Written By: Armina Qi Saxton

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Chapter 5: Never Again

It seemed like he hadn't even gone to sleep, much less even found a comfortable place to lay down, when he awoke to the sounds of the day that had begun hours before, his head throbbing with pain. His eyes fluttered open, a groan escaping his lips, and a few curses about getting a new bed being tossed around his mind. It wasn't until he was able to fully comprehend the fact that he, Johnny Gambino, wasn't in a bed, that those same curses went away and a fear set inside of him. Where was he? What was he doing out here? Why wasn't he back inside his warm mansion? How did he get out here?

Those same questions he asked himself, he was able to answer himself just as easily once he had let himself awaken to a point that he could string two coherent thoughts together. He found himself leaning against a tree just outside of a road that wasn't far above the Reclamation Facility, still very well within the Gaian Territory but far from the comforts that he once had and known. He figured this had been his sleeping area from the night before, a stop just before he was about to collapse from a drunken sleep and he had a hangover to prove it. His mansion was gone, destroyed by a fatal mistake that cost him everything that he owned and perhaps the lives of countless innocent people. How he got there, he didn't remember exactly as he staggered to his feet and leaned against the tree for support.

He couldn't remember how much he had to drink; the events of the night before were too blurry for him to even try and attempt to remember. The only things that he could truly remember was that he had been bumped rudely by people as he went into Durem, perhaps to look once again for a place to stay for the night. That's when he apparently found a place to get a few drinks and everything else seemed to fall into place; how he managed to pay for it was amazing, considering how much it took to get him drunk enough not to remember or feeling like he was about to pass out.

"Damn it," Johnny grumbled, putting a hand to his forehead. His head felt like it was about to split open, as though someone was taking a hammer to his forehead and hitting it rapidly without stopping. The contents of his stomach didn't seem to be agreeing with him either, as he leaned over and threw up. What he had to drink the night before might have tasted good on the way down, but it wasn't tasting all that great on the way up. He made mental note to try and refrain from drinking this much again, if he could remember not to. His mind wasn't exactly in the right mode to be remembering things like that.

He staggered forward several minutes later after his stomach had settled enough for him to moving, being careful as to where he stepped. If there wasn't anyone on the road leading from Durem to Barton and back again, then he wouldn't have to worry about anyone seeing him in this condition. He didn't know how many Gaian’s had seen him last night, drunk as hell and staggering his way out of the city. He'd hear about it eventually, from more then one source that would make sure that he'd overhear it. As long as he didn't get hit by any more rocks along the way, he'd be fine.

"Johnny? Is that you?" A voice asked as soon as he stumbled onto the path. Johnny stopped, wishing that the Reclamation Facility wasn't as far away as it was, even though it was only a few feet away at the most. He needed to lean on something as he turned around several times to see who it was even if he couldn't see that person very well when he turned around. It was only when a hand sat upon his right arm did he stop entirely and looked over to see who it was. Smiling at him underneath styled hair with aged eyes, Vanessa dropped her hand down to her side and took a few steps back.

He wasn't as surprised to see her standing there as he should be, as though they had seen ach other only days before. It had been literally months since he had last seen her, when he was commenting on the Olympics. Johnny barely could return the smile, rubbing his head again as though that would stop it from throbbing with pain. If I ever drink that much again, I'll make sure someone gets it on camera so I know what I look drunk once I've sobered up, He thought wearily to himself.

"No, Vanessa. It's the Easter Bunny," He said coolly, not in the mood to talk to anyone. His tone would have said it all to some, but not her. She stared at him, giving him a cold stare as though she expected something else from him. Sighing, he staggered to one side and sat down on the steps of the Reclamation Facility, leaning back as the he would fall over forwards. "Of course it's me. Who else would I be?"

"You don't have to be so rude about it, Johnny. I'm only asking, all considering." Vanessa looked at him from overtop her glasses. "What are you doing out here? Other then the obvious."

"Other then that, I have no idea, really. I must have had a little too much to drink last night and somehow ended out here." Johnny gestured to the northern road that lead from the Reclamation Facility. "What are you doing up at this hour anyways? You and Moira seem to have the same exact sleeping schedule as each other."

