Rewriting The Stars
Endgame: Liason
Nearly six months ago...
From the moment his wedding came to an end, he has been doing everything possible to get the business into working order, needing to make this deal work. After everything he has given up to finally see his dream of having a family with Fiona finally come to fruition, Johnny needs this to work, he needs this to not be for nothing.
What he hadn't expected when he started to tear down the previous system and implement something more like what he had in Port Charles was the backlash from Fiona's brothers. For what it's worth, they are quite a force to deal with, but none of them ever showed any interest in running the business. One of the many reasons that Fiona's father presented him with the proposition.
With him firmly in the boss's seat, the brothers have all of a sudden decided that Johnny has taken something from them and they want retribution for such a betrayal. It has taken everything to keep the conflict away from Fiona and their daughter, but it was growing more and more difficult. They have already labeled her his equal in their supposed betrayal and they don't exactly care to protect blood as he does.
Which brings him to this moment, standing in this doorway, his daughter in his arms and his wife at his side. If he had any other choice, if he could trust anyone else with this, Johnny swears he never would have stepped foot there, but there was nowhere else he could go. No one else he could trust to keep them safe.
"Jason, who's at the door?" her voice prompts him to instinctively hold his daughter close, his heart tightening in his chest as she wheels into view. The moment her eyes met his, Johnny wanted to walk away right then, but he couldn't. He doesn't have that much time, to begin with, to search for another place for them would take time he just didn't have.
"Lizzie," Johnny chokes out. "How are you?"
"I'm okay," she manages to say, stunned at the sight of him with his family, unsure of what she could possibly say to him. "I..."
"There's a situation," Jason voices, walking over to kneel in front of her, bringing her focus from the family at the door to his face. "You should go ahead and have dinner. This might take a while."
"Right, okay," Elizabeth shakes her head, unable to look at the family again. "I'll do that."
"Lizzie..." Johnny calls out to her as she's about wheel herself out of the room, her back already to them. "It was good to see you."
"You, too," Elizabeth manages before leaving the room.
Johnny wasn't sure where he stood with her, he at least hoped they had left things on good terms, but clearly that wasn't the case. Seeing the pain in her eyes, knowing he was the one that put it there, Johnny just didn't have words for what that made him feel. Knowing why he's there, he knows that it's not about to change, and that hurts him more than he could ever truly express. She didn't deserve what happened to her or what he did to her, but this is where they are.
"Come in," Jason says after a moment of recomposing himself, hating to see the effect the man still had on her. As much as he loves Johnny as family, he despises the man for the way he affects her. "We can talk in the den. Your wife and daughter can wait upstairs."
"I go where John goes," Fiona throws back, her combative nature rearing its head.
"Either go upstairs with your daughter or you all can walk out that door," Jason states, knowing nothing about this woman but already seeing he's not going to like her. "I don't talk business with children present."
"Fi, it's fine, just take Aoife upstairs," Johnny cuts her off from saying anything further as he hands their daughter over to her. "This won't take long."
"Fine," Fiona states, taking their daughter into her arms, glaring at Jason for a moment before turning away and walking up the stairs.
"She means well," Johnny explains as they continue to the den. "She's just a little headstrong sometimes."
"That's one word for it," Jason counters, allowing him to walk in first before following and shutting the door behind him. "Drink?"
"No, that's okay," Johnny shakes his head. "I know I probably have no right asking this..."
"Then don't ask," Jason counters simply. "You came here for a reason, stick to that."
"I just..." Johnny sighs, leaning against the chair. "I need to know...how is she really?"
"She already answered that," Jason replies plainly. "I don't speak for Elizabeth. You asked, she answered."
"Right," Johnny accepts, seeing that Jason is still the same as he's always been, making silence an artform. "You know, when Francis told me you were here with her...I almost didn't believe it. I couldn't see you leaving Sonny for such a long time..."
"You're fishing," Jason states. "Stop."
"I was just..."
"Get to the point of why you're here, O'Brien," Jason says seriously, growing tired of the man meddling in matters that no longer concern him. "Unless Elizabeth's the reason you dragged your family to our doorstep..."
"Of course not, I just..." Johnny sighs. "I need your help."
"With what?"
"Things are getting dicey back home," Johnny explains. "It won't be for too long, just until I can get a handle on things..."
"What won't be for too long?"
