It had been a long day for Tracy Quartermaine, and by the time she came back to the mansion that night, her entire body was wracked with exhaustion. She had spent the majority of the past few hours traveling back and forth between the Metrocourt and General Hospital, alternatively checking on Alan and Lulu. Once she had gotten confirmation of Lulu's exit from the hotel, she had stayed with Alan. Now that he was stable, at least for the time being, she had elected to come home to change clothes, brush her teeth and catch a quick nap before she started the routine all over again.
Slowly trudging up the grand staircase with her discarded heels in her hand, Tracy finally started to allow herself to worry about Luke. She knew that he was likely still inside, trying to find Emily and Lucky. A part of her wished she had been there to try to convince him not to go in, but she knew that he would have done it anyway. No one got between Luke Spencer and his children, not even her. If he knew that Lucky or Lulu was inside, there wasn't anything he wouldn't do. The same tenacity gave her comfort, knowing that if it were she or Dillon, he would do the same thing.
Throwing her handbag into the plush armchair just inside her bedroom, she looked at herself in the mirror. Black soot was smudged beneath one eye, her hair unusually disheveled. Usually she was so put together, but tonight had been anything but ordinary. Standing amidst the chaos outside the Metrocourt, she had missed her mother so suddenly. She knew that Lila would have the words of comfort her family so desperately needed. And she had missed Ned, yearning for his stability in such a time. She knew that she would have to call her eldest son later to inform him once they had the results of the entire situation, but for now, she just wanted to see her youngest son, Dillon.
Quietly slipping down the hallway to his room, Tracy knocked softly before entering. When she heard no response, she pressed the heavy mahogany door open and leaned against the frame. In the middle of the bed, she could see two sleeping forms with only a mass of blonde curls above the white down comforter. As she stepped wordlessly into the room, she realized that it was Dillon and Lulu together in his bed. Ordinarily such a sight would have sent her on a ranting tirade, but tonight had changed something inside her.
She knew that Lulu would need Dillon to get through the aftermath tonight would invariably have on the young girl. There was no one else in the world she felt like she could really count on, with her father disappearing on a whim and her brothers having their own families. Dillon had become her sense of stability, her sense of home over the past year. There was no way Tracy would ever take it away when she obviously needed it most. And she had to admit, begrudgingly, that Lulu wasn't the only one who needed it.
Her son was clearly in love with the young Spencer girl, and she had learned a long time ago that there was no way she could stop either of her sons when they were in love. She could see it in the way he held her as they slept, his body positioned to protect hers. Tracy knew that Dillon had risked his life to save Lulu, and there was no way he was going to abandon her now. He knew that Lulu needed him, and as she gazed at how they were encased in each other, she was sure that the feeling was mutual.
"Ms. Tracy," Alice whispered softly behind her, resting her hand on her shoulder. "There is something you need to know."
Tracy nodded to acknowledge the maid and followed her down the hallway and out of earshot of Dillon's bedroom. She could tell from the look in the family's maid eyes that the news was bad. "Is it Alan? Is he okay?"
"Dr. Q is stable for now," Alice assured her. "Mr. Edward just called a few minutes ago and wanted me to pass along the news. The other Dr. Q is in there with him now."
"You had me worried for a minute."
"It's not him," Alice replied. "It's Mr. Luke, and by extension, his son and Emily. There was an explosion at the Metrocourt."
"I have to get down there," Tracy insisted hoarsely, suddenly incapable of feeling anything. She tried to think of who else she needed to call, probably Bobbie and Monica. They'd likely see it on the television anyhow. Then, she thought about the sleeping blonde in the other room. "Oh, no, Lulu."
"What?" Dillon asked from behind her, worry flashing through his green eyes. "What is it, Mom? What's wrong with Lulu?"
"Where is she?" Tracy asked, looking over his shoulder for the feisty blonde.
"She's still asleep. I heard your voice and wanted to come check on Alan."
