Un Expected Miracles Chapter 10
The past few days were driving Lulu crazy because she was unable to do anything to help with the Christmas preparations. Each time she'd try to get up to help Dante, Olivia, Laura and Maxie, they each would just tell her they had everything covered. The only thing that she was allowed to do was write Laura and Maxie out shopping lists for the last minute gifts for the kids and Dante. The day before Christmas Eve, Laura, Dante and Maxie all went out shopping and they all agreed to go their separate ways and they would meet out for lunch later. Dante thought he would let Lulu come out to lunch with all of them so that she wouldn't go too stir crazy, and she agreed. They all met at the Metro Court for a bite to eat. Just then, Carly came up to them to say hello.
"Lulu! I'm sorry I haven't gotten a chance to come over to see you; Josslyn's been driving me crazy, and I've been busy with Sonny and Jason. How are you feeling?" Carly asked in concern for her cousin.
"I'm fine, but going crazy. Mom, Maxie, Dante and Olivia give hovering a whole new meaning. Now, I can definitely appreciate the hell you went through when you had your difficult pregnancy with Joss."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you have any plans for Christmas Eve? I was thinking that if you guys didn't, you could come to my house to see Sonny, the kids and Mike."
"Thanks Carly. Maybe, we'll get there, but I don't know. It's gonna depend on how Lulu's feeling. She's been good, so I agreed that she could have a couple hours out" Dante said jokingly.
"Well, just let us know because you're always welcome."
"Thanks Carly" both Dante and Lulu said in unison.
"Enjoy your lunch." Carly said before giving Lulu a kiss on the cheek and walking away from them.
"Oh my God! I'm starving! What do I want to eat?" Lulu wondered as she went to look at the menu.
"Oooooo! I found something I want! I think I want the mushroom ravioli. That looks really good" lulu squeeled with delight.
"I remember ordering that for you when you were a little girl at the Port Charles Grill" Laura said smiling at the memory.
"One of your many attempts to comfort me so that I wouldn't notice Dad's absence" Lulu remembered.
"Anyway, let's figure out what else we are gonna eat" Dante said.
"Oooo! I'll have the cob salad" Maxie said.
"Oo! That looks good! I think I'm going to have the salmon entree." Laura said.
Just then, the waitress came to take their orders. The waitress saw Lulu's expanding belly.
"When are you due?" she wondered.
"I'm due in March."
"Oh congratulations!"
"Thanks" Lulu said.
"I was told by Carly to give you all a discount, so when you see the bill, it's gonna be cheap, so what'll it be" she asked. They gave their orders and she wrote them all down on her note pad and left. A few minutes later, their food all came.
"So, honey, Maxie and I got everything you asked for on your list."
"Thanks guys. Maxie, it's not like you to be this quiet. What's up" lulu wondered.
"oh… I don't know. You don't wanna hear my problems right now. Let's just focus on you today and the baby" maxie said, getting up to rub lulu's belly.
"ooo! The baby kicked. It likes Aunt Maxie!"
"Ooooo! Yay! I can teach it all sorts of cool things, especially if it's a girl!"
"Well, it's gonna be a surprise."
As Lulu and Maxie were talking, Laura took it upon herself to talk to Dante. She scooted her chair closer to his so they could talk while Maxie helped scoot Lulu's chair close to hers.
"Dante, have you spoken to the kids about what was going on with the trial? Lulu told me all about it,but she also told me that Dianne was able to convince the judge to postpone it until after the New Year. I think given the circumstances, that was probably the best thing."
"I know" Dante agreed.
"I didn't think Dianne was gonna give us that so quickly, but when Lulu was sleeping in the hospital, I called her and she filled me in. The kids don't know what's going on yet. They will though, once we get a date confirmed" Dante said biting his meal.
"How's the salmon?"
"Oh it's wonderful!" Laura said biting into a piece.
"That's good. How's Kevin doing?"
"oh he's fine! He said he had a special appointment today."
"Oh. On a Saturday?" Dante wondered suspiciously.
"Yeah. Sometimes, Kevin has special appointments."
