Title: Life Left to Go
Word Count: 4,215
Pairings: Dante Falconari / Leslie Lu Spencer , Johnny Zacchara / Leslie Lu Spencer
Rating: PG-13 for the language.
Warnings/Spoilers: Here's where it gets complicated. The carnival happened, Johnny was shot. Carly nearly lost the baby. AU from the point that Claudia knows that Dante is Sonny's son BUT she doesn't know that Dominic is Dante.
Summary: There's no pain you feel that I know love can't heal.

Official Disclaimer: All General Hospital characters and plots belong to ABC. I do not hold stock the company. Leslie Lu Spencer, Dante Falconari, and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from SafetySuit's Life Left to Go. I don't own that either.

The sound of gunfire was something familiar to Johnny. Between the way he was raised and his current chosen profession, a hail of bullets and the ever present feel of a piece tucked in his waistband were the price of breathing. Even when he had run from the life he had never forgotten where he had come from. There were at least two registered weapons tucked in drawers at his garage even now. After all, one never knew when they would be needed.

When they shouldn't have been needed though, was at eight o'clock on a Friday night when he was stopping off to pick up some cherry pie to take to his girlfriend's apartment after what was probably an uncharacteristically long day for everyone. He hadn't even planned on running into his ex on her way out after getting a quick caffeine fix on her way to the office for some sort of fashion emergency. But he'd stopped to talk for the sheer fact that for the first time in a long time the smile on her face hadn't been forced.

Then he'd heard the pop.

In all of his years he had never equated the sound of gunfire with the sound of the little Black Cat fireworks that he had played with on the Fourth of July's before his mother's death. But it wasn't until he had seen the blood on the front of what Lulu told him was a brand new turtleneck sweater dress that he realized the sound he had heard was really gunshots. She didn't even seem surprised when she looked down at herself and then back up at him before falling to the cobblestones.

"Lulu?" He asked confused, looking down at the hand that had tried to catch her fall. It came back bloody and he drew his gun before he realized that whoever it was that fired on him was most likely long gone by them. "Somebody call 911!" he shouted as he dropped his gun beside her head. When no one emerged from Kelly's he truly began to panic. "Someone call 911!"

Mike came running out as soon as he got the number out, phone in his hand as he announced to whoever was on the other end of the line that there had been shots fired and someone was injured. He gave them the address, shouted for them to hurry and tossed the phone onto one of the patio tables. "John?" He asked slowly, watching as the mob prince pulled Lulu's jacket away from her chest to assess the damage. "Is she…"

"She's got a pulse, but I'm not sure for how long." He dropped his hands to his jeans and wiped away the blood. "Lu? Can you hear me?" He leaned closer to her and ran his hand through her hair. "Come on Spencer, you're stronger than this."

"You're so gonna owe me." Lulu's lips barely moved and she groaned.

John smiled wryly and ignored the sinking feeling in his gut. He wasn't allowed to be negative, especially not now. "Anything." He promised her. "Anything, as long as you keep talking to me." He was referring to the fact that the longer she stayed conscious before the ambulance got there the better her chances would be, but he wasn't going to clarify himself to her at that particular moment. After all, the girl had just more or less taken a bullet for him. "You know you're brothers are going to kill me."

"Not your fault." She choked out, her chest spasming awkwardly as Mike used his apron to apply pressure to one of the wounds. "Wrong place, wrong time." She coughed again and her eyes began to roll back into her head.

"No!" He ran a hand over the top of her head again, noticing the sounds of the sirens moving closer. "Keep your eyes open, Lu! You have to keep talking."

She scoffed, or as close as she could to it while grimacing. "I thought you breaking up with me meant that you couldn't boss me around anymore."

He smiled, feeling for her pulse again. It was fading, but he held on to the fact that it was still there. "Well that was a bit unrealistic, wasn't it?"

