Hey all, I know it's been awhile and this is probably how it will be until at least January. So I apologize in advance. But I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 11 – Go Yankees!

The last month had flown by. Dante and Lulu had continued spending time together with and without the kids. Between Ronnie's severance pay and the money he had saved since getting the job at the PCPD, he was able to rent a small apartment and move out of Dante's house.

The school year was nearing the end and the kids were ready for summer to begin. T-ball practice had started and the soccer season was nearing its end.

Dante had finally got around to cooking dinner for Lulu one night. Just has he had promised, they had steak and were also accompanied by the kids.

The day for them to go to New York City for the Yankees game, they had planned on going to lunch before the game began that afternoon and still had a long drive ahead of them, so they had opted for leaving early so they would have enough time.

It is entirely too early to be awake on a Saturday, Lulu thought to herself as she pulled up to Dante's house. Even though the fashion industry never slept, Maxie took complete control on Saturdays so Lulu could sleep in, when Lexi and Tanner allowed for that, which they usually did after she allowed them to stay up later than usual.

She glanced in the backseat to see both of her kids asleep, not wanting to wake them, she left the car running as she got out. She walked to the door and knocked, but after a minute or so, no one came to the door. She had talked to Dante before she left her house via text message, so she knew he was awake.

Lulu opened the door and noticed Bridger was asleep on the couch fully dressed with his head resting on his small backpack. She didn't blame him, as much as she was looking forward to their day, she wished she could go back to sleep.

As she started down the hall, Dante came out of the bathroom brushing his teeth.

"Hey, I'm running a little late, I'm sorry," he said, walking toward his room. "Where are the kids? I don't hear them."

"Bridger's asleep on the couch and Lexi and Tanner are asleep in the car," Lulu replied. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Actually, if you don't mind, Mia needs her diaper changed," Dante mumbled as he continued brushing his teeth.

"Yeah, but what about clothes?" Lulu questioned as she opened the door to the nursery.

"I don't really see the point in changing her out of her pajamas when we're taking her to your mom's and she'll be going back to bed," Dante answered as he picked up the folded up pack 'n play to take to Laura's and sat it in the hallway.

Laura had been begging for the opportunity to keep Bridger and Mia, she had got the chance to keep Bridger one afternoon when he came home from school with Tanner and Lexi. She had convinced them that today would be the perfect opportunity for her to keep Mia.

"That's true," Lulu said, walking into the nursery to find Mia sleeping peacefully in her crib. "You know Mom will probably put her in bed with her when we leave, right?"

"That's okay," he replied, going back into the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth. "As long as it doesn't become a habit, it should be okay."

"She would probably be a free full-time babysitter," Lulu told him, taking a diaper from the diaper holder and grabbing the wipes case from under the changing table. "She's going to be harassing you to keep them, especially Mia. She hasn't had a baby in her house since my niece Ray was a baby."

"Maybe we could work something out, of course I wouldn't let her keep them without paying her," Dante replied, coming back into the nursery to kiss Lulu.

"Good morning to you too," Lulu smiled when they pulled back from the kiss.

"I'm glad you're going with us today," he confessed, taking her hand in his.

"Me too," she replied. "But we better get going if we're going to make it to Times Square for lunch and get to the game on time."

"Okay, I just have to make sure everything is in her diaper bag and I'll carry Bridger out to the car," Dante said, kissing her cheek, then her knuckles before leaving the room.

Lulu got Mia changed and in her car seat without even stirring her from her peaceful sleep. She carried her to the car as Dante took Bridger, who barely woke up when Dante put his seatbelt on him and placed his pillow between him and the window.

When they pulled up to Laura's, she opened the door as Dante and Lulu walked up to the front porch, "Hi sweetheart, hi Dante," she said.

"Hi Mom," Lulu hugged her mom as they went inside and Lulu unbuckled Mia and took her out of her car seat.

"She should sleep for at least another hour, but probably longer if you want to lay her back down," Dante said, placing the diaper bag on the couch and the pack 'n play on floor. "Where should I set this up?"

"Here in the living room is fine," Laura told him as he started to set it up.

"I told him you'd probably just put her in bed with you," Lulu smiled.

"Can I?" Laura asked. "I haven't had any good snuggle time with a baby since Ray was this size."

"That's fine, as long as it doesn't become a habit," Dante told her as he had told Lulu.

He loved Mia more than anything, as he did Bridger, but if there was one thing he learned from parenting books and the classes he and Camilla took when she was pregnant with Bridger, he learned to make the baby sleep in their own crib.

"I'm not sure what time we'll be back, it shouldn't be too late, but we're going to go by Dante's mom's," Lulu told Laura, who was watching the baby contently. "Do you want to hold her?"

