Chapter 3
Johnny pretended to be asleep as Georgie cried. He didn't get her, she methodically set him and his company up to be destroyed on flimsy evidence, yet he had seen her with others, he had thought he knew her. The idea of this baby, that he could be following in his parents footsteps, chilled him to the bone.
His mother Maria had been a neighbor of his father's growing up, he had been almost ten years older and had barely known the younger woman in spite of way their mothers had been best friends. Maria had gone off to Port Charles to attend nursing school, living in the dorms while his father had been building his business, one store, and one building at a time.
When she had turned twenty-four, she had suddenly abandoned nursing, telling her family that it wasn't for her and giving in to his mother's pleas, Anthony had hired the bright and charming woman. They had fallen in love, gotten married and then had him; at least that was what his father had always believed.
A year and half ago; the bottom had fallen out of his father's dreams when his mother had left a note then gone to commit suicide in another man's house. He could still recall the note that his father hadn't wanted him to read, it had been all about regrets and how she wished her son had never been created; that it had tied her to a man she didn't love for the rest of her life...
That she had ended that life had created a hole in Johnny's heart as well as his fathers. They had been shocked at first to find out she had done so in the house of the Port Charles Police Commissioner. They had done some checking, the commissioner and his mother had been serving on a few committees together, but on the surface it hadn't seemed to go any further than that.
Then Johnny had found the parking tickets written on his mother's old car in front of the Scorpio residence, long before he was born. He had talked to a nurse at GH, heard all about how when they were nursing students, Maria had been dropped off at that house several times after partying by her fellow nurses and he had known that something had happened in the past with them.
He had been furious on his father's behalf; but had agreed to let it go until he had been helping pack up his mother's things and had found the first half of a letter, with a return address to the Scorpio house. In the letter, Mac had told her that he would make her life hell if she stayed in Port Charles. That it had been fun while it lasted but that he was done and marrying the woman he loved, that he was adopting her daughters.
Johnny had been upset on his mother's behalf, in spite of everything, she was his mother. He had gotten the Mayor to fire Scorpio by threatening to have Lansing write an article about the close connections between him and the Quartermaines and Spencers.
Hearing Georgie moan, he saw her turn into him and curl up. As his hand pushed her hair off her face, he looked down and felt pain. How could he still be in love with this woman? Knowing what he did and that she had used him hurt him as bad as his mother had been hurt by her dad.
His father refused to see it, saying there had to be more to the story, everyone kept saying that, but Johnny didn't see it. He knew there was no conspiracy; real life wasn't like that. Generally, things were what they seemed.
Watching out the window, seeing the dawn starting to arrive, he placed his hand on her belly and was sick to acknowledge that in spite of the pain in his future, in spite of knowing his heart would be broken yet again, he hoped this was his child. He would have a part of the woman he had thought she was.
Knowing he couldn't stay, that he would be doing something stupid like offering her his heart, Johnny got dressed and went to find Spinelli. He had to have the proof the geek was sending to him, he had lied to Georgie, telling her he already had it, but all he had had was the list she had created, the map to destroy him.
Calling Morgan Enterprises at eight from his office, he was annoyed to be told that Damien Spinelli was out of the country inspecting potential bridge sights with Francis Corelli. Sitting down at his computer, he tried to open the file yet again, but it still was refusing to do so.
Ethan entered the room and said "I took care of Spencer, here are the contracts."
Watching his boss for a few minutes, he asked. "What has you so frustrated?"
"I can't open this file." he stated then watched as the con man moved to his side of the desk.
"I ran a con once where I pretended to be a computer dot com millionaire, so I spent some time learning this kind of stuff, to impress the woman. Let me work on it."
Pushing back in his chair, Johnny said. "Have at it."
Meanwhile Georgie had woken up. Looking around, she was again surprised by the room; it wasn't some ostentatious overly decorated mess or an overtly masculine abode. There were shades of pale greens, blues and some browns mixed in with solid furniture, not a lot of things tossed around, but one that stopped her in her tracks.
Looking at the picture, she once again had the same thought she had had when she first saw Maria Zachara's obit photo, that she knew the woman. At least a slightly younger version, but she didn't know where from. Needing to relive herself, the bathroom was pretty much everything she had ever dreamed about in a bathroom minus the faceless dream man who waited on her every desire.