There was someone beside him now, less then gently pushing him out of the way. It took him a full minute to realize that the person was a paramedic and he had been more or less hunched over Lulu's body. On instinct John dropped his jacket over top of his gun and moved to the side so the man could wrap the neck brace and wheel the gurney closer to her.

"White female, early twenties." One of the EMTs was saying into the radio at her shoulder. "GSWs to the chest. I count two."

"Three." John corrected, trying not to notice when mike picked up his jacket, along with the gun and moved out of the way. The older man had no reason to cover for him, but here he was, doing it anyway. "Her name's Lulu Spencer."

Now, John knew protocol. He had been shot more times then he really cared to remember and he had seen more bullet holes then he could probably count. It amazed him slightly that watching them cut away Lulu's jacket and top hit him in the gut harder then he thought it should have. He could feel himself moving to the other side, out of the way, grabbing for her hand and starting to rub what he thought should have been soothing circles into her palm. He didn't even want to think, when he ran the other hand over his face, that the wetness on his forehead was Lulu's blood.

"Someone should ride with her." Mike said shortly, Johnny's jacket and gun suddenly gone. He watched John nod and when the paramedics started to wheel her away; he gave John a slow push. "I can call Sonny from here, tell him what happened."

As if on auto pilot, John followed the paramedics blindly, never once letting go of Lulu's hand. He understood that it made sense. He probably knew more about Lulu's medical history then Mike did, not that the older man seemed to be in too big of a hurry to go to the hospital. After the ambulance was out of sight, Mike turned toward the crowd. "That's the price." He said after a moment, pulling his own cell phone from his pocket. He flipped it open, hitting speed dial two and starting to herd his customers back into the building.

When Epiphany got the call, the paramedics didn't bother to identify the female they were bringing in. It wasn't standard procedure, after all names didn't matter when saving a life, so she didn't hesitate assigning Elizabeth to Trauma One and calling ahead to make sure that either Matt Hunter or his brother were ready to be scrubbed in for surgery. The door from the loading dock burst open, and she immediately pointed to the area that the team should head in. "Trauma One." She directed, frowning when she noted that John Zacchara was shuffling in with them, holding the blood remains of what looked to be a jacket. She should have known that someone like him was involved.

Turning back to the job at hand, she heard rather then saw Elizabeth take in a deep breath. "Oh God."

But Patrick and Matt were right next to her, the eldest of the two taking her hand off of the girl that was her sister-in-law more days then not and moving her away from the body. "I need a new trauma nurse!" He shouted over the noise and then turned back to Lulu's body even as his brother was pulling her dress further away from her body. "Get me a bag of O neg and a chest tube. What's the status of my OR?"

Elizabeth stood by blankly as they wheeled Lulu out of the ER and in the direction of the Operating Suites, one hand clutched to her chest and her mind reeling. It was Epiphany's hand on her shoulder that startled her back to reality. She whirled on John then, her hands coming together in front of her. "What happened?" She ordered, not bothering to address him directly. When the dark haired man didn't answer fast enough, she hit him in the chest. "What happened?"

"I stopped at Kelly's for pie before going to…." John started slowly, trying to reach the part of his brain that housed memory. He took a deep breath as he reached for the rest of the story. He would have to get it straight in his head now, because heaven help him if it wasn't clear by the time the police got there. "I ran into Lu, she said she wanted coffee before heading into the office…" Elizabeth was following him slowly, and she kept nodding her head as if to urge him to continue. "I laughed at her new dress, and she was sticking her tongue out at me." His head shook and he shuddered. "Then I heard the pop, and she…" In his mind's eye he could see Lulu dropping to the ground in front of him. "How is she?"

"They won't know anything until they get her into the OR." She tried to recall all she knew about gunshot wounds, forcing herself to separate Lulu from the situation. She would be fine if she stuck to facts. "Depending on the position of the bullets they could be in surgery for hours."

"But she'll be okay?" John tried to promise himself, the statement coming out more like a question. The more he thought about it the more he realized that he had been the target. If Lulu hadn't been there it would have been him on that table.

