A/N – Thanks for the comments! You know, I see Jason as a protector when you let him be and he gave Elizabeth good advice back in the day, so how he was at the funeral really wasn't a far reach. I think he sensed that Laura was in a place where she was being accepting and he put himself out there a little because he felt bad for her. Jason tries to do what's right.

Chapter 40

Manny joined Evangeline outside. "You okay?"

"Yes. It was just really sad."

"It was a rough day. Your singing was beautiful though. Was it hard not to get upset?"

"A little, but I shut my eyes and powered through."

He turned her to face him and then touched her face. "Evangeline, may I kiss you?"

Her head slowly nodded.

"Thank you." He leaned forward and their lips met. After that, he showed her with his mouth how much he cares about her and left Eva quivering to his touch.

"That was some kiss."

"That was love."

Her eyes widened as he smirked and then went back into the house. She touched her mouth and then whispered, "I am so screwed." Manny is turning out to be a really good man and friend.

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Sonny curses under his breath as he paces back and forth. How dare Jason talk to him or Carly like that. It's such a sign of disrespect and there is no way he'll stand for it.

Ronnie had to talk him down before he lashed out, convincing him that he has a plan and just needs a few weeks and everything will be lined up.

In the meantime, he needs to figure out a way to deal with Carly before she does something really stupid. Michael is back and the nanny is trying to shield him, but his wife is a train wreck.

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Nicole finishes describing the man from the store and then Elizabeth puts a few finishing touches on him.

"Is that him?"

Nicole gasped and started to shake as she nodded.

Elizabeth tossed the pad onto the table and then sat next to her and held her.

Johnny entered the room all excited to tell her something about Alaina and then comes to a halt. "What happened?" His gaze goes to the picture. "Why are you drawing Ronnie Dimestico?"

Manny's head tilts as he stands in the doorway.

"That's who was in the store."

Johnny is enraged and the women are shocked by his drastic change in demeanor. "I'll be right back." He quickly left the house with Manny on his heels.

"What the fuck!"

"Do you want me to tell Francis?"

Johnny picks up a rock and chucks it and then calls his boss.

"Can I call you right back?"

"No."

Johnny's voice is shaking, so Francis puts his hand over the phone and asks his admin to leave.

"What's going on?"

"Elizabeth drew the picture."

"And?"

"It's Ronnie Dimestico."

Francis picks up a glass and throws it and it shatters everywhere. Diane, who is talking to the admin in the hallway, is shocked and enters his office cautiously.

"He is fucking dead man."

"He's mine, Francis. Don't take that away from me. He hurt my girl and you took care of everyone else."

"How do you want to do it?"

Diane plugs her ears and goes into the bathroom.

"We accelerate the plan and take them both out. I'm done with those assholes."

Jason pulls into the driveway and immediately can tell something is wrong. He parked his bike and moved towards them.

"I mean it, Francis, I need to be the one who hurts him." Tears prick Johnny's eyes, making Jason think it's about Nicole or the baby. He pulled Manny aside and got an explanation.

Jason's attention shifts to his friend.

Francis is silent a long moment. "I will let you lead, but you need to figure out how to calm down. Nicole needs you."

"I'll call you later."

"Let's go," Jason said.

Johnny glares at him. "What?"

"We're going out back." Jason took off his shirt and handed it to Manny.

Elizabeth and Nicole had been watching from the window. "Damn, your man is fine," Nicole said.

When Johnny ripped off his shirt, Elizabeth said, "Yours looks damn good too. Are they going to fight?"

"I hope not." They ran to the side window and observed as the men strode towards a barn. "Shit. Let's go." She ran to the back door and pulled the guard inside. "Alaina is sleeping. Can you listen out for her?" When he nodded, she handed him a monitor and then pulled Elizabeth outside. Manny is lagging behind and when the other guys disappear into the barn, he notices the girls.

"Can you grab about six water bottles?"

The girls ran inside and then quickly closed the distance between the house and barn. When they get there, Jason is holding a punching bag and Johnny is going to town on it.

Nicole bites her lip and then the girls slip over to the side. Johnny didn't notice, but Jason did.

"That sick son of a bitch is going to die." Johnny pummeled the bag mercilessly.

"Damn," Nicole whispered.

He altered between cursing and punching until he was past exhaustion. A few times Manny doused him with water and made him drink.

Johnny collapsed onto some bails of hay. "I can't let him hurt her again. It would kill me."

Jason can see Johnny is about to cry, so he throws a towel at him and then motions for Manny to leave and then pulls Elizabeth up and they leave, shutting the door behind them.

Nicole wipes some tears away and then slowly approaches him. Johnny is surprised but pushes to a sitting position letting his tears of anger and frustration flow as he wiped himself down.

