Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with General Hospital.

A/N: Why couldn't that have been Dillon in the hotel? It should have been Dillon that came to rescue her. All right I'll stop complaining, but I expect the writers to give us a hug b/w Dillon and Lulu like the one b/w her and Spinelli. Anyway, because I have a feeling the writers aren't really going to emphasize the psychological trauma that should be the outcome of this situation, I've decided to write about it. Enjoy…

Tormented

Chapter 1

The lobby was silent after another one of Craig's eruptions. I tried to focus on something; anything to take my mind off of his psychological warfare. I had stopped caring about my freedom hours before. I wanted my niece/nephew to make it out. I wanted Elizabeth to be okay and I wanted Nikolas and Emily to go home to Spencer. I wanted Carly and Sonny to return to their son's. What did I have to live for? I could die for them all, here and now. Nobody's life would really be impacted. It wouldn't be that much of a blow.

I stared down at the chipping paint on my finger nails. I had just done them for the charity event and they were already broken, like my mind. I knew if I made it out of this, my life would never be the same, as it was only hours before. My mind flashed to Dillon. I wondered if he was okay. I wondered if he was visiting his Uncle Alan and apologizing for all we put him through. We were responsible for him being in the lobby.

"Miss Lulu," Craig said viciously, pointing the gun at me. I wasn't in the mood, but I once again went through the motions. His torment knew no bounds. "We're going to play another game. It's called pick the person you want to die."

I instantly felt sick. "You have the choice of your brother, your sister in law, or your darling cousin." Elizabeth, Nikolas and Carly were pulled before me. I wanted to collapse. My world was falling apart.

"Pick one to die," he ordered.

"I… I can't," I shouted back at him. "I'm not choosing someone in my family to die."

"That's very unwise Miss Lulu. You either choose, or they all die."

"Kill me instead. They all have children to go home to. Nobody cares if I die," I cried, tears now pouring down my cheeks.

"Very brave," he commended, his voice mocking and condescending. "But that's not one of your options."

"I am not choosing. Pick someone else to torment, you sick freak," I screamed at him.

"You can kill me," Nikolas offered. "I volunteer."

"You people just don't understand how this game works. Lulu chooses, with no outside commentary."

"I'M NOT CHOOSING."

"All right, you win," Craig said, his three henchmen pressed automatic weapons into each of their backs.

"Stop," Sam yelled. "Leave her alone. She shouldn't be subjected to this. You want to kill someone, you kill me."

I felt my whole body give out and I hit the floor with force. My last conscious thought was of Dillon and I in the boathouse back in the summer.

XXXXX

I began to regain consciousness. My head ached and so did my ribs. "Lulu," Elizabeth said gently. "She's waking up."

"I'm so sorry Lulu. I should have been more protective of you," I heard Nikolas say.

I opened my eyes and met their concerned gazes. I felt so terrified, exhausted and unable to function any longer.

"Nikolas," I whispered.

He leaned down and pressed his head against mine as his hand squeezed onto my hand. "I'm so sorry. I hate watching you go through this."

"Did I say you could talk?" Craig shouted.

"Leave my little sister alone," Nikolas threatened.

"Or what?" Craig retorted, his voice colder than ice.

"Just leave her alone. She has suffered enough."

"Get up Miss Lulu, you're going to spend some time by yourself." Number 2 grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. I honestly just wished I were dead.

Number two tossed me into the room by myself. I collapsed onto the floor as soon as the door closed. I could feel myself receding inside my mind and I realized I was becoming my mother.

"Lulu," a voice whispered cautiously. I recognized it immediately and assumed I had begun to hallucinate.

I felt a hand caress my face, but I didn't dare open my eyes. I didn't want to face reality.

"Lulu, look at me," the voice said with more strength. "Open your eyes and look at me."

I acquiesced and my eyes instantly met Dillon's. "Dillon," I cried gently. "Dillon." I could say nothing else as his arms enveloped my body and he buried his face in my hair.

"I was so worried about you," he whispered, his voice like a blanket comforting my entire body.

I looked up at him with a tear stained face. I desperately wanted to kiss him, but I knew it wasn't real and it would only hurt more when I faced the fact that it was all fantasy.

I reopened my eyes, as the gun was pressed into my back. "Get up," the voice barked.

I looked around for any trace of Dillon, but I knew I had been dreaming.

I was dragged back into the lobby and tossed into the center of the room. My whole body had begun to shake.

"The vault is about to open, so I want you all in here and accounted for when we leave," Craig announced.

"Are you planning on killing us all?" Sonny barked.

"That was the plan. I suppose you have a better one?"

"Let everyone go but me and I'll make sure you get out of this town in one piece," Sonny offered.

"Nice offer, but no. I'd rather you all die."

I sat on the floor and began to rock back and forth. I had reached my breaking point. I would spend the rest of my life staring at a wall too.