She heard her name right before Jason's arms were around her, whispering platitudes that everything was going to be fine. Samantha stood to the side while Jason did what he needed to do, knowing full well that if the positions were reversed and it was Lucky standing there waiting it would he Jason that had to look on. When Jason released his ex, he turned, giving John a quick once over. It wasn't the first time that the enforcer had felt sorry for the young man. "I was with Sonny when Mike called." He told them, his arm staying around Elizabeth's waist, keeping her up. "He and your sister are on their way. Does Lucky or Nikolas know?"

The question was directed at Elizabeth, but she could barely shake her head in a negative. Sam stepped forward then, pulling her Blackberry from its holster. "I'll call the station, find out where Lucky is."

"I should call Nikolas. Or Ethan." She pulled away from Jason then, patting down her scrubs a second too long before she realized that her cell was in her locker.

"Hey." Jason directed her to the chairs and set her down in one. "Sam can handle it." He said pointedly, not bothering to look up at Johnny. Of all the people in Port Charles, Jason understood too well that this attack may not have necessarily been John's fault, but it didn't mean that he wasn't angry at the man for the fact that it had been Lulu caught in the crossfire. After all, Zacchara had broken up with the blonde for the sheer fact that he didn't want the blonde to be hurt by his business. John shook his head, mumbling and dropped into a chair of his own.

Conversation stopped for a few minutes, Sam still hadn't returned, and it was certainly far too early for them to expect an update on the surgery. Jason sat in one of the chairs facing Liz as Johnny tried to wish himself away. This wasn't how this evening was supposed to end. He was supposed to be lying in bed with his girlfriend right now, not wondering if his ex was going to make it through the night.

"Zacchara." All three turned at the sound of Lucky's voice, and Sam had just been about to tell them that dispatch couldn't find him when he sidled up to the group. "I need to ask you a few questions about tonight."

The first thought that ran through Johnny's head was the fact that Lucky didn't know. If he had gotten the call from the dispatcher the only thing that he would have been told was that a girl had been shot. John didn't remember anyone during the ambulance ride ever saying Lulu's name over the radio. If Detective Spencer wasn't happy that he had to question him for this, he was just glad that when the older man discovered who was in the operating room, he was at least going to get the crap beat out of him in a hospital. When he found his voice, he swallowed. "Lucky I – "

"I'm asking you the questions John, a girl was injured." Lucky interrupted, sparing a brief moment to look to his fiancé. Liz was wiping tears from the corner of her eyes and while he was confused, he couldn't let that distract him from the job he was sent to perform.

Liz was on her feet in an instant. "She's going to be all right." She said quickly, moving across the room. "Matt's the attending, and she's going to be fine."

Now he was even more confused. "What are you – "

It was Ethan that finally clued his brother in as he and Rebecca ran through the emergency room from the elevators. "How's Lulu?" He demanded from his brother, then turning to Liz. "Epiphany said she was shot."

His head reeled and Luck y had to force himself to stay on his feet. It was Lulu. The girl that had been shot at Kelly's had been his sister. Even after breaking her heart in a valiant attempt to keep her safe, John Zacchara still managed to get his sister shot. "No." He said solidly after a minute, not feeling his fiancé wrap her arms around him. "You were told wrong."

But Liz had already turned. "Nothing yet from the OR, but the second Patrick knows something I'm sure he'll tell us." Her hands never left Lucky's. "It's too soon to tell." She moved him to a chair and let herself concentrate on someone else's feelings. If she was hurting at the thought that Lulu was in one of the operating suites she could only imagine what it was doing to Lucky. "But she's strong, and she's a fighter, and she's pulled through worse."

