A/N: Sorry about the lateness! A one shot popped in my head and then I wasn't sure where this chapter was going yet. But now I do. I'm also sorry it's so short, (it's actually my least favorite chapter that I've written) but it's more of a lead up to the next chapter. That and I'm also working on Ch. 2 of Pain since ya'll talked me into continuing it! LOL Enjoy!

Chapter 11: A Date?

"Listen," Trevor said into the phone, "Johnny is beyond distracted. He's too focused on the Spencer girl to keep his head in the game."

"So what do you want me to do," the voice on the other end said.

"First thing's first. Did you get in touch with her?"

"A few days ago. She should be in Port Charles later today."

"Good, good. She should help Johnny focus himself."

"What about the girl?"

"I'm not sure yet. Scope her out. Shadow her. Find out what her routine is. How much of it revolves around Johnny. If she's too much in his life, we're going to have to take her out."

"You want me to kill her?"

Trevor thought for a minute. "No, not yet. She might be useful in persuading Johnny to do what he's told. Report back to me at the end of the week and we'll go from there. When the time comes, we'll grab her and hide her where he can't find her. And we'll make it seem like Corinthos is behind it. It'll be perfect."

"Yes sir."

"Good. Get back to me when you have some information."

Trevor hung up the phone. If Johnny was going to insist on not following the rules, they were going to have to lean on him a little. Trevor would be the head of the Zacchara organization if it was the last thing he did.

The first thing Carly noticed when Johnny and Lulu entered the Metro Court was not that they were together, but that Johnny looked like he got hit by a truck.

"What the hell happened to you," she asked walking up to the both of them.

"Well, as you know, I was planning on breaking up with Logan yesterday."

"'Was planning'? Did you go through with it?"

Lulu nodded and held up her bandaged wrist. "He didn't like it."

"Oh my god, sweetie," Carly said, grabbing her shoulders and patting her down like a mother hen to make sure she wasn't injured anywhere else. "Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere else?" Johnny smirked at the scene.

"I'm fine, Carly," Lulu replied, pushing her arms away. "Thanks to Johnny that is. He also prevented Georgie from getting hurt worse than she did. She tried to get Logan away from me and he wound up pushing her down and she hit her head."

"So you saved Lulu and Georgie, but got the hell beat out of you instead?"

"Nah," Johnny replied. "I only got a few stitches in my head and a banged up knee. According to Scott, who wanted to have me arrested for beating up his son, Logan has a broken nose, 3 broken ribs, 15 stitches and 2 black eyes."

"Not to mention a split lip and a tooth knocked out," Lulu added with a grin. "What," she said when Johnny stared at her. "Spinelli hacked into the GH computer system for me. I even printed out the report for posterity."

Carly nodded in approval. "Nice job," she said looking at him. "I knew I liked you for a reason."

"You like Johnny?" Lulu was amazed Even after their discussion the other day, she was sure the older girl wasn't that fond of him.

"He grew on me," she replied, with a shrug.

"Okay, at this point, nothing will cease to amaze me!" She turned to Johnny. "Can we go eat now? I'm starving!"

"Why don't you go grab a table," Carly said, steering Lulu towards the dining room. "I want to have a word with your boy over here."

Lulu gave her an I don't think so look. Carly just rolled her eyes and said, "Don't worry. I won't bite, I promise. Go," she stated with a little push.

As soon as they were alone, Carly turned to Johnny and said, "Okay. Spill."

"What?"

"Yesterday morning you were begging me to help keep her away from you. Now? You went from snarling at her to walking in here with her? What's going on?"

"A very smart person told me that life was unpredictable and to quit worrying about the 'what ifs'. I'm taking her advice. And I already feel freer than I did before."

"What about the danger caused by your line of work? I'm familiar with it, don't forget."

"Yes, and so is Lulu. I'm beginning to think she's safer with me than without."

"What makes you say that?"

"I'm more worried about the Logans and Text Message Killers of the world than people in my business. I mean, what would have happened to her if I wasn't there to stop him yesterday?"

Suddenly, Carly flung herself at Johnny and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you."

"Um…" he said, awkwardly patting her back. "What for?"

"For not making me not be in the middle."

"Middle of what?"

Carly pulled back with a smile on her face. "You and Lulu."

"Yeah. Still not understanding."

"Lulu asked me to help her break past whatever you were doing to keep her away. You asked me to make sure I helped keep Lulu away from you. But you both solved it on your own. I didn't have to do anything!" She made a noise that was a mix between a sigh and a giggle. "So thank you," she said, spreading her arms wide. "I'm free! I feel so much better now."

"Excuse me, Mrs. Jacks," one of the hotel attendants interrupted. "Mr. Jacks is on the phone for you."

"Okay, thank you," she replied. As she walked away, she looked over her should and said, "By the way, Johnny, don't hurt her. I don't want to have to kill you myself." Johnny just stared at her as she walked away. Carly Jacks was certainly an interesting woman.

When he got to the table, Lulu was waiting for him. "What was that all about?"

"Carly just wanted to thank me for saving you from Logan."

"And she hugged you? For that?" Johnny gave her a look. "What? I could see you from over here, you know."

"What can I say? She likes me now. Be happy."

Lulu slid closer to him and puts her hand on his leg. She looked into his eyes and noticed that they are brighter than they've been in a long time. "I am happy. Extremely happy."

"Yeah," he replied, almost with awe in his voice. "I am too. I thought that keeping you away would be the most important thing – that knowing you wouldn't be hurt would be enough to keep me happy. But being alone – it just made me miserable."

"What about now?"

"Now – now there are no words to describe how I feel. And I wouldn't want it any other way." He leaned in to give her a soft kiss.

"Well," Lulu replied after the broke apart, "it's about time you came to your senses." She grew teary again. "I was planning on fighting tooth and nail to get you, but after tonight…I thought I was going to have to let you go for good."

"Even if you did, I don't think I could have stayed away."

Her eyes twinkled at that admission. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Because I never know what to expect when I'm with you. I never know what I'm going to get on any given day. You're stubborn, rebellious –"

"Hello," Lulu interrupted, "says the pot to the kettle!"

"I wasn't finished. Where was I? Ah, yes. Pigheaded, nosy –"

"Hey! These are not good things, you know."

"Smart, caring, trusting and beautiful," he finished. "And those are all the bits I like."

"Yeah, well, you better like all those parts," she grumbled, blushing a bit. She scooted in closer and Johnny put his arm around her shoulders.

"I think my life is going to be very interesting with you in it, Lulu Spencer," he stated, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here," a voice questioned.

Johnny and Lulu were so engrossed in each other that they never noticed the person walk over to their table. Johnny looked up, irritated that the romantic mood had been broken. He was about to make a nasty retort until he saw who the person actually was. Confused and a bit shocked, he slid away from Lulu and slowly hobbled to stand up.

"Claudia?!"