Two days later, it was the middle of the night when the phone rang. Lulu was asleep beside me, her steady breath causing her chest to rise and fall. "Hello?"

"Dillon, I need to see you," a strong voice replied on the other end of the line. "It's about Lulu. Something has changed."

Aren't you angry? You had a right to know what was happening to you, just like we did!

"Where?" I asked, only half awake but coherent enough to understand the weight of his tone. "Luke, where do you want to meet?"

"Come by the Haunted Star," he decided. "Don't tell Lulu where you are going. I have some news, but I'm not ready to share it with her yet. Come now and come alone."

"I'll be there in a few minutes," I agreed before hanging up the phone.

It would've made a huge difference.

"Be where/" Lulu asked.

Her eyes were still closed but I knew that she had heard the entire conversation. My mind raced as I tried to come up with an excuse or an explanation. Nothing would come. "I have to go see my mother. She has had some sort of argument with your dad, and I guess she is freaking out. Alice said she needs me, and Ned is out of town."

"Do you want me to go with you?" she inquired as she sat up. Her hair was matted to her forehead, but she still looked beautiful. I reached up and brushed it away from her eyes and cupped her chin in my palm tenderly.

"No, I won't be long. You should stay here and rest," I replied as I crawled out of the bed. Lulu leaned against the headboard as I dressed.

"There's something you're not telling me," she said suddenly.

I can't lose you again! I -- I don't want to lose you again! I can't do it.

"No, there isn't."

"Yes, there is," she insisted. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Please, Lu, leave it alone," I implored. "I will tell you when I can, but for now, you just have to trust me."

"Is it about us? If this is about you and me, I need to know, Dillon."

"It's not about us. We're fine, baby," I murmured as I sunk onto the bed next to her. Her hormones were running rampant and she was near tears. Drawing her into my arms, I stroked her hair carefully until her nerves subsided. "I promise I will tell you when I can. Nothing is wrong, please believe me."

It never crossed my mind that you wouldn't be here forever.

"I believe you," she whispered as she buried her head in the crook of my neck. "I just don't want secrets between us. I saw what the secret about my pregnancy did to us, and I don't want to go back to that place. It's the darkest time of my life, and I don't think I could stand it if I had to live my life without you."

"You won't have to," I promised her. "I have to go. I will be back when I can."

"Okay," she agreed as I kissed her once more.

By the time I walked into the casino, the exhaustion had grown. It was past three in the morning, and no one sane is up at that hour. "What is it, Luke?" I demanded as I collapsed onto one of the stools at the bar. The older man poured himself a scotch silently. "Come on, I didn't come all this way to watch you drink. Lulu is home alone, and I'd like to join her in bed within the hour. We're both exhausted."

I hate that this is happening to you!

"I don't need to hear the sordid details, Young Spielberg," Luke chuckled. "Look, I just wanted to give you an update on Laura's condition. Robin Scorpio and Patrick Drake have started a drug regimen that could bring my wife out of her catatonic state."

"Luke, that's amazing!" I exclaimed. "When are you going to tell your kids?"

"I'm not going to tell them anything until I know more," he proclaimed. "I didn't even want to tell you, but there is a chance that Laura could die. I know that Lulu is in a fragile state right now, so I wanted you to be prepared for the possibility. If that happens, I'm not going to be able to be there for her. Losing Laura would devastate me."

"It would devastate Lulu."

I just -- I -- I can't believe that I'm going to lose you all over again.

"Exactly," Luke countered. "Regardless of the outcome, Dillon, she is going to need you there. If the medicine works, Lulu is going to have an overwhelming wave of emotions about seeing her mother again. She will be worried about how her mom will take the news of her pregnancy. And if, God forbid, we lose her, it's going to hurt her like nothing else in the world ever has."

"What about Lucky and Nikolas? Why haven't you told them?"

"They both have enough to deal with. Nikolas is trying to raise his son, and Lucky is in recovery. I will not burden them with this until I know something more certain."

