A/N – Thanks for the comments and your patience. Better late than never.

Chapter 49

Nicole groaned as she tried to sit up.

"Easy…," Lorenzo said as he moved to her side. "What do you need?"

"Bathroom."

"Can you walk?"

He supported her as she slowly stood and braced her when her knees buckled. "I'm going to pick you up, okay?"

She nodded and he lifted her with ease and deposited her in the bathroom.

"Do you want me to wake up Diane?"

"I'll try without doing that."

"I'll be right outside."

"Thank you."

When the door closed, so gripped the counter and then sat. Her head hurts and her body is unbelievably sore. Once she was finished, she stood with difficulty and then washed her hands. "Lorenzo."

He opened the door. "You okay?"

Tears pricked her eyes. "I think I need some aspirin."

"Let me get you back on the couch and I'll get you some." He lifted her again and got her situated and then fetched the pills and water.

Elizabeth jerked awake and her eyes fixed on them. "You okay?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Liz groaned. "My head hurts and I keep having nightmares."

Lorenzo handed her some medicine too and she took it.

Nicole threw a blanket over her. "You shot someone to save me. Are you sure you're okay?"

"In my nightmares, I miss. I'm not sorry I shot him, but it is a little hard to process."

Lorenzo handed her a phone.

"Elizabeth?"

She sighed as she heard his voice. "Hey."

"You okay?"

"I am now."

Nicole wishes she could talk to her man too.

"How's Nicole?"

"She just took some medicine. We both have headaches."

"I wish I was there."

"I know. Will I see you in the morning?"

"I will stop by. I promise. They are letting Manny go home tomorrow. I guess Evangeline is going to take care of him at his house."

Liz grinned. "Really?"

Nicole's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Eva is going to move in with Manny and take care of him."

"That's old news", Diane said as she yawned.

"Diane already knows, so I'll interrogate her when we're done."

Jason slightly smiled as he checked the hallway. "Francis is stable. They'll start waking him up tomorrow afternoon if his numbers stay good."

"That's great news." She relayed it to Nicole.

"I love you, baby."

"I love you too."

"You need to rest."

"I'll try."

"See you in the morning."

"Later."

She handed the phone back. "Alright, spill."

Diane grinned. "Let's just say that Lorenzo and I played her a little and convinced her moving in is a good thing and she took the bait."

"You are too much."

"I'll have you married off before you know it."

"And what about you?"

Lorenzo coughed to cover up his laugh. He'd marry Diane in a heartbeat.

Her eyes narrowed. "Maybe you need to ask again, smarty pants."

His draw dropped and then he got down on one knee as the girls grinned. "Diane, you are beautiful, vibrant, witty, and my match in every way. I love you more than anything and would do anything for you. Let me spoil and love on you for the rest our lives. Mi Amore, will you marry me?"

She gazed at him lovingly. "Yes!"

Nicole squealed as they kissed. "It's about damn time! Wait until Francis hears this."

"You want him to pass out?" Diane said.

"He'll be so happy for you."

Diane is beaming. She had been so scared to take the step and then she had thought about how wonderful Lorenzo is and how happy he makes her and realized she was judging the situation unfairly.

"That was just what I needed," Liz said as she yawned.

"Me too," Nicole said shutting her eyes.

Diane motioned for Lorenzo to follow her to the kitchen and she kissed him wantonly, showing him how much she loves him.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

The next morning, Luella made Nicole and Liz eat something while Lo tended to the baby. Diane had gone to the hospital to drop off some clothes for Piph.

When she arrived, Piph is gazing out the window as Francis sleeps.

"How is the patient?"

Piph turned to face her. "He's stable."

She put her briefcase down and then handed Piph a small bag. "Listen, I need a favor."

"What's up?"

"Since you have power of attorney, I need you to sign off on some checks so I can pay the employees and some vendors."

"I can do that."

She sat and Diane prepared the paperwork and handed her a pen.

"Are you sure this is all you need?"

"Yes. Manny is recovering, but he was released last night and is at his house. He's going to do a face chat with some of the men today and handle some issues."

Piph continued to sign.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm worried, but I have faith that God won't take him away from me."

"Faith is good."

She put the pen down. "The girls are okay?"

"Yes. They'll probably sleep a lot today though."

"That's good.

