Chapter Fourteen

Francis laughed as Elizabeth dropped the glass of water that she has holding and stared at him with in wide eyed surprise. "Come on, Liz, the young woman I remember was never at a loss for words," he teased.

Coming out of her stupor, Elizabeth threw her arms around him and buried herself against him. "Oh my God, Francis! I thought that I would never see you again!" She pulled back and looked up at his face. "Where have you been?"

He caughe Johnny's smile and returned it before wrapping an arm around the younger woman and leading her to a kitchen chair. "In Rome. I went to work for Johnny about a few years ago. When he called and said that you needed guards that you would trust, I hoped on the next plane."

Her eyes widened. "You and Jagger both work for Johnny, huh? I am happy that you are back! I missed you so much!" She blew the bangs out of her face and smiled happily. "I can't wait for you to meet the boys. Cam and Jake will adore you."

"And if thery are anything like their mother, I will be ready to pull my hair out," he said with a wink.

Johnny sat in the chair beside Elizabeth's after picking up the shattered glass that she had dropped. "Are you able to start tomorrow? Elizabeth, Georgie, and Brenda are going to the mall. I need Jagger on something else."

Catching the gleam that he had come to recognize in the younger man's eyes, Francis nodded. "After years of traveling, flying does not drain me like it does other people." Watching as Elizabeth leaned against Johnny as he moved closer when she yawned, Francis saw that they seemed in sync with one another. While happy that Elizabeth had found someone that would love her and treat her like she deserved, Francis was still unhappy that she involved back in the lifestyle that they led. Of course after Zander and then Jason, he told himself that she would never be free from it. At least with Johnny, he knew that she would always be put first. "So you are dragging me to the mall, huh? Shopping with Brenda is a nightmare!"

Giggling as she smothered a yawn, Elizabeth nodded. "I know, but I need to get a start on Christmas. We were all meeting there around ten after my doctors appointment." She turned her attention to Johnny. "Are you going to be able to be there?"

Pressing a kiss against her temple, he nodded. "Wouldn't miss it for anything."

Lifting a brow, Francis put two and two together and his eyes caught Johnny's. "You two are expecting?"

"Um, yeah. I am seven weeks along."

Francis smiled at Liz while thinking of ways to hurt his boss. It was too dangerous right now with Sonny, Anthony, and Sam all clamering to cause problems. "Congratulations. Are the boys excited."

"As long as it's not a girl, Cam will be thrilled. Jake just tends to go with the flow," Johnny said with a laugh. The little boy begging him not to bring a girl home was still fresh in his mind.

Hearing the front door open and close and then light footsteps heading toward the kitchen, Francis smiled in greeting as Jagger appeared looking aggravated. "Hey, Francis," he muttered as he went to the fridge and grabbed a beer.

"I take it that Robin is not happy that you hid your marriage for four years?" Elizabeth asked with a chuckle.

Groaning, he shook his head. "She is being completely irrational. You would think that Brenda and I had killed her puppy the way she is acting."

Johnny smirked. "I told you that all hell would break lose. I just expected the biggest problem to be from Corinthos."

"Oh it will be," Francis answered with his own grin. "I'd say right now he is smashing all the crystal in the house. The trouble from him will start in the next couple days."

"Yeah, well, Patrick fled to the hospital to escape and I just abandoned Brenda. To be such a tiny woman, Robin can sure throw one hell of a fit."

Francis snorted. "Dynamite comes in little packages, Jagger. Lizzie, when she comes out to play, can turn this town upside down."

"Lizzie is dead! Shut up, Francis," Elizabeth protested with a scowl.

"Buried, not dead. Your wild child still exists."

Jagger and Johnny burst out laughing as Elizabeth tossed one of Jake's toy motorcycles at Francis. Her eyes were flashing with retribution as she smiled sweetly at him. "Maybe Lizzie should come and play since you miss her so much, Francis. I seem to recall that you and Johnny O. had a hell of time containing her. Think you can do it on your own?"

Johnny's eyes widened as Francis paled and shook his head. "Uh, maybe Lizzie should off until after everything is under control." He rested a hand on her still flat abdomen. "I think that you will have plenty of time to torture Francis after you have the baby."

Leaning over to brush a kiss against his cheek, her smile made all the men uneasy. "Trust me, Johnny, Lizzie could be fun in helping deal with some of the problems."

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

Brenda squealed and threw herself at Francis when he and Elizabeth entered the foodcourt with Georgie. "Oh, Frannie! I am so happy to see you!"

Grimacing and gently distangling her from him, Francis lifted the corner of his mouth in a half smile. "I just seen you, Brenda, right before you left Rome."

"I know, but I still missed you."

Georgie laughed and motioned toward the pizza station. "I'm going to get some food before we start shopping. Elizabeth?"

"Of course," she muttered as she dug into her purse for her wallet. "Francis, do you want anything?"

"Nope, I ate before I met you two at the hospital."

"Well, I can always eat," Brenda told the other two woman with a wink. "Let's get some food."

Francis watched them walk off and turned to Brenda's guards. "Any issues since the news became public knowledge, Will?"

"No. But today is the first that Jagger has not been around since they dropped the bombshell." Will watched as Trent followed the three woman as they loaded a tray with pizza, salads, and drinks. "How come I think today is going to be harder on us than you? Miss Webber doesn't seem as gung ho as Brenda."

