((A little immediate fallout from the events of The Ghoul of My Dreams.))
__________________________________
Liv had been beside herself with worry almost from the moment she'd woken up that morning. Despite a most enjoyable evening spent actively avoiding the premiere with Johnny, she'd been back at work within minutes of her first cup of coffee. It had only been after an hour of trying to get Jon on his cell, and then failing to get through to the hotel, that she had shaken Johnny awake to share her growing concern. A phonecall to Maple Grove confirmed that Jon and Vicki had not come home yet, and Humphrey Granger had demanded her presence at the manor to go through Jon's intended movement for today with his chief of security.
Johnny had, of course, come with her, but neither of them had been able to do anything until an alarm had gone off in the security hub of the Maple Grove Compound, pinpointing the location of a ring that had been activated. Johnny had sped off almost immediately, leaving Liv in Humphrey's grumpy care, and returned with Jon and Vicki looking bruised and bloodied, but thankfully alive and well. With his family home and settled to sleep off the exhertions of the morning, Humphrey had retreated to his study to wait for news of them, leaving Liv and Johnny to their own devices.
As for Johnny, though he hardly knew Jon and Vicki, he had paced the floor like a worried mother hen until Humphrey had barked at him to sit down before he wore a groove in the floor. The old man was hard to read, and Johnny had never been very respectful of authority figures, but he knew Jon's great uncle was just as worried as the rest of them. Though Jon and Vicki were often taken to sneaking off by themselves and laying low, it was very unlike either of them to disappear completely without word and ignore all their appointments and phone calls. Johnny didn't want to make them worry anymore than they already were, but he was more worried about the baby than anything else, even after they'd been found and safely returned home. He hadn't said more than a few words to Liv since he'd gotten back, more shaken up by what he'd seen than even he cared to admit.
Intimidated by Humphrey and not brave enough to dare Johnny's temper by asking him anything, Liv finally took herself out of the study and into the main hallway. Despite the hours she'd been at Maple Grove, she hadn't even taken off her coat yet, shaking back the sleeves to check her diary and make sure she had completely cleared Jon's schedule for the next two weeks. She had a feeling her employer was going to go to ground after this morning's incident. Needing the air, she slipped out through the front door, leaning against the stone wall as she looked over the ornate driveway. She hated waiting; she just wasn't very good at it.
Johnny was clad in just his uniform, his clothing shed, burned up in his haste to get where he was going when he went to flame and soared across the city to find and hopefully rescue Jon and Vicki from whatever trouble they'd encountered. That had been hours ago. He'd left Liv to do her job, and though Humphrey had offered them a room to spend the night, and though tired, Johnny had found himself too restless to sleep. Missing the soft body he had become so accustomed to sharing a bed with, he tossed and turned for a while, finally getting up to stalk the quiet house in search of his bedmate.
There was no obvious sign of where she was, but in the end, it was Cosmo, Jon's exuberant border collie, who gave away where Liv had slipped off to. He was sitting next to the front door, as much guarding the sleeping residents in the house as the young woman who occasionally had to feed and walk him sitting out on the front steps. She hadn't noticed the sunset or the darkness falling, lost in worried thoughts about her friends who also happened to employ her to keep them on track.
After searching all the obvious places, the dog gave away Liv's location at last, and after giving Cosmo a brief but friendly greeting, Johnny stepped out onto the porch to join her. "Liv?" he queried gently, knowing she was as upset about what had happened as the rest of the household, and he had a feeling there was something more on her mind that she wasn't sharing. A little misplaced guilt, maybe. He came up beside her, touching her arm gently to let her know he was there. "You okay?"
It took a moment for her to realise she wasn't alone, glancing up at Johnny with a badly feigned smile. "I'm fine," she told him unconvincingly, closing her fingers over his on her arm for a moment before resuming her curled up position on the top step. "Did you get any sleep?"
Johnny sank down to sit beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and tugging her toward him, his body heat immediately warming her faster than an electric blanket. "No, I tried, but I'm too wound up. Besides, I don't sleep alone well anymore," he added with a faint smile. He looked tired; they both looked tired, wrung out with worry, but at least, it was over. "It's not your fault, you know," he told her gently, knowing her well enough to know what she was thinking, what was keeping her from sleep.
