Chapter Fifty-one

"Yeah!" Quinn called out. "Hold on a sec." He wiped his hands on a dishtowel as he made his way towards the door. It sounded like an army was banging it down.

He was a bit shocked to see who was on the other side. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi!" Ty said with a grin as he walked in the door. He was followed by Ella and Aidan. He shrugged off his backpack and settled on the couch. "What's for dinner?"

Quinn stood and looked at them openmouthed, expecting to see someone come in behind them – like his parents or Billie or either of his sisters. He understood that he might be called into babysitting duty – what with Katrina being so sick and all. But as the door closed behind them he realized it was just the kids.

"Hold on hooligans. How did you get here?" He asked them, his voice stern.

"We walked." Aidan shrugged. "Can we order pizza?" He asked as he grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.

Quinn snatched it away from him quickly. "Hey, Midget Man. Nice try." He scolded his brother. "No we're not ordering pizza." He clicked the TV off and sighed.

"Ella, beautiful." He said softly, deciding to see what he could get from her. "Does your father know you're here?"

"Nuh uh. We were over at Ty's house. We made a break for it." She said as she flashed him a grin.

"OK. You are watching too many cop shows." He said exasperated. "You walked here alone? Are you insane? And I take it Billie doesn't know you are here does she? She's going to go crazy. Tyler." He said as he glared at the little boy. "Since you're the only one carrying luggage I feel like you must be the ringleader. Start talking. What are you doing here?"

"Oh. Me? I'm moving in with you." He said simply.

"You're what?!?" What the hell was going on? Quinn's mind began to race. Why did Ty want to move in with him? "Tyler. You are not…"

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. Ty interrupted him. "Can I talk to you alone so I can tell you why?" He looked up at Quinn with innocent eyes.

Beyond curious, Quinn nodded. "Yeah. OK. Hey, Trouble 1 and Trouble 2 – get lost for a second." He said to his brother and cousin. "Ella, sweetie. I have more to say to both of you. Don't think you're off the hook – but for now why don't you go beat my brother at that new video game I bought."

Her eyes lit up like stars. "OK! Cool!"

As the two other kids scurried off to play, Quinn straddled a chair and stared into Ty's eyes. "OK." "You're on kid."

"I saw him." Ty said quietly as tore his gaze from Quinn's and stared at his feet.

Quinn didn't have to ask who. "Where?" He asked, fighting to keep his voice calm.

"He was at our game." Ty's bottom lip quivered a bit. "He was only there a little while but he's here Quinn. He followed us and we can't let him hurt her." His eyes pleaded with him. "You said we're partners right? We are going to take care of her together right? If that's true I figured if I came here to live Billie would have to come too."

Quinn's heart beat frantically as he tried to control himself. All he wanted to do at the moment is interrogate the poor kid and go and hunt that coward down. But he needed to stay calm. It dawned on him that he hadn't called Billie yet to tell her Ty was here. She must be out of her mind.

He moved to stand and walked towards the phone as he replied. "Tyler. You're right. We are partners but listen to me. You can't just run away like that. Billie must be so worried…"

He didn't get to finish his sentence. Suddenly someone was pounding on the door. "Don't you move – mister. I'm not finished with you." He said as he glared at Ty again.

Quinn opened the door and let Billie in.

Even though he knew the news he'd learned would devastate her – he couldn't get over how adorable she looked. Her hair was up in a messy knot and she had a smudge of dust on her cheek. She wore a ratty t-shirt, baggy cotton shorts and an ancient pair of flip flops. She didn't have a trace of make up on her face, and her freckles were plainly seen across the bridge of her nose. Quinn was once again floored at the knowledge that he truly adored every inch of her. He continued to watch her with a dreamy smile on his face. She stared up at him, her light brown eyes wild and brimming with tears.

"Quinn. Is Tyler here? Where is he?" She asked him. She didn't wait for an answer since she suddenly saw her nephew sitting right there on the couch.

She waved the crumpled piece of paper she held in her hand in front of her nephew's face. "What is this?? Do you understand how scared you made me?" Her voice began to rise as she glared at him. "TYLER JAMES ANDERSON. You DO NOT go out alone. I don't care if it's still light out. I don't care if you're only going to Quinn's. I don't care if Aidan or Ella is with you. You NEVER leave home without my permission. Do you understand me?!?!?"

"But Billie. I just…" Ty tried to explain.

