Nadine stayed with Kendra while Spinelli drove Georgie to the hospital the next day. Patrick asked to speak to him privately and took him to the nursery, where Emma was asleep.

"She's beautiful," he said, smiling at her through the window and remembering watching his own daughter through the same glass three months ago.

Patrick nodded absently.

"I can't do this," he said in a soft, pained voice. "If Robin dies, I can't-"

"You can and you will, Emma will need you if Robin dies," Spinelli said firmly. "I do not believe that will happen, but if it does you will be Emma's only parent."

"I'm not prepared to be a single father!"

"Do you think I was prepared? I got everything ready. I took the parenting classes. Kendra had her own room set up and decorated four months before she was even born. It's a daunting prospect, but I knew she needed me and I did what needed to be done, physically, emotionally and financially. I did everything I could, planned for every contingency I could think of, but I was still absolutely terrified."

"This is actually why I asked to speak with you. I- I need to know- How do you do it? How do you do all this on your own? I mean, babies are completely dependent on you. How do you know if you're doing the right thing? How do you know what they need? They can't tell you what they need or want; all they can do is cry. They have no way to express themselves, so how do you know you're not scarring the kid for life?"

Spinelli smiled. These were his most pressing questions when he'd joined the parenting class.

"Their cries are how they express themselves. You learn to know her "Daddy, I'm hungry" cry from her "Daddy, change me" cry. You learn when she's crying because she's tired and when she's crying because she's scared or upset. You learn to notice her expressions and behaviors, and just as importantly, you learn to trust your instincts."

"What if my instincts are wrong?"

"Then you learn from that, too. The best advice I can give you is to listen to her with your heart, as well as your ears."

Patrick looked doubtful. Spinelli suddenly found it strange but exhilarating that he could give this kind of advice with such confidence. He'd given advice in his parenting class to expectant parents after Kendra was born, but it never felt like this. Patrick was a friend, and he was older. Spinelli had never thought he would be giving advice to someone like Patrick Drake on anything. The best part was that he knew without a shred of doubt what to say and how to say it.

"Think about how you feel when you hold her," Spinelli said, smiling as he remembered Kelly putting Kendra into his arms for the first time. "Would you ever give up that feeling?"

Patrick shook his head.

"Will you ever find anything to equal those feelings?"

"No."

"Then, if need be, if the unthinkable occurs, you will raise your daughter."

Patrick looked from Spinelli to his daughter. She was waking up. He stared at her for a minute, then looked back at Spinelli.

"You're right. But Emma shouldn't grow up without Robin either."

Spinelli nodded.

"The Newly Maternal Life-saving One must be reminded of the bright and joyous future ahead of her. Most Welcome Emma is Robin's cure. Take her to see her mother. Put her in Robin's arms and remind her that she needs to stay for your daughter."

As he gratefully gripped Spinelli's shoulder, Patrick smiled tiredly; now there was hope in his eyes.

"Thank you, Spinelli."

He smiled and waved as Patrick ran into the nursery to get his daughter.

As he and Georgie were about to leave the hospital, Anna ran after them.

"Georgie, wait! She's awake!"

"What?" Georgie asked.

Anna caught up to them and hugged them both tightly. Spinelli smiled, both moved and surprised. Anna hardly knew him; he felt proud to be included in this family moment, even by a virtual stranger.

"Robin's awake! Patrick brought Emma to see her and she woke up!"

"Thank God!" Georgie said, laughing and crying.

"Most uplifting news, indeed," Spinelli said, kissing Georgie's forehead.

Anna kissed his cheek.

"Spinelli, I don't know what you said to Patrick, but he was a different man when he walked into that room."

"What did you say to him?" Georgie asked.

"I just gave him the benefit of my experience as a single father. Admittedly, I've only had three months of experience, but it was enough that I knew what to tell a new parental unit."

"Parental unit," Anna said with an affectionate laugh.

They went back to the room and Robin asked if Spinelli would like to hold his honorary niece.

"Gracious greetings, Most Welcome Emma," he said, smiling at the baby as Patrick put her in his arms.

He couldn't wait to introduce her to Kendra. Emma would be the first friend she had who was close to her age. He hoped these two would be friends for life.

His Granny had raised him since he was small. His parents had been gone for years. Granny had given him all the guidance she could, but couldn't help him make friends. When all the other boys were deciding who to pick for their sports teams, little Damien was picking out which computer game he wanted to play, or which book he wanted to read next. He just wasn't into sports and everything else boys his age liked. He was his own person and that had made him an outcast.

Granny had tried to get him to play with the other boys, but they had looked at him strangely and ignored him. She'd asked him a number of times what he'd done to make the other boys angry with him. He'd tried to explain that they weren't angry, that they just didn't like him because he didn't share their interests, but she didn't understand.

She'd taught him to respect women. She'd taught him to do what he thought was right, and sometimes he'd forgotten or disregarded that advice, but that was before all his experiences in Port Charles. Granny had been right the last time he'd seen her in person. He wasn't a little boy anymore. In the next breath, she'd threatened him with Granddaddy's belt, but then he still had some little boy in him. Now he was a grown man with a baby and a girlfriend, and thanks to his Granny and his friends, he knew how to be a good father.

He didn't have childhood friends; he'd been ostracized before puberty. He was just too different. All his true friendships had been formed in Port Charles. Things would be different for Kendra. With the help of their surrogate family, he would see to it that she grew up to be a well-adjusted, intelligent, socially accepted individual who was not afraid to be unique. He would give Kendra everything his Granny, as well as everyone he loved in Port Charles, had given him.