Liv sighed, leaning into Johnny as he wrapped his arm about her. "Yes, it is," she argued, just as gently, too calm in apportioning blame onto herself for it not to have been on her mind all day. "I knew about the message, I knew Jon thought it was the same girl who shot him, I knew the threat was against Vicki. I shouldn't have let him order security off when we got back here and after the red carpet incident last night ..." She shook her head, nibbling at her thumbnail anxiously. "She wouldn't have been able to get to them if I'd done my job properly, and I obviously didn't."
He unwrapped his arm from around her shoulders, turning her chin to face him, fixing his eyes on hers. "You don't know that, Liv. We all thought they were safe here. We all knew the risk. Hell, it's just as much my fault as anyone's. I should have followed them. If I'd been there, none of this would have happened." He wasn't really taking the blame on himself, so much as he was trying to make a point. "None of us knew this was going to happen. It's over. Beating yourself up over it isn't going to change anything." He should know. He'd beaten himself up often enough for his mistakes.
She listened without really listening, holding the blame too close to let it just slip away. She had no idea how she was going to be able to look Jon in the eye now, knowing that her laxity had almost cost him the lives of his wife and child. But Johnny didn't deserve to be bogged down in her guilt, so Liv made an effort, managing a smile that was almost convincing this time. "I know, I know, it's over and done with," she sighed, shrugging one shoulder. "Get over it, huh?"
He frowned at her, unconvinced, knowing her better than that, knowing she was just telling him what he wanted to hear. She wouldn't be pouting out here if it wasn't eating her up inside. "Look, Jon and Vicki knew the risks as well as anyone. Think of it this way....Now we know who the stalker was and she's been taken care of. She's not gonna try and hurt them again, Livvie. I made sure of that."
"I know, I do know," she insisted, twisting to face him properly, her hands folded on his thigh. "But knowing that still doesn't mean that I didn't completely mess up. I put them in danger because I didn't overestimate the risk, because I didn't do my job." Obviously, she wasn't paying much attention to what she was saying. She was blaming herself for something that she had no control over, something Jon didn't pay her to deal with. "Humphrey's right," she admitted unhappily. "I should resign and let Jon find someone who can actually do the job properly."
Liv had been beside herself with worry almost from the moment she'd woken up that morning. Despite a most enjoyable evening spent actively avoiding the premiere with Johnny, she'd been back at work within minutes of her first cup of coffee. It had only been after an hour of trying to get Jon on his cell, and then failing to get through to the hotel, that she had shaken Johnny awake to share her growing concern. A phonecall to Maple Grove confirmed that Jon and Vicki had not come home yet, and Humphrey Granger had demanded her presence at the manor to go through Jon's intended movement for today with his chief of security.
Johnny had, of course, come with her, but neither of them had been able to do anything until an alarm had gone off in the security hub of the Maple Grove Compound, pinpointing the location of a ring that had been activated. Johnny had sped off almost immediately, leaving Liv in Humphrey's grumpy care, and returned with Jon and Vicki looking bruised and bloodied, but thankfully alive and well. With his family home and settled to sleep off the exhertions of the morning, Humphrey had retreated to his study to wait for news of them, leaving Liv and Johnny to their own devices.
As for Johnny, though he hardly knew Jon and Vicki, he had paced the floor like a worried mother hen until Humphrey had barked at him to sit down before he wore a groove in the floor. The old man was hard to read, and Johnny had never been very respectful of authority figures, but he knew Jon's great uncle was just as worried as the rest of them. Though Jon and Vicki were often taken to sneaking off by themselves and laying low, it was very unlike either of them to disappear completely without word and ignore all their appointments and phone calls. Johnny didn't want to make them worry anymore than they already were, but he was more worried about the baby than anything else, even after they'd been found and safely returned home. He hadn't said more than a few words to Liv since he'd gotten back, more shaken up by what he'd seen than even he cared to admit.
Intimidated by Humphrey and not brave enough to dare Johnny's temper by asking him anything, Liv finally took herself out of the study and into the main hallway. Despite the hours she'd been at Maple Grove, she hadn't even taken off her coat yet, shaking back the sleeves to check her diary and make sure she had completely cleared Jon's schedule for the next two weeks. She had a feeling her employer was going to go to ground after this morning's incident. Needing the air, she slipped out through the front door, leaning against the stone wall as she looked over the ornate driveway. She hated waiting; she just wasn't very good at it.
