Un Expected Miracles
Chapter 1
After a long day at work, Lulu wanted to plan a romantic dinner for Dante. He had been going through a lot with Mike's worsening condition, and the drama with Michael, detective Chase and Nelle. As Lulu began cooking dinner, she started to light some candles to set the mood. Charlotte and Rocco were spending the night with Olivia, so she had the night reserved for dante. She figured she would send him a quick text to let him know she was cooking a nice dinner for the two of them, but realized that he was still working. When he came home, he seemed pretty preoccupied and had a far away expression on his face. Lulu went to him and gave him a hug.
"Dante? What's wrong? You seem preoccupied."
"I have something to tell you, but I'm starving and would like to sit and have dinner with you first" he said kissing her.
Lulu's mind started wandering. While she loved Dante wanting to have dinner with her, that wasn't unusual, but he was acting weird, and she would find out what it is.
"Honey, of course, we can have dinner together. We do that every night, unless you're working late. What's going on?"
"I'll tell you soon. What are you making?"
"I'm making raviolis because it's quick and work was long. I had to cover a lot of stories today."
"Please tell me that one of them isn't about Peter August."
"Dante, we've been through this. There are some things as a reporter that I can't tell you, just like they're some things as a cop that you can't tell me. Let's do our jobs and if there's something that we need to worry about, we can deal with it; okay?"
"You're right. Want some wine baby?"
"You read my mind. Set the table because dinner's gonna be ready soon."
As Dante set the table, Lulu finished cooking. Dante was admiring the effort Lulu put into this night by looking at the candles. How could he ruin this beautiful night? Then, his thoughts got the better of him. He was continuing to think about the night he found Lulu in the water when she was at the Haunted Star. After thinking about that night, he went to the kitchen to get the glasses. He then poured the wine as Lulu dished out the raviolis on their plates.
"Yumm! These are really good! Thanks baby."
"You're welcome. So, can you tell me what's going on with you?"
Dante sighed before speaking.
"Well, there's something I need to tell you. I've been asked to go on a special assignment. It's a temporary transfer."
"A temporary transfer for what? Is it a specific case or something?"
"Yeah, you could say that. Do you remember the man who tried to drown you when you were living on the Haunted Star? The WSB found his location and they are requesting me to go find him."
"Yeah, but that was two years ago Dante. Why do they need you? I'd rather have someone else do the job than have you leave."
"I know, but Lulu, I want to do this. I have to. When I saw you in that water and I thought I could lose you, I promised I'd do whatever I could to keep you safe. I'm the only one who can do this job."
"When do you leave?"
"I have to leave tonight."
"How much time do we have?"
"We have plenty of time. We have time to say goodbye. Let's make it count."
With no hesitation, Lulu and Dante made love, and they made the most of it. The sex was just as amazing as when they made love for the first time. Dante got off the couch and made a phone call to Olivia and Sonny. His first call was to Olivia.
Olivia answered on the first ring when she noticed it was Dante.
"Hi Honey. Before you say anything, Rocco and Charlotte are fine. They're having a great time playing with Leo."
"Ma, that's great. I need to tell you something."
Olivia was already thinking the worsed. Could something be wrong with Dante? What would she do?
"Oh no! Are you sick? Are you dying? Did Sonny have anything to do with this? What's going on honey. You better—"
"Ma, stop. You'll make yourself crazy. I'm going on a special assignment. That's all I can tell you. It's away from Port Charles. I'm leaving tonight. I wanted to call to say goodbye."
Olivia couldn't believe what she was hearing. Dante was leaving his family behind. She knew that if it meant keeping everyone safe, she'd have to support his decisions, but how could he leave now, especially since he had his family with Lulu, Rocco and Charlotte?
"Dante Angelo Falconeri. You are my son, and I love you, and I don't regret a single thing about how I've raised you, but honey, why do you have to leave, especially now that things are going so well with you and Lulu?"
"Ma, I know, it's hard to swallow. I just found this out a little while ago. I have an opportunity to do something different, and I'm going to take it. That's all I can say. It's a special assignment. It's a special mission and don't worry; I'll be safe. I know that yu and Lulu wouldn't have it any other way."
"I've never questioned that you wouldn't be safe, but as your mother, I'm always gonna worry about you. How long will you be gone?"
"I don't know. It's a temporary transfer, and when the assignment's done, I'll come home."
"good. Well, listen. Lulu and I will make sure that rocco and Charlotte are properly cared for and that they're safe."
"I know you will. Thank you. Ma, I have to go because I wanna spend as much time with Lulu as I can okay? I love you. You did good raising me the way you did, and I couldn't ask for a better mother. It's you and me against the world as you always say, and I'll never forget that. I'll never forget the courage it took for you to raise me in the circumstances you were under."
"Oh honey. Thank you. I love you with all my heart and soul. I'm so proud of the man you've become. You've made a great life for yourself and I can't take all the credit, but I'm proud to say that I've raised you right. You found a great girl in Lulu, and you have great kids. Want me to send you some food?"
