yeah. I just got a little ... um ... overstimulated inside."

"You mean while you were bankrupting my casino?"

"What can I say? I'm in a romance with Lady Luck."

He laughed.
"You weren't letting me win. Were you? Dad? Tell me the truth."

"Of course not. I would never." His voice trailed off. He seemed to be lost in thought.

She smoothed out her dress.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"You know - weird."

"Uh - sorry. You just reminded me of your Mom."

Kristina slowly raised an eyebrow. He watched it arch and covered a small snicker.

"Stop."

"What? She liked to come out here to breathe, too. She didn't just put her feet in the fountain, though. She danced in it." His eyes lit up at the memory.

"My mom? Danced? In - in that fountain?"

"She did. She also did quite the Salsa."
Kristina laughed.

"My mom? I don't believe you. She would never let loose like that."

He shook his head.

"It was something special. I've never seen her so free."

"You're serious?"

He kicked toward a pebble that she didn't think was actually there.

"She's never talked about it? The gardenia in her hair? Tropical dress? Winning at roulette, losing at black jack?"

"Never." She replied. "Doesn't really sound like her. Although, she has always kept a lot inside."

Sonny nodded. He looked down at his daughter's bare feet. Her heels swinging from the hand she held them in.

"She does keep a lot of things inside." He agreed. "Sometimes, the very best parts of herself. She used to let me see more than most, but that was an incredibly long time ago."

He looked down, and Kristina lay a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"She did give the prince in the fairy tales she told me had pretty quirky traits."

"Yeah," he said and when he looked up at her his eyes seemed to have a bit of a mist in them. "Like what?"

"They always cheated at cards, outlawed microwave popcorn throughout the kingdom, and occasionally threw a champagne glass."

He smiled, dimples on full display.

"He always had the dancers in the castle court perform for the Queen, and was known for leading the battles himself - slaying dragons and laying them at his mother's feet."

Sonny felt his eyes sting.

"I think talking about that time in her life is too hard for her. Every time I asked her when I was little, about - about the two of you, she would just smile, but I could see the tears in her eyes. I think it still hurts - you know?"

"I do," he said, running his hand through his graying hair.

"You could have told me."

He smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

Kristina grabbed onto his hand, shaking it slightly.

"It still hurts for you, too."

"Yeah."

"Is it because you both regret what happened between you or because it didn't work out?"

"I don't regret anything about being in your mom's life, accept that - well, that the phone rang."

"Explain."

"I brought Alexis here to work out a labor dispute having to do with the casino, but she'd just had a terrible experience. Cassadines. Family stuff."

"I get that." Kristina whispered.

"She needed to get away. We both did. More than either of us realized. She came to life here. She was dancing in the fountain, skipping along the edge, and she started to fall. I caught her in my arms, and there was this charge. This - I can't explain it. It was the first time I was sure I wanted her as more than my friend. In fact, I think much more would have happened if the phone hadn't rang - if I hadn't chosen to go home to fix someone else's mess."

Kristina turned her back to him, staring at the fountain.

"So," she said, trying to make her voice sound lighter than she actually felt. "I didn't come from a one night stand?"

"What?" He said sharply, turning her to face him.

"Why would you think that?"

"Carly," She said, coughing in her hand to cover the name of her Dad's ex- wife.

"Yeah, well." He placed a finger under her chin as she tried to turn her head. "Hey, look at me, Kristina. I was in love with your mom. We were friends for a very long time. Best friends. No one knows me, to this day, like Alexis. No one. And no one knows her like I do. I will always love her."

"Then what happened?"

"The writing wasn't on the page for that story, sweetheart. I wasn't where I needed to be in my life. People got in the way ..."

"It was complicated."

"Yes, but Puerto Rico never was. It was the best of both of us."

He extended her arm to her, and she looped hers through.

"Come on. Let's go have dinner. I had the staff prepare something for you."

"What is it?"

"It's a surprise." He said playfully.

"What kind of surprise, Dad?"

"The kind that wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, Princess."

She smiled, kissing his cheek.

"Cheers."

"Cheers?" He asked.

"To your wedding. I'm glad it happened in Puerto Rico."