The courtroom was packed as was to be expected when one of the most prominent citizens of Port Charles was on trial for murder, and more importantly, on the day she was set to take the stand in her own defense. It was a risky move, but both the defendant Alexis Davis and her attorney, Nora Buchanan, were known for making such brash moves in trying a case.

Actually most people in town were shocked that D.A. Baldwin had gotten this far with his case. Alexis Davis was viewed by just about everyone as the sympathetic figure in a bizarre situation. Not a man or woman didn't know and believe that Luis Alcazar was responsible for Kristina Cassadine's murder. As word spread through gossip and then news reports that the reputed arms dealer had left Davis and her then unborn child begging for help when she went into premature labor, well, it wasn't shocking that what appeared to be the highest profile case in a long time to make it to trial was a very unpopular one with the majority of those who had elected the D.A. to office.

Baldwin had his supporters to be sure. There were a lot of folks who remembered the name Cassadine with nothing but ill will and just because Alexis Davis had changed her name, it didn't make her any less of one to those people. Edward Quartermaine was feeding those fears, hoping against hope that a guilty verdict would mean control over the family's newest addition, Kristina Davis, the child Alexis Davis had almost lost. It was this more than anything that was fueling Alexis' desire to testify. Scott Baldwin was trying to make it seem that Alexis had snapped from postpartum depression, and the Quartermaines were eating it up. She would not let anyone paint her as crazy or unstable, not when her child's future was at stake.

The case against her was built mostly on circumstantial evidence - a witness seeing her in the hotel prior to her scream in the alley, the public threats she had made against the deceased, her seeming coldness at Alcazar's murder, and a lot of ugly family history that seemed to show a pattern of violence for the sake of vengeance. Contrary, however, to what the writers of popular television shows wanted you to believe, that was more than enough to put even an innocent person in prison. Not that people were so convinced Alexis Davis was innocent as much as they felt she had some justification for what she might have done.

The battle lines between those who supported and those who were fighting against Alexis were clear in the courtroom every day. Edward Quartermaine, Ned Ashton, A.J. Quartermaine, Carly Corinthos, Dara Jensen and the assorted lot of designated Cassadine haters were the regular cast that assembled behind Baldwin in court every day. Nikolas Cassadine, Cameron Lewis and Zander Smith could always be found sitting behind Alexis and Nora. A rotating crew of Luke Spencer, Elizabeth Webber, Courtney Quartermaine, Brenda Barrett and Jasper Jacks always filled out the Alexis' supporter side of the courtroom.

The one person who had not made an appearance as yet was Sonny Corinthos. But that changed when, as everyone settled into their seats, the doors opened and the local mob boss entered. Every eye turned to him and a hush ran through the crowd. It was the reaction he'd been expecting, much like he was prepared for Alexis to glance his way then rip her gaze away just as quickly.

He had not come before today because he knew that any association with him would only hurt Alexis. It had been hard, especially since he knew that Carly was helping fan the flames of the "Alexis is crazy campaign" that the Quartermaines were working against her. And then today, something had just started to burn in his gut when he woke up. It had kept building, kept driving him until he got up, got dressed, and headed here to the courtroom.

Sonny took a seat behind Brenda, smiling at her when she offered him one first. Jax was ready to comment but the judge entered the room, ending all conversation momentarily. The bailiff announced the judge's arrival, and the focus of the whole room moved to the bench where Judge Ramos took her seat.

The perfunctory opening remarks and such were made, and Judge Ramos turned the floor over to Nora Buchanan. The defense had begun the day before with several witnesses who were called to directly refute the prosecution's arguments. Cameron Lewis had testified clearly and succinctly that he did not believe Alexis Davis was either suffering from postpartum depression or that she had the capacity to commit murder. Scott Baldwin had been unable to ruffle the doctor and Nora considered the testimony a success.

She had also called several witnesses to establish how many other people in town had motive to kill Luis Alcazar. Monica Quartermaine, the only Quartermaine not trying to railroad Alexis, had taken the stand as had Brenda Barrett, Jasper Jacks, Felicia Scorpio and even Roy DiLucca, who had flown back to town for the sole purpose of testifying on Alexis' behalf.