"I see."
They all sat in silence for a few minutes before Lulu spoke up.
"I can't believe I ate that whole thing! That ravioli was huge! It's not gonna stop me from getting dessert though."
"Lulu! Really? You're gonna eat dessert after that? My God! I guess this baby really is hungry!" maxie said laughing.
"Seriously Maxie? Didn't you eat a lot when you were pregnant with Georgie and James?" Lulu said play punching her.
"Oh yeah! Of course! But I always tried to eat healthy, accept for on occasion."
"Yeah… okay." Lulu said jokingly, and they birsted out laughing.
Just then, the waitress came over to their table and cleared all their plates. When she came back and asked them if they all wanted desserts, everyone refused, except for Lulu. The waitress got Lulu's order and went to get it for her. Later on after the dessert was finished, Dante got the check and paid for everyone.
"Baby, I'm sorry; we need to make another pit stop before we go home, but I tell you what. Why don't we have Laura take you home and I'll go with Maxie to take care of it."
"What is it? Oh wait! We don't have a tree! Shit!" Lulu said panicking.
"Honey, it's okay. Let's go home and I'll make you some hot chocolate before you relax."
"Okay."
"Dante, are you sereous? I have to carry a tree for you? Well, okay fine, but if we have to chop it down, you're doing the honors." Maxie said.
"Maxie, take it easy! We're not gonna need to chop it down. I'll take care of the majority of it; you just might need to help me carry it into the house. Laura, when we come home, would you mind helping us decorate it with us?"
"Oh! I'd love that! Of course I will, and we can get the kids involved. I've missed doing this with my children all those years I was gone."
"Mom, it's okay; you're here now, and that's all that matters." Lulu said hugging Laura who had teers in her eyes.
"Oh thank you hon. Let's go home." -
Later on that evening, Maxie helped Dante carry the tree into the house, and much to lulu's surprise, it was a real tree. She was expecting an artificial tree, but Dante wanted to go all out this Christmas. He thought that since they all could have lost her, he could go the extra mile to get a real tree. Maxie was exhausted from carrying the tree, so she immediately went home. As soon as Rocco and Charlotte saw the tree, they immediately wanted to come in and decorate it. Dante said he'd need to put it up first, and he tought Rocco to help. Just then, Laura came over.
"Oh wow! The tree looks wonderful, but why don't we put it near the fire place." Laura said marveling over the tree.
"That's a great idea! Is Lulu still sleeping?" she wondered.
"Yeah. She was pretty tired. She's been getting tired lately."
"oh well, in that case, let's get to work! Charlotte and Rocco, want to make cookies and sing Christmas songs with your Grandma?" Laura said excitedly.
"Yeah!" they both screamed in unison.
Dante took the tree, which wasn't too big over to the fireplace and put it in the stand. When it was finished being put up, he asked Laura to go and get the lights and ornaments with him while the cookies baked.
Just then, Lulu came down from her room and was looking at everything. She was amazed that Dante took this much effort to give her the best Christmas they would probably have in their history of being together,. She sat on the couch admiring how beautiful the tree looked even though it hadn't been decorated yet, and tears came to her eyes. Just then, Dante came down with Laura and they saw Lulu crying.
"Honey, what's the matter?" Laura said sweetly.
"It's beautiful! I can't believe you did all this! Thank you. I love you both so much." Lulu said getting up to hug Dante and Laura.
"It's not decorated yet!" Rocco said.
"Oh come here you guys! You're helping too? Wow! This is amazing! I love it! What can I do? I promise, it will be very light."
"Nothing, baby. Just relax."
"I can't at the very least get you a glass of wine or anything?" she said looking to Dante and Laura.
"Not yet sweety."
"Okay."
Later that night after the tree was decorated, Laura made Dante, Lulu and the kids a nice dinner, and Dante put a few logs on the fire.
"Thanks guys for a wonderful night. I love this! I love the decorations and everything you all are doing. You know I would help if I could, but someone's being paranoied that I'll get too stressed out." Lulu said looking to Dante jokingly
"Well, you gave us quite a scare baby."
