Sam sat alone in the corner table at Kelly's, watching as the surprising snowflakes fell from the dark sky. It was late in the winter for snow to come, but a fresh blanket of white powder was quickly covering the streets of Port Charles. Under ordinary circumstances, she would be at home, tucked safely beneath a pile of blankets with one of her favorite movies. That had been her favorite part of being with Lucky, he was just as much a homebody was she was. Their careers was filled with enough adrenaline and excitement that there was nothing better than coming home to each other at the end of a long day. She wished that was a possibility now because today had certainly been one for the record books. Instead, she could only listen to the soft melody drifting through the air and pray that he would find what he was looking for and come home safely.

"Penny for your thoughts?" a cheerful voice said to her, breaking Sam from her silent reverie. She looked up, surprised to see the young man looking down at her. With his mussed hair sticking out from beneath his trademark black beanie, he looked every part the scattered college student he'd been the first day she met him. Now, she knew that Spinelli was so much more.

Sam smiled at him and shook her head. "It's nothing," she brushed it off. Gesturing to the empty chair across from her, she invited him to join her. "Lucky is just out on an assignment that could be pretty dangerous. I was just thinking about him, that's all. I mean, I know we haven't been in the best place lately, but I think we could be again. We love each other."

He was shocked at her open honesty seeing as though they hadn't been close in quite some time. When Jason and Sam had broken up, he had to choose sides. Jason had been the one to take care of him, and his loyalty lay first with the honored Stone Cold. That didn't mean that he didn't still hold a special place for the Fair Samantha, the original Goddess. She had been the one to convince Jason to let him in. If it wasn't for her, he still might be on the outside looking in. Now, he was apart of the makeshift family the mobster had created for himself. He was lucky to count himself among the important ranks of the Valkyrie, Mr. Corinthos Sir and their offspring. "I don't really know the Detective all that well, but it's clear that he is a good man. Many of Port Charles' finest ladies have a special affection for him, including the Blonde One. I hope that things work out for you both."

"Thanks," she retorted, resting her cheek in her hand. "I'm not the only one that could use him right now. Nikolas is going through so much with this tumor, and he needs his family. With Lucky and Lulu both out of commission, his support network has been a little fractured lately."

Spinelli had heard the back story about the Prince from his best friend and knew that the outlook was pretty bleak without the surgery. He also knew that Nikolas was still suffering from the loss of Stone Cold's sister. "He's lucky that he has you then," he offered. "You don't give yourself enough credit sometimes. You are an amazing friend to the ones you choose to keep. In all the time that you were with Stone Cold, you remained loyal to him. Everyone knew how important he was to you. You've placed that same importance on your family."

"How did you get so wise?" Sam teased. He shrugged in response, surprised that anyone would see him as anything other than goofy. "I don't really have that many friends, but the people that are important to me are definitely worth fighting for. Lucky is the first guy I've ever had feel like I was worth fighting for. Nikolas isn't just my family, he's our family. It changes everything."

"I know that feeling," Spinelli acknowledged. He had been going through his own emotional transformation of sorts lately. Not only had he learned that his Faithful Friend had held a secret torch for him, he was also beginning to see the softest side of his arch enemy. Maxie was something that he had never expected, much like Lucky and Sam.

"How is Maxie these days?" Sam asked knowingly. She had made fast friends with the petite blonde in the aftermath of the hostage situation and still counted her among one of the most important people in the world to her. They had bonded over a love of boutique fashion and bad boys. "Look, Spinelli, I know that Lulu might warn you about her, and I know that some of those warnings are probably founded. But I also know that she is complex and deep and worth taking a chance on. If you manage to get past the brave façade and see that girl for who she really is, you can't help but fall in love with the person that is underneath."

Blushing slightly, he could only nod at her implication. It was clear that Sam knew something was brewing between the two, even if they hadn't found a way to put into words yet. Even the slightest brush of her skin against his set off a range of emotions he had never felt before. As Sam looked back at him, he realized that she could understand. She had gone through this on her own with Lucky, and that was what she was trying to tell him. She was saying that taking the risk was worth it. "Lucky looks at you the same way that I must look at her."

With a small smile she reserved only for thoughts of Lucky, Sam gazed longingly out the window. "I hope so."