"I need you to watch over my wife and daughter," Johnny says carefully. "I need you to keep them safe."
"Isn't that what Corelli's for?" Jason counters, seeing the desperation on the man's face but also knowing he's in no position to be protecting anyone. "My focus is on Elizabeth's recovery. I can't risk that for anything."
"If I had any other options, Jason, I'd have made it," Johnny insists. "I know it's asking a lot, but I can't face my opposition head-on until I know my family's safe."
"Stay here," Jason says after a long moment, truly contemplating the situation before him.
"Where are you going?" Johnny questions, wondering if he's about to go face his wife.
"I'm not the only person this affects," Jason states, pulling open the door. "Stay here. I'll be back with your answer."
The moment the door shut behind him, Johnny let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding, truly uncertain of the outcome that will befall him. Every day, a new realization of what he sacrificed to have his family is thrown in his face, such as his clearly dwindling friendship with the man that he had once entrusted his life to. The man he is now entrusting his wife and daughter to.
He'd be lying to himself if he said that the end of his relationship with Elizabeth didn't play a factor because it's clear that it is. Unable to help himself, Johnny quietly makes his way out of the den and over to the dining-room door, just out of sight but within hearing range of the two inside. Needing to know.
"You can say no," Jason says gently, his tone catching Johnny by surprise because he knows that tone. "I can have Sonny send a couple guys to keep watch over them and we can move to a different safe house."
"Will it hurt to have them here, yeah, it would," Elizabeth says, the hurt clear in her voice, so much so that he feels like crap even asking anything from them. "John...it is what is with him...his daughter is a different story. She's innocent in all of this and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I had a hand in getting her hurt."
"Are you sure?" Jason questions, prompting Johnny to peek into the room, needing to see the look on her face when she answers. "I can figure out a way to keep them safe without involving you."
"I'm sure," Elizabeth voices, the look in her eyes as she looks into Jason's eyes took him more by surprise than her willingness to accept his request. "I appreciate you taking my feelings into consideration. It means a lot to me."
"Without question," Jason says, reaching up a hand to gently touch her face. "I know the way things ended still hurts you. If I could take that pain away, you know I would..."
"I know," she smiles softly as she leans into his touch. "You can't erase it, but you are helping me address it. If not for you, I wouldn't have been able to put what I was feeling into words and that means more than you could possibly know."
"I...um," Jason clears his throat, slowly dropping his hand to his side. "I'm going to finish up with Johnny. Do you need help with your stretches?"
"No, it's okay," she smiles softly. "I got it."
"Okay," Jason says before rising to his feet. "I'll check in on you before I go to bed."
Quickly making his way back to the den as quietly as possible, Johnny gets in and closes the door behind him, unsure of just how he feels about what he just witnessed. He knows that he has no say in any of it, whether they are together or not, but he just can't help but want more for her. More than the life could ever provide her. Given everything she's been through, he just doesn't think she deserves to be stuck as a mob wife.
"They can stay," Jason voices when he walks back into the room, thankfully unaware that he had been eavesdropping on their conversation. "Do they have everything they need?"
"Yeah, we packed everything they'll need and they have money on hand if they need anything else," Johnny assures him. "Thanks, man, really. I'll do my best to get things wrapped soon."
"Okay," Jason says before pulling open the door. "Before you go upstairs to let them know, there's a couple things to keep in mind while they're here. First of all, the gym is off-limits during the day, that's reserved specifically for Elizabeth's therapy. If she wants to use the gym, she'll have to wait until sundown to do it. And secondly, they're welcome to eat with us, but all meals will be made by me and to Elizabeth's dietary needs. If they don't like it, your wife is free to cook, as long as she doesn't give Elizabeth any. I don't need anything to set back her recovery. Okay?"
"Sounds reasonable enough," Johnny accepts. "I'll let her know before I head out."
"Okay," Jason says simply. "I'll be calling it a night. Breakfast is at seven o'clock if they want to join us."
Before he can say much of anything else, Jason makes his way down the hall before disappearing into a room, leaving Johnny to make his way upstairs to his family to let them know that they'll be staying there. Laying out the terms for his wife, he could see that she didn't appreciate restrictions, but she accepts it nonetheless.
It'll only be for a little while, just long enough for him to handle her brothers and get the business stabilized for their return. Leaving them was harder than he thought it would be but he does it. He just had to remember it was only for a little while. They'll be together again soon. As soon as it's safe.
