Warning...this chapter has some foul language. It's not really too bad, but I didn't want to offend anyone so I thought I would tell you in advance.

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Chapter Nine

Jagger had been guarding Elizabeth for almost five weeks now with no major problems, which only made him uneasy waiting on something to happen. With Anthony, Claudia, Sam, and all the other people who were less than thrilled with her and Johnny's relationship he knew that it was only a matter of time before something big happened and it made him on edge. However his main concern right now was keeping himself from killing Lucky Spencer who had just returned from Ireland.

Standing in the front doorway, he listened as the self centered man screamed at Elizabeth. He was seriously considering shooting the little punk but only smiled wickedly when he saw Johnny's car pull into the driveway. When his employer and friend stepped onto the porch, Jagger only held up a hand so that he could hear what was being said inside the house. Johnny's eyes narrowed as he listened.

"You never learn, Elizabeth! I agreed to raise your bastards as my own to keep them safe! Why am I doing that if you are openly sleeping with another mobster?" Lucky demanded, seething at the fact that Johnny was practically living with her and the boys.

"Lucky, I am happy with Johnny. He is a good person. Our relationship is none of your concern. And my boys are not bastards!" Elizabeth shouted back, enraged that he would even utter that aloud.

Glaring, he snorted. "You have two children and neither one has their biological father in their life. What do you think they are?"

"Screw you, Lucky! If you don't want to be in their lives, fine! I would rather they have no father than someone who obviously detests their very existence!"

"I gave up my self respect for you and played daddy for your children. Well, I am done! If you are going to fuck Johnny Zacchara he can raise your brats!" he stormed.

"Get out, Lucky! Don't come back! My relationship with Johnny has nothing to do with this. You evidently never loved my boys. They are better off without you anywhere near them! Thank God they aren't yours! They would be hypocritical drug addicts that don't know how to keep it in their pants! You are certainly no innocent angel either!"

Enraged, he grabbed her arm and jerked her backwards as she started to walk away, causing her to gasp with pain. "Don't walk away from me you bitch! We aren't through!"

Johnny entered the house and locked his furious eyes onto Lucky. "I would advise you to let go of Elizabeth before I put a bullet between your eyes," he said in a deceptively calm voice.

The lethal look in the other man's eyes had Lucky releasing his painful grip on Elizabeth's arm. Shoving her toward the mobster, Lucky sneered at him. "Take the whore! I hope you enjoy it because I am out of here!"

Johnny stepped into his path and stopped him. "If you ever talk about her or the boys like that again, being a detective will not save your sorry ass," he stated coldly. "You are no longer to have ANY contact with all three of them. My lawyer will drawl up papers to relinquish your right to Jake. Don't fuck with me, Lucky, sign the papers when you get them. The guards will be told to stop any attempts you make to get anywhere close to them. This was your only warning, you better take it!"

Recognizing the promise in Johnny's eyes, Lucky gave a short nod. "No problem. They are more trouble than they are worth." Darting one last look of contempt at Elizabeth, he stormed out of the house and past Jagger who glared at the man.

Moving toward Elizabeth, Johnny took her into his arms and held her as she cried. "Are you hurt?"

"Just for the boys sake. I can't believe that he felt that way about them." Her heart was breaking for Cam and Jake. She had never thought that Lucky would abandon them because he was unhappy with her choices. "He never really loved them, did he?"

Sighing and sitting her on the couch, he ran a hand over his face. "I don't think so, Liz. I always thought that he used them as a tool to control you." Hugging her closer as she cried again, he rubbed her back to calm her. "They are better off this way. He has been breaking promises to them for months. Cam never even asks for him anymore. It will be ok, Liz. They have you. You have always been there and they know that you love them."

Sniffling as she wiped her tears, she nodded. "I know it is for the best. He has too much hatred to be around them. I can't believe that I was that blind."

"He is good at manipulating people. You just seen his true colors today. Where are the boys now?"

