It's past three in the morning before I see Alan again. Asleep in a spare room at the hospital, he startles me when he flips on the bright fluorescent light overhead. Tracey is asleep in the bed next mine, the paper-thin blue blanket pulled over her head. We'd paced the hallway until midnight before Epiphany and Elizabeth had finally convinced us to get some sleep.

"Trace, wake up," Alan whispers, shaking his sister before sitting on the edge of her bed. I realize that he doesn't know that I'm awake, and I figure that he must be whispering for some reason. Keeping my eyes shut tight, I listen as she mumbles incoherently before flopping around on the scratchy hospital sheets.

"What, Alan? I just fell asleep. I've been awake for over 24 hours. This better be good," she barks. Her tone softens noticeably when it registers where she is. "I'm sorry, I'm just tired. Is Dillon okay? Is he awake?"

"No, he's fine. Dillon lost a lot of plasma, and we need to have the family tested for a possible match," Alan explains. "It's nothing to be alarmed about, I'm certain that one of us will be a match. I've just spoken with Alice, and she is going to wake the others to have them come. In the mean time, I'd like to start with you. Dr. Drake is going to take mine as well."

"Thanks," she replies. "Lulu, did you get that?"

"How did you know that I was awake?" I ask, sitting up in the bed with my brow furrowed.

"It's a mother thing," she retorts, sliding off the bed. "I'm going to go get tested. Why don't you try to get some sleep? I'm sure that you could use the rest."

I give her a half-smile and shake my head. "I think that I'm going to go down to Dillon's room. I'm sure that they won't let me in, but I'd like to at least check on him. I can't sleep without him anyway. Maybe I'll feel better once I see him for myself."

Tracey leaves, and I slide my tired feet back into the slippers Liz had managed to scrounge up for me out of a closet. My skirt and satin tank were long discarded, traded for a set of comfortable scrubs in a pretty lavender hue. All I needed was a stethoscope, and I would fit right in with the staff.

"Lulu Spencer to see Dillon Quartermaine," I recite into the speaker. The alarm buzzes for a moment before the two doors automatically swing open. Marching past an abandoned wheelchair, I pause at the desk to speak to the nurse in charge. I grin when I see my aunt's mass of red curls tucked over the computer screen.

"Hi, Lulu," she greets me. "You know that visiting hours are over. I'm not even supposed to let you back here, but seeing as he is a Quartermaine and Alan is who he is, I figured I could probably get away with making this one exception."

"Thanks, Aunt Bobbie. I promise I won't stay long, I just want to see that he's okay. I can't sleep, and I was thinking this might help."

"You have five minutes."

I nod and start down the hallway to his room. Most of the lights are off in the individual rooms, save for the occasional blue glare from a television or warm amber glow of a reading light. Dillon's room is dark, only the moon shining on his face. He looks so childlike in the bed, propped on a pile of pillows and encased in a mass of linens. Leaning against the doorframe, I watch the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Slowly, I make my way to his bedside, arranging myself in the recliner Alan had had brought into the room for me to sit in.

"Dillon, you're not listening to me, I told you that I needed you wake up," I tell his lifeless body. His eyelids move as if he is trying to open them, but I know that this means nothing. He could be dreaming or maybe it is just involuntary muscle spasms; either way, he doesn't respond. "I am going to spend every waking hour with you in this room until you wake up. I will eat, sleep, drink and live at General Hospital until you open those eyes and tell me to go home."

A few more minutes pass before a nameless nurse appears at the door to ask me to leave. I nod silently before placing a gentle kiss on my love's lips. With a quick wave toward my aunt, I disappear from the ICU and head back to the room reserved for us. Ned is leaning on the wall outside the room with Emily at his feet. Both look exhausted, the weight of the situation bearing heavily on everyone.

"Hey, Lu," Ned says, kissing me quickly on the cheek. "Mother is still in with Alan and Dr. Drake. We're up next, and Monica should be along any minute."

"You're not even actually related to Dillon. Why are they testing you?" I ask Emily.

She smiles. "I volunteered. I figured that it couldn't hurt to at least try. You never know who is going to be a match. Skye is also coming, she should be here with Monica."

"Thank you, I really appreciate that," I tell her as Nikolas comes down the hallway, holding two bottles of water.

He smiles at me warmly, quickly handing the plastic containers to Emily. "How are you holding up?" he asks with a hug.

"I'm holding up."

"Do you want me to go get you something? Water or hot chocolate? Anything you want, you just name it."

"Do you think you could find me some chamomile tea? My stomach is upset; maybe it will help settle my nerves."

