Do not own General Hospital or any of the characters.

Thanks for everyone who has stuck around and continue to read and review each chapter. It means a lot! I haven't been in the writing mode lately. But with what the show has done to character of Franco, it has started to inspired me again to write.

The Flame of Franco

Back in Town...

Jason could hear the sound of the shower as he left the bedroom and headed downstairs. He desperately wanted to talk to Sam but knew she wouldn't want too. At least not with him, not yet that was.

Letting out a sigh, he headed into the kitchen. He was in need of a beer. As he opened the fridge and reached for a cold bottle of his favourite drink, he heard Spinelli arriving home. The computer hacker had been at the office working on the heavy work load that had come through the door of McCall and Jackal over the pass days. He had been doing background checks and was suppose to present his findings to his partner in crime before moving any further.

"Any one home?" called out Spinelli from the front door.

Twisting the cap off of the beer, Jason closed the fridge door and proceeded into the living room.

"Greetings Stone Cold!" spoke Spinelli as he lay eyes on his roommate.

Jason just nodded his head in greeting at the younger man as he took a seat on the couch. He watched as Spinelli placed something down on the desk.

"The mail carrier was outside the door when I was coming off the elevator," he explained to Jason as he noticed his gaze on him.

Jason nodded his head at this as he took a long swing of his beer. He wasn't really concern about the mail at the moment. His thoughts were still on Sam.

Spinelli could tell that his beloved roommate and boss wanted some space and time to himself. But he knew the matter couldn't wait any longer. Clearing his throat loudly, he addressed Jason, "Stone Cold..."

"What is it Spinelli?" asked Jason, his blue eyes looking over at the younger man. He didn't sound annoyed for his interruption. He just wanted Spinelli to spit it out whatever he had to say. Spinelli had a habit of talking around the issue, instead of getting straight to the point.

"It's just, a package arrived for Faire Samantha earlier at the office. The Jackal found it most suspicious and that Stone Cold should see it," Spinelli then pulled out a small brown box from his messenger bag. It looked similar to the one he had taken off of the mail carrier just a few moments ago. Spinelli then walked over to where Jason was seated on the couch and handed him the box.

Jason placed his beer onto the coffee table before taking the box from Spinelli. His blue eyes looked down at the writing on the top of it. It was addressed to Sam McCall. There was no return address or anything else written on it. Just Sam's name. Jason frowned at this.

"The package was seated on her desk," explained Spinelli as he took off his bag and took a seat in the chair across from Jason.

Jason had a good idea who it was from. His heart pounded loudly against his chest as he pulled off the tap that sealed the top of the box. He knew that it was addressed to Sam but he didn't want her to see it. He had a pretty good idea that it was from Franco.

Taking a deep breath, he reached into the small box and pulled out the object that was packaged inside. He frowned at what he saw. The object was a toy monkey with cymbals in its hands. It was a whine- up toy of sorts and was only 2 inches or so tall. The mobster continued to stare at the monkey before glancing over at the package that Spinelli had retrieved from the mail carrier.

"Spinelli, open that one and see what's inside," demanded Jason, pointing to the small brown box on the desk.

"Of course Stone Cold," answered Spinelli as he rose from his seat and walked back to the desk to retrieve the package. It was addressed to Jason.

Once the top was undone and opened. Spinelli pulled out another toy monkey. It was identical to the one, Jason had in his hand. Spinelli looked over at Jason and met his eye. The computer hacker could not read Jason's facial expression. Whatever the mobster was thinking, it was masked by his stone cold gaze.

"Who does Stone Cold think sent these?" he asked as he walked back towards the sofa chair.

"Franco," whispered Jason as he looked away from Spinelli, and down at the whine-up toy in his hand. It was defiantly another message from Franco. But like all messages from Franco, Jason did not know what it meant. Placing the toy on the coffee table, he glanced over at Spinelli again.

"Spinelli, I need you to do a search on Franco." He knew he had already gotten Spinelli to do a search on the deranged artist a few months ago after his message at Josslyne's christening. But that search had come up with nothing.

"Of course, Stone Cold. The Jackal is at your service," Spinelli then reached for his messenger bag and pulled out his beloved laptop.

"Find out where the bastard is," growled Jason as he felt a headache coming on.

Jason was worried. Not only about Franco but about Sam. It had been about two hours since and she still hadn't come down. His blue eyes gazed up the stairs. He was alone now in the Penthouse. Spinelli had gone back to the office to continue his search on Franco. Jason had a sense that the artist was back in town and he didn't want Sam to find out, not yet that was.

