Elizabeth stood in front of the fireplace sipping a cup of tea and turning the pictures on the mantle this way and that to make the view just perfect. She was startled only for a second, when the door flew open followed by a rush of chaos flowing into her home. She saw her husband come through the door taking his jacket off in the way he did when things had certainly not gone according to his plans. He tossed the coat on the back of the chair before coming to wrap his arms around her, breathing her in as if trying to steady himself. Just as she was about to ask what was going on the answer appeared before her.
"I told you to go to the damn car. IS that so hard?"
"I do NOT take orders from you, and I was trying to help you, but I suppose gratitude is way out of line."
"No what is out of line is ignoring both me and Jason and just doing whatever comes into that head of yours."
"So now I'm stupid, I'm just supposed to be a good little girl and follow orders, I.. Don't…Think…So." She punctuated each word with a poke in his chest.
He grabbed her hand and she jerked it away. "If you wanted some little mousy thing to cater to your every whim you are so with the wrong girl."
He drew in a deep breath, his frustration showing badly. "I never said I wanted you to bow and scrape but you could listen once in a while especially in these situations." His tone was getting more rough and his words more clipped. He wanted to strangle her, but instead he took ahold of her arms and tried to be calm. She was emotional and he knew if she got more upset things were going to get really ugly. Unfortunately his next words did not have the desired effect.
"I need you to be safe, you can't just go running off and trying to save the day."
Her eyes lit up, but this fire was not the good kind. "What," she shrieked. "You can save the day, cause your big bad Johnny and poor little stupid Lulu just goes running around like an idiot."
Hands flying, as if they were trying to out gesture each other, her's smacking him on the chest. He kept trying to grab her arms before the next hit came, but he was rarely successful in holding on that long. Jason watched carefully from across the room every time she smacked him and he reached out for her. Strangely remembering something his wife had said the other day. "You know you all have it wrong, Lulu is the fighter, Johnny is the lover." He saw it playing out in the edge of his living room. Lulu was fighting to be heard and Johnny was patiently trying to listen.
"I never said you were an idiot, but you are certainly making a case for it now." His patience was at an end. And clearly so was her's.
"You spoiled, pompous, chauvinist, know it all, show-off, ASS. I can't believe you said that to me."
Jason inwardly cringed, on the surface however, he simply turned his back on the couple and directed an exasperated expression toward his wife. Elizabeth nearly spit out her tea. Her husband was so adorable, the great Stone Cold could withstand harden criminals or the local nasty DA, but a couple of fighting kids drove him to distraction. Although as she glanced around the man in front of her she knew these weren't really kids, but honestly they were acting like it.
The talking had escalated to arguing in the hall and now had reached almost yelling. Any louder and they were going to wake the kids, and that was simply unacceptable. Grinning Elizabeth laid her hand on her husband's chest and he seemed to let out some of the breath he appeared to be holding. Passing her mug off to him, she suddenly clapped her hands together loudly and announced, "Alright children time for bed, so if you aren't sleeping here then there's the door." She said it so sweetly and with such a smile that for a second everyone just froze. Jason would have laughed but he never wasted his emotions on times like these, however he had suddenly found another reason to love his wife.
Lulu sputtered something unintelligible, and Johnny quipped, "We're almost done". Luckily he said it nicely because Jason didn't take kindly to people talking back to his wife and certainly not in his house. A second before Jason took a step forward trying to decide whether to throw him out the door or out the window, Johnny saw the look on Elizabeth's face. He instantly took a step back and putting his hand out as if to stave off some unknown attack he quietly said, "I mean I was just leaving".
Elizabeth smiled, but that "do what mama says" look was still all over her face.
"Johnny we are SO not done talking about this, you can't just walk out, this is important."
Johnny stood for a moment his gaze caught between his lover and the lady of the house, if he was being honest he didn't look up at Jason for fear that he'd be looking into the barrel of a gun. Elizabeth took pity on him and said, "fine you two can stay down here and talk, but if I hear anything that wakes my children you two will be on baby duty for a week." Having said that she began making her way to the stairs, stopping in front of Lulu and kissing her on the forehead. "Try to listen, he cares about you", she breathed into her hair, then "Goodnight". Turning to take hold of the banister, she said "goodnight Johnny".
"Goodnight Mrs. Morgan." Johnny might not have been so formal on a normal occasion but this hadn't been very normal so far.
Lulu finished putting her coat down on the desk and walked toward the couch, passing Jason on the way. He gave her a half hug with his left arm, kissing the top of her head similar to his wife. They exchanged good nights and Jason wondered when it was that he had gotten another little sister and didn't even know it. As his mind processed that he reached Johnny who didn't seem entirely sure what to say or that he should even be here.
Jason stopped at his shoulder and spoke low, "Fix this with her, whatever you have to do will be worth it". For a second Johnny didn't know what to say, he would never have expected something like that to come from Jason, was the mob enforcer really a romantic at heart. Glancing up at Jason he saw his face become change and harden in an instant and he took it all back, yeah that was the face you saw before you stopped seeing altogether.
Clasping a hand, or vice Johnny thought as he winced, on his shoulder and leaning in low Jason almost whispered this time, "I am the only man in this house having sex, are we clear?"
"Umm, yeah, of course." Johnny choked just a little, and thought for not the first or even tenth time that Lulu Spenser had a lot of protectors in the world. He hoped that that he was worthy enough to be one of them.
Jason turned then and made his way up the stairs, he glanced back down just as Johnny reached Lulu. She held her hand out and he took it and from the looks they were giving each other Jason had no doubt that their argument wouldn't last the night.
Smiling in his small way he continued down the hall to his bedroom and to the woman he loved.