Note- Sadly I lost my inspiration for this story because the couples all are basically together, except for Madine, which means a lack of angst. That is very problematic as far as creating fiction is concerned. When I started this fic I fully intended to finish it though and not leave readers hanging.

I was amused to see that on GH Claudia took Carly hostage at the Metro Court just like Claudia did in this story.

What brings me back to try and write more of this fic wasn't that scene on GH though. It was a request for a new chapter from a reader.

Thanks to everyone who is coming back to read more of The Longest Night. I've written more chapters so there will be additional updates.

The Longest Night

This chapter takes place on February 8th in the city of Port Charles, New York between the hour of 3 am and 4 am.

Chapter Thirty Eight

The Tenth Hour- Part Four

3:48 am

Damian Spinelli felt like he had been played for a first class fool. He sat in Carly's office, feverishly working on his laptop to track down Claudia, and trying not to think about Maxie.

But over and over she came to his mind. And, over and over, he wondered why he ever believed that she would ever fall in love with him.

He pushed aside the connection he felt to Winnie because if he could have Maxie...a beautiful creature that was so far above him, at least in his mind she was....then he would give up any other woman on earth.

Now he saw that Maxie had just been using him. Or maybe she was too scared to love him back. But whatever she was afraid to share with him or what she did not feel for him she felt with force for The Dark Prince.

That was abundantly clear to the young hacker now.

It made him want to throw Maxie out of his life but he knew he never would. He cared too much for her. He also had made a vow to Georgie's memory to always stand by her sister. More than that he simply could not imagine his life without Maximista in it.

But he was starting to see she would never be in his bed. And at this particular moment he did not want her to be anyway. She was either shallow or a coward.

Whatever it was he was done with being her whipping boy or letting her emotionally tear him asunder. Tonight she broke the boy in him.

He would never give her the chance to break the man he was becoming.

His laptop made a pinging sound. He picked up his cell phone and called Jason. In a cold tone he left a voicemail "Stone Cold, the Jackal has located The Dastardly DA's vehicle and it is neither in the parking facility of this hotel or his own garage. Its located an hour north of here in a residential neighborhood. Since he is one of the few associates that Vixenella has made that may have vested interest in her survival it is a lead you may want to pursue."

Ending the call he went back to work searching plane, train and bus records to make sure Claudia did not slip out of town that way. He might be miserable in the romantic sense but he was still damn good at his profession and no broken heart was going to slow down The Jackal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

3:49 am

She was a fighter. Even with her back against the wall, like it was tonight, Claudia Zacchara was not going to lay down and give up.

But that didn't mean she wanted to drag Ric down with her.

It blew her mind that he actually gave enough of a damn about her to risk his life on her. Plenty of men who she took to her bed had told her that they loved her. She never believed any one of them. But she believed him.

Tonight she finally felt what love was.

It was as painful as she always feared it would be. It made her long for things she knew she would probably never have. Her time felt numbered.

She might live only a few more hours, maybe a few more days. Even if she lived months or years what kind of life would it be if she was on the run? She would be scared for Johnny if he was left behind.

She couldn't live with herself if she abandoned him.

So the only real option was to go back to Port Charles and fight. Scheme. Lie. Threaten. Anything and everything it took to survive.

She could figure out a way to keep Sonny from putting a hit on her. There had to be a way. Because if she did figure it out then she could do the one thing she had been living for most of her life: protect her kid brother.

And she could also learn about love.....with Ric....the guy she hooked up with for a thrill who became more than that to her. He became the only one who really understood how her mind worked. She didn't want to leave him behind either.

He was just as crazy as her. He had to be in order to love her. But he was crazy like a fox and sly as the devil. They made one hell of a good team.

He might be making the mistake of his life by sticking by her but she prayed that didn't prove to be true. She didn't want them both to go down in a blaze of bullets. She wanted to live and find out what it was like to be in love with a man who loved her back.

Something she had never known before.

Maybe after what happened to Michael she did not deserve to feel love or be loved. That boy was still laying in a coma, still wasting away the days of his young life in a bed in a rehab center because Ian Devlin was a moron when it came to being a hitman. He was in over his head from the start. A doctor who watched too many gangster movies and wanted to run with the bad boys and girls. It was a mistake to hire him. Claudia should have taken the job herself and then Sonny would be dead, John would be safe, and she would not be on the run right now.

