A/N: Sorry about the time between updates. My computer erased windows and it took me forever to get it back and running again. Thank you for the reviews. It means a lot that you like the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own GH or any of the characters. If I did, many things would have been different.

Chapter Two

Snapping the clasp on her bracelet, Georgie looked in the mirror. Deciding to leave her hair down, she shoved a lock of her honey brown hair behind her ear and grimaced. Even with the makeup that she rarely wore, she still looked drained. Shaking her head, she grabbed her necklace from the dresser and made her way downstairs. Following the sounds of the voices, she stepped into the den and saw that Claudia and her brother were already waiting with Francis and Micah.

"You're earlier than I expected," she told Claudia with a small smile.

"Yeah, well, I had a hard time sleeping after we got home. Where is Blake?" she asked while looking around.

"Napping. I laid him down about twenty minutes ago. Don't worry, you can spoil him later."

Micah noticed the gold necklace with a diamond cross hanging from her fingers. Recognizing the piece, he gently took it from her hand and unlocked the clasp and then slipped it around her neck before fastening it back. "You all set, G?"

"I guess," she muttered reluctantly.

"I still think that I should go," Johnny told her as he entered the room with a cup of coffee.

"Francis is right, OB. You being there today would be bad. Sonny is going to lose it when he sees you. I just want today to be as painless as possible." She rubbed her temples to ease the headache already brewing. "And we both know that my being here will be enough of a nightmare without factoring you in to the mess that is going to happen today. Besides, you get to make waves tomorrow night," she added with a sly grin.

Still unhappy, he backed off because he could see the strain in her eyes. He knew that Francis and Micah would protect her, just like always, but he was the one that had been with Georgie since the day that she had exited the plane in Italy, in tears and sick. He had watched her grieve for Diego and go through a pregnancy with no support from her own family. He knew that she was strong and capable, but his protective streak was in high gear with all that was happening. "Fine," he conceded slowly, not liking it at all. "But you stay with Frannie and Micah at all times."

Claudia laughed as she heard Georgie muttering about his paranoia. "She'll be fine, O'Brien. No one is going to make a scene at the funeral."

"This is Port Charles, Sis. The people here are insane," Johnny interjected. "But I think that the main concern is Corinthos. I believe that he will be on his best behavior today. He can't afford a confrontation with all the families present."

Glancing at the clock, Georgie knew that they had to get moving. She gave a sassy grin as she sat on the arm of the sofa beside Claudia. "Any other lectures, Dad? You want to tell not to talk to strangers or stay away trouble?"

Amusement flickered in the bright green eyes. "Why? It wouldn't do a bit of good. You gravitate to trouble."

"Huh. That is Maxie, not me," she protested.

"You are forgetting that I knew Diego," he answered with a smirk.

Georgie laughed. "Very true, but maybe I just like bad boys." Her teasing had him snorting and she winked. "Blake should sleep for another hour or so. Just don't get him all hyped on chocolate again."

*****Break*****

The church fell completely silent as Georgie entered the double doors. She felt her heart rate accelerate and was relieved when she felt Francis place his large hand on the small of her back in a gesture of support. The familiar faces were all wearing the same stunned expression that grated on her nerves. Instead of paying them any attention though, she forced herself to gather her strength and start toward the front.

Claudia stood beside Johnny and winced. "Geez. I never expected everything to come to a complete standstill."

"I did," Johnny returned lightly. "She's been gone three years and shows up unannounced at this service. You know people are gonna talk." He saw Lulu's eyes widen and the anger on her face as they passed the pew that she was sitting in with Carly. He didn't understand her reaction. Him and Claudia looked enough alike that it was obvious that they were related.

Father Mateo greeted Georgie and the group with a solemn smile as they neared the front couple pews that were empty on the left side. "Georgianna, you look well. I am just sorry that it is under such circumstances that you are back. Mr. Alcazar had great respect for you."

"Thank you." She moved off to the side with him, away from everyone else. "Any problems with the requests I made for security?"

