A/N – Thanks for the reviews! Kikimoo – Well, they weren't in love so it wasn't like they had to really get over each other. Re: Alexis/Sonny – I didn't just want to let Sonny get his way right away. Lol. * Gabby1 – lol I'm not going to rush that this time. * lrobinson01, Twisted Musalih, ilovedana53, bjq, ejliason – Stay tuned! * blackberry959, leasmon, lorena. - Claudia will get more interesting. * doralupin86 – When Mac/Faith popped into my crazy head I was intrigued! * Liasonisthebomb – I think Sonny has dealt to a degree but he just misses her and needs to do better with the boys. But, I agree, I do want him a little more self evolved.

Chapter 36 – Loose Ends

Johnny took another swig of his beer. "Why do think it didn't work with us?"

"Because you suck OB."

Johnny smiled. "I don't remember you complaining about my sucking before."

Hannah's eyes narrowed and she smirked. "You know exactly why it didn't work. We were never in the same place long enough for it to go beyond just sex anyway."

"Just good sex…" He added.

Hannah shook her head.

"So, are you going to stay around?" Johnny asked.

"I'm not sure yet."

"Liz really liked you."

"She's nice."

"I don't that there has ever been a female guard in the Corinthos organization."

"That doesn't surprise me." She said taking a sip of beer.

Claudia, John, and Maxie walked into Jakes.

"What's up?" John said walking over to Johnny.

"For once, it's pretty quiet. Hannah this is Claudia and John Zacchara and his girlfriend Maxie."

"It's nice to meet you."

"Please don't tell me you're falling for Johnny's charms." Maxie said grinning.

Johnny groaned.

Hannah laughed and pulled out a chair. "You just got yourself a seat."

Maxie plopped down.

"Are you the one that switched places with Liz?" John asked.

Claudia and John sat down.

"Yup, that would be me."

"That was a brilliant plan." John said smiling.

Johnny grinned. "Every once in a while I have a great idea."

John motioned to Coleman. "The usual." He yelled.

"So Elizabeth is okay?" Claudia asked.

Hannah nodded. "She's doing great. Why do I get the feeling you're not happy about that?"

She could already tell that Claudia was a handful.

Johnny chuckled. "Claudia had the hots for Jason."

"Whatever." Claudia said rolling her eyes.

Hannah smirked. "Well, he is hot."

Johnny frowned at her and Claudia smirked.

"Am I right?" Hannah said looking at Maxie.

Maxie smiled and nodded. "Are you with Johnny?"

Hannah laughed. "No, we're just good friends."

Claudia sat back and listened to them chat. She wasn't sure what she thought of Hannah yet. John had told her that Sonny and Faith had split up which didn't really surprise her. She was still contemplating a move on Jason, but Sonny was sexy too. Either way, she was in it to win it.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

The next night, Liz had a dinner with Vicky Taglianni, Danya Scalero, Maxie, and another wife she hadn't met before named Lisa Giarella.

She wore another one of her designs. It was a short black sleeveless dress that hugged her body. There was a sheer black scarf that look almost woven tightly along the neckline that dipped down and then the scarf was more loosely woven in the back and then ends hung loosely down. Her back was partially exposed.

Maxie grinned when she saw her walking towards the table. "That is fabulous."

Liz smiled. "Thank you."

She sat down next to her and Vicky introduced her to Lisa who looked like a complete diva. She had on lots of diamond accessories and she was dressed to kill. Vicky was a bit more reserved and probably about 20 years older than Liz. Danya about 10 years on her, and Lisa was 5 years older.

They ordered drinks and then Vicky broke the silence. "I see you're wearing your rings still." She said before sipping her wine.

Liz nodded. "Habit I guess or maybe I just want to pretend that whole fiasco didn't happen."

"We heard." Danya said frowning. "What a fucking psycho."

"Trust me, when he came after me, I was creeped out for months. Are you having nightmares?" Maxie asked.

Liz shrugged. "Not really. The first night was a little rough. But, it's hard not to feel safe when Jason is around."

"He is a hunk." Lisa said.

Liz smiled. "You don't know how good it was to finally see him. After almost drowning and having to spend all that time with Manny, I made sure to stick close to him."

Claudia walked up to the table with a smirk. "Well, should I be offended that I wasn't invited?"

Vicky rolled her eyes. "Take it however you want." She muttered.

Liz didn't know what to say. So, she just looked away.

"Liz, it must be nice to get back to normal." Claudia said staring at her.

"It is." She said politely.

"Well, go back to your conversation. I just thought I'd say hello." Claudia left with a smirk hoping that she had made them all feel uncomfortable.

"God she can be a bitch." Danya said quietly.

Lisa smirked. "I like her."

Vicky made a face. "You would."