"She is much more down to earth," Francis agreed with a small smile. "She hates shopping, but needs to get presents for her two boys." He tensed as he saw Sam and Maxie approaching the trio. While Maxie started talking with Georgie, Sam moved over to Elizabeth.

Rubbing her slight baby bump, Sam offered an overly sweet grin. "How are you feeling, Elizabeth? I know that my morning sickness is starting to subside. Johnny must be so thrilled to finally be having a child."

"I'm fine, Sam. No sickness for me, just some dizziness and nausea," she answered while wondering what the woman was up to. Elizabeth did not buy the friendly routine for a minute. "If you will excuse me, I am anxious to eat and get shopping."

Sam reached out and touched her arm, stopping her. "How is Jake?"

"Jake is fine, so is Cam." Feeling Francis move up beside her, she smirked. "Sam, this is an old friend, Francis. Francis, this is Jason's wife, Sam."

"You know my husband?" Sam asked while looking the older man up and down. She didn't really care for the dark look that he was giving her. Her instincts were warning her that he was not someone to mess with.

"I did, Mrs. Morgan. I worked for Corinthos-Morgan for several years until they killed my best friend. It's how I met Lizbits here. I guarded her for awhile," he answered, watching as her eyes narrowed. "Now I am working as security for Liz and the boys. Tell Jason that I said hello. Come on, Liz."

Brenda waited until they were at the table and burst into giggles. "She didn't know what to think of you, Francis."

He shrugged. "She is just a con. I could care less what she thinks, but I am looking forward to hearing from Jason. He should be able to figure out exactly who I am working for after she tells him that I am guarding Liz."

Glancing at his face and seeing the anger carefully hidden, Elizabeth sighed. "It's not worth it, Francis. We are over. He is with Sam and I am completely happy with Johnny. Don't start a fight with Jason because you are pissed."

"Liz, I admit that you are part of the anger, but he and Sonny killed O'Brien for no reason. Making them uncomfortable is the least I can do for an old friend. No big fights, I promise, kiddo."

Not sure what to say to that, Elizabeth looked up and grimaced at seeing Carly heading her way. Elbowing Francis to get his attention, she bit her lip to keep from laughing when he cursed. As Carly stopped at the table and gasped when she recognized Francis, Brenda looked over and smirked. Having Francis back was really starting to be entertaining.

"Um, Elizabeth, I just wanted to say that I was wrong the other day for jumping all over you. Jax made me see that it was none of business who you are involved with. While I still think that you are making a mistake, I was wrong to scream at you like I did."

Shocked, Elizabeth studied the other woman's face and could see that she meant it. "Um, thank you, Carly, but it wasn't that big of a deal. I am happy, and nobody's opinion will change that. But I do appreciate the effort that you are making here."

With a tight smile, she turned and pinned Brenda with a look. "So you are married to Jagger, huh? I can see you two together. Francis, why are you back? No one mentioned that you were coming home."

Offering a smirk, he shook his head at her. "No one mentioned that I stopped working for Corinthos-Morgan years ago either. I am here for Liz, at Johnny's request. I am her new, or should I say returned, guard."

Carly stared in shock as Jax approached the table and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Morgan is waiting for you at the sweet shop, Carly." He watched as she murmured subdued goodbyes and headed toward her son. Jax looked over and smiled softly at the young woman that had tried to give him a child when he had wanted one so badly. "Congratulations, Elizabeth. I am thrilled for you about the pregnancy. Brenda, it is nice to see you. Belated best wishes on your marriage." He turned back to Elizabeth. "I am trying to contain the damage of Carly's fits. I know that you will have a full plate with Johnny's father and the rest of the morons. Take care."

Francis shook his head. "How did Carly end up with someone that is understanding and kind? It makes no sense."

Georgie giggled. "He does tend to keep her in line most of the time." Turning her attention to the man standing and glaring at her, she shivered and looked away. "Elizabeth, what are you interested in getting Cam and Jake?"

Francis caught the younger woman's unease and followed where she had been looking and saw the young man that was looking at the table with an angry expression. Turning and seeing that Trent too was watching the man, he wondered exactly was going on. With Georgie being the main babysitter for Liz's kids, he was worried that she might become a target. Trent met his eyes and nodded before slipping away unnoticed.

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

Johnny and Jagger walked around the destroyed house, each getting more concerned as the damage was revealed. It looked like a team of vandals had broken into the house and went all out. Rubbing his neck to ease the tension that was gathering at the base of his skull, Johnny cursed and kicked the overturned lamp.

"Shit! He took off after his fit."

Jagger nodded as he frowned. "Do you know where he would have went. Anthony running around without a guard is not a good situation."

"No freaking clue," Johnny snarled. "Out of all the years of dealing with his rages, he has never destroyed the entire house. Get more men looking for him. He is definitely went over the line this time."

"What about Alex's body? Are we calling the cops?"

"After we make sure that there is no trace of anything back to us, yes. He has parents that will want closure." Johnny looked over at the dead guard. The gunshot wound to the head had completely disfgured the young man.

Jagger cleared his throat. "We need to get out of here. I will have Alex taken care after the cops finish their investigation. The girls are at the mall with Francis, Will, and Trent. They will be fine. The boys are taken care too. There is nothing else that we can do until word on the searches turn something up, John."

Knowing that he was right did not make Johnny feel any better. His father had finally lost all reason and control and was now missing. This was not going to end well.