A/N--As i said last chapter I was trying to get far enough ahead that the GH scenes wouldn't affect me today. This definately is not my fav chapter but most of the stuff is needed. Also I will post again right after GH airs if i get 5 new comments. The song...I heard it on Pandora earlier...I have an obsession with the GooGooDolls and i couldn't help myself from putting it in. hope you enjoy

Chapter 7-- The truth vs. the Lies

Lulu sighed as she leaned back in the chair at her desk. Maxi had left her at the office to do yet again another cryptic errand. It was okay with Lulu though, she needed to be distracted. Except the fact that she was pretty sure Maxi had forwarded the office calls to her cell phone, because the phones weren't ringing, and the phones were never silent at crimson.

So she sat there doing what she had been trying to avoid doing. She was thinking about Liz, and Nik, and Lucky. She needed to talk to somebody but out of her friends she couldn't. Usually Lulu would call one of her brothers for advice like this, but now she couldn't and she hated the fact that she had more secrets in her life.

"I thought I might find you here." Sam said breaking into Lulu's thoughts. Lulu felt relief at the distraction.

"Hey, Sam. What brings you to see me?" Lulu looks at the Brunette, it seems like it was forever ago that she raced across New York with Jason to find Spinelli and save her.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. You're not busy are you?" Lulu smiled at the older woman.

"No Maxi forwarded all the calls to her cell, so I am pretty much sitting here with my thoughts." Lulu says. "I meant to come see you at the hospital, but I didn't want to leave Dominic."

Sam looks at Lulu, they had never been close, but she had hated watching the younger girl fight against her restraints over a monitor, she had felt the need to protect Lulu even though she knew it was impossible. "So how are you doing?"

"physically I got the better end of the deal compared to Dominic." She says, referring to Dante's bruised body. "Emotionally I think death is the better option."

Sam let out a small chuckle. "I'm sure Sonny will send Milo to watch over you if you want."

"I'm not scared about Franco, I just have a lot on my mind." Lulu says, not knowing what else to say, but knowing she didn't want guards.

"Well do you need to talk about it. Jackal and McCall PI is shut down until Franco is caught I could use something to distract me." Lulu smiles, thinking about everything. Sam might be the perfect person to tell, and Lulu trusted her enough to keep a secret.

"You still care about my brother right?" Lulu asks causing Sam to give her a questioning look.

"Yeah, of course. I want to see him happy, the same as he wishes for me I'm sure."

"Okay then I need to tell you something."

Sam decides to take a seat at Maxi's desk based on the look that came across Lulu's face. She already got that this was about Lucky, and she didn't want to make Lulu hold whatever it was in. "Okay shoot, I doubt anything can shock me after the last couple days."

"Well when I left the hospital this morning, I saw Elizabeth and Nikolas." Lulu pauses when she see's Sam visibly take a deep breath. "You already know what I'm going to say." She says, feeling some relief that not only somebody else knew, but that s she hadn't had to say it.

"I didn't know it was still going on, Jason saw them kiss in the hospital, after the carnival."

"That's the day Lucky purposed." Lulu says in almost a whisper.

"Lulu, when she accepted Lucky's proposal, we thought she had made up her mind to be with him."

Tears were in Lulu's eyes, a part of her had been wishing that the kiss she had witnessed was just a one time error in judgment, that Elizabeth had been taken by surprise. She had wanted to believe that Liz would never pit her brother's against each other like that. She had been wrong though, this had been going on for months under Lucky's nose.

"I have to tell him then." Sam just nodded at the blonde. Nikolas was her cousin and she wanted him to be happy, but she had loved Lucky, he had been there for her, when she needed help putting her life back together. Lucky's life was about to fall apart, and she would be there, as a friend to help him pick up the pieces that were about to fall around him.

"Do you want me to be with you?" Sam asks, standing back up.

"No, I need to do this on my own." Lulu says watching Sam leave.

"Call me if you need anything Lulu."

Sam leaned against the elevator wall. Her and Liz had taken great strides towards being civil, and she hated to think how this would effect the boys. She knew Lulu was doing the right thing, but couldn't help feeling sorry for the fallout it would bring.

She wanted to call Jason, being in his arms would make this whole mess seem trivial, that she knew. How could she do that though, she couldn't face him and not tell him about Liz, yet she knew this wasn't her secret to tell. Besides Jason had much more important things to worry about right now, and she didn't want to distract him.

Sam sighed as the doors to the elevator opened. She needed to go home and sleep, with that in mind she didn't notice as she knocked into Johnny, dropping the contents of her purse on the floor. Johnny was rigid as her bent down to help her pick up the fallen items.

"Sorry, I didn't see you." Johnny fakes a smile and heads into the elevator that she had just occupied without saying a word.

