Disclaimer: I do not own GH or the characters…No copy write infringement intended…Entertainment purposes only…

Chapter Fifty-One

"Answer me."

"You're jumping to conclusions!"

"Am I?" He firmly held her chin still when she attempted to look anywhere else but at him. "You really suck at lying, Georgie. I already know the truth. Kinda hard to miss the signs. I'm way too familiar with them from my childhood and then Claudia's ridiculously stupid marriage to Corinthos. Why can't you admit it?"

Yanking from his grip she scooted closer to the edge of the bed. "Diego never physically hurt me, Johnny. But, yes, you are right about the mood swings not being anything new. He's always been unpredictable and short tempered. But they're worse now though. Happy?"

Processing the words while studying her face for hints of what she was still trying to hide Johnny rubbed the back of his neck. Something still wasn't right. Damn she was stubborn! Okay, he'd try it another way if she wanted to be so difficult. "Was it your choice to stay with him after he rescued you after the incident in the park?"

"We already discussed this," she huffed in exasperation.

"Humor me. Was it?"

"Yes! He didn't force me to stay in South America or at the Alcazar compound for that matter! Just drop it! There's plenty of other stuff to discuss instead of your paranoid beliefs."

Johnny scowled. He'd heard stories about how close Georgie was to her family before her supposed death. He remembered seeing her and Maxie together constantly when he first arrived in Port Charles. The two sisters had been almost inseparable, best friends. Two of the traits he admired most about his wife were her compassionate nature and the fierce loyalty for those she cared about. Letting her family assume she was dead was so far out of character that he wondered why no one questioned it before now. "So why did you stay? Why didn't you at least alert Mac or your sister about your whereabouts? Or that you were in fact alive?"

Georgie nervously licked her lips. "And what was I supposed to say to them, Johnny?" She played with the hem of her shirt, twisting and smoothing the material. "Coming home then wasn't an option. Neither was contacting them. They'd have insisted on helping, trying to protect me. It was too dangerous."

"Look at me." He waited until she hesitantly raised her eyes. "I'm not trying to pick a fight, or to make you feel bad about your decisions, Georgie. All I want to hear is the truth about why you never contacted the man who raised you, the man you consider your father in every sense of the word. It's not in your nature to let him or Maxie mourn when you were alive and well."

Her eyes swam with unshed moisture. "Several reasons. It's not cut and dried like you want to think, Johnny. I was scared for their safety for one. Do you think Sean and the others wouldn't have used them to get me out in the open or as leverage? But yes, Diego played a big part in my decision to keep them in the dark."

Finally getting somewhere close to more along the lines he figured, Johnny slid closer to her. He laid a hand on her thigh, gently squeezing. "Talk to me," he coaxed. "Diego isn't going to wake up tomorrow or the next day and just decide to let you go, Georgie. He thinks of you as belonging to him, even after all the time that's passed. And part of you is afraid of him. I can see it. Hell! He uses your fear to his advantage. But at the same time you defend him. It's freaking insane! Damn it, Georgie! You stepped between him and the guys today. Into the line of fire! What the hell were you thinking?! You could've been hurt or killed! All it would've took was one little mistake!"

"You don't understand!" she exclaimed, her breathing unsteady as emotions overwhelmed her.

"No, I don't! None of us do!"

She threw her hands up in frustration. "This is pointless! I'll never be able to make you understand! I already agreed it isn't safe for him to see Baylor again. Isn't that good enough for you? What more do you want from me, Johnny?"

"Are you fucking serious? The man threatened you, to disappear with Bay, at the park! He dug his fingers into your neck hard enough to leave bruises, Georgie! Not to mention how he broke into our home and filled Baylor's head full of a bunch of crap! NO! It's not nearly enough, Georgie! You're sitting here shaking, looking like you're about to pass out or breakdown and you still find ways to fucking defend him! YOU are the one who admitted to going with him today because you feared he might be capable of hurting his own daughter if you didn't! How in the hell can you say you aren't afraid of him, that he never hurt you in the past? It's bullshit! Everybody else may not want to call you out on the lies, not wanting to upset you, but I am. Someone has too! Wake up and face reality! Lying to yourself isn't going to change the facts. Diego's an abusive ass who plays on your insecurities and fears!"

