Her Little Angel
Summary: Claudia watches Johnny grow up through the years, keeping her secret.
Claudia only got to hold her son for a moment after he was born before he was ripped from his arms. Her father had ensured that no one would be the wiser about Johnny's true parentage by sending her away. Her stepmother had been forced to play the role of pregnant wife. Her stepmother was a kind woman and not for the first time, Claudia felt pity for her. She knew the woman had no clue that her husband had been gifting his only daughter to business associates and friends. Claudia also knew that if her little boy had any hopes of growing to be a decent person while living in that godforsaken house, it would be due to the woman he'd believe to be his mom.
It amazed her how much her heart ached for her little boy. A baby who'd been created in such a disgusting way. Of course, she had always known it wasn't her son's fault. But she'd still worried that part of her would hate him because he was a reminder of what happened to her. When he was born however, all she could feel was pure love, deeper and more magical and meaningful than any she'd felt before in her fourteen years of life. Though she couldn't tell Johnny he was her son, she'd still be in his life as the best sister possible.
Johnny grew up amazing and talented. He was a polite little boy even during what were supposed to be his terrible twos. And he began to play the piano at a rather young age. He really had a knack for it. Sometimes, Claudia would look at her son in amazement at how much he looked like her from his dark hair to his dark eyes. His smirk and the curls in his hair reminded her of her mother, his grandmother and it made her heart ache all over again. She was glad he looked nothing like his father nor his grandfather. There was a gentleness in his eyes that she hoped he'd never lose.
She saw him as a young teen, all tall and too slender, still growing into himself and saw him mature into the handsome young man he was when she met up with him again in Port Charles.
He was dangerous and had no self preservation. She could see the little ways her father had infected him. He'd seen the woman he'd believed to be his mother shot in front of him by his father when she'd tried her damndest to stop Anthony from shooting him. And she knew her father found her son too soft and sweet.
Every day in Port Charles, she had to force herself to not reveal to her son that she was his mother. She didn't want him hating himself anymore than he already seemed to because of how he was conceived. And selfishly, she didn't want him to hate her for abandoning him.
When she died after she had tried to steal little Josslyn Jacks, it was cold and alone with her secret still hidden behind painted lips. But she watched over her boy. She especially saw his joy when he was dating Carly and had little Josslyn adoring him. She saw his relationship with Connie. She saw his struggle and his guilt at the knowledge that he'd killed Hope and Cole. And she saw the moment Sonny revealed the truth to him. How she'd wanted to come back and kill that man with her bare hands.
And she saw when Josslyn Jacks, now a young woman, walked into the jail to speak to him. She'd marveled at the girl's understanding nature as she listened to Johnny tell her the tale of a girl who'd been betrayed by someone she was supposed to deeply trust. It seemed like a relief for her son to get off his chest, to have this listening ear. A weight seemed to be lifted from him by the end of the conversation and the two had even made promises to write to one another. Oddly enough, Johnny seemed to be at peace for the first time in awhile.
And for once in her long, painful life and her after life, Claudia didn't worry about her son.