Author's Notes: I haven't written a GH fic in a long, long time…probably since the last time SB (my favorite actress in the universe) was on the show, as Carly…so cut me some slack. J Reviews are welcomed and appreciated.

This story takes place right after Johnny was brought in for Logan's murder, before the whole on-the-run thing happened. This story focuses a lot of Claudia and Johnny's relationship as siblings, as well as a Claudia romance.

Jenny

What a Tangled Web We Weave

Chapter One:

"Let me through! You can't do this!" Claudia screamed, trying to push her way past Lucky Spencer, a scowl on her face, "You have no proof, you have no legal right to hold him here!"

She pulled away violently from Lucky, who had grabbed her arm as she made a beeline towards the interrogation room, fire burning in her eyes, "Johnny didn't do anything, you have to let him go!"

"Your brother is being held for questioning, and once said questioning is complete you can see him, until then you need to back off." Lucky said sharply, "Either go home or have a seat, quietly, in the waiting area."

Claudia was silent, peering through the window at her brother, who had his face in his handcuffed hands. He slowly looked up and met her gaze, and for a moment their eyes locked and Claudia got a glimpse into his weary soul. He was hurting, and there was nothing she could do about it. She shot him a look that she hoped conveyed her determination to get him out of custody as soon as possible, and then turned to Lucky and snapped, "I'll wait for our attorney out front."

She walked to the front of the building, pulling out her cell phone with a worried sigh. Before she had a chance to dial, however, an all-too-familiar voice stopped him, "Didn't I warn you that you had done a lazy job of covering this up?"

"They have no proof, Daddy, they're just trying to scare him into confessing." Claudia replied breezily, trying to convince not only her father, but herself as well, "He'll be released as soon as Ric and Trevor get in."

Anthony shook his head, a frown on his lips, "You failed him Claudia, he trusted you and instead of asking for help from someone with much more experience and knowledge than you have, you did a half ass job and now he's paying for it. Maybe he'll see you now for the vindictive, selfish bitch that you are."

"Just shut your mouth!" Claudia exclaimed, "That's a lie. I would do anything to protect Johnny!"

"Yet you didn't." Anthony replied angrily, "You just remember this little girl, if he doesn't get off, you're going to pay."

Before Claudia had a chance to respond, Anthony wheeled himself into the police department, demanding justice for his son. Outside, Claudia leaned her head back against the building, taking a deep breath. She hadn't expected things to go this far, and she wasn't sure how to make this problem go away. Her stomach churned slightly and she pressed her hand against it, praying that she wouldn't have to add illness to the list of problems plaguing her life right now.

She looked up as she heard footsteps approaching, and taking a deep breath, she mentally prepared herself for a fight as she saw Ric and Trevor approaching. To her relief, they barely cast her a passing glance as they entered the building. She followed, nervousness and paranoia starting to sink in as her mind began to race with the plethora of reasons they could be so intense. Were they privy to the evidence Scott Baldwin was probably stacking up against her brother? Did they think they wouldn't be able to get him off? Her pulse raced as she watched them enter the interrogation room without as much as a word to Anthony.

"You'd better hope Johnny walks out of here today, Claudia." Anthony warned quietly, "You've done nothing but screw things up for your brother ever since you arrived here, hopefully this will open his eyes to you."

"I love Johnny, I'd never hurt him."

"But you have." Anthony scowled, "You're nothing but empty words, useless to this family and to Johnny. He doesn't need you in his life, you're poison."

Claudia didn't respond, and she crossed her arms over her chest, as if she were protecting herself from Anthony's cruel and snide remarks. She didn't want to admit that she cared what he thought, and she didn't know how to convince him, if it were even possible, that she cared for Johnny just as much as he did.

Minutes ticked by slowly until the interrogation door opened and the two attorneys walked out. Inside, Mac Scorpio's voice was clear and strong as he said "You are being charged with the murder of Logan Hayes--"

Claudia's heart sank and she looked carefully at her father, who was wearing an expression of pure rage. She had to do something, she couldn't let Johnny go to prison and she couldn't let the obviously biased Scott Baldwin reach for the maximum penalty, as she knew he would. This couldn't be happening, she couldn't have failed Johnny. Anthony's fingertips dug into her skin and with great inspiration, she yanked her arm away, shouting, "No, he didn't do it!"

Mac faltered for a moment before motioning for one of the officers to close the door. Before they could act, though, Claudia had crossed the room, "He didn't do it, I know he didn't and I can prove it."

"You can?" Mac replied, his voice laced with doubt and annoyance at being interrupted.

Claudia took a deep breath, refusing to meet Johnny's eyes as she stated quietly, "Johnny didn't kill Logan, I did. I'm prepared to give you a full statement of confession."

"What? Claudia, no!" Johnny protested, jumping to his feet, "She doesn't know what she's saying!"

"Let the girl speak!" Anthony bellowed, a delighted grin on his face. Claudia's arrest would solve two problems at once, Johnny would come home and Claudia would disappear.

"I did it, I killed Logan." Claudia insisted, holding her wrists out to Mac, "Arrest me and let Johnny go. He was only trying to cover for me."

"She's lying!" Johnny pleaded, "You can't believe her."

Mac motioned for a nearby officer to cuff Claudia, and in doing so, they shoved her against a desk, knocking the wind out of her. Her stomach was still churning and she instinctively reached for her abdomen as it began to ache from the impact. As the officer snapped the cuffs on her left wrist, she felt the bile rise in her throat and she glanced at the officer, speaking in a slightly urgent tone, "I need to go to the restroom."

