AN:

Hi guys! I'm so sorry it's been so long in between updates. I'm a Mom first and I've had to take care of my little one while he was sick. I did get to write some and catch up on some fabulous fics in between doling out tissues and cough drops. ;) Great news, I've outlined the final chapter. (YAY) I just need to put everything together. I've got a chapter for you today and I'm working on another at the moment, so you guys might get two updates this week. I'm not promising but I'm going to try my best to get it posted. Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favorites! I'm going to try to reply to you all and leave my thanks for all you lovely guest reviewers as well at the end of the next chapter! I hope you enjoy this one!

All the characters belong to ABC/GH. I'm just playing with them. :)

Sitting in a booth, at yet another greasy diner, Elizabeth and Johnny sat opposite Aidan. After receiving their drinks, Anthony had walked off saying he needed to use the restroom and they were currently waiting for him to return before they placed their orders.

Elizabeth bit her lip as she felt Johnny grab her hand underneath the table, her fingers weaving together with his long, slender ones. The four of them were taking a chance eating in public together but, at this moment, she didn't care. It was late evening and she was hungry.

Their joined hands rested on Johnny's thigh and his thumb slowly rubbed circles along the base of her thumb. She glanced over, watching him from beneath her lashes. He and Aidan were discussing the menu but she wasn't listening closely. Instead, she was watching his lips move and curl upwards in a slow smile as he rubbed his chin with his free hand; simultaneously aware of the feel of her palm embraced in his. It had been so long since she had just held hands with a man that she was interested in romantically. Her previous relationship had not allowed for something so simple. She wasn't going to take this moment for granted. She didn't know where they were headed or what tomorrow would bring but she knew that she was going to enjoy whatever this was between them.

She had come to this conclusion earlier, after that amazing kiss. She had snuggled against Johnny and analyzed her feelings before falling asleep. The emotions she had felt coursing through her were almost foreign because she had not felt them in so long, but she recognized them all the same. It was almost as if her mind and body were awakening after a long, dreamless sleep. She had felt free, happy, excited and alive. Also, she had been unbelievably turned on. She knew that it would be useless to fight her feelings toward him any longer. The man had her so twisted with just kissing and she couldn't even fathom what it would be like to actually be with him. She did know that she didn't want to spend the rest of her life wondering "what if." Even if their time together would be brief or even if they ended in heartbreak, she would enjoy every moment with Johnny. She hadn't felt this way in so long that she knew she owed it to herself to see what could happen between them.

Their joined hands shifted higher on Johnny's thigh as she sat back against the booth. He turned his head toward her and flashed a grin.

"See anything you like?"

Johnny had a mischievous glint in his eyes as he addressed her. She knew that he was subtly reminding her of his words before their kiss.

Elizabeth smirked and said, "I do actually."

She focused on her menu pursing her lips before saying, "I'm feeling adventurous. I think I'm going to try something new tonight."

She threw a sideways glance toward him and Johnny's grip tightened on her hand. She smiled as she focused once again on the menu but she was still able to see him in her peripheral vision.

He narrowed his gaze as he watched her lick her lips. She laughed and turned to Aidan and said, "I think I'll have the cheeseburger instead of my usual chicken salad. What about you?"

Aidan grinned at her, sensing that she was playing with Johnny somehow. He had awoken them earlier after Anthony had gone to get their rooms. He had been quite amused to see their reactions to waking and finding their arms wrapped around one another. Both had shared a heated glance before Aidan had cleared his throat and teased them mercilessly. By the time Elizabeth had exited the vehicle, she had been blushing and Johnny had subtly threatened to smother him in his sleep tonight if he didn't shut the hell up. He couldn't help it. He was having too much fun teasing his friends and he enjoyed seeing what was developing between them.

Looking down at his own menu he said, "Hmm…feeling adventurous are you love? Well I guess I could try something new as well."

Aidan looked at the two sitting before him as he closed his menu. Leaning back and crossing his arms, he grinned wickedly. Elizabeth was barely containing her laughter as she noticed Johnny giving him a dark look, silently threatening him to behave. Ah…his friend knew him so well. This was going to be fun.

"Let's see. I usually get the cheeseburger without onions but what the hell, we're living dangerous tonight, so I think I'll go ahead and add them. After all, I won't be kissing anyone. I'm sure that you'll be the ones who partake in that little activity considering how you two were wrapped around one another earlier."

Aidan looked at a scowling Johnny. Biting back his laughter he said, "I do expect that you'll be changing our routine and escorting our dear Elizabeth to her room tonight, right mate?"