"I'd love to," Laura smiled, holding out her arms as Lulu placed the baby in them.

"All of her stuff is in her diaper bag, the blanket that's in her car seat is the one she likes to sleep with," Dante informed Laura.

"He hasn't ever left her like this before, he's a little nervous," Lulu said, rubbing her hand up and down his back.

"There's nothing to be nervous about honey," Laura smiled at Dante. "Miss Mia and I are going to have a fun day."

"I know, I know you'll take care of her," Dante nodded. "But if you need anything, call us."

"We should probably get going," Lulu told him.

"Yeah, the kids are still asleep in the car…I hope," Dante added, then leaned down to kiss his daughter on the forehead. "Bye Mia."

"Tell Daddy we'll be just fine," Laura said with a smile.

"Thank you again for offering to keep her," Dante smiled back.

"See you later Mia," Lulu said, also kissing the baby on the forehead, then her mom on the cheek. "I'll call you when we're on our way home, Mom."

"Alright sweetheart, you guys be careful and have fun," Laura replied as they walked out the door.

Once they got to the restaurant they were eating at, they were waiting for a table to be available. The kids' imaginations ran rampant as they took in their surroundings.

Dante and Lulu were leaning against the wall a few feet from the kids, when he looked over and noticed she still looked sleepy as she stared off into space. He wished he could wrap her arms around her and let her rest against him, but knew the kids would be a suspicious, if they even noticed at all.

"What are you thinking about?" he wondered, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"About the kids," Lulu replied, coming out of her daze and turning her head to look at Dante. "I think we should tell them."

"Tell them…" he asked, his sentence trailing off.

"You know, about us," she answered, as she stood up, no longer leaning against the wall.

"Are you sure?" he questioned.

"Yeah," she nodded confidently. "I've been thinking about it and I think now is a good time, that way we don't have to be so secretive."

"I just don't want you to feel like we have to just because I mentioned it that night," he told her, pushing his body away from the wall to stand in front of her.

"No, I don't think that," Lulu said. "Unless you're having second thoughts."

"No, not at all," he replied quickly. "I would love for the kids to know."

"Do you think we should tell them today?" Lulu wondered. "I'm just worried they're not going to be happy about it and it could ruin the day."

"Are you kidding?" he laughed. "They're going to be ecstatic."

"I hope you're right," Lulu sighed, suddenly starting to get nervous about telling them.

After they ordered lunch, Lulu and Dante sat quietly as the kids talked and colored on the paper that covered the table.

Dante looked at Lulu and saw the nervous look on her face. He reached for her hand under the table and squeezed it gently. She met his gaze, his smile reassuring her that the kids would be happy about what they were going to tell them.

"Hey guys," Dante said to get their attention, then paused, unsure of how to proceed as he suddenly felt nervous. "Um…how would you feel about Lulu and I…being boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"No way," "Ew," "That's gross!" elicited from the 7-year-olds' mouths, then they are started talking at once.

"Wait," Lulu spoke, holding a hand up to silence them. "One at a time."

Lexi lifted her hand in the air, "Lexi," Dante pointed at her to take her turn.

"But you said kissing boys is gross," she told her mother.

Lulu closed her eyes and shook her head, suppressing a laugh as her own words were thrown in her face. She lowered her face into her hands.

"She did, did she?" Dante asked Lexi as he looked to Lulu with a cocky grin on his face.

"Dad, you said girls had cooties except for sisters," Bridger pointed out.

Lulu's shot a looked at Dante, but was also grinning back at him, then looked at Bridger, "What about Lexi, she's not your sister," Lulu told him.

"But she's my sister," Tanner reminded her, matter-of-factly.

"Oh, so that counts?" Lulu asked her son.

By this time, they were all laughing and the nervousness that was previously displayed on Lulu's face had melted away. "Seriously though, if girls don't have cooties and you can kiss boys, would it be okay if Lulu and I were boyfriend and girlfriend?" Dante questioned.

"Does that mean Bridger gets to move in with us?" Tanner wondered.

"No sweetie," Lulu replied. "It means that Dante and I will go out on dates and sometimes we'll take you, like today, but they will live at their house and we will live at ours."

"Will you kiss her?" Bridger asked Dante with a disgusted look on his face.

"Sometimes," Dante nodded.

"You're awfully quiet over there Lex," Lulu said, taking a sip of her water as she looked at her daughter. "What are you thinking about?"

"Is Dante going to be our dad?" she asked quietly.