Johnny was annoyed at seeing Sam, but he figured for 30 minutes he could at least be civil to the people in this annoying town he called home. He owed that much to Lulu. As he hit the button, he waited as patiently as he could. He had went to the hospital to see her, but she was gone. When he called Maxi she told him that Lulu was at Crimson.

He stepped out of the elevator watching the blonde look over some page layout that he was sure annoyed her. She had never wanted to take this job, it had been a way to get back at Maxi, but she had grown into the position.

"Hey." His voice was soft as he walked behind her, he didn't want to scare her.

"Hey." She says as she turns to look at him. "I didn't expect you to stop by."

"Believe it or not, I do still care." Johnny says as he pulls her out of her chair and into a hug.

"Well even so why are you here?" Lulu asks, pulling herself from Johnny's arms. She was glad that he still cared, just as she had when he had been shot, but she had enough on her plate already and people constantly checking on her was starting to get on her last nerves.

"I needed a break." Johnny answered looking at the girl he once loved. "I also had a few questions."

Lulu knew he had questions, a phone call to make sure she was alright would have been suffice enough for Johnny, but he wanted to make sure she didn't lie to him, and for that he needed to see her.

"What kind of questions?" Lulu asks, treading lightly not quite sure where this conversation was headed.

"About Franco." Lulu sighed, she knew that this was going to come up from somebody, she just didn't expect it to be him. "Not about you exactly though. He dug up Claudia's body."

Lulu closed her eyes for a moment. She had hated Claudia even before the truth of Michaels shooting had come out, and she hated her more when she had put Carly's life in danger. As much as she hated Claudia though, she had once loved Johnny, and she did understand the bonds of siblings. "I'm not sure I will be much help but what do you want to know?"

"Well did you see anything that could have housed a body while you were held hostage."

Lulu pushes the annoyance down as she thinks. "Really Johnny, I was Blindfolded until we got to the warehouse, and once he took the blindfold off I didn't look around to much, I was kind of focused on the fact that I was attached to a bomb." The words come out more bitter than she had intended, yet she was annoyed, not at Johnny but at the whole situation.

She suddenly understood a bit more how Dante felt. The violence never ended with them, even in death, people used your body to send a message, that was on the rare occasion that the deceased hadn't faked their death in order to gain some leverage. The business that Sonny and Johnny involved themselves in brought nothing but bloodshed, and maybe it was wrong to overlook that.

Lulu sighs, she knows this isn't anybodies fault. Franco is a mad man. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I honestly don't think I saw anything though."

Johnny's eyes are watering, and she wants to hold him, to tell him it will be okay, but that isn't her place anymore. "I should get going." Johnny says through gritted teeth.

"I really am sorry that I don't know more."


Dante had been happy when Maxi left him in peace. She had made him think though, eventually Sonny would have wondered the same thing, and at least now he would have a story. He was getting annoyed with all the lies though. Ronnie had been right to say that he was too involved with this town.

When he had went through training he had been warned that emotional attachment complicated things, and often ended up with the undercover cop getting themselves hurt or killed. He had known all of the rules when he got involved with the Zacharras. Sonny and Port Charles were different though. His mother was here, and she was too close to the situation.

Lulu hadn't been planned. She was supposed to be a one time thing, but something about the way she didn't fall for his lines, had made him continue to try. He wouldn't lie at first she was just another notch, something his mother would have bent him over a table for, but he was a guy.

Somewhere along the lines she had opened up to him though, and now he found himself risking a year and a half's worth of work to save her. He trusted her with his life, and he was pretty sure that somewhere inside her, she felt the same.

The trip to New York City had solidified his commitment to her, even thought they hadn't had sex, he knew he could never leave her side. Not after the vulnerability she had shown him, something that she didn't show. He could hear her voice in his head telling him she was a Spencer, and Spencer's didn't have time for emotions.

"I'm glad to see your okay." Jason said as he entered Dante's room, pulling him from his thoughts. This could be one of two scenario's, one being a check up, to go over details, two being his lasts breathes. He was definitely hoping it was one.

"Thanks, Sam's doing okay?" He has to tread lightly until he knows what the pretense of this visit are.

"She was released earlier today." Dante nods. Apparently Jason is just there out of kindness, so Dante relaxes a bit.

"And Franco?"

"I didn't have time to kill him, and now he is back in hiding."

"We will get him." In all honesty this was one murder Dante would look the other way on.

"Yeah, but when, when he makes his next move?"

"Spinelli can't find anything?" Jason looks at Dante, trying to decide what he can tell the younger man.

"Spinelli isn't supposed to be more than a roommate, anymore." Jason says and Dante can swear he hears regret in his voice. "Franco was trying to make a point that I was too dependant on Spinelli when he targeted Maxi."

"I can't picture you needing a roommate."