Nadine had to sit with him for more than an hour before Nikolas would let himself sleep. News of Lulu's disappearance had hit him especially hard, stirring up a wide range of fears that he had long tried to bury. Whether it was his grandmother coming after Emily or Elizabeth being taken hostage by Alcazar, the women in his life were always at risk. He had foolishly believed that Lulu would be able to break that curse, but he had discounted her most prevailing quality – she was a Spencer. On top of that, she had the same romantic heart that had consumed his mother. It was destined that Lulu would get herself into one catastrophe after another. Most times, he could handle that because he could be there. However, incapacitated in bed with this brain tumor, he felt helpless at his sister's cause. He could only hope that he could trust Lucky to bring her back.

"Did you sleep okay?" she asked softly from her place in the plush armchair next to his bed. He had requested that she be let off work to stay with him. He'd also asked they bring her a better chair if she was going to insist on watching over him like his own personal guardian angel. Most patients didn't have that kind of pull at a hospital, but he just happened to be one of GH's largest benefactors and a member of the board. "Nikolas, did you hear me?"

"Yeah, sorry," he apologized, turning slightly on his side to look at her. She was still holding his hand, absently stroking her thumb over his palm, just as she had been when he drifted to sleep. "You know that you don't have to stay with me all the time. You must be exhausted. Maybe you should go home and get some sleep."

"I already tried leaving you once, remember? That didn't really work out all that well," she taunted him playfully. Nikolas mustered a small smile for her in return, squeezing her hand in his. He recalled the first time she had held it, how their fingers had woven together so organically. "I did manage to use my free hand to call and check on your son. Spencer is doing well. Lesley said to tell you that he misses you."

His eyes drifted to the framed photograph that sat next to his bed. Spencer was growing more and more everyday, much like his tumor. Because of one, he ran the risk of missing out on the other. "I miss him too," he retorted honestly. "Any word on my brother or my sister?"

She shook her head. "Not yet, but I know that it is all going to work out. There are three men out there working to make sure they don't let down the people that love them," she proclaimed. "Lucky doesn't want to come back and have to tell you that he failed. This Dillon character is in love with your sister. A man in love would never leave his partner behind. And I don't really know Jason all that well, but Carly appears to be very important to him. I've witnessed her wrath. I highly doubt he wants to let her down."

Nikolas chuckled softly at her observation, quite aware how destructive Carly could be. Nadine was right on every account, and given his condition, he needed not to think about that for awhile. "I had a dream while I was asleep."

"Oh?" she smiled. "Do tell."

"You were in it," he revealed. "We were in this beautiful garden surrounded by the most amazing tea roses I've ever seen. They were so fragrant that I swear I could smell them in my sleep."

"I love roses, especially ivory ones," Nadine replied dreamily. Nikolas filed that little fact in the back of his mind. "Go on, what were we doing?"

"We were sitting on a bench in the middle of the lawn with Spencer between us," he remembered. "It was so simple, so still, but I remember feeling absolutely happy. It's a feeling I haven't felt in such a long time that I can't really imagine feeling it again. In fact, the last time was when Emily was still alive…"

Nadine carefully peeled her hand away from Nikolas. "I need to say something to you," she declared bravely. She didn't want to ruin this moment, but she also didn't want to set herself up for disappointment later. Her heart was on the line, and Nadine knew that she was the only one who could protect her. She didn't want to have to do that with Nikolas, and in order for that to be possible, she had to be honest now. "I'm not Emily. I'm never going to be her. I don't know if you want me to be some substitute, but I can't live in her shadow, Nikolas. That scares me about this. I don't want someone to look at me and always think that I am taking her place and that she could have done this better. People are going to compare me to her. Would she have been a better wife? A better mother? I don't want to compete with her memory."

"No, you're not Emily," he agreed. "I can't control how other people look at you, but I can be honest about how I feel. When I look at you, I don't see Emily. I don't think about how much I loved her. I think about how safe you make me feel. I see how you make me feel like it's okay to be myself again. You have managed to give me a security in my own skin that I had lost before. You give me someone to trust and someone to believe in. You give me this little piece of me that was missing. I didn't expect you, but I'm pretty sure we're supposed to be."

