(Author's Notes- Hi guys! Thanks for the great reviews!! Sorry for the wait...it took me a few days to write this...this is a long chapter. It might be a little drawn out, sorry about that, I ran out of things for everyone to say. Overall however, I think this is a pretty good chatper. Hope you like it!! Please Read and Review!! Thanks!!! --Am)

Chapter #15- Part 1- Shocked To The Core...

2015

It has been 5 years since Serena and her 4 children were last in Port Charles.

Serena is now 31, Anthony & Darien are 15, and Arianna and Sierra are now 10 years old.

Luke, Lucky, Liz, and Nikolas all searched for Serena, the kids and Emily relentlessly, but to no avail.

Lucky, especially was quite livid with Emily. All he could think about for the last number of years is why Emily couldn't trust them enough to tell them what was going on with her. He was furious for the fact that Emily thought she had to do things on her own...it doesn't change the fact that he also loved the missing musketeer - as did everyone else.

Adding to Lucky's anger, is the confusion surrounding Serena. How bad was the break up between her and Juan (of all people) that Darien had to speak out, and then they leave that same night? What caused Sierra to hyperventilate in school? What was Serena running from? It was bad enough his best friend since he was 11 years old was running away for reasons unknown, but now someone he considers a good friend, and is a damn good parent to 4 young children has ran away too.

Elizabeth, as much as she missed her, was sometimes wondering if Emily was even alive anymore...She knew from that song dedication 5 years prior, that was Emily. But, Emily still hadn't contacted anyone. Liz wondered if Emily even wanted to be found anymore...Liz was terrified for her best friend. She just wanted her home safe...they all did.

Serena was another story entirely. From what Serena told her, she and her children didn't have an easy life. And yes, the Juan twist didn't help any. Liz knew Serena was running from something or someone...but what? What has that family so scared, that they have to leave town in the middle of the night? Elizabeth wished to find all 6 of her friends...hoping they could meet...Liz just worried if she'd see any of them alive again...

Nikolas knew just about as much as Elizabeth. And he ruled on Serena's court hearing! He was really worried at what Serena is doing right now to survive, to keep supporting her children, and to keep them alive. He's wondering if she even has her children anymore. He saw it in her eyes that day – if her children were to be taken away from her, Serena would die. He saw it clear as day – Serena needed her children to survive – That was a given. That thought scared him so. He really hoped they were all ok.

Emily's situation scared him just as bad, if not more. The last time he saw her – hell any of them saw her, Emily was just 16! Granted there was that song dedication 5 years ago. Yes, it was one small indication Emily was alive, but one indication in 15 years barley counts in his book. His brother, Elizabeth, and himself searched endlessly for her for another 5 years, (as well as Serena & the kids) after that dedication. No one could find her – not even Luke. It unnerved him to think that Emily could out-hide and out-run Luke Spencer of all people. It shook all 4 of them (Luke, Lucky, Liz, and Nikolas) for that matter. Especially Luke.) He also wondered what caused Emily to run away at 16 and stay away for another 15 years without a single ounce of contact. He, Lucky, Liz, & Luke analyzed that letter over and over, tried reading between the lines but came up with nothing. No solid indication of why Emily left, beyond what she said in the letter itself.

Nikolas however, did find on similarity in Emily and Serena – they both ran away whether to protect loved ones, or if they're problems engulfed them so much they felt everyone was going to turn their backs on them.

Luke...what can be said about what Luke Spencer is feeling? Guilty as sin. Guilty at the "what ifs" running through his head. He was extremely surprised that Emily, his Sunshine, his beautiful, full of life Emily out-ran & out-hid him...that terrified him. He knew she was as good as she was because of him. He just prayed she didn't have to do any self-degrading things while not home. He knew he should have told Lucky & everyone when Em first ran. But when his son came to him 5 years ago with Em's song dedication, he had a flicker of hope. He "helped" with the search when Emily first went missing, but respected her wishes too much to bust her when he had the chance. He wasn't sure if he yet regretted what he'd done for Emily. Luke would have to wait until Emily returned. That was a definite in his book – there were no "what ifs" in his vocabulary about Emily's return. Emily was coming home...one day.