Maxie shrugged. "She's really not so bad when she lets her guard down. But, she can go 0 to bitch in about 1 second though."

Liz suddenly smiled and they all followed her gaze.

Vicky chuckled. "Okay, we know where her attention is going to be the rest of the night."

Jason had walked in with Sonny, John, and another man she didn't recognize. Jason smiled at her as he sat down.

"I can control myself and not stare at him all night."

"Sure….." Dayna said smiling.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

Jason tried not to look over at Liz but she looked so beautiful that he couldn't help stealing a glance every once in the while.

"So, you know for a fact that Julian and Javier have had contact?"

The man nodded. "Yes. The Jeromes are definitely working with the Ruiz's. I would say that we should worry."

Jason sighed. He really didn't want to go chasing after the Jeromes. It was like he couldn't get a moment's peace.

"I say we end this." Sonny said firmly.

Jason knew what that meant.

John agreed. "If we don't take Ava and Julian out, they are going to cause us a hell of a lot of trouble."

"Then we all agree? Jason?" Sonny said studying Jason's reaction. He hadn't said much and that was giving him pause.

"I agree." He said reluctantly.

The man got up and left.

"Do we have a problem?" Sonny asked Jason.

Jason frowned. "No Sonny, there is no problem."

"Jason, if you don't like this than talk to me."

Jason sighed and sat back. "We just got back, I just don't want to deal with this right now but I know it has to be done. So, I'll handle it."

"I'm sorry. I know it's been a crazy couple of months. If we handle this we can relax for a while."

"There will just be something else. There always will be. Are you forgetting Javier? He's not going to just go away either."

John stayed quiet. He didn't mind Jason's mini tantrum. He even understood it. But, to him, it seemed like Jason really wasn't happy and that Sonny had no clue what was going on in Jason's head.

"Jason I'm sorry." Sonny said not knowing what else to say.

"I'm going to go say hi to my wi….Elizabeth." He said painfully changing his words.

John watched him get up. "You weren't expecting that were you?"

Sonny shook his head. "No, but Jason will be fine. He just gets moody sometimes. I'll try to spread some of the tasks around to give him a break when he gets back. He deserves some down time."

John nodded.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

Jason walked up to the table as he watched Elizabeth look at him with sultry eyes. "Good evening ladies."

"Hi." Everyone said smiling.

"Do you mind if I steal my girl for a few minutes. I promise I'll bring her right back."

Vicky smiled. "Not at all."

They watched him lead her out to the balcony.

"Damn that man is fine." Lisa said adding a fake shudder.

"If I were her, I'd make that re-marriage happen asap. And then push out a few babies." Danya said taking a sip of her wine.

Maxie grinned. "I'm going to have to find out the status on that."

"Speaking of statuses, what's up with you and John? He's all kinds of sexy too." Lisa asked.

Maxie shrugged. "We're good. Why ruin it with marriage?"

Vicky laughed. "Marriage doesn't have to ruin anything. It just solidifies the relationship."

"Johnny's not the problem. He's already asked."

"What?" Danya said. "You turned him down?"

Maxied nodded.

"Have you lost your mind?" Lisa asked.

"I just don't see the point in marriage. We're happy. I don't need the piece of paper."

"Maxie, you're just afraid. You need to deal with that. John is a good guy and he's going to want a family and the whole nine yards. It's just the kind of person that he is and I can tell that he wants that with you. At some point, you just have to grow up and face life and your fears. I understand you're young and I mean you no disrespect. Trust me, I really like you. You have spunk and to die for taste in fashion. But, I think you should give this a little more thought. If you're not ready, that's fine but don't just throw away the baby with the bath water." Vicky said sincerely.

Maxie smiled. She always liked Vicky. She would tell it like it is but still be respectful. "Okay, I won't completely discount it and I'll give it some thought for the future."

Vicky smiled. "Good."

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

Jason pulled Elizabeth into his arms. "I just need to hold you."

She smiled and cuddled into his chest.

"You look beautiful by the way." He hadn't seen her before she left the house.

"Thanks!"

"Did you make it?"

"Yes."

He smiled. He was so proud of her. They pulled apart and he kissed her so intensely that her knees started to buckle and he had to support her. They broke apart both breathless.

"What was that for?"

"I just missed you that's all."

"You sure?"

He nodded. "I'm just tired of all the craziness. I feel like you're the only sane thing in my life."

She chuckled. "God I love you."

"I love you too." He said smiling. "I guess you better get back to the ladies."

She nodded. "I'll see you soon."

"I'll be looking forward to it." He said kissing her one more time. "And there will be more where that came from."

She grinned. "I'll hold you to that for sure!"

He watched her walk away not knowing how he was going to tell her that he was going to have to leave soon.