After ushering her family out of the hotel room with promises to see them the next day, she made the call she'd been dreading. When Nikolas answered she suddenly couldn't speak. She listened to him say "Hello? Hello?" a few times.
Finally she managed to find her voice and whispered, "Nikolas…"
"Gia?" He said immediately. "Is that you? Where are you?"
"I'm, I'm at the Port Charles Hotel." She said softly.
"What suite?" He demanded. "Never mind, I'll find you when I get there. Stay right there, Gia, I'm coming."
Nikolas got to the hotel and her room quicker than she thought. She'd barely gotten the door open before he grabbed her into his arms and kissed her. Gia melted into him. It'd been so long, she'd almost forgotten how good it could be just to kiss him. Every good memory of them came floating back to her.
Nikolas broke off the kiss and buried his face in her hair. "Gia, Gia, Gia, where did you go? Why?"
Knowing that was her cue to tell him about the baby, Gia pushed away from him. He reached out for her but she took another step back, out of reach. She let out a long breath of air. How in the world was she going to say this?
While she was agonizing over how to tell him, Nikolas moved closer to her. He placed his hands on her arms and squeezed. "Gia, whatever I did to make you leave and stay away for so long, I'm sorry. But now that you're back, we can fix things."
Gia shook her head. "I didn't leave because of you."
Nikolas squeezed her arms again. "Then why the hell did you go? Was it to punish me again for not telling about Helena and Lucky and that whole thing? I apologize over and over. You didn't have run away from me for a year. Are you through punishing me?"
All the old feelings suddenly evaporated and Gia glared at him. "Damn it, Nikolas, not everything revolves around you. I left because I was pregnant."
Nikolas gaped at her. "What?"
"Yeah, pregnant." Gia spat out. A soft light came into Nikolas's eyes and Gia hurried to wipe the hope she could see. "Pregnant with your father's baby."
She stomped over to the bed where Catarina lay up against the pillows. Nikolas had focused all his attention on Gia so he hadn't even noticed her when he came in. Gia nodded at the baby, "Rina, meet your big brother Nikolas."
Nikolas stared down at the baby for a minute then looked at Gia. He clenched his jaw and said tightly. "I want an explanation."
Gia laughed bitterly. "Oh you want an explanation? How about this, last year, when you were running playing secret agent man with the Spencers and your grandmother…You know when you dumped me for no understandable reason because you had this vague idea that you were protecting me? I hooked up with what I thought was the prefect guy. Turns out it was your dad. Isn't that just wonderful? Turns out you and your dad have the same taste in women."
"Gia—" Nikolas tried to break in but Gia cut him off with an angry swipe of her hand.
"I'm not done." Gia said. "Guess what? He didn't even have a real interest in me. It was all about you. So I guess you were right that my leaving had to do with you in a way. Because Lucien, Stavros, what the hell you want to call him, was only using me to get at you. You were his goal the whole time. He was going to set me up in order to hurt you. And here's the part where I could blame everything on you by saying if you should had trusted me enough to let me in on what was happening. If you'd done that instead of just breaking my heart, I wouldn't have turned to your father so easily. He wouldn't have been able to get at me. But I'm not going to blame you. I blame myself for being stupid enough to get pulled into your Cassadine madness."
"Now are you done?" Nikolas asked in an even tone.
Gia sat down on the bed and crossed her arms. "For now. So say whatever it is you have to say."
"I still don't understand why you simply didn't tell me all this. Why you ran away from Port Charles and had me going crazy for months wondering where you where and if you were okay."
Gia growled and threw her hands in the air. "Again Nikolas, this was not about you. Didn't you think I was embarrassed and ashamed that your father fooled me? Tricked into sleeping with me? You'd think the day I found out I was pregnant I was going to come running up to you going, guess what, I'm knocked up by your daddy? I had to get things together for myself before I could even think about anyone else."
Gia glanced down at her daughter. She said softly, "For the longest time I wasn't even sure I wanted to keep her. I was originally going to give her for adoption in secret. I didn't want any of the Cassadines to get near her."
"So you left." He murmured, looking at the floor.
Gia nodded.
Nikolas looked down at the floor. "You still could have came to me, I would have tried to help."
She sighed. "You couldn't fix this. I had to leave so I could figure out what I wanted to do. I couldn't do that here with pressure from you and my family. That's why I asked Lucky—"
"Lucky." Nikolas muttered.