"I hardly think they will see this as a burden," I argued.

Over summer, I fell in love with Dillon Quartermaine…

"Dillon, will you help me or not?"

I looked down at my hands. I didn't think he was doing the right thing by not telling his children, but that wasn't up to me. My job was to protect my fiancée and my child. "I would do anything for Lulu, even if it means keeping your secret. But if things get bad and I think she needs to know, I will tell her, Luke. She – just like her brothers – deserves to know she might lose her mother."

"I'll make that call when the time comes."

"No," I uttered stonily, "I will make that decision. I understand that you are Laura's husband, or close enough, and Lulu's father. But I am going to be her husband, and no offense, Luke, but I am more likely to be around when she does fall apart. She is going to need me, and I do not want her to be angry at me for not telling her the truth."

No, it is not going to be all right! How can you just give up and leave?

"Fair enough," he relented. "We'll do it your way because I know that you're right. If something happens, I will bail because that's what I do. I've always had someone to rely on to take care of my daughter. First it was Laura and then Lesley. Lucky has always watched over her, and even Cassadine has supported her. And now, I have passed that torch on to you."

"She needs you too," I revealed.

Luke shook his head. "I'd only do more harm than good. If it goes the wrong way, I'm going to go into a very dark place," he professed. "I can already see it. I'm afraid that I'll blame the kids because they're why I am doing this. I don't want to do that to my son, I don't want to do that to my daughter."

All of my life, I have heard about your love and your courage and your strength. And -- and now when really matters, you're giving up without a fight?

"Believe it or not, you actually have a say in how you treat other people," I pointed out. "But I know that your heart is in the right place. You want to protect Lulu from yourself, and I guess I have to be thankful for that."

"Speaking of my daughter, you should probably get home. If I know her, she's probably up worried about you."

"I doubt it. She's a pretty heavy sleeper these days," I laughed. "Thanks for calling, Luke. It is very important to me that you are looking out for her. Keep me posted."

We're just supposed to accept that it's over?... Why isn't dad worth fighting for now? Why aren't we?... How can you claim that you love us so much and turn around and leave us so easily?... It can't be happening already.

When I walked out of the casino, a ghostly blonde figure was leaning against my car. "Lulu, what are you doing here?"

"I think I should ask you that question," she declared, her hand on her hip. She glared at me accusingly as I stopped in my tracks. "What are you doing meeting my father, Dillon?"

"Why did you follow me? You said you trusted me," I shot back. I knew that I had been caught and my only defense was to point out her wrongdoing. Of course, being the brilliant woman that she is, Lulu immediately called me on it.

"Part of me does trust you, but there is another part that is telling me that something is up. When it comes to my own life, I figure I have a right to know. There is clearly something you don't want me to find out. It makes it very hard to believe in what we have, Dillon, when you can't tell me everything."

There have been so many times that I needed to talk to you, where if I could just get your advice, I'd know that everything would be okay…I love you.

"Lulu, I'm sorry, I can't."

"You have to tell me," she began. I could see tears sparkling in the pale moonlight. "I have to know, Dillon. I have to know."

"I can't," I whimpered, begging myself not to cry.

"Please," she sobbed. "Please…"

God forbid I make things any easier for anyone.

"Lulu," Luke said firmly behind me. "Why don't you come inside? I have a lot to tell you. It's about your mother."

"Mom?"

Luke nodded as he paused beside me. "You take a minute and talk to Dillon and then come inside. We need to have a long talk." With a reassuring smile, he disappeared back into the casino as quietly as he had come.

"It's about my mom," she said to no one in particular. "I'm scared."

I quickly made my way to her, pulling her body close to mine. "It will be okay," I vowed.

"Please don't leave me."

"I'll stay as long as you need me."

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, I just don't know what is going on. Fear makes me angry."

"I should have told you sooner."

"It doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that you're here now."

"And I'm not going anywhere."

But there is something I can do.