Nora knew she had established reasonable doubt on paper, but if the jury was buying it was something she couldn't know for certain. And even if she had succeeded at this point, Alexis was adamant about testifying. And so here they were, Alexis headed to the stand and Nora prepared to question her.

"Alexis, can you tell me how you came to know who Luis Alcazar was?"

"Yes," Alexis began, "it was the night that he shot my ex-husband, Jasper Jacks, and that he was shot himself by Sonny Corinthos."

"And in what context did you meet Mr. Alcazar?"

"He was at the hospital, and I went there because I had heard about Jax. I went to look for Lieutenant Taggart to see if I could find out exactly what happened and I overheard the lieutenant say that Alcazar was the one who had set the bomb that killed my sister."

"How did that make you feel?"

Alexis looked slightly taken aback at the question. Shaking her head slightly, she answered.

"How would it make anyone feel? I didn't even know who this man was or why he was in Port Charles, and the police are there saying he killed my sister...I was shocked, I was angry."

"Did you speak to Mr. Alcazar that night?"

Alexis let her eyes move briefly to Ned. Her backstabbing ex-fiancé had testified against her, detailing how he had stopped her from attacking Alcazar that first night in the hospital.

"Yes, I did. I made him aware that it was my sister he had killed in the warehouse explosion and I told him I would make certain he was brought to justice."

Nora glanced over her shoulder at Scott Baldwin and stepped closer to the witness stand.

"Did you, as Mr. Ashton testified for Mr. Baldwin, attempt to inflict physical harm on Mr. Alcazar?"

Alexis straightened up in her chair and looked Nora squarely in the eye.

"I told him I would make sure he was brought to justice and that I hoped he was suffering as much as my sister had suffered. That was the extent of our conversation before Mr. Ashton interrupted us."

It wasn't a lie, it was semantics.

The questions continued. They discussed Alcazar's release and her reaction. They talked about how she felt regarding Jax' shooting. They talked about her grief over Kristina. And then they reached the subject that both women knew would be hardest for Alexis to face. This is where they gambled. Alexis would have a clear cut motive for wanting Alcazar dead, but by them introducing the topic and addressing it directly before Baldwin had the chance to put his own spin on it, Nora hoped that the jury would already be too sympathetic to Alexis to care what the D.A. said about motive in his cross examination.

"Alexis, can you tell me what happened on November 19, 2002?"

Nora watched as her client looked down briefly and took a deep breath that she released slowly, gathering her thoughts and her nerves for what lay ahead.

"I was walking through the park and I ran into Mr. Alcazar. We had words and I went into premature labor, I was 7 months pregnant at the time."

"Did Mr. Alcazar do anything when he realized you were in trouble?"

"Yes, he walked away."

The audible gasp that went up in the jury box told Nora the truth had hit home.

"You mean he went to get help for you?"

"No," Alexis said, shaking her head for emphasis, "I mean he walked away and left me there. He left me and my baby to die. If Dr. Lewis hadn't found us and gotten us to the hospital, than we probably both would have died that night."

"And several hours later you gave birth to your daughter Kristina, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Was Kristina born in good health?"

Alexis' eyes teared up at the memory of her daughter, her body so small and vulnerable as she was rushed from the delivery room that night.

"No, she wasn't. She only weighed about two pounds and she was having trouble breathing."

"When was the next time you saw Luis Alcazar?"

"I saw him standing near the nursery. I thought...I thought he had come there to hurt my baby."

"So you were afraid of him?"

"Yes."

Nora walked closer still to the witness stand.

"Did you kill him?"

"No," Alexis said clearly and without any urgency. She stated it as fact. "I wanted him to leave town. That's what I went there to tell him. I was hoping to scare him...convince him that certain people in town were going to make an attempt on his life if he didn't go."

"But you never went into the hotel?"

Again Alexis shook her head as she spoke. "No, I did not. I know that Mrs. Ross believes she saw me there, but she was mistaken. I never made it any further than the alley where I found Mr. Alcazar's body.