Gia lifted an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"Lucky…You trusted him to help you instead of me. I know you said none of this was about punishing me but you have to admire the symmetry. I turned to Elizabeth during the whole thing with Helena and afterwards you turned to Lucky." Nikolas grimaced.
"Sometimes you can be so damned dense." Gia muttered. "Lucky was the only person I could turn to who didn't have a stake in all this. He was also the only person I know who could get me out of Port Charles and someplace that was…away from it all."
"He hid you pretty well." Nikolas said. "All the people I had searching for you couldn't find you. I knew you were with him but no matter how many times I asked, he'd never tell me where you were."
"Because I asked him not to." Gia said.
"Because he didn't break your heart the way I did." He said bitterly.
"Because he knew I needed time." Gia corrected him. "And a friend. He helped me so much when I really needed it. And he's been great with the baby."
"If things were so wonderful wherever you were, why'd you even come back?" Nikolas scowled.
Gia ignored his tone. "It was time…well actually I hadn't planned on coming back so soon but when Stefan showed up a few—"
"Stefan did what?"
Gia looked up at him. "Stefan tracked me down in Texas somehow. He just showed up out of the blue. I was afraid he would tell you first before I could explain. He, um…he knew about Stavros and me—don't ask how. Please. So Lucky and I packed up and got here as soon as it was possible. I thought for sure that he would have told you."
"No, my uncle didn't tell me anything. He claimed he went on a business trip."
"I see."
"Damn him. He purposely hid this from me." Nikolas said angrily.
Gia sighed." I'm sure he has his reasons."
"I—I have to go." Nikolas said suddenly, going for the door.
Gia's mouth dropped open. "What? Nikolas, where are you going?"
Lucky knew as soon as he stepped off the elevator he should have hung around his dad's club a little longer. Coming down the hall towards the elevator was a visibly upset Nikolas with Gia following him, calling him back.
Lucky stepped in front of him. "Nikolas, man, what's going on?"
Nikolas pierced him with a furious look. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I was—"
"I forgot," Nikolas said interrupting him, "you're Gia's self-appointed guardian and protector. But guess what Lucky, I know everything, all your precious secrets that you wouldn't tell me."
"Nikolas," Lucky began.
"Don't you think we still have more to talk about?" Gia asked.
"We do and we will." Nikolas promised. "I need some time to digest all," he waved in the general direction of her room, "that."
That said, he turned and entered the waiting elevator.
"What," Lucky said, turning to Gia, "just happened?"
"I don't know." Gia said, shoulders slumped forward. Lucky threw his arm over her shoulders and walked her towards her room.
"Are you okay?" He asked. "Nikolas didn't…"
Gia shook her head quickly. "Of course he didn't."
Lucky let go of her to close the door after them. Gia walked towards the bed but instead of sitting on it, she sat the floor, the bed supporting her back. Lucky sat next to her and took her hand. He ran his thumb soothingly across the back of it.
"Want to tell me about it?"
Gia stared at the floor in front of her. "It was…it was good. For about half a minute. I called him, he came, he kissed me."
Lucky tried not to appear as surprised as he was. After all, why wouldn't Nikolas kiss Gia? "And then what happened?"
"He got me mad and then I…God, I just blurted it all out." Gia closed her eyes. "Everything. Why I left, how I got pregnant…"
"So seeing 'Rina freaked him out?" Lucky frowned.
"No, he didn't seem to have any reaction to her. He was more upset that I kept it from him. He was more focused on himself. Which sort of reminded me of my behavior after I found out about the whole thing with Helena."
"You had a right to be upset and you know that, Gia." Lucky assured her.
Gia shrugged. "I know, maybe. Anyway, we kind of kept going in circles for a while before I told him Stefan was why we came back. That's why he decided to leave and you saw the rest."
Gia let go of Lucky's hand, pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them. "You know, for a little while there, before we started arguing. It was like old times, like nothing had ever changed. It felt so good to be with him again." She sighed. "You'd think I'd be over him already."
Lucky glanced at her. "I wouldn't think that."
"I should be." She continued.
This time Lucky caught her eye. He said softly. "Do you want to be?"
Gia looked into his eyes for a moment then looked away. "I'm not sure."
Lucky nodded more to himself than to her. He waited a moment before clearing his throat. "So, how was the thing with your family?"
Gia smiled briefly. "It was really good. You know, after my mother got over her shock. Oh, Marcus ate your dinner. Sorry."