"Thank you for loving me so much."

Johnny grabs onto her and holds her, letting out all the emotions he stuffed down about what his girl has gone through. It's not like him to so upset, but she is glad because it's not healthy to hold all of that in. "I love you too. The way you fight for me is beautiful."

He pulled back and wiped at his face. "I'm going to protect you. Do you believe me?" Knowing that piece of shit Ronnie had hurt his girl is doing him in.

"Yes."

He pulls her into a passionate kiss that makes her reel. She straddles him as he pours his love into her and when she feels him grow hard against her, instead of running, she rubs against him, making him moan. Clothes start to come off and then he suddenly realizes how fast they are going and how rough he is being and stops to look at her. "You are so damned gorgeous, but this is moving fast. Are you okay?" This is how they used to be, which was fine, but Nicole isn't used to being touched this way anymore.

She nodded as a tear trailed down her cheek. "Make love to me, Johnny. I need you to help make me whole again."

He closed his eyes like he is savoring her words. "I don't want you to regret it or be afraid of me."

"I won't. You are everything to me."

Johnny kissed her languidly and then slowed everything down, making her moan and beg as he tasted her everywhere. By the time his mouth found her clit, Nicole was already a quivering mess. And when Johnny finally sunk deep inside her, she cried because it felt so good and she had finally let go of the past enough to get over this final hurdle. He slowly made love to her until she screamed his name and he yelled hers.

They laid in each other's arms for a long time before getting dressed.

He picked some straw out of her hair. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I might walk funny for a bit, but damn that was good. I forgot how great we were."

He leaned forward and kissed her lips. "I never forgot."

They went into the house hand in hand and showered together, making love one more time before Johnny left the house to meet with Francis.

Elizabeth knocked on her door. "You okay?"

Nicole squealed and did this crazy dance, making Liz crack up. "We made love, Elizabeth. I did it and it was fantastic!"

Elizabeth grinned, knowing what a huge milestone it is for her. "I'm so proud of you. You're healing and have a good man by your side."

"So do you…"

"Yeah. He's pretty great."

"Have you done the deed yet?"

Liz's eyes twinkled. "No, but I have plans."

Nicole grinned. "If you need help setting up, I'm there."

"I just might take you up on that."

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Three Days Later

Jason entered Francis's office. "Hi."

Francis motioned for him to sit. "I've been giving it a lot of thought and wanted to speak to you about a few things."

"Okay."

"When we take Sonny down, we'll take over the business and will need your help to speak to the men and try to figure out who we can trust and who we can't."

"I can do that."

"Good. The territory will be very big, so I want to keep them separate. Johnny will run the Corinthos territory. It will fold under Corelli Inc. Manny will be my enforcer. Do you want to be Johnny's?"

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

Jason is surprised. "Wow. That will be interesting."

Francis slightly smiled. "My father will be mentoring Johnny for that role. Manny will be mentoring you. Is that okay?" Each man had his strengths and they all work very well together.

"Yes. I accept."

"Wait, there's one more thing you need to know. You'll have to go through vigorous training. It will require you to go away for a few months. There can be no contact."

He sighed. Elizabeth is going to kill him.

"She'll understand besides, her classes will start by then so she'll be busy." He could tell where Jason's thoughts had gone.

"I do want to talk it over with her first."

"I'm glad to hear you say that. Elizabeth is a good match for you and she should be included in major decisions."

Jason nodded.

"I heard about what you did for Laura Spencer and I'm proud of you."

He shrugged.

"You need to learn to take compliments. I'm going to work with you on some things too. It's more on the line of how your mind processes and making decisions and how to make changes. You game?"

"Yes." He knows he needs to make some improvements. "What about Sonny?"

He pressed a button. "Send them in."

The door opened and Johnny, Manny and several other trusted guards filed inside.

"So, your game?" Johnny asked.

"I think so. I just need to talk it over with my girl."

"I understand." He'll bust Jason's balls later. Now is not the time.

"Does Nicole know?"

"I'm telling her soon."

Jason smirked. "Good luck."

"Speaking of Nicole, our mission is two-fold. Ronnie needs to die painfully and if possible, Sonny needs to suffer too," Francis said. Sometimes things happen in the heat of battle and plans change.

"I agree."

"Jason, I need to know if you're going to have a problem with taking Carly down."

"Not at all." While he understands that Carly is still reeling from the attack, the way she behaving is hurting Michael and he won't stand for that.

"I spoke with your dad. They are meeting with an attorney right now. We have lots of footage of a drunk Carly. Until today, she hadn't seen Michael in over a week and he's struggling."

"Besides taking Michael away from her, what do you have planned?"

"We're going to use her to keep Sonny busy. She's drinking heavily, so we can use that to our advantage. The five families won't like her behavior either."