"Agatha and Logan joined me and Edmund for dinner last night. You know, double dating. It's good to have another couple spend the evening with you." She smiled broadly as she led up a small denim bag that he was just now noticing Vanessa was carrying. The bag didn't look like it was holding much of anything, perhaps a few small items that could have waited until another day to be brought to wherever it was going to be taken to. He suspected it didn't have anything it, giving her an excuse to come out this way. "Agatha left a few certain items over at my house and she might need them."

"I see," Johnny said, closing his eyes. A mental picture flashed in his mind, something that he didn't really want to imagine with his headache. In fact, it wasn't something to see at all, even when he wasn't reeling from a hangover. When he opened his eyes, he noticed the smirk that was on Vanessa's face and the laugh that she was trying to hold back. "What? What's so funny?"

"You, Johnny Gambino." Her shoulders shook with silent laughter, her eyes glittering with amusement. "In all the years I've known you, I've never once heard you getting drunk as you did. I wouldn't once think that this would be something people all over Gaia wouldn't be talking about for a while, but I figure those that saw you aren't very willing to spread something so small like that so quickly."

He scowled at her, silently wishing he had even the slightest bit of strength to throw her into the murky waters behind him. As it were, he barely had enough strength to stand up and move forwards, stumbling over his own two feet. That was the set-back for him drinking: his body knew something was wrong with it and gave him the least amount of strength it could as though it was telling him not to do it harm again.

Vanessa stopped her silent fit of laughter as he lunged forwards and grabbed him just before he felt flat upon his face and humiliated himself even more. Even though there wasn't anyone else around, falling face-first onto the ground wasn't something he would have done normally, sober or not. Johnny smiled a thank you to her when she caught him, Vanessa only nodding as she slowly helped him up to his feet. Leaning upon her, Johnny closed his eyes tightly and opened them again, his legs feeling as though they were going to give out on him. If only the dizziness would only go away, he could deal with the headache more and the uneasiness he felt in his stomach.

"I wouldn't know how drunk I was. I can't seem to remember much from late last night. Care to enlighten me?" He asked, knowing full well that she knew more then he did. If he was going to hear anything about his antics from the night before, then at least it would be heard from someone he knew and not a second-hand source.

"As soon as you take a shower and get yourself cleaned up a bit." Vanessa looked him up and down, as though she had never seen him before. "You look like hell, Johnny."

"I feel like hell myself," He said, taking in a few deep breaths to calm his stomach. He didn't need to be throwing up again, not when there might be someone else coming from either Barton or Durem to see that. "I don't have any place to get myself straightened up. My mansion is gone, remember? Besides, there isn't a lot of people living in Gaia that would be that helpful."

It was partly a plea for help to her, something that Johnny had never heard himself really ask for until now. He straightened his back, realizing just how low he was at the moment and how lost he was. Even when he had asked Logan to hide him for a few days, it hadn't sunk in then that everything that he had was gone. He knew it wasn't there anymore, yet something inside of him was denying it to him fully until that very moment. There was nothing for him to go home to, now that the he had called home was no more. Not even the island could be called his home, even though he had lived on it for years. That was what troubled him, now understanding what he had lost and the fact that he could never get it again.

Tugging at his right sleeve, Johnny muttered something under his breath about having to go as he shrugged off Vanessa's hands from his shoulders. A faraway look came across his face, a look that read that he was lost and couldn't find his way back home. He wanted to get away from everything, away from anything that brought horrible memories back. Instead of moving away, he shut his eyes once again and fell to his knees as he put his face into the palms of his hands. Gone. That single word echoed in his mind, his hurting mind that was only getting worse. Everything in his life was gone and there was nothing he could do about it.

"What the hell happened to me? How did I ever fall off of the top rung of the ladder?" Johnny asked, more to himself then to Vanessa as she kneeled down in front of him. He lowered his hands and put them around his upper arms, tears rolling down his cheeks as he opened his eyes. "I had everything, Vanessa. Everything. Money, power, G-Corp. Anything that a person could ever want. No, wait. I didn't have everything." He looked up into her eyes as though she might have the answer. "I missed something. Something that's important. But what is it?"