With a soft chuckle and a shake of her head, she quickly showered, not sure where Johnny was and needing to not be naked when he returned. Dressing, she headed down the hallway, finding the nursery, she stopped a bit put off to realize he wasn't kidding but then she thought about it. How could he get this room decorated literally overnight?
Down the stairs, she looked through the room, she could almost feel comfortable and at home here if it wasn't for this man who she had only one real memory of. She knew she had slept with him, but what had caused her to do so. Hearing a pounding on the door, she looked around then decided to answer it.
Seeing Lucky Spencer, she sneered at the jerk. "What are you doing here and what do you want?"
"You had better keep your damn mouth shut about what we were doing, do you hear me?" he asked sweating and pushing his way in. Spencer Industries was in deep trouble and if that bastard Zachara decided to come after them, they would not be able to keep him from stealing the company away. "Remember, I know things. Things that would send that bitch of a sister of yours to jail. So shut your trap."
"I would suggest you get out of my home." she retorted, opening the door after he had tried to close it. "Now leave and Lucky... remember I know your secret, too." she said then when he had glared at her, she stopped frozen. Then out loud she asked herself. "What secrets? What do I know about Lucky Spencer that is worse than sleeping with a hooker and calling her Mommy?"
Johnny got the message from the guard shack and was determined to have a talk with his wife. That bastard Spencer was not welcome in his house. As he was getting ready to leave the office, Ethan said. "Ah-ah."
"What?" snarled the Italian.
"I got it. This computer guy, the one who sent this to you, used Australian code, but now a days, most of the computer cafes use American. I transferred it, do you want me to print this report."
Debating, Johnny decided to have all the evidence when he confronted his wife and sat down and started to read as the computer printed the report. At first he was confused, and then he saw the title and then finally the date.
The last part was a memo from Spinelli outlining that while Georgie HAD written the report, it had been for a class assignment in Ethics and Economics. Finding the teachers comments, and that she had been graded an A-, Johnny felt sick as the rest of it was read.
By the time he finished, he knew that Georgie had been trying to cover for her sister. Thinking back on what Morgan had told him, he swore he would shake the blond until she told him the truth. Maxie Jones had let her little sister give up everything important to her to save her own rear. And more than likely had tossed her sister under a bus to save her ex-lover, Lucky Spencer.
Absently answering his ringing phone, he thanked Morgan and said. "I want to be there when this goes down."
Turning to Ethan, he stated "I need you to keep an eye on Maxie Jones, then tell me who she talks to and where she goes. Leave nothing out, even if you think it is inconsequential."
Nodding, Ethan left as Johnny reread the report, and sat there silently trying to figure out what the conversation at the Metrocourt with Lucky had been about as well as her anger with him. If she really hadn't been faking everything, how and why had she been so angry with him?
Getting the call from the lab, he nodded unseen by the caller and quietly hung up. He was going to be a father in twenty-one weeks, or rather a little over five and a half months. As he added that to the other data he had found out, Johnny just felt sick. Hearing a disembodied voice over the intercom, he sat there until she repeated the message.
"Sir, there is a Dr. Collins on the phone, he said you called him." announced his secretary.
Answering it, he listened to the man's report and said. "What caused the amnesia?"
As the man described the swelling on the brain that had caused the original problems and stated that now it was pretty much her mind protecting her from something, Johnny hung up murmuring to himself. "Something like finding you are pregnant with the child of the man you think killed your father. A man you hate."
Banging his head on his desk, Johnny stood knowing he had some thinking to do and that this was the last place he would find any answers. Taking his phone with him, he made the necessary arrangements for the con on Spencer to take place, before heading over to GH; sure he would find his wife there.
Walking across the lobby, he saw her being hugged by her former nanny and her sister and while part of him wanted to stay away, he had to make sure that they knew things had changed. "Hello."
There was an awkward silence then Maxie glared at him and said. "Please go away; this is a private family moment."
Looking at his pale wife, Johnny saw she wasn't wearing her ring and found he took savage pleasure in reaching for her hand and saying. "Well since Georgie and I got married last night, doesn't that include me?"
