Sorry about the delay in chapters! My new job is trying to kill me. LOL

Hopefully this will be the last long delay in between updates. Thank you all for hanging in there with me. I really appreciate all the wonderful encouragement. This story is almost complete, just a little bit more, probably five or six chapters.

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Chapter Nineteen

"Can we talk?"

Zander turned and eyed Alexis warily. He had been lucky to avoid her since she had found out that he was her biological child instead of Sam McCall, but it looked like his time of peace was up. He leaned against the outside table of Kelly's. "What can I do for you, Alexis? I am getting ready to take breakfast back to the house, so I don't really have a lot of time."

Uncertain, she nodded slowly. "I just wantd to see you, Zander. I haven't had a chance since I found out about you being mine." Licking her lips nervously, Alexis looked him up and down. "I had no idea that you were my child."

"I know. I also know that you basically tried to toss one of my closest friends to the wolves when you thought that con artist was your daughter." He stood straight and crossed his arms. "When did you start throwing people under the bus to make yourself happy? The woman that I remember would have never put up with Sam McCall's shit, Alexis." He held up a hand when she opened her mouth. "We were close at one point, Alexis. I heard about you trying to get Lucky Spencer custodial rights of Cam, who you believed was my son until recently. Why would you hurt Elizabeth that way? She is a terrific mother, no matter what else you may think of her."

"It wasn't like that! You don't understand, Zander! I made horrible mistakes. I know that." She took a deep breath. "I thought that Sam was my child. Elizabeth and her had never got along. I was trying to help Sam. As for Cameron, Lucky was the father that he knew. He deserved to know him."

Snorting in disgust, he shook his head. "Spencer was in on the whole fiasco of faking Jake's death. He almost destroyed Cam and Elizabeth. You are a hypocrit, Alexis. I don't want or need that in my life. You may be my mother by blood, but you are not the woman that raised me. Thank God," he snarked. "I would hate to have the Cassidine tendency to just walk over whoever gets in their way."

Tears poured down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry! I know that I messed up. Please!"

"You don't owe me the apology. You owe that to Liz. She is the one that your blind and misplaced loyalty hurt. Talk to her and then maybe we can talk again, Alexis," he told her coldly as he brushed past her into the diner.

Unable to stop her tears, Alexis slumped into the chair and pulled her coat tighter around her thin body. She knew that Zander had ever right to be angry with her, but she had not known about the depths of Sam's deciet. It ate at her to know that an innocent woman and her children had paid the price for another woman's blind hatred. A price that she had helped to create.

"Alexis, he is upset. Him and Elizabeth are friends, always have been. Give it time and in the meantime, make him see that you really are trying."

Her startled eyes flew to Jax's. He was standing a couple steps to her left and eying her with sympathy. "He will never forgive me, Jax."

The Aussie sat across from her and sighed. "He might not. You have to prepare for that chance. However, you can make him see that you are sorry for the choices that you made."

She rubbed her temples and groaned. "I never meant for Elizabeth to be hurt. I just wanted to help the woman that I thought was my daughter."

"But you did hurt her," Jax murmered. "Everytime that you excused away one of Sam's behaviors or got a charge dropped. You turned a blind eye to that woman's evil actions because you thought that she was family." He paused and smiled sadly. "It is the same thing that you hated about Sonny. Zander needs time and so do you. You have to decide who you are, Alexis. You also have to show that you regret what you have done. The apology that you gave to Zander, I think it actually needs to be done with Elizabeth. She was the victim in all of this."

"I know," she whispered sadly. "Francis and O'Brien will never let me near her though."

Wincing, Jax ran a hand through his blond hair. "Francis was killed in the shootout at Elizabeth's cottage. I am sorry to tell you like this. I know that you really like him when he guarded you."

A fresh wave of agony washed over the older woman. She wiped the tears from her face and sniffed. "Was O'Brien hurt?"

"Not there, but Johnny was shot in the chest rescuing Jake from Helena and the Spencer's in Ireland. I believe that he signed himself out of GH against advice earlier this morning. He was anxious to get back to Elizabeth."

"Thank God he is ok. I assumed that Elizabeth and Jason would end up back togeather though," she admitted. "They have a history after all."

