Also, I'd like to note that I do not own ABC's "General Hospital" or the characters and I will NOT be receiving any payment whatsoever for writing this story. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.
~*~o~*~
"NO!" Kristina cried out. "Dad, please listen! It was Anthony Zacchara who tried to rape me..."
"...Old Ugly Man... who talks like he's missing a few screws!" she went on urgently. "It was Ethan who saved me! He got here before Anthony could do anything! Why won't you listen to me?"
Finally it all sunk in for Sonny, and gradually he let Ethan go, although he continued to glare at Ethan menacingly.
"Anthony did this?" he said in shock as he stared at his daughter's torn shirt.
"I suppose I should thank you then for saving Kristina," he said to Ethan, none-too-politely.
"I'm grateful, but I still want you to know- KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY DAUGHTER, because if I EVER see you touching her again, you're going to be sorry!" Sonny hissed.
"Now come on, Kristina, I am taking you home now," he said, wrapping an arm around his daughter.
Kristina looked at Ethan helplessly over her shoulder as her dad was putting his arm around her. "Thank you," she mouthed to Ethan. She needed to find a way to contact him later. She couldn't wait to see him again. Even though her dad was definitely not going for it; she didn't care, because she knew what she wanted, and that was Ethan Lovett.
Sonny lead his daughter away toward the car, then had his driver take Kristina over to the lake house she shared with her mother and younger sister. He kissed Kristina's cheek as she got out of the car. "I'm sorry about what Anthony did to you, honey," he said as he hugged her. "I'm going over to have a chat with Johnny about his crazy father, so don't worry... it's not going to happen again."
After Sonny left, Kristina let herself into the house to discover her mom was not home. She knew that her dad would be talking to her mom soon enough about Anthony's attack. She made her way up to the bathroom and took a long, hot shower. She washed herself clean as she longed to wash away all traces of Anthony's touch. After her shower, she dried off and got dressed. About five minutes later, she was lying in her bed, daydreaming of those moments she had spent cuddled in Ethan's embrace.
Meanwhile, Ethan had left the docks and arrived at the Haunted Star. He was wrapping a cool, damp towel around his wounded knuckles when Luke entered the bar where Ethan stood. "What happened to your hand, Dodge?" Luke asked in concern.
"I had to pound the piss out of Anthony Zacchara," Ethan told his father. "That asshole had his hands all over Kristina."
Luke frowned. "I thought Sonny told you to stay away from his daughter."
"He did... and today I made it clear to her that she and I can only be friends," responded Ethan. "But what was I supposed to do? Anthony ripped her blouse open, and he had her pinned against a wall..."
"So you played the Knight in Shining Armor?" said Luke with a little grin as he poured himself a glass of whiskey and another for his son.
Ethan drank the whiskey in a quick gulp. "I'll never let anyone hurt Kristina..."
"You got it bad, son," Luke chuckled.
Ethan didn't say anything. Instead, he poured himself more whiskey. "I'm going down to my stateroom," he informed his father, grabbing the rest of the bottle, the glass, and heading off to his room.
Ethan stepped into his stateroom, the bottle of whiskey in hand. He closed the door, then took a seat upon the edge of his bed. Withdrawing his cell phone from his pocket, he put in a call to his employer. A moment later, Johnny Zacharra had answered the call.
"Johnny, we need to talk," Ethan spoke into the phone. "I need to warn you that your father threatened Kristina on the docks and ripped her blouse, and Sonny is on his way over."
"What?" Johnny said in a gasp, nearly dropping the phone. He honestly couldn't keep up with all his father's crazy antics.
"Listen, I can't work for you anymore, Johnny. I quit. I don't want to work for Anthony Zacchara's son. Your father is demented, and if he touches Kristina again, I won't be responsible for my actions. This time I only bloodied his nose, but next time, it won't be so pretty. Keep your father away from Kristina."
"Ethan, I'm sorry. I can't believe my father did something so awful to Kristina, after all that poor girl has been through. I promise it won't happen again. But I wish you wouldn't leave, I could really use your help with the business right now. You're my right-hand man."
"Sorry, I'm done. Good bye and good luck," Ethan said as he ended the call.
Taking another sip of his whiskey, Ethan lay back against his pillows. He no longer had a job except working here at the Haunted Star at the bar, and he couldn't date Kristina either. All of it totally sucked. "Bloody hell," he said as he tried to relax despite his wounded hand. He had really punched the crap out of Anthony Zacchara and for that, he was glad.
~*~o~*~
Minutes after the call from Ethan, Sonny arrived at Johnny's penthouse. "If your crazy father slips up one more time, I'm going to have the demented old bag of shit killed," Sonny threatened.
"Listen, Sonny, I apologize for my father's behavior, and I promise it will not happen again-," Johnny started, but Sonny interrupted.
"Damn right it better not happen again. Had Ethan Lovett not been there, who knows what your crazy old man might have done to my daughter."
"I think you need to hire a bodyguard to accompany Kristina wherever she goes to keep her safe," Johnny suggested.
"Krissy would never agree to that. She's stubborn and would think it would be too much of an intrusion on her privacy," said Sonny.
"Kristina would agree to it if that bodyguard was Ethan," Johnny responded.
"But Ethan's working for you."
"Not anymore he's not," said Johnny. "Ethan quit tonight."
Suddenly, Sonny knew what he must do to keep Kristina safe.
~*~o~*~
Ethan had entered the bar for more whiskey when Sonny strolled in. "Luke isn't here right now," Ethan told Sonny as he stood at the bar holding a glass of the hard stuff.
"I'm not here to see Luke. I'm here to see you," Sonny responded.
"Me? Is this about Kristina?"
"Yes, it is," answered Sonny. "I've changed my mind. You can see my daughter."
Ethan wondered if he was hearing Sonny right. Had he really had so much to drink that he was now hearing things? Staring at Sonny in shock, Ethan wondered what had caused this sudden change in Sonny's demeanor.
"I just want my little girl to be safe, and I know you will protect her," Sonny explained. "I'd like to hire you to be Kristina's bodyguard. I need you to pose as her boyfriend to protect her, because there is no way on earth she would ever agree to having a constant bodyguard around. I want you to keep a close watch on her day and night, whatever it takes."
Ethan tried to protest to the arrangement, but Sonny insisted. "We both want Kristina to stay safe. You're the only one she trusts."
"But if I am posing as her boyfriend, she's going to want everything that accompanies a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship," Ethan warned.
"As I said before, do whatever you have to do to keep my daughter safe from Zacchara and all my other enemies," Sonny told Ethan. "But I am warning you, if you hurt my daughter... even just once, you'll answer to me."
"I'd never hurt Kristina," Ethan promised as he realized he was agreeing to Sonny's proposal. In that moment, he had just become Kristina's bodyguard.
After Sonny left, Ethan withdrew his cell phone from his back pocket. "Kristina, can I come over?" he asked once he had her on the phone. "We need to talk."
Kristina smiled; she knew it! He was finally coming to his senses! "Yes," she agreed.
"You can come over," she said eagerly. She bit her bottom lip with excitement as she couldn't wait for him to tell her that he wanted to be with her.
"I'll be right there," he told her as he ended the call. He left the Haunted Star and headed over to the home where Kristina lived with her mom and her little sister. He knocked on the door and waited eagerly for her to answer. He wondered what Krissy's reaction would be to his news.