Every single accusation he flung hit her like a physical blow. Miserably burying her face in her hands she muffled a sob. When she felt him reaching for her Georgie angrily slapped his hands away before jumping to her feet, stumbling out of his reach. "You know what? I'm not doing this with you! My relationship with Diego isn't any of your business. You knew we were together, that I had kids with him, Johnny. Just like you know we aren't getting back together. I'm with you, married to you! Why do you have to insist on hearing about every aspect of my past? It doesn't matter anymore! Stop dwelling on it! There's enough going on right now to keep us busy without creating more problems!"

Johnny leapt to his feet but kept his distance. Pushing her at the moment seemed to be the only way to get an honest, unscripted response but he hated to do it, especially now of all times. With Diego back in her life though, Johnny needed a better idea of the situation. "Running's your specialty isn't it, Georgie? Do you plan on teaching Bay to stand up for herself or to jet when things start getting difficult?"

The sound of her palm cracking against his cheek resounded in the otherwise silent room. "Screw you, Johnny! I don't need this shit from you!" she hissed, her voice wavering and unsteady.

He watched her whirl around and take three steps before he exhaling heavily, hating what he was about to do. Johnny reached out, clutching her forearm to twist Georgie around without warning. Backing her into the corner, Johnny surrounded her, boxing her in so she couldn't flee. Closely observing her reaction Johnny immediately swore, loosening his grip. Georgie's complexion drained, leaving her deathly pale. The unexpected movement left her warily watching him while unconsciously flattening herself against the wall. Johnny could swear she'd stopped breathing momentarily as well. Lifting his hand to cup her face he froze again when she threw her arms up as if to ward off a blow. "Oh, Georgie," he murmured tenderly, trying to squash down the rage he felt. "Talk to me, sweetheart."

"Why?" she demanded before shoving past him, ashamed of what he must think. "Evidently you've made your mind up. Nothing I say is going to change it."

"God! Life was so much simpler before I started giving a damn about other people! Being self-centered had its perks."

Georgie's steps faltered. She turned, her eyes shuttered. "Sorry we complicated your carefree lifestyle. Feel free to go back to that type of life whenever you want. I didn't ask for you to ruin your wonderful life. If you think I need you, you're insane. I'm perfectly capable of…" She yelped when he jerked her forward without warning, causing her to crash into his chest. "What are…"

"Do you truly think I'm that stupid?" Voice harsh, he tangled a hand in her hair, effectively keeping her head still. "I grew up learning how to play mind games to survive, Georgie. Distraction ain't gonna cut it either. Loving you and Baylor wasn't a choice. Fate brought you back here, back to me. Just like you couldn't stop yourself from falling in love me, and we both know you fought like crazy to avoid it from happening. If you think for a single second I regret anything about us you are dead wrong. I love you, Bay, and the baby with everything I have. And I will destroy anyone who is a threat to our family, Georgie. Don't you ever imply I'm not here for the right reasons!"

"I didn't…Johnny…I never meant…" biting her lip she brought her hands up to his shoulders. "I don't regret us, our relationship, at all. And I do love you."

Using the pad of his thumb he wiped away the few stray tears rolling down her cheek. "You fight so hard to not lean on me in anyway, Georgie. There isn't a thing in this world that could convince me to walk away from you. Instead of fighting me at every turn, how about fully letting me inside that gorgeous but extremely stubborn mind of yours." His fingers released the tight grip on her hair before sliding to support the back of her neck. A possessive gleam glittered in his rich coffee colored eyes. "The things in your past don't define you now, Georgie. They might have had a hand in shaping who you became, but that's all. My past is filled with nothing but darkness and pain. Why would I hold anything against you from yours?"

Emotionally drained and feeling unusually lost Georgie leaned into his warmth, seeking the comfort he never failed to provide. Listening to the steady rhythm of his heart beating, she struggled to collect her thoughts. Johnny wanted to help and more than anything she wanted to let him. But Georgie fully expected him to frown upon what she'd allowed to happen. How could she expect him to understand and be supportive when she loathed herself?