"No buts. That's it Tyler." Billie continued to reprimand him. "Listen to me. For all intents and purposes I am your mother and I am telling you – this is unacceptable." She began to cry as she looked at him, finally believing he was safe and sound. She crossed over to him and pulled him into her arms. "Don't you ever do that to me again. Do you hear me? You scared me to death."

"I'm sorry." He said, his voice muffled because she was holding him so tightly.

Quinn had taken time to think while he watched them talk. He had made a decision himself. Now the only thing was to get Billie to agree. He thought he might be able to pull it off.

He called out softly. "Ty. Buddy? Why don't you go and play with your cohorts while I talk to Billie a sec."

"'kay." He said with a sniffle. "I'm sorry Bill. I didn't mean to make you mad."

Billie sighed as she finally let him go. "I'm not really mad sweetie. You just worried me."

"I know. I'm sorry." He said again as he moved towards the other room.

Billie swiped the tears from her eyes as she sank on the couch. "Oh my God." She whispered as Quinn sat beside her and took her into his arms.

"My heart stopped." She said as she hugged him tightly. "I went to the laundry room for like five minutes and when I came back they were gone. I'm telling you, until I saw his note my heart stopped beating Quinn."

"Shh. I can imagine. It's OK. He's alright." He whispered against her hair.

"Did he tell you why he's here? All this said is "Bill – I went to Quinn's. Love Ty." She said as she pulled back and shoved the note at him. "Why did he do that? Why didn't he just ask me to take him over here to see you?"

"It's going to be fine." Quinn whispered to her as he looked into her eyes.

"What is?" She asked him confused.

"Belinda." He said softly as he held her hands gently in his. "Just listen to me, OK?"

She stared at him. "OK. I just got over being scared half to death and now you're making it worse. What are you trying to tell me?"

He decided it was probably best to just come out and say it. "Ty came here for a reason. He saw someone at the game on Friday."

"OK." She said with a shrug. "Who?"

"Billie…" Quinn said as he cleared his throat. It took him a second to finally say the words. "Ty saw him. He's here."

She knew exactly who he was referring to. "No." She said softly, shaking her head back and forth.

"It's going to be OK." He tried to reassure her.

She took a deep breath and stared into his eyes. It was amazing. Just by doing that she knew that what he said was true. It was going to be alright. Seriously. What else could he take from her now?

"I know." She whispered. Even though she believed him, her voice wasn't too convincing.

"It really is. I won't let him near you." Quinn promised her.

"I know." She said as she leaned in to kiss him. "It's OK."

"I mean really, Belinda. I'm not going to let him bother you." He said, his voice getting louder.

"I know. I'm not worried." She said with a smile.

"Why not?" Quinn asked, taken aback by her reaction.

"Because he's no threat to me now." She said with a sigh. "I have nothing he wants anymore."

"Don't you think it's a little coincidental that he's here?" Quinn replied, his voice full of suspicion. "I mean – what else would bring him to Port Charles if not you?"

"I don't know and frankly Quinn. I don't care. Just as long as he stays out of my way." Billie ran a hand over his cheek.

Quinn took a deep breath as he gazed at her. It was time to tell her his plan. "I want to talk to you about something else. Ty came here to me because he's really worried about you. He had an idea and I think it's a good one."

"OK." She looked at him quizzically.

"He came to me because he wanted to move in here. At first I thought it was crazy but it's actually a really good idea."

"He wants to live with you? Instead of me?" Billie couldn't believe it. Tears sprang to her eyes again.

"No. Shh. No." Quinn knew he'd muck this up. He had no experience with stuff like this. He pulled her close and tried to find the words to explain it better. "He wants you to move in too. And honestly, come to think of it - so do I."

Billie pulled back and stared at him in disbelief. "Why? Why would you want us to do that?"

"Because…" He said softly. Quinn couldn't help himself. Chartering completely unfamiliar territory he began to babble. "Because - it makes total sense. Because, even though you don't believe Mark is here to mess with you I am nowhere near convinced. Because I don't get to see as much of you as I'd like to…"

"We spend nearly every waking moment together, Quinn." Billie countered with a laugh.

Suddenly she realized what he was saying. "Oh. I get it." She whispered, her face falling. "I'm sorry…" She couldn't meet his gaze.

"What!?" His voice was completely confused.

"This is all because I won't sleep with you." She said guiltily. "Quinn. I thought we talked about this. It's not that I don't want to…"

"Billie. That's not it…" He swore to her as he gently ran his hand over her hair. "I told you it's alright. I'll wait until you're ready."