From now on she planned to do the dirty work with her own two hands. In the morning she would get started on her plot to survive the fall out of Sonny learning the truth.

For right now she would just lay in Ric's arms, running her fingers along his skin, and marvel at what it felt like to be with a man who would go this far for her....farther than any other man ever had.

He broke the silence by saying "Your mind never shuts off, does it? I can hear the wheels turning right now."

"This isn't the night to stop scheming."

"Even for a few moments? You seriously need a nap. You can't take on my brother if you're exhausted."

"This is the fight of my life, Ric. If I screw this up I'm dead."

"We won't screw up. Sonny will not take you away from me. I won't allow that to happen."

Looking up at him she caressed his cheek with her hand. "I wouldn't blame you if you walked away from me....even if you gave me up to Sonny....you have your kid to consider."

"I'm not throwing you to the wolves. One of these days you're going to realize that there is someone else on this planet who you can trust other than your devoted little brother....there's me. I'm right here, God help me, and I'm not running away or letting you chase me off."

"You should hate me for what happened to Michael."

"I hate that my nephew got hurt but I don't for one second believe you intended that. You're not a heartless monster, Claudia, no matter what you try to portray yourself as." His finger slid over her jaw and down her chest, to her heart. "I think I even hear the ice in here thawing."

She chuckled and they started to kiss again. No other man could be who she needed tonight. No other man had it in him to understand and accept her at every level. Only Ric Lansing.

And that's why she found it so hard to believe in his love for her.....it was almost too good to be real.

But, as the night wore on, she was growing more and more sure that it was real. Because it would make sense to hate her and he couldn't. Instead he was helping her to survive.

And if that wasn't love then she didn't know what love was at all.

XXXXXXXXXXX

3:55 am

Nadine was all ready to rush up to Matt, talk a mile a minute, and make him see that even though she was hesitant about breaking up with Nikolas it did not mean she did not care deeply for Matt.

It was just that Nikolas was a Prince. A farm girl like her rarely, in the whole history of the world, got a chance with a Prince. It was a lot to just toss away.

But she would toss it away gladly for just one kiss from Matt. She searched for him around the hospital for fifteen minutes, with her whole speech in her head, but when she found him the words died on her throat.

He was standing outside of Robin's room, in the ICU, where his sister-in-law was barely clinging to life. She had been in a car accident earlier and ended up laying in the snow wearing only a dress, not much defense against the elements. Her baby daughter was in a snow suit and was doing much better than her mom.

Seeing the worried expression on Matt's face Nadine walked up to him and touched his arm. He jerked away from her.

Nadine promised "Robin will make it."

"You don't know that."

"She has a lot to live for."

"Like it works that way. My mother had a lot to live for too."

After a stunned moment of silence Nadine murmured "I'm really sorry that your Mom died last year, Matthew."

"I don't want your pity. Get back to work, Crowell." He turned and started to walk away.

She chased after him. "Wait a cotton picking minute there, buster. I had something I wanted to say to you."

"I'm not in the mood to deal with your drama anymore tonight."

"Oh yeah?" she taunted. Then she grabbed his white coat, yanked him against her and kissed him. When she broke their kiss they were both totally dazed. "I'm dumping a Prince for you so you better treat me right."

A grin tugged at the corner of his lips. "You're damn lucky to get a shot with me at all. I'm the most eligible bachelor in town."

"Yeah right."

"In this hospital?"

"Nope."

"In this hallway?"

She shrugged. They were standing there smiling at each other when Epiphany walked by and said "Is this a workplace or a singles bar? Get back to work!"

"Yes, Nurse Johnson," Nadine said as she turned and walked away.

Matt watched her go with a smile on his lips. Epiphany said "If you have enough time to flirt with nurses then maybe you should go down to the emergency room and see if you can be useful. That is what you get paid for, isn't it?"

"Page me if there is any change with Robin."

"That I can do. You try to concentrate on your work. Dr. Scorpio is getting this hospital's best treatment. You need to give your best to the other patients."

Matt headed for the elevator. For a moment his worry about Robin was muted by the memory of kissing Nadine. It had been a long time since he was this excited about a woman.

He only prayed that in the morning she didn't change her mind about dumping the Prince.