"Doesn't matter. I grabbed something already." Lucky told her. "So your mother didn't flip out and Taggert didn't kill you. I told you there was nothing to worry about."
"They were more understanding than I thought." Gia admitted. "My mother wants me to move in with her for awhile."
"Are you going to do it?" Lucky asked.
"I think so. It'll be better than living in a hotel. And I could use the help." Gia said.
"Good." Lucky said. He looked at his watch and stood up. "It's kind of late. I should get going."
Gia scrambled to her feet. "Already?"
"Yeah." He looked around for his overnight bag that he'd left there. Once he found it by the door, he slung the strap over his shoulder and faced Gia.
"It's going to be weird." Gia said. "I'm so used to living with you."
"I know, I know. I've gotten used to seeing you first thing in the morning before you've had your morning coffee. Eyes all scrunched up, like you can't see a thing." Lucky grinned.
"Oh shut up." Gia slapped his arm. "Like I'm really going to miss seeing you walk around in those ratty old pajamas you love to wear around the house."
Lucky smirked. "Oh you loved them, I know you did. Why do you think I wore them all the time?"
Gia rolled her eyes. "Please."
"Don't bother denying it." He winked. "And hey, don't act like I'm never going to see you again. It just won't be morning, noon, and night. What are you doing tomorrow?"
"I'm going to stop in at Deception to see Laura in the morning. Other than that…nothing." Gia said.
"How about you and 'Rina meet me at Kelly's for lunch?"
"Sounds good to me." Gia smiled. Catarina started to fuss on the bed so Gia went and picked her up. She walked back over to the door where Lucky waited. "I think she wants to say goodbye."
Lucky touched the baby's cheek. "You're going to miss me, aren't you?"
"Don't be so sure about that." Gia joked.
"You mean, she's not going to miss me as much as you will?"
"Keep dreaming, Spencer." Gia grinned.
Lucky just smiled. "Be good for your mother." He murmured before kissing Catarina on the forehead.
"And I'll see you tomorrow." He said to Gia. He went to kiss her on the cheek but somehow their movements got mixed up and his lips ended up pressing against hers.
Both Lucky and Gia froze; neither was sure what to do next. Catarina's cooing brought them out of their daze. Lucky cleared his throat and took a step back. Gia smiled awkwardly at him.
"So, uh, tomorrow? Noon-ish?" Gia mumbled.
"Yeah, that's…good." Lucky looked at her once before quickly leaving.
Gia let out a sigh of confusion and silently shook her head.
Nikolas was still angry when he found Stefan working in his study. Nikolas strode over to him and asked,
"Did you know about Gia's pregnancy?"
Stefan calmly placed the report he'd been reading on his desk and removed his glasses. "At what time?"
"I want a straight answer!"
"I did not know she'd been pregnant until my trip to Texas."
"And do you know who the father is?" Nikolas asked.
"Yes." Stefan looked Nikolas in the eye as he said this. "I can safely assume that Miss Campbell is back in Port Charles and has contacted you? She told you everything?"
"Not everything. She wouldn't explain how you knew about her and my father. My father." Nikolas added with a bitter laugh. "Why didn't you tell me Gia was in Texas instead of going on your own?"
"At the time I felt it wasn't in either of your best interests for me to pass that information along to you."
"I am sick of everyone doing their best to keep me away from Gia. You, Lucky, hell even Gia herself."
"Maybe you should respect her wishes." Stefan murmured. "Nikolas, your behavior in regards to Miss Campbell has become erratic. You became, quite frankly, out of control this past year. I knew that you needed more time before seeing her."
"Time?" Nikolas threw his hands up. "She's been gone for a year. I think that's more than enough time, don't you?"
Stefan eyed him quietly.
Nikolas said, "None of that matters now. Gia's back and I'm not going to let anything keep from her again."
"Ready for your big day out?" Gia asked as she adjusted Catarina in the baby carriage. The baby looked up at her with her eyes wide.
"Yup, big day." Gia said, reaching for her purse and the baby bag. She riffled through it, checking to see if she was forgetting something. Whenever she took Catarina out she always forgot something. Usually something small that wasn't needed until Gia realized she'd forgotten it. Lucky was good at reminded her about things but of course Lucky wasn't with them today.
Lucky who accidentally kissed her last night…or was it on purpose? She wasn't sure and even if it was on purpose would that change the way she felt about it? And how did she feel about the almost kiss, exactly?
