A/N – Thanks for the reviews! There are answers in this chapter that a lot of you have been asking about. More to come.

Chapter 27 – Blown Away

"Hey beautiful, I need you to wake up right now and talk to me," John said as his voice broke. Tess is wrapped up tightly in blankets. She looks pale and John is torturing himself with guilt. He laid his head on her leg and started to cry, thinking that he may lose them both.

Tess opened her eyes and saw him. "John," she said softly.

John's head snapped up.

"I'm sorry."

John almost laughed. "You're sorry? I'm the one that overreacted," he said as he watched the tears roll down her cheeks.

"The baby?"

"Still with us…"

Tess closed her eyes and quietly cried. "Thank God." When she had stood on the docks overlooking the water she knew that she wanted the baby no matter what happened. It is a part of John and he is everything that is good in her life.

"I'm sorry I ran. I just needed to think."

"Did you think that I would leave you?" he asked trying to see where her head was at.

Tess nodded. "I thought you weren't ready and I didn't want you to think that I did it on purpose."

John lowered his head knowing Tess's background and he understands why she would think that way. "We created this baby together. It was conceived out of love and I'm not going anywhere."

Tess started crying again.

"Baby, I'm so in love with you. I know you think you're the only one who gets insecure, but sometimes I'm scared that you'll leave me too."

Tess was shocked. "Why would you think that I'd leave?"

"Because I'm a fucking pain in the ass," he said smirking. He is a lot to handle when he is in a mood or frustrated creatively, but Tess always just took it and helped him get through it. She never complained and rarely lost her temper with him unless she had a good cause.

"You're my pain in the ass and you've got a great ass by the way."

John grinned. "I have to ask you something."

"Go for it."

"Do you remember what the man said to you before he pushed you in?"

Tess gasped as she thought back. "Yes. He said this is from Sam McCall."

John stood. "I need to go to the waiting room and talk to Jason. I'll send Liz back."

"Okay."

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Sonny had just shown up and was holding Claudia as she filled him in. He looked up and saw John walking towards them. "How is she?"

"She's awake and we had a long talk. She told me what the man had said to her."

Everyone stared at him.

"He said this is from Sam McCall."

Liz gasped.

"What the fuck?" Claudia said. "That bitch."

Sonny glanced at Jason. "We need to find out who's helping her get revenge. In the meantime, I don't think any of us should go anywhere without guards. We need to double up."

Jason nodded. "I'll take care of it."

John turned towards Johnny. "Will you take Liz back to see Tess?"

Johnny nodded and walked Liz to the room. He also called for someone to bring him some clothes so he could change.

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Spinelli hurried into the hospital waiting room. "Greetings," he said before sitting next to Jason. "How is the Temptress doing?"

"She's stable," John said.

"Did you find anything?" Jason asked.

"Of course, nothing gets by the Jackal." Spinelli opened his computer and showed them the video of the accident.

John grimaced as he watched Tess fall into the water.

"It does appear that the fiend was hit in the shoulder before he disappeared a few buildings down," Spinelli said.

Jason's phone rang.

"We got him, boss," Max said.

"You know where to take him."

"We're on the move right now."

Jason closed the phone.

"They got the pig?" Sonny asked.

"Yes."

"Milo, stay with Claudia and Liz. Make sure Johnny stays outside of Tess's room. No one can let her out of their sight and Spinelli, stay here until I call you," Jason said.

"I'm coming with you," John said standing up.

"John no, you can't go."

"Claudia, he almost killed my girl and our baby."

She grabbed his arms. "I know, but let Jason handle it."

"I'm sorry, Claudia, but I have to do this." There is no way in hell John is not going. He doesn't give a shit about the consequences.

John chased after the other men and Claudia nervously watched him leave.

"John please be careful. Do not hurt your hands," she yelled after him.

John turned around and looked at her. "Fuck my hands."

And that is when Claudia knew that John was out of control.

"I'll watch him," Sonny said before kissing her and walking into the elevator.

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The warehouse was dark. In the corner, John could see a light and a man sitting in a chair.

They approached him. Jason had told John that he'd give him a shot at the man, but that he had to let him question him first.

It amazed John how Jason could be so gentle with Liz, then as soon as they walked into that building, it was like ice ran through his veins instead of blood.

Jason grabbed the man and punched him in the gut. "Did Sam McCall send you or are you working for someone else?"

The man grinned. "You fucked with the wrong bitch. She's pissed and you have no idea what horrors she has come up with."

Jason punched him in the mouth. "You can either die fast or die slow. It's really up to you and what you're willing to disclose."

The man stared into Jason's eyes. It was like looking into death. "I was contacted by Ms. McCall. She said that she needed to get back at some people. I was supposed to kill Elizabeth, but since Tess was also on my list and I saw that she was alone, I decided to take her out first.

Jason clenched his fist. "What else?"

"There is someone that is funding all of this, but I wasn't told exactly who."

"Why should I believe you?" Jason asked studying him closely.

"You don't have to believe a word I said, but if you don't, the people you love will suffer."

Jason backed up and glanced at John. He handed him a piece of plywood with some nails in it and John smiled and wound up and struck the man across the chest. He yanked it back out and hit him again.

The man screamed in agony and then he just started laughing and wouldn't stop. John stopped and lowered the plank. Everyone looked at each other and waited for the man to speak.

"Pull up my pant leg," he said smugly.

Max pulled it up and yelled. "Fuck! Everyone out!"

Jason had seen the bomb and grabbed John. They ran with everything they had, and soon as they made it out of the building, it exploded.

It was like everything moved in slow motion. John landed on his back and was looking up at the fiery inferno in front of him. He couldn't hear a thing except for his own heartbeat which sounded like it was about to burst through his chest and then he felt someone pulling at him and looked up and saw Jason who was bleeding from a cut on his face and he looked a little out of it too. Jason helped him stand up and then they ran across the street where Sonny and the rest of the guys were laying on the ground trying to catch their breath. John collapsed next to them and his hearing slowly came back. Everyone has cuts from flying debris.

"Let's get out of here," he heard Max say, and they ran to the SUV's and climbed inside.

John looked out the window at the blaze until it was no longer visible. He had almost died in there and then he wouldn't have ever seen his kid or Tess again and it deeply affected him. Fiddling with the black box in his pocket that he'd been carrying for a month, he decided he wasn't going to waste another second with indecision.