Maxie's shrieks drew the attention of most people on the floor, but when she slapped him across the face, he was surprised that Georgie reached out and grabbed her sister's hand and said. "Stop it; that is more than enough. Johnny, I will see you later. Maxie, if you can't respect my wishes and or my marriage, you need to at least respect that he is the father of my child."
The blond stood there, her mouth moving but no words coming out. Epiphany looked between the two of them and sensed some sort of shift in both of them so she took the resisting blond and said. "You agreed to let it be, that you were going to stay out of your sister's life. Now stop this."
"But he-" she started to protest but found herself on the elevator and swept up to the tenth floor.
"Enough, Maxie. We both know he isn't the man responsible for Mac dying, so let it go. Anything else, well you did your best to help cause that mess." glared Epiphany before she ordered the blond to her real job. "And don't forget you have to be here to volunteer this afternoon as part of the deal with me."
Downstairs, Johnny thanked Georgie for defending him, but she stopped him.
Holding up her hand, she said "I didn't do it for you. I did it for this baby. He or she doesn't deserve to listen to her family tearing each other apart. Now, I don't know what happened and I had a visit from Lucky Spencer today that does give me some idea as to why you hate me, but right now, I don't care. I have an appointment with my obstetrician; do you want to come with me?"
Reaching out, Johnny stopped her forward movement and said. "May I?"
Cross from crying earlier and more than a little tired, she said. "Yes and you can buy me some lunch at Kelly's afterwards, I am craving a double-decker burger with the works and an order of chili with a side of fries and maybe yum, a brownie for dessert."
"What floor?"
"Six." she said as he pressed the right button. "Where were you this morning; I need to get here for my appointment. The cab driver wasn't happy to come out that far to get me."
"There are five different cars with keys hanging by the doorway in the garage, why would you take a taxi?" he asked astonished.
"First, those are your cars and I didn't want to just take one of them." she said with a glare. "No matter what you may think, I am not a thief."
"Georgie, we are married, they are your cars too." he replied then saw her expression at what she would see as a sudden about face and knew he had to be careful. He was sure that Spencer had someone watching them, how else would he have known they had gotten married? He didn't want the man to get worried and come after Georgie if he grew desperate enough. "And number two?"
Seeing her confusion, he said. "You said first, that implies there are more reasons."
"Oh, they more than likely all have airbags. Those are dangerous when you are pregnant and need to be deactivated before I can drive them." she said walking into Kelly Lee's office. "Georgie Jones, I have an appointment."
"Zachara." he announced quietly. "Remember, getting married?"
Glaring at him, she said. "Is that a dig about my amnesia supposedly being fake?"
Walking to grin at her pissed off attitude but knowing that this wasn't the place to clear the air, he said. "No, that was because we only got married, last night. Remember?"
"How could I forget?" she said acidly. Looking at the stunned medical assistant she said. "No a word, do you understand me."
Well aware they were the new owners of the hospital; she pretended to zip her lips then winked at Georgie as she led her into the room. "Don't worry; we deal with hormonal women snapping at husbands all the time. Trust me, they all deserve it."
Johnny was wondering about firing the woman when she made a point of asking if he had filled out the father's medical background papers, following her back out while Georgie changed into a gown, he was stopped by the nosy woman who said. "A word of advice that I give all fathers, until she gives birth, she is always right. If you have little fights now and then, remember what the baby is doing to her hormones and body."
After listening to Georgie's doctor warn her to keep her blood pressure down, to eat healthy and that she should avoid stress, Johnny escorted her to Kelly's and watched as she sadly ordered a salad and a grilled chicken sandwich. When she added milk to it, he ordered but was glared at. "What?"
"You are a cruel and sadistic bastard." she said getting up in a huff and fleeing to the bathroom. Not sure what had set her off; he sent the waitress to the kitchen and waited for his wife to return. Seeing Morgan's new wife come in with him, he asked her to check on Georgie as their food had arrived.
"She is pregnant and with her missing memories..." he said then saw Elizabeth glare at him as he hungrily took a bit of his burger. Turning to Morgan he asked what that was about.
Shrugging, he ordered two burgers and fries only for his returning wife to grin at Johnny while shaking her head and say. "You really are clueless, aren't you?"
Glaring at the petite woman, he saw her point to the order on the table. "BP, was this what she would have ordered?"
"BP?" he asked feeling lost.