She shook her head at him as she pushed him away and stood. "But why should you have to? I mean – what the hell is wrong with me? Any normal woman would jump at the chance. I must be out of my mind, shrinking away from you when you touch me. You deserve better than that. It shouldn't be so much work."

She took a deep breath as she went on, wanting to make sure he understood."I'm sorry. Quinn, it's sweet but it's not necessary for you to do this. It's OK. I understand. I'm sure you could call any of your exes and they'd come running back."

"What are you trying to say?" He said as he stared at her.

"I'm saying that it's alright. You don't have to keep wasting your time with me." She replied, sounding completely dejected.

"Is that what you think this is?" His voice was shocked as he rose to his feet. He paused for a second, satisfied when he heard the kids laughing hysterically in the other room. He wanted to make sure they wouldn't be interrupted when he told her this next. "Do you really think that's the only thing I want from you?"

Billie suddenly became completely ashamed of herself. She knew in her heart that it wasn't true. "No. I just…" She began.

He cut her off sharply, trying to keep his voice low. "I want you Billie – that's true. I won't try and hide that fact." He walked to her and pulled her to him, kissing her desperately. He released her and moved a few feet away, his eyes never leaving hers as he continued. "More than that I want to keep you safe, I want you to be happy. I want you to be able to live your life completely unafraid. I want you to know how I feel about you – I mean exactly how I feel about you."

"OK." She whispered as she moved closer to him. His words were making her head spin.

"I love you, Belinda Larson." He stated matter-of-factly. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gazed deeply into her eyes, mesmerized by the way they began to sparkle as he repeated it slowly. "I. Love. You. And guess what? I don't even need you to say it back to me right now. As I said – I'm a patient guy – I can wait until you're ready. But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to worry about you and it doesn't mean I'm going to let that bastard have a chance to hurt you again. So." He said softly as he kissed her again. "I want you to here with me. You want to simplify it – think of it this way. It's strictly for convenience's sake."

It was the last thing she expected to hear. She was staggered and unable to speak. "Y-y-you what?"

"Need to hear it again? OK. Fine." He said with a smile. Now that he'd said the words there was no stopping him. His blue eyes danced as he looked down at her again. "Here goes. I love you." He promised.

Still a bit in shock - she shoved him away. She had dreamed of this moment, but in her mind it was completely different. There was wine and candlelight and there was no one there but the two of them. And in her dream she'd actually showered recently, not spent the day doing housework.

"You're telling me this now? When I come over here – all sweaty and grungy and dressed like THIS?" She stared down at her clothes and then back at him. "You tell me this in the middle of a Saturday with three eight year olds in the room next door?"

"So what?" He replied with a shrug as he laughed at her. "I happen to think it's sexy. Billie, trust me - you've never looked more beautiful."

"Don't. Don't do that. Don't you dare laugh at me." She said as she tried to keep from laughing herself.

Her eyes filled with tears as they met his. "I can't believe you're saying this now - when I can't really do anything about it. Quinn…" She sighed, wanting with all her heart to say the words back to him. "I.." She trailed off, terrified.

Quinn knew that she needed to get used to the fact that he loved her. As he gazed lovingly down at her he thought telling her that he intended to marry her would probably be a bit too much for her in one day. He decided to appeal to her practical side. He kissed her forehead and gently wiped the tears from her eyes as he continued, "I have plenty of room. Billie, c'mon. Think of the money you could save. You know that I love that kid too – don't you? I swear I do. And I promise you I'll protect him like he's my own…"

"Quinn…" She replied, her voice shaky as she moved closer to him. She was completely touched by his offer – awed by the fact that her luck it seemed had changed at last. Imagine, finding someone like him. She wanted to tell him she loved him too, she wanted to make sure he understood. Even though it was exactly how she felt about him, she had so much trouble saying the words. It was so hard for her to trust someone again.

"Quinn." Billie repeated. "The reason I haven't been able to…I don't know what it is. It's not because I don't want you – trust me. I just…"

"Are we back to that again?" He chuckled softly. "Listen to me, Billie. It doesn't change a thing. I still love you. Don't get me wrong, I'll be working on it constantly. I can't resist a challenge and I know that we'll get there eventually." He pulled her close as he continued, "Right now it doesn't matter. Right now – I just want you and Ty here with me. That's all I want." He laughed louder as he added. "Well. I want that AND I want to kick Mark's ass from here to next year. But you know – somehow I think I have a chance at both."

Billie couldn't believe this was happening. Having to go through everything she'd faced in her life was worth it – just to get to this moment. She couldn't believe how lucky she was.

"You know what?" She whispered as he bent his head to kiss her. "Me too."