"Family, Johnny. You never had a family," Vanessa said, standing up as she stared down at him. She held up a hand to stop him from speaking, as he opened his mouth to speak. "No, listen to me fully. You never once cared about that boy, not that I have seen. The last time I ever saw you look down upon him in a loving manner was when he was first born. Even before that, I saw the beginnings of what was to come."

Johnny wanted to say something to her words, but they were the truth as he lowered his gaze. His hands balled into fists, memories that he thought he had suppressed were surfacing again. He remembered the day he had brought his son home, after weeks of staying in between of life and death. He cursed those weeks, cursed them with every fiber of his body. They were spent watching over the tiny baby that no one though would live, who would soon join his mother in a place that was beyond their sight. Maybe that is where he is now. In a place that I can't harm him, he thought as he choked back the sobs that were threatening to overcoming him.

"You don't know, Vanessa. You and the rest of Gaia don't know what it was like to lose someone that you cared about, then having to see the resemblance in a child that looks up at you with that same innocent stare." Johnny looked up, his cheeks stained with tears that were long overdue. "I couldn't fully care about my son without thinking of what I lost, that we had lost. I tried to distance myself from him, but it was hard to stay away for long. I made the mistake of pushing him away once, and I am not going to do it again."

"Johnny, look around you. Gino isn't here. No one knows where he is, not even Leon and he is famous of finding people even when they don't want to be found." She spread her hands out. "If you cared, you would have at least attempted a better search for him, even when he wasn't there for the party. Many of us believe that he didn't want to come back."

"I wouldn't blame him, after the way I treated him," He said softly, looking past Vanessa and into the untamed land behind her. He had wondered, in the weeks after the Olympics and days before the Halloween party, where Gin had run off to. He could even admit to himself that he didn't even care at the time, thinking the boy didn't want to face the humiliation of being defeated in something so simple. Anger turned to fear when he didn't return after a few days, a fear that he had felt once before.

Even after the search for Gino ended, Johnny couldn't help but think of where his son had gone off to, if he was still alive. He knew his son was last seen in his very Reclamation Facility, drowned perhaps. A life lost because of him. That struck him the hardest, knowing that his actions caused the death of something that few knew he cared for. If only things had been different, then he wouldn't be blaming himself so much.

"Few would disagree with you," Vanessa said wistfully after a few moments of silence. She offered a hand to him, Johnny's gaze coming back into focus as he stared at her hand. "I'm offering you help, in what little ways I can. There aren't many people who would be publicly willing to offer you this help. I am willing to lend you a shower, maybe able to do something with your hair. Your clothes, however, are another matter. I think I can wash them up without much more damage being done to them, but that is about all at the moment."

"What's the catch?" He asked, eyeing her as he wiped any remaining tears away. There was always a catch to someone else's help.

"The catch is that you have to answer some of my questions, maybe some of Edmund's as well, if he doesn’t just stand there, listening. Over breakfast?" The last bit was more of a question than a statement, as Johnny smiled forcefully at the deal. He took her hand, pulling himself up with Vanessa's help as he wobbled to his feet once again. She smiled back at him, letting go of his hand as she turned around and started back towards Durem, Johnny standing where he was for the moment before following her.

"Wait. What about Agatha's....well, things?" He asked, trying to stay as close to her as possible without moving too fast. Vanessa turned her head over her shoulder for a moment, a sly smile coming upon her lips before she turned her head back forwards.

"Oh, I'll give them back to her eventually, or she'll wander back into Durem if she wants them back," She replied, chuckling. Whatever she had in the bag, he tried not to think about it, shuddering at any thoughts that came into his mind. And he was not about to ask about it either, in case his inquiries would ceased any help he would receive from Vanessa.

It was better to speculate then to ask.

****

Vanessa watched as Edmund paced in front of the refrigerator, sitting at the kitchen table as she tapped her fingers upon the table. Her eyes moved with him, as he held his arms across his chest and a scowl upon his face. His eyes looked unfocused and seep in thought, as though he was thinking of something rather ten expressing any thoughts to her. The want to ask him what was wrong nagged at her, but she remained silent and continued to watch him instead.