He then turned to Elizabeth saying, "You might want to leave the onions off your burger as well Elizabeth because I'm sure Johnny is going to lay one on you as soon as he gets you alone."

Elizabeth who had been silently enjoying the teasing between friends, had taken a sip of her water when he had turned to her. She coughed slightly as she nearly choked upon hearing Aidan's words. Quickly looking at Johnny who had closed his eyes, she thought that he might be trying to avoid lunging across their table and grabbing Aidan by mentally counting to ten. She watched as he exhaled through his nose. Her eyes flicked to a clearly amused Aidan. The man was grinning at her so she arched a brow giving what her friend Felix referred to as her "Bitch Face".

After another look at Johnny, who still had his eyes closed and was shaking his head, she suddenly felt like being mischievous herself.

Slowly nodding her head, she glanced across the table and said, "Hmm...you're right Aidan."

Johnny flinched beside her and she knew that he was listening to her now. Smirking she continued. "No onions tonight. Yes, I'll have to keep that in mind when I place my order."

Aidan took the bait as he leaned across the table smirking. "So you're saying that you want Johnny to kiss you tonight?"

She traced the rim of her glass as she responded, "Of course. Not only do I want it to happen I'm expecting it. Aidan, I'll tell you a little secret. Johnny's kisses are the best I've ever had. So of course I can't wait to have another taste of those lips of his."

Johnny stiffened beside her before whipping his head around to look at her. She winked at a shocked Johnny before turning to look innocently at Aidan. His brows arched in surprise and he laughed aloud. Squeezing Johnny's hand once again, she shrugged her shoulders and waited.

Aidan didn't disappoint. After barking out another loud laugh he said, "Well that's certainly not the reaction I was expecting. I expected you to become a blushing mess like you were this afternoon and for Johnny to threaten me with his fork. I do say this is a surprise because Johnny is the one with red cheeks and you're the one giving me glares and sass."

Elizabeth's mouth lifted slightly. She was trying her best to play it cool but damn if it wasn't funny watching Aidan and Johnny react to her teasing. She had been telling the truth about Johnny's kisses but they didn't need to know that.

Johnny cleared his throat and said, "Well that's Elizabeth. She's certainly full of surprises."

It was Elizabeth's turn to blush as she met the heated gaze of Johnny's eyes.

It was at that moment that Anthony slid into the booth. Looking at the faces around the table and noting their varied expressions, he said, "Well kids what have I missed?"

~J&E~

An hour later, the four found themselves in one of the motel rooms. Anthony and Aidan were seated around the small table by the door while Elizabeth sat quietly on the bed, her eyes following Johnny's every move. Johnny was pacing back and forth like a caged lion, running his hands through his hair as he thought about everything

Anthony had just related all that he had discovered during his last meeting and his latest phone call. Everything about the Soleitos and Heather's involvement had been revealed and now he was sitting back, waiting to see what the other three would suggest before he brought up his plan. Oh boy, he knew John wasn't going to like it and he was bracing himself for the blow back. He was pretty sure Cookie would be willing to help but it might take a subtle reminder of her boys and their safety to get her to agree. He'd have to find away to remind her without John hearing about it though. His only problem was with Aidan. He couldn't figure out his purpose for being here. Sure he was friends with his son John, but really, the guy was useless. Almost as useless as the Spencer brat. Ethan, who they still haven't been able to get in touch with. Something wasn't right there and he had his men on that issue but for now he focused on Aidan. He didn't know what to do with him. He wasn't contributing anything to this little adventure of theirs and he was itching to drop him off at the nearest airport or train station. The man wasn't pulling his weight and he was convinced that the British man was just along for the free ride. Anthony sat back and sighed as he continued to watch the three before him.

Elizabeth sat up and looked at Anthony as he waited for one of them to speak. He held his breath and knew that this was the moment. Cookie, beauty, brains and gumption was going to suggest just what he wanted. He knew it. He watched as her eyes flicked to Johnny before she cleared her throat and met his own stare.

"You know, if anyone will be able to fill in the blanks about what happened, it's going to be Heather. I hate to suggest this because the woman has brought nothing but trouble to my family but we need to see her and find out what she knows. However, she's not going to help or volunteer any information out of the goodness of her heart. No, she's going to want something. She's going to need something extremely valuable in return for her cooperation. That is, if she agrees."