Luke was also worried about this Serena, and her 4 children that he heard about. He never met them, but from what Nik. Lucky, & Liz were telling him, they were all pretty special. He hoped they were all ok.

Lucky and Elizabeth were now married, still wishing Emily, Serena, and Serena's kids were around. They felt bad that they couldn't be there. Lucky and Liz had a small private wedding, only inviting family and friends. Nikolas was Lucky's best man, and Lucky's mother, Laura was Liz's maid of honor. They went on a honeymoon to Hawaii, courtesy of Nikolas. They were very happy, but longed in wondering what happened to those they loved that couldn't be apart of their special day.

Work wise, Nikolas and Lucky were now teaching 10th grade, while Elizabeth now taught 5th grade art. PC High and PC Elementary were now combined schools. This change was done because PC's Board of Education felt each school on its own was too small.

PC Middle and High School- Spring-

It was mid-afternoon when 2 boys of about 15 years old came to class. Most of their classes were in the same end of the school, but the only 2 classes they had together were in the morning: English and Science. Unfortunately they missed those two classes. They felt very awkward being in school once again. They hadn't been in school since they were 10. They missed the educational environment.

2 girls of about 10 years old also have very different schedules, with the exception of middle class – art. They were also very glad to be back in school. They also had missed art.

Both sets of twins actually had one class all together: lunch. This "class" they didn't miss. They were all certain of one thing: they couldn't WAIT for their first few classes of the day, and they couldn't wait to see their favorite teachers again.

5 Towns Over from PC-

Serena Stevenson still wasn't sure if she made the correct decision in leaving her 4 children unattended and by themselves in another town.

She knew the monster's were close, and hopefully only went after her instead of staying behind and going after her children.

They found her.

"Well, well, well, Juan. Look who we have here" Snarled Tom Baker.

"Yes...it's been awhile, hasn't it Serena?" Juan said.

"Leave me alone. It's been years. Why can't you just stop torturing me and the ones I love?" Serena pleaded.

"Easy, because we want to – that's why!" Juan said.

As they both approached Serena, she whipped out her mace that she carried everywhere she went and sprayed them. She then ran for her life...

"You little street-rat!!!" Both yelled in union, while trying to run after her.

"We hurt you twice before and we'll get you again! That's a promise!!! We will torture you!! Then we'll get custody of the kids and then we will go after your friends!!" Tom yelled.

Unbeknownst to them, 5 undercover cops were walking by at the time and 4 of them tackled Juan and Tom to the ground, while the 5th went after Serena to get her to calm down.

"Do you have any weapons on you? Anything that I can get stuck with? Anything illegal?" Said one of the officers.

"No" Tom and Juan said.

As they were both being searched, an officer found drugs and an oversized pocket knife on both suspects.

"Well, well boys, you lied. Drugs and a pocket knife, very nice...looks like you boys are going to jail."

"You two are under arrest for attempted and threatening violence, as well as drug possession. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will be used against you. You have the right to an attorney, and if you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you by the court. Do you understand these rights as they are given?"

"Yes." Both suspects answered as the 4 officers put them in the back of 2 squad cars.

Meanwhile the 5th officer has caught up with Serena who is still trying to run desperately to get away. "Miss! Miss! It's ok, hang on. No one is going to hurt you."

"You don't understand what those two can do. Trust me, you have no idea!" Serena said as the officer got her to stop running.

"Listen, if you testify against them, they—"

"NO! Please!!! I can't....I can't." Serena whispered.

"Why not?" asked the officer.

"Because...I just can't. There's too much at stake here." Serena said.

"And you're telling me you'll be safer if you let these monsters run loose?" Said the officer in shock.

"Not necessarily. But as long as they continue to come after me, they won't go after those I love." Serena said.

After a moment the officer thought of something...

"Are you being blackmailed?"

Serena didn't answer him, nor did she meet his eyes.

"I'll take that as a yes. You know that's illegal, right? They have no right to blackmail you."

"Look! I know blackmail is illegal – trust me I've been blackmailed before. It's safer if I don't put them away...I can't explain how, but it just is. Please let it go. I don't want them free anymore than you do – because they don't deserve it. But if I were to put them in jail...let's just say there are ideas that they could probably get in there...Ideas that I don't even want to think about..." Serena said.

