Lulu stepped out of the elevator at GH, feeling different than she had in a long time. She felt lighter, as though a weight had been lifted off her chest. Well, in reality it had. No matter her mistakes, Johnny knew the truth.
But the most amazing thing was that he'd forgiven her.
She would never forget that no matter what she'd done, he'd forgiven her. That was the best thing of all.
She wasn't sure where they would go next. Johnny had asked for forever. He wanted the whole nine yards, the house with the picket fence and a dog. He wanted her and their child.
But Lulu wanted to take it slow. They were notorious for jumping headfirst into the physical part of the relationship. And look where that had gotten them. So now, she wanted to take it slow, to date and to just be together.
Of course, they had geographic issues to work out, but Lulu was willing to make it work. She was willing to come back to Port Charles and make forever a reality.
Because in her heart, there was nothing she wanted more than to be with Johnny Zacchara forever.
"You look awfully deep in thought there," a smooth Australian voice drawled.
Lulu turned around in surprise, grinning when she saw her brother standing by the nurses' station. "A lot you know," she muttered. "How's Dad?"
"Oh Dad's just dandy, crawling up the walls to get out of here. In fact, Dr. Quartermaine said she'd release him today if he does well on a last few tests."
Lulu nodded, relieved that her father was going to be okay. She needed him to be okay, especially since everything else seemed to work out in her favor lately. "Good. I'm glad. I was just on my way to see him."
Ethan frowned, recognizing her evasiveness. He shook his head and reached for her arm. "Hey…wait a second. Dad'll keep. What's up with you?"
"Johnny found out about Amelia," Lulu said quickly.
Ethan nodded slowly, trying to decipher how she felt about it. "And how'd he take it?"
She shrugged. "Not well, at first. But I think he understood why I did what I did." She glanced away briefly, then back at her brother. "And he wants forever."
"Is that what you want?"
She nodded. "I think that it's always been what I want. He met Amelia and she loves him. Everything worked out so well, it's crazy."
"Well that's good, isn't it?"
"I told Johnny that I want to take it slow. I want forever too, but I won't jeopardize it by just taking the plunge. I want to date and do things right this time."
"That's kind of hard, considering you live in Greece and Johnny's here," Ethan pointed out.
Lulu nodded again. "I know. I'm thinking that Amelia and I will move back. I can work anywhere and Amelia deserves to grow up with her father and family."
Ethan grinned again. "Yeah? You're moving back home. I'm pretty sure that you've just made a lot of people happy with that news—including me. I'm glad to have my little sister back to torture again." He opened his arms and she flew into them. Holding her tightly, he whispered into her ear, "I'm rooting for you, Lulu. I know that you love Johnny and you deserve your happily ever after."
Lulu pulled back, smiling at her brother. "Thanks for that. Especially since you don't put much in store by love. Now stop before you make me cry. We should go tell dad the good news. Maybe it will make him be good for a few more hours." She headed toward her father's room with Ethan following behind.
"I doubt that," Ethan muttered and Lulu grinned. One thing for sure, they both knew their father well.
GH*GH*GH*GH*GH
"Gumdrop!" Luke exclaimed from the hospital bed when Lulu and Ethan stepped through the door. "Are you here to break me out of this prison?"
"Considering you've seen the inside of a prison more than once, I don't know how you can compare the two," Lulu replied dryly, taking off her coat and setting it with her purse on the table. "Besides, it appears as though you're being released soon anyway. Breaking you out of here would just be a waste of my time."
Luke narrowed his eyes and glanced between his kids. "So tell me, now that I'm going to live, is this goodbye?"
Lulu hesitated, drawing in a breath and slanting a look at Ethan. She looked back at her father. "Well, not necessarily. In fact, that's what I came to talk to you about."
Now Luke raised a single snowy eyebrow. "Oh? What do you have up your sleeve?"
"Johnny found out about Amelia," she said and told him the same story she'd told Ethan.
When she was finished, Luke stared at her. "So you're moving back to good ol' Port Chuck?"
She nodded, "well it's not definite yet. I'll still have to go back and get things wrapped up in Greece. But I'm sure that Nikolas will be happy to rid the Cassadine Compound of my daughter and I. Besides, I'm pretty sure I've corrupted his entire staff. They may never be the same again."
Luke grinned. "That's my girl. What's life if you can rile things up a bit?" Then he sobered. "Now you know I make it a policy to not get involved in my kids' personal lives, but what does this mean for you and young John Zacchara?"
"We're taking it slow. When Amelia and I are settled back in town, we'll go through the whole dating thing. He'll get to be a father to Mel, but as far as the two of us goes, whatever happens happens."
"No Spencer has ever been able to go slow," Luke pointed out sarcastically. "We are known for jumping in head first."
"That's why I need things to be different. I want this to last as much as he does and the only way it will happen is if we do things right. Especially now that Amelia's in the picture."
"That's very grown-up of you," Luke said solemnly as the man who made it a policy to never grow up. Ethan smirked and Lulu sent her father a bland look. "Are you sure you're my daughter?"
"I love you too, Dad," Lulu replied dryly. "And here I was thinking you'd be happy that your only daughter and only granddaughter are going to be living in the same town again."
Luke smiled now, "I am happy for you, gumdrop. If you're happy, I'm happy. But John Zacchara better do right by you and my granddaughter. You tell him I know several strategies for slow, painful deaths."
Lulu rolled her eyes and reached for her coat. "Dad, don't play the concerned father now. It just changes your image." As she turned toward the door, she saw Monica and Tracy coming into the room. "And look at that! I don't even have to break you out. Monica'll do it for you. Have fun with that," she added for Monica's ears only as she sailed out the door.
By the time she made it to the elevator, Lulu was sure of her decision. She knew that no matter what, she would always have Johnny Zacchara at her side.
And in the end, a woman can't ask for much more in a man.
Some women dreamed about their prince charming riding up on a white horse, she thought with a smile. She was different; her white knight was a broody piano-playing sometime-mobster in a yellow corvette.
And she wouldn't have it any other way.
Okay, so this is the second to last chapter. Well, the last chapter will be an epilogue. I really want to thank all my readers who have continued to read and review. I hope that you all liked this story. I will probably write more GH stories in the future, although none will be continuations of this one. Right now, I'm experimenting with fan fiction from other TV shows! Keep an eye out for the epilogue, it should be up soon!