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Jason heard a noise and moved into the room and when he saw the panicked look in Francis's eyes, he went to his side. "You're okay. In fact, everyone is okay."

He pushed the button for the nurse and Piph's eyes snapped open and she got up and lovingly stroked his hair.

"It's okay. I know the vent is uncomfortable, but try to relax. I love you."

He stared into her eyes as Leo and some nurses converged into the room.

Jason stepped back and texted Diane the news.

After an hour of tests, they decided his breathing is stable and took out the vent.

Francis swallowed some sips of water.

"I'll be right back," Piph said before rushing out of the room.

"Go," Francis said.

Jason rushed into the hallway to find Piph wiping away some tears. He embraced her as he rubbed her back. "It's okay now. He's going to be fine."

"I have been trying so hard to hold it together. I almost lost him."

"Let it out and then take a deep breath because he's probably going crazy right now."

She cried for a few more minutes and then took a cleansing breath.

"I have an issue with you, by the way."

She wiped her face. "What?"

"I can't believe you married someone, didn't invite me or let me break your bed beforehand."

She laughed. "You had your chance. Besides, Elizabeth is fierce and she'd break both of us if we did that."

He smiled. "Do I still get visitation?"

She grabbed his face and then gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, that will never change, but when Francis gets the green light, and I think you know what I mean," her eyebrows rose up and down several times, "you won't see me for at least a week."

He feigned disgust. "Ugh, Piph. That is—just—I don't need to know all of that."

She winked. "See that is why your fine ass never broke my bed."

His mouth dropped open.

"Later, prude."

She sauntered back into the room looking mischievous, making Francis slightly smile.

"What did you say?" His voice is scratchy.

"I messed with his head like I always do. He's depressed that he didn't get to break my bed before we got married."

Francis's eyes narrowed. "He better not have broken your bed."

She chuckled. "It wasn't from my lack of trying."

His eyes grew big.

"Gotcha."

Jason grinned. "Listen, I'm going to go check on the girls and sleep for a few hours. I'll stop by Manny's on the way back here."

"You need more than a few hours. Micah can work a full shift," Piph said.

"What she said. Johnny?"

"He's busy working out his frustration."

Francis hopes he truly makes Ronnie hurt. "No backup?"

Jason shook his head. "He insisted on handling it alone, but Enzo is there too. Dominic said he'd handle Sal. Manny is going to follow up this afternoon."

"I can fill him in on the rest. Go," Piph said.

Jason left and Francis focused on his wife.

"Manny is meeting with some of the crew via face chat. He insisted on handling things. He's at his house with Eva. I signed some checks today for Diane and I will continue to do so until you are well rested and back on your feet which could be a few weeks."

His brow rose.

"I'm pretty much a mob boss around here. I think I can handle it."

"Thank you."

"I would do anything for you. Johnny will probably be finished handling Ronnie by tomorrow, so he can take a leadership role. Diane is getting all the paperwork together so he can take over the new territory. Maximus Giambetti called this morning and inquired if you'd have a place for his sons. Diane asked about his loyalty and apparently, Milo and Max are willing to work and want to stay with the Corinthos territory. I'm meeting with them later. Frank will accompany me and we'll make a decision. The good thing is that the men who are willing to stay and work in the warehouse respect Max, so he could be very useful in determining who stays and goes."

Francis is shocked that Piph has gotten so involved and she laughs when she spots his expression.

"I'm good at accessing people, so I wanted to help. Diane is excellent, which I'm sure you know, and she is getting Evangeline's help in dealing with some of the legal paperwork."

"You don't even need me."

She shook her head. "You are the heart and brains of this organization. Frank is going to help out to make sure people know that someone is in charge so they don't step off. We've got it covered."

"Kiss?"

She smiled and then gently kissed his lips. "You're one of a kind, Francis Corelli. I love you so much."

"I love you too."

"Rest now."

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Ronnie's screams filled the air as Johnny poured alcohol into his cuts.

Earlier, he had used a modified cattle prod on the asshole so he understands what it felt like to be violated.

Heavy metal music pours from the speaker as Johnny focuses on applying as much pain, but not do too damaged so he can keep him alive longer.

Johnny called for Enzo who quickly moved into the room.

"Yes, boss?"

"Get the doctor and have him tend to Ronnie's wounds the best he can. I'm going to take a break and go see my girl and get a few hours of sleep." He had made Enzo sleep overnight so they could switch on and off and the doctor is in a soundproofed room.

