Chapter 10 – The Rest Melts Away
Johnny woke first and immediately tightened his grip on the blonde in his arms. He needed to make sure she didn't go anywhere. Not now, or ever again. He felt her breath against his chest as she snuggled deeper into his side while she slept. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. He planned to wake up this way every morning for the rest of their lives. He gave her a small kiss on her shoulder and she smiled, awake now.
"How long have you been watching me?" Lulu asked.
"Long enough to notice that you still try to snuggle with me in your sleep," Johnny replied with a smile.
"Are you surprised?" Lulu laughed.
"It's just been awhile. I mean, even in the end when we were together, we weren't together. If that makes sense," Johnny said.
"It makes sense. We should probably talk about what is going to happen when we go back to Port Charles. I mean living arrangements and everything. I know the birth is still awhile away, but we should discuss that too. There will be a lot of changes coming up in our lives," Lulu said, speaking quickly.
"Slow down, Lulu," Johnny said rubbing her back. "We should talk, but we need to take it one step at a time. The one thing I know for sure is that stress on you is not good. We need to keep mommy and baby healthy."
Lulu couldn't help but smile at the glow Johnny had. Lulu had never heard of the father glowing, but Johnny did. He was smiling from ear to ear with the slightest mention of his child.
"Are you scared? About being a dad, I mean," Lulu asked.
"Out of my mind. But I can do it as long as I have you," he answered. "We may not be perfect, but we both have a pretty good idea about what not to do when raising a kid."
"That's true," Lulu agreed.
"What about you? Are you scared about being a mom?" Johnny questioned.
"Definitely. I don't have any kind of example to follow and all the books I've read say it will come to me naturally. I don't even know what that means," Lulu said.
"You read books? I'm behind. But we'll learn together, Lulu. Together, okay?" Johnny said.
"Together. I'm really loving that word," Lulu said with a smile.
"I really love you," Johnny replied.
"I know," Lulu said. "But I wouldn't mind you showing me again."
Johnny smiled and pulled her to him. He kissed her softly, yet passionately.
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After making love two more times, Johnny begrudgingly got out of bed and took a shower while Lulu slept. When he finished, he redressed and went back into the bedroom. He noticed Lulu was missing from bed and he immediately worried. He left the bedroom and found Lulu checking every cabinet in the kitchen only to be disappointed.
"What are you looking for?" Johnny asked.
"Food," Lulu replied.
"I can go get something," he said.
"Why are you staying here anyway? Does the owner know you're here?" Lulu wondered.
"Yes he does. He knows you're here too," Johnny said and laughed at the confused look that Lulu gave him.
"How would the owner know I'm here?" Lulu asked.
"Because I own this place," he said and laughed as surprise filled her eyes. "I bought it to remember you by after my father tried to kill you. I thought you would run for the hills and I wanted to have something to hold onto," Johnny explained.
"Now you have me to hold onto," Lulu smiled.
"It's still surreal to me. Having you forgive me and wanting to be a family. Even you being pregnant. I just can't wrap my head around it," he said.
"Don't think that way. Not anymore okay?" Lulu said.
"What way?" Johnny asked, confused.
"Like everything is a surprise. I know that you think you deserve to be miserable for the rest of your life. Maybe you do. Maybe we both do, but we won't be. We'll be happy because we have each other and our baby. As long as you just let it happen. Stop worrying about the pending doom that will pull us apart. Assume that we are going to make it this time," she explained.
"That's scary," Johnny said with a small laugh. "Not only can you read my mind, but you want me to expect happiness. That's scary for me. I've always guarded myself from being happy because I grew up surrounded by anything good being shot to hell."
"I know. I don't expect you to overnight become the most positive person in the world, but I do expect you to be able to raise your child with hope for the future," Lulu said.
"I want to. I want to teach he or she that love doesn't kill. It's what makes life worth living. Just like their mom taught me," Johnny replied.
Lulu smiled and he wrapped his arms around her. He held her for a few minutes and then she went to get dressed. When she came back Johnny had gotten them some breakfast and coffee. They ate in silence for awhile and finally Johnny broke the silence.
"So you mentioned living arrangements earlier. What do you think we should do? I don't want you to feel pressure in any way, so I want whatever you want," he said.
"I don't want to rush things. But I want you with me. We definitely aren't having any other roommates though. We need a place of our own, big enough to raise a baby in, but small enough to feel close to each other," Lulu said thoughtfully.
"Well, we could stay here for awhile. Until we find a place in town. Or we could rent a room at the Metro Court. The only thing is we don't have a lot of money," Johnny said.
"I know you don't like accepting help from other people, but my family will help us with whatever we need," she said.
"You're right, I don't, but I would because I can't take care of you and the baby by myself right now. I just don't think they would be willing to help you because you're taking me back," Johnny explained.
"Maybe they won't be excited, but they will always be there for me. And this baby means a lot to everyone. Not just you and me although I get more excited every day," Lulu said.
"You know them better than I do. So where do you want to stay?" he asked.
"I love this place, but I want to keep it for getaways only. We can stay at the Metro Court until we find a place," she answered.
"Okay. I guess we should head back then. It's pretty late in the morning and I want to let Claudia know that I'm coming home. She'll love you forever now," Johnny said with a laugh.
"We have gotten along better. Maybe this is a turning point," Lulu smirked.