And why did the idea of actually getting the kiss right the next time excite her? Who said anything about a next time?
Gia stopped and shook her head, trying to get her mind on track. She grabbed another handful of diapers and stuffed them into the bag.
She rambled on to Catarina. "First day out in Port Charles. A lot of people are going to be very curious about you."
"But don't be nervous." Gia sighed. "Cause Mama's nervous enough for us both."
The moment she stepped off the elevator at Deception Elton closed in on her. She suspected that one of the guards downstairs must have alerted him.
"Miss Campbell, my word!" Elton placed his hand on his chest in a dramatic fashion. He peered down at Catarina with undisguised curiosity. "And child?"
"My daughter." Gia said proudly, without a hint of embarrassment. "Catarina Campbell."
"So this is what that little extended vacation was all about? For shame Gia. Keeping something like this a secret from everyone, especially me!"
Gia shook her head and smiled a little. "If I'd told you Elton, I might as well had taken out an ad in the Herald."
"Are you calling me a gossip?" Elton huffed. "Well I…" He laughed. "I can't even keep a straight face on that one. Her name is Catarina you say?"
"Yes." Gia nodded while Elton bent to take a closer look at the child. "But we call her 'Rina, for the most part."
"We?" Elton lifted an eyebrow as he latched on to the word.
"Yes, we." Gia said, not giving him an inch.
"Well she is just the spitting image of you, darling. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous." Elton raved. "I assume it's the nanny's day off?"
"Nanny?" Gia repeated blankly.
"You do have a nanny, don't you?"
"Uh, well…" Gia frowned. A nanny had never crossed her mind.
"Sweetie, you need a nanny." Elton said wisely. "You weren't thinking of actually dragging this sweet little child to your long hectic photo shoots were you?"
"No…" Gia rubbed her forehead. God, she had never really thought about that at all. She'd gotten so used to Lucky's informal shoots out on the ranch to even think about what would happen when everything went back to "normal".
Elton laid a comforting hand on Gia's arm. "Listen Mrs. Spencer is waiting to see you and this little surprise here. Why don't you let me make a few calls, see if I could hustle up some nanny references and get you a list to look over?"
Gia smiled weakly. "Thanks so much, Elton."
He smiled broadly. "That's what I'm here for. Now go on in."
He went over to Laura's door and knocked on the door. He popped his head in. "Miss Campbell is here to see you."
Gia heard Laura call out, "Thanks Elton, send her in."
Gia squared her shoulders, gripped the handles of the carriage and started to push it towards Laura's office.
Laura was starting to stand just as Gia came in. At the sight of Gia and the baby however, Laura sank back into her chair. Gia waited for Laura to say something as Laura continued to stare at them. Finally, just when Laura's silence was really getting to Gia Laura said,
"So that's why."
Gia nodded. "Yes."
"Should I even ask who?"
"No." Gia said. "It's none of your business. Just know that he's not the father. Either one of whomever you're thinking about."
Laura nodded. "All right. We do have a lot to discuss because your child does affect Deception and your future with the company."
Gia lifted an eyebrow arrogantly. "What do you mean? I look just the same as I did a year ago. Few pounds heavier but with a regulated diet and exercise they can be dropped. And didn't Lucky send you the proofs of the shoot we did while I was away? I know they came out pretty damn good."
Laura raised her hand in surrender. "Gia, please. Lucky did send me the proofs. I was looking at them today and they came out wonderful."
"Then why are you talking about dropping me from Deception?"
"I didn't say that." Laura smiled gently. "You did. What I was talking about was whether or not you wanted to continue to model for Deception or stay at home with your baby."
"Laura, I love this job and I want to keep it." Gia said honestly. "I don't think I'm being too arrogant in thinking that we can come up with a schedule that'll work for both of us. I won't be in photo shoots all the time and if there are any public appearances there's always a nanny to stay with her. In fact, Elton's getting together a list of potential nannies right now. Bigger models than me have had children and successful careers at the same time."
Laura nodded slightly. "That is true. But before we even get down to it, are you absolutely sure?"
"Yes I am." Gia stated firmly.
Gia smiled brightly at the older man who held open the door to Kelly's for her as she pushed the carriage in. She was still feeling good after her meeting with Laura. They'd sat down and actually came up with a plan. Gia glanced down at her watch. She was a little early to meet Lucky but that was okay. She could use the time to get settled.