"Ms. Davis, why should we believe you?"

"My daughter is all that matters to me. I would not have done anything that could take me away from her. I'm a lawyer. I know how the system works. I would have known the risk I was running if I hurt him. I cannot leave my daughter, not for revenge, not for anything. That's why I didn't kill him."

Nora turned and looked at the jury. Alexis had scored, big time. Now all she had to do was keep her cool with Scott and she would have accomplished one goal for certain -- her sanity could no longer be questioned. Hopefully she had also cemented reasonable doubt in at least one juror's mind.

"Thank you, I have no further questions."

As Nora made her way back to the defense table, Scott stood and took a few steps around the prosecution table.

"You hated Luis Alcazar didn't you, Ms. Davis?"

"The man murdered my sister and almost cost me my child. Of course I hated him."

"And yet you expect this court to believe that despite your deep hatred of him, despite the fact that you believed he was a danger to your child, despite the fact that several witnesses have testified that you were emotionally out of control during those days following your daughter's birth, you want us to believe that you didn't kill him?"

"I don't expect you to believe anything, Mr. Baldwin. I'm telling the truth. Whether or not you choose to believe it is up to you."

"And you think you're qualified to judge your emotional state considering that we've had testimony that you were unreasonable, almost paranoiac in the way that you were lashing out at trusted friends?"

"I was protecting my rights as a mother and doing what was best for my child. If some people find that unreasonable, then they've obviously never known what it means to be a mother."

As Alexis finished her sentence, she let her eyes fall coldly upon Carly. The blond woman realized the implication and glared back up at Alexis with venom in her eyes.

"Why did you go to the Port Charles Hotel that night, Ms. Davis?" Scott asked, continuing his questions.

"As I said before, I went there to try and scare him into leaving town."

"And you never made it inside the hotel?"

"As I've stated several times, no, I did not."

"Why do we have a witness who saw you inside the hallway near the stairwell?"

"Because she saw someone with dark hair and blue jeans who she thinks looked like me, I'd imagine."

Scott wasn't happy. Alexis was still too calm, and he needed her on edge to make his plan work. He decided to step up the pressure.

"You went there because you wanted him gone?"

Alexis looked at Scott like he was the one who had lost his mind. She wanted to snap at him, but she knew he was baiting her.

"Yes, I wanted him gone, meaning I wanted him to leave town."

"You considered him a threat to your daughter, didn't you?"

Something was going on. Almost everyone in the room could sense it, including Nora, and she was watching the cross-examination very carefully. She was relieved to see that Alexis also registered that they might be on shaky ground and was measuring her answers.

"I considered him a threat to every decent person on the planet, not just my daughter."

Scott walked up and leaned against the railing of the witness stand.

"But what interest could he have had in your daughter?"

"Objection," Nora called out as she stood. "Asked and answered."

"Rephrase or move on, Mr. Baldwin," Judge Ramos admonished. Scott glanced at her then turned his eyes back to Alexis.

"Ms. Davis, did you have some reason to believe that Mr. Alcazar had a specific reason for wanting to hurt you or your daughter?"

The room was quiet as Alexis considered the question and the look she saw in Scott's eyes as he asked. He knew something. She didn't know what, but it was something that could hurt her. But what...

Her gut kicked in and Alexis looked over at Ned. She saw the gleam of triumph in his eyes and she instantly understood what he had done.

Scott knew the truth about Kristina's paternity.

Instinctively Alexis turned her gaze to Sonny. It happened of its own accord, without her even understanding why. And as the judge began to admonish her to answer the question, as her every instinct wanted to panic in the face of what was happening, her eyes locked with his.

****************************

It had been killing Sonny to sit there and listen to Baldwin dredge up all of the bad memories that Alexis had been forced to live through the last several months. He wanted to jump up and ring the overconfident jerk's neck, but he knew that wouldn't help Alexis. He hadn't known what would until she looked at him.