"no. I'm good."
"Okay. I'll let you go so that you can spend the rest of the time with Lulu. I love you Dante."
"I love you too Ma."
He hung up on Olivia and called Sonny. He didn't keep Sonny too long because he was dealing with Mike. Mike said goodbye to him too. Dante and Lulu made love again after having dessert and detective Chase knocked on the door.
"Hey man, I'm gonna need you to hold down the fort at the PcPD."
"Why?"
"I'm leaving. Special assignment."
"Really? Congratulations. Did you tell the police commissioner?"
"Yup."
"Okay well, in the short time I've gotten to know you, you taught me a lot, so thanks."
"You're welcome man. Good luck with Nelle."
"Thanks. Bye."
He walked out the door and then, dante and lulu spent the rest of the time reminiscing about happier times, such as when they met. Then, Dante got the text saying they were waiting for him.
"They're waiting for me. I love you Leslie Lu."
"I love you too."
They kissed passionately as Lulu cried. She told Dante that she would tell the kids that he was doing good work to help people, because that's what good people do. He told her that he would call when he could and walked out. As he closed the door, Lulu was thinking about the time they met at Jakes, which is now called the Floating Rib. She spent the whole night crying. She was hoping Dante conveniently forgot something and would have to come back, but no. He was gone and to her, it seemed as though he was gone forever.
As Dante drove to where he was meeting someone from the WSB, he cried the whole way. He felt badly for leaving, and he didn't know when he was coming back. He hated abandoning Lulu and the kids this way, or at least, that's what he felt he was doing and wanted to make it up to them somehow. He vowed to himself that when he came back, he would never take assignments like this again. He wanted the man to pay for almost killing his wife and pay he would, and if he was the one to do it, then, so be it. He texted Lulu to say he loved her and she responded back. As he pulled into a coffee shop, he saw Robert Scorpio.
"Dante! Good to see you. Now, I'm going to tell you everything you need to know before you go meet the man who tried to drown Lulu. Let's go to the hotel and we can discuss a plan okay?"
Robert was a pro at this kind of stuff, so Dante though he didn't particularly like doing stuf like this, he knew he was in good hands. Once they gotthe a specific location, Robert would create a diversion if anyone got in their way. Dante would go in and get some information from him before letting him know who he is. Once he established a good relationship with him, he would confront him and hopefully kill the bastard. Dante loved this because he was hoping it wouldn't take very long at all to do it. First, Dante had to step out of his comfort zone and Robert was the perfect person to help him do that. Plus, he had great experience with doing undercover work when he was working for Sonny. They talked about Lulu and the kids for a moment, and Robert was surprised that being with Luke Spencer's daughter, he didn't learn a few tricks that Lulu knew. He wasn't worried though; he knew that as a detective Dante liked doing things for the most part by the book and didn't always like all this adventure. He was asked to do this task and if this was how he was gonna get revenge on him, he'd do it.
The next day, Lulu woke up. She hadn't slept at all last night because she had been crying all night. She couldn't believe Dante was leaving and didn't know when he'd be back. She managed to get herself a cup of coffee before heading to Arora Media. While she was heading there, she saw Maxie.
"Lulu! Hi! How are you? I wanted to let you know that baby James is coming home soon! Isn't that great? I'm still on maternity leave, but I just wanted to check in with Nina to see how things were going, because you know how much she misses me and she knows that there's nobody who can do the job as good as me, so, oh my God. Lulu, you're crying. What's wrong?"
"Dante left me last night. He's going on a special assignment, and he doesn't know when he'll be back."
"No! He can't leave you! What's the matter with him? Don't worry. I'll tell my Dad to bring him back to you. This is wrong. Why do all the good ones have to leave? Oh my God! I just had a sick thought. We can bond over this because we both know what it's like to lose our husbands."
"Maxie, that's sick, and it's different circumstances. Nathan's dead, and that's horrible, but Dante's still alive. So, I'm not sure why you think we can bond over this. You already forgave me, so we're good."
Suddenly, Maxie began to think about what she was saying. Lulu was right; their situations were completely different; dante was alive whileNathan was dead, so bonding would be pointless. How could she ever think they could be friends? Oh wait. They'd be friends, but because Nathan was dead and Lulu in Maxie's mind was still partially to blame for it, there would always be that rift.
"no. You're right Lulu. Bonding over this would be pointless. I'm sorry I even suggested it. I'm gonna go see Nina now. Bye."
"Maxie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to seem insensitive to your situation."
"You weren't. I was just thinking about things and had that random thought. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I have plenty of support. I talked to Mom for a while last night. I didn't sleep though, but work will distract me."
"That's good. Well, I'm here if you wanna talk. I'm sorry Dante's being a jerk."
"Maxie, he's not a jerk. He went on a special assignment. That's all, so can you stop saying he's a jerk? He's doing this to keep us safe as a family."
