Lulu ran out of the Metro Court and searched the crowd for a familiar face. "Dad " Lulu shouted and ran straight into her father's arms. She'd never been happier to see her father than tonight.
"Are you okay?" Luke asked. His baby girl better not have one scratch on her, or Mr. Craig was going to wish he'd gone up in flames along with the hotel.
Lulu nodded, her eyes brimming with tears. "I'm fine," Lulu insisted. "It was horrible in there. I was so scared, I – "
"Lulu," Milo quietly said, slipping off his jacket and placing it on her shoulders. He didn't want to interrupt this moment between Lulu and her father, but it had been hell being stuck out here, helpless, while Lulu was trapped inside.
Lulu turned around, "Milo," Lulu whispered as she put on Milo's jacket. She'd be lying if she didn't admit that earlier she thought she'd die without seeing Milo's face again.
Milo took a step forward and hugged Lulu tightly, "How are you?" Milo asked.
"Better," Lulu whispered into Milo's shoulder as she hugged him just as tightly. Now that she was with Milo, here in her arms she knew that everything would be okay. Milo started to step away and she hugged him even tighter. "Don't – don't let me go."
Milo pulled back slightly and brushed the tears from Lulu's face and kissed her forehead, "I won't," Milo said and pulled her into his arms again. "I love you, Lulu." Milo gave Lulu a chaste kiss. "Did anyone hurt you?"
"No," Lulu whispered. She wasn't hurt, not physically. But she never wanted to think about some of the things she'd witnessed over the past twelve hours.
Milo gently rubbed Lulu's back as if he was comforting a child and kept whispering soothing things to her, "You're safe now," Milo whispered. He looked up when he saw his brother. Milo kissed the top of Lulu's head. "Hey, I'll be back in a minute. I need to talk to Max."
Lulu nodded and watched Milo walk over to Max. "Hey big brother." Milo gave Max a hug. "Good to see you."
"Same here," Max said.
"Do you need a ride home?" Milo asked. "I'm just going to drop off Lulu and then I can take you home or you can crash at my place if you want."
"I'm okay – " Max paused and shook his head. He really needed to clear his head, he knew his brother meant well but strangely he wanted to be alone right now. "I have my car."
"It was bad, wasn't it?" Milo asked. He and his brother saw and did a lot of unmentionable things due to their line of work, but there were some lines they would never even think of crossing. He didn't have all the details, but one thing he did know was that a lot of lines were crossed tonight. The shambles that the Metro Court was in, was proof of that.
"Yeah," Max said. "It was pretty bad." Bad didn't even begin to describe it, chaos was a more accurate term.
Milo glanced back towards Lulu, "I'm glad you were in there with her," Milo said. It had been hard enough dealing with Lulu being held hostage but strangely knowing Max was with her, reassured him that things would turn out okay. He knew Max would look out for Lulu and do whatever he could to keep her safe. "Not that I wanted you in there – "
Max rested his hand on his brother's shoulder, "I know what you mean," Max said. Milo didn't need to explain himself, he knew exactly what he meant. Making sure Lulu stayed safe gave him something to focus on, instead of how bad things really were. "I'm kind of surprised you didn't try to break in or something."
Milo laughed softly, "After Lucky arrested Luke for stealing a SWAT team uniform, I didn't think I'd have better luck," Milo said. "But the thought did cross my mind."
"Doesn't matter now," Max said. "We're out."
Milo hugged Max again, "Sure you don't need a ride home?" Milo asked.
"I'm okay," Max said. "I might go for a drive or something. Take care of Lulu. I know she's strong, but - " Max paused.
"Did something happen that I should know about?" Milo asked. "Did someone hurt her?" If someone laid a finger on her, he'd make whoever did it pay.
"Not physically," Max said. "But this Craig guy - Milo, he was a sadistic bastard. He didn't touch her, he pushed her around a little but didn't hurt her."
"What about you?" Milo asked.
"I'll deal," Max said. "Go get your girl and get out of here. I'm going to go for a drive."
"Call me if you, if you want to talk or don't want to be alone or whatever," Milo said. Max nodded and Milo walked over to Lulu. He rested his hand on her shoulder and she jumped but relaxed as soon as she realized it was Milo. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah," Lulu said. She wanted to get out of here. She wanted to take a shower and curl up into a ball and forget this night ever happened. She smiled slightly when Milo touched her chin. "I - I don't want to go home." She didn't want to be alone, not tonight. The past twelve hours had been hell, the last thing she wanted was to be alone.
Milo reached for Lulu's hand, "I'm not letting you out of my sight," Milo said.
Lulu ran a towel through her hair as she stepped out of the bathroom. She smiled when she noticed that Milo had fallen asleep while she had been in the shower. Lulu set her towel down on the back of a chair and walked over to the bed. She leaned over Milo and brushed her lips over his.
