A/N – Thanks for the comments! Next chapter Sonny leaves.

Chapter 21 – Adaptations

OB got out and opened Claudia's door and helped her out. "I'm going to help Johnny with the luggage." He said before leaving her side.

Jason walked around to her. "Come on."

She followed him to the front door and Jason punched in some numbers and then they went inside. Elizabeth and Olivia looked up.

"Hi." They both chimed out as they feverishly worked to finish dinner.

"Oh my God, that smells so good." Claudia said as her mouth watered.

Olivia smiled. "Good, I hope you're hungry because there is plenty to eat."

Jason led her to her room on the second floor. "You should have everything you need but if you don't, you can let Milo know and he'll get it for you. He should be here soon."

"Thank you." She said taking off her wig. "I'm just going to go freshen up."

Jason walked out and Claudia went into the bathroom and fixed her hair. She could hear someone bring in some suitcases so she quickly finished and went back into the bedroom.

"Alright, you should be set." OB said.

"Thank you."

Claudia followed him back downstairs and sat on the couch. She looked up just in time to see Jason kiss Elizabeth and OB pull Olivia into him. Both couples intrigued her for different reasons.

Johnny came downstairs and sat next to her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm just taking in my surroundings."

Elizabeth walked towards her with a glass of wine. "I hope you like red."

Claudia smiled. "I'm Italian. I was practically weaned on it."

Liz smiled. "I'm Elizabeth."

"Ah, Johnny has told me all about you. Sorry my dad is being such a pain in the ass."

"Not too long ago I was living in Wisconsin and completely oblivious to mob life. Now, I could have my own reality t.v. show."

Claudia knew what that was. Anthony had actually allowed her to watch television from time to time if she played nice. "From what Johnny has told me it's been a wild ride for you."

"Yes it has."

Olivia came out of the kitchen. "Hi, I'm Olivia. I'm glad you made it safely."

Claudia shook her hand as well. "Where are you from?"

"Bensonhurst."

Claudia smiled. "I thought I recognized that accent."

"Yeah, it's kind of hard to hide." Olivia said smiling. "Why don't we go sit at the table? Everything is ready."

They all got settled and Olivia dished out the pasta.

"Oh my God this is so good." Claudia said taking a bite.

Olivia smiled. "Elizabeth is an excellent student."

"I'm okay but I needed a lot of help."

They all pigged out and drank and by the end of the meal there were all kinds of stories being told. They hadn't stopped laughing.

Olivia grabbed the dessert Liz made and it was another hit.

"I can't believe you held out on me." OB said. "These are outstanding."

"They are. I think I just met my new best friends." Johnny said staring at the plate of brownies.

"Those have my name on it." Claudia said giving him a playful glare.

Liz grinned and stood up. "I have something for you Claudia." She said as she got up to retrieve a bag. She handed it to her and sat back down. "It's a welcome back gift. I hope you like it."

Claudia was really surprised. "Wow, thank you." She said before taking the box out and unwrapping it. Liz had them put it inside a different box so Claudia wouldn't know what it was. She opened the lid and her mouth dropped open. "Holy shit." She muttered looking at the shoes. "These are to die for." She said with a big grin. "And red is my signature color." Claudia got up and hugged Elizabeth. "Thank you so much. I really want to thank all of you for making feel so welcome." She said emotionally.

Johnny smiled. It took a lot to drive his sister to tears. He laughed as Claudia kicked off the shoes she had on and stepped into the new ones. "They are so comfortable."

"Now, we'll just have to get you a dress to go along with it." Liz said.

Claudia nodded. "A shopping trip is definitely in our future."

The guys left the girls at the table and then cleaned up before going outside.

"What the hell is a signature color?" Jason asked.

Johnny laughed loudly. "You should know. Your whole wardrobe is black."

OB busted up laughing at the look on Jason's face.

Inside the ladies were dishing about the guys.

"Okay, how long have you been with hunk number one?" Claudia asked Elizabeth.

She chuckled. "Not very long."