Feeling her shudder before starting to collapse, Johnny easily lifted her, cradling her in his arms like he would Baylor. Fear, pain, and, the most troubling of all, shame played across her facial features. "See. Told you I'm more hardheaded than you are." Rewarded with a weak smile, Johnny winked playfully, sitting them both on the bed. After a bit of adjusting they resumed their previous positions, only this time Georgie lay on her side, wrapping her arms around his waist as well.

"Never thought I'd suggest this, but maybe you should ask Lulu for lessons in whining and receiving sympathy. She's a master at expecting others to fix her problems."

Georgie swatted at him while trying to keep the scowl firmly in place. "Bite your tongue, Zacchara. Lulu is the last person on earth I wanna be like. I like being independent."

"Thank God for small favors," he teased. "If you resembled Lulu in any way you wouldn't be answering to Mrs. Zacchara."

"Suuure!" she mocked. "That's why you and Logan went toe to toe over her back in the months after you showed up."

He smirked. "I grew up and developed taste. Every guy experiences a period of stupidity."

"Poor Dante must still be in his," she giggled. Then titled her head, looking at him thoughtfully. "Spill. My curiosity is piqued. How did you end up escaping a life filled with Lulu? You chased her all around PC."

Johnny drew in a couple deep breathes to get his body back under control. The teasing smile curving her lips kicked his libido into high gear. At the same time an idea sparked, taking root. "Let's make a deal since you really don't know much about my past. For every question you answer for me, I'll do the same."

She blinked. "Somehow I don't think our type of questions will be exactly alike." Georgie sighed, closing her eyes briefly. He was trying to make the upcoming conversation easier for her, even after she'd been a horrible bitch. And sadly she needed it to be as painless as possible. Diego, her time in Prague, and resulting health issues guaranteed a horrible conversation. "Uh."

"You promised to answer my questions," he reminded while kissing the top of her head.

"About Prague and how it affects this pregnancy. Diego wasn't part of that particular agreement."

"Georgie," he warned, eyes narrowed into slits.

"Why is it so important? Because of me being pregnant? Is that why you're being so adamant?"

"Is that you think?"

"Partly, yes," she hedged, her stomach rolling.

He arched a brow questioningly. "If I'm not mistaken, you and Bay are my family too. I want to protect all three of you. Would you please let me do that? Without fighting me every step of the way?"

"Okay," Georgie whispered hollowly. Fighting him would only delay the conversation. Johnny tended to get his way more often than not.

"Hey, I'm not trying to hurt you anymore than you already are." He leaned down, covering her mouth with his. Desire flowed freely as their tongues tangled and caressed one another.

With a small moan Georgie pulled back, breathlessly staring at him from large, dark brown eyes. "I get that, Johnny. Doesn't make talking about Diego any less painful or awkward, especially with you."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"What the hell took so fucking long? Did you learn anything useful?" he demanded without preamble, closing the door of the home office behind him.

"Stop. Rewind. Restart."

Momentarily stunned by the response Jason pinched his nose, digging deep for patience. Elizabeth had passed out close to two hours ago and he'd been anxiously waiting on Francis for an update since then. Unfortunately in his haste for information he'd ignored the other man's obvious concern for the people he considered family. Jason knew greeting had been Sonnyesque, guaranteed to put the Italian's back up. "Sorry, man. Elizabeth, Cameron, and Jake are all asleep. The boys went down easy enough but Jake's had a few nightmares. Other than that they are handling today's events as well as expected. They're tough."

"The baby? Lizbit's got looked at, right?"

"Kelly examined Elizabeth. Both she and the little one are in good health. Blood pressure only slightly elevated."

"Johnny and Sarah? Last I heard she still hadn't woken."

Jason cringed. The parallels to what Francis endured a few years ago were eerily similar. Hopefully Sarah's fate would be much kinder. "Drake said the surgery went well. She's not expected to wake up until tomorrow. She lost a lot of blood, sending her into shock. O'Brien's hanging in there but close to cracking. When I left he was climbing the walls. I assigned Cody to keep an eye on them. He'll be able to contain Johnny if anything would happen, at least until one of us arrived."

