Chapter 16

While Jon pulled himself together and Frannie tended to Sophie he remembered something he had meant to tell Frannie. “Hey” she turned to him, “what?” He smiled, “I almost forgot to tell you, Tico is coming in this weekend. I told him about you and he wants to meet you.” She swallowed, here we go. “Really? That’s … that’s great.”

She was nervous and Jon could tell. He got up and went to her, “hey, there’s nothing to worry about. Tico’s a great guy, you’re gonna like him, I promise.” She shook her head, “if you say so.” Jon took Sophie from her and pressed a kiss to the baby’s head, “talk to me Frannie. What’s wrong?” She sat down with a sigh, “I’m just a small town locally known artist Jon. He’s an internationally known, well-respected artist. Not to mention he is one of your closest friends; how can I compare to that?”

He sat down next to her and Sophie immediately grabbed for her hair. “I’ll say it again; you have nothing to worry about. When I told him that I was seeing Francesca Daniels, he wanted to come. You’re more well-known than you obviously believe.” Her head snapped up when he said her full name. “That’s the first time you’ve ever used my full name; and how do you know I am well-known?” Jon chuckled, “I Googled you.” Frannie laughed, Jon frowned. “What, you don’t think I’m computer literate?” She laughed again “it’s not that. It’s just, I would think you’d have better things to do than surf the internet. Besides, all you had to do was ask. I would have told you anything you wanted to know.”

He smiled, “I was bored the other night after the boys went to bed and before you called, so I played for a bit.” He paused as he looked her up and down, “you wouldn’t believe how many sites I found regarding you and your work, not to mention the pictures I found too.” Her eyes widened, “oh God, pictures? I’m almost afraid to ask. Nothing too horrible I hope.” He stood and grabbed her hand, “come on, I’ll show ya.”

They walked hand in hand down the hall to his office, Jon teasing her along the way. When they went around the far side of the desk Frannie looked at him, “I’m not sure I really want to see this. Maybe we should Google you instead.” He laughed, “maybe after.” He handed Sophie to her and proceeded to bring up the web pages he had browsed recently. They weren’t anywhere near as embarrassing as Frannie had feared. She stared at the screen in awe, “how did they manage to get these pictures? I don’t recall cameras ever being allowed in the Alliance?” Jon just smirked at her, “darlin’ phones nowadays have cameras in them and you would never even know your picture was being taken. Trust me, I know.”

Frannie looked at him; she saw the roll of his eyes and could see just a hint of aggravation in his features. “You hate it don’t you?” He met her gaze, “it’s not my favorite aspect of my job, let’s just put it that way, but at least I have managed to keep my kids away from it for the most part.” Frannie nodded, “I can only imagine how hard it must be for you.” He took Sophie from her and paced the room, “I suppose it could be a hell of a lot worse than it is, but I deal with it and as long as I give them what they want, they leave my family alone.” He turned to her when he heard the keys clicking. “What are you doing?” She laughed as she looked up at him, “I forgot how pretty you used to be.”

He raised an eyebrow in question and rounded the desk to see just what she was looking at. “Oh God, did you have to?” He was looking at himself in all his long-haired, spandex-clad glory. She smiled at him, “it’s only fair. You did it to me.” She scrolled through a few before clicking on one that wasn’t new, but it wasn’t as old as some. It was a concert shot and he had short hair and was wearing a bandana. When she clicked the photo it enlarged to its original size and she gasped. She found him to be quite sexy with that bandana on his head.

Jon chuckled when he heard her intake of breath. “Something wrong baby?” She shook her head but couldn’t tear her eyes from the screen. “You really are beautiful, you know that?” Not on to talk about his looks he just shook his head, reached over and turned the computer off. Frannie smiled as she turned to face him, “now why’d you do that, I was having a good time.” He pulled her up from the chair, “I just bet you were.” She looked past him to the window; it had gotten dark while they had been at the computer.

As they walked back toward the solarium, Sophie started to fuss; it was about time for her to eat. Frannie took her from Jon and sat to feed her. He watched for a minute before turning away, becoming slightly aroused at the site of her bared breast. The ringing of Frannie’s cell phone broke the silence. Frannie looked over at Jon, “would you mind answering that for me?” He picked up her phone, “Francesca Daniel’s phone.”

“May I speak to Ms. Daniels please?”

Jon looked over at Frannie, “can I say who’s calling?”

“Officer Simmons.” Jon raised his eyebrow, “this is Jon Bon Jovi, can I help you?”

Frannie looked up, motioning for the phone. Jon waved her off. “I’m sorry, what was that officer?”

He turned away from Frannie, not wanting to be distracted again. Officer Simmons repeated what she had said. “I wanted to let Ms. Daniels know that Mr. Andrews was offered and accepted a plea. Mr. Andrews will be going away for a long time.” Jon closed his eyes and thanked his lucky stars at what he had just been told. “How long?”

Frannie came around to face Jon, Sophie up on her shoulder, hand out for her phone. “May I talk to her please?” Jon opened his eyes then “Officer, Frannie would like to speak with you.” He handed her the phone and took Sophie from her.

The officer repeated what she had told Jon. Frannie reached out and laid her hand on Jon’s arm. “How did this happen?” Officer Simmons explained to her that with the two rapes and the assault with a deadly weapon on her along with the breaking and entering the man was looking at life in prison. The DA offered him life, with no possibility of parole until after 25 years. He took it.”

Frannie smiled at Jon, “thank you officer. Do I need to do anything else?”

“Just try to put this behind you and get on with your life Ms. Daniels.”

Frannie nodded her head, not that the officer could see her, but she did it anyway. “Thank you again.” After she closed the phone she pulled Jon close and kissed him. “Not that I’m complaining” he teased, “but what was that for?” She kissed him again, “it’s all over Jon. He’s going to jail for at least 25 years before he will be eligible for parole. No trial, he took a plea deal and is going to jail.” She ran her hand over Sophie’s head, “it’s done.” Jon set Sophie down in the baby seat and pulled Frannie into his arms, “I think this calls for a celebration, don’t you?”