"She's never been shot before!" Ethan shouted. He was becoming angrier by the second at the fact that Lucky couldn't seem to be. He may be new to the family, but it hadn't taken long for him to come to the conclusion that without his little sister the rest of them wouldn't last long. He didn't even want to think about the fact that if she didn't make it someone would have to track down and tell their father. "A bullet isn't a building collapsing or some disease. There may be damage that Matt doesn't catch; this could cause her problems even if she makes it through surgery!"

"And you're not helping." Rebecca ran a hand over his chest. He had been with her through the whole Edward debacle; she only hoped that she would be able to provide the same comfort. "Both Matt and Patrick are in the operating room and they are the best. Lulu is going to be fine." She set Ethan down in a chair and then turned to the ones who were there before them. "Does Nikolas know?"

Sam shook her head. "I called both his cell and Wyndemere and Alfred said he's in a meeting with investors. I told him to have Nikolas here as soon as he could."

"And Dad's on another one of his walk-abouts." Lucky took a deep breath. As long as he was focused on details he could forget about the fact that his sister was upstairs getting three bullets dug out of her. Then it hit him. "Mom." He started rise. "Oh God, Mom. Lulu's her baby."

"I'll call Laura." Liz pushed Lucky back into the seat. "And then I'll call Gram and make sure she can keep the boys for the night." She kissed him on the top of his head. "You just need to sit here and breathe." She slid Lucky's phone out of the clip at his hip and then disappeared through the automatic doors.

Sonny slid through the door before they could close again, his wife practically running across the room to wrap her arms around her brother. "What happened?" He asked Jason quickly, completely ignoring Ethan's angry glare and Claudia's clucking.

Stepping away from his sister, Johnny found his voice. "I was stopping by Kelly's for a piece of pie before I went home. Lulu was there. We were talking on the patio, and then there were shots."

"How many?"

"I counted four." He did a mental run through the incident in his head and nodded. He would have to recount the story for the police later anyway. Thankfully he was shot at or else he would probably have been drug to lock up before they had a chance to tell Lucky that it was Lulu upstairs. "Maybe five." He shook his head. "Lu took three."

"If my sister dies…" Lucky said slowly through his teeth. He still hadn't looked up. "You killed her."

Claudia stepped closer to her brother, putting herself between John and Lucky. "John didn't shoot at himself." She practically growled.

"Enough." Sonny's eyes caught his wife's and Claudia's next words caught in her throat. He looked to Jason and then eyed Lucky, trying to figure out what could and couldn't be said around the cop. "Was anyone else hit?" He asked as he pointed to his brother-in-law's blood stained clothes.

"She fell into me." He said stiffly.

Again Sonny looked to Lucky, who was now staring at the mural on the wall across from them. "Where's your gun?"

It took John a minute to remember that Mike had taken it. "Still at Kelly's." He said softly, stepping closer to try to not be overheard by the officer. "I drew but didn't fire."

Sonny nodded, making a note to send someone over to pick it up from Mike. "Claudia's going to take you and get you cleaned up. I'm sure the cops are going to want your clothes for evidence." John opened his mouth to tell Sonny that he could take care of himself and that Claudia didn't need to be told to baby him, but Sonny just shook his head. He was calling the shots tonight and that was just the way it was going to be. And innocent girl was shot on his watch and they were going to be this his way.

"Ronnie's got some clothes in the car." Claudia tugged her brother's arm and pulled him to the double doors. She would take him to get air and then they would go in through the hospitals main entrance where she would beg or bribe one of the women at the visitor's desk to allow them to use a room so he could wash up.

Without speaking to his boss, Jason nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. "I'll call Bernie." He said after a second. "Get a few guys over to Kelly's to check it out."

He nodded even as he heard the voice of his ex-wife shout across the room. "I want men over here too." He decided, not elaborating any more than that. There was no telling what Lucky would and wouldn't remember for the night.

"What the hell happened?" Carly shouted again, pulling Lucky into her arms before turning on her ex. When Sonny didn't answer her fast enough she stood, releasing her cousin and crossing her arms against her chest. "What happened to Lulu, Sonny?"