Anthony watched as John stopped pacing and looked at Elizabeth. He swallowed. This was it. Narrowing his gaze at the woman before him he said, "I'm glad you think so Cookie. I've been thinking about this and I've got a plan. You're the best person for this little mission because you're going into Ferncliff to talk to her and if she agrees you're going to feed her information about Steven Lars in return. You'll have to sneak in this time though and get in and out quickly…."

A furious Johnny interrupted him.

"Have you lost your fucking mind? She's not breaking into Ferncliff! In case you've forgotten, her face is on every damn newspaper and being shown on every news bulletin. She's risked enough for me and I'm not putting her in that danger or in the position of being captured for some freaking nut job."

Johnny's chest was heaving and his eyes were black as he loomed above his father, his hands splayed flat on the table. Aidan was standing beside Anthony and waiting for the next move.

Elizabeth was standing to the side watching all three men. She watched Johnny try to rein in his temper and she couldn't stop the fluttering in her chest. He was willing to fight for her and keep her safe. The intensity that he showed in doing so was something she wasn't prepared to see. She watched as Johnny stepped back, the heel of his palms digging into his eyes before slowly sliding over his face as he breathed in and out rapidly. Seeing his eyes soften a little as he looked at her, she felt a rush of emotion sweep over her. Whatever this was between them was growing progressively fast for both of them. She hadn't felt like this before and it thrilled her and scared her at the same time.

She watched as he turned back to his father and growled out, "Find another way."

He then started pacing again and Aidan sat back down in the chair, ready to spring up if needed.

Elizabeth softly said, "He's right Anthony. I can't do it. I'm not going to be able to sneak into a prison or medical facility again after doing so at Pentonville, even with a disguise. I'm taking a risk every time I go out in public now but trying to pull the same stunt at Ferncliff is just begging to be caught. The security measures at Ferncliff will more than likely have been tightened as a precaution to keep something like that happening at their facility. I can't risk it, I'm sorry but I have to think of my boys. I can't go to prison."

Johnny stopped his pacing to stand beside her. Putting his arm around her waist he tugged her into him and said, "I'm not going to let that happen."

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Johnny, hugging him tightly. He rested his chin on her head and glared at his father across the room.

Aidan spoke up and said, "I'll do it."

Three sets of eyes whipped to him and he grinned. "I can do it. I'm an ex special ops agent after all. I've gotten into and out of more secure buildings than that of Ferncliff I can assure you. I've trained with some of the best agents in the world."

Anthony snorted before saying, "Yeah? We'll what were you doing in prison then 007?"

Aidan rolled his eyes and said, "I thought I deserved to be there. I...um...didn't think I had anything on the outside to live for but Johnny helped me to see that I do. So I'd like to help make sure that we all stay free and if that means that I have to take a risk and break into Ferncliff to see this Heather Webber, then I will."

Anthony crossed his arms and said, "Meh….if you're willing to do it then it's fine with me. It's about time you started to pull your weight around here. As long as we get to Heather and see what she's hiding in that cracked brain of hers, I'm okay with it."

Aidan stood and walked toward his two friends.

"I don't want to put you in any more danger either Elizabeth. You've been too kind to me to throw you to the wolves, so to speak."

Elizabeth walked up to Aidan and hugged him. Pulling away she said, "You don't have to do this either. I'm sure we can come up with another plan."

He laughed and said, "Of course I have to do this sweetheart. Johnny would really smother me in my sleep tonight if I agreed with Anthony's plan." With a wink at her, he crossed his arms.

She laughed and said, "Well if you're sure you can do this, then I have just one condition. Don't get caught and thrown back into prison. I've already broken you out once; don't make me do it again."

Aidan chuckled and looked at Johnny. "You better keep this one mate. If not, I'm going to seriously give thought to wooing her away from you with my charming accent and dashing good looks."

Johnny shook his head and before he could reply, he felt Elizabeth's arm wrap around his and he heard her teasingly say, "Sorry but I found that I recently have a thing for musicians. So unless you can play the piano like Johnny, I'm certain that you won't be able to charm me with that accent alone."

Johnny looked down into her eyes, sparking with humor and affection and grinned. Looking back to his friend he said, "Oh trust me, I plan on keeping her. But she's right about the other thing, you don't have to do this Aidan. You have a chance with talking to the Slaters in Pine Valley and getting them to recant the charges. I want that to happen for you and you can't get that chance behind bars."

Aidan sighed and nodded his head. "I'm aware of that and I know the risks involved but we need to know why Heather kidnapped your father and who set you up for his murder otherwise we've escaped and put Elizabeth in danger for no reason."