...
Present Day...
With everything finally ready for the visit, Johnny follows his wife upstairs to their bedroom, deciding that it's time for them to call it a night, both needing their rest for the next day. As tired as he is, Johnny just couldn't seem to get to sleep, settling into bed nonetheless to ensure his wife gets some sleep even if he can't.
Once he was sure she was fast asleep, Johnny rises to his feet and makes his way to his daughter's room, needing to see her. He doesn't know what tomorrow will hold for him, but he does know that it's unavoidable. Francis is currently staying at a motel by the airport to ensure he's there the moment the flight touches ground.
...
Roughly four months ago...
If only he had left well enough alone. When he returned for his family, all he had to do was thank Jason for keeping them safe and leave, that's it. That's all he had to do. Did he do that? Of course not. For some godforsaken reason, he asked for a moment alone with her and a vomit of words fell from his lips before he could stop himself. Ensuring that, if she didn't hate him before, she definitely hated him now.
"You don't get to do that," Elizabeth snaps at him, anger clear in her voice as she glares at him. "You don't get to act concerned for my safety! You don't get to offer advice on something that's none of your business!"
"Lizzie..."
"No! No, you don't get to call me that anymore," Elizabeth says sternly. "You chose her, Johnny, you chose your life with her and I get it. I get why you did it. She's the mother of your child and you have history. That's fine, but you don't get to choose her and then pass judgment on my life like it's your right! Jason is my friend. That's all! But even if we were together, that would be none of your business because I'm not the person you chose."
"You're right..." he voiced as he looked at her, truly seeing the depth of the hurt that she carries because of the choice he made. "I understand you're angry at me..."
"Do you, though, do you really?" Elizabeth challenges his statement. "Do you understand what it took for me to let my guard down with you? Do you understand just how much I cared about you? When that bastard had me, do you know what kept me fighting, Johnny? I'll tell you! My family, my friends, and you! I kept thinking to myself, I just need to survive this, I just need to make it past this alive because I finally have everything I could ever want in life. I had my guys, I finally reconnected with my sister, I finally had a family, and - more than that - I finally had a guy I could trust. A guy whose every word was truth because that's the kind of safety you gave me! You made it safe for me to care about you and what did you do? The very moment I came to, you shattered that belief, you took what I held onto to keep me fighting and you destroyed it."
"You said you understood why I had to do that," Johnny didn't know what else he could say, it wasn't like she was wrong, as much as he didn't want to, he hurt her. "I hate that I hurt you, but I didn't have any other choice."
"You had a choice and you made it," Elizabeth counters with a shake of her head. "I told you I understood and I do, I understand why you did what you did, but to say you had no choice is ridiculous. You had a choice. You had a thousand choices. You could have waited. You could have waited until I was strong enough to hear it. You could have waited until I wasn't in a hospital bed fighting for my life!"
"I was working on a short timeframe," he gives as his excuse. "I hate what I did, Lizz...Elizabeth, but it really wasn't a choice."
"Whatever makes you sleep at night," Elizabeth states. "Take your family and leave, Johnny. We have nothing left to discuss."
"Lizzie..."
"I said don't call me that!" Elizabeth snaps. "You made your choice. Live with it. Take your family back to Ireland and forget you ever met me."
"No matter what you may think of me now, I have and always will care about you," Johnny says with his whole heart. "You will always be a part of me and I will always worry about your safety. Getting into something with Jason, given his position in the business, it's not safe for you and haven't you been through enough?"
"You don't get to tell me what is or isn't safe for me, not anymore," Elizabeth throws back, wheeling herself to the door and pulling it open. "And, for your information, Jason has done nothing but keep me safe from the moment I met him. He is the only reason that I'm as far along in my recovery as I am. So, you can take your warnings and shove them where the sun doesn't shine because nothing you say is going to make me walk away from him. Nothing! You can leave."
"I'm sorry, Elizabeth, truly," Johnny voices as he walks over to her before kneeling in front of her. "I wish things would have worked out differently, but they didn't and I'll carry that with me for the rest of my life. That doesn't change what I'm saying now. You deserve more than a life in the business."
"Leave," Elizabeth states, done arguing the point. "Now."
"Elizabeth..."
"LEAVE!"
"You heard her," Jason's voice cuts off anything Johnny was about to say, forcing him to turn and meet Jason's gaze. "Leave while you can still do so on your own."