"I know, and I'm sorry."
"I don't know what to do because Valentin and Nina want to see Charlotte Christmas Day because we're having the kids Christmas eve. Valentin hasn't seen her since he got out of Jail, and that's been because I won't let him."
"Baby, you have good reason. I wouldn't let him see her either, but I don't have a say. You need to work it out with Valentin, and I don't think that's a good idea right now. Why don't we keep things the way they are, and we can wait until the judge decides what's best."
He didn't want to tell her about adopting Charlotte yet. He figured he'd wait for either Christmas or New Years.
"For the past few days, I would have fought you tooth and nail to do things because the bedrest thing was getting to me, but today, seeing you, Mom and the kids doing everything was really fun! I loved seeing the kids singing Christmas Carrolls, which on a normal day would have annoyed the crap out of me. I don't know; maybe, the hormones are really getting to me because I'm becoming a sap." Lulu said jokingly.
"Well, I like you sappy."
"I love you Dante. Let's go to bed."
He carried her up to bed, and they made love. It was the best sex they had in quite a while, and the sex left Dante and Lulu feeling very good before they fell asleep.
Come Christmas Eve, Olivia came early. She had a lot of cooking to do and she started doing some of the cooking at the Quartermaines, and then finished it all at Dante and Lulu's. She made a Lasagna, Garlic bread, and brought a prime rib that they could save for a special occasion or Christmas dinner tomorrow. She also bought canolis for dessert. Laura would be arriving later with some goodies as well. Dante wanted everyone to come that meant something to them and if they couldn't fit everyone, they could come in sperts. They didn't care; just as long as everyone had a good time. At around six PM, Dante got Lulu so that she could start mingling with people who were slowly arriving.
"Olivia! When did you get here!" lulu wondered happily.
"Oh honey, I've been here since 12 noon. Honey, can you get me another glass of wine?" Olivia said, now feeling a little tipsy.
"Ma, are you sure you wanna drink that much? You've been drinking as you were cooking. I know we're Italian and we like our wine, but don't you think you're pushing it just a little bit?" He said patting her shoulder.
"Honey, I love you, but I want some wine."
"Okay."
As dante went to get Olivia some wine, Lulu was eating some cheese and crackers. Everything was tasting so good, and she couldn't wait for the main course. Just then, the doorbell rang, and Laura came with Kevin and Spencer. She brought a home made apple pie and her mother's famous Egg Nog. She made two batches; one that had a bit more alcohol and one for lulu and the kids to share. Rocco and Charlotte wanted to go play with Leo and Spencer, so they all went in their room before dinner while the adults kept engaging in meaningless conversations, according to the kids. Just then, the doorbell rang again and Dante went to get it. It was Elizabeth.
"Hi Elizabeth. Thanks for coming."
"We brought a pie, some wine and some brownies made by the one and only Elizabeth!" Franco said.
"Hi Lulu. How are you feeling?" Elizabeth said, both asking as a concerned family member and going into nurse mode.
"Can you check her blood pressure? It has been a bit crazy today, and even though she's been resting, I'm sure the day's getting to her." Dante asked noticing Lulu was looking a bit pale.
"Sure. I can do that."
"Elizabeth, you don't have to. My husband loves to hover over me, and even if you think it's cute, I don't, so please enjoy your day here and don't come as my nurse." Lulu wined.
"He's acting like this because he loves you. I get it that it's annoying; I'd be acting like this too, but he wouldn't ask me if he didn't love you, so give me your arm." Elizabeth said effectionately and jokingly.
She took her blood pressure and she looked pleased to see that it was normal.
"Good! Your blood pressure is normal. Dante's doing a good job keeping you in bed."
"I know, and I hate it."
Elizabeth went to go help Laura and Olivia in the kitchen while Cam, Jake and Aiden went to play with the kids. Since Cam was getting older, he didn't particularly care for being the babysitter of Rocco, Charlotte, Aiden and Leo, but he was glad he had Spencer and Jake to help. A short while later, Olivia in a bit of a drunkin stooper yelled that dinner was being served.