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Johnny and Lulu walked hand-in-hand into Wyndamere laughing and talking. Nikolas was wide-eyed and obviously shocked. They were unaware of his presence because they were completely wrapped up in each other. Nikolas cleared his throat as their short kisses began to linger.
"Oh, I thought you were upstairs, Nikolas," Lulu said. "I came to get my things and to tell you I was back in town and Johnny was with me."
"I guess that is a good thing?" Nikolas asked.
"A very good thing," Lulu answered while smiling at Johnny and squeezing his hand gently.
"Lulu, why don't get your things while I talk to John," Nikolas suggested.
Johnny nodded assuringly and Lulu went to retrieve her stuff. Nikolas and Johnny stood in silence. Nikolas glaring at Johnny and Johnny calmly staring back at Nikolas. Finally, Nikolas spoke.
"You hurt my sister. I promised you if you hurt her, I would hurt you back. Since you ran out of town right after, I didn't get the chance, but now I have it. Give me one reason not to punch you out right now," Nikolas said.
"I don't have one. I don't have a reason why Lulu took me back. All I can say is that with all of the mistakes I made, I never loved Lulu any less. I will always love her and if I hurt her again, I hope you'll kill me. It would be easier on me," Johnny replied.
"She loves you. Unconditionally. That's why she took you back. And if you hurt her now, I will have to let you live. For the baby that you two are going to have. Do you really think you can be a dad? All of your father figures considered?" Nikolas asked.
"From what Lulu has told me about your family and then you're relationship with Spencer, I think I can pull it off. As long as I have Lulu, I can do anything," Johnny said with confidence.
"Well you have me forever, but what is it you are trying to do exactly?" Lulu asked coming back into the room.
"We were just discussing John's impending fatherhood," Nikolas answered.
"What about it?" Lulu asked cautiously.
"How I think he'll do just fine," Nikolas said looking at Johnny.
Lulu grinned and Nikolas and Johnny shook hands. They said goodbye and Lulu took her things to the car. The next stop was the Metro Court to check in and meet Claudia and Sonny for dinner. The dinner began awkwardly as Sonny and Johnny stared at the table while Claudia and Lulu tried to make small talk. Eventually, Lulu broke the tension by grabbing Johnny's hand and forcing his gaze to her.
"Johnny, say what you want to say to Sonny. Stop shutting off because this dinner is uncomfortable," Lulu said in a whisper.
Johnny closed his eyes and looked over to Sonny and Claudia who seemed to be having a similar conversation. He nodded and took a deep breath.
"Sonny, I need to apologize to you. There has been a lot of bad blood between us since we've known each other and I want to put a stop to that now. This life and myself cost you Michael. I don't want that to happen to my child. I don't expect forgiveness, but I'm hoping for peace for the sake of both of our families," Johnny finished.
Lulu and Claudia looked nervously between Sonny and Johnny as they stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Claudia looked at Sonny begging him with her eyes to accept Johnny's offer. She did not want to be caught between the brother she loved and the husband she was falling for.
"I agree," Sonny said after awhile. "I would never want what happened to Michael to happen to anyone. Especially not Lulu's child. You three deserve a chance to be happy."
"Thank you, Sonny," Lulu said placing a hand over her stomach.
"Thank you," Johnny agreed.
"Well I think we need an excellent dessert to celebrate," Claudia said.
"I think Lulu's ready for bed. It's been a long day," Johnny said looking at Lulu.
"I am. I hope we can do this again some time," Lulu said with a smile.
Johnny and Lulu headed for their suite and were about to get in bed when Lulu realized she hadn't called Spinelli. She dialed the number and pushed the button for speaker phone, so Johnny could hear and talk, too.
"'Tis I, the Jackal," Spinelli answered.
"Hey Spinelli, it's Lulu," she said, smiling at Johnny who was rubbing her back suggestively.
"Fair One? The mother of the Miniature Fair One sounds pleasant. May the Jackal assume that the Mob Prince and the Blonde One have reconciled?"
"Yes, Spinelli. Lulu and I are here together," Johnny answered.
Johnny and Lulu heard a lot of noise and were growing concerned after awhile when Spinelli hadn't said anything.
"Spinelli? Are you okay?" Lulu asked.
"Yes, Fair Lulu. The Jackal is overjoyed. He was just doing his happy dance for the reunion of the Two Bounded Souls and apparently was not as apt on his feet as necessary," Spinelli said and Johnny laughed at the mental picture of Spinelli's happy dance.
"Are you okay?" Lulu said concerned.
"Beyond elation. Perhaps the Jackal will see the New Familial Unit tomorrow for breakfast nourishment?" Spinelli asked.
"That sounds great Spinelli. How about Kelly's?" Lulu asked laughing again as Johnny began kissing her neck.
"Agreed. I bid you goodnight Fair Lulu and Mob Prince," Spinelli said.
"Goodnight," Johnny and Lulu said in unison.
Lulu hung up the phone and Johnny immediately pulled her close and began trailing kisses along her neck and jaw.
"I thought I was tired," Lulu said laughing.
"I decided you weren't tired enough," Johnny said against her lips before kissing her. He pulled back slightly, "Plus when Claudia brought up dessert, I got some ideas."
Lulu laughed and their lips touched softly again. She couldn't believe she was this happy. After everything that she and Johnny had been through, they survived. All of the love stories she had seen in her life became lack luster to her in this moment.
Lulu and Johnny were the real love story for the record books.
