I have no idea what made me decide to try to do this but here goes. This is my first attempt at FF. Please read and review. I have an idea where I'm going but not a lot of time so it may be a while for updates.

Chapter 1

Although he was exhausted, he decided to drop by Lucky and Liz's engagement party anyway. He figured that they would be hurt if he didn't at least make an appearance. He had been working a murder case day and night for the last three days and really needed to go home and get some much needed rest. As he boarded the Haunted Star, he saw a beautiful blonde at the railing looking out at the water with a pensive look on her face. As he went by, he nodded his head and said, "Hi". She barely acknowledged his greeting as Dante passed by her on his way into the Casino. Dante wasn't sure but he would bet his next paycheck that the beautiful blonde was Lucky's sister, Lulu. Lucky had mentioned that she might be coming. Lulu had been in Milan, Italy for the last couple of years running the Crimson European edition but Lucky had been working on her coming home for the party for the last couple of months.

As Dante entered the casino, he saw Lucky at the bar with Liz and Tracy by his side in what seemed a very intense conversation. Dante approached them and said, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything but I just wanted to drop by and offer my congratulations."

Lucky was the first to respond, "Thanks Dante, I really didn't think you would be able to make it tonight, you must be exhausted."

Liz nodded in agreement and Tracy turned to leave. Dante had never understood why Tracy had never really taken to him. Ladies usually were all about him. Dante thought he could be quite charming. Maybe it had something to do with her player husband, Luke Spencer.

Dante gave a short laugh "You could say that. If you don't mind I think I'll have a drink and run on home."

Lucky asked Dante if he wanted his usual, "Bottle of beer?"

Dante replied, "You know me so well. I'll take one." While he was waiting for the bartender to bring him his beer, he asked Lucky, "Was that your sister outside?"

"Yeah, she said she needed some air. I think being home after such a long time has brought up some not so great memories. Her and Tracy have already had some heated words," said Lucky.

"Oh, they don't get along?" He was glad he wasn't the only one Tracy didn't take to.

"They usually get along but Tracy thinks Lulu should quit Crimson and come to work at ELQ."

"Isn't that the Quartermaine's family business?"

"You could say that but the only family that runs it anymore is Tracy. Edward is all but retired and none of the Q kids have an interest in it. Tracy has been running it on her own for years now and I think she's getting tired but there's no one to take it over from her."

"I thought your sister was running Crimson in Europe?"

"She was but Kate has decided to close it down and bring Lulu home to help Maxie run Crimson's North American edition. It seems that the European economy has put a big hole in profits relating to fashion and that would include fashion publications." Lucky looked over at the door and Dante's eyes followed. Lulu was coming in from outside. It looked as if she had pulled herself together and calmed down a little. Lucky motioned for her to come over to the bar.

"Lulu, I'd like you to meet my partner, Dante Falconeri."

Lulu looked a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry, you're the guy who said hi to me outside and I pretty much just ignored you. I'm usually not that rude."

Dante said, "that's okay, you looked like you had a lot on your mind." As he looked into her eyes, he couldn't believe how beautiful she was. He had seen pictures of Lucky and his family at work and at Lucky's apartment but they didn't do Lulu justice. He always knew she was attractive but in person she had this bright aura about her that seemed to make her eyes and skin glow. She made you want to just stare into those eyes to find her soul and you just knew that it would be just as beautiful. Wow, I must be exhausted, thought Dante.

"It was really nice to meet you Lulu but I think I am going to take my leave now and get some much needed rest."

"Dante has been working a murder case the last few days and hasn't gotten much sleep."

"You should go home and get some sleep then. I am home permanently now and I'm sure we'll run into each other again. Port Charles isn't that big."

Dante took his leave and started up the stairs to the exit before he felt himself looking back to catch one last glimpse of Lucky's sister before he went out the door. She had already turned around and started conversing with Lucky but she looked just as good from behind.

