CHAPTER FOUR
"Morgan, slow down or you're going to break something!" Dante warned as his brother as he watched him run through Carly's living room and up the stairs. "If it takes two extra minutes for us to get to the movies, we're only going to miss a couple of previews."
He took a seat on the couch and laid his head against it. He was beyond exhausted. Ever since Morgan had learned that Dante was his brother, he had a constant drive to find things they could do together, as if they could somehow make up for missed time. Dante loved every minute of it, but he was distracted that day. Lulu was back in Port Charles, and from the breakfast they had at Kelly's to the walk on the pier after going to the batting cages, he was waiting to run into her… hoping that they could talk.
"Dante – do you have a minute?"
He looked up and saw Michael coming down the stairs. While he and Morgan continued to get close, Michael continued to hate Dante. Sonny and Olivia had pushed for the two of them to spend time together, but Michael refused. He was unable to see past his newfound older brother's plan to arrest their father.
"Sure, Michael, but Morgan and I are going to try and catch a movie here soon."
"Well, this won't take too long," Michae replied. Dante could hear the contempt in his voice. He knew this was not going to be a pleasant conversation.
"I don't want to fight, man."
"Oh, this has nothing to do me and you," Michael continued, "Except for the fact that I wanted to be the one to tell you that even Lulu can't stand you."
Dante stood up to face his brother. "Those sure sound like fighting words."
"You could stay here and fight with me, or you could face the real problem and stand up for yourself like a man. Not that I believe you can… you like to hide in the background, detective."
"What are you talking about?"
"Lulu stayed here last night. You and Morgan left, and she stayed to talk to Johnny. I went to bed… didn't think much of it. A few hours later, I got up to get something to drink. I walked in on their conversation."
The thought of Lulu and Johnny catching up for hours irritated Dante. He should have been the one to talk to her. He loved her, not Johnny.
"So they were talking… they have a history. They can be friends," Dante argued.
"It's what they were talking about that you won't like. It turns out you're not just giving my father some new successor by showing up in town, but you're going to give him a grandchild."
Grandchild? It took Dante a minute to process the thought, but once it hit him, he felt his cheeks turn white. "Lulu's pregnant?"
His mind flashed back to the last night he had spent in bed with Lulu. His stomach dropped when he remembered realizing that the condom they had used had broken. He was so sure that they would be fine – that one small miscalculation would not complicate the relationship that they were building on such a firm foundation. Now that the foundation was severely cracked, a baby could do one of two things: either bring them together again or tear them apart.
"Yeah, but don't get too excited," Michael interrupted his thoughts, "See, Lulu's going to tell everybody that Johnny's the baby's father."
Dante couldn't find the words to respond to that particular claim. It made no sense - he was a cop. Johnny was in the mob. He took care of Lulu, loved her… Johnny broke her heart. There was no reason that it would be preferable for Lulu to hide her child, their child behind Johnny.
"You probably don't get it, so I'll spell it out for you," Michael continued, "You see, Lulu told Johnny all about how you broke her heart. She told him that you were obviously the rebound relationship she had to have before she could realize that he was the person she needed to be with. But telling people that he's the father – that was Johnny's idea. He made up this whole story about how they had been seeing each other for weeks behind your back before she left."
Dante's jaw tightened in anger. His mind was racing. He was going to be a father, but Johnny, his so-called friend, was going to take that all away from him.
"He's bringing her to the Crimson gala tonight. They're going to tell people that they're having a baby before you can find out and call them out on it."
"How do I know you're not just making this up to piss me off, Michael?" Dante asked, desperately clinging to hope that Lulu hadn't moved on.
"Go to the Metro Court and see it for yourself. I'll take Morgan to the movies."
Dante shook his head and walked to the stairs. "Hey Morgan, can you get down here please?"
Morgan came rushing down the stairs with a handful of candy. "I raided my secret stash, and I think we can sneak it in."
"Is it alright if I take a rain check on the movies, kid?" Dante asked, "Michael said he can bring you. I just have an errand that I have to run."
*~*~
It took Dante exactly twenty-seven minutes to go home, change into a suit and get to the Metro Court. He knew he would not be on the guest list for the party, so he grabbed his badge from his dresser just in case. The whole time he was driving, his mind raced with possibilities. He prayed that Michael was lying, but his story made sense.
He pictured Lulu's face when she realized that she was pregnant. She must have felt so shocked and betrayed at the same time. She didn't know that the condom had broken. She probably hated him even more for keeping that from her. And that hatred could have very well led her to find some way to keep him out of life, even if that meant lying.
He left his car with the valet and rushed into the hotel. As he figured, he had to claim he was there on police business to get in the door. The party was crawling with cameras. Kate did not do anything small, and this night certainly would not be an exception.
His eyes scanned the crowd. He was trained for spotting people in crowded environments, but every second that passed without him finding Lulu or Johnny made him angrier. When his gaze finally caught her, his breath caught in his throat. There she was, wearing a beautiful green dress that hugged her curves in all the right places, standing next to Johnny and smiling at him. The part of him that doubted Michael's claims was gone when he was Johnny's hand reach out and touch the small of her back. Without hesitation, he pushed his way through the crowd and approached them.
"You lying piece of garbage!" he screamed letting his impulse take over when he reached Johnny. He grabbed his suit jacket and drove his fist directly into the other man's jaw.
"Dante!" Lulu gasped, but her voice didn't stop his rage. He let every ounce of fear and frustration running through him take charge as he shoved Johnny against the bar and hit him again.
"You knew how much Lulu means to me! You heard me talk about loving her and missing her for months, you bastard!"
Before he could throw another punch, he felt two sets of hands grab his shoulders and pull him back. He didn't even take the time to look back and see who was intervening before he continued his verbal attack.
"How could you step in and take her away from me? Take my own child away from me?!"
He noticed Johnny's face change from shock to guilt.
"What? You're not even going to deny it!? Don't even think you're going to get away with it! I will not step aside and watch you tell the world that you're the father of my baby!"
"Your baby?" Johnny questioned, his voice full of defensive frustration, "There is no way to be sure whose baby it is!"
At this point, the entire crowd was circling around the scene. Cameras were flashing as Jax and Jason held Dante back and Johnny wiped blood from his lips. Dante let Johnny's statement sink in and finally turned his attention to Lulu. Tears stained her eyes as the color drained from her face.
"I'm so sorry, Dante," she whispered.
"I – I don't get it…"
"We were drunk," Johnny explained, "And it only happened once."
"You cheated on me?" his voice softened to the point that it was cracking as he spoke. His eyes were locked on Lulu.
"It was the night before I left… I never meant for any of this to happen."
"And you're having a baby?"
Lulu nodded before Carly shoved her way through the crowd to stand by her cousin's side. "Okay – the party is over, people! Everybody out, now!"
Dante felt like his whole world had just crumbled down around him. He shook his head before staring down at the ground and walking away. He couldn't say or do anything in that moment to make him feel like he could breathe again.