"I didn't want one. Spinelli was only supposed to stay a few weeks, but his loyalty came in handy and I took advantage of that for a long time." Jason say's honestly. "I'm going to need your help with Franco though. He said you weren't who I thought you were."

Dante's heart speeds up which he could hide if he wasn't hooked to ten different machines right now. "What did he mean by that?" Dante asks in attempt to play it cool.

Jason notice's the spike in Dante's heart rate but ignores it. "I don't know, this is all a game to me, he's trying to make me doubt those around me, and myself. He thinks if I give up on justification for my sins, I will embrace my true self, that I will become him."

Dante jumps a little when Jason's fist hit's the wall. It doesn't take long for somebody to come in and ask Jason to leave. Dante is relieved at the silence in the room. He closes his eyes wanting to relax.

Dante could feel her presence when she entered the room. "I was beginning to think that my mother didn't love me anymore."

"Your mother is trying to keep up appearances." Dante smirked at his mother, she worried way to much. "This isn't a funny moment."

"It kind of is." Dante tells her. "I have a plan and I have already talked to Mac about it."

"Do you care to fill me in?" Olivia asked with an obvious annoyance at her son. The best plan would be getting out of town, but they both knew that he wouldn't listen.

"Mac is going to arrest me." Olivia looked at her son in disbelief, this was his solution, getting arrested.

"And this helps how?"

"The only thing they really have that can link Dominic to Dante is that I had Mac's squad car, so I decided to have Mac arrest me when I am released from the hospital." Olivia still wasn't buying it. "This way you don't throw yourself in the middle of this, please just trust me."

Dante knows that if it comes out as a cop Olivia will get involved trying to save his life, and he doesn't want this, he will get himself out of this mess. Olivia nods at her son, knowing that there is nothing she can do right now, as long as his cover is still in tact she has to stand in the sidelines.

"That is fine, Mr. Pirelli, I hope you have a fast recovery." Olivia says before leaving her son's room. She had to trust that he knew what he was doing, that was all that she had left.

Dante sighed, he knew his mother was worried about his safety, but there wasn't much he could do. Not that he really would if he could, he had come to Port Charles for one reason, and it was to put Sonny Corintho's behind bars. He hated that his mother might get caught in the crosshairs of his lies though.


Lulu knocked softly on the hospital door. She had rushed from work to see Dante and it appeared that he was sleeping now. She was slightly annoyed, but fact when he smiled softly she opened the door.

"Out of all my visitors today you are by far the best." Dante says as she enters the room. Lulu can't help but smile at his cheesy lines.

"Who all visited?" Lulu asks curiously.

"My mother, Maxi, and Jason, as I said you're the best." Lulu frowns, his mother was obvious, but Maxi and Jason shocked her.

"What did Jason want?"

"Nothing much, I think Franco might know though."

Lulu could swear she felt her heart stop at that moment. She knew Franco knew who Dante was and hadn't told him because he was still in the hospital. "Franco does know."

"Wait what?"

"Franco called you Mr. Falconari when he had me hostage." Lulu is in tears now. She knew that Franco knew but had hoped he hadn't said anything to Jason or Sonny. "How do you know though?"

"He told Jason I wasn't who he thought I was." Dante says wishing he could leave his bed to comfort Lulu, who had yet to come close to him.

"I'm sorry I didn't warn you." Dante stands from his bed, pulling three machines with the scoop of his arm. If she wasn't coming to him, he would go to her.

"Hey now, why are you crying?"

"I should have warned you." Lulu says as Dante wraps her in a hug.

"It will be okay, Jason just thinks it is a game." Lulu wiped her tears away as she stood there.

"You shouldn't be up." Lulu says now looking at dante who is standing next to her. "You could hurt yourself."

Dante laughs at the woman standing next to him. She still has yet to realize that he would walk through fire to be with her. Dante suddenly has another idea. "I will lay back down on one condition." He pulls his phone from his pocket and puts a song on.

"What's that?" Lulu says with a confused look.

"Dance with me." Lulu smiles allowing Dante to take her in his arms. The lyrics start and she is speechless.

And I'd give up forever to touch you

'Cause I know that you feel me somehow

You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be

And I don't want to go home right now

And all I can taste is this moment

And all I can breathe is your life

and sooner or later it's over

I just don't want to miss you tonight

And I don't want the world to see me

'Cause I don't think that they'd understand

When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming

Or the moment of truth in your lies

When everything feels like the movies

Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive

And I don't want the world to see me

'Cause I don't think that they'd understand

When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

"Goo Goo Doll's." She says when the song ends.

"I thought the song fit us." Dante tells her, allowing her to help him back to bed.

"It couldn't have been more perfect." Lulu gives him a small kiss and leaves the room. Dante smiles knowing that she completely understood the song.