"I had Tony take them to Robin's when I saw how mad Lucky was. I knew it was going to get ugly."

"Why didn't you have Jagger throw him out?" he asked.

"Johnny, it would've only delayed the blowup. It was better to deal with it straight on."

Silently disagreeing, he kissed the top of her head. "When are the boys coming home?"

"Actually, they are staying with Robin and Patrick tonight. Patrick wanted to have someone to race cars with," she admitted with a shaky laugh. "He is just as big a kid as they are."

"Why don't you go change and we will go out." Watching as she went upstairs to change, he motioned Jagger in. "Why were you on the freaking porch listening to him talk to her like that?" he demanded.

Flinching at the anger in his voice, Jagger ran a hand through his short hair. "He had just arrived. They had only been inside for about ten minutes before you pulled in. I would have never let him hurt her, John."

Releasing a breath in frustration, Johnny nodded. "I know. I am sorry that I snapped. It just pissed me off to hear what he was saying."

"It's fine, John. I know how you feel about her. I am going to go since you are here now. I am going to call up Brenda for a dinner date."

Barking out a laugh, Johnny shook his head in amusement. "You do know that Sonny will freak out. He has been trying to get her to talk to him since she returned from Paris."

Unconcerned, Jagger shrugged. "We are friends. I don't really care what Corinthos thinks. Although if it pisses him, that is an added bonus. Besides, Liz and Brenda use to be close. I might bring her by later. They will be happy to see each other."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~b~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Claudia looked around the dark and dimly lit bar. Jake's was certainly not her usual drinking establishment. Scrunching her nose in distaste, she looked around more closely and finally spotted her brother in a booth in the back with a petite brunette. Studying the woman closely she could see the appeal that attracted Johnny.

Elizabeth Webber was classy and gorgeous in a sweet and innocent way. Even watching them from a distance, Claudia could see how much her brother liked the young mother by his body language. While she loved John, she had no qualms about doing whatever was necessary to take over the business, and it looked like using the sweet nurse just might be the ticket to getting the upper hand.

Deciding to play nice for now to get Johnny to lower his guard some, she made her way over to the couple and tried to look surprised. "Johnny! What are you doing here?"

Grimacing, he raised his face to look up at her. "Hello, Claudia. Since when do you come to small town bars?"

"I was just getting the lay of the land." Focusing her attention on the woman, she introduced herself. "Hi, I am Claudia, John's sister."

Feeling uneasy under her watchful gaze, Elizabeth offered a faint smile. "I'm Elizabeth."

Scooting her scowling brother over, she sat down with them. "Johnny should bring you over to meet the family. I've been home for a month now and we hardly see him lately because he is spending all his time with you."

Elizabeth laughed, unable to contain herself. "I've met Anthony. He really didn't like me so I won't being going over to visit him anytime soon."

Coleman walked over and nodded to the new woman. "Do you guys need another round?"

Shaking his head, Johnny looked over at Elizabeth. "Do you want drink?"

"No, my first one didn't really settle well after the chili cheese fries."

"How about you, beautiful?" Coleman asked Claudia.

Arching an eyebrow at the slimy bartender, she nodded. "I will have dry martini."

Aggravated at his sister just showing up and welcoming herself to join them, Johnny rolled his eyes. "Are you going to tell me what you want?"

Elizabeth watched their exchange as they bickered back and forth. She could see why he was worried about her returning. Claudia reminded her of a harder version of Sam. She also did not trust her anymore than she did Sam. "So, Claudia, how long are you staying in Port Charles?"

"Until I get what I want," she responded sweetly as Johnny narrowed his eyes again. He didn't understand why his sister was playing nice, but he really didn't care. He had no intention of letting her get close.

"Claudia, we are going to get out of here. Try to stay out of trouble."

Watching as he stood and walked over to Elizabeth as she got up from the booth too, she smirked. "Being good is no fun, John. Goodbye you two."