Somebody crawled to me. "You need to be ready to run," Carly warned me. Her voice filled with a terror that she tried to mask.

I said nothing. There was nothing to say. I was broken; my mind was fading. Soon it would all be over.

"Lulu," Nikolas whispered to me. "I need you to fight to stay alive. Don't shut down. This is almost over."

I ignored him and closed my eyes, willing thoughts of Dillon to flood my mind.

"When the vault opens," Craig shouted. "My people and I will leave and right before, we're setting off all of the explosives. You can try and make it out but you probably won't have time."

The rest of the time bled together as I rocked back and forth. Suddenly all of the hostages were screaming to run. Nikolas had lifted Robin up. Somebody lifted me, but I wasn't sure who at the time. I later found out it was Sonny.

The lobby exploded, knocking Sonny and I to the ground. Suddenly there were paramedics all over me. "Lulu," I heard a frantic voice screaming, I recognized it as Dillon's. He grabbed my hand, but I could no longer react to touch. I was fading into my mind, just like my mother.

I arrived at the hospital and was checked out by the staff. Then I was left in my room, to stare at the window. Not that I could see the window. All I could see was Robin falling after the bullet had ripped through her leg.

"Hey Lulu," Dillon whispered, as he came inside. "The doctor says you've suffered some sort of psychological trauma and have been unresponsive. I don't really know how to take that information."

I ignored his presence. As much as I wanted to turn and look at him, I just didn't have the strength or energy.

"My Uncle Alan died. He had a heart attack. He wasn't responsible for killing Rick Webber, not that that really matters right now. I heard that you were basically tortured in the lobby. I am so sorry I didn't go to meet Spinelli. I can't forgive myself for letting this happen to you. I should have been focused on you and not on Georgie. I am so sorry Lulu. Please just come back to me. I will make this right." His voice started to crack and I knew he was crying.

"Dillon, is Lulu okay?" I heard a voice ask from the doorway. I recognized it as Spinelli's.

"She's still not responsive, but she's alive. Lulu please, look at me," Dillon begged. His desperation was evident, but I still couldn't push images of Robin's shooting out of my mind.

"Can you keep me updated?" Spinelli asked gently.

"Of course," Dillon said. The door closed behind Spinelli and it was just Dillon alone with me again.

"Your brothers are coming to see you soon. Nikolas just had to get some stitches and Emily was having something done. Lucky wasn't able to leave the scene right away and your father was needed to answer some questions. I guess you're stuck with me for now," he said, trying to add laughter in his voice, but I knew better. "I have a confession and I can't hold it back any longer. I love you Lulu. I want you to know that. Not like a friend. I am absolutely in love with you. I know that's not going to bring you back to me. I mean, obviously but I needed you to know. I never should have gone back to Georgie in the summer. My feelings for you have only continued to grow. At first I didn't want to face it. I thought it was just residual feelings from the pregnancy and abortion. I thought the child had just connected us, but that's not true. We connected us, because we just work. I will never forgive myself for not giving us a chance, but I want to give us a chance now. I need you to fight. Fight for me, fight for us, fight for your family. I don't care who Lulu, but fight to survive, because I can't go on without you."

"Dillon," Georgie called from the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in a cold, detached tone.

"How is she doing?"

"How does she look like she is doing? She hasn't spoken a word since she's been released. She won't focus on anything. She is so psychologically scarred that she is completely unresponsive. She has become her mother Georgie."

"I'm sorry Dillon. I am really, truly sorry this happened to her, but I am not responsible. I didn't put her in that lobby. I didn't ask the gunman to take hostages or torture her. You can't blame me."

"No, I blame me," Dillon spat. "I am the reason that she is this way because I should have been in the lobby."

"You can't blame yourself Dillon. Lulu wouldn't want that. I don't know her as well as you, but I do know that she cares about you and she wouldn't want you to go around with all of this guilt."

It was finally something Georgie and I agreed on. The images of Robin began to fade and suddenly I remembered the feeling of the gun being pressed into my back. I whimpered involuntarily as I felt the metal pushed against my skin. "Lulu," Dillon exclaimed. "Lulu it's okay."

I heard the trigger get pulled and then I started to scream. I couldn't stop screaming. "LULU YOU'RE OKAY," Dillon said. "Georgie go get a doctor."

Within moments I was surrounded by medical staff, including Lainey. "This is good," she said. "Lulu, you're not in the lobby anymore. You're safe now. You're at the hospital. Dillon is here to visit you. Isn't that nice?" I could barely hear her words over my screaming but I couldn't stop. I could still feel gun pressed into my skin, I could still hear gunshots surrounding me on all sides, I could still see Robin falling and Elizabeth cramping and Alan having a heart attack.

"Lulu you need to calm down or we will have to sedate you," Lainey said.

I felt something hit my arm and then the images faded away and everything went black.