"Come in the other room with me," Tracy insisted, nodding toward her bedroom. "There is something I need to tell you."
"Can you check on Lulu for me?" Dillon asked Alice before following his mother to her suite. As she sat down on the edge of the bed, hands folded in her lap, he noticed how eerily stoic and calm she was. "What is it, Mom? Just tell me."
"There was an explosion at the Metrocourt," Tracy answered. "Luke, Emily and Lucky are among the people still inside. I think Jason is probably in there, too."
Dillon covered his face with his hands, sighing deeply. "Sonny and Carly were in there, too. That makes six people that Lulu cares about, six reasons for her to lose herself again."
"Lose herself?"
He quickly told his mother about the scenes outside the hotel and how he and Nikolas agreed that Lulu needed to stay away from the drama of the hostage situation for as long as possible. "I don't think she could handle any more traumas, especially losing Luke or Lucky. She has become so close to Carly lately, and Emily has always been a part of her life. If any of them die, it is going to shatter her."
Tracy looked at her son carefully. "Then we can't tell her until we know something. I don't want her to assume the worst about any of them. It's going to be her natural tendency."
"Mom," he pleaded desperately, "I just got her back, I can't lose her now."
"We will not lose her, Dillon," Tracy reassured him, wrapping her son in a comforting embrace that only a mother could manage. "We won't lose her."
Emily groaned as the room around her turned black. She kept her eyes closed, almost afraid to open them and see the destruction around her. Her body ached from falling so hard against the floor, and she could feel something heavy on top of her. Taking a deep breath, she could smell the faint aroma of something burning in the distance. Listening carefully, it worried her how silent things were. There was the occasional cry or plea for help, but wherever she was trapped was mostly quiet.
Moving each of her limbs, she could tell that she wasn't paralyzed and really had very little pain. Turning over beneath the heavy object, she finally opened her eyes to look down to see what it was. She was relieved to see that it was Lucky hovering over her, his concerned blue eyes meeting hers. "Lucky!" she exclaimed, her arms immediately threading around his neck to bring him down to her.
"Em," he murmured as he embraced her, thankful that she was still conscious. "How are you feeling? Is there any pain anywhere?"
She shook her head, "I'm fine."
"Do you think you can walk? We need to find my dad and get out of here," he told her as he stood up. He reached down for her hand and helped her to her feet.
She nodded in response, not letting go of his hand for a moment. Lucky started to walk away but she yanked him back to her quickly. Leaning forward, she captured him in a quick kiss. He felt wet tears transfer from her skin to his as they pulled away. "I just had to know that you were really okay," she mumbled softly.
"I'm okay," he promised her. "We're okay."
She looked into his blue eyes again and nodded understandingly. "Let's go find the rest of our family," she declared bravely, trampling over the debris in search of Luke and Jason. She called out their names a few times, desperate for a response of any kind. A minute later, when she did finally hear something, she knew the voice didn't belong to her brother or Lucky's father.
"Where's Jason?" Carly asked as she Emily helped her up. Beside them, Sonny was scrambling to his feet, quickly looking over Carly to make sure she is okay. "I saw him before the explosion."
"I'm sure he's here somewhere, Carly," Sonny said. "You and Emily need to get out of here. I'll stay inside with Lucky to look for him. I want you two to leave now."
"I'm not going!" the two women shouted in unison. "I'm not leaving my brother or Luke," Emily argued defiantly as Carly declared, "Jason is my best friend. He'd never leave me here."
"They'd want you to both be safe," Lucky emphasized. "Besides, we have a better chance of finding them if we don't have to worry about you two."
"I don't want to leave you here," Carly murmured as she turned to Sonny.
Lucky didn't hear the rest of what they said as he pulled Emily off to the side. "Please, go out there and wait for me to bring them out, Em. I need to know that you're okay."
"And what about what I need, Spencer?" she asked. "I need to know that you're okay, too."
"I'll be okay as long as I know you're safe. I need you to go out and check on the rest of our family, Em. You should see your father and check on Nikolas and Elizabeth. Please do that for me."