"So you are being blackmailed. What happens if you put them in jail?" Asked the officer calmly, not wanting to scare Serena off.

"People I love will be in danger and get hurt. I can't risk that! I refuse to risk that!"

"How? If they're in jail, they can't do anything." Said the officer, confused and frustrated.

"Oh come on! We know the legal system can't watch everyone!! Look, if I put these guys in jail, then those I love are sitting ducks! If I don't put these guys in jail, they'll continue to keep their focus on me, taking their focus off of everyone else. If I put them in jail, those I love are guaranteed to get hurt in some way. If not, then that risk factor is a lot smaller. I'd rather these monsters continue to chase after me, instead of having those I love be blindsided by what would happen otherwise." Serena said tearfully.

"I admire someone of your caliber in your devotion and dedication to the ones you on, there's got to be something we can put them away on." Said the officer.

"Good luck...because everything I have on them, they're forbidding me to use..."Serena said.

As they both walked toward the other officers, they were told that drugs and a knife were found on each of the suspects.

"I'm Officer Smith by the way." He said.

"I'm Serena."

PC Middle/High School – Cafeteria-

As both sets of twins settled in to the Café for lunch, they were all worried about one person – their mother.

One girl sat, busily drawing and coloring on her sketch pad, the other girl read a book, one boy tried to figure out science equations, and the other boy just sat there, lost in thought.

Lucky & Liz Spencer, and Nikolas Cassadine walked through the halls of PC M/H. As they passed the cafeteria, one student caught Lucky's eye and stopped him cold.

"...Darien?" Lucky questioned every so quietly, as Liz and Nik heard him.

Darien was shaken out of his thoughts and broke out into a smile.

"Mr. Spencer!"

Soon, Arianna, Sierra, and Anthony's heads all popped up from what they were doing and also broke out into large smiles.

"It's great to see you guys!! Where have you been?" Liz asked.

"...it'd probably be better if we not tell you here..." Anthony said.

"Come on, lets go outside." Nik suggested as they all headed out.

Outside-

"So what's been going on? Where'd you guys for 5 years?" Lucky asked with curiosity.

"Well, as you figured out, we ran. The guy at the Grille that day really freaked mom out. She had a feeling if we stayed, everyone – including all of you – would get hurt in some way. Mom wasn't willing to take that risk...so we took off." Anthony started.

"Where is your mom now?" Asked Nikolas.

"She's a few towns over in court...we think someone different is trying to take us away from her again...speaking of which, she wants us to find this place, "The Brownstone" to get a room to say in." Anthony said.

"Don't worry, my aunt owns the place." Said Lucky.

"Anyway, back to when we ran...None of us were happy about leaving. I looked at it, in a large sense then, that we were finally home. Mom definitely seemed to be home, whether she was willing to admit it or not. I was mad because I believed that I didn't help the situation with my outburst. Our mother, being who she always is, told me that we probably would have had to run regardless of whether my outburst happened or not. That guy still recognized her. She got scared..." Darien said.

"I was mad that we had to leave...We were just beginning to feel safe! We were there for months! Then that guy had to show...we had to leave..." Arianna said.

"Look, we were all upset Ari. Mom did what she thought was best, even if she didn't want to leave herself. You saw how upset she was. I was confused myself. I always wondered why we had to leave, if you guys were willing to be our friends, and friends protect each other...I guess mom thought the enemies we were running from were too much for only a few people to handle..." Sierra said sticking up for their mother.

"True...I'm just still a little mad." Agreed Arianna.

"Its ok to be angry, Arianna...I know what it's like." Lucky said.

"You do?" Asked Ari, her attention now solely focused on her teacher with the blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes.

"Yeah, when I was young, about 5, my parents and I were moving from place to place too. No one really liked it all that much but it was necessary. And we all ended up ok...when I finally settled here in PC, I met one of my best friends." Lucky said in remembrance.

"What was her name, if you don't mind going into it?" Darien asked.