"Before pregnancy?" she asked then saw him shaking his head no. "Then what on earth made you think it was a good idea to sit across from a woman forced to eat healthy and eat that?"
Looking down at his burger then the salad and chicken, he said wryly. "Well at least it isn't about that she thinks I killed her dad."
Rolling her eyes, Elizabeth gathered an upset Georgie as she came out and snagging her purse suggested the Jones girl come with her.
"What about her food, Dr. Lee wants her to eat healthy." protested Johnny as he stood and seemed to be on autopilot as he kissed her goodbye to her shock.
Georgie was in front of him, wanting to say something when she had a memory flash. She was at the Metrocourt and had smashed a plate of pasta in the smug face of the man in front of her. Feeling pain in her head, she reached up to cradle it then was dizzy before starting to fall back.
Johnny caught his wife, shocked as she said. "I bet the wine didn't come out of that white fine linen shirt did it?"
Looking down, he saw she was unconscious then a red head woman he had frequently seen at the hospital, pushed her way through and checked on Georgie. "C'mon, Georgie, wake up sweetie. Carry her up to room four, it is unlocked."
When the red head joined them, he was getting ready to call the hospital only for her to stop him. "She is regaining memories. Patrick Drake was worried about this, combined with the pregnancy. The best thing for her is sleep right now."
Bobbie looked up at the Zachara heir and said. "My guess is that you weren't told the reason Maxie took her to Texas was that they were concerned remembering would spike her blood pressure and send her into premature labor."
Sitting down, stunned as he recalled the fights of the last two days, he said in a flat tone of voice, "No, no one told me."
"I was her mother Felicia's birth coach. Frisco had taken off. I was the first person to hold this little girl. Then when Felicia died so soon after their marriage and Mac fell apart, I was the one who convinced him to hire Epiphany."
Bobbie said. "Georgie was kidnapped as a baby, and she survived. She was riding on a motorcycle with Dillon Quartermaine, they hit a slick road. She was thrown off it, she survived."
"There were other incidents, each of them convinced her that it meant she had to live a good life, an honest life. Georgie lost her cousins, both of them, her father, her mother, her adopted father. All she has left is Maxie."
Johnny asked. "Is that why she protects her sister like she does? That doesn't help the blond, she doesn't learn from her mistakes if Georgie is always there to prop her up."
"You are going to have to come to terms with the fact that Georgie carries a lot of guilt for things that aren't her fault. This memory loss... well I am sure that this loss is connected to that."
"Why are you telling me?" he asked his eyes scanning the woman, he knew she was a Spencer by birth, what was she up to.
"I know things, I hear things... just take good care of her." she said softly. "Georgie has a heart as big as Texas, don't stomp on it. Whatever you think she did, she didn't do it."
Wanting to tell her he knew, he saw his wife waking up and edged up off of the bed.
"Don't go." she said reaching out for him. "Take me home, please?"
Georgie woke up alone in the bed she was sharing with her husband, her mind racing from her dreams. She saw herself signing papers, upset at losing the ranch.
As she came to grips with that idea that yes, she HAD been the one to hurt his company, Georgie laid there and wondered. Were the feelings she had for Johnny real or where they the result of her amnesia?
Heading downstairs she saw Johnny in the study reading a book and just walked past to the kitchen. Getting some juice, she realized she was hungry and that she should call Elizabeth Morgan back. Talking to the older woman, she laughed as she hung up the phone.
"What's so funny?" he asked leaning against the door.
"Nothing much, just Elizabeth's son, Jake just put his hand in his oatmeal that reached for his dad." she said trying to imagine Jason Morgan's reaction.
"Have you got a few minutes?" he asked, once they were seated he said. "We need to figure out where we go from here."
Taking a deep breath, she sat down and said. "Then tell me."
"No, we need to do this together." he said then asked. "Your sister, visit with her all you want but not here. Epiphany, I don't care either way. Same with anyone else whose last name isn't Spencer. Do you want me to visit my dad at his place or is he welcome?"
"I don't know your dad and this is your house." she pointed out.
"Yours too." he replied.
"Only until our baby is born, remember?" she said bitterly wishing she knew more about their past.