Letting out a deep breath, he decided it was time to face the situation head on. It was time to seek out Sam. He just wanted to make sure she was okay. His footsteps were heavy as he walked slowly up the stairs and down the hallway, towards the Master bedroom.

"Sam," he whispered as he pushed opened the bedroom door and stuck his head inside. The sight before him, took his breath away.

Sam was lying bare naked on the bed, fast asleep. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of her. Not wanting to awake her, he quietly shut the door behind him and went back down stairs.

"Oh dear," cried Spinelli as he stared intensely at his computer screen, "This is not good!"

He was at a disbelief at the search results. What Jason had feared had come true. Franco was most defiantly alive and back in Port Charles. Spinelli had been able to find Franco's agent and had discovered that the artist was showing at the local gallery. And that the opening was that night.

Reaching for his phone, Spinelli quickly dialled Jason's number.

"So what do you think, red roses or lilies?" asked Maxie towards Sam as she flipped through the numerous binders layout on the dinning room table.

"Um, neither," responded Sam as she leaned back in her chair. She wasn't the biggest fan of roses and lilies reminded her of funerals.

Maxie's eyes widen in surprise at this. "Then what kind of flowers do you want?" asked the blonde. She was trying to plan Sam's wedding but she was making it hard on her. She had no idea what she wanted or anything. Maxie had to make all the decisions and when she did asked Sam her opinion, she would just shrug.

"I don't know," shrugged Sam as she began to flip through the binder which was filled with flower arrangements she was suppose to pick from, "Just not roses or lilies."

"Okay, well there are orchids or tulips or..." Maxie's voice trailed off as she was interrupted by the front door opening and both Spinelli and Jason stepped inside.

"I like magnolias," commented Sam as she stared down at a arrangement of white magnolia flowers.

"Magnolias! That could work. It fits perfect with the colour scheme of white and silver!" cried Maxie, a smile appearing on her face as she quickly reached for her Blackberry and immediately began to type away on the keyboard.

Sam looked up and smiled at her friend before shifting her attention towards Spinelli and Jason who had just entered the Penthouse. They were speaking in low voices, she noted as Jason spoke something to Spinelli who nodded his head in agreement before heading upstairs. She frowned slightly at this. Usually Spinelli would say hi, especially when his girlfriend was here. Standing up, she moved towards were Jason stood.

"Hey," she whispered out towards him.

He turned immediately at this and smiled at her, "Hey." The two of them had not spoken since that incident earlier on in the day. Sam had slept for a good three hours or so until she was woken up by the sound of her cell phone going off. It had been Maxie. She had wanted to come over to discuss the wedding. Jason hadn't been home. He had left her a note saying he had gone to work. when really he had headed over to the P.I. office, after receiving Spinelli's phone call.

The two of them continued to stare at one another for a moment before being interrupted by Spinelli, who had just come back down the stairs.

"Greetings Faire Samantha!" spoke the computer hacker.

"Hi Spinelli," whispered Sam, looking over at the younger man and smiling a slight smile.

Spinelli returned the smile before looking over at Jason, who shook his head at him. He didn't want Sam to know about Franco, not yet that was. He had already told Spinelli all this but he was afraid that the younger man would let something slip about their new discovery.

Sam could sense something was wrong as she studied the two men. Something was up. However before she could ask, Maxie approached the trio. The blonde had her designer hand bag slung over her shoulder as she smiled at Spinelli, "Hi baby!"

"Hi, my beloved Maximista!" greeted Spinelli as he smiled at the blonde. Leaning forward, he kissed her tender on the lips.

"So, Sam, I left the binders for you on the table," spoke Maxie as she broke the kiss and turned her attention over to Sam. "I want you to go through them all and make a decision, okay!"

"Yes, Maxie," Sam was really starting to regret hiring Maxie as her wedding planner. Maxie was already a demanding friend but having her as a wedding planner was even worse.

"Good! I will see you in a few day," the blonde smiled at her friend before turning yet again towards Spinelli. "Shall we go?" she asked to him. They had plans to meet up with Lulu and Dante for dinner.

"We shall!" replied Spinelli, as he offered his arm to Maxie. The couple then bided goodbye to Jason and Sam before leaving the Penthouse.

"So what was Maxie doing here?" asked Jason towards Sam as he handed her a beer before taking a seat beside her on the couch.

