A/N – Thanks for the comments! We can all agree that Andrea's father was horrible. * Liasonfan75 – No because she kissed Stefan.

Andrea's mother won't be someone significant and was never on the show.

Chapter 47

Francis finished setting up the trays. Andrea was still a little sleepy, but she did have an appetite.

"This is really good, Francis."

"Thanks."

"He's going to teach me," Sarah said.

Andrea smirked. "Good luck with that. She blew up the microwave one time."

"Mom! Must you always tell that story?"

Francis smiled.

"I'll show him the picture later."

Sarah looked mortified which just made Francis laugh. "Hey! You're supposed to be on my side."

"I am."

"Uh—huh."

Andrea really liked them together. Sarah just seemed like she was in such a better place. "Francis. Will you watch a movie with us?"

"Sure."

Sarah jumped up. "I'll have you clean up. Mom, can you make it downstairs?"

"I think so."

Francis gave them both a look. "You grab the plates," he said before scooping Andrea up. He placed her on the couch in the living room and then went to help Sarah.

"Thank you for taking care of us."

"I'm glad that you let me."

"Always."

He kissed her gently.

"I need you to kiss me like you mean it, Francis."

He studied her face for a moment and then he laid soft kisses all over it before swiping his tongue between her lips and Sarah moaned as it slipped into her mouth and caressed hers. She pressed herself up against him more tightly as he sensuously kissed her. When he finally pulled back, slightly out of breath, he noted her flushed face and lust filled eyes. "You are so beautiful."

Her breath hitched. "That was spectacular."

"I like kissing you. Will you go out on a date with me tomorrow night?"

"Yes."

"Is Italian okay?"

"Perfect."

He slightly smiled. "I'll make reservations for 6:30."

"I can't wait."

"Take a bottle of water to your mom. I'll finish up."

"Okay."

She gave him one more peck before grabbing a bottle out of the refrigerator.

Andrea smirked when she saw her daughter's face.

"What?"

"Is he a good kisser?"

"Mom!"

Andrea laughed. "What? Your father is."

"That's it, no more meds for you."

She watched as her mom took a swig. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. I just feel mentally exhausted."

Sarah went to sit, but was stopped.

"Sit on the other side so you can be next to Francis."

Sarah smiled and then got comfortable.

"I'm glad that you found a good man."

"Me too. Stefan said goodbye to me earlier. He's leaving town."

"Oh. That is probably for the best. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. He's not a bad person. Helena manipulated him. I think he's finally standing up for himself, but it's too late for us. Besides, Francis is so incredible. I never thought it could feel so right."

"You look peaceful."

"I am. All that crazy energy is gone and the dynamic between us is just so easy."

"You're not being too easy are you?"

"Mother!"

Francis fought a chuckle as he approached them.

"You are seriously hanging out too much with Grams."

"I like her. She has spunk."

"Everything okay?" he asked before getting settled.

"Yes," Sarah said.

"I was just teasing her. She's an easy target," Andrea added.

Sarah shook her head.

Andrea held her hand and then kissed it. They hadn't spent time like this in a long time. Even though her father wanted to break her with the letter, it ended up giving her time with her daughter. She smiled. As long as she had her family supporting her, she knew that everything would be okay.

Francis held Sarah's other hand and they figured out what they wanted to watch and about an hour later, the girls had nodded off and he switched the channel.

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Elizabeth tried to catch her breath. Jason had just kissed her within an inch of her life and she had loved every minute of it. They were lying on his bed, oblivious to anything going on in the rest of the house.

"It's so hard to be in control when you're around me," Jason said.

"I feel the same way. Everything is so different when I'm with you."

"I just need you to know that I love everything about you."

"You don't mind me being feistier?"

"Not at all. I have no complaints except that you're wearing too many clothes."

She grinned. "That can be remedied."

Just the naked vision of her in his head made him groan. "You're killing me. I wish we were at your apartment."

"Why?"

"Let's just say that I have a need to hear you scream my name."

She looked perplexed because she knew he would probably hurt himself if they did anything now.

"We don't need to have sex in order to do that. My mouth and hands still work."

She bit her lip as her body tingled. Her eyes narrowed and she boldly leaned closer. "So do mine."

Jason almost growled. He was going to enjoy making her knees buckle. His finger traced a swirling design as it slid up her leg as his tongue began to thrust into her mouth. Her breath hitched in her throat as his fingers swiped on the outside of her pajama bottoms, glancing against her clit. He grinned against her lips when she moaned.