"Look, I am sorry about that. I was angry and struck out at you and there are no words I can say except to apologize for them. I want us to stay together, to be a family." he said wishing he dared tell her everything but the warnings from Dr. Collins and Bobbie Spencer made him leery of endangering her or their baby.
A bit flustered at the monumental change in attitude, she was even more astonished when he pulled a file out. "My dad hired someone to decorate for us, if you want to change things... there are accounts at Wyndhams, and some credit cards for you."
"I don't want your money." she protested as he tried to hand her the bank book and cards.
"If you want to spend your money on you, fine, but when the items are for our child, we take it out of these, okay?" he retorted then felt pissed with himself as she seemed to shut down. "Look, I am new at this, can we just try to work together?"
A bit mulishly, she agreed with his suggestion, then started to protest again when he said. "We have a maid who comes in every other day. There is a list by the desk in the kitchen, she picked up the stuff from the store while running errands. Be specific on brands, so she can get the right items."
"I am quite capable of going to the supermarket." she said only for him to remind her that she was pregnant and shouldn't be doing any lifting. "Okay, for now, but I reserve the right to change that one after our baby is born."
"Agreed, there are keys to the various cars in the garage and I have a mechanic coming to take them one at a time to install that switch for the air bags. And your car is at the shop right now."
"What's wrong with my jeep?" she asked then winced as she recalled the photo she had seen in the paper of her poor jeep meeting the armored truck. "I forgot. I have to go and pick out a new used one."
"Georgie, I am quite sure that you can find something in that garage you would like to drive, plus they all have GPS and we are already having the air bags disarmed."
Starting to open her mouth, Georgie thought about it and let that one go. She had been planning on having one installed herself anyhow.
"We have to discuss bedrooms. Right now, we have two bedrooms decorated besides the nursery. But one is on the first floor and I don't like that just in case you need something in the middle of the night, so we share... for now." In truth, he just wanted to sleep with her, holding her during the night gave him a sense of belonging, something he had lost when his mother had died.
"Are you still going to take the bar at the end of the year?" he asked.
Looking at him, she said with a sigh. "I have been studying but I am missing my memories of my last semester. I will probably look at it as a practice test then attempt it again in the Spring."
Johnny wanted to remind her that she didn't have to work, but he shut up knowing how much being a lawyer meant to her. "We have one more thing to discuss. I don't want anyone outside of us to know the truth about our reunion, okay?"
"Reunion?" she asked then was shocked as she felt the need to laugh. "See, you need to remember, I don't have the faintest clue what went on last time. Like... where did we meet?"
"Your doctors want you to remember on your own." he said regretfully then asked. "Are you hungry, do you want me to make you something to eat?"
For Georgie, it was a strange evening. Johnny had made them some dinner, they spent the evening discussing everything but their past in spite of how many times she brought it up. When she had gone to get ready for bed, she was once again disconcerted on how easy and comfortable she felt as they fell asleep next to each other.
Waking up the next morning, Georgie saw Johnny was still asleep and that they were curled up next to each other, but whereas her arms were around his waist, his were buried under his pillow. Slipping of the bed quietly, Georgie hurried to shower, needing to get away from the feelings she was having for him.
When he entered the bathroom, looking cranky and in need of a shave, as he asked her to hand him a washcloth. Doing so, she silently hurried back into the bedroom, sitting on the bed as she had yet another memory. This one of being naked in a bed with Johnny handing her a washcloth.
Blushing as she recalled the blood she had rinsed away, she couldn't help wondering how many times they had made love. At least she now remembered at least part of the night where she had lost her virginity.
In the bathroom, Johnny was shivering as he turned off the cold water. He had been awake when Georgie had slipped out of bed. He had woken up minutes before she started to stir and had quickly removed his hands from where they had been and buried them in the pillows.
Dressing and getting ready for the day, he stopped in the kitchen and saw Georgie talking to the maid about fruit. Kissing his wife, he knew he had to stop that from becoming a habit when she frowned at him then went to the drawer for a knife.
Cutting up her fruit, Georgie watched as Johnny ate some toast and drank some coffee. "What are you plans today?"
"Elizabeth invited me over to meet Jake." she said. "Do you know which car was returned yesterday."
His mind went to the cars and said. "The black Mercedes Coupe."
Rolling her eyes she asked. "You don't have a nice simple Chevy or Dodge I can drive? Haven't you ever heard of buying American?"
