"Where have you been? You were supposed to be here an hour ago," Lulu demanded as I came into the dining room.

I threw her my best smile as I placed the greasy brown bag in front of her on the table. "I had to take care of something. I brought your food as promised," I replied.

"Where were you?"

"I can't tell you. Just trust me when I say that it was important."

Lulu grimaced. "It's Georgie, isn't it?"

"No, I promise that it's not," I said confidently. "Just eat your breakfast and then I will explain everything."

"Fine," she relented as she pulled the carton from the bag. Opening the lid, she grinned at the fluffy eggs.

Maybe you should go away. I came here to celebrate.

"I'm going to go upstairs and change. I'll be down in a few minutes."

"You're not going to eat breakfast with me?" she whimpered.

I smiled. "Your attempt at guilt is pathetic, Spencer."

"Pathetic, but it worked."

I shook my head. "No, not this time. I'll be back before you finish," I retorted, kissing her on the top of the head in passing. "I love you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she grumbled before turning back to her hot breakfast.

The house was unusually quiet as I jogged up the stairs and down the long hallway to my bedroom. Scouring my closet, I quickly changed into my favorite faded jeans and a distressed vintage tee. Pulling my hoodie back over my head, I reached my hand in the pocket to make sure that my reason for being so late was still there.

"See, I told you I would only be a few minutes."

"Now, tell me why you were late."

I started to wonder if I should tell her everything, but I knew that there was a reason that Luke wanted me to keep his secret. I hated lying to Lulu, but this was important. Everything needed to be handled with care, and he would tell her when the timing was right. The timing wasn't right for her to find out about her mother, but it was right for something else.

"Can you come with me?" I asked mystically.

"Where?"

"You'll find out," I promised as I took her hand in mine.

She looked at me skeptically. "Dillon, what are you up to?"

"Just come with me."

For the first time in my life, everything is perfect.

Lacing our fingers together, Lulu smiled up at me. "This is nice," she murmured as we strolled nonchalantly along the pathway toward the lake on the Quartermaine estate. "Are we going to the lake house?"

I shook my head. "No, it's just a brief stop. There is something waiting for you inside."

Lulu let go of my hand and took off in a swift run. Throwing the door open, I watched as she went inside. A huge box wrapped in bright red paper stood in the middle of the floor. "Is this for me?"

"Open it," I urged.

Layer after layer, box after box, she tore away at the package until she was left with a single envelope. "What is this?" she whispered before ripping open the flap. "It just says 'will.' What does that mean?"

"Just hold on to it. We have somewhere else to go," I explained as a town car pulled around the bend. It had been waiting out of sight by the gatehouse. "Our car, my lady," I announced chivalrously as I ushered her into the back seat.

Lulu sunk easily into the plush leather, leaning on me heavily. "I still have no idea what you are up to," she whispered while looking up into my eyes. Leaning in, she kissed me lightly. "I do know that I like it, though."

A few minutes later, the car pulled into the Kelly's parking lot. I had convinced Mike to close it down, using a little Quartermaine money to rent it for a private party for the next hour. We'd only be here a few minutes, but I had wanted to make sure that we had plenty of time. The lights were dark, only a single flame flickering from a candle on the table where we had sat millions of times.

"Go ahead," I told her, opening the door as she crawled over me. She skipped quickly into the café, finding a single red rose sitting on the table. Lifting it up, she tore the tag away.

"This one says 'you.' So, I have two cards that say will and you."

But nobody's supposed to know. You're not supposed to know.

I nodded. "On to the next place."

"Where else could we be going next?" she wondered aloud as I helped her back into the seat. The car was quick in reaching our next destination, which was only a few blocks away. "Man, I never thought I would come back here," she mused as she stepped out onto the grassy knoll in front of Port Charles High School. Hand in hand, we walked down the empty corridors of our old stomping grounds.

"The last time I was here was…during prom last year," she realized.