Reaching for his hand again, she was breathless at his honesty. "I feel things for you that I haven't let myself feel in so long. I didn't want to remember this part of me because I know how it ended last time," she confessed. "I can't help myself with you, but right now isn't the time to figure this out. I just needed to say that much. For now, I just want to have a little bit of fun. We need to take our minds off everything."

"We're at the hospital. Exactly how do you think we are going to have any kind of fun here?" he replied. He had been inside these walls for far too many hours. "There isn't anything to do but talk or watch television."

"Then you are highly underestimating my ability to entertain," she grinned. Getting up from her chair, she disappeared into the hallway for a second before rolling in a metal card loaded with assorted things. There were board games, coloring books, playing cards and other various toys that she usually used to play with the kids in pediatrics. However, there was one thing she saved especially for him. Looking over at him, she waved her hand over the towel like a spokesmodel before pulling it off. Underneath the towel, she had hidden her favorite toy as a child, the original Nintendo gaming system. She had played it for her hours with her sister. "Ta-da!"

"A video game?" Nikolas asked with confusion. "I've never even played with one."

Nadine couldn't believe that he had missed out on such a simple childhood pleasure that defined their generation. "You're kidding me, right? Nikolas, I'm going to teach you about something that so many men have fallen victim to."

"Your beautiful eyes?"

With a coy smile, she couldn't suppress the scarlet blush creeping up her neck. "And there's that," she giggled. "Come on, sit up. Let's forget about reality for a little bit."

"When I'm with you, I can pretty much forget anything else exists."

Dillon had heard Lulu scream many times in the years that he had known her, and he could interpret the inflection of each one. He knew what she sounded like when she was angry, shaking with a raging temper that no could stop. He knew how she sounded when she was falling apart, desperate to push away anyone with the power to hurt her. He knew how she sounded when was screaming with laughter, her entire body shaking as if she was feeling the happiness with everything she had. He knew what every look, what ever sound, what ever touch meant. He knew Lulu.

Sitting at the long dining table, he was waiting for the perfect moment to excuse himself and head off to find her. He had managed to remain undetected and inconspicuous so far, but he knew that his time was limited. As a slight man scooped a spoonful of potatoes on his plate, Dillon glanced around the room. A series of doors lined the walls, likely leading to the network of complex hallways that dominated the monastery. He had been led through so many twists and turns on his way to dinner that he stood little chance of finding his way back out again. However, he didn't care how lost he got while he was looking for her. He had been lost for months without her. He wouldn't truly be found again until she was with him.

"Dillon!" he heard her scream suddenly. Her voice was stunted and constrained, as if she was fighting something. Yet, her tone wasn't fearful or even genuinely worried. It was masked with a tinge of courage and a lot of hope. She was clearly faking it. "Dillon, Dillon, Dillon!"

The room started stir as the monks looked at each other confusedly. It was rare that any women graced their home, let alone a young girl. They had built their lives upon faith, peace and solitude, and in one swoop, she was shaking up all three. Dillon wanted to spring to his feet immediately but knew that it would only draw attention to him. He could play it safe and wait for an opportunity to break away. That would be the smart thing to do, but he'd never claimed to be brilliant. Intelligence was overrated anyhow. On a whim, he took a chance and rushed out of the room. Peeling away the heavy robe on his way up the stairs, he listened for her voice again. He could hear the constant pleading screams, beckoning him like a lighthouse.

Rounding a corner, he could tell that he was drawing nearer to her. Running up the stairs two at a time, he listened intently and following her bellowing yells. He could hear men behind him. It sounded like they were paramedics, and that scared him. What if something was wrong with her physically? Brushing it off, he reached the landing and looked down the corridor. He wasn't sure which way to take as her cries had become silent. Just as he was about to head left, an arm reached out and yanked him into a dark room. "Jason?!?" he yelled in a whisper. "You scared the hell out of me."

"I found which room she's in," he quietly replied. "There are two doctors with her and one of Trevor Lansing's guards in the hallway. We don't have long to get her out of here. I am going to create a diversion and deal with the guard. You just have to get in there and get her out. Don't hesitate and don't worry about me. Lucky is on his way up with the paramedics. Lulu has faked this entire thing. We're almost out of the woods." He reached down into his boot and drew a weapon. "Just in case."

