Slowly,
Sonny came back to life. He carried the burden of Lily's death like
a millstone around his neck, but eventually he started to want to live
again. And that meant wanting Brenda back. Only now, she was married
to Jax and trying to remain loyal to him. But as before, they couldn't
keep away from each other for long. Sonny donated his inheritance from
Rivera's estate to General Hospital, to build the “Stone Cates
Memorial AIDS Wing.” He made the donation in his and Lily's name.
After Lily's death, Sonny had banished Harry Silver from Port Charles.
He wanted the man dead, but out of respect for Lily, he spared Harry's
life. That turned out to be a big mistake. Harry, wracked with his own
guilt over what happened, decided that Sonny and Brenda needed to pay.
He hooked up with a Dr. Pierce Dorman, (who had previously refused to
do a biopsy on Stone), and the two of them started running drugs into
Port Charles. Of course, Sonny was the PCPD's number one suspect when
kids started dying from overdoses, and Sonny had to work hard to convince
everyone he wasn't involved. Sonny always hated hard drugs; especially
since Stone died of AIDS which he contracted from sex with an IV drug
user. Harry and Dorman lured Sonny to General Hospital by having a nurse
tell him that Brenda had been in an accident. When he got there, Dorman
knocked him out with a sedative. He was then taken back to his penthouse,
shot up with heroin, and left to die. While this was going on Brenda
and the rest of the town were at Laura Spencer's funeral. (Laura wasn't
actually dead, but that's a whole other story!) Brenda thought it was
very strange that Sonny wasn't there, and started feeling like something
was very wrong. Following her instincts, she went looking for Sonny...and
found him almost dead in his apartment. She called 911, and then hid
the drug paraphernalia used to inject him under the sofa cushion. Sonny
was rushed to GH, and before he went into the ER, he told Brenda that
he loved her.
Sonny
survived, and knew more than ever he wanted Brenda back. Brenda insisted
on helping Sonny figure out who had tried to kill him. It was an excuse
to spend time with him, but also to make Jax jealous. Prior to the OD,
Sonny had been investigating Jax. He hated the man for trying to take
over ELQ, where he had a seat on the board as a legitimate cover, and
for being with Brenda. Jason had been given 12% of ELQ stock by the
Quartermaines after his accident. He in turn, sold it to Sonny for $4
million dollars (a fraction of its worth) so that Sonny would be protected
from Federal investigators. In an attempt to take Jax down, Sonny tracked
down Jax's first wife, who had been badly injured in an explosion that
Jax ordered, and was presumed dead. Sonny brought Miranda back, and
they interrupted Brenda & Jax's wedding (the renewal of their vows.)
Harry Silver then began stalking Brenda, and Sonny became increasingly
worried about her safety. Then one night, Harry kidnapped Brenda and
took her to a cave where Sonny's organization used to store contraband.
He then called Sonny to come and join them...or else. Sonny was at the
PCPD when he got the call, being harassed by Marcus Taggart, a policeman
who was also the protégé of Sonny's abusive stepfather
Deke Woods back in Brooklyn. Taggart had come to town with a mission
to take Sonny down for Deke's death all those years ago. Taggart was
also convinced that Sonny was a drug dealer, and was on his case day
and night. Sonny managed to get away from Taggart and get to the cave.
There, he and Harry struggled for a gun, and Harry was shot. But before
he died, he triggered an explosion that he'd rigged to bury Sonny and
Brenda alive. Harry knew that Sonny was claustrophobic...another legacy
from Deke who used to lock him in the closet before beating him. Convinced
they would never be found, Sonny and Brenda confessed their love for
each other, and made love. But they were found...and Brenda went back
to her life with Jax. She was struggling with her feelings for Sonny,
and with an addiction to pain medication. Sonny tried to be patient
and wait for her to come to him, but it was difficult for him. Finally,
she left Jax and they reunited. Sonny took her to a farm he had bought,
and they planned their future together. Then, Dr. Dorman was murdered,
and Brenda was arrested for it. She'd been set up by an invisible enemy.
Sonny broke her out of jail and they went on the run. Clues led them
to Florida, where they came face-to-face with a very much alive Hernando
Rivera. He had been behind the set up, and wanted his own revenge on
the couple. They were rescued by Jax of all people, and the police,
but not before Sonny had proposed marriage to Brenda.
With Rivera
now really dead, they returned to Port Charles for their dream wedding...and
their new life away from Port Charles. Sonny didn't want Brenda in the
mob life, and he arranged to leave Jason in charge and run off with
her. But the night before they were to marry, a man came to Sonny and
told him that the contract on their heads was still in place...wherever
they went. Sonny then had a nightmare of Brenda dying like Lily had,
and the next day he realized that he couldn't imprison her in a life
on the run. He sent Jason to the church to tell Brenda it had been a
great ride, hoping she'd hate him and not try to find him. Then, Sonny
got into a limo, and rode off our screens.
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