Edmund had been there already when Vanessa came inside the kitchen, their eyes meeting for a brief moment before Vanessa lowered her gaze and started breakfast. Johnny didn't even look at him, much less say a good morning, as he sat down at the kitchen table, his hands upon the table itself and his eyes staring down at his hands. Edmund sat on the other side of him, staring at his friend with interest. There was so many questions that he wanted to ask, but the words wouldn't form in his mouth out of the sheer amazement that the man sitting in front of him was still alive.

They hadn't been alone together for long, perhaps no more then a half of an hour after breakfast was over, with Johnny heading off to the shower where he would be able to clean himself up for the time being. Breakfast was spent in almost perfect silence, with Vanessa asking Johnny a few questions about the night before and telling him in return of the things that she had heard about his drunken night. It wasn't pretty what she told him, with him wobbling in the streets of Durem and his slurred speech to others that passed him by. That wasn't the worst of it and probably wouldn't be, with it being barely even ten thirty in the morning. There was still a whole wild speculation ahead of him.

That hadn't been the half of it, as Vanessa told the tales that she heard just from walking from Durem only an hour and a half before. During her talking, Johnny kept his eyes down and prodded his leftover food, still too sick to his stomach to eat much more. After listening to her, he wasn't sure that the little bit of food that he did eat would stay in his stomach for long, as he excused himself from the kitchen table, walking quickly and silently out of the kitchen doorway and down the hall to the bathroom.

Vanessa had cleaned up the uneaten food, putting some of it into a disposable bowl for Johnny to take with him, in case he was able to eat something later in the day. She only left the kitchen once to get whatever clothes that Johnny had worn, from the dryer, half glad that he had been able to wear some old clothes of Edmunds for breakfast. She did this in silence, with Edmund standing up from the table and starting his pacing in front of the refrigerator as soon as she had come back into the kitchen. It was then that she had poured herself a cup of coffee and sat back down, the silence becoming too much as one of them finally spoke.

"What are we going to do with him?" Edmund asked finally, stopping his pacing as he stared down at the floor. "He can't stay here with you, that's for sure. If people found out, they would be knocking down your door, just to catch a glimpse at him at the least. Even the reporter from Gaia 9 would be banging at your door."

"If it's too awkward for you, or too much of a hassle to sidestep any more questions, then I'll kick him back to the streets where I found him. Goodness knows that's what he needs right now, although the offer is tempting," Vanessa said hotly, standing from her seat. She took the coffee cup that had been in front of her, walking silently to the sink to rinse it out. Edmund stayed just as quiet, muttering something to himself as he leaned up against the refrigerator, his arms still crossed over his chest. He looked over at her, watching her back before speaking.

"V, it's not that he needs it. I've seen him lurking around, as though he wants more pity then what he's got. There is more then enough people out there that would want to help him, more then any of us expected. It's just that...." He let his voice trail off, a smile playing on his lips as he looked down at the table. Vanessa let the water run into the cup, staring at the wall as though there was nothing else that she was doing at the moment. She turned the knob quickly, shutting the water off as she turned around and stared daggers at Edmund.

"If it is because of those Von Helson sisters coming back, then don't bother explaining any further," She said when he opened his mouth to speak. "I understand that two, pretty, young girls with a home and riches are more important then the man who loseteverything, even if he deserved it."

"It's not that. Believe me, there are times that I wish I hadn't made that promise to their father," Edmund said quietly before raising his voice. "If any of us knew a shred of what we now know about Anna and Marie then, I wouldn't have made that promise. As it stands, I am obligated to live up to that promise, even if I have to break it every now and then because of Johnny. And, besides, you don't care much for him anyways, so why are you doing this for him?"

"Because I am not about to let him wander around looking like he has been living in the gutter these past few weeks. I wouldn't be surprised if he has." Her voice was raising to a point that could be considered shouting, as Edmund stared at her blankly. He knew what she was hinting at, and he would have given anything to prove her right, but at the same time, there was a nagging feeling inside of him that wanted him to believe that Johnny did not exist.