Dillon didn't reply; he only followed obediently and silently as Jason navigated the dim hallway expertly. They came upon a pair of laboratories and a few examination rooms. Lulu's pleas had changed to whimpers, her voice hoarse from the incessant screaming. It pained Dillon to hear the distress in her tone. He needed to hold her now, to press the hair back from her face and reassure her in a way that only his gaze could. With a few more steps, they were just around the corner from the room where she was being held. He looked to Jason for a signal and received a curt nod in return. Jason plunged ahead first, drawing his gun on the unsuspecting guard. Dillon was steps behind, pushing past and into the infirmary.

He tried to drown out the sounds of Jason scuffling behind him as he sprinted through door after door toward Lulu. He saw her through the glass, laying flat on a table as she struggled. Reaching for the gun that Jason had given him, he nudged the door open with his hip. "Step away from her," he ordered evenly but forcefully.

The monks looked at him with surprise. "Are you with the guard?"

"No, I'm here for her. I'm with Lu," he answered. Lulu shot up from the table, thrilled to see him. Dillon forgot about everyone and everything else for a minute as her eyes locked on his. With one simple look, he came home again and order was restored in the world. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she promised him. "They've been helping me, Dil. The guard doesn't want me hurt, and these two kind men made sure that he couldn't do that. They're on our side. I've been faking this entire thing."

Tucking the gun back away, Dillon's face lit up with a smile as he closed the short distance between them. He needed to feel for himself that everything was okay. Lulu leapt from the table and stopped just in front of him. He reached up and cupped her cheek, tracing his hand carefully along her jaw. She responded automatically, turning her face toward his hand. Dillon instinctively wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm fine," she promised, reading his mind. "I knew you would come save me."

"How could you have known that I was even here?"

Lulu smiled at him mystically. There were some things that could be explained with science and ration, but there were those rare instances that simply escaped all logic. Her intuition about Dillon was one of those things. "Just a feeling."

Grabbing her hand, he looked at her pleadingly. "Promise me you'll never let go of that feeling." Lulu nodded as she hugged him again. "Your brother is on his way with reinforcements to make sure that you get out of here. Jason is outside dealing with the guard. I have to get you out of here." Not waiting for any more explanation, she took his hand and started for the door. They could hear Jason and the guard arguing outside. Dillon peered through the window to find the two men facing off, guns drawn on each other. "I'm going to go out first. You slip by."

"I am not leaving you here," she argued. "You didn't come all this way to rescue me only for me to leave you behind. We're going to leave this place together. We are going to go home together, wherever that is. Whatever happens from here on out, we're doing it together."

He needed to believe that, and even if he didn't, now wasn't the time to argue. "Lu, please, just do it." She started to argue but he swallowed her words with an urgent kiss. "Please, Lu, for me."

She rolled her eyes and looked away, not wanting to do as he asked but knowing that she needed to do this for him. He had risked everything to save her, and now, it was her turn to make sure that his efforts were worth it. She couldn't let herself risk anything or his entire mission would have been unwarranted. "Fine," she relented. Dillon brushed a thankful kiss over her cheek before heading out the door. Lulu counted to ten in her head silently, waiting for her allotted time before she could slip out the door.

"One, two, three…"

Her count was temporarily disturbed by Jason's loud threats.

"Four, five, six, seven…"

She heard the captor start to argue back, making unfounded demands that would never be met. Closing her eyes tightly, she wanted this to all be over. It was the same wish she had had since arriving in this monastery. For a place of God, it was certainly starting to resemble quite the opposite of anything holy.

"Eight, nine…"

Dillon's voice rang out, breaking all hopes she had of finishing the count. Her eyes were still shut tightly as she pushed the door open and headed out into the hall. The musty, cold hair hit her instantly, sending shivers down her spine. She started to run down the corridor to where the men were fighting when she heard the sound. It was a hollow thud and echoed into the rafters of the old structure. Rather than the unspoken final number she had never counted, she heard a lone gunshot. Her quick footsteps instantly turned into a full out run as she came upon the landing. Jason stood in the corner, bent over at the waist. Two other men were at his feet, a pool of blood seeping out from beneath their bodies. The guard was on the ground, Dillon lying on top of him, neither of them moving.

"Ten."