Milo smiled and reached up for Lulu, opening his eyes. "Sorry," Milo apologized, running his hand through Lulu's damp hair. He hadn't meant to fall asleep while she had been in the shower. "Are you hungry?"
Lulu looked at the plate of fruit that was sitting on the dresser and shook her head. She should be starving but she wasn't sure she could eat anything right now. "Maybe later."
Milo scooted over on the bed to make room for her, "Come here," Milo said.
Lulu climbed in bed next to Milo, into his waiting arms. She rested her head on his shoulder and started crying. Milo said nothing, but held her tightly as she cried. Her sobs subdued and she pulled back, "I'm sorry, I - "
"Don't apologize," Milo said, brushing the tears from her face. She'd just survived a terrible ordeal, he'd be worried if she didn't cry. "I'm so grateful that you're okay. I don't know what I would've done if I had lost you." He and Lulu had only been together for about eight months, but she was an important part of his life. He couldn't imagine his life without her. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Lulu shook her head, "No," Lulu whispered, she didn't want to think about what happened ever again. She especially didn't want to think about it now. She was sure those images would haunt her for the rest of her life but the last thing she wanted was for them to haunt her dreams too. "I don't want to talk or think about it. I want to forget tonight happened." She was so tired, all she wanted to do was close her eyes and go to sleep. But she was afraid to go to sleep. She wasn't sure what awaited her in her dreams. She didn't want to dream about Alan having a heart attack or Sonny getting beat up. She didn't want to hear Robin's screams or Emily's pleas for help. She looked up at Milo and tears started streaming down her face when she saw the genuine concern in his eyes for her.
"You must be exhausted." Lulu nodded and tears started streaming down her face. Milo pulled the blankets over them and turned off the lamp, "It's okay to go to sleep. You're safe now," Milo quietly said and gently ran his hand up and down Lulu's arm. "I love you."
"I love you too," Lulu said. There had been so many times when it would've been easy to give up, to give into fear but she didn't. The one thing that stopped her was her love for Milo. No matter how twisted Craig was or how terrible this situation was, she knew that Milo loved her. It was something pure and beautiful and was something for her to hold onto when things looked bleak. Lulu settled into Milo's chest and closed her eyes. She waited for the horrific images to fill her mind and when they didn't she hugged him tighter. She realized that Milo hadn't moved and lifted her head, slightly turning so she could look at him. "Aren't you going to sleep?"
"I will," Milo said. He wanted to watch her sleep. He'd almost lost her tonight, he didn't want to let her go. He needed her so much, more than he ever thought he'd need another person. She was so different than any girl he had ever dated. She saw past his job, the money, the glitz and glamour of the mob and saw him - the person. She didn't judge him because he worked for Sonny, nor did she belittle him because he was hired muscle. "Sweet dreams, Lulu, sweet dreams."
Lulu woke up and the first thing she noticed was that she was alone. "Milo?" Lulu called. She climbed out of bed and walked into the living room. She rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times as she got used to the light.
"Hey, you're awake," Milo said, walking out of the bathroom.
Lulu glanced around the apartment, noticing that most of the lights were on. "What time is it?" Lulu asked. "How long was I asleep?"
Milo glanced at the clock, "About fourteen hours," Milo said and walked over to Lulu. He led her to the couch. "Did you sleep okay?" He'd been worried that she wouldn't sleep well. He had stayed awake after she fell asleep for about an hour, making sure she had a restful sleep. He'd woken up around noon, then went back to sleep for a few hours. He'd spent most of the day just waiting for her to wake up.
"A lot better than I thought I would," Lulu admitted. Surprisingly she didn't have any dreams. Usually she was a vivid dreamer, thankfully her mind had needed the rest as much as she did.
"Good," Milo said.
Lulu rested her head on Milo's shoulder, she knew that she had just woken up, but she was seriously tempted to fall asleep again. "I want to stay like this forever."
"That can be arranged," Milo said and laughed when he heard Lulu's stomach growl. "Or maybe not."
"I guess I haven't eaten in a day or so," Lulu said.
"What do you want?" Milo asked.
"You," Lulu whispered and turned her head to kiss Milo. She wasn't sure how and she wasn't sure why, but every time she kissed him it was like kissing him for the first time. The spark that was between them when they were just friends was still there and he still made her weak in the knees.
"You've got me," Milo said, reluctantly breaking their kiss. "Do you want some soup? Or maybe a sandwich?"
"Soup is fine," Lulu said. She wanted something warm. "I think I'm going to get dressed." Lulu stood up and looked at Milo, "Don't you work today?"