"Sure...her name was Emily, I met her when she was 11. She was going through a really, really rough time...I'd go into it, but I want to respect her privacy...anyway, we had our rough times, we fought, but we forgave each other and we stayed best friends. Then my brother here came along..." Lucky trailed off and gave his brother a look to see if it was ok to continue. Nik nodded and continued.

"Lucky and I didn't get along with each other, when I first came to town..." At the kids confusion, "We are by blood, only half brothers, but we've grown since we first met, and we consider ourselves full brothers...anyway we hated each other. It was mostly due to old family rivalry, fights, and such." Nikolas said.

"Now, before Elizabeth came to town, there was Emily. She was the first friend I made in PC. See, where some of my family come from, I am considered royalty – I'm not just saying that, it's actually true. In Greece, I am a Prince. Point is, Emily didn't see me as a prince. She just saw me as Nikolas. Nikolas the person, Nikolas the human being, just Nikolas. She treated me as such, nothing out of the ordinary. She treated me, just as she'd treat any of her other friends. Soon Elizabeth came to town. We all had our share of bad situations. 2 of those situations, which I won't mention out of confidentiality, privacy, and respect, (and in addition you guys should never have to know any of this stuff) brought myself, Lucky, Elizabeth, and Emily together. Technically lets just say that Elizabeth and Emily forced Lucky and I to look past our differences and become friends." Nikolas said.

"From then on, when everything was resolved, we named ourselves "The Four Musketeers." We were inseparable. And once every year, we would close down Kelly's Diner and have ourselves an Musketeer Party with brownies. We'd each make a small speech and feed a piece of brownie to each other. We promised always to remain friends forever. Unfortunately, Emily suddenly ran away when we were a little older than you boys are now, and we're still trying to find her. We searched for years for her but nothing has come up. She hasn't contacted us since she left, with the exception of a song dedication about 5 years to think of it, it was the same night you guys left town." Elizabeth finished up.

"I remember Emily's picture. Anthony, Ari, and I were staying at the Quartermaine mansion while Sierra was in the hospital that day...Arianna asked why she looked different from everyone else. Dr. Monica Quartermaine said she was adopted, and they told us what it was. She looked like the type who would be forever loyal and always help those she loved." Darien said.

"She was, and still is." Said Liz.

5 Towns Over from PC - Courtroom-

After a quick trial, Juan Santiago and Tom Baker were both found guilty of drug possession and threatening Serena, her children, and her friends, however something caught the Judge's eye...

"What's this of you saying you'll get custody of Ms. Stevenson's children?...Is she an ex-girlfriend, ex-wife, ex-lover perhaps?" Asked the judge.

"Ex-girlfriend." They both replied.

"Ms. Stevenson, do you know who the father of your children is?"

"No." Serena replied in a shameful whisper, scared out of her mind at the retaliation that could be building in the minds of her tormentors...

"Would you like the court to conduct a paternity test to see who their father is?" Asked the Judge.

"Yes please." Serena said as if she were a 5 year old child, scared of the dark...yet Serena was scared of the dark – scared of the dark that was behind her own eyes when she closed them.

"I have their blood work from a recent regular blood test." Serena added.

"Good, I'll have the results tomorrow. Court is adjourned for today."

The Next Day – Court-

"I have the results to the paternity tests concerning Anthony, Darien, Arianna, and Sierra Stevenson..." Said the Judge.

Serena held her breath. She was terrified.

"In the case of both sets of twins, Juan Santiago...you are NOT the father."

Serena squinted her eyes shut at the fact that she realized she would have rather betrayed herself by having Juan be the father of her 4 children. Instead, it looked as if the betrayal was worse – Tom Baker, her blackmailer, her tormentor, and her fear was the father, and Serena therefore betrayed the friends that trusted her most.

"In the case of both sets of twins, Tom Baker...you are NOT the father."

"What?" Came the shocked reply of a few observers.

"NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" It took Serena a few minutes to realize that the scream she heard, was coming from her own mouth.

(Author's Note- Now was that a twist or what?!! Hope you liked it. I am so not making anyone's life very easy am I? I'm evil I tell you, EVIL lol j/k :) Now on to Chapter #15, Part #2...Please Read and Review!! Thanks!! --Am)