"Your point is what?" He heard himself say, then wished he hadn't spoken at all. Vanessa's eyes flared up, her hands going upon her hips as though she was about to charge at him.

"My point, Edmund, is the fact that you sound as though you are supporting two rich, spoiled bitches rather then supporting your own friend. This same friend, who got you just about everything from fame to wealth, is looking as though he lost his wife all over again. I may not care what he does after this, or even care about him at all, but at least I'd help him regardless of what I think of him now and what I have thought of him before, if he had done so much for me." She took in a deep breath, saying all of that in one long breath but still able to make herself be understood. Edmund put the back of his head upon the refrigerator, closing his eyes as he did. Neither one of them noticed that there was another that had just wandered into the room until a voice spoke up for that same person.

"And what are your thoughts on me exactly, Vanessa?" The voice asked from the kitchen doorway. Vanessa jumped, quickly putting a hand over her opened mouth as she turned towards the doorway. Edmund's eyes snapped open, his head lowering down as both of their gazes fell upon Johnny Gambino, who stood in the same doorway as he looked directly at Vanessa. He wore the same clothing that he had worn since the Halloween party, but they were clean rather then dirty and he himself looked as though barely nothing had happened. His hair was slicked back after the shower he had just come from, his face not smudged with dirt and everything else just as clean as it once was.

"Oh my. Johnny. How long have you been standing there?" Vanessa asked as she lowered her hand, glancing nervously towards Edmund. Had he heard everything that they had spoken about?

"Not long. I heard you two talking, but didn't hear much of what you were saying." He tried to smile as though nothing was wrong, but both Edmund and Vanessa both had a feeling he had heard every word that they had said to each other. "Answer my question. What do you think of me?"

"It doesn't matter, Johnny, what I think. It is Edmund?" She asked, glancing over towards Edmund who gave her a raided eyebrow look.

"Better to let him hear it from your own lips rather then hearing it from someone else's," He said plainly with a shrug. Vanessa gave him a glare before turning back to Johnny with a slightly softer expression.

"I see. Well in that case," She started, clasping her hands together,” I’ll tell you what I think. Johnny, I don't care for you that much. That should be no secret between us. You are insensitive, uncaring, and rude. You don't deserve the things I am doing for you at all, or anything that others are more willing then I to do. I should have left you where you were, on the steps of the Reclamation Facility, with that hangover I know you still have and feeling more then sorry for yourself because you bit off more then you can chew."

Johnny didn't say anything, letting the words Vanessa spoke sink into his mind. It was truth he, Edmund, and Vanessa knew. He had been called worse thins to his face before and they had not fazed him the slightest. Then, he had been on top of everything, able to shrug off insults as though they were just raindrops on a rainy day. Now it was as though he was hearing them for the first time, as though no one had dared to speak them to his face before. It helped him in ways that he didn't understand quiet yet, hearing those words.

Vanessa was right on another point: his hangover was still there, even after eating as little as he had and taking a hot shower. The only different between the two hours since he had come into Vanessa's home and now, was that he no longer felt dizzy. He wasn't about to fall over from lack of strength either; the short time he spent in a warm home had done wonders to that dizziness, causing it to cease all but a little. It wasn't much, but it made all the difference.

"Yet, you helped me anyways," He said after a few moments of silence. "Why? Why would you help me if you don't care the slightest?"

"Three reasons, actually. One, because you've been dealt a serious blow that even I couldn't recover fully from. It's a lesson that you are going to have to learn about life and that is you can't always hide behind power. I think, unlike others, you can change," She said with a quick nod. "Two, I have a feeling that Gino isn't dead like you think he is. While no one knows where he is at, he is still out there somewhere. I am not one to let you starve yourself to death and not have that boy without a father, even though you aren't much of a father to begin with. At least it's something, him having at least one person to look out for him despite everything."

"It is," Johnny echoed, his shoulders sagging slightly. He couldn't argue with her on that; while he had taken a shower, his thoughts had drifted to the things he had done and said to his son. A good portion of his actions and words towards Gino hadn't been nice, not even acceptable, but there was always those moments that he wished he could have gone back to and stayed in forever. There were regrets but no ability to change what had happened. "And the third reason?"