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do Lucky. I've really enjoyed my time in Europe but to be honest I was ready to come home. I had already decided at the beginning of this year that I was going to stay only one more year and tell Kate in November that I was leaving January 1st. It would have given her two months to find a replacement and then I was coming home to rest and recoup for six months or so. It was grueling getting the magazine running and then when it seemed it was taking off, the economy hit the crapper and it seems like I've been running up hill ever since." Lulu sighed, "eighteen hour days, seven days a week can really get to you after a while. I even started understanding why Kate is the way she is. The responsibility is overwhelming and the constant need to try to be on top and never quite making it is exhausting."

Lucky could see the look of defeat and exhaustion in Lulu's eyes. She seemed a little older and a bit jaded, even more so than before she left. Lulu had seen and done things no one should ever have to and had to handle most of them on her own. Their dad had never been the stay at home kind and their mom had been in and out of psychiatric hospitals most of Lulu's life.

"Don't let Tracy pressure you into anything. You should take some time off and think about what your next move will be."

"Well, that's just it, I don't have any time to relax. Kate has decided that she wants Maxie to run the layout portion of Crimson and me to run the editorial division. It seems Maxie works as many hours as I do and now that she and Matt are married and expecting a baby, she's been threatening to quit and Kate does not want to lose her. This is the perfect solution." Although Lulu said the words she was not so convinced. She had basically been running her own magazine for the last two years and coming back to Port Charles to share the running of a magazine with Maxie was going to be hard. Maxie had her own way of dealing with things and was hard headed when it came to someone else's input. Lulu had argued with Tracy about her running ELQ but honestly she was actually starting to get excited about the idea. She loved running the magazine on the business end but fashion had never been her strong suit like it was Maxie's. Sure she liked to dress nice and always tried to look her best but it really wasn't her bag to always be worried about being on the cutting edge of fashion. She was more comfortable in a holey pair of jeans and a graphic tee than a Givenchy gown. She knew she could pull off either look but sometimes she just wanted to be that t-shirt girl again.

"Tell Kate that you need at least a week off before you start at Crimson and that will give you some time to rest and think about what you really want to do."

Lulu thought for a minute and said, "You're right, that's exactly what I'm going to do and if Kate doesn't like it she can kiss my ass." Then Lulu asked Lucky if he could call her a cab. She was tired and wanted to go on back to the Q mansion. Monica had been kind enough to tell Tracy that Lulu was welcome back anytime and since Maxie had sublet their apartment six months ago after marrying Matt, Lulu had nowhere to go. She told Liz and Lucky goodbye and told her dad and Tracy that she would see them back at the house. As she climbed into the cab and gave the cabbie the Q address, she layed her head against the seat and closed her eyes and for the first time thought how glad she was to be home again.

When Dante's elevator door opened he all but fell out having fallen asleep leaning against the wall on the short trip up. He quickly shut the gate and entered his loft. Without even taking his shoes and sox off he laid on his bed intending on falling asleep immediately but couldn't. He kept thinking about Lulu Spencer. He had only been in Port Charles for a year. The first six months were undercover as the right hand man of Sonny Corinthos a Port Charles crime figure. It was after that he found out that his mother had been keeping a lifelong secret from him that Sonny Corinthos was his father and he quit the case due to a conflict of interest. NYPD didn't want him back and Mac Scorpoio, the PC Police Commander had asked him to come work with them in the homicide division. He had been working homicides now for six months and in Port Charles that was a long time considering they had at least a murder a week with the crime syndicates that were working through this city.

He had thought about girls during that time and even had a few but nothing long term and no one he actually thought about for more than five minutes after he left them. For some reason Lulu Spencer's face kept appearing everytime he closed his eyes. It wouldn't be a good idea to ask his partner's sister out. Those things could always get messy. He got up to get a beer since he couldn't sleep and sat down on the couch and turned the TV on. He had DVR'd the Yankee vs. Phillies game and decided to watch it since he was too wired now to go to sleep. As he watched and drank his beer his eyes started to close and he layed his head back against the couch and realized that he was starting to think of Port Charles as his home.