In A Moment
By Misha

Disclaimer- I do not own Jason, Brenda, Carly, Sonny or Alcazar. They belong to the creators of General Hospital, Wendy Riche, Bob Guza, ABC Daytime, and probably a lot of other people with more money than me. I don't own the song either. I'm not making any money off this story so please don't sue me.

Author's Notes- This is an alternate version of the September 17th episode where Brenda and Sonny see each other again, right before he gets shot? What if Brenda had seen the gun, what if she had taken the bullet meant for Sonny? I couldn't help but ask that question. How would Sonny react if fate was cruel enough to give her back, only to take her away again? I didn't intend to make this a song fic, but the lyrics just implanted themselves. I couldn't help it. By the way, the song is "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas. Well, that's all, enjoy!

Rating- PG-13

I close my eyes, only for a moment
And the moment's gone

Brenda smiled as she saw her adored Sonny again.

She had dreamed him so many times in the last four years and there he was, right in front of her eyes. It was perfect.

Then, suddenly, she saw the gun in the instant before it was fired.

With a scream, she threw herself in front of Sonny. She felt the bullets go into her body and fell to the ground.

She had always known that she was going to die soon.

Why not die so that her beloved Sonny might live? She had come here to protect him and if she had to do so with her life, then so be it.

All my dreams pass before my eyes
A curiosity

Sonny cried out in agony as he watched Brenda take the bullets meant for him.

He had planned this out so carefully.

But this was what he had never bargained on. This beautiful, reckless woman showing up and sending everything to Hell, just like she always had.

He gathered her into his arms.

"Sonny." She whispered, looking up at him with beautiful eyes.

"I'm here." He told her.

She just smiled slightly. "I came back to save you." She told him.

Sonny had so many questions to ask her. Mainly why had she stayed away and why had she become involved with Alcazar.

But he knew there was no time.

The woman in his arms was dying. Because of him.

Dust in the wind, all they are is
Dust in the wind

He looked and saw Jason running towards them.

He stopped when he saw Brenda. "What happened?"

Sonny smiled wryly. "I got shot at-Brenda took the bullet."

Jason stared at the woman in Sonny's arms and then took out his cellphone, to call 911.

"The ambulance will be here soon." Jason told them when he was done.

"It'll be too late." Brenda whispered. "I'm dying."

Same old songs, just a drop of water
In an endless sea

Sonny closed his eyes, trying to wipe out the horrible truth of her words.

"Sonny, it's okay." Brenda told him gently. "I came here, knowing that I was dying. And you know what, I'd rather die this way, for you, then to end up slowly losing my mind."

Sonny closed his eyes, realizing that Brenda must have her mother's disease. That had to be why she stayed away.

How ironic that she would come back and die this way instead.

All we do, crumbles to the ground
Though we refuse to see

"Goodbye, Sonny." Brenda whispered as she looked up at him. "I'm so glad I got to see you what last time. I never stopped loving you."

"And I never stopped loving you." Sonny told her.

Brenda smiled slightly. "I know that now. I understand everything."

She touched his face with her hand one last time and then closed her dark eyes.

A second later, Sonny knew she was gone.

He looked around at the rain, the church, and the woman in his arms.

How ironic. He had left her standing in the rain in this very spot five years ago to save her life and now she had died in his arms as the rain poured down around them.

And he had caused her death. Just like he had feared he would, five years ago when he had walked away to save her.

He had always dreaded that it would end like this and it appeared that he was right.

Dust in the wind, all we are is
Dust in the wind

Just then the church doors opened and a priest came running out.

"What happened?" He asked. "I heard gun shots."

"She was shot." Sonny said softly.

The priest looked at Brenda and closed his eyes.

"I was talking to her just a little while ago." He said softly. "Were you the man she was waiting for? The one she almost married?"

Sonny nodded. "Yeah."

The priest looked at him. "She was afraid you weren't going to come-something about how you always left her standing in the rain."

Sonny laughed at the irony of the words. "Yeah, except this time she left me."

His tears blinded his vision has he looked down at his beloved Brenda. She was beautiful, even in death.

"I thought she had left me four years ago." He whispered. "And then she comes back, only to leave me again. It's not fair."

Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever
But the earth and sky

Just then the ambulance and the police pulled up.

"She's dead." Sonny whispered to one of the paramedics.

Just then Taggert approached.

"What have we hear?" He asked and then he looked at the victim and stared.

"Miss Barrett." He whispered. "Back from the dead, only to die again."

He looked at Sonny. "How did it feel to learn that she was alive, only to have her die in your arms?"

Sonny glared at him. "How do you think?"

"I think that you felt guilty becasue we both know that those bullets were meant for you." Taggert told him. "And that Miss Barrett was just another one of your innocent victims."

"For your information, Brenda died because of a man named Luis Alcazar." Sonny spat. "She came to the church to tell me that he was after me. She was a little too late."

Sonny watched as they loaded Brenda into the ambulance in a body bag and shook his head.

It was truly over.

In his mind it had been over for four years, but at least then he hadn't seen it happen. Now, for the rest of his life, he'd be haunted by the image of her dying in his arms.

It slips away, all your money wouldn't
Another minute buy

"Sonny, what happened?" Carly cried. "You're all right!"

Sonny nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Then, what happened?" Carly asked, obviously confused, but not wanting to give away the plan.

"Brenda was Alcazar's woman." Sonny told her flatly.

"Brenda's alive?" Carly asked in shock.

Sonny shook his head. "No. Not anymore. She came here to try and save my life and she ended up taking the bullets meant for me. She's dead."

Sonny sighed. "It's strange. I thought she was dead for four years, but in instant I knew that wasn't true and I felt so much joy. And then joy turned to despair as I watched her die in my arms."

Carly didn't say anything.

Sonny closed his eyes.

Carly wouldn't understand.

She wouldn't understand the nightmare that had just taken place for him. Nor would she understand the dream that he had just watched die.

Dust in the wind, all we are is
Dust in the wind
Everything is dust in the wind

Sonny turned away from his wife and everyone else.

He just looked up at the sky and the pouring rain and let out a bitter laugh.

So many time she ahd excused him of leaving her standing in the rain, but this time it was him.

It was him standing there, with the rain pouring down, and his heart in a million pieces. It was he who had been left behind.

He closed his eyes.

Well, one thing was for certain, Brenda really had died seeing his face.

He shook his head.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

She wasn't supposed come back to him and die all over again.

It wasn't fair.

But then again, when it came to him and Brenda, life never was.

That was why they had never had forever. All they had ever had were moments; moments where everything had changed.

The End