Lulu parked her car in front of Johnny's apartment. She was almost certain that he'd gone back there. Rather than call ahead, she was just taking a chance.
After all, hadn't she decided to do just that when she'd come back to Port Charles.
She took a deep breath, wishing that her stomach didn't feel like a circus of frogs. Sighing, she pushed open the car door and stepped outside, heading for the entrance.
She walked to the stairs that led to Johnny's apartment. After their little liaison just two nights earlier, she hadn't expected to ever come back. But here she was, sorting out her life. She took another breath, forced herself to walk up the stairs and knock on the door.
Johnny answered after mere moments. He opened the door and stared as her, saying nothing. He made no move to let her inside.
"Can we talk?" she asked quietly, knowing that this was it. This was the moment where she decided the rest of her life.
His nod was barely perceptible, but he stepped aside, holding the door open while she slid past him. She walked into the living room, realizing that she'd never been in the place before unless they were having sex.
She turned as he shut the door. "I'm sorry," she began.
"I'm sorry," he said at exactly the same moment.
They smiled, slightly more at ease. She slipped off her coat, dropped in on the worn couch. "We need to figure out some things."
Johnny held up a hand, stopped her. "Lulu, can I just stay one thing?" When she nodded, he continued, "I need you to know that I love you more than life itself. I will do anything for you. I will fight for you. I want both you and Amelia."
She smiled again. "I know. Because I feel the same way. That's why we need to talk."
He nodded. And dropped to the chair opposite the couch. She followed suit and faced him, not entirely sure how to continue. "Johnny, I-I love you. That's not the issue. And I'm beginning to think that maybe we could be good together. But I-I lied to you. How can you forgive me?"
"I know that you lied. And I know that you had good reason when you did. Maybe you were right to lie. Maybe I wasn't ready to be a father back then. But I am now. And I'm willing to forgive you as long as both you and Amelia are in my life."
She nodded. "Amelia doesn't even know you exist. She's never asked about her father. I suspected that it would come up sooner or later, but so far, she's never said anything to me."
"So how do we go about it?"
Lulu sighed, glancing away, knowing that she was putting her entire heart on the line. "We need to take some time. I think that we need to start over. We need to date again and then go through the motions."
"But how do we do that if you live thousands of miles away?"
She smiled ruefully. "I've thought about that too. The whole way over here, I was thinking about how to go forward."
"And what did you come up with?"
"Amelia and I can move back."
He frowned. "That's asking a lot. I mean, you are both settled in—where did you go to live anyway?"
"Greece."
His eyes widened. "I looked all over Europe. France, England, Germany. But I never thought of Greece."
"We live on my brother's family's compound. Private island, little village. Even if you had looked for me, you would have had a hard time finding me."
"Would you really be willing to move back? Just like that?"
She nodded. "I never wanted to leave. I did it because I had to. I lied to you and then I couldn't very well stay here."
"I want a future, Lulu. Us. I want to have something to look forward to."
She smiled. "I know. Like I said, we need to take it slow."
"I also want to meet my daughter. I want her to know that she has a father who loves her."
Lulu felt tears burn at the edge of her eyes and her smile widened. "I know that too. I want Amelia to know you."
"When?"
"I think that now would be good. She's over at Carly's. How about we go pick her up? Together," she added, holding out her hand.
He took it, gripping it tightly. "I once asked you to not worry about tomorrow, only tonight. But now, I'm asking you to think about tomorrow."
She nodded. "I can do that. Anything beyond that will take time—but tomorrow, I can do." She reached for her purse and coat with her free hand. "Come on, let's go get our daughter."
And together, they walked out of the apartment. Johnny never thought he'd hear those words. Our daughter. Tomorrow.
For the first time in six years, he was seeing possibilities.
Endless possibilities.
GH*GH*GH*GH*GH
Lulu said nothing as she knocked on Carly's front door. It was déjà vu just a little bit, except that this time was more so many different reasons. Now she gripped Johnny's hand, grateful that she had someone to lean on now after so many years of being on her own.
Carly answered, grinning when she saw Johnny and Lulu standing together. "Well it's about time."