His eyes scanned the overfilled church. "There was a few, but I had Mr. Begotti's men take care of the security issues. All is well." They could both hear the murmuring starting to rise in volume. "Are you ready? Everyone else is already here."

Avoiding looking at Maxie, who was seated with Spinelli and the rest of the Corinthos and Morgan group, she nodded and took the seat in between Francis and Claudia. Listening to the words that Father Mateo spoke, she let her mind drift. The last time that she had sat in this same pew was at Diego's service. Only that day it had been Lorenzo and Skye supporting her as they had mourned too.

"Georgie!" Claudia murmured, lightly shaking her from her thoughts. "Come on. You spaced out good, didn't you? But I think that you need to calm Francis and Micah down. They are wired tight."

Focusing on her surroundings, she cringed as she saw that Francis was glowering at Sonny as he stared at them. Standing, she placed a hand on his forearm and could hear Claudia telling her brother to chill. "Frannie, don't. Not here, please."

Hearing the wavering of her voice, the older man tore his gaze away from his former boss. "We should go then. He was trying to get your attention as soon as the service ended."

Shooting Maxie a look that stopped her cold as she approached, she shook her head. "Not today, Maxie. I will talk to you soon, it just won't be today," she told her as they exited the church.

"You mean Perfect Georgie is done running and hiding? Is the Princess of Port Charles coming back home now that all the reminders of your tryst with Diego are gone?" Lulu snarked. Seeing Georgie walk into the church had been enough to set her back up, but seeing Johnny with the group had enraged the blond.

Trying to keep her temper, Georgie stepped toward the woman that had been a thorn in her side for years. "Yes, I am back, Lulu. It's wonderful to see you too," she sneered quietly. "However, this is not the time or place for this."

Pissed not to get the reaction that she had wanted, she held a hand out to Johnny. "Come on, Johnny. You don't know her and you don't want to. Let's get away from the losers and you can explain how you ended up with her here."

Quickly stepping in front of his sister who was simmering in anger, he arched an eyebrow. "Funny, I don't consider my sister or her friend losers. I think that I will spend the day with Claudia since she flew all the way from Italy to be here." Turning to walk away, he inwardly winced. He had known that she had a tendency to be selfish, but the level of spite that he had just observed floored him. There had to a history between the two women to create such hatred, more than he knew anyway. Lulu acted like she was the one that was wronged when what he had heard made it the exact opposite.

Hearing another voice call her name, Georgie turned, prepared to lose her cool. All she wanted was to get away from the church and see her son. Spotting Elizabeth staring at her and Francis with questioning eyes, she grabbed Francis' hand to stop him before turning to embrace the woman. They had been relatively close when she had babysat Cam when he was younger. "Hi. Long time, huh?"

Enfolding the younger woman into a hug, Elizabeth whispered in her ear. "You have no idea how relieved I am to see that you are safe. I missed you, Georgie." Pulling away, she immediately wrapped her arms around Francis and kissed his cheek. "I missed you too, you know. I am sure they have phones wherever you were at the last four to five years."

"It's a long story, Little Bit. We'll catch up though. I am back for good." He flashed a sincere smile. Elizabeth had wormed her way into his heart years ago with her feisty attitude. There had never been a dull moment while guarding the young artist.

Grinning at one of her favorite former guards, she felt Jason behind her and knew that Georgie was uneasy by the flash of her eyes. "Georgie, call me. Cam would love to see you and you have to meet Jake. We can catch up, maybe do lunch sometime soon."

"I could really use some Kelly's," she agreed. Saying a goodbye and looking at her sister, she felt her stomach clench. She wanted her family back, but she knew that they had hated Diego. She was concerned that once everything was out in the open, the hope that she felt at seeing Maxie today would be extinguished.

"You were right, Johnny. This town is freaking nuts." Claudia slipped her heels off as she settled into the plush seat as the limo pulled away. "And your blond tart should really learn to think before talking."

"I already told you that she isn't 'my' anything. But I have never seen that side of her before," he admitted.