Reaching the fresh air outside of the bar, Elizabeth glanced over at him. "How did you end up normal? She was trying to hide it, but Claudia is just like Anthony."

"I wouldn't say I am normal, Elizabeth, far from it actually. My upbringing was not exactly ideal."

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she eased his head down to hers and touched her forehead to his. "So. While mine was nothing like yours, I had an abnormal upbringing until I moved in with my grams. Trust me, Johnny, you are nothing like them."

"Hi you guys. Are you leaving or coming?" Sam asked from where she stood a couple feet away with Jason watching them with curiosity.

"We are leaving," Johnny answered. He met Jason's watchful eyes and smirked. "You probably should too, Sam. After all, a bar is no place for a pregnant woman."

Grinning broadly at him mentioning the baby in front of the little twit, she leaned against Jason. "I am not drinking. We just wanted to play some pool." Seeing Elizabeth had not flinched at the news of the baby, some of her smugness dissipated.

Jason remained silent as Sam talked, inwardly grimacing as Elizabeth never released her arms from Johnny. She only moved them around his waist as they stood together. He wanted to speak to her, but knew now was not the time. It would set Sam's back against the wall. He was going to have to find a way to talk to Elizabeth. Her relationship with Johnny was never suppose to last this long. He had waited patiently for their break up but it had never happened. Now he was worried about how close they were becoming. Sonny was also ranting at him over it, convinced that Johnny was a danger to their organization. Jason still hadn't figured how that linked in with Elizabeth. She knew nothing of their operations.

"Well, you guys have fun. We need to go." When Elizabeth went to step away, she paled and swayed. Reaching out and steadying herself against the hood of the car, she took a deep breath.

"Hey, are you ok?"

"Um, yeah, I think. Just a little dizzy," she offered slowly, trying to get her bearings back.

"Maybe you should sit down," Jason suggested, watching her as she swayed again and Johnny wrapped an arm around her to help her stand.

"No, I just need to get home and relax. I'm just exhausted."

Looking up into Johnny's concerned eyes, Elizabeth tried to reassure him. "I'm fine, Johnny. Maybe it was the alcohol."

"Elizabeth, you didn't even finish one drink and I have seen you drink way more than that."

Shakily walking to the passenger side of the car, she turned toward Sam and Jason. Sam was watching her carefully while Jason was alternating between concern and eyes flashing with anger as he watched Johnny help her. Sighing, she knew that she had to get Johnny away from him. The tension between the two men was thick. "You guys enjoy your game and congratulations on the baby." Bile rose in her throat as she said it, but she was determined that she would not be bitter toward Jason.

Closing her door softly, Johnny headed back to his side when Sam touched his arm, stopping him. "Has she been sick?"

Looking at her curiously he wondered why she cared. "No. she has been fine. Just tired lately." He frowned at her when she laughed and saw Jason look at her with a scowl. "What is so funny, Sam?"

"Did you ever stop to think that she might be pregnant, Johnny?" She smirked at him. "Maybe we should congratulate you too. After all, Liz has no problems getting knocked up."

Grinding his teeth to control the urge to beat the younger man, Jason sincerely hoped not. That was the last thing that Elizabeth needed in her life. She would never be free from a connection to Johnny if that were the case.

"Sam, I don't think one dizzy spell equals a pregnancy, but thank you for your concern. Have a good night." Johnny slid into the car and glanced over at Elizabeth. "Are you feeling better?" he asked as he started the car.

"Yeah, I think sitting down helped a lot. What did Sam have to say?" she questioned as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"She was just asking if you really alright," he said, avoiding the actual suggestion made by the woman in question . "Do you want something to eat? We could swing by Kelly's."

Noticing that he was tense, she reached over and touched his thigh. "I would rather you tell me what is going on. Something is bothering you."

Johnny squeezed her hand. "I am fine. You just worried me a bit back there, Liz."

