Lila sat down at her computer and opened the internet. Using the police departments search engine, she typed the name Mikhail Erosa into the program. Waiting for the results to pop up, she tapped her fingers on the desk impatiently. As she did her mind wandered to her current predicament.

Part of her wished that she wasn't in the pregnancy situation. If she had never had one drunken night with Cameron, she wouldn't be pregnant right now. She thought of that night two months ago.

**Flashback**

Lila sat on the corner bar stool staring at her beer. She'd had one hell of a day. She'd been in court all day debating a case regarding drinking and driving. A local teen had spent one night out partying and had topped the legal level for blood alcohol. Then that teen had proceeded to drive home. While driving on a darkened road, that teen had sped out of control and slammed into another car carrying a pregnant woman and her sixteen year old daughter. The daughter had been killed and the mother had been in a coma in the two months since the accident.

Lila had been acting as a public defender for the accused teen and it wasn't looking good. Even though she knew the driver was guilty, she didn't want this child who'd made one mistake to go to jail for the rest of his life.

She sighed and took another sip of her beer. It was her second one tonight. She was planning on drinking herself into oblivion and then pay a cab to pour her at her apartment door. It would be better than sitting at home while wallowing in her insufficiency as a lawyer.

"Hey." The word came from behind her. She glanced behind her and through bleary eyes, made out the general form of a man.

"What?" she asked shortly. She took another swig of the beer and didn't even try to figure out who the male form was.

"What's up with you this fine evening?" Cam asked, taking a seat next to Lila and motioning at Coleman. He ordered a beer and turned to face the sullen woman next to him.

"Speak for yourself," she grumbled, frowning before taking a glance as to whom exactly was sitting next to her. "Cameron."

"Thanks for noticing. Just how many have you had tonight?" he asked, motioning to the half-empty beer bottle.

"Enough."

"Oh come on Lila, give it up."

Coleman swaggered over and dropped the beer in front of Cameron. "She's have plenty tonight. A little thing like her can't drink too much." With a nod to Cam, he walked to the other end of the bar. "I'll make coffee."

"I don't want…or need coffee," she mumbled. She raised her bottle as if motioning for another. Cam shook his head and took the bottle from her.

"I think that you've had enough. Tell me what's wrong, Sugar."

"Leave me alone, Sugar," she slapped out. And motioned again for another beer.

"I heard about court today. You know that he's guilty and deserves whatever the judge doles out," Cameron commented, knowing that it would get her fired up.

She turned on him, furious. "What he deserves? He's a child! A child—"

He cut her off. "A child who took the life of another child."

"He's a child who made one grave mistake. He doesn't deserve to go to jail for the rest of his life and that's what he's going to get. You can't tell me that you have never drank too much and then driven home."

Cam nodded. "No, but I never caused an accident. He killed one person and put two more in a coma—if you count the unborn child," he added. He took a small sip of the beer.

"He has already paid for his mistake. The guilt alone is enough punishment. I just want to keep him out of jail for the rest of his natural life."

"So you are drowning your lack of skill in court in a beer tonight. Smooth choice, Einstein," he finished. Then he did something that was unexpected. Leaning closer, he whispered in her ear, "the whole day that I watched you work in court, I imagined doing this…"

He placed a tender kiss on her lip and she felt herself become drawn in and moved closer to him. He deepened the kiss and she felt herself stray close to that edge. Then somewhere in her alcohol-induced haze, she stepped back.

"Cam, no. we can't do this." She used her hands to push away but he resisted and pulled her closer.

"Take a chance Lila. You took a chance on that boy in court, take one on me now." still holding her, he pushed back from the bar and lifted her off the stool. Ignoring Coleman's amused grin, he pulled her towards the staircase at the back of the room. Leading the way up the stairs, they fell together on the old bed in the musty room.

They moved out of sync, pulling each other clothes hurriedly and tossing them to the floor. Then, Cam pushed against her and Lila felt herself fall off that ledge of oblivion.

**End Flashback**

The computer beeped to let her know the search was completed. Lila was brought back to the present and blinked her eyes as the winter sun streamed in through the window. She'd been so caught up in her memories that she hadn't realized that the computer was finished.