Hiding his eyes as he struggled with the urge to laugh at the reminder of his Georgie, he said. "The Coupe is better on gas. I thought you were worried about greenhouse gases and our dependance on oil?"
"Fine, I will drive the stupid Mercedes." she said pouting. "But can't we get me a less expensive car to drive that is good on gas."
"Once you have the baby, wouldn't you rather drive the CL600, it is five star safety rated." he told her then giving her a quick kiss he fled the house before she could reply.
Georgie picked up the phone and called him as he was pulling out of the garage. Answering it without looking at the id, he chuckled as she said "I really hate how you always have to have the last word."
Johnny spent the day dismantling the now crumbling Spencer estate with Jason who was quiet even for him. When the blond finally opened up, he was a bit surprised at what he had to say. "So what now?"
"I am going to add the parts that are compatible with my own company, eliminating the ELQ brand. I. Ned inherited the media company, in spite of the way Edward phrased it, AJ received the food division. But I can't sell the pharmaceutical division until after all the lawsuits for the Enduro mishaps are dealt with."
Grimacing, Johnny admitted. "I used them."
Jason thought about it then said. "The baby you and Georgie are expecting? I wonder if that is why she came to see Edward the day she had the accident."
"What?" Johnny asked in shock.
"His assistant said Georgie showed up, pissed off and then after looking for Dillon, gave Edward a piece of her mind. She then whispered something to him and then slammed out of here after what the assistant termed a lively debate between them."
Jason went to the window and said. "The accident, was right there." he said pointing out the still dented sculpture. "Georgie was hit by the truck and then the truck plowed her into the that stupid excuse for art."
Seeing the accident in his head, Johnny was feeling sick so he almost missed what Jason said. "Wait, what?"
"Edward, the old buzzard changed his will that day and he mentioned giving Georgie the stock in it. So he was worried about something, why else would he have given in so quickly."
"Do you suppose it is connected to the Spencer mess?" asked Johnny only for Jason to give a quick chuckle then say "No, Edward was too cunning to be involved with them on something like this."
Meanwhile Georgie had spent part of the morning with Elizabeth before heading to her house. She needed to talk to Maxie. Arriving she was wandering from room to room when she felt the need to sit down. Something was bothering her, the feeling like there was something she should know.
Hearing a knock on the door, she looked through the peephole and saw Laura Spencer and moved back quietly. She didn't want to get into another discussion about her daughter with the blond woman but was shocked when she realized that Laura was unlocking the door.
Wondering how the woman had a key, Georgie went to the broom closet then spied on the woman as she went straight for the attic. Following her silently, Georgie hide in the small space off the door and watched as she searched the trunks for something.
"It has to be here." she was muttering as she opened trunk after trunk then finally gave up. Double checking to make sure that the older woman wouldn't see her, Georgie took a few photos with the old camera on the shelf behind her while the blond threw a hissy fit.
When she had left, Georgie felt nervous about the way the blond had entered and called a locksmith then Johnny. "I know we were going to have lunch, but can we make it dinner. There is something I have to do."
A bit unhappy, he agreed desperately wanting to ask what was going on but knowing he didn't want to crowd her. Heading to his own office, he took care of a little business then restlessly got up to wander the halls where he saw his father talking to Ethan and asked. "Well, how did it go?"
"Ship will sink on the way into the harbor." said Anthony. "Our crew will be safe and sound while the money that the Spencers invested in the diamonds will be lost."
"Good. Ethan, I thought I put you on trailing Maxie Jones?" he asked the Aussie.
"She is at GH, I had something to report, so I called that Max guy who heads security and had him assign someone so that I could tell you what I found." he said grimly. "While Maxie wasn't doing anything suspicious, there was someone who was."
"I saw Luke Spencer at GH, breaking into the personnel files from years and years ago. Then when he cursed and didn't find whatever it was he was looking for, he stopped in to see a patient." Then looking at his notes said. "A woman named Audrey Hardy who has been with the hospital since it started. Her husband was the first Chief of Staff. He was harassing her about some former nurses."
"Did you get names?" asked Anthony.
"Annie Logan. Heather Grant who is dead in case you are interested, Susan Moore, Ginny Baldwin and finally Maria Tosco."