"Thirdly, because I want to see the Von Helson sisters squirm when they see you alive. They think, or probably rather thought, you're dead, buried somewhere underneath all the rubble that once was your mansion," She said with a firm smile. Vanessa studied Johnny's face, which went from somber to surprised then to angry in less then a minute. He looked rather shocked at the notion that the sisters were back on Gaian soil, something that made her wonder if he had really heard everything she and Edmund had said.

"Anna and Marie?" He said softly and angrily, as though the sister's names did not deserve to be spoken. "They're back? When did this happen?"

"Two days ago, on Thanksgiving. They came to me, looking for the keys to their mansion," Edmund said, pushing himself away from the refrigerator. He uncrossed his arms and placed his hands upon the kitchen chair that was closest to him, looking directly at Johnny. "I told them I didn't have them and that you did. They got angry about it in their usual way and left not long after I gave them the news. Apparently they went to the island and saw for themselves. what had happened and, judging from the broken glass that was around the mansion yesterday, they didn't find them."

Johnny looked at the ground for a moment, his eyes moving side to side see as though he was trying to think of something. He couldn't place any sets of keys that he had been given in the last decade or two; of course, it had been a good ten years since he had last seen the sisters, even more if he stood corrected. There had been so many keys to his own home that he couldn't keep track of them, so why would he remember a set of keys to another's mansion?

"Vladamir never gave me any keys to his mansion that I can remember. I don't recall him even mentioning handing them to anyone, either. I would have thought that he would have given them to you instead, as you are closer to the mansion then I was."

"Wait a moment," Vanessa said, looking from one man to the other. "What are you two talking about?"

"A few years before Vladamir died, he said he entrusted a set of keys to everything in the mansion, to someone in the family other then the sisters." Edmund rubbed his forehead absently. "I assumed it was Johnny, because he married into Vladamir's family."

"Yes, the Gambino and Von Helson families are related, but by marriage only," Johnny explained when he caught a glimpse of Vanessa's shocked expression, although it was a very mild one. "Gino has Von Helson blood in him, as much as I hate to admit it."

Edmund nodded quickly. "Somehow, the sisters got the impression that their father trust them more then he did and left a set of keys for them with one of us." He gestured to himself and Johnny, who just nodded in return. "They were wrong, if I go by what Johnny just said, and they broke into their own mansion. I knew they were going to do it, but there was little I could have done to stop them."

"There was always Leon, Edmund," Vanessa said, glaring at him as she pushed her lips together firmly. Edmund didn't say anything, ignoring the look that she was giving him. "If you knew, you could have gone to get him. You don't know what those two are planning in there."

"And what would Leon have done, Vanessa?" He demanded, looking at her for the first time in ten minutes. There was something in his eyes that told her she had crossed a line that she did not know she had crossed. "I suspect he would have done more then arrest them, considering he puts a fair amount of the blame on Vladamir for his parent’s deaths and that blame might just very well have fallen onto the sisters shoulders. If he knew they were planning to break into their own home, that is. I assume he would have been at the doorstep waiting for them, regardless of what they were going to do."

"That would have cost him his freedom, if he did any harm to them. They would have seen to it," Vanessa said with a frown. "Leon isn't stupid enough to risk everything like that."

"He would have if he thought it was worth it. If it was to avenge his parents, he would have," Edmund said, fighting down the urge to move a finger over the scar upon his forehead. If Vanessa only knew the things that Leon had seen as a child that day, then she would have understood better.

"Does he know that the sisters are back?" Johnny asked. "Assuming he didn't see them strolling through Barton in broad daylight when they went looking for me and Anna and Marie aren't keeping a low enough profile right now."

"I am more then positive that he does, considering what Moira has told me," Edmund said with a amused smile on his lips. That smile faded some when he saw two looks coming his way, as though they were confused and doubt at the same time. "She claims that that she saw Ian, Logan, and a few others holding him back from leaving Barton through the exit that leads towards Durem, when she was coming from one of her visits to the island yesterday. She said he was trying to get loose from them and shouting something along the lines of 'Let me at them!'."