Shaking her head, she glanced at the screen and smiled when the name had picked up a hit. Clicking the link, she scanned the information, looking for a match of the name. Then she smiled. That was it!

Mikhail Erosa. Son of Marianna Erosa and unknown father. Born in Mar Del Plata, Argentina in July of 2008. Twin to Anya Erosa. Mother died of cancer in 2031. Lila's smile grew as she read on, but then if fell. Mikhail Erosa was employed by Trevor Lansing—Ric Lansing's supposedly dead father. This story just kept getting murkier and murkier.

Sighing, she glanced at the clock and gauged that she could finish her research in twenty minutes and then run to the hospital to speak with Ric Lansing. Maybe, if she was lucky, Mattie could fit her appointment in early so that she wouldn't have to go back later.

It was definitely worth trying anyway.

GH*GH*GH*GH*GH

Spinelli stopped by the East entrance of Port Charles Park. From where he stood, he could see her sitting on the stone bench…very near the steps where her body had supposedly been found some thirty years earlier.

He took a hesitant step inside the park, not quite sure of what to say to the woman he'd once loved.

But she heard him, even though snow covered the ground and deafened any noise. She lifted her head from where it rested on her knees and smiled at the man she'd once thought of as her best friend in the whole world.

"Come to check up on me?"

Spinelli crossed the space quickly now, taking a seat next to her on the cold bench. "You didn't come down for breakfast. Maxie was worried."

Georgie sighed. "I'm sorry." She turned away from him.

Spinelli frowned. "What do you have to be sorry for? None of it is your fault; in fact, it's no one's fault."

"I heard you and Maxie last night—in the kitchen."

Spinelli looked surprise for a moment, but then nodded. "Then you know that I looked you up."

"Yes, and I'm not angry. I'm somewhat relieved."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Then, at least, I don't have to tell you everything. Because I don't know if I could."

"Why don't you try?" Spinelli pressed. He didn't like secrets, and would rather get this one done and over with.

"How can one explain that their family was killed in cold blood? How the hell does anyone expect me to explain that I watched those people murder my husband and daughter? I was forced to witness their execution!" tears spilled from her eyes and she shouted into the empty park.

Spinelli wanted so badly to turn away, to tell her that she didn't have to tell him anything, but he knew that there was no way to do that—not now. "I'm sorry. There's nothing else I can say, but that I'm so, so sorry."

"They were supposed to be safe. The WSB said that they would be protected. Nothing was supposed to happen to them. My beautiful little girl, gone just like that," she cried, the tears making tracks down her face.

"Who?"

Georgie took a breath, wiped the moisture away from her eyes. "I was investigating a drug smuggling ring out of South America. I was the head of the team working that case. We'd been at it for more than a year and we were so close. We even had inside agents. But then it just went so wrong…" her voice broke, and she didn't know if she could continue. But she knew she had no choice. "They were being watched—my daughter and my husband. There were pictures, Amelia coming out of school and dance class, Dante coming out of the coffee shop, going to work. Then they both were kidnapped. They took them and-and they demanded ransom." She covered her face and her body shook from her weeping.

Spinelli pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. He closed his eyes and wished that he hadn't pushed. "I'm so sorry."

She pulled away suddenly. Her eyes went to the empty forest. Her voice sounded hollow when she spoke. "I was working on a lead with my partner. Someone grabbed me from behind. They blind folded me and stuffed me in a car. They took me to an abandoned warehouse. I saw my family tied up. They put me where I could have a perfect view. It was like that for hours. The taunting and teasing. Then they got bored and just started firing off shots…" she sucked in a breath, began again. "One of the shots ricocheted off the wall a-and hit my little girl. It hit her right in the head. She was dead before she fell to the floor. Then, as if for fun, the gunman shot my husband in the chest. Just like that, they were gone." She jumped up, prowled the clearing. "I watched them kill my family in cold blood and now I come back here and everyone expects me to be normal," she cried out and Spinelli felt her pain.

He stood up, walked to her, held her close to him. "I wish that I could help you. But I can't. And I hate that."