"They do, but her and Johnny also share a connection. One that he has not forgotten about just because an easy piece shoved herself at him," Jax stated with contempt. "Jason hurt her, many times throughout the years. But Elizabeth will straight up tell anyone that she hurt him too. But her and O'Brien, they are happy."

Alexis nodded and smiled sadly. "Well, I hope that she is happy. Lord knows that she deserves some peace and happiness after everything within the recent years."

Whe she started to stand, Jax reached over and clasped her hand. "Alexis, make ammends with her and anyone else that you need to. Zander will come around eventually if he sees that you are really trying, and meaning your actions. Besides, you really do owe that younger woman. Remember everything that you have been through, and think back on Elizabeth's life. She is a very forgiving individual. You need that, especially with O'Brien now in charge of the Alcazar and Zacchara organizations. He is a man that I would really try to avoid making more angry."

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

Gently tugging her onto the bed beside him, Johnny watched as her face filled with concern. "Stop hovering, Elizabeth. I am fine, just sore. I have been hurt worse, you know."

"You were shot, Johnny! You should be in the hospital!" she protested quickly.

"And I have my very own nurse right here." When she scowled in response, he only grinned and winked. "Trust me, baby, I am fine. How are Cameron and Jake. I was worried about the three of you while I was away."

Her eyes brightened at the mention of her children. "They are so happy to have one another again, Johnny. You ought to have seen the way that Cameron and Jake met each other after everything that they have been through." Her eyes watered and she blinked back the tears as she ran a hand down the side of his face. "I can never thank you enough for giving me my baby back."

"I would have died to bring him back to you, Liz. Jake belongs here with you, and nothing was stopping me from returning him to his rightful place. How is he doing? Has he talked about any of it yet?"

She frowned and nibbled on her bottom lip. "Not yet. The doctors said that he will talk when he is ready. He is having nightmares, but that is to be expected. He won't talk about them afterwards though."

"Where are the boys?"

"Zander brought them back breakfast a ittle bit ago. They are eating with Em, John, Nik, and Zander." She paused and toyed with string on her hoodie. "Is it over, Johnny? Are we safe?"

"Almost," he whispered as she relaxed against his good side. "Sam is contained for now, but she will be taken care of. There are a couple of other issues that I need to check on, but it is almost over." He rubbed a hand over her back and rested his head on top of hers. "Are you ready for all the changes that will be heading your way once it gets out that Cam is John's and Jake is Jason's? You will have guards, Liz. There will also be security measures that any place that you live in will have to updated to accomodate."

She studied him out of slightly parted lashed. "I kind of figured that you would be with us, Johnny. I know that we will have guards and security, and after everything that we have survived, I will never complain about anything that keeps my children safe. However, I thought that we were in a place where we were..."

He pressed a finger against her lips to stop her. "We are, but I wanted you to be sure. After getting Jake back home, I didn't know if you need more time to help him adjust."

"Or if I had changed my mind?" she questioned him softly. Seeing him start to look away, Elizabeth squeezed his hand. "I love you, Johnny O'Brien. I will always be connected to Jason and John, but they are the past. You are the future. You, me, Jake, and Cameron are all that I want, us together and happy."

He leaned down and kissed her, deepening the kiss when she moaned lightly. One hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer while the other one intertwined with her hair. His tongue swept across hers and she immediately returned the favor.

A sound from the doorway broke them apart and she blushed slightly when she saw Jerry grinning at them. "Um, are the boys ok?"

He nodded. "They are fine. Jake is sitting with Cam, watching tv in the living room. I actually needed to talk with O'Brien for minute."

Elizabeth stood and straightened her shirt before looking back at Johnny. "I am going to go check on Jake. I'll be back in a little bit."

Jerry remained silent until she was down the stairs and then shut the door. Looking at the man sitting on bed, he shook his head in amusement. "Sweet Elizabeth sure can cause a firestrorm to erupt in this little town. While Morgan is now seeing the light, we have another issue. I had a call last night. The familes are now causing a rucas since little Jake is back home. They think that this was all a ploy for you to take out Corinthos."

"Like I needed their consent," Johnny snarled. "I am in charge of this territory and they damn well better accept that. Make it clear that my family is off limits, Jerry. This is the only warning that I will issue. Lorenzo may have protected Liz from a distance and backed down from the other heads, but I will not. Any one that I believe may give her an issue will be swiftly taken care of."