"You got it."

Johnny glanced at Ronnie, who is curled into a ball and crying, before leaving the room.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Jason entered the house and after finding the living room empty, he went up to Elizabeth's room. He finds her passed out in her bed, so he takes off his clothes and slips next to her.

Once their bodies touch, Liz moans his name and her eyes flicker open.

"Hey."

Her hand slips down his naked chest. "Here to stay?"

"I'm going to get a little sleep and then go see Manny."

She sighed contently as she hugged him. "Just what I needed."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. My head hurts a little, but I'm just exhausted."

"What about Nicole?"

"She's a lot sorer, but she's hanging in there. Luella and Hector took Ari for a walk out back."

"That is nice of them to pitch in."

"I think she is compensating for Manny's help rejection."

He smiled. "Piph broke down a little, but she is fine."

"I can't blame her."

"I teased her about cheating on me."

Liz grinned. "How did she take that?"

"She doesn't seem broken over me losing my chance to break her bed."

"You better not be in her bed."

He chuckled. "Francis said something similar."

"I can't believe you two messed with him when he first woke up. Did you tell him about Diane?"

"Nope. I didn't want to ruin her moment. Where are they?"

"She had to handle some business, so they left a few hours ago. I'm sure she swamped with Francis being out of commission."

"True."

"Sleep, baby, and then I'll make sure Luella feeds you."

"Okay."

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Johnny showered and when he entered the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, a now awake Nicole groaned.

"Don't even think about it. You're hurt," he said before quickly pulling on some underwear sweats. Thankfully, he had left a bag there.

"Meany…"

He grinned and then slipped next to her. "I missed you."

"I really missed you. I was so scared."

"I'm so sorry I couldn't be there for."

"I understand and I want you to make him hurt."

He kissed her languidly before pulling back. "I love you so much."

"I love you too."

"What hurts?"

She pointed to her head and his lips quickly brushed against it.

"Everywhere…"

He pulled back the covers and growled when he saw the cuts and bruises and kissed every one of them. When she pointed to her groin area, he laughed but kissed it once before finding her lips again.

"You need to sleep," Nicole said.

"Only if you do…"

"Okay."

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Eva sat a glass of water in front of Manny who had just finished a phone call.

"Your mom texted me. She's making some food for the troops and will drop off your portion in the next half hour."

He rubbed his hands together and then drew her closer. "I love you, baby."

Every time he tells her that it makes her shiver. Looking into his eyes deeply, she licks her lips and then said, "I love you too."

He doesn't move for the longest moment.

"Did I break you?"

"You mean it?"

"Yes. I'm falling in love you and while it scares me because it's so fast, I can't deny it."

His fingers ease behind her neck and then he tugs her closer and sensuously kisses her until she is panting.

"You are killing me and we need to stop."

"As soon as I get the green light, I'm making you mine."

She briefly bit her lip. "I will hold you to that."

He smiles against her lips. "Deal."

Luella knocks on the door and then lets herself in. "I hope you are hungry, Mijo."

He smiles as he hears her clamoring in the kitchen. His father moves into the living room.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm good. Eva is taking good care of me."

Hector smiled.

"Did you eat?" Eva asked.

"No, we figured we'd eat with you. Can you make it to the dining room?" Hector asked.

"Yes. The doc said I can get up every once in a while."

"Good."

They helped him up and he slowly made his way to the bathroom and then the table.

Luella studies him with her hands on her hips. "You look pale and thin. I will fix you right up."

"What did you make?"

"Enchiladas with my special sauce, rice, and beans."

His mouth is watering. "That sounds so good."

Once he is seated, he drinks some water and then they dig in.

Eva slightly moans. "This is fabulous."

Luella grins proudly. "I knew it would put Liz and Nicole right to sleep."

Eva laughed. "Good plan, your son has done way to much already."

Manny groaned. "You can't tell on me."

Luella's eyes narrow. "You are going to eat and then take a nap. Honestly, Manny, you have always ran to fast."

"That's because Javier is faster."

Hector chuckled. "He's going to pout when he finds out what she made you."

Manny grinned. "Good. How's Mateo?"

"He's good. I think he'll visit you later. He just got back from his trip this morning."

He's looking forward to seeing his twin brother who had been on a missions trip.