She turned to him, kissed his cheek. "I know that you do Spinelli. You always wanted to help and in a way, you have. I've never told anyone what happened exactly. I've never told anyone that I watched them kill my family or that I sat in that room for eight hours with my dead family."

"Oh Georgie."

Then she stopped. "Please don't pity me. I don't usually do this-this falling apart. I have come to terms with this. But I do not need the pity."

Spinelli nodded. He took her hand. "What do you say we go to Kelly's, get some coffee, warm up?"

Georgie smiled now. "That's the best offer I've had in a long time. You know, Spinelli, I'm really glad that you married my sister. You two are perfect for each other." As they walked out of the park, Georgie leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "And Thanks for listening to me rant. I really want to tell Maxie, but I can't. Not right now. So I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell her."

He nodded. "I won't tell her, but I hope that you will do it very soon. I don't like to keep secrets from her. And she really needs to know."

"I know. I just need time to figure out how to tell her."

"All right. Now about that coffee…" Together they walked away from the park and towards the restaurant where they'd met each other.

GH*GH*GH*GH*GH

Cameron sat back and stared at the computer screen. He'd been doing his own research on the Ric Lansing shooting and wasn't all too sure where it was going. He couldn't find the connection between drug boss Mikhail Erosa and Ric Lansing. He'd probably have to go speak with Ric before long anyway.

Sighing, he reached for the photo at the edge of his desk. It was of Lila and had been taken at the Halloween party at the Metrocourt. They were both dressed up in costumes—him as a sheriff and she as Wonder Woman—and were smiling wildly at the camera. More than likely they'd already consumed more than the proper amount of champagne. But the thing that caught his attention was that they were happy. They'd had such a simple relationship just two months earlier and now it was far more complicated.

He set the photo back on the desk and rose to grab his police issue and his jacket. He needed to get to the hospital to speak with Lansing. Then maybe this case would go somewhere.

* * * * *

Cameron came to a stop in front of Ric's hospital room just as Lila rounded the corner. Gone was the fact that they were very much involved when she marched up to him, her mouth set in a line.

"What do you think that you are doing, Detective?"

"I'm going to speak with the victim. I just received word that he was awake," Cam replied, hating the fact that they were all too often on opposing sides.

"Not without his counsel, you aren't," she retorted, smoothly entering the room before Cam had a chance to reply. "Good afternoon Mr. Lansing. I'm Lila Alcazar."

Ric looked up from the magazine he was half-heartedly studying. "Hello" he asked, confused as to why she was at the foot of his bed.

"DA Davis sent me as your counsel…and as it happens, Detective Spencer is here to ask you a few questions. Do you feel up to answering?"

"If it will help find whoever did this to me, then I'm in the best of health," Ric grumbled. He was the cliché man—the worst sort of patient.

Cameron stepped forward. "Okay, first I'd like to know if you received any threats in the days prior to the ball at Wyndemere. Any strange phone calls or letters? Anything out of the ordinary"

Ric frowned, silent as he thought back to those days that already seemed a lifetime ago. Then he shook his head. "No, I can't remember anything. There was nothing that was different."

Cameron nodded, worrying that the lead was already approaching a dead-end. But that was okay, on to the next question. "Okay, is there anyone who could possibly want to hurt you? Anyone who may hold a grudge against you, currently?"

"He means: have you pissed anyone off lately?" Lila interjected dryly. She could already see that this interview was going nowhere.

"You mean other than my ex-wives and my daughters?" he asked only half-serious. It was well known that Alexis only tolerated him because he was the father of her daughter and an associate. Molly couldn't stand him, but would never willingly hurt him. And Sarah believed that he was a giant waste of time and air space, but as a cop, would never intentionally cause him harm. Claudia, on the other hand, thought he was a moron and a pawn, but, like her daughter, wasn't about to put out a hit on him because she knew that there was too many secrets at stake. Then he sobered. "No, I'm sorry, Detective. I can't think of anyone who hasn't already tried to hurt me."

Cameron sighed. It was time to pull out the big guns now. "Okay, counselor. Do you recall a woman by the name of Marianna Erosa?" He expected Ric to shake his head and was thoroughly surprised to see a shadow pass over the man's face. "Mr. Lansing?"