Anthony wondered, then asked. "What happened next?"
"That head nurse, Epiphany Johnson came in and tossed him out. I followed Spencer who then made a call to his wife and asked if she found something."
Georgie was still astonished, the locksmith had shown up right away and had changed the lock in ten minutes. She had planned on talking to Johnny about their changed lunch plans but overhearing the Aussie as she came down the hall she said. "Well I have no idea what she was looking for but I know where."
Turning to get his first face-to-face glimpse of his daughter-in-law, Anthony saw what the photos he had didn't give justice to. He had figured she had a vibrant personality, but there was something about Georgie that spoke to innocence and honesty yet that she enjoyed a lively sense of humor.
"Georgie?" Johnny turned as she joined them. "What do you know?"
"The reason I canceled lunch, I had a locksmith change the door locks at my house." she glared at the wall for a minute before adding. "Laura Spencer showed up while I was there. I didn't answer it. Anyhow, she let herself in and I hid in the closet then followed her upstairs to the attic over the garage. There is tons of junk there from before my parents bought the house after I was born."
"What did she do?" asked Johnny as something nagged at him.
"Searched through the trunks. When she didn't find whatever she was looking for, she threw a temper tantrum then left." she stated. "And I have proof."
Opening her oversized purse, she pulled out the old camera and said. "Do you know where we can get this developed."
"I doubt that the film is any good." Johnny said as he held up the old 110 Kodak camera. "This has to be at least as old as I am."
"We can try, can't we?" she asked.
Johnny turned to Ethan and said. "I don't suppose..."
"It's a great way to meet women." said Ethan holding out his hand to the amusement of the men. Seeing Georgie's disapproval, he said. "Hey, if they are gullible enough to believe me."
"Then you should leave them alone. Because obviously they shouldn't be allowed to add to the gene pool since they are as dumb as a box of rocks." she said in an acidic tone. "Remember, no birth control is fool proof."
Not wanting to get into a discussion about birth control with his wife, at least right then, Johnny hastily talked her into eating something while Anthony went back to his office. There, he called Epiphany. "Ms. Johnson, I need a minute if you have the time."
Showing up at the skyscraper, the nurse sat down across from the businessman and seeing the portrait he had said. "I only met her a week before she left town."
"What can you tell me?" he asked getting the feeling she knew more than she was telling.
"Just that she wasn't happy at the hospital. I never knew why but whatever it was... she was more than sad, she was scared."
"When Johnny was little until he graduated school, we lived all over the world. But when he was in high school, she wanted to come home." he said then said. "She never told me the reason, and I would have done anything for her. When she died it destroyed me to find out she was in love with this man you worked for."
The newlyweds were returning, Ethan had said it would take a couple of hours but Georgie had heard Epiphany's voice and they had come to see what she was doing there.
"That is what I don't get." said the dark skinned woman with a heavy sigh. "When could she had meet Mac back then? She was long gone before he came to town. And why go to his house."
Johnny tensed up then recalled what Georgie had said earlier about her parents buying the house after she was born... six years after he had been. "Wait, do you know who owned the house before your family?"
As the two in the office and Georgie turned to him, he said. "My mother had a couple of parking tickets at that house, BEFORE she moved home."
Georgie sat down rather heavily as she said in a dead tone of voice. "The Vinings."
"What do you know about them?" asked Johnny.
"The junk I told you about, it belongs to them. Drs. Rick and Leslie Vining. Amy became a nurse and Laura married Luke Spencer. It's why I wasn't too surprised that Laura was looking in our attic."
Epiphany said "Wait, I didn't know that."
Georgie stood quickly but almost passed out as she had a memory flash. Gritting her teeth as she tried to hold it together, Georgie said. "There were photos of a bunch of nurses with circles around their faces and with first names on the back with dates."
"Georgie, where are they now?" asked Johnny.
"I don't know. Dad was looking at them before he left town." she said then felt her stomach cramp. "Johnny, something is wrong."
Johnny caught his wife as Ethan joined them white faced and shaking at what he had found. Keeping quiet as Epiphany and Johnny rushed away with Georgie, he saw the wily old business man and said. "Wait, I found what is going on."
"Not now." he said urgently as they went down the elevator. "We have to get to GH."
TBC