She grabbed a table by the stairs so Lucky would spot them. She was also hoping that when he joined them that the awkward tension from last night wouldn't still be with them. She was just sitting down and pulling 'Rina's stroller closer to her when she heard the astonished whisper,
"Oh…My…God!"
Gia looked over her shoulder to see Emily and Zander standing by the counter. Emily was staring at her with wide eyes.
"G-Gia, you're…you're back." Emily stammered.
Gia glanced around then shrugged. "Looks that way, doesn't it?"
"I mean, uh…" Emily trailed off as she looked from Gia to the baby and back.
Zander nodded at her. "Hey."
Gia nodded back. "Hey." She waited for a moment before asking with a cold smile, "Was there anything you wanted to ask me, Emily? Or are you just going to stand there and gawk at me and my daughter all day?"
"Daughter?" Emily repeated, finally finding her voice. "So you ran out on Nikolas and gave birth to his daughter without him knowing?"
"Oh, I see you're still doing that jumping to conclusions thing." Gia sneered. "For your information, my daughter has nothing to do with Nikolas. You can ask him yourself and he'll say the same."
Lucky came bounding down the stairs before Emily could reply. He smiled at Emily and Zander. "Hey, I stopped by yesterday to let you know I was home again but you weren't there."
He then grinned at Gia and the baby. Gia didn't feel any weird vibes about the kiss coming from him and she immediately relaxed. "There're my girls. I didn't keep you waiting long?"
"Long enough." Gia said with a glance towards Emily.
Lucky swooped down and picked up 'Rina. He settled into the chair next to Gia and cradled 'Rina in his arms. He winked at Gia. "She missed me right?"
"Not at all." Gia swore.
"And what about you?" Lucky lifted an eyebrow.
"Actually…I thought about you only once." Gia leaned in. "When I had a cup of good coffee this morning. After months of that sludge you called coffee, I'd almost forgotten what it tasted like."
"Funny." Lucky smirked. "She eat already? Cause I could get someone to warm up a bottle in the kitchen."
"Maybe later." Gia suggested.
Lucky looked up at Emily who was staring at him as if he'd grown a second hand. He propped up the baby so she could get a better look. "Isn't the prettiest thing?"
"Sure." Emily said slowly.
"You guys want to sit down and join us for lunch?" Lucky asked. He looked at Gia. "It's okay right?"
Gia shrugged.
Zander answered for them, by holding up a large take-out bag. "We were on our way out. Raincheck?"
"Sure." Lucky said. "Em, you're okay?"
Emily came out of her daze. "Yeah, I'm fine. Would you mind calling me later?"
"No problem." Lucky waited until Zander escorted Emily out of the diner before asking Gia, "Mind explaining what was going on?"
Gia pretended to study a menu. "I think you freaked her out."
Lucky laughed. "What? How?"
Gia shrugged, putting the menu down, "The whole proud papa routine. I don't think she was expecting that."
Lucky winced. "Was I too much?"
"I didn't mind. You've been taking care of her since day one just like me. It's no big deal." Gia assured him. "But you better be ready for a lot of questions when you call Emily."
Lucky shrugged off the warning, "She'll understand."
"Mmm…" Gia said noncommittally.
"How'd it go with my mother?" Lucky asked.
"Pretty good. We came to an agreement and Elton got me," Gia grabbed the baby bag and rooted around in it for a moment before pulling out several papers, "a list of potential nannies and nanny services."
Lucky placed the baby back into the carriage. He started to reach for the papers. He stopped himself and said, "Is it okay, if I—"
Gia pushed the list at him, "Sure, sure, go ahead. I'm trying to get as many opinions on this. I'm going to have my mother look it over and help me out with some questions."
"Good," Lucky nodded as he scanned the list. After a moment he pushed it away, and leaned his elbows on the table. It was time for him to approach the subject. He'd been planning on apologizing to her as soon as he saw her but with Emily and Zander there he didn't think it was a good idea to bring it up.
He said slowly, "You know, about last night."
Gia's eyes widened. God, she'd thought he'd wanted to forget about it. "Last night?"
Lucky shifted in his seat. "Yeah, the uh…"
Suddenly seeing that Lucky was more nervous than she was Gia decided to put him at ease. She grabbed his hand said gently. "Hey, it was no big deal, right? I've forgotten all about it."
"You have?" He said in surprise.
"Yeah, it was nothing." She lied with a smile. "So what do you want for lunch?"