A/N – Thanks for the reviews! Glad that you guys were shocked by the bomb! More answers to come!

Chapter 28 – Reunited

John walked into Tess's room and noticed she wasn't completely wrapped up in the blankets anymore. She had some thrown on her, but her hands were now free. She opened her eyes and he saw the look of horror on her face.

"No—no I'm fine. I'm alright. There was an explosion."

Tess's eyes filled with tears. "John, please don't leave me again. I don't want to let you out of my sight. You could have been killed."

He nodded. "I know. I'm so sorry. I just wanted to tear that guy apart for what he did to you. He almost cost me everything."

She saw the emotion building up in his eyes and she reached out her hand. He moved towards her and took it.

"Tess, I love you beyond reason. I know you think that I saved you, but you saved me. I was lost and you became my compass. I've been carrying this box in my pocket for quite a while, waiting for the perfect time and place, but now I know that you are my perfect place," he said as tears threatened to spill.

Tess gasped as John opened up the jewelry box which holds a three-carat princess cut diamond.

"Oh my God," she said covering her mouth with her hand.

"Tess Buchanon, will you marry me?"

The tears rolled down Tess's face. Liz is in the hallway and she is crying too. Jason had walked upon the scene and thought something bad had happened.

"Yes, John, I will marry you," she said grinning.

They embraced and then John kissed her deeply.

Liz turned towards Jason. His face is cut and he is a mess. She threw herself in his arms.

"What happened?"

"John just proposed to Tess."

Jason smiled. "That's good."

She pulled back and then glared and smacked him on the arm.

"Hey!"

"Are you crazy? You could have been killed. I just got you back and—"

Jason silenced her with a kiss as Tess watched the scene and smiled. "It makes me really happy that she's so happy."

John smiled. "If it weren't for Jason, I might not be here right now."

Tess hugged him again.

Liz and Jason entered the room. "Both of you are getting those cuts looked at and I don't even want to hear any objections," she demanded.

John could that Liz wasn't playing. "Okay. I'll go."

A nurse walked in the room. "Come on you two, let's get you cleaned up."

Liz watched them leave and then turned to Tess and squealed. She hugged her and then grabbed her hand and admired the ring. "Wow, that is gorgeous."

"I know! I can't believe he proposed. It's like my dream come true," she said tearing up again.

Claudia joined them. "Did I just hear you say that John proposed?"

Tess grinned. "Yup." She held up her hand.

Claudia smiled. "Beautiful. I'm happy for you both."

"I'm sorry for everything that happened at the diner," Tess said.

"Me too, but I'm just glad that you're okay. My brother needs you."

"And I need him." She patted her stomach. "And so does this baby."

Claudia sat. "I can't believe that I'm going to be an aunt."

"When are you and Sonny going to seal the deal?" Liz asked.

Claudia shrugged. "I'm not into the whole marriage thing. We both have businesses and assets. I'm just happy to be with him. We know what makes each other happy and we enjoy each other's company. "

"And, I do love you, Claudia," Sonny said from the doorway.

She smiled and turned around. "I love you too."

The guys came back in the room covered with a few bandages.

"John needed three stitches—the wus," Jason said rolling his eyes.

"I could have sworn I saw a tear in your eye when she put that medicine on. Maybe Liz can kiss it better," John teased.

Jason made a face.

"Fine if you don't want me to kiss it better," Liz said shrugging.

Jason smirked.

The doctor walked into the room so everyone left.

"Tess, your body temperature is up. Are you ready for the ultrasound?"

Tess smiled. "Sure."

"A nurse is going to come transport you over to one of my exam rooms."

"Thank you, Dr. Lee."

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Tess got settled as Kelly came into the room. "Okay, let's take a look at that baby."

She hooked everything up and the baby's heartbeat started filling the room. Tess and John couldn't stop grinning.

Kelly put the gel on Tess's belly and started to move the wand around.

"You're farther along than I thought," Kelly said smiling. "I think you're probably around eight weeks. That little raspberry sized shape right there is your baby."

"Wow," John said.

"Have you been sick?" Kelly asked.

"A few times, but I just thought I was coming down with something. I haven't been eating as much," Tess said.

"Well, you need to start taking prenatal vitamins and I need you to eat. You can do small little meals. Ginger will help the nausea and get a lot of rest. You've probably been feeling really tired."

Tess nodded.

Kelly began cleaning up. "Make sure you find a good doctor when you get back home, but as long as you're here, I'd be happy to answer any questions you have."

"Thank you so much."

"We're having a baby," John said hugging her. "I love you.

"I love you too."

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They released Tess from the hospital the next morning. John needed to go back to New York, but Sonny insisted that he leave Tess behind so that they could protect her. He wasn't happy about it, but he finally agreed.

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Dante sat in the diner playing with a fork. He smelled her perfume before he actually saw her and looked up.

"Hi," Liz said with a smile.

"Hi."

Liz sat. "I missed you. What have you been up to?"

Why did she have to be so damn beautiful? "We need to talk."

Liz frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I can't be around you for a while."

Liz was shocked. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No. It's just too hard for me."

She was completely confused and didn't understand.

"Liz, somewhere along the way, I started to fall for you."

She gasped. "Dante—"

"Don't say anything. It's all my fault. I crossed the line and now I need to deal with these feelings. I know you love Jason and you never did anything to lead me on. You were just being you."

Liz felt herself tearing up. She didn't want to lose his friendship. He had been there for her so much. And when she thought about it, she was mad at herself for being selfish.

"You can say something now," he said before lowering his gaze.

Liz had started to cry and she reached up for a second and touched his chin to move his head up.

"I'm sorry. I leaned on you too much. You're such a wonderful man and probably under other circumstances, we would have connected. You are right. I am in love with Jason, but I also love you as a friend and I really hope that at some point we can resume our friendship. If you can't, then I will try and understand."

He watched as the tears flowed down her cheeks and he hated himself for making her cry.

"I should go. I'm so sorry," he said before standing up and almost running out of the restaurant.

Liz sat there crying and Johnny sat beside her and held her. "What's wrong? Did you two have a fight?"

"Um, we're just taking a break for a while."

Johnny wasn't stupid. He kind of figured what it was about. "Let's get you home."