"That was so not fair."

"Did it feel good, baby?"

"Very much so."

"I can make you come right now, Elizabeth. You game?"

Her eyes rolled back as he swiped against her again. "Yes! No!"

"Which is it?" he asked before kissing her neck.

"Jason, you have to stop because if I come, I'm going to scream and then your parents or Alice will run in here and I'll never be able to look at them again."

His head lifted. "Did you just say that in one breath?"

She laughed and then their eyes locked. "I'm falling in love with you Jason."

His eyes softened and he was silent for a long moment as he gazed into her eyes, getting lost in the depth of her emotions. "Your heart is safe with me. I can't imagine my life without you."

She laid little kisses all over his face. "I think I waited my whole life for you."

He took her face in his hands. "I love you. Always." He kissed her languidly savoring her plump lips as he poured his heart into it. Afterwards, she laid against him as they both rested contently.

"Did you give anymore thought to where you want to go on vacation?" Liz asked.

"I was thinking somewhere on the water."

"I like the beach."

"And I think I'll really like seeing you in a bikini again."

She sighed contently.

"What are you thinking?"

"That I can't wait until all the drama is over with the trial and my mom so things will get back to normal."

"Well, if they don't, we have each other."

She smiled. "Always."

"I like the sound of that."

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Epiphany stood on the scale and waited. The whole hospital was abuzz because she had come in for a checkup.

Jolene noted the number and then looked up at Epiphany before jotting it down. "That's fifty pounds."

Piph smiled. "I know I didn't lose it in the healthiest way, but I already feel a lot better with it gone."

"Just be careful. Are you eating?"

"Yes, mom."

"Just checking. I can't have my favorite boss ever wasting away."

"That will never happen. I want to lose a little more, but I promise it will be the right way."

"If you want, when you get your stamina back, I wouldn't mind walking around the park with you."

"Thank you Jolene. I will take you up on that. I had planned to walk during my break."

"Alright, it's a date."

Piph entered the exam room and Jolene handed her a gown and winked. It was the next size down and it made Epiphany feel good that she could get into it. "Thank you." Normally, she didn't really care about her weight, but almost dying just put things in a different perspective. It made her want to be healthier so she could be around longer.

Patrick and Amelia walked in.

"Hey guys."

Amelia grinned. "It's great to see your smiling face around here. I think everyone is depressed without you."

"I can walk around and yell at people on my way out."

"That would be awesome."

Patrick got her to lay back. "You ready?"

"Yup."

They did several tests, making sure her reactions were normal then she was sent for a scan. Afterwards, Patrick and Amelia analyzed it.

"You are doing so well. The swelling is really starting to go down."

"You think I can come back to work soon? I've been walking a lot more this week."

"Well, if you stay out for another week, I think we can bring you in part time at first. It will be quite a while before you're totally healed, but I know that you're not willing to stay out of work that long," Patrick said.

"Okay. What kind of restrictions will have?"

"No lifting anything heavy. You'll have to watch bending over and picking things up because of the dizziness. Your stamina took a big hit, but once you start getting back into your routine, I think your body will start to respond accordingly," Amelia said. "The most important thing is to not overdo it. You know your limitations, so you'll need to make sure you pay attention to them."

"Alright." She was beyond happy that she would get to be more active. "Patrick, can I speak with Amelia alone please?"

"Sure," he said before giving her a quick peck. "I'll meet you at the nurse's desk."

"Okay."

He left and Piph fixed Amelia with her stare. "Spill it. How are you really doing?"

Amelia plopped into a chair. "Honestly, I'm having nightmares and every time I walk through the lobby, I feel sick to my stomach, but I'm alive. Katherine wasn't so lucky."

"Are you talking to anyone?"

"No."

"Why not?"

She shrugged. "What is there to say? It happened and it sucked. Over time, the nightmares will level out."

"You hope."

Amelia closed her eyes. "I'll get through this somehow. At least I got a new friend out of the experience."

Piph's head tiled. "Who?"

"Johnny. We ran into each other at Vista Pointe. He thought I was going to hurt myself and went all caveman on me."

Now this was an interesting development. "And why did he think that?"

"I was sitting on the rail of the bridge."

Epiphany's eyes bulged. "What?"

"Relax. I wasn't trying to hurt myself. I was deep in thought. He scared the crap out of me."