That should have been the clue to walk away, to shut his mouth and accept that he had no say in what happens in her life now, but that would require him to have the common sense to let things go. Something he clearly didn't have because before he could stop himself, he was pleading with Jason to put an end to whatever stands between him and Elizabeth. The look that graced Jason's face once the words left Johnny's lips, well, that look will forever remain a nightmare-inducing image in his mind.
"What did you say?" Jason questions through gritted teeth, anger flooding his being at the man's audacity.
"She deserves better than what you can give her," Johnny voices though his brain literally shouts for him to shut up, it could have been his survival instinct, but the words still form and fall from his lips. "You and I both know that! She deserves more than either of us could possibly give her!"
And that clearly marked the end of Jason's patience because - before he realized what was happening - Jason's fist connected with his face, dropping him instantly. If not for Elizabeth telling him to stop and just let him leave, Johnny's certain that he would have ended up leaving in an ambulance. Instead, Jason grabbed him by his jacket, dragging him out of the front door and throwing him to the ground.
"Jason!" Francis exclaimed at the sight of Jason literally throwing Johnny out of the house. "What's happening?"
"Take him and leave," Jason states, standing on the porch. "Don't ever come to me for help again."
And that was the end of it. While Francis helped him to his feet, Jason made his way back into the house and shut the door, leaving them to their own accord. Francis asked him what the hell he did to burn the one bridge they needed to keep in this life and he couldn't find the words. He just told him to let it go and they got into the SUV with his family and left.
That was the last time he'd hear from either of them and Johnny accepts that it was of his doing. He could only hope that they truly do know what they're doing and make the safest choice for Elizabeth's sake. It's the least she deserves.
...
Present Day...
It took a few weeks before Johnny finally admitted to Francis what he had done to make Jason resort to throwing him out on his ass and - as he suspected - the old-timer agreed with Jason. As much as he can sympathize with what Johnny was going through, seeing someone he could have fallen in love with heading down a path to someone else in the life, it's a tough thing to watch.
With that said, however, he had no right to comment on a relationship he had no stake in. Whatever exists between Jason and Elizabeth, it's no longer his business as a married man that chose to end things with her, that's just the facts of the situation. For him to run off on the mouth, he had to know that Jason wouldn't just accept that, especially given the way things went down.
"Yeah?" Johnny answers his cellphone once he's out of his daughter's room.
"How did I know you'd still be awake?" Francis questions. "You really worried about tomorrow?"
"What do you think?" Johnny replies. "If I tell them what happened, they're bound to agree with Jason."
"Would you blame them?" Francis counters. "You stuck your nose where it didn't belong after they just spent two months keeping your family safe. You're lucky he didn't put you in the hospital."
"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Johnny throws back. "Seriously, man, these guys are family to me. I don't want to lose them."
"Jason clearly hasn't told them anything," Francis points out. "Maybe just let this visit go by without spilling your guts? If anyone's going to tell them what happened, leave it to Jason and just enjoy the visit while they're here."
"You might be right, but - if they have to know - I at least want to be able to tell my side," Johnny points out. "I only did what I did because Elizabeth means a lot to me and I just want her to be safe."
"If Jason tells them and that's a big if," Francis counters. "I'm pretty sure you'll be Lily's first call for just that. They spent the day with them and neither of them brought it up. Take a page of Jason's book and, for once, don't run off at the mouth. Leave it be and just enjoy the visit. Okay?"
"Yeah, okay," Johnny accepts. "I think I'll get some shut-eye while I can."
"You do that," Francis replies simply. "I'll call you when I'm heading to the airport in the morning."
"Right," Johnny sighs. "Night, old-timer."
"Night, kid."
Author's Note: I can't wait to hear what you thought of this update. The next update will be from Fiona's perspective and cover some of the time that they were being kept safe by Jason. If it doesn't go too long, I'll add the visit from Sonny and Lily. If not, then the chapter after that will cover Sonny and Lily's visit as well as Steve learning the truth about Audrey. Thanks for hanging in while I figure out these updates. Hopefully I can get the chapters out soon. Till then, I can't wait to read your reviews. You are all so appreciated. Thanks.
p.s. For those asking about Wayward Son and Docile Daughter, an update is in the works, but I'm still working out the flow of the chapter. Thanks again. Take care.