Lila jumped in to his rescue. "Mr. Lansing? Are you all right? Maybe we should stop for now. You just woke up from a coma and we don't want to jeopardize your recovery. We'll stop—"

She was cut off by Ric's headshake. He held up a hand to stop her. "No, I'm fine. It was just a little shock. I haven't heard that name in a long time. Too long."

"So you knew her." This was from Cameron, who had pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil from the pocket of his jacket. Now they are finally getting somewhere.

Ric nodded. "Marianna was employed by my father. Trevor had hired her to seduce me in order to get me to give up the ownership of the Lorenzo Alcazar's waterfront warehouses."

Lila flinched slightly at the name of the father she didn't know. She'd never met him as he'd been shot when she was a baby. She only knew him from her mother's very biased point of view. Skye had once loved him, but had then despised the fact that he was the father of her only child.

"And did she do the job?"

"Yes, she did. That is, until she fell in love with me and I with her. Then she was going to be deported back to—" Ric trailed off, as if he couldn't remember something.

"Argentina," Lila supplied as Ric nodded.

"Yes, Argentina. And because I had fallen in love with her, I offered to marry her in order to keep her in the country."

"And did you?"

"Almost. Then I heard her talking on her cell phone. I didn't know who she was talking to but then I traced the phone call back to my father. She was just a beautiful woman from a poor village in Argentina who had been hired by Trevor to get back at me. I sent her packing after that. Last thing I heard, she'd been deported."

"Have you been in contact since?" Cameron asked, noting the new development down on the paper. Already his mind was racing with possible conclusions. But one was blatant because he could relate at the moment.

Ric shook his head. "No, I haven't talked to her in almost thirty years. Excuse me, Detective. I'm confused here. What does a business deal that went wrong three decades ago have to do with me now?"

"Mr. Lansing. We believe the man involved with your shooting was Marianna's son. Mikhail Erosa. Born in July of 2008," Lila replied coolly. She too could see where this was going and was afraid that the news would cause Ric to have a heart attack.

Ric's face went ashen. His mind was also considering the possibilities—at lightning speed. He mentally counted the months between Marianna's departure and the birth of her son. It was, as he expected and was afraid of, nine months. He looked up at the steely face of Lila Alcazar. "Is there a chance that Marianna was pregnant with my child when she left?"

"You tell me." Cameron replied.

"I-I don't know. Really, I don't know. But I'd like to know. Have you found this Mikhail?" Ric looked worried.

Cameron sighed and shook his head. "Not yet, but we believe that he is here in Port Charles. And the moment we do, we will be questioning him. Rest assured, we will get to the bottom of this and if Erosa did shoot you, then we will prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law."

Ric nodded. "Thank you, officer. But I do have one request: when you find him, I'd like a DNA test to find out if he is my son."

Lila spoke up. "Of course, Mr. Lansing. But I do need to let you know something else. According to research, Mikhail Erosa has a twin sister named Anya. So if he is your son, you also have a daughter."

Ric's eyes widened as he took in the information. Lila glanced at Cameron, unsure of what to say. Just then a nurse entered the room and walked to the bed. Lila gathered her purse and jacket and nodded to Cameron.

"I will contact you later when we get more information, Mr. Lansing," Lila said as she and Cameron exited the room. They walked down the hallway toward the nurses' station.

Cameron turned to Lila. "I thought for a moment that Ric was going to have a heart attack."

Lila smiled. "I know, but that reaction is to be expected when you find out that you have a child that you never knew about."

"I can relate to some extent," Cameron replied dryly. Lila slapped his stomach with her briefcase. He laughed as grabbed his abdomen as slight pain skittered across his body. "Ow!"

"Oh don't be a baby," Lila replied. "Are you still coming by later?"

"Yeah, I'll be there. How are you?"

She frowned. "I'm fine. Really, I'm not sick."

"Okay, I promise you that I will try not to be one of those neurotic new fathers."

She grinned. "Okay, I'll settle for that." She leaned up and kissed him as he entered the elevator. As the doors closed, she waved.

GH*GH*GH*GH*GH