Lulu smiled and rolled her eyes. "We're taking it slow. We're going to date—do things in the order we didn't do the first time around. But first, Johnny needs to meet his daughter."
Opening the door wider to let them pass, Carly smiled wider. "I'm glad that the two of you worked things out. Mel's in the living room with Josslyn."
Nodding, Lulu let Johnny through the foyer into Carly's wide living room. Amelia was sitting on the floor with her cousin coloring. She looked up and grinned at her mother. "Mommy!" she jumped up, running into her mother's arms. Lulu let go of Johnny's hand and caught the little bullet.
"Hi baby girl," she said, burying her face in her daughter's hair.
Amelia pulled back, holding up the paper in Lulu's face. "Look what I made you, Mama! It's us."
"It's very beautiful. Is that the island?" Lulu smiled brightly, tears glistening at the edge of her eyes.
Amelia nodded, and placed a hand on her mother's cheek, studying her face. "Mama, why are you crying? Are you sad?"
Lulu shook her head quickly. "Oh no, baby, I'm not sad. I'm very, very happy." She glanced behind her at Johnny, who was pushing her onward with his eyes. Taking a deep breath, she pulled away from Amelia and led her to the couch. Carly had discreetly left the room with Josslyn.
"Baby, there's something really important that I have to talk to you about," she began, taking Amelia's hands. "Do you know how Josslyn and Cam and Jake all have daddies and mommies?"
The little girl nodded solemnly. "You said that I have one too, that he couldn't be with us."
Lulu nodded again. "Yes, but the truth is I did a very bad thing when you were born. I lied to a lot of people that you didn't have a daddy."
Amelia's eyes widened in surprise. She knew that lying was bad. "So I do have one?"
"Yes, and everything is better now. There are no more lies. I know that I did something very bad and I want you to know that I did it because I loved you very, very much."
"Where is my daddy?"
Lulu glanced over and nodded at Johnny. "Do you remember the man you saw me with in the park?"
"Yes," Amelia said slowly, glancing between Johnny and her mother. "You were crying."
"I was, but now I'm better. And there's someone very important I'd like you to meet." Lulu shifted so that Amelia could see Johnny's face. "Baby, this is your daddy. He loves you very much."
Johnny knelt down in front of the couch. "I do, Amelia. I love you more than anything in the world. I love both you and your mommy."
Amelia said nothing and just stared at him. She reached out and brushed a hand over his hair. "We have the same hair," she breathed and Lulu smiled through her tears.
Johnny chuckled and caught her hand as it moved down his face. "That we do, and the same eyes."
"Are you going to be my daddy forever?"
He nodded. "Forever and ever. I promise, Amelia, I'll never leave you or your mommy."
Smiling now, Amelia hopped off the couch and threw herself into Johnny's arms. He caught her, feeling the emotion get to him. Never in his life did he think this would ever happen. Not only did he have a real chance with Lulu, he had this living, breathing, beautiful little child to call his own. As he hugged her tightly, he made a promise to whatever god was listening that he would be the best father he knew how and that Amelia would never any but love in her life.
Amelia pulled back, looking shyly up at Johnny. "C-can I call you daddy?"
Johnny grinned wider than Lulu had ever seen him. She knew that they still had things to work through, but no matter what, he would be the sort of father her daughter deserved. After everything that had happened, she couldn't ask for more.
Johnny nodded, pushing back the emotion from his voice. "I'd like that, Amelia, I'd like that very much."
"Will we live together?" she asked, glancing between her mother and her new-found father.
Lulu spoke before Johnny could answer. "Right now, let's just enjoy the fact that no matter what happens, we are a family. Okay, Mel?"
Amelia nodded and gripped Johnny's hand as he rose from the floor. "Okay, but you should think about it, Mama."
Lulu rolled her eyes as Johnny chimed in after his daughter. "Yes Lu, you should think about it."
Amelia laughed as they walked out of the house toward the car. No matter what happened, she thought, Mama said that they were a family.
And in the end, Amelia knew that family was more important than anything.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Obviously Lulu and Johnny are going to have a happy ending and this is just the beginning. I think that there will be one or two more chapters after this. Please keep reading and, of course, reviewing!