Lulu was taken aback by the question, unsure of how to answer it, but she knew it was inevitable. "Well…that's kind of hard to explain," she began, feeling Dante squeeze her hand under the table, she glanced at him before turning back to her daughter. "Right now, the answer is no. Someday—a long time from now—Dante and I might want to get married, but we might not. But if we were to get married, that would be something we would discuss with all of you. Okay?"

"Okay," Lexi answered

"We just wanted to make sure it was okay with the three of you that we dated," Dante added. "If any of you don't like the idea, then we won't be boyfriend and girlfriend."

"What about Mia?" Bridger asked

"Mia already approves," Dante replied.

"So let's take a vote," Lulu said. "Yes if you're okay with us dating, no, if you're not."

"Yes," Lexi said with a smile.

"Tanner?"

"Yeah," he answered

"Bridge?" Dante asked.

"Okay," Bridger replied

Lulu and Dante looked at each other with smiles, "Are you gonna kiss her now?" Lexi giggled, causing Tanner and Bridger to start giggling as well.

"Maybe…are you gonna cover your eyes if we do?" Dante asked.

Lexi shook her head, "Kissing is gross."

"Then you better cover your eyes," Dante warned, the three kids covered their eyes, peaking through their fingers as Dante leaned over and kissed Lulu passionately, but briefly, eliciting giggles from the other side of the table.

They arrived at Yankee Stadium in time to go by the pro shop to get some foam fingers, as Dante had promised.

"Mommy, can I get one of these?" Lexi asked, pointing to a table full of pink Yankees t-shirts.

"Yeah, which one do you want?" Lulu asked as she started picking up shirts and reading the names on the back of them.

"Rodriguez, I want that one," Lexi exclaimed as Lulu read the name on the shirt.

"What's so special about Rodriguez?" Dante asked, coming up behind Lexi with Tanner and Bridger behind him with their gloves and foam fingers in hand.

"He's married to Lourdes Leon's mom," Lexi replied, her tone implying that he should know that.

Instead, Dante looked to Lulu with a confused expression, "Who?"

"Lourdes Leon is Madonna's daughter," Lulu told him, handing the shirt to Lexi. "Lourdes designs clothes that Lexi is absolutely in love with."

"Oh," Dante said with an uncaring look on his face.

"Yeah, she's definitely the daughter of a fashion magazine editor," Lulu laughed as they turned to walk toward the cash register, only to find Tanner and Bridger having a sword fight with their foam fingers.

"Hey, hey, stop," Dante said, stepping between the two boys. "We can't do that here, you might break something."

They stopped, then Tanner looked at Lulu, "How come Lexi gets a shirt?" he questioned.

"Because she asked for one," Lulu told him. "Do you want one?"

"Yes," he said

Lulu turned to Bridger, "Pick you one out too buddy," she said as they went back to the kids section.

"I want the Teixeira one," Tanner said, pointing to a shirt that was a replica of the players' jerseys. "He plays first base like me."

"Okay," Lulu said, picking out the correct shirt size, then handing it to Tanner.

"Can I have that one?" Bridger asked shyly, pointing to a Derek Jeter jersey that was like Tanner's.

"You sure can," Lulu told him with a smile. "Dante, can you reach that?"

Dante reached up to get the correct size because they were hanging high on the wall, "You don't have to do this," he said quietly to Lulu. "These things are kind of expensive."

"It's okay," Lulu replied, taking the shirt and handing it to Bridger with a smile. "He's worth it."

"What do you say Bridger?" Dante asked.

"Thank you," Bridger told Lulu.

"You're welcome sweetie," Lulu smiled. "Lexi, the boys got these jerseys, are you sure you don't want one like them?"

"No, I want this one," Lexi assured her.

"Okay, then let's go," Lulu said, ushering them toward the cashier.

After 3 snow cones, 2 bags of cotton candy, a pickle, a box of popcorn and a bag of Skittles, the Yankees were victorious and Dante, Lulu and the kids had arrived in Bensonhurst.

"Mama, where are we?" Lexi asked as they got out of the car.

"We're in Bensonhurst, this is where Dante grew up," Lulu replied. "We're going to see Dante's mom."

"Does she have a bathroom?" Tanner asked as Dante opened the gate in front of her duplex. "Because I have to go."

"Yeah, she has a bathroom," Dante laughed.

They walked up the front steps and Dante rang the doorbell, then glanced at Lulu, noticing the nervous expression on her face.

Lulu felt his hand wrap around hers, "What's wrong?" he wondered. "Are you nervous?"

"I'm about to meet your mom, of course I'm nervous," she said, letting out the breath she had been holding in.

"It will be okay, she's going to love you," he promised as he leaned over and kissed her temple.