Her eyes had always spoken to him when her words hid her true feelings. Even without Kristina's admission, Sonny had seen the love in Alexis' eyes, he had just been too afraid to acknowledge it. He had also seen the depth of her pain in those same amazing brown eyes when her sister had died. And that day at the NICU when he had gone there for all the wrong reasons and ended up standing by her side through a crisis, one look had been enough to tell him how much Alexis loved her daughter.

Now those eyes were looking at him full of fear and pleading for help. No one else in the room could see it, Sonny knew that. Alexis was too good at hiding what she was feeling to let these people into her heart, but he saw it. He just didn't understand. Why was she so afraid of Scott's questions? There was no reason for Alcazar to have been so interested in baby Kristina unless he wanted to hurt someone by using the little girl and...

Sonny's mind stopped dead in its tracks. As the judge ordered Alexis to answer the question, Sonny moved his body forward and tapped Brenda on the shoulder. She leaned back toward him.

"Start yelling, do something, just interrupt."

Brenda turned and looked at him strangely.

"Please."

She didn't understand his request, but Brenda was willing to do anything to help Alexis out of this mess, and so she jumped up out of her seat.

"This is ridiculous. Whoever killed Alcazar deserves a medal. This whole thing is a joke!"

Judge Ramos pounded her gavel, trying to bring the court to order, but soon everyone who wasn't against Alexis in the courtroom was chiming in, adding to the melee. Finally the judge was forced to call a recess in order to clear the court and see if they could manage to pick up the proceedings. Sonny watched attentively as Nora and the bailiff escorted Alexis to a nearby room to wait, and as the rest of the crowd dispersed, Sonny headed toward that room with only one purpose in mind.

He lurked just short of the door as the women entered, the bailiff staying outside for a moment as he ordered several men into position to help control the people in the corridors. After a few minutes, he moved on. Five more minutes passed before the door opened and Nora Buchanan walked out, a mixture of determination and worry on her face. Sonny knew that this was his opening, and he took it.

The minute the door opened, her eyes came to him. And in that brief glance, Sonny knew that Alexis understood he now knew the truth.

Kristina was his daughter.

Sonny closed the door, his eyes never leaving hers. But she broke their gaze, turning her face away. Because Sonny was now looking for another answer.

So many times over the last year Sonny had done what was easy and turned away from the answers he had wanted and needed from Alexis. She had fought him so hard, and he had surrendered too quickly. The cost of that to both of them had been unimaginable. But today he couldn't give in, and he would not let her walk away.

He moved to her quickly, dropping his coat on the table as he went. Alexis backed away, knowing that she was trapped but still trying to escape. Sonny kept advancing. When he reached her, his hands went to her cheeks. He used gentle, guiding pressure to bring her face even with his own. Her eyes were not so easy to control.

"Alexis."

She closed her eyes tightly, fighting the pull of his voice. But Sonny needed his answer.

"Alexis."

Slowly her lids lifted and soon his question and her answer were visible to each of them as they could be to no other. Tears began to stream down her cheeks.

"He was going to kill her," she said in a pained whisper.

Sonny's heart told him what to do next. He pulled her against him, his arms wrapping around her as she finally let go of the secret that only he now knew.

Alexis had killed Alcazar because Alcazar knew Kristina was a Corinthos.

It had been so long since he'd held her, but despite all that had passed, despite all of the things that lay between them, Sonny closed his eyes as he felt her melt against him.

"I'll fix this, Alexis. I won't let him take you away from our daughter."

Alexis pushed back from him.

"Sonny, he knows. Ned told Scott. He knows."

The door opened and Nora Buchanan walked in mid sentence on her cell phone.

"...and I said I don't care."

She hung up and looked over at Alexis, at her tear-stained face, and at Sonny. He felt the weight of her visual scrutiny and knew Nora had assumed he had done something to upset Alexis.

"You need to talk to your lawyer," he said, turning back to the mother of his child. "Trust me, okay?"

He could see that she wanted to ask him what he meant, what he had planned, but she couldn't, not with Nora there, and that worked to Sonny's advantage. Whatever he had to do to solve this problem, it wasn't going to be legal or ethical, and Ms. Buchanan didn't strike him as a woman who would go along with either option.