"Same here," I laughed. "Do you remember dancing with me?"

"I remember wishing that you would look at me."

I stopped and turned. "Well, I'm looking now. In fact, you're all I see."

"Oh, Dillon," she whispered, her voice reflecting everything I was feeling. I pulled her close to me and swayed us to an imaginary beat. "We're dancing in the halls."

"I should have done this then."

"It wouldn't have meant as much as this. This means everything."

"That earns you your third clue," I declare, opening the swinging door to the gym where the prom was held. Taped to the floor at center court, Lulu saw her third clue written on bright red poster board. She laid the card next to the white slip. "Me?"

Maybe I want to forget everything for a little while.

"Just grab it," I ordered as we slipped back into the car. "One last stop."

"Where are we going now?"

"Somewhere we have never been," I answered.

"I have no clue what is going on."

"Good, that was my intention," I said.

"This whole day, this surprise, I just want you to know how amazing this is. I've never had anyone do something like this for me. No one has ever cared enough to make this big of an effort."

"You're worth all this and so much more," I reassured her with a kiss.

"I love you."

I just smile without saying another word as we pull off onto a shaded road. The car makes a few more turns before we pull into a driveway. Lulu looks at me with tears in her eyes. "Dillon! What did you do?"

"Just go in side."

She covered her mouth, her body wracked with tears. She doesn't say anything to me again as she slowly makes her way toward the door. Stepping inside, she looks around, running her fingers across everything. "How did you get this?"

"Your father and my mother," I replied. "I told your dad that I wanted to find us a home, something we could call our own. I knew that you wouldn't want to raise the baby in the mansion, and I think we could really use the space. When I told him what I had in mind, he recommended this place. Apparently, your family still owned it. I talked to my mother, and she helped get it transferred into my name with a portion of my trust fund. This is our home."

"I grew up in this house," she told me. "After we quit running, Mom convinced Dad to buy this house. When I think about my childhood, this is the house I remember. Lucky's bedroom was at the top of the stairs, and mine was just between his and my parents. We had Christmas morning right here by the fireplace, and Mom used to make these huge pancake breakfasts on Sunday mornings.'

"Do you like it?"

"Do I like it?" she cried. "I love it. This is my childhood home. You bought me my childhood home."

"I just thought it would be a nice place for us to raise our own child. And since your mom can't be with you, maybe this is the next best thing."

She didn't say anything as she crossed the floor, our mouths crashing together upon contact. My fingers tangled in her long hair as she took me to a place I never knew. Tears slipped down her cheek, spilling onto my face. "Thank you."

"There's more. Let's go upstairs." I took her hand and led her up the staircase. She passed Lucky's old room, pausing to take in all the sights. When we got to her room, the door was closed. "Open it."

The room was still empty, but there was a teddy bear sitting in the middle of the floor. "I thought this could be the baby's room," I explained. "Right next to our bedroom; it'd make a great nursery."

She fingered the soft terrycloth teddy bear. "And this will be in our baby's room," she said softly. "Wait, what is this?" she asked, pulling a sticker off the back. She peered up at me as the tears started again.

I slowly dropped to one knee and looked up at her. "It say's 'marry' on it," she whispered as I nodded. I pulled the box from my pocket, revealing a ring I had specially made. She kneeled in front of me, only slightly ruining my grand gesture.

"This puzzle was leading us here, to our future," I began. "This baby is a little bit of you and a little bit of me. This house will be a little bit of you and a little bit of me. Even this ring is a little bit of you and a little bit of me. The diamond comes from a ring that Grandfather gave to Grandmother on their final anniversary together. The setting came from a ring your father bought for your mother when they were on the run together in Canada. It was one of their many wedding rings."

Lulu laughed. "She had like fifteen."

"And we will have only one," I promised. "Lesley Lu Spencer, will you marry me?"

"Of course, yes," she managed through the tears. "Of course I will marry you."