"I told Sonny I needed a few days off," Milo said. "He said it was fine." In fact, that wasn't all he and Sonny had talked about but that could wait until after Lulu ate.
"I"m not going to break," Lulu said. Sure, she'd been through hell, but she'd survived. She was a Spencer, that's what Spencers did - survive.
"I know," Milo said and stood up, taking Lulu's hands in his. "But I want to take care of you. I - I almost lost you, I'm not ready to let you go right now."
Lulu smiled, "I forget that sometimes," Lulu said.
"Forget what?" Milo asked.
"How much I mean to you," Lulu quietly said. She was so used to doing everything on her own, to pretty much being on her own - even though she'd been with Milo a while, sometimes it amazed her how much he cared about her. When she was growing up she had dreamed about finding someone to love her like her dad loved her mom. Then reality came crashing in and when her world was falling apart she didn't think she'd ever find that someone - then she met Milo.
Milo let go of Lulu's hand and touched her chin, "You mean more to me than you'll ever know," Milo said. He'd come a long way from being tongue-tied and not being able to string together more than a few sentences, but he couldn't put into words what she meant to him. He'd ask her to marry him if she thought she'd say yes, but he knew they weren't ready for marriage - not yet. But there were other ways that he could show his commitment.
Lulu smiled then frowned when she couldn't place the look in Milo's eyes, "Milo?" Lulu asked. "Is something bothering you?"
"No," Milo said. "Just thinking - let me get you that soup."
"Is - is there something you wanted to say?" Lulu asked.
"I have something I want to tell you," Milo said. "Something - something I discussed with Sonny. I can wait."
"You can tell me now," Lulu said.
Milo brushed his lips over Lulu's, "It can wait, you need to eat," Milo said.
"Are you going to watch me all night?" Lulu asked.
"Maybe," Milo said. He cleared Lulu's dishes from the table and sat down again.
"So what did you discuss with Sonny?" Lulu asked.
"Well - " Milo paused and smiled. "Okay, considering everything that just happened - Sonny realizes that his organization needs to reorganize a few things." What just happened, showed that no one was immune, so Sonny wanted to restructure the security of the organization - that's where he came in. "He gave me a promotion - a really big promotion. There's not really a title for what I'll be doing, it's kind of what Max was doing before he started working for Carly, but I don't have the same experience that Max had. So, I'll be reporting to the person that took over for Max."
"A promotion?" Lulu asked. "Sonny gave you a promotion?"
"Yeah," Milo said and smiled. "It's great, isn't it? I'll get more responsibility and more money."
"Do you need more money or something?" Lulu asked. She wasn't entirely sure of Milo's financial situation, she just knew that he had money. He didn't have millions stashed away somewhere, at least she didn't think he did. She also knew that he was putting his sisters through grad school and two of his nieces through private school. Max used to help out with that but he took a big pay cut when he started working for Carly.
"I guess," Milo said. "I want to get a house, maybe a new car and a new bike." The money was a large part of the reason he accepted the job. He wanted to start building a future, their future. Things were getting more and more serious with them and he wanted to ask her to move in with him after she finished this term.
"You just moved in here a few months ago," Lulu said. "What's wrong with this place? You said you loved this place. I don't see why you need to move or get a promotion. Things are fine just how they are."
Milo looked at Lulu, confused. As far as he knew, she didn't have a problem with his job. They'd talked about it before and she said she was fine with it. "I – I don't understand," Milo said. "You told me that you were okay with my job. When did that change?" Some of the women he had previously dated had issues with his job, but Lulu didn't. Or if she did, she lied to him and told him she didn't.
"I don't," Lulu said, shaking her head. "But – this – this is different, this is something more."
"I know," Milo said. "I'll have a lot more responsibility. Sonny – he trusts me. You know, when he first hired me it was just because I'm Max's brother, but this isn't about Max. This is about me and what I'm capable of doing." He guessed he wasn't really sure what he'd been expecting from Lulu. It wasn't like he was promoted to CEO of a corporation, but it was still a promotion, an important one. At the very least, he had expected, 'that's great,' or 'I'm proud of you.'
"It's about someone shooting at you " Lulu shouted. She'd seen enough guns in the past twenty-four hours to last a lifetime. She wasn't thrilled at the idea of someone aiming guns at her boyfriend.
"People already shoot at me," Milo said. "I don't see what the big deal is." So he had to admit this was his first serious relationship, he wasn't sure what the proper protocol was on informing his girlfriend about a promotion. He could see if Lulu was upset if he went from working at Kelly's to working for Sonny, but he already worked for Sonny. He carried a gun - she knew that. Hell, she'd joined him at the shooting range a few times.
"There's a difference," Lulu insisted.
"How?" Milo asked. "Yesterday, I carried a gun – I wouldn't hesitate at taking a bullet for Sonny. Today, I carry a gun and I'd still do the same."