Sonny picked up his coat and strolled to the door. He stopped and acknowledged the intense looking woman standing there.

"Take care of her, Ms. Buchanan."

He felt Nora's gaze follow him all the way out of the door. He didn't look back at Alexis. He couldn't. Sonny knew he couldn't let her principles or her sense of right and wrong stop him this time. This was a problem that needed to be dealt with his way.

********************

Alexis was sitting in the rocking chair in Kristina's nursery as the warm glow of the moon shined in through the windows. The baby had fallen asleep hours ago, but Alexis didn't want to let her go. She didn't know how many more nights like this she might have.

Nora had won her the right to be released on her own recognizance by virtue of her record with the court. The fact that the judge was a woman and a mother hadn't hurt their cause, but Alexis had been terrified that she would be locked up at her arraignment and torn away from her baby girl. She knew what that would mean -- her baby would be at the Quartermaine mansion under lock and key.

It was still a real fear, despite the fact that she had now made legal provisions for what should happen to Kristina if she were to be convicted. It was a real possibility, and she knew it, and so Stefan was on his way back to the States so he could take guardianship of Kristina should he need to. But Ned would fight. He had been casting stones at the Cassadine name for weeks now in the press. He was building his case to challenge for Kristina's custody...and he was going to pin his argument on her instability saying that she wasn't in her right mind to designate a guardian. He had believed his ace in the hole was that Alexis wouldn't reveal the truth about Kristina's paternity. She knew it was why he had told Scott the truth. He wanted her to confess to keep the question from being asked. Ned thought she was that afraid of Sonny finding out the truth.

He had been right until today. Ned could have won.

But his opportunity had disappeared even if he didn't know it yet.

Alexis looked down at her baby believing that if the worst happened now, Ned was no longer a danger to her daughter.

Because her father wouldn't let him be.

What Alexis didn't know was what Sonny had meant when he said he would fix things. The words frightened her. But after having her confidence in being acquitted dashed by Ned and Scott's underhanded ploy, she was hopeful that he meant it.

But Alexis wasn't ready to let herself count on anything but what might happen at her trial. The judge had recessed court today after Brenda's outburst, and Alexis had told Nora what she believed to be Scott's hold card. Now that Sonny knew the truth, Alexis wasn't afraid of the threat anymore as it applied to Sonny, but she didn't know if the jury would start to doubt her if they learned she had lied about who had fathered her baby.

The knock on her door surprised her, especially because it was after midnight. She stood, gently placing Kristina in her crib, then she made her way to the front door. She was doubly surprised to see Nora standing on the other side.

"Nora, what is it, what happened?" Alexis asked in rapid-fire fashion as she closed the door behind her attorney.

"Something pretty amazing, actually."

"What?"

Nora put her purse down on the desk and put her hands on her hips as she looked at her client.

"Tomorrow you're going to court, and all of the charges against you are going to be dismissed."

The shock she felt clearly registered on her face as Alexis looked on silently in disbelief.

"I know, I know," Nora said, smiling, "but it's true. The real killer confessed, and Mac Scorpio believes the confession. He's going to tell the judge tomorrow, which means Baldwin's case will be blown out of the water."

She tried not to react when Nora said the words "real killer." Alexis had not drawn her attorney into her lie, but since Alexis knew who the "real killer" was, the fact that someone had confessed could only mean one thing.

Sonny had made it happen.

Nora stayed for another hour. The moment she left, Alexis ran for her cell phone and began to dial the phone. She was cut off mid-dial by a familiar knock sounding on her door.

Sonny strolled inside the apartment and removed his coat. Alexis looked nervously out into the hall.

"No one saw me. I used to be a delinquent in Brooklyn, remember. I know all about getting in places without being seen."

Alexis glanced at him nervously then shut the door. She walked over to him, her arms crossed in front of her.

"What did you do, Sonny?"

He widened his stance and put one hand on the desk, leaning into it, as the other pushed back his suit jacket and moved to his hip.