"And you believe her?" Vanessa asked with a dumbfounded look upon her face. Edmund shrugged, the smile coming fully back on his lips.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that were true, considering that he hates them just as much as Johnny does, although he wouldn't admit it to anyone else that he doesn't know very well." Edmund paused for a moment, listening to the clock in the living room as it chimed at the hour, then continued. "You know word spreads like wildfire around here, so it wouldn't surprise me if he knew that they were in Durem again the same day they came back. Then again, like you and so many other people in Gaia, I can't see Leon doing that right where everyone can see him."

They lapsed back into silence, each falling into their own thoughts. Johnny shifted his weight uncomfortably from foot to foot, wishing that the conversation would end here. There was a feeling he had that told him it would soon focus on more then just the sisters and Vladamir, if he wasn't careful enough to stay quiet and refuse to speak. Although it had been a little over a decade and a half since he lost one of the things he lived for, it was still a touchy subject whenever someone brought it up. That was one reason he had never spoken to Gino about it and perhaps now he would never get the chance to.

He glanced over at Vanessa, who was busying wiping her glasses on a paper towel, not even bothering to meet his gaze. Then he looked over at Edmund, who watching him like a hawk. Their gazes met, firm looks exchanged between them. It was a silent battler between them, as though facial expressions and looks were all they needed to go on. they did not need to speak words to each other, their faces saying what they needed to say without even one word being spoken to either one of them.

"What happened to Vladamir? I know he died, but I don't know how," Vanessa said, once she had put her glasses back on. This broke the silent conversation between Johnny and Edmund, as Edmund looked over towards her with a sigh.

"That's the problem. No one knows how he died, save for three people in Gaia. One is six feet under and the other two aren't talking. Vladamir died a few years after his eldest daughter passed away." Edmund gave Johnny a quick apologetic look; in return, there was a momentary lapse of emotion on his face, one that the other two people in the room seemed to have caught. "I believe Gino was six then when Vladamir died. I know you never wanted him to have any contact with his mother's family, but I think it would have helped ease any tensions that there were, among other things."

The pain that had gone through Johnny's eyes returned for a split second, this time it was only Edmund that saw it even though it was brief look. He didn't speak, afraid that if he did, everything would come flooding out and he would be reduced to a crying pulp. He had already let Vanessa glimpse at what emotions he kept inside of him and that was more then enough then he was willing to let anyone else see. Even so, if he did not speak up in his defense, then they would not know his reasoning behind his actions.

"Help with what? Both of them had tried to take my son away from me, but I wouldn't let them. Don't look at me like that, Vanessa." Johnny gave her a cold glare when Vanessa opened her mouth to speak. "As I told you before, there are things about my relationship with my son that you just don't know of. I care about him more then you think I do."

"Is that why they hate you? Because of Gino?" She said softly, feeling the angry heat radiating from him. If she had been anyone else, anyone else at all in Gaia, and didn't know him as she did, then she would have cowered under that same look, rather then just lower her voice. Despite him loosing all power that he had, he still had a sense of authority in him.

"No, that's not the full reason why," Johnny said with a shake of his head. "It is mostly because they believed, and perhaps still do, that I killed their sister. I never would have harmed a hair on her head, even if I was given the chance to. Her pregnancy was difficult as it was, which they could have plainly seen if they had bothered to look at the full picture. Gino's premature birth wasn't any easier on her, either. I lost her two days after he was born."

If he had felt choked up before, he was now feeling more like breaking down and crying at the moment. He balled his fists together, forcing back the tears that were just waiting to overflow; thinking about it was one thing, but talking about it was another. Vanessa finally saw what Edmund had seen in that once second: the unfocused eyes, the paled face, the lips pushed into a thin line, and a mist that was forming at the base of the eyes. She saw him trying to hold back thee emotions that wanted to be let free, but the person that felt these same emotions was trying to keep them hidden from everyone else. It was something that he had found to be not hard at all, until this very moment.