Pulling into the driveway he noticed Jagger sitting on the porch swing with Brenda and laughed when Elizabeth squealed with delight and jumped out of the car. Watching the two woman hug, he was happy that Jagger had text him that the former model wanted to stop in see Elizabeth. He loved to see her happy, and he knew that Robin and Georgie were her only close girl friends since Emily had died.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~b~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well?" he demanded as soon as she entered the room.

"You were right. If he isn't in love already, it is quickly heading in that direction."

Anthony rubbed his hands together with eagerness. John had always been strong willed and hard to manipulate. Now thanks to the Webber girl, he had a pawn to use against him. She even gave him a way to take Morgan out of the game by having his son. "This will be too easy!" he crowed.

Claudia nodded. "What do you want done? It needs to be planned and executed perfectly. He protects them well and doesn't trust us. He has a guard on her that never worked for you, same with the brats."

"He always was smart about following his instincts." Anthony paused as he thought about his options. Taking the boy first would have both John and Morgan looking for retribution. Taking the woman would destroy John and knock him out of the equation. "We will deal with the lovely Miss Webber first. This should teach Johnny not to turn his back on family."

Sneering at the idea of them actually being a family, Claudia shook her head in disbelief. The old man really was crazy if he believed that either one of his children cared about him. She was only helping because she wanted the power and control that her brother currently had. "How do you want this taken care?"

Thinking back on a visitor that had shown up weeks ago begging for help, Anthony knew that he was the perfect scapegoat. The man was obsessed so it would not be a stretch to think that he had freaked out and taken the young nurse. "Call Ric and tell him that I want to talk to him. Seems our lawyer wants his ex wife away from Johnny boy very badly. We can use that to our favor."

Anxious to get it going, she reached for the phone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~b~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elizabeth ran a hand lightly over his bare chest and rested her head against his shoulder as his hand trailed over her waist as they lay entangled in the sheets catching their breath. The last bout of lovemaking had left her exhausted. Feeling herself drifting off to sleep, she snuggled closer and kissed his neck.

Feeling her heartbeat slow and her breathing evening out, Johnny brushed her hair away from her face to see her eyes starting to close. "Did I wear you out?" he teased.

"It was definitely worth while," she murmured sleepily.

"That it was, but then again it always is. It won't hurt the baby, will it?" he whispered gently, hoping to catch her off guard. He had suspected for a couple days, but after the incident at Jake's he needed to know. Once he thought back over the night, he had realized that she had not even taken a sip of the drink that he got her when they first arrived.

"No, it is perfectly fine," she answered in the same half asleep mutter before her head snapped up and her eyes instantly lost all shreds of fatigue in them. "How did you know? I was waiting to say anything until I seen Kelly in two days."

Tenderly stroking her face, Johnny smiled as happiness engulfed him. "I have suspected for the past couple days because you were so tired. Then when you got dizzy and almost passed out, I pretty much knew. Especially since I knew there was a possibility. Are you ok with having another baby?"

"I am, although I was surprised at how quickly it happened. Are you?"

Seeing the fear and uncertainly, he moved so that she was under him and brought his lips down on hers. "Very much so. From the night that I knew there was a slim chance, I wanted it. You are an incredible woman and wonderful mother, Elizabeth."

"I thought you would be upset because it was so soon," she admitted, nibbling on her lower lip.

"It was quick, but I fell in love with you just as quickly."

Gasping at that statement she looked up and it reflected clearly on his face. "I never dreamed that I would fall in love again until you pushed your way into my life, making me experience feelings that I thought were long dead inside of me. I feel like I have always loved you, Johnny. I just don't want you to feel trapped or regret this."

Cupping her chin so that she couldn't turn her face away, he smirked down at her. "I have been watching you since the Ball, Liz. I don't know if I would have approached you if it had not been for the threat that brought me to your doorstep. I was always certain that you deserved so much more than what I could offer. When you agreed to take the chance with having a relationship, I was shocked, but there was no way that I was letting you go. I knew that I loved you. I won't ever walk away, I can guarantee you that."