"I made sure my daughter didn't lose her mother."

The intensity of the look between them shook Alexis to her core and she felt a shiver run through her body. There wasn't going to be any dancing tonight, just brutal honesty.

"Who is he?"

"A man who works for me peripherally. A man who is being well-compensated for his sacrifice."

"Sonny, he's confessing to first-degree murder. That's more than a sacrifice, that's a life sentence."

"He thinks it's a fair trade."

"Did you force this man to do this? Did you threaten him?"

Sonny smiled slightly and shook his head as he walked across the room.

"Alexis, I made sure you aren't going to prison. That's all that matters."

"No, Sonny, it's not all that matters. I made a choice. If I end up having to pay for that choice, I'm ready to do that..."

"Really?" he said, spinning on his heel. "You tired of being a mother already?"

She moved to slap him but he caught her hand in mid air.

"Stop acting like you're this brave, Alexis. You aren't. I know it. I saw it on your face at the hospital and I saw it today on the witness stand. If you lose that little girl it'll kill you, and you know it."

Alexis felt the pain of what he was saying deep in her heart. She knew he was right. She couldn't stand the idea of leaving Kristina...but did that mean she could live with the lie he had constructed?

Sonny released her hand and Alexis pulled her arm down and in close to her, the feel of his skin against hers still there even in the absence of his physical touch. She sank down onto the couch as Sonny continued to stand, now looming over her.

"How did he find out?"

Alexis shook her head silently and then found her voice. "I don't know. I went there and I told him that you would kill him and that he should leave town. I told him I was the only person who could stop you and I wouldn't. That really is all I went there to do."

Sonny sat down on the couch beside her, his hand reaching over to lightly touch her back.

"I was leaving," Alexis said, continuing, "and he said, 'he might kill me if I don't break his heart first.' I didn't know what he meant, and I tried to keep walking and then he said, 'she looks like him, don't you think?' I turned around and he was smiling at me."

Alexis didn't hear how pained her voice had become in the retelling of that night. She didn't feel the trail of moisture on her cheeks as what she had felt standing there in his room came back and overwhelmed her again.

"He said, 'what do you think it will do to him, my killing his daughter? Better than a bullet to his heart, don't you think?'

"I don't even know...I just rushed toward him. I don't even know what I thought I was going to do, but the next thing I knew he was screaming and falling over the railing and I was standing there and I realized I had pushed him."

Sonny's hand had, as she told her tale, moved up and now rested on her shoulder. He squeezed gently as she finished her story.

"It was my fault," he said, his voice breaking. "I was supposed take care of him before he hurt anyone else, but things kept getting in the way. I let him live and that made you and Kristina a target." Sonny looked down at the ground as tears stung at his eyes. "That's why you didn't tell me about the baby...you, uh, you were afraid I couldn't protect you."

She didn't look at him. She couldn't. But the new flow of tears told Sonny that he was right.

"I can protect you now, Alexis. You gotta let me do this."

Alexis closed her eyes for a moment, fighting to keep her thoughts in order, then she stood and took a few steps away from Sonny before turning back to face him.

"I can live with what I did to Alcazar because he was a monster, and I know what people like him do to the innocents in the world if no one stops them. I can look at myself in the
mirror and not feel sick. But how do I do that, Sonny, if I let an innocent man go to prison for what I did?"

"He's far from innocent," Sonny stated as he stood and fixed his eyes on her. "He's a foot soldier in a crime family. He's probably killed at least a half a dozen people in his lifetime."

"But he didn't kill this one," Alexis argued simply.

"Alexis, I didn't force him to do anything. I didn't even pick him. I put out the word that there was a bounty available and he came forward and took it. It was his choice."

"You're bribing a man to confess to murder!"

Sonny had known she would hate this, but it was the only way he could see to end the threat to his family. His family -- how quickly that had happened.