"Just as I thought that you would respond. By the way, I tailed Morgan and A.J. last night. I know where Sam is. He had her placed in a drug induced coma last night." Jerry paused and watched the indecision flicker across the other man's face. "Do you want her taken care off?"

Pondering the issue, Johnny sighed heavily. "Get a man in the clinic. As long as she is unconscious, she can live to give Jason his child. If the bitch awakens at any time, have her killed. I will give Jason the opprotunity, but I will not risk Liz and the kids. He may have finally seen the light concerning that woman, but I am not taking any chances."

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

Emily sat on the porch swing with John and watched as he observed Cam playing with Jake in the snow. Elizabeth was helping the boys build a small snowman while Zander and Enzo were also roped into helping. "Do you wish things were different?"

Her soft question pulled him from his thoughts. "In a way. I missed years with Cameron because of people that I trusted. And while I will always care about Liz, she has moved on. I just hope that O'Brien can make her happy and keep them safe."

"You know that he can, otherwise you would have never had him take over your organization. Now that the truth is out about Alcazar, he has it within his power to destroy anyone that threatens her."

John studied her out of the corner of his eye and saw the wistful expression on her face. "Are you happy to be able to regain your life again?"

Caught off guard by the inquery, Emily laughed. "Everyone moved on, John. My mother has completely lost touch with reality, my brother is learning that Sam played him, Sonny was destroyed because he was power hungry, and Nik and I are better off as friends. Even Liz has changed. Life moved on while I was on the island."

Sensing her sadness, he patted her hand before taking it in his. "I know how you feel, Em."

Uncomfortable with the display of affection, she quickly stood. "I need to go call and check on Grandfather. He is taking all of this hard."

Elizabeth watched Emily escape into the house and rolled her eyes before motioning to Zander who only nodded. Sitting beside John on the swing, she shivered in her heavy coat and pulled it tighter around her small frame.

Sitting in silence for a couple of minutes, he looked over and saw the dark circles under her eyes and how pale she was. He hoped that she could start healing now and take better care of herself. "How are you feeling, Lizabeth? You look exhausted."

"I am, and I miss Francis so much." Elizabeth twisted her bracelet on her wrist nervously. "Johnny and I are arranging a service for him and the other guards in three days. It isn't fair that he is gone."

"I know. Francis was a great guy. He would have done anything for you, Liz."

She smiled sadly and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "I know, and he gave the ultimate sacrifice for me, John." When he started to open his mouth, she shook her head, cutting his reply off. "I know, John, I know. Enough about me though, let's talk about Em. What did you say to upset her?"

Confusion bloomed on his face. "I am not sure. She was talking about life moving on without her while we were hiding and about how everything has changed now."

"And it has, but some things are still the same." Elizabeth looked up as Jake giggled as Cam shoved him in the snow and smiled. It was so nice to see both of her boys happy again. Turning back to the father of her eldest on, she watched as his eyes took on a faraway look. "If you care about her, John, you need to tell her."

His head snapped around and he stared at her. "It's too soon. I thought that we would have another chance."

"And deep down you knew that I had moved on, just like your feelings for Emily changed over time. I can see it on both of your faces, John. You care about her."

He stood and crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the porch rail. "I do," he admitted uneasily. "But I don't want her to think that I am settling for her because you are not available. That is not fair to her."

"Then make her understand," she said in exasperation. "Be happy, John. You both deserve it."

Cam ran up onto the porch and threw himself at Elizabeth and she caught him and Jake in a tight hug. "How are my two men? Are you ready for some hot chocolate?"

"Sure we are," Cam exclaimed excitedly. He looked over at his father and smiled his impish grin. "Are you coming in, John?"

When Elizabeth swung Jake onto her hip, John lifted a laughing Cam up and onto his shoulders, enjoying the feeling of holding his son close. "You betcha! Let's go get some hot cocoa and see if we can beat Aunt Em at a game on the playstation."

Jake snuggled into Elizabeth's embrace and leaned his head on her shoulder. "I loves you, momma."

Her steps faltered and she dropped a kiss on his blond head. "I loves you too, baby. Are you ready for lunch?"

"Uh huh. I want pizza."

Cam jerked around, almost causing johnny to fall when he lost his balance. Elizabeth laughed as she watched John try to stabilize his footing. "Well, the pizza it is! You can help make the crust and add the toppings."