"I know that," Lulu whispered. She knew that one day she might get a call from the hospital or from Max saying that Milo had been shot. She also knew she might get the same call about Lucky or maybe even her dad. That was something she lived with. Not by choice but she had to. She couldn't help who she loved and it just so happened that every man she loved was attracted to danger. "I think about that every day but this is different."
"I really don't see a difference," Milo said. "My old job, it's dangerous. My new job, yeah it's more dangerous but the bottom line is that it's dangerous. Does it matter how much more dangerous if there's still danger involved?"
"Yes it matters," Lulu insisted. "Before today, you were just a guard – " Lulu paused when she saw Milo's face fall. "That's not what I meant, I mean that you're a guard and when you're not working you don't bring your home with you. And unless Sonny calls you and needs you to do something, then you're just you. But now, with your new job – you, you won't get to do that. People know you work for Sonny now, but it's not a big deal. I mean it is, but it isn't."
"I don't see why it's a big deal now," Milo said.
"Because right now, if you get shot – that meant you got caught in the cross-fire of someone trying to shoot Sonny," Lulu said. "But if you get shot tomorrow or the day after – that means that someone was shooting at you. And excuse me if the idea of someone gunning for my boyfriend bothers me. Maybe I'm not the tough as nails girl that you thought I was. Okay, I - " Lulu started crying. "Milo, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."
"Hey," Milo said and knelt in front of Lulu. "I'm not reckless - you know that. I'm not going to take unnecessary risks." The last thing he had meant to do was upset Lulu, especially with what she'd just went through. "And I still get to come home and be me. I'm still just a guard, just with a lot more responsibility."
Lulu moved her hands to Milo's face, "You're not just a guard," Lulu whispered. "Sonny he trusts you - that means something. He has trust issues."
Milo laughed, "Yeah, he does," Milo said. "But I care what you think."
Lulu shrugged, "You got a promotion," Lulu said. "It's a done deal. It doesn't matter - "
"It matters," Milo said. He wasn't sure he'd turn down the promotion, but he wanted to know why it bothered her. Her opinion mattered to him.
"I love you," Lulu said. "You know that, I just - " Lulu paused. "I don't want you involved in any more danger than you already are. Maybe it's selfish or maybe - "
"Do you want me to turn down the promotion?" Milo asked. He still wasn't sure he'd do it, but he'd consider it if Lulu felt this strongly about it.
"No," Lulu said. "I'm all over the place today." Lulu closed her eyes for a few seconds. "Your job, it is what it is. And I'm fine with it, it's just that today - yesterday, showed me that there aren't any guarantees about anything. What happened tonight, it wasn't because I'm your girlfriend or Carly's cousin or a Spencer. It happened because I was randomly in the hotel lobby. It doesn't mean it's not going to happen again and just because you have more responsibility, it doesn't mean it will happen again."
"Are you okay with this - my promotion?" Milo asked.
"Right now?" Lulu asked and Milo nodded. "No, but I will be." She just needed some time to get used to this and to forget what had just happened. Lulu smiled and brushed her thumb over Milo's lips. "I'm really proud of you, baby."
"Yeah?" Milo asked, smiling. Lulu almost never called him baby, only when she wanted to move things to the bedroom.
Lulu nodded, "Yeah," Lulu said.
Milo stood up and pulled Lulu to her feet, "Sure you're not tired - "
"Nope," Lulu said. "I did sleep for fourteen hours." Lulu kissed Milo and let him lead her to the bedroom. "Besides - "
"Besides what?" Milo asked as he lit a candle on the dresser.
Lulu walked over to Milo and unbuttoned his shirt, pushing it off his shoulders. "We had a fight tonight," Lulu said. "More like a disagreement." She hated fighting with Milo. It was inevitable that they would fight from time to time, and she knew that as long as they were honest with each other and talked through their differences they would be fine.
Milo kissed Lulu and trailed kisses along her jaw as he pulled her towards the bed, "So this is us, making-up?" Milo asked. Lulu nodded and Milo framed his face in her hands, "I love you. I promise you - I promise you that I'm going to be as careful as I can. I want you to promise me something."
"To love you forever?" Lulu asked as she knelt over Milo. "I can do that."
"No," Milo said. "If you change your mind about my job if you think I'm in too deep or you're scared all the time - I want you to tell me. Don't pretend you're fine with it if you're not. I don't want that - no job or no amount of money is worth your happiness."
Lulu leaned forward and kissed Milo, "I promise," Lulu whispered. "I am proud of you. Sonny's a control freak with trust issues and he's trusting you to take control over some things. I'm so proud of you." Lulu kissed Milo again. "I love you."
THE END