"Family? You raising the kids alone isn't a family. I'm calling Dad and having—"
"Maxie, don't, and before you go talking about Nina and Valentin and how they've brought up Charlotte before I had custody of her to me, I don't wanna hear it. We've adjusted and things are going fine between all of us. We've been able to work out a schedule that works for us. Dante's doing a job, and do I like that he's gone? No, but as long as he'll come home to me, then, I'm going to support him."
"Okay fine. Call me later."
"I will. I want to see the baby when he's home, but I'll wait until he's settled first."
"Oh my God Lulu! No!I want you to see him right when I bring him home."
"okay. Bye Maxie."
Maxie hugged Lulu and then walked into Nina's office. If she were being honest with herself, Maxie was happy to have her best friend back. She missed Lulu and though she knew that Lulu didn't kil Nathan, she let her anger get the better of her and that was wrong. Lulu loved Nathan too and Maxie knew that.
Lulu went to Arora Media to continue working on Kiki's case against Dr. bench. She got a lot of people to come forward with their stories. The more people she interviewed for the story, the more she hoped the message would get across that sexual harassment on anyone isn't okay. By all these women speaking out against Dr. Bench, she hoped their stories would encourage others to face their attackers head on by getting them convicted of asalt. She thought about interviewing Michael for a man's perspective as well as Sam, but they both declined, and that was okay. Her story was getting out there and that's what she wanted.
The next day, Maxie was getting ready to bring baby James home. Mac and Falicia wer at the hospital and Lulu offered to help get the house in order. Anything was better than coming home to an empty house while the kids were out playing withLeo now that the summer had started. Both Charlotte and Rocco were happy that school was out and while Lulu was working, Olivia had offered to take them. If she had to be in the house alone, she would think about Dante, and while she loved thinking about him, she was always sad and would cry the more she would think about him not being there with her, so cleaning the apartment for Maxie was a welcome distraction. She prepared some bottles that Maxie had in the house and saw a bottle of champagne that looked to be imported somewhere ordered by Nina as a gift. She thought that would be perfect to welcome little James home. As Maxie, Mac and Falicia all came in carrying things for the baby, Lulu quietly greeted them all because the baby was sleeping.
"oh my God! Maxie, he's absolutely adorable. I know I saw him on the webcam at the hospital, but that doesn't do justice. Can I hold him?"
"Sure! In fact, I'd love it if you could hold him for me while I freshen up. Look at me. I feel like crap."
"Maxie, sweetheart, you look beautiful" Falicia said while walking to Maxie's room.
"Hi baby James, I'm your Aunt Lulu. I want you to know that I love you so much and I will always be there for you, whenever you need me okay? You're so precious and I wish your Uncle Dante and your Dad were here to see you" she said while placing kisses all over his head.
A few minutes later after Maxie and Falicia helped get things set up for the baby, Mac finally spoke upwhen they came out.
"Okay everyone, I want to propose a toast. To Maxie. Sweetheart, you had a rough year with Nathan dying, but this little guy here proves the circle of life. When someone dies, a baby's always being born, and that's what happened here, so, to Maxie and James Malcom West!"
Everyone joined in with the clinking of the glasses and saying here here. Then, the baby made an announcement of his own.
"I think my boy's getting hungry. Come here baby boy" Maxie said taking him out of lulu's arms.
"Maxie, there's a bottle in the fridge. All you need to do is heat it up for about thirty seconds or so. Just enough to keep it warm."
"thanks Lulu. How do you know about this? It's not like you had Rocco when he was a newborn baby."
"No, but I babysat for Lucky and Elizabeth often enough with Cam and Jake. Plus, I got to see Nikolas taking care of Spencer and Rocco when he was raising him with Britt."
"Oh yeah. I'll never understand what Nikolas saw in that bit… um bad woman. I forgot. Gotta watch the language around my son."
They both laughed before Maxie went to heat the bottle up for James.
"Okay guys, on that note, I'm gonna go and get Charlotte and Rocco. Maxie, I'm so proud of you. I love you so much and have missed you so much. If you need anything, even if it's a 2:AM feeding, I'm on it. I've been having trouble sleeping ever since Dante's been gone."
"I'm so sorry Lulu. Okay, I'll call you."
She said her goodbyes to Mac and Falicia and left. That night, she ordered pizza for Rocco and Charlotte. She loved having them around especially before they went to sleep. As she read them a story, they both quickly fell asleep. She carried them one at a time up to bed and told them Dante loved them both and gave them two kisses; a kiss from her and a kiss from Dante. He called her once to say he had made it, and asked of the kids, but for the moment, that's all he could do. It felt good to talk to him. As she left Rocco and Charlotte's room, she poured herself a glass of wine and watched a show on Netflix. She wanted a distraction because the house was too quiet and there usually was nothing on TV. She eventually turned the show off the sleepier she got and fell asleep on the couch.