Relieved his friend's wife was expected to recover Francis wearily dropped into a chair. "Logan stopped in for a couple minutes. He said Baylor's arm was hurt but the little girl seemed in good spirits after they regulated her blood sugar."

"She's such a little trooper. Matt Hunter popped her shoulder back in and then stabilized the break. About six weeks in a cast and she'll be good as new."

"Zacchara give in and throttle Georgie yet?"

"He's angry but very well practiced at focusing it constructively. The poor bastard who pisses him off next will feel all that pent up wrath. Word of warning, you might wanna avoid being that person."

"He sent David and Greg to pick up Frisco with orders to store him at a safe house. He's resuming the plans that were shot to hell by all the other crap."

Jason's eyes turned cool. "At least Frisco deserves the painful ending."

Francis rubbed his temples before coming back to Jason's original question now that he'd got the answers he wanted. "Our guest had quite an impressive threshold for pain. The interrogation process lasted longer than I anticipated but he finally cracked. Cassadine ordered everything. Primary goal was to snatch Liz. Sick fuck didn't even give a damn if the kids were hurt in the process. Ironically enough he did say to try and not hurt Sarah. The guy who fired the shots probably aimed for Baylor."

He barely kept from punching or kicking something in pure haze of fury but Johnny wouldn't appreciate Jason destroying his brand new house. Even if he would understand the reason. "I'm guessing you are referring to Nikolas. Today was too sloppy for Helena's tastes. Her henchmen tend to be more disciplined."

"Yep. If it had been the crazy bitch her men would've killed themselves before being taken alive. I ordered a surviellence crew to scope the coming and goings from Wyndamere. If the prince leaves the safety of his island we'll get him. We'll also try to pin down the old bat's movements since we still aren't sure what exactly she has planned. But attempting to breech the island's security…"

"Is a suicide mission. Especially with Helena and Jerry on the premises. I'm not giving the order to lose men needlessly," Jason finished for him, voice deceptively calm while furious. "I'm going to slowly torture that piece of shit. I always blamed Luke for how his kids turned out but maybe the reason resides with Laura. Nikolas made his last attempt for Elizabeth."

"Oh that's probably an understatement. Psycho granny is gonna be pissed he made a move, putting them at the forefront on the radar." Francis stood, moving to small fridge and removing a water. "Get prepared to sit on Johnny. He's going to fly off the handle once he hears this."

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. "More like he'll be frothing at the mouth. God! Between him in a blind rage and John methodically but publically eliminating the threats still out there in regards to Georgie we gotta be extremely careful in approaching how we dispose of that arrogant dick wad."

"O'Brien will never forgive you if you leave him out of this."

"I'm not. He deserves to be involved, but he can't go off half-cocked, Francis. He's not thinking clearly. If it was Elizabeth, God forbid, lying in that bed I wouldn't be either. So for once we need to be the voice of reason."

"How in the world did two sweet girls like Lizbits and Georgie end up with such screwed up lives? I don't get it."

"Other's greed for money and power. And obsession," he added darkly.

Francis snorted, disgusted. "I don't know which is worse."

"Obsession," Jason immediately responded, eyes flat.

"If Nik sticks to his normal pattern, Cassadine Industries will have a few shipments coming through in the next couple days. We could ratchet up tension, taking out the cargo. His finances are already low. A few hits would cripple him."

"Just sink the SOB's ships. Maybe losing a few million will lure him away from that freaking island faster. I don't want to wait and neither will Johnny."

Tossing the empty bottle in the trash Francis grimly compressed his lips. "I need to get going. I want to check in on Sarah and OB before catching some sleep."

Jason walked his friend to the door before setting the alarm once Francis headed out. Even with the mess currently going on around them he swore to himself that Elizabeth wouldn't be disappointed by having to postpone the small, intimate wedding ceremony she wanted. Nothing was standing in the way of giving her exactly what she dreamed of. They were finally going to a family by law, not just in his heart, where he'd kept them all along.