Dante rounded up all the kids and they all sat down to eat. Olivia blessed the meal and they all were sitting around laughing and eating. Later on, once the plates were cleared, everyone wanted dessert. Laura put on a pot of decaf coffee for everyone so that Lulu could enjoy a cup. Dante hadn't given her a cup of coffee all day, so he figured she deserved it. Plus, it was a holiday.
"After dessert, can we at least open up presents?" Charlotte said.
"You're gonna have to wait Charlotte." Lulu said.
"I think we can agree to let the kids open one present, I mean, isn't that like a tradition or something?" Franco said.
"In some families it is, and since this is a special circumstance, I think the kids can open as many presents as they want, especially from family they don't always see." Dante agreed.
"Yay!" The kids all cheered. Just then, the kids ate their canolis along with everyone else. During the dessert, Sonny, Carly and Avery came over to stop in.
"we won't stay long; we just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and let you know that we're having Christmas dinner at our house tomorrow."
"Who's watching Mike right now?" Dante asked concerned.
"Michael offered to while we stopped by. We have presents foryou, Lulu and the kids."
"Thanks Sonny, but you didn't have to buy us presents, at least for Lulu and me."
"Of course we did! We're family."
As Dante and sonny were talking, Carly went in the room with the kids and was giving them candy and playing with them.
"Well, thanks, and the kids will enjoy the presents. I'll put them under the tree with all of them. We'll be there tomorrow depending on how Lulu's feeling."
"Okay. Sounds good. Hey Olivia and Laura, you're more than welcome to join in the fun tomorrow."
"Thanks Sonny. I made aprime rib and I will definitely love to come to give that little Avery a kiss."
"oh okay. Laura? What about you?"
"Thanks, but I don't know. If Spencer wants to come, I'll come, but we'll see."
"Where is he?"
"He's in the room with all the kids."
"Oh okay well, I just wanted to extend the invitation to Christmas dinner tomorrow. Merry Christmas guys. Avery, can you say Merry Christmas sweetheart?" Sonny said bending down to her.
"Merry Christmas."
Once Avery said Merry Christmas,carly came inand they all said their goodbyes.
Then, it was time to open presents. Rocco opened up a video game that Sonny had given him, and Charlotte opened up a nice jewelery box which contained a necklace from Laura. Elizabeth told the boys they would open presents on Christmas morning. At this time, they all noticed that lulu was getting tired. She occasionally would stifle a few yawns, and once Dante noticed, he decided to break the party up.
"Okay guys, I think the party is about to end. Lulu and I thank you all for coming, and maybe we'll see some of you tomorrow, and if we do, let the celebration continue, and if not, Merry Christmas."
They all said Merry Christmas and everyone grabbed their coats after hugging and kissing everyone.
Later that night after the company left, Dante was putting presents together while Lulu was dozing on the couch. The kids were fast asleep and Dante was going to sit and enjoy another beer as he was getting presents prepared for the morning. By one in the morning, each present was put together and under the tree.
"Santa, I'm sorry I couldn't help you tonight, but since you were a good boy, I can give you my own present." Lulu said in a sexy tone.
"Oooo! You have a present for me? Santa's very happy."
"Can I do anything else for you before I finish this beer?"
"Unless it involves you carrying me up to bed, you don't need to do anything else for me. You've done so much for me already."
"Well, there is one more thing that I have to do for you. Of course, I have presents, but I want to give you the best present now. Wanna know what it is?"
"Yeah! What is it." Lulu wondered in surprise.
Just then, Dante took her hand as he sat on the couch next to her.
"Well, ever since Charlotte came to live with us full-time, I've really grown attached to her, and I think she's gotten attached to me. We love playing games and reading stories the way I do with Rocco. When Miss. Wadkins came to talk about custody arrangements for Charlotte, I had the thought of adopting her. We're in the middle of going through the adoption process right now. I love Charlotte as if she were my own biological daughter and I thought the best way we could all be together is if I adopted her."
