It was just after three in the morning, and the quiet corridor outside Nikolas' room was like a ghost town. It had taken him a few hours, but after his parting conversation with Emily, he had somehow managed to find the sleep that his body desperately needed. Nadine had left him alone after promising that she was there to stay the course. So much had happened in such a short time, and the intensity of it all left her reeling. She needed to find a few minutes alone to process everything, but in the midst of the chaos at General Hospital, it was often impossible to find even a second to stop and breathe.
Only when Epiphany assigned her the night shift did she manage to slow down at all. Unless there was a bar fight at Jake's or a fraternity brawl over at PCU, nights at GH were fairly slow. There was the occasional car accident or mob-related shooting, but for the most part, Nadine was able to complete the tasks that were far too neglected during the week. She also managed to escape the watchful eye of the head nurse. While she wholeheartedly respected Epiphany's ever-professional manner, it was daunting at times how cold and disconnected the woman could be. Nadine was nothing like that. If anything, she cared far too much for the patients around her, and Nikolas Cassadine had quickly worked his way to the top of that list.
Slipping into the back of the empty chapel, Nadine gazed mournfully at the ornate alter in front of her. She had only come inside the small room once, a couple days after she arrived in Port Charles. She had knelt before the front pew and prayed that God would find a way to forgive her sister for the pain that she had caused. Since then, she had stayed away in hopes of letting go of that part of her past. However, on this particular night, she needed to embrace the woman she had been before she came to a new town. She needed to remember everything that led her there and pray that Nikolas might just turn out to be her redemption.
Her white leather tennis shoes shuffled over the thin carpet as she made her way to the front of the room. Striking a single match, she closed her eyes and said a silent prayer before lighting a small white votive candle and sitting down in the first pew. Drawing her knees up to her chin, Nadine leaned her forehead against the smooth fabric of her blue scrubs and slowly began to retrace the journey that had led her to that moment. She thought about her parents and the person that her sister used to be before everything fell apart. She remembered all the happiness that had come before the overwhelming sadness. She embraced each memory like a long-lost friend, embracing the images in her mind with a sense of familiarity she hadn't experienced in quite some time.
She knew that her break was almost over, and eventually, one of the doctors would page her to help with a mundane task or follow them on rounds. Still, she didn't feel inspired to leave the safe haven of the hospital chapel. Instead, she simply leaned back against the wooden bench and allowed her mind to wander to Nikolas. She had felt something for him twice, familiar pangs that she believed were long buried. No one had stirred that yearning in her for so long. Now, after holding his son and the way he looked at her when she promised to stay, she knew that there was something at play much bigger than her. There connection was undeniable, and though she was far from understanding what it all meant, she knew enough to know that she needed to pay attention to it. After feeling numb for so long, he was giving her reason to feel again.
"I figured this place would be empty," a voice called from behind her. Hairs prickled on the back of her neck as she turned around slowly to meet his warm coffee brown eyes. A slow smile spread across his lips as she lit up at the sight of him. "I come down here sometimes when I can't sleep. It used to be just a quiet place to sit, but now, I guess I come here to hear something, to say something. I don't feel as crazy talking to myself when I'm here."
Nadine nodded knowingly as Nikolas padded down the aisle toward her. Clad in a plush navy robe and a pair of worn slippers, he sat next to her and stared up at the rows of candles. "Who do you talk to?" she asked curiously, not daring to look at him. Instead, she followed his gaze to the twinkling lights. "Emily?"
"Not just her," he answered honestly. Nikolas looked down at his hands and then up into her inquiring eyes. With that simple look, he wanted to be the solution to all her questions, the answer to all her prayers. "I come here to talk to my mom. I can't leave her to visit her, so I come here and do the only thing I can to be with her. I don't think I have to explain what a place like that means to me. It's what brings you here."
She didn't reply as she fingered the sterling silver locket that hung around her neck. Playing with the delicate chain, she realized for the first time how true that was. In the chapel, she didn't just pray to God, she spoke to her father. It was comforting and terrifying at the same time. As her shoulders began to shake with the onset of tears that had gone unshed for far too long, Nadine received the only comforting gesture she would ever need. Nikolas reached down, took her hand and returned his eyes to the burning altar. Long after the tears had subsided and the last candle had flickered out, Nikolas and Nadine sat alone in the chapel quietly remembering.
When Dillon had first arrived in Port Charles, he used to complain how you could see the entire city in fifteen minutes. After growing up gallivanting across Europe, the picturesque New York town seemed so confining. Everyone knew everyone and had for generations. His family name came with a reputation that he would never manage to escape so as long as he was within 100 miles of the white mansion with its pristine grounds and sparkling lake.
However, as he sat beside Jason in the backseat of a black stretch limousine, the town had never seemed bigger. Lucky had easily figured out that his sister was being kept in a monastery on the edge of city limits. The driver had been ordered to hurry, but it seemed that they were hitting every red light. News of a missing person, though still unnamed, had quickly swept through the seaside town, and police were actively combing the streets. Now was not the time to get pulled over for some minor traffic offense, leaving the car's three inhabitants to impatiently wait.