Elbowing Francis as he snorted in disbelief, Georgie sighed as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back. "Fair warning, you will see that a lot when I am around. I don't think she can control herself from being that way with me."

"Why? She slept with your husband, right?"

Cracking her eyelids, she saw the questions in his dark eyes. "Yeah, but I don't care about that anymore. It's the past. Her and Dillon actually did me a favor by sleeping together." Her lips curved for a second before she sat forward and grabbed a bottle of water. "Look, Johnny, you should probably discuss this with her. Lulu and I aren't close, never were. Heck, I haven't laid eyes on her since the day that I left three years ago. I honestly couldn't tell you what her problem is now."

"But she was going to drag you through the mud," Claudia pointed out, but knowing that her friend would not bash the other woman. Georgie had to be really backed into a corner before she fought back.

"Not to change the subject, but can you watch Blake tomorrow night?" Georgie asked her. "OB, Frannie, and I have to go to the damn meeting and I would prefer that someone else was in the house besides Micah and Shane. Blake isn't use to being left with anyone too much."

"Do you need me there?" she asked her brother.

"No. I would actually rather you not be there. It's gonna be ugly."

"Then of course I will watch the little monster."

"You are going to need more guards after this," Johnny pointed out. "While you are turning decisions over to O'Brien, you are still the one that will be the target if anything happens, Georgie. Honestly, you should have more than just two there tomorrow."

"That's a problem at the moment," Francis told him. "We aren't sure of which guards that were here are still loyal. I'll remain Georgie's along with O'Brien of course. And Shane and Micah will stay on Blake until we know where we stand with the others."

Johnny frowned. While he had not sensed that Morgan was going to be a danger, Corinthos would be. And after O'Brien was announced in charge, he only feared that he would become unpredictable in his pursuit of going after the territories. "I did hear something that might interest you. One of my men said that there is tension between Jason and Sonny since he married Elizabeth. Corinthos may go behind Jason's back in trying something."

"Not a surprise. Sonny always had to be first. That is the main reason that he fought so hard in the past to keep Little Bit and Jason apart. I'm expecting their partnership to implode at any time." Francis trailed off as he noticed that Johnny was not paying attention. Looking beside him, he shook his head at seeing that Georgie was asleep. "She's exhausted. Coming back here is harder on her than we thought it would be."

"Maybe you should send her back to Italy after everything is settled," Claudia suggested.

Francis rubbed his face. "Not possible." Looking to make sure that she was still out, he sighed heavily. "Moves are already being made. The villa was bombed last night. It's a complete loss."

Gasping, Claudia clenched her hands. "Jesus. How many men did you guys lose that were left there?"

"All of them," Micah bit out.

"She and that little boy have got to have more guards, Corelli," Johnny stated flatly, his eyes resting on Georgie. "If you can't trust your men, then I will assign some of my own if you and O'Brien agree."

"Blondie will freak," Claudia warned him with a laugh.

"Lulu's opinion doesn't really matter. Keeping your friend and her boy safe is just a bit more important," he told her. "I'm sure you realize what they did by taking out the guards and house, right?" he asked Francis, already knowing that the man had seen too much not to.

Anger burned in his eyes. "Oh yeah. They took our resources for trusted protection and the only place that she really felt comfortable. Not to metion the guilt that she will feel because of those deaths."

"Lorenzo had an estate in South America," Claudia reminded them.

"Not anymore. It went at the same time. Someone knew that Georgie was coming back. But how they knew that everything fell to her, I don't know. No one knows about Blake."

"Obviously it was not just a lucky guess. Someone knows about her son. But you may have another problem. Some of the dons may not recognize her claim on the organization since her and Lorenzo's son weren't married."

Micah chuckled. "At least that is still under wraps." He shook his head at Claudia and Johnny's questioning look. "Diego and Georgie had just returned from a long weekend when he was killed. During that trip, they were married. Lorenzo knew that it needed to be kept quiet at the time because of the danger after Diego was killed. When Georgie left and went to Milan, there was no reason for anyone to know. Everything is hers by right, and no one can change that."