"Well, he looks at you like it's been too long." She said winking. The way Jason looked at Elizabeth was smoldering.

Liz laughed loudly.

"And what about Irish? He's pretty hot too."

Olivia grinned. "I met him three months ago but he was away for two of those."

"Well, they seem like really good guys. I think my Johnny has a crush on you." She said looking at Elizabeth.

"I think it was just a little one. I'm new in town so we'll have to rely on Olivia to tell us who we can set him up with."

"What type does he usually go for?"

"I really haven't been around him for a long time. Johnny is quirky though."

The guys came back in. They talked for a while and then got ready to leave.

Liz wrote down her number on a pad. "Call me if you need to chat. I don't want you going stir crazy on us."

Claudia smiled. "Thanks." She said hugging Liz.

Johnny walked them out and then came back inside. "You okay?"

She smiled. "I surprisingly am. I like Elizabeth and Olivia. It's nice to have some girl friends."

"Why don't we shut it down for the night? Milo will keep an eye on things while we're asleep. Tomorrow, I need to go back home and you'll be here alone. Are you going to be okay with that?"

She nodded. "I'll be fine."

She would spend the time planning her father's demise.

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Ronnie knocked on Faith's door but no one answered. "Are you sure that was the right address?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

A man walked out of the office. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, I'm looking for this woman maybe you could help me. It's my daughter and she hasn't been returning my calls." Anthony said lying.

He looked at the picture and his mouth dropped open.

"You've seen her?" Ronnie asked.

He nodded. "Yes, the FBI were here. They swarmed the place. It was straight out of a fucking movie. They took her. I gathered all her things and put them in the back. You want them?"

Anthony looked at Ronnie.

"Sure, we'll take em'." Ronnie said following the man. He was handed a suitcase and he took it and left.

Anthony was leaning against the car. "This fucking sucks."

Ronnie nodded. "Yeah, I was really looking forward to killing that bitch."

"Let's get out of here."

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The next morning, Johnny walked into his father's office.

"Johnny, when did you get in?"

Anthony got up to hug him but Johnny quickly sat down so he wouldn't have to.

"I came straight from the airport."

"Everything is good?" Anthony said studying his son.

"Yea, it's fine pop."

"Good. The FBI apparently has Faith in their custody."

Johnny wasn't surprised. He had figured they might get to her.

"Now, we just have to get Elizabeth back for you."

Johnny rolled his eyes. "I don't want her pop. Do you ever listen to me?"

Anthony glared at him and tried to chalk his son's mood up to jet lag. "Now don't you get saucy with me. She's perfect for you."

"She has a boyfriend. I'm not stepping in between that."

"Jason wouldn't dare lay a finger on you. He will step aside for the greater good."

"I'm sorry but I refuse to marry her. You're just going to have to deal with it." He said standing up and walking out as his father yelled and cursed. They needed to start planning things before Anthony got completely out of control.

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Sonny sat down on his couch and rubbed his hands over his face. He was having a hard time reconciling that he was basically being vanquished.

Luke walked inside the room. "I heard you're going to the island. I figured you could use someone to vent to."

He had also learned of his marital situation as well.

Sonny sighed. "This is the hardest thing I've had to do. Before, I knew I could come back."

Luke sat across from him. "From what Max told me, you don't have a choice."

"They are taking my business away from me. I should have never agreed to those conditions."

When he was first starting, he had agreed to their terms in order for them to trust him. At the time, he wasn't aware he had bipolar disorder. And he certainly never thought they'd actually use it against him.

Luke could see Sonny's wheels spinning. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know what I can do. I certainly can't take out the five families and live to tell about it. If I touch Jason I'll lose my daughter."

"So he is dating your newly found daughter?"

He nodded. "I was hoping that it wasn't serious but I can tell that it's going to be."

Luke fought a smirk. Sonny looked downright miserable about the thought of Jason and his daughter. "Sonny, maybe it's time to kick back. You haven't been thinking clearly. I'm sure there are plenty of babes on the island. You can be the big man on campus and run the casino. It's not like you're hurting for cash. If you're thinking about doing anything stupid to Jason, then you'd be making a big mistake. He's done a lot for you."