"You need to calm down." Sonny started, motioning his ex-wife to a seat. Jax was nowhere to be seen, so it made him wonder how Carly had heard the news and how she had gotten to the hospital. "This can't be good for the baby."

Dropping into a chair, Carly's look didn't waver. "What happened to Lulu?"

"There was a shooting at Kelly's." He said slowly, wishing that Jax had been there with her. While he knew the tricks to keep Carly from going into a full blown hissy fit, her current husband was decidedly better at it. "Johnny was there. He ran into Lulu. We're not sure who the target was."

"How bad is it?"

"She's in surgery." Jason hung up his phone and nodded at Sonny. "Bernie's sending two men to Kelly's. Milo's headed here now." He sat down next to his best friend and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Where's your husband?"

Carly sighed, resting her head on Jason's shoulder. She wasn't through with Sonny, not by a long shot, but it felt good to have Jason there. "Probably on his way." She said after a second. "I was supposed to meet him at Kelly's for a late dinner and Mike told me Lulu was here."

He didn't get the chance to say anything else, Epiphany moved closer to the group, clipboard in her hand and a sad smile on her face. "A room full of next of kin and I didn't even have to make one phone call." Only Rebecca smiled at the head nurses attempt to joke and when she realized that it didn't go over like she meant it to, she frowned. "We may have rushed her into surgery, but I still need a consent form signed for this procedure."

Carly reached for it when no one else did and then smiled at the nurse. "How close are you requiring the next of kin?" She asked cynically.

Epiphany nodded. "I'd prefer one of her brother's but I'm willing to take anyone who shares blood." She said after a moment. Then again with two thirds of the Port Charles crime syndicate sitting in her emergency room waiting area she would prefer they all clear out, but she was willing to take what she could get. Tonight was not a night for her to get picky, especially when Lulu's step-family and her oldest brother had yet to make an appearance.

With a quick flick of the wrist, Carly signed the form and handed it back to the nurse. "Which OR was she taken into?" The blonde asked softly.

"Three." Epiphany pointed to the elevator. "There's a waiting room up there if you guys would prefer."

Jason nodded and Epiphany headed back to the desk. "You should go find Claudia and John and then go home." He told Sonny slowly, releasing his best friend to stand and move closer to his boss. "The less exposure the three of you have until we can get this figured out the better."

He didn't agree, but he had learned over the years to trust Jason's judgment. That and it would probably be easier to get Johnny home if he and Claudia were with him. "I want Spinelli working on the cameras in the area." He said after a moment, running his hand over his chin. "There aren't any around Kelly's but maybe he can catch something on one of the cameras on the docks."

Again Jason nodded. He and his boss shared a look and then Sonny turned to leave. He paused for a second when Liz came back into the room. "Laura's headed to the airport now. She's on the next available flight out." She told her fiancé and Ethan, handing Lucky back his phone. "She said there's some kind of festival in town so she may have to wait until the morning."

"Call Bernie back, have him send the jet." Sonny decided quickly, watching as both Jason and Carly pulled out their phones.

"The Jacks jet is in London." She told the room quickly. "It's most likely closer." She gave a few terse orders to the person unlucky enough to be on the other end of the line and then hung up without even a goodbye. "Someone'll find her at the airport." She said quickly. Being married to a powerful man did have its benefits. Even if he would be incredibly angry when he found out where she was and the fact that she didn't call him.

"Okay." Jason slid his phone back into his pocket and pointed at Sonny. "You're leaving," Sonny gave him a nod and turned toward the door again, knowing without question that the second there was news either Jason or Sam would be on the phone with him. Jason looked to Liz now, who had positioned herself behind Lucky. "And I think Epiphany would feel better if we relocate." He turned to survey the room when he noticed that Ethan and Rebecca had already stepped into an elevator and Sam was missing. He watched Liz pull Lucky to his feet and then turned to Carly.

It was going to be a very long night.