"I'll be right back," he tells me, kissing Emily on the cheek on his way past. She blushes lightly, causing me to smile to myself. It's nice that they still fluster each other, even after all they have been through.

Alan comes out of the room, rolling his shirt sleeve down. "Next victim," he jokes humorlessly. Ned goes into the room, shutting the door on his way out. A nurse comes down the hall, asking Alan to come over for a private conversation.

"So, how are you really feeling?"

"I'm tired," I admit. "My appetite is pretty much gone, but other than that, I'm okay. Alan just let me go into to see Dillon, so I feel better than I did. It helps to be near him."

Emily nods in understanding. "I felt the same way when I had cancer. It helped to have Nikolas there. Even when I had given up hope, just knowing that he was there made me felt like I would never be alone."

Nikolas returns as the door once again swings open. Tracey comes out, her eyes tired and her skin pale. She doesn't say anything, she just sinks to the ground, her legs flailing out in front of her. Giving me the thumbs-up sign, she disappears into the room, a beeping sound coming out of the slightly open door.

"How'd it go?" I ask the older woman.

"Fine," she replies shortly, tiredly. "You need to get some sleep. Maybe you should go back to the mansion or to Wyndamere to rest."

"I'm not leaving him, Tracey," I warn her. "Don't push me."

She puts her hands up in front of her chest. "Fine, I'm too tired to argue with a Spencer. At least go lie down in the waiting room."

"That's probably a good idea, Lu," Nikolas tells me.

I nod, allowing him to pull me to my feet. "Please come get me if there is any change."

"I will," she promises.

Nikolas guides me down the hallway to the warm waiting room. Mostly empty, he leads me to a couch and points sternly. I drop into the deep fabric, throwing my legs across its entire length and snuggling my head into the fluffy white pillow he had managed to retrieve from a passing laundry cart. Spreading the blanket over me, he picks up a magazine and begins the long process of keeping vigil over me.

I'm nearly awake again when I hear a familiar voice. "Where is she? Where's my sister?"

"Lucky!" I yelp, tossing the blanket on the floor on my way to catch my brother. His eyes are dark and anxious as he jogs toward me. His embrace immediately makes me feel better, a comfort that no one else could provide. Brushing away my blonde hair, he looks down at me with brotherly concern.

"You look exhausted, Lu. Why aren't you asleep?"

"She almost was until you showed up," Nikolas comments from where he is still sitting.

"Come on," he insists, dragging me back to where I was sitting.

I shake my head firmly. "I want to stay up and talk to you."

"Don't argue with me," he counters. Sitting on the end, he pulls me down with him. Laying the pillow across his lap, he convinces me to lay back and rest. He strokes my hair in such a way that it reminds me of a very specific moment in my life. It was less than a month after my mom had her breakdown, and I had the worst case of the flu. My dad was out of town, and Grandma Lesley was visiting friends out of state. Lucky was staying with me, and when I got sick, he didn't know what to do. I could tell, even at my young age, that he was scared, but he tried his best to hide it from me. When my fever had spiked, he spent hours telling me stories about being on the run with our parents, all the while stroking my hair. It kept my mind off how sick I felt long after the fever had fallen. And before I know it, I'm asleep again.

By the time I wake up again, it is light outside, and Lucky is the one who is asleep. His head against his chest, he is snoring softly. Nikolas is asleep as well, his body situated awkwardly in two hard plastic chairs. I smile at the sight of my brothers, knowing just how much they love me. "Wake up," I plead, shaking Lucky's shoulder.

"Hmph," he mumbles. His eyes open and shut a few times as he arches his back, reaching his long arms high over his head. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine, I feel a lot better. I'm going to go see Dillon now, I just wanted to let you know so that you didn't wake up and freak out."

"Alright, I've got to get to work anyhow. I'll have my cell on me all day, call me if you need me. I'll check in with you around lunch to see what was going on and see if you want anything," Lucky tells me.

Nikolas stands up, rubbing his dark eyes with his hand. "I should get home too. Emily went there to stay with John, but I need to go look in on him. I'll bring you fresh clothes when I come back. Do you need anything else?"

"No, just clothes would be great," I reply. "Thank you both so much for being here. You have no idea how much it helped to have you both here to support me. I love you."

"We love you, too," Lucky said, pressing a hard kiss on my forehead before Nikolas hugs me. With a salute from Lucky and a small wave from Nikolas, they head off in one direction as I nearly run the other way.

Tracey is running full speed toward me when I get to the corridor outside Intensive Care. Her eyes are lively as she stops, out of breath. "He…is…" she gasps.

"He is what?" I scream. "He is what?"

"Awake. He's awake."