Jason didn't move.

"Do you have any concerns?"

"I don't normally go after women, but Carly put herself in this situation."

"She'll be watched at all times. I'm not trying to kill her. After all the damage she has caused in this town, I think karma is way past due. When someone is deadset on self-destruction, they do all the damage themselves."

"Okay. Sonny is claustrophobic, by the way."

Francis smirked. "Good to know."

They continued to discuss their plans and then Francis sent Jason to Epiphany's house.

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Monica sat across from Alexis and watched as she chewed on her lip as she read.

When Alexis finished, she took off her reading glass and laid them on the table. "Well, I think you have a case."

"Excellent, then I want to move forward."

"You do realize that Sonny is not going to take this lying down, right?"

Alan rolled his eyes. "He can be upside down—I don't care. Carly is so drunk she can't see straight and Michael needs some structure."

"I agree and I will play it up to the judge. We'll have the summons delivered to her because she'll be too drunk to care. Hell, she might not even show up."

"That will be perfect," Monica said.

"Thank you for your time, Alexis."

"You're welcome." She can't stand Carly and looks forward to taking her down.

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Ronnie sat across from a younger man and placed an envelope between them.

"Are you following me?"

"I really need you to look at what's in the envelope."

The man sighed and opened it. His eyes widened as he studied the pictures and read a few documents. "Wow."

"I know this is a lot to process, but I was hoping that maybe you could come to town in the next few weeks to settle this."

While the man has mixed feelings about what he read, he really wants closure. "Okay. We'll exchange numbers and come to an arrangement."

"I'll pay for your travel and lodging and give you spending money."

The man is intrigued. "What is in it for you?"

"I'm a truth seeker and I think everyone deserves it. Are you still in?"

"Yes." While he still doesn't believe Ronnie, the man had provided him with a lot of missing information that he probably would never find out on his own.

"Good." Ronnie stood and they shook hands. "I'll be in touch." This had gone very well and now, he just had to get the other pawn onboard and let the show begin.

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Francis paused in the doorway as Johnny practically inhaled his sister's mouth. "Really?"

They broke apart quickly and faced him.

"Hi, big brother," Nicole said.

Francis's head tilted. There is a different vibe there and he is not prepared for it.

Nicole approached him. "Don't be mad, Frannie. I feel like I'm whole again and that Ronnie and those other assholes didn't win. Johnny did that for me and we love each other."

Francis realizes that he can't totally remain calm. "I want to speak to Johnny alone."

"No."

Their gaze is locked in battle.

"Yes."

Johnny sighed. "Francis, you know we're together and I love her." When Francis flinched, a thought ran through Johnny's mind and he suddenly got it. Francis wants him to man up and marry his sister.

"Francis, you know that is my intention, but don't ruin it."

Nicole alternately glanced at them. "What am I missing."

"Nothing, it's okay, right Francis?"

After a few deep breaths, Francis nodded and left the room.

Nicole faced Johnny. "Want to tell me what that was about?"

"Not really. Can you let it go? I have something else I need to discuss with you."

She moved to the couch, sat, and then patted the cushion next to her. "What's going on?"

"Well, Francis made me an offer and I want to accept, but need you to know first."

"Okay."

"After we deal with Sonny, the territory will be large, so he wants me to be in charge of Corinthos Inc., with Jason as my enforcer."

"Wow. That's a lot of responsibility."

"Yes, it is. Would you be okay with that?"

"I know who you are and understand your goals. Am I concerned that it would put a bigger target on your back which includes me and our daughter, yes."

"You know that I'll do whatever I can to keep you safe."

"I do know that, but it's still scary even though I grew up in that atmosphere especially since I was targeted and hurt."

"Do you want me to turn it down?"

"Yes, because I'm selfish and want you all to myself."

When she pouted, he kissed her gently.

"But at the same time, I know how much you want it and I do trust you, Johnny O'Brien."

"That leads me to one more thing."

Her eyes narrowed. "Seriously? Haven't I conceded enough for one day?"

He grinned. "We might have to move."

"Why?"

"This house is further away and it will be easier if I am closer when there is an emergency. That would also mean there is less chance for someone trying to take me out along the way."

"But that means I'll miss out on Epiphany and Francis's cooking."

He laughed. "God, I love you. We'll invite them over or come here."

"Fine, but you owe me something for all this besides your body and I'm not living at Sonny's mausoleum."

"I have a certificate for a spa day trip and that is just a starter."

"Now you're talking my language."

"Will you have dinner with me?" He has something big planned.

"Yes."

"Dress up and we'll leave at 6:30."

She smiled. "You had me at dress up."

"Good."

A/N: I think you know what is coming (bom chicka wow wow)