Anthony spoke up and said, "Well if you three are through bitching about friendship and if John is through marking Elizabeth as his territory, how about we get down to business. Let's come up with a plan."

Hours later and well into the night, they had a beginning of a plan. Aidan would be going into Ferncliff to speak with Heather and in exchange for information; he would offer a pre-paid cell phone for her to call the prison where Steven Lars was being held. It was an offer she couldn't refuse since she had been denied the privilege at her sentencing."

Sometime that night, Elizabeth had fallen asleep on one of the beds after recalling all that she knew about Heather. As she listened to them dissect all the details and argue over how to do things she had closed her eyes, unable to resist the pull of sleep.

The next morning Elizabeth awoke to an empty room with a blanket pulled over her. Siting up and looking around, she spotted a note on the nightstand by the bed. Picking it up, she read it.

"Good Morning Beautiful. We've gone to get breakfast and I didn't want to wake you. You looked so peaceful lying there. I've brought your bag from the other room and it's by the door. I'll be back soon. JZ

Elizabeth smiled and traced the note with her fingertips as she lay back in bed staring at it. Sitting up once again and throwing back the cover, she found her bag and made her way into the bathroom. It was time to start her day.

Finding her guys sitting at the table as she walked out of the bathroom later she smiled. Her guys, that's what they were becoming. As much as she had loathed Anthony and despite his cranky demeanor, she had grown somewhat fond of him and Aidan was becoming a close friend. Johnny was certainly leaving his mark upon her as well. He had branded her with his kiss and she knew that he was already working on leaving his mark upon her heart. She'd be lying if she said she didn't want to leave her mark on his heart and body as well. She sighed as she took in his appearance from behind. Yep...she definitely liked the look of his body.

Strolling over to the table, she lightly trailed her fingers up Johnny's back as she took a seat beside him and greeted them with a "Good Morning."

They others greeted her in return and she leaned over to give Johnny a kiss on the cheek and whispered in his ear, "Thanks for the note." Smiling at his surprised expression at her kiss, she found herself thinking of the way his muscles felt beneath her fingertips. Unaware of her smirk she reached out, took her cup of coffee from Aidan, and unwrapped her blueberry muffin.

Looking up again she said, "So tell me what you guys decided on last night."

After hearing the plan, she spoke up and said to Anthony, "Since you have the plan figured out, just what am I going to be doing while the two of you sit in the parking lot waiting for Aidan?"

Anthony cackled and said, Uh uh…Cookie. After all the hell my son was willing to bring down on me over you being involved in this plan, you're staying out of the way. As I've been told,—he glared at his son—your safety is the number one priority. You're sitting this one out. In fact I think you should stay here while we do the dirty work."

Johnny said, "NO, I'm not leaving her behind and I'm definitely not leaving her alone anywhere. What if we get caught? She would be stuck here by herself. She's not leaving my sight Pops."

Anthony grinned and said, "I thought you might say that. This morning I gave a call to my guys. I've arranged for him to set up a safe house not far from here and he's bringing us another vehicle as well. Since you're so adamant about Cookie being safe and out of the way of danger, it seems only fair that you stay here with her. Aidan and I can handle this next part of the plan. After all, he's a regular old' 007 and I'm an evil genius. As the kids say, "We've got this."

Aidan chuckled and said, "Sounds like a splendid plan old man. We get in to see Heather and meet up with these two later and Johnny makes sure that our dear Elizabeth is safe. I'm sure he'll enjoy having a hands on approach—he smirked at his friend— when it comes to keeping her within his sights at all times."

Elizabeth's eyes widened at Aidan's words and at the thought of being alone with Johnny and she quickly turned to him. He was looking at his father and Aidan with his arms crossed and a calculating expression on his face. She licked her lips waiting to hear the decision that he would make. She couldn't deny wanting to have some time alone with Johnny to get to know him better and to see what was between them. The thought of them staying together, alone in a house away from the world, gave her butterflies. She was excited at the possibility and hoped that he would agree to letting Anthony and Aidan handle this part of the plan. After all, once they talked to Heather they were going to meet up again and proceed with the next plan. Of course she would understand his need to be there since Heather could possibly know why he was set up but honestly, she hoped he chose to stay here with her.

Johnny sighed and said, "Fine. We'll stay behind."

Elizabeth took a sip of her coffee trying to hide her smile.

There you go...Chapter 14 is finished and we have our couple getting ready to spend some quality time together. ALONE! LOL I think you guys are going to love this next chapter and I can't wait to get it up for you to read. So how about leaving a review and letting me know what you think about everything so far.