If all the thoughts that had crossed her mind about this man had been thought at this same moment, she would have ignored them. They would not have described him as the one that had stood by and let so many people die. They would not have been for the man that had shown no love for his own flesh and blood that was no where to be found. None of those same thoughts would have suited him; instead, she felt more sorry for him then she had in years. Just his expression alone was enough to change her mind.

"Johnny, I....I'm sorry," She said just above a whisper. It was an apology for the things that she thought, the things she had said, and everything that had happened in between.

"Don't be," Johnny said with a half-hearted smile. "Everything is said and done, whether or not I've heard it. There is nothing I can do to change it, even after sixteen years. Never again."

He gave them both a quick nod before he turned around and walked through the kitchen door. Vanessa stared after his retreating form, mouth slightly agape and a confused look on her face, before looking over towards Edmund. He had his hands off of the chair and was also staring at the doorway that held nothing but empty air. His face was serious and set, as though he had not heard a word that either one had spoken.

"Never again? What does that mean?" She inquired, hoping to get at least a small answer out of him.

"If there is one thing that I know Johnny Gambino will never let himself do, it is to fall in love as he did before, if he lets himself fall in love at all. That is why he was so cold towards Gino, the coldness we saw. He couldn't see past the resemblance of his wife in Gino for the longest time." He tried to smile at a passing thought, but the smile was forced and he quickly abandoned trying to make his lips turn into anything but a frown. "That is partly the reason why he let the power go to his head. Because he couldn't stand being alone, even with his son there. The rest, well, is for him to know and for you not to question."

"Sudden you've become less cold towards him and more sympathetic," She said, narrowing her eyes. "Less like you want the sisters to come and behead him himself. Make up your mind, would you?"

"It's not that I am cold toward him, or that my sympathy is greater. It is just he's done things in the last few years that I probably would never have forgiven him for if I didn't know him better. Like I said before, I have an obligation to the sisters that needs to be carried through. If that's the cover I need for the public, then that's what I'll use." Winking at her, he picked up his coat from the kitchen table and put it on. Vanessa continued to stare at him, her head shaking in disbelief. She couldn't understand either of them and was no closer to it today. "Look, I have to go. There are a few things that I need to do and a shop to run. I'll see you and Johnny for dinner."

"Maybe," She said, looking doubtful. "I'll get back to you on that."

"Look, Johnny has a lot to deal with right now, with hearing that the sisters are back in the city and not knowing where Gino is, if he is still alive. Best to leave him alone for now," Edmund said with a comforting smile that was more then genuine. When he saw the expression on her face hadn't changed, he sighed. "Keep him here, until I know for sure that the sisters won't try and skin him alive, or anything else they can do with their hands, tonight. By now they know isn't dead and will be asking more then enough questions on his whereabouts."

"And how am I supposed to keep the former most powerful man in Gaia here?" She gestured to the open kitchen door that Johnny had once stood in. "He isn’t exactly a person of small size, you know. If I were anyone else, I wouldn't want to even try to think of what he could do, with or without power."

"Threaten him with Leon or something else. I don't care what. Just keep him here, in the house, where no one will see him. I don't doubt there is a hunch of people just waiting to laugh in his face, if it's not the Gaia 9 news team that would practically shove cameras in his face." He gave her his best innocent look that he knew, walking over to her slowly and carefully. He then kissed her on the cheek, caressing upper arms before he stepped back to see her reaction.

"I hate it when you do this to me," She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. "You know how much you and Johnny owe me, right?"

"When everything has passed over, then we'll talk on that," Edmund said with a loving look and a quick wiggle of his eyebrows. "You know I love you."

"Go on and get out of here, old man," Vanessa said with a roll of her eyes and a attempt not to smile. "You've got a shop to run. I'll keep the salon closed today, but only today and because you don't want Johnny sneaking out and others sneaking in."

"I still love you," He said quietly, giving her a quick kiss on the lips before walking out of the kitchen. Vanessa sighed and shook her head, at last alone and able to piece everything that had been said without anyone else to distract her. Everything had been said too fast and in a short amount of time, her mind playing catch-up to her memories and the last few minutes.

There would be a lot of time spent alone this day, thinking about things that should have never been remembered.