Johnny was clad in just his uniform, his clothing shed, burned up in his haste to get where he was going when he went to flame and soared across the city to find and hopefully rescue Jon and Vicki from whatever trouble they'd encountered. That had been hours ago. He'd left Liv to do her job, and though Humphrey had offered them a room to spend the night, and though tired, Johnny had found himself too restless to sleep. Missing the soft body he had become so accustomed to sharing a bed with, he tossed and turned for a while, finally getting up to stalk the quiet house in search of his bedmate.
There was no obvious sign of where she was, but in the end, it was Cosmo, Jon's exuberant border collie, who gave away where Liv had slipped off to. He was sitting next to the front door, as much guarding the sleeping residents in the house as the young woman who occasionally had to feed and walk him sitting out on the front steps. She hadn't noticed the sunset or the darkness falling, lost in worried thoughts about her friends who also happened to employ her to keep them on track.
After searching all the obvious places, the dog gave away Liv's location at last, and after giving Cosmo a brief but friendly greeting, Johnny stepped out onto the porch to join her. "Liv?" he queried gently, knowing she was as upset about what had happened as the rest of the household, and he had a feeling there was something more on her mind that she wasn't sharing. A little misplaced guilt, maybe. He came up beside her, touching her arm gently to let her know he was there. "You okay?"
It took a moment for her to realise she wasn't alone, glancing up at Johnny with a badly feigned smile. "I'm fine," she told him unconvincingly, closing her fingers over his on her arm for a moment before resuming her curled up position on the top step. "Did you get any sleep?"
Johnny sank down to sit beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and tugging her toward him, his body heat immediately warming her faster than an electric blanket. "No, I tried, but I'm too wound up. Besides, I don't sleep alone well anymore," he added with a faint smile. He looked tired; they both looked tired, wrung out with worry, but at least, it was over. "It's not your fault, you know," he told her gently, knowing her well enough to know what she was thinking, what was keeping her from sleep.
Liv sighed, leaning into Johnny as he wrapped his arm about her. "Yes, it is," she argued, just as gently, too calm in apportioning blame onto herself for it not to have been on her mind all day. "I knew about the message, I knew Jon thought it was the same girl who shot him, I knew the threat was against Vicki. I shouldn't have let him order security off when we got back here and after the red carpet incident last night ..." She shook her head, nibbling at her thumbnail anxiously. "She wouldn't have been able to get to them if I'd done my job properly, and I obviously didn't."
He unwrapped his arm from around her shoulders, turning her chin to face him, fixing his eyes on hers. "You don't know that, Liv. We all thought they were safe here. We all knew the risk. Hell, it's just as much my fault as anyone's. I should have followed them. If I'd been there, none of this would have happened." He wasn't really taking the blame on himself, so much as he was trying to make a point. "None of us knew this was going to happen. It's over. Beating yourself up over it isn't going to change anything." He should know. He'd beaten himself up often enough for his mistakes.
She listened without really listening, holding the blame too close to let it just slip away. She had no idea how she was going to be able to look Jon in the eye now, knowing that her laxity had almost cost him the lives of his wife and child. But Johnny didn't deserve to be bogged down in her guilt, so Liv made an effort, managing a smile that was almost convincing this time. "I know, I know, it's over and done with," she sighed, shrugging one shoulder. "Get over it, huh?"
He frowned at her, unconvinced, knowing her better than that, knowing she was just telling him what he wanted to hear. She wouldn't be pouting out here if it wasn't eating her up inside. "Look, Jon and Vicki knew the risks as well as anyone. Think of it this way....Now we know who the stalker was and she's been taken care of. She's not gonna try and hurt them again, Livvie. I made sure of that."
"I know, I do know," she insisted, twisting to face him properly, her hands folded on his thigh. "But knowing that still doesn't mean that I didn't completely mess up. I put them in danger because I didn't overestimate the risk, because I didn't do my job." Obviously, she wasn't paying much attention to what she was saying. She was blaming herself for something that she had no control over, something Jon didn't pay her to deal with. "Humphrey's right," she admitted unhappily. "I should resign and let Jon find someone who can actually do the job properly."