"Oh she wanted to talk about the wedding, the usual," she replied glancing over at him, before taking a sip from the bottle.

Jason nodded his head in understanding as he held her gaze for a second longer before looking away. His mind was racing as he let his thought drift over him. He was thinking about Franco. He didn't know how to tell Sam that the artist was back in town or at least that is what he thought. There was no evidence to support that Franco, himself was in Port Charles. Just that his art was.

"So are you going to tell me or do I have to ask?" asked Sam, as she placed her beer onto the coffee table and turned to face Jason.

"What do you mean?" asked Jason, turning his head to look at her.

"Well, I know you weren't at work. When Maxie came over, spoke Sam, "She said that she had stopped by McCall and Jackal where Spinelli was to say hi and that you were there." The blonde had just let it slip that he was there, but it hadn't gone passed Sam. She didn't usually have to be told exactly where he was. But she knew something was up between Jason and Spinelli and she knew it had something to do with Franco. "What the hell is going on Jason?"

His eyes locked with hers. He knew he could not lie to her. Letting out a sigh, he drained the remainder of his beer before placing the empty beer bottle onto the coffee table. "Franco," he stated, hatred filling is voice, "He's back in town."

The Penthouse was quiet and dark.

It was midnight and everyone had gone off to bed. The place was empty of a soul as the soft clicking sound of the front door being unlocked filled the room.

"Anyone home?" whispered a familiar voice as the front door swung open and the figured stepped inside. The artist smiled at himself as he quietly closed the door behind him. This was just getting too easy, he thought to himself.

Swinging his arms back and forth, he looked around the room. This was the first time he was visiting Jason's home. His chuckled to himself as he took in the sight of the two monkey whine-up toys sitting on the desk. "Oh, Jason, I am touched," whispered Franco as he lifted one of the toys and whined it up. The monkey immediately came to life, clapping the cymbals together and gleefully screeching. He did not care if the monkey's sudden noise a woke someone. He preferred if that happened. However, as the monkey died down and the room became suddenly quiet, there was no sound from upstairs.

Turning his attention away from the monkey, Franco took one more quick glance around the living room before heading up the stairs. There was one more thing that needed to be done.

His foot steps were light and effortless as he crept down the hallway. He wasn't sure where he was going as he turned towards the first door he came across and pushed it open. The room was damp and dark. It was filled with boxes and nothing else. Letting out a disappointing sigh, Franco closed the door, and continued to move to the other one, across the hallway.

Pushing opening the door, his eyes fell onto the sleeping figures of Spinelli and Maxie. A smile crept onto the artist face as he continued to stare at the couple for a second longer. He did not bother to shut the door as he continued down the hallway. The next door he had come across, was the bathroom. "Three strikes and your out," murmured Franco to himself as he turned away from the bathroom and towards the last door at the end of the hallway. This is where his destination lay.

A grin was plastered on the artist's face as he pushed opened the door to the master bedroom. He stood in the doorway for a second, staring in at Sam and Jason, asleep in bed. "Hello," he whispered towards them as he took a step into the room.

Franco moved slowly across the room and towards the bed. His eyes shown with excitement as he came to stand at the edge of the bed, staring down at the couple. Jason was turned onto his side, facing Sam, who was lying on her back. They were both deep asleep and unaware of the artist's presence in their bedroom.

As he continued to gaze down on the couple, Sam stirred in her sleep.

She didn't know if her eyes were playing tricks on her in the dark as she looked towards the edge of the bed, where Franco stood, smiling at her. A part of her wondered if she was still asleep and this was all just a bad dream as she continued to look at the artist.

He lifted a hand and waved to her in greeting. The grin on his face appearing wider as his eyes locked with hers.

Panic and fear washed over her as realization sank in. This wasn't a nightmare or her eyes playing tricks. That Franco was really there, in the flesh. Bolting up, she reached for Jason as a piercing scream escaped from the back of her throat.

Franco then took this as his moment to flee as he bolted like a cat from the Penthouse.

Jason was immediately awake and looking at Sam with worry. He was use to her screaming out and crying in the middle of the night. But this time it was different. "Sam, what is it?" he asked as he sat up and continue to stare at her.

Tears were streaming down her face as she continue to look on at the edge of the bed where Franco had been standing just merely seconds ago.

"Sam!?" he whispered again, trying to get her attention. "Tell me what happened?"

"Franco," she whispered back, "He was here."

Thanks again for reading! Leave a review if you want!

Julie