"There will be time for that later."

"I'm serious, I'm sick, I need to go now." Claudia replied, her tone getting more urgent and slightly panicked, "I'm going to be sick."

The officer snorted, "As if we've never heard that before. No use trying to escape, we aren't fools."

Before anyone could react, Claudia leaned forward and vomited, using her free hand to hold back her hair as she heaved. She took several deep breaths before straightening again, off-balance and dizzy, and held out her right hand to be cuffed.

The officer pushed her up against the desk again, hissing, "No funny business."

Johnny shouted across the room, trying to make his way to his sister, "Be careful with her, she's pregnant!"

The room fell silent, and for a moment Claudia thought she was able to hear her own racing heartbeat. He didn't just say that, did he? That was supposed to be a secret between the two of them, not something to be blurted out with 50 onlookers, one of which being their father! Her knees buckled, leaving the officer to support her weight as she floated somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness. The last thing she heard as the blackness enveloped her was Anthony's voice bellowing, "Pregnant!?".

When she came to, she was laying on a flimsy cot in a grey holding cell, and the room was still swimming around her blurry eyes.

"Claudia?"

She sat up, gasping her brother's name, "Are you ok John?"

"I think I should be asking you the same question." Johnny replied, "You gave me a bit of a scare there."

"Is Daddy mad?"

"What?" Johnny replied, a smirk on his face, "He's giving them hell as we speak. Now that you're carrying the grandchild, he's all about defending you to the police department, the D.A.'s office, whoever will listen. He's probably already thinking about 'the next heir'."

"I can't believe you told them." Claudia groaned, covering her face with her hands, "I thought we were going to keep that between us for now?"

"It would have to come out eventually." Jonnny reasoned, "and I didn't want them manhandling you anymore than they already were. Just because this isn't the optimal time to be bringing another life into the world doesn't mean the life is any less important."

His voice faltered a bit and he took a deep breath to try and keep his nerves at bay, "You shouldn't have said anything to them, you can't take the blame for something you didn't do! Trevor and Ric could have gotten me acquitted, I hate that you are stuck here for something I did."

"I'd do anything for you John." Claudia replied softly, "Even if it meant spending an eternity in jail in order for you to be free."

"I appreciate it," Johnny said gently, "but I'm worried about you, we just became reunited, I don't want to lose you so soon."

Claudia reached through the cell bars, squeezing Johnny's hand, "Listen to me John, there is nothing in the world that could keep me away form you, do you understand me?"

Johnny nodded, opening his mouth to reply when a door opened behind him, the sound of Ric and Trevor's bickering filling the air. He glanced towards them, and back at Claudia, whispering softly that he'd be back before giving her hand another squeeze and excusing himself from the hallway.

"You've gotten yourself into a huge mess, as usual." Trevor commented as he approached Claudia's cell, "You should have just backed off and let us do our jobs instead of butting in and causing more trouble. It's a good thing Anthony keeps us on a generous retainer to clean up you and Johnny's messes."

Claudia sighed, her head aching as Trevor and Ric began to discuss the possibilities her confession opened up. By the time they were done, even Claudia herself was wishing she had thought her plan through a bit more carefully before jumping into it. As they exited, Lucky Spencer entered the hallway, his footsteps echoing through the corridor as he made his way to Claudia's cell. Unlocking the metal door, he glanced at his prisoner, asking, "Feeling better?"

"As if you care." Claudia replied, "Are you ready to take my statement yet?"

Lucky grabbed her left hand and slid the handcuff around her wrists, "We have a few questions for you before we get your confession, since your attorneys are already in the station, it shouldn't take too long to clear up the questions we have."

Claudia swallowed back the bitter taste in her throat, her mind scrambling to remember all the finer points of the story she had concocted, knowing that if she froze or misspoke while giving her "confession" they'd have her written up on conspiracy charges and Johnny back in jail awaiting trial. And as far as she was concerned, Johnny going to jail was not an option.

- - - -

"The Jackal had received word that Vixenella had been forced into the correctional institution, and the Jackal came to provide what little assistance he could in your time of need." Spinelli rambled, sitting down in the metal chair across the table from Claudia, "The Jackal knows Vixenella can not possibly be responsible for the unfortunate events that have taken place, and Stone Cold has left it up to the Jackal if the Jackal's aptitude for research should and could be used to help Vixenella out of this precarious bind she seems to have fallen into."

Claudia smiled, as usual amused by Spinelli's enthusiasm, "Thank you Spinelli--" She paused, a familiar feeling of nausea rising in her chest, and hesitatingly asked, "Could you do something for me real fast? I need you to get someone to escort me to the restroom really quickly."

Spinelli nodded, quickly scrambling to his feet and towards the door. Unlike previously, Lucky quickly entered, undoing the cuff that confined her to the chair and escorting her away from the room. Spinelli followed them out of the interrogation room, half curious, half concerned about the woman he had always found so fascinating.

"What's going on?" Johnny demanded, his voice booming over the hustle and bustle of the working officers.

Mac quickly moved towards Johnny, his voice hard and cold, "You need to either wait in the lobby or leave, this doesn't concern you."

"She's my sister and she's pregnant, and I want to make sure she's being treated the way she deserves!" Johnny shouted, ignoring the hard look he was receiving from both his father and their attorneys.

A few feet away, Spinelli's eyes widened as he realized the implication of Johnny's words…Claudia was pregnant. And he had a pretty good idea of who the father was.

TBC