"Go on."

"Nothing much left to tell. We talked and got some feelings out and then just chilled for a long time. I don't think I've ever been that quiet before when another person was with me. It was very calming."

PIph smirked.

"What? It's not like that. The funeral is going to be rough on him."

"Then we'll all support him. He's a good guy."

"I just hope that the surgery worked and Kylie won't have to suffer anymore."

"I agree. Johnny is going to be in a world of hurt when she leaves."

Amelia let out a heavy sigh. "Enough about my crappy life. How are you and Patrick?"

Piph grinned. "We're good. It was something that was unexpected, yet made the sense at the same time. He's good to me."

"You deserve it. He's a lucky man."

"I keep telling him that."

Amelia chuckled. "He's a little hard headed."

"You think?"

"Get dressed. He's probably going crazy right now."

Jeff accidentally walked into the wrong room. Luckily, Piph was covered up completely. "Hey!"

Piph grinned. "You look happy. How are you?"

'Wonderful. My marriage is back on track. I just have to get Elizabeth married off to Jason, Sarah to Francis, and then get Steven hitched to Emily and I'm good. And don't even get me started on Audrey."

Piph made a face. "You got some good gossip for me?"

He groaned. "We'll have to do lunch soon."

"I'm down for that."

"I'm really glad you're doing better."

"Me too."

They left and PIph got dressed and went to meet Patrick.

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Kylie finished coloring and looked over at Jason. Johnny had to go into work, so Jason had offered to sit with her. "That's really good."

Jason slightly smiled. "You're a good liar."

She laughed. "Well, I like it."

"Well then, you can keep it."

"Don't want to hang it up on your refrigerator?"

"No, but I'll hang yours."

She grinned. "Okay. Do you think my auntie can see me?"

"I hope so. I always feel like my mom is watching over me."

"She's in heaven too?"

"Yes."

"Maybe she is with my auntie and Elizabeth's little girl."

"That's a nice thought."

Danielle was across the room listening. It was good that Kylie was talking about Katherine.

"I'm going to miss Johnny."

"That's because he loves you. I'm sure that he'll visit you."

"I wanted him to be my dad."

Jason put down his crayons. "Well, he can still be your friend, right?"

She nodded.

Danielle wiped a tear away. "I will do better, baby. It's just going to be you and me and that is enough."

Kylie looked over at her mom. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"See, everything is going to be okay," Jason said.

"Dr. Steven said that you have to think positively."

"That's good advice."

"He said I could go back to Johnny's house tomorrow."

Danielle cleared her throat. "We've going to stay there for a week so that we can make sure that she is stable and then go back home."

"We'll make sure to visit. Maybe we can have dinner one night."

"I would like that."

Jason thought Kylie was so cute. "What's your favorite food?"

"Um….ice cream."

"I see. That's a dessert. What about for dinner?"

She colored as she thought. "Um…. I liked grilled cheese sandwiches. My mom cuts off the crusts. I also like pizza."

"What kind?"

"Cheese and pepperoni."

"Okay, it's settled. We'll have a pizza and ice cream night."

Kylie was excited. "You're making me hungry."

Danielle was glad to hear that because Kylie hadn't been eating a lot.

"I can get you a grilled cheese from the cafeteria," Danielle said.

"Thanks mom."

"I'll be right back."

She left and Kylie put her crayon down. "You think my mom will be okay?"

"I think so because she loves you and wants to make you happy."

"My dad made her sick."

"He did, but she's getting help now."

Amelia walked slowly into the room. "Hi. I came to check on you."

Kylie was glad to see her. "I'm sorry I got upset with you."

"I know you didn't mean it."

"Mommy said you helped with my surgery. Thanks."

"Any time, but let's hope that you'll never need it again."

Jason helped her clean up her stuff and then got up. "I'll stop in before I leave."

Kylie smiled. "Thanks."

Amelia watched as Kylie's eyes tracked Jason. "You like him?"

Kylie nodded. "I'm going to marry him when I get bigger."

"I see. What about Elizabeth?"

"She can live with us."

Amelia chuckled. "That's very nice of you."

"Who do you want to marry?"

"I don't know yet."

Amelia did some tests and was very satisfied with Kylie's progress. They were interrupted by Danielle. "Dinner is served."

"I was just finished up. I'll you two later."

"Bye Amelia," Kylie said as she watched her mom grab the tray.

"Bye Sweetie."