"Fine," she relented hesitantly. "I'll check on the family, but I'm not leaving the hotel until you can go home with me. I'll find out where they all are, including Lulu, so that I can give you a full report as soon as you are out."
While it wasn't what Lucky wanted, he knew that it was the best compromise he was going to get out of Emily. "I promise I'll come out alive."
"You better," she proclaimed, leaning over to hug him again. Lucky brushed a kiss over her lips softly and smiled down at her. "I kinda think I like you in my life."
Emily begrudgingly followed Carly out of the Metrocourt amidst a cloud of heavy smoke. Soot was smudged beneath her eyes, the sound of the explosion echoing in her head. "I can't believe it's the same day," she mused as they passed through the front line of rescuers. "This morning seems like such a long time ago."
"It seems like a different lifetime," Carly retorted, running her hands through her long blonde strands. Ash fell down from her hair, fluttering to the ground like snowflakes.
"What is the first thing you are going to do when you leave her?" Emily asked as they finally made their way toward the medical personnel.
"Hug my children," Carly announced before Bobbie rushed over to hold her daughter. They both broke out into tears as they clung to each other, making Emily miss her mother. Part of her wanted to leave to find Alan and Monica, but the bigger part of her needed to stay until she knew the men were safe again.
As the mother and daughter pulled apart, Emily was easily wrapped up into the familiar embrace of the redhead. "I'm so glad you're okay," Bobbie breathed, squeezing her tightly. "Where's Lucky? Where's my brother?"
"They're still inside," Emily replied as she looked around the crowd of people. "Lucky and Sonny went back inside to look for Jason and Luke."
"Yeah," she could hear Carly explain before everything else faded away. Searching the crowd, she finally found who she was looking for. Excusing herself, she jogged to where Elizabeth was perched, a blanket wrapped around her bare shoulders.
"Elizabeth!" she cried, throwing her arms around her best girl friend. The two women held onto each other for dear life for a minute before finally pulling a part. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"Me too," Liz replied. "Where's Lucky?"
"Looking for Luke and Jase with Sonny," Emily said. "They got Carly and me out and then went back in after them. He's doing okay."
"How did you hold up in there?"
"I couldn't have made it without Lucky," Emily grinned.
Elizabeth returned her smile. "I know, Nikolas was a saint."
Emily recognized the tone in Liz's voice, knowing that she was feeling for Nikolas what she felt for Lucky. "Where is Nik?"
"Over there," Liz pointed. "He's calling to check on Lulu."
"Is she okay?"
"For now."
She started toward her ex-husband as he hung up the phone. His eyes went wide as he saw Emily, reaching his arms out to embrace her. As she wrapped her arms around him, she realized that she had never felt more like his friend. In such a reunion, she should feel elated to see the former love of her life, but her heart was still inside the Metrocourt with Lucky.
Nikolas asked a string of questions, all of which Emily answered. She explained where Lucky was, found out about Lulu and reassured both of her friends that she was fine. Just as she was about to say something, she heard a round of applause break out behind her. Turning around, she was ecstatic to see four men walking proudly from the hotel. Jason was slightly battered, with a gash over his left eye, but he was in good shape. Carly was the first to reach him, burying her face in his chest. Sonny was a few steps behind, covered from head to toe in dirt and dust. Luke was disheveled as he met Bobbie's waiting embrace, holding his little sister for a moment. Lucky was the final in the group, his blue eyes burning into Emily's.
"Lucky!" Elizabeth called, waving frantically. Nikolas stood next to her now, his hand resting on Liz's shoulder. Emily glanced at them for a second, noticing how cozy they seemed.
Lucky wasn't paying attention to anyone else, however. He was focused on his end goal, and that was Emily. She started toward him, hearing her heels clacking on the cement. He caught her in his arms briefly, holding her tightly. Closing his eyes tightly, he knew then that he would never be able to let her go.