"I paid him well for that." Sonny said bitterly.

Luke sighed. He knew better than to push it any further. "Well, it's up to you. But, if you even think about taking Jason out, then I don't want to be involved with that at all. I value my life. I also think that you would lose."

"I'm not going after him okay. I know I can't." Sonny said starting to get pissed off.

Carly walked in.

"Hey Caroline."

She rolled her eyes. "They're going to deliver more boxes in an hour."

"Thanks."

Sonny could barely look at her. He felt so embarrassed.

"Well, I'm going to go. Keep in touch my friend." Luke said shaking his hand.

Carly sat down next to him. "I was wondering if you want to come over tonight and spend some time with Michael."

"That sounds good. I'll cook if you want." He said tentatively.

Carly smiled. "I would love that."

"Carly, you'll get a lump sum payment for the divorce and a monthly stipend for Michael. I named Elizabeth as the trustee for his trust."

Carly grew sad. She really didn't want to think about the divorce at all. This wasn't ever how she saw this ending.

Noting the look on her face he said, "It's for the best Carly. You know that right?"

She nodded. "I know but that doesn't make it an easier."

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Jason walked into the penthouse and saw that Elizabeth was standing out on the balcony. He opened the door and she turned and smiled. "Hey."

She answered him with a kiss as she threw her arms around his neck.

"Mmmm." Jason moaned as he pulled back and looked at her.

"How's your day going?"

"It's okay. I had to sign some more paperwork and start getting payroll together. I'm thinking about hiring someone."

"That is probably a good idea."

He kissed her again. "I missed you."

She stared into his eyes. Her body shuddered and Jason kissed her again, this time more urgently. He pushed her up against the glass and then lifted her up until her legs snaked around his waist.

He kissed her one more time and pulled back and leaned his head against hers. "If I take you upstairs, I'm not going to want to come back down."

"Then don't." Liz said seriously.

"I have a meeting in a half hour and I don't want to rush."

She sighed. "Fine, but you are a big tease Jason Morgan."

He grinned and walked inside with her still wrapped around his body. "I don't mean to be."

"Uh huh." She said warily.

He laughed at her expression. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"It's been a rough day but you still managed to make me laugh."

She kissed him and slid to the floor. "I'm glad you came by."

"Me too." He said kissing her again. "You're getting restless aren't you?"

"A little bit."

"Elizabeth, I want you to know something. If you decide that you miss your life in Wisconsin and that is where you need to be, I'll understand. It will kill me, but I just want you to be happy. We'd figure out a way to make it work."

"I wouldn't want you to hate me."

"I don't think I ever could. I would really miss you though."

She smiled. "I already told you that you're stuck with me and I meant that."

He kissed her softly.

"What do you want to do for dinner?"

"I don't know. Let me think about it."

They sat down on the couch and he held her and kissed her until he had to go upstairs and change.

When he came back down she openly looked him up and down. "You're looking mighty fine in that suit."

He crinkled up his nose. "I'd rather be in jeans."

"It doesn't hurt to switch up now and then. You look handsome."

He gave her a kiss and left.

She sat around for a few minutes and then went back outside. She wasn't used to sitting around. There was no way she'd last for weeks on end like this. Her phone vibrated and she answered.

"Hello?"

"It's Sonny."

"Hi, are you packed?"

He sighed. "Yes. I want to see you before my plane leaves. Can you come here?"

"Of course, I'll be right there."

She had mixed feelings about Sonny. He was so different than her father. Normally, she tried to refrain from comparing people but her mind kept going back to Jeff. Sonny would probably never be like him. She didn't think that Sonny was ever at peace. Life was a struggle for him. He was dark and twisty. Picking up her phone, she called Jason.

"Elizabeth?"

"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting your meeting. Sonny wants to see me so I'm heading over there."

"Be careful. Tell Francis I'll have OB meet you there."

"Okay."

She ended the call and spoke to Francis and then they headed to Greystone.