Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you guys continue to enjoy.

Chapter Ten

Her smile spread from ear to ear. "Piph?" Elizabeth called out. When she didn't hear anything, she tried again, only louder.

"Epiphany?"

No sooner did she quiet than the door opened.

"Is something wrong?" Francis asked, poking his head through the gap in the door.

"No not at all, I was just curious. I wanted to ask Piph how Cleo got here. We figured we would have had to make a trip later in the week." Elizabeth said, gesturing to her cat.

"Oh, Marco brought her back about an hour ago, Epiphany mentioned that you were probably missing the furry little beast, her words…as for Epiphany, she is up at Mr. and Mrs. Corinthos penthouse."

"Umm…could you thank Marco for me…I was missing her. It's strange to go to sleep without a little furball screaming in your ear. When we found her, she was a skinny thing and barely meowed…after a month with me, she never shuts up…" Just to prove the point, Cleo meowed and shoved her head in to Elizabeth's hand, demanding attention.

"Cats and women…high maintenance…" Francis muttered under his breath.

"I heard you!" Elizabeth exclaimed with an affronted look.

"Bye Miss Webber…" Francis said and quickly shut the door but not before he heard a thunk of something hitting it. So feisty that one.

Elizabeth looked around the room, wondering aloud, "Have you been fed, your highness?" As she set the cat on the floor to look for her supplies, her mind supplied, 'if only he knew the half of it…It was a lesson well learned, don't leave the pet alone for a week and the history channel on and showing nothing but Egyptian week…darling Cleopatra was even more high maintenance after that.'

After finding all the cats supplies in the laundry room, Elizabeth made her way upstairs. The impromptu adventure had taken its toll on her. If the doctor was as good as they said, then maybe getting around wouldn't be such a problem after the operation.

With both hope and fear fighting for dominance in her mind, she slowly drifted off to sleep.

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"Mr. Corinthos, how long before the DNA tests come back? Not telling Elizabeth about this…it doesn't feel right. From the beginning, whether it was my best idea or not, I have not kept anything from her. She has enough trust issues; I don't want her to start doubting me." Epiphany said.

"I understand and normally, I think being honest is an admirable trait but with every item we discover, we just find more questions. Until I have definitive proof, I'd prefer not to upset her." Sonny said, pacing.

"I don't mean to seem ungrateful or anything of the sort. That girl…I don't know what it is but she is special. My nurses from any of the hospitals I have worked at, have all taken to calling me the 'Ball Buster'…all because I like to keep things orderly…I have heard a lot of less than pleasant nicknames but if those idiots only knew…one look from Elizabeth and I'm folding like a house of cards."

"I can believe it. Two of my most feared guards are ready to do anything for her and my enforcer…I'd laugh if it wasn't so out of character. Johnny has been on my wife since we first met and he was ready to jump ship and guard your girl. You are right; there is something special about her. If I was a more superstitious man, I'd say she's magic. I've never seen my guys so eager to protect someone." Sonny said, shaking his head at the confounding nature of the woman and the men who worked for him.

"You should have seen her as a child. One look into her eyes and I was ready to promise anything, just to get her to smile. To see a little girl's eyes so haunted, to feel the crushing weight of her sadness and complete confusion…I am woman enough to know, I didn't stand a chance."

Wanting to get things back into less distressing territory, Sonny said, "Rico texted me early this morning, he's obtained all four of their blood and should be back here tomorrow. So as soon as he steps foot in Port Charles, he'll take it took the lab we use. The technician said he'd put a rush on the results, so I am hopeful for 2-4 days. If you'd like, when the results come in, I'll explain the reason for waiting."

"I don't like feeling like a chicken but it might be best. She could see it as you covering all your bases, instead of the betrayal she's liable to feel if I did it. She's a smart girl, to excel as much as she has, with very little…"

"Don't fear Epiphany, I understand. This is a difficult thing and in order to protect her, I do have to question everything. Samson is staying in Colorado to keep an eye on the parents and I have two lesser…newer guards watching Sarah and Steven. Oh, while I am thinking about it, Jason will be home later this evening. That man hates hospitals and signs himself out before he's ready too often, if you could let Elizabeth know, Francis mentioned that her visit with him went well but tired her out."

"I appreciate that. She's a horse of a different color…stubborn to her core but thankfully, logic can and usually does win out. Except when it comes to her stamina and strength, she'll push herself to the brink and beyond, trying to prove she isn't 'broken'…by the way, thank you so much for getting her cat, for some reason, that cat will sit there and let her ramble away, almost as if she understands that Elizabeth needs someone to listen to her, without judgement."

"Not a problem. Marco said he managed the retrieval, relatively unscathed." Sonny said with a smile.

He wasn't used to conversing this long with a practical stranger but Epiphany's frankness was something he could appreciate and if anything, seeing the change in the men he considered family, he was willing to step out of his comfort zone. Lord knows, most of his life was repetitious…SSDD…Lily was the light in his dark business but as he was quickly coming to understand, one could never have enough people in their lives.

Epiphany laughed, "Oh, the stories I could tell you but I'll save that for another day. I should get back to Elizabeth; she forgets to eat too often. Thank you for settling my mind and thank you for all your doing, I don't know how we would have continued on if not for you and your help."

Sonny showed her to the door. It was time to talk, really talk, to his wife. She'd been annoyed when he'd asked her for some privacy but until they had the bigger picture, he didn't want to involve Lily more than he had to. Her heart was so big, and if he had to send Epiphany and Elizabeth away for their own good, he would because while helping them was the right thing, there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for his wife, including but not limited to, laying down his life in defence of her.

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