And for the first time, she realized she was thankful that they had told the kids about them dating, because she knew that the touch of his lips and the feeling of her hand surrounded by his was the only things that were keeping her from wanting to bolt.

Just then, the front door opened, "Nonna!" Bridger exclaimed, jumping into Olivia's arms.

"Hi, my omino," she said, picking Bridger up, referring to him as her "little man," then she patted Dante on the cheek. "And my other omino."

"Hi Ma," he replied, as Olivia put Bridger down and hugged Dante. "Ma, this is Lulu Spencer-Zacchara; Lulu this is my ma, Olivia Falconer."

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Falconer," Lulu said, unsure of what to call her.

"No, you call me Olivia," she insisted, pulling Lulu into a hug, then looked down to Tanner and Lexi and smiled.

"Hi, I'm Lexi," she said, holding out her hand to shake Olivia's, but Olivia got down to eyelevel with her.

"You think I could get a hug instead?" she asked, Lexi grinned and walked into her embrace. "It's nice to meet you Lexi, you can call me Olivia or Nonna, that's what Bridger's friends call me."

"I like Nonna," Lexi smiled

"Me too," Olivia agreed, then looked to Tanner who backed up closer to Lulu. "The strong, silent type, huh?"

"Tanner, why don't you tell Olivia hi," Lulu suggested, laughing a little as her son's sudden shyness. "I'm sure she'd really like a hug."

"I sure would," Olivia added, finally Tanner stepped forward and Olivia pulled him into a hug. "Thank you."

"I'm Tanner," he said quietly.

"It's nice to meet you Tanner," she smiled.

"Are you gonna invite us in or do we have to stand out here all day?" Dante questioned.

"No, come in," she said, opening the storm door for them to go in. "Have a seat, can I get you anything to drink?"

"No, I'm good," Dante replied as he felt a tugging at his shirt.

"Dante," Tanner whispered.

"Oh yeah, come on buddy, I'll show you where the bathroom is," Dante replied as they started down the hall.

"Lulu, can I get you anything?" Olivia asked as Lulu, Lexi and Bridger sat down on the couch.

"No thank you, I'm fine," Lulu replied.

"Lexi, Bridger, I have lemonade," Olivia told them.

"No thank you," Lexi and Bridger said politely.

"So Dante tells me you own that magazine my cousin Connie used to run," Olivia said to Lulu as she sat down on the love seat.

"Yeah, well, co-own," Lulu replied. "My friend Maxie is the one who eats, sleeps and breathes fashion, I just kinda got pulled into it, I love it, but I've never been as into is as she is."

"That's good that you don't let it consume you though," Olivia told her. "That's what happened to Connie, she got tangled up in that and forgot where she came from."

"Yeah, I know there are more important things in life than shoes and clothes," Lulu smiled as she played with Lexi's hair.

"Did you guys have fun at the game?" Olivia asked Lexi and Bridger.

"Yeah," Lexi said

"And we won too," Bridger added.

"Very cool," Olivia said.

"Ma, how did you manage to get the day off?" Dante asked as he and Tanner came back into the living room, he sat down next to Olivia and Tanner sent over to sit by Bridger.

"Well, I worked this morning and everything that needed to be done this morning, I assigned to the people who work under me, so I could be home to see you guys," Olivia explained

"Where do you work?" Lulu asked

"At the Marriott in Brooklyn," Olivia replied.

"She's a meeting planner," Dante told Lulu.

"I've always thought it would be fun to work for a hotel," Lulu said.

"You do work in a hotel," Dante reminded her.

"I work at a hotel, not for a hotel, it's not the same thing," Lulu smiled as she rolled her eyes at him, then turned to Olivia. "How long have you worked there?"

"About 15 years," Olivia replied. "I got an entry level position before having a college degree was a must and I've worked my way up into a management position."

"Wow," Lulu said. "I bet there's never a dull moment."

"Never," Olivia laughed.

"When are you going to come see our new house, Nonna?" Bridger asked

"Yeah Nonna, when are you going to come visit us?" Dante added.

"Soon I hope," Olivia replied. "I have some vacation days I need to use."

After spending a couple of hours at Olivia's, they drove back to Port Charles, picked up Mia from Laura's and were pulling into Dante's driveway, when Lulu noticed a car parked on the street in front of the house, "Who is that?" she wondered.

"I don't know, I don't recognize the car," Dante replied, putting the car into park.

When they got out of the SUV, the person also got out of the car, Dante immediately went into defense mode, but then Bridger took off running toward the person, "MOMMY!" he exclaimed.

"Mommy?" Lulu's head shot up, looking at Bridger and the woman.

"No way," Dante spoke as Camilla looked up at him and smiled.

Just when you thought things were safe…