Leaning back into the soft leather seat, Dillon looked past his cousin and out to the night sky. He tried to remember what his life had been like a year ago at this time. It was just after the hostage situation at the Metrocourt when he had finally realized how deeply in love he was with Lulu. The months that followed had been excruciating as they danced around the biggest truth that would go untold. She would never fully give in to what was between them for fear that they would lose everything they had fought so hard to rebuild. For the first time in his life, Lulu Spencer actually managed to act on logic and ration. For the first time in his life, Dillon wanted to live on instinct. Between the two of them, the combination was fruitless.
Everything that had happened after her ultimate rejection of him had been in response to losing Lulu. Going to Toronto was the only way to forget how much he cared about her, but he knew that he couldn't escape the memory of them together. Sitting in that limo, even with the two other men, he knew that he was alone. No one other than Lulu could understand how he felt, and in that moment, he wanted to make up for everything. He wanted to find a way to erase the past six months so that he never left Port Charles. He wanted to go back to that last night in the boathouse and take back that fight. He just wanted her.
"We need to come up with some sort of a plan," Lucky announced suddenly, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had settled over the car. "We can't all three just go storming in there and making demands."
Jason nodded stoically. "I can't be the one to make the approach. I know that these guys are monks, but let's face it, even they read the newspaper. My face has appeared on the front page more than once. They will recognize me."
"I'll go," Dillon volunteered. He needed to be the first one there. He needed to be the one to save Lulu. He owed her so much more than that, and if she would give him the chance, this would be the first gesture in a lifetime of making it up to her. "I'll tell them that I am going through a rough patch and ask for a room for the night. I'm guessing that they usually keep their boarders near each other. I've been out of town the entire time Lu's been wrapped up in the Zacharra mess. The guards won't recognize me."
"That might work," Jason agreed, looking to Lucky for his approval. "While Dillon does that, you and I can try to find a back way in. A lot of these old monasteries have underground tunnels that lead to rooms via secret passages."
Thinking about his brother's mausoleum on Spoon Island, Lucky knew that was their surest way into a place where no one would want them. The three of them quickly worked out a plan that would begin with Dillon's infiltration and hopefully end with Lulu's rescue. For Jason, it was the only outcome he could hope for. For Lucky, it was the only outcome he could allow. For Dillon, it was the only outcome he would live with. Leaving without her was not an option.
Lulu had been pretending to sleep for more than an hour in the quiet infirmary. The two kind men, the doctor and the monk who had found her, had held vigil over her while the guard remained outside in the hall. They had turned on a loud machine to drown out the hushed conversation so that he could not hear the plan the young blonde had concocted. If followed perfectly, she could manage to find herself on the outside before day break.
"It's fairly simple," she explained, her blue eyes sparkling with defiant mischief. "These guys need me alive. If you can convince him that I am sick enough to be transported to General Hospital, there will be people waiting for me on the other end. Otherwise, I am in serious danger. I can promise you a very generous contribution to your efforts here if you help me escape. Between the Quartermaines and Jason Morgan and Carly Jacks, you will not have to seek funding for quite some time."
"Money is not our motive for anything," the doctor assured her. He was the first person involved in the monastery to pick up on the suspicious activity. The blonde didn't seem disturbed as the men had described. Instead, she was fully aware and capable. It was clear that she was being used as some kind of pawn in a web of anger and deceit. "However, I don't think that they are going to just dismiss you so easily. I am going to have to lie to protect you. That goes against everything that I stand for, but your life is clearly at stake here."
"What do you propose?" the assistant asked, wringing his hands nervously.
Glancing at both men, she knew that neither of them were used to coming up with a plan. Thankfully for them, she was a Spencer, and if there was one thing they could do, it was come up with a plan. "I am going to fake a seizure. Tell them that I had an allergic reaction to a medication that requires an injection that you don't keep here. Make sure that you call an ambulance well before it happens so that the medical team will arrive in advance. Mention the name Patrick Drake when you do and request that he be sent along. He won't leave knowing that I'm here and in trouble."
The two monks listened to everything Lulu said before agreeing to the plan. They would leave her alone for roughly twenty minutes, long enough for the guard to believe that the supposed medication had set in. Then, they would return to find her in convulsions. Meanwhile, the assistant would call and request an ambulance with Patrick Drake onboard. By the time they arrived, Lulu would have the guards convinced that if she didn't go, she could die. It was their last chance.
Leaving Lulu alone, the monks quickly went about putting the plan into action. In the quiet solitude of the infirmary, Lulu asked her mother to watch over her as she lay on the sterile hospital bed. Her mind turned to Dillon as it often did when she was alone. She could have sworn that she could feel his presence near her but quickly shook it off for loneliness. Her entire life, Lulu had waited for someone to come along and save her, but in the end, she had always ended up having to save herself. Between her catatonic mother and her absentee father, she never had much in the way of parental guidance. Lucky had been a child himself for much of her adolescence, and Nikolas didn't even know that she was his brother for far too many years. Lulu had managed to survive this long on her own, and she could do it now if she had to. Part of her just wished that Dillon was there to do it for her. She knew that if he knew, he would.
Author's Note: Sorry that it has taken me awhile to update it. For those reading my other story, I'm working on it. The reviews have been fewer than I usually get...Do you like the progress of this story? Should I keep going? I could use some feedback (and encouragement) here. I rarely ask for it from you all, so if you could send it my way, it might help inspire more frequent updates. Cheers!