Lulu was stunned. She couldn't believe what she heard. Sure, she knew dante was growing very attached to Charlotte, but she had no idea it would ever come to that, especially since she had a child with a Cassadine she didn't know about.
"Baby, please say something. Are you mad that I didn't tell you about this?"
Suddenly, dawn began to spread all over her face.
"When you told me you were going to talk to Rocco about practice, was that when you were meeting Miss. Wadkins?"
"Yes. Now, of course, Valentin's not gonna make it easy, but I don't want Charlotte anywhere near Valentin and Nina. So, I thought that once I adopted her, it would be easy for Valentin to give all parental rights to me. My hope is that when we go through the trial, the adoption will be able to go through because everything is working in my favor."
Just then, Lulu stood up and wrapped her arms lovingly around her husband.
"Dante, I love you! I'm so excited! I was secretly hoping that's what you'd do to make it easier for us to keep her, and you read my mind! I thought it would have just been my fight, but I'm so glad to know that you're fighting to adopt my daughter. Have you talked to her about it?"
"Yeah, and she said that she needed time to think about it. She had a bad dream about living with Nina and Valentin, and since the dream scared her so badly, and she's been very comfortable with us, she told me she would be fine with living with me and I could adopt her."
"This is the best present anyone could give me. You're adopting my daughter! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!" Lulu said crying and planting kisses all over him.
"Now, Santa, let's go to bed, and you can be rewarded for your good behavior."
They again made passionate love and immediately fell asleep.
The next week was pretty borring for Lulu because she was still on bedrest. During New Years Eve, Carly and Olivia were planning a New Years Eve party for everyone to attend. Lulu had been in communication with Peter about what was going on medically with her, but he wasn't having it tonight. He wanted her to cover the New Years Eve party to see what explosive event she could capture. She wasn't too keene on the idea, but she relented. Olivia agreed to watch Rocco and Charlotte while she and Dante went out.
The party was pretty uneventful. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, up until the clock struck 12. When it approached the ten seconds, Carly banged her glass of champagne and screamed.
"Okay everyone! The moment we've all been waiting for is coming in 10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1! Happy New Year!" She screamed along with everyone while bottles were being cracked open. Dante opened Lulu's bottle of sparkling citer and poured a glass for her.
"Happy New Year baby."
"Happy New Year to you too."
"Cheers to new beginnings with Charlotte, Rocco, and baby Falconeri." Dante said as he clinked his glass with Lulu's before kissing her. Just then, Nina stumbled over to them.
"You little bitch!" Nina cried. "I just got a letter in the mail saying that Dante wants to adopt Charlotte? There's no way in hell that I'm gonna allow that. Valentin won't either. Charlotte is our daughter and we're the ones who deserve her. It's not our fault you weren't there for her when she was born the way Valentin is!"
"Okay Nina, I don't think this is the time and place to go attacking us. I don't want to have to arrest you for public drunkenness."
"Public drunkeniss? Really Dante?" Nina spat and slered.
"Okay Nina, I think we need to go now. Let me take you home, and we can just let the lawyers handle this." Valentin said motioning her back to their table.
"I think that's a good idea." Lulu agreed.
"Dante, Lulu, see you in court!" Nina hissed drunkenly.
Lulu wasn't going to write about this in the paper, and given the circumstances, Peter agreed.
"Well! Happy New Year everyone, and I hope 2019's a hell of a lot better for everyone. Thank you all for coming." Carly said before everyone left to go home.
When Dante and Lulu arrived home, Lulu was exhausted. She had fallen asleep in the car so Dante gently carried her up to bed, and she didn't wake up. As he put the covers up over her, he gently kissed her goodnight.
"I love you Lulu, and I'm so glad that we have this chance with you. We could have lost you, and so my New Years resolution is to never take our love or are kids for granted. I love you with all my heart, and I'm going to do everything in my power to protect you. If I have to go on any special assignments, I don't care about a promotion; I'm going to refuse so I can spend my time with you and our family. Goodnight beautiful." Dante said kissing her before he tucked himself to bed where he finally fell asleep.