"I send men out every day to do jobs for me that can cost them their lives, Alexis. You never wanted to know that, but now you have to. Dave could die any day that he works in the organization. Probably wouldn't make it past 40. Does he have to go to prison? Sure. Do you think he won't be a king there? Do you think his life is going to be anything even close to hard with the people I have on the inside to take care of him?"

"That's not the point, Sonny."

"No," he yelled, then quickly remembering the baby, Sonny calmed his voice. "No, the point is that I don't want that little girl to lose you. You gotta see that that's the most important thing, Alexis. I know you see it."

"Sonny..."

He stepped forward, his hands going to her arms, holding her. "Alexis, you know what it's like to grow up without your mother. Is that what you want for her? I know there's still a chance you could be acquitted, okay. I checked this Nora Buchanan out, and she's almost as good as you. But what if you lose? If Ned would tell Scott the truth to set you up, he'll stop at nothing to get that little girl. What if I can't stop him, Alexis?"

"You've never been afraid of Ned."

"But I am now, Alexis. For the first time in his life, Ned has something I want. His name is on my baby's birth certificate. He has the power of the law behind him. Even if I get another DNA test, even if I fight him forever, who do you think Kristina's gonna be with in the meantime?

"I spent me life thinking that a mother should always put her child first. You've done that from the start, Alexis. I don't like it, I hate that you lied to me, I hate that you kept me away when you needed me, when she needed me, but I know what you were doing. You gotta keep doing it. You gotta keep Kristina the most important thing. For her you're gonna let this happen, and you're gonna live with it."

She was shaking from the tumult of emotion going on as everything Sonny was saying registered inside of her. God, the thought of leaving her baby...of even one day away from her...but still, the core of who Alexis was couldn't seem to wrap itself around what he was asking her to do.

"I...Sonny, I know you're right, I do...but I...how can I live with this? How can I do this?"

Sonny took her hand and pulled her through the apartment. He wasn't sure where he was going, but soon he found the door he sought and he drew her inside the room and kept pulling at her until Alexis stood between him and the edge of Kristina's crib.

"You look at her, Alexis...look at our child and tell me what you can and can't do."

******************************

David Malone was a known mob enforcer who Mac had run into on more than a few occasions. His confession had certainly come out of nowhere, but he was also a family man...he had a mother and five sisters who were dependant upon him...and when David had said he couldn't live with the guilt of letting a mother and daughter be separated if Alexis Davis were convicted of his crime, Mac believed him. He believed even more when David told him that several of the men in Sonny's organization had taken to spending their own time looking out for Alexis Davis in the months after she had left Sonny's employ. Mac had seen the level of respect these men had for her. It was an easy story to buy.

Malone's confession included the fact that he had been in the hospital the day Alcazar had shown up and been seen lurking around the nursery. He said he had overheard Alcazar on the phone ordering someone to get as much information on "the Davis baby" as could be found. Alerted to a threat to Ms. Davis and her child, Malone had stepped up his surveillance. When he became convinced Alcazar meant to do harm to Ms. Davis and the baby, he had reacted as he had been trained to do -- he had eliminated the threat.

The fact that he knew intricate details of the crime that had not been released to the media, specifics about the knife that held Brenda Barrett's prints, the name of the maid who had seen Jason Morgan in the hallway, and his recollection that he had even seen Jasper Jacks in the hotel that night only cemented the confession for Mac. He had no idea that those details had been bought and paid for by Sonny Corinthos. And he had no idea that five million dollars now sat in a bank account that only Malone's attorney had access to for the sake of his family.

At 10:07 a.m., Judge Ramos announced that the charges against Alexis Davis had been dismissed. The former defendant hugged her attorney, exchanged embraces with her friends and then spoke briefly with the media about wanting to simply "get on with making a life for herself and her daughter."

At 11:15, Alexis walked into her apartment. Sonny was sitting on the sofa holding Kristina. Silently she moved to them and sat down in the space next to them.

For years, Sonny had lived in a place of gray that Alexis' often black-and-white view had difficulty understanding. Now they were there together. She was no more comfortable than she had been on the outside of that world...and yet now they shared this common ground.

And they had both done what had to be done for their child.

It was a place to start.

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