Lulu woke up in a hospital. There was a steady beep, which was encouraging because she was fairly sure that it was her heart monitor. She glanced around and saw Nikolas sitting by her bedside.
"Hey," she said. Her voice sounded tired and weak.
"Hey," Nikolas said, relieved. "How are you feeling?"
"Strange. Very strange. Being shot feels very, very strange," Lulu commented.
"We were all so worried about you. But you pulled through like the fighter that you are," Nikolas said.
Lulu wondered who "we" was. She remembered Johnny being there when she was shot and she was hoping he would be here now. She needed to tell him about the baby.
The baby. How was her baby? Had anyone checked to see if the baby was okay? She had been shot and she needed to know if their baby was going to make it.
Lulu looked at Nikolas and hoped he wouldn't ask why she asked the question.
"Could you get the doctor for me? I need to ask some questions," Lulu requested.
Nikolas looked at her carefully but agreed and left the room. Lulu was a nervous wreck, but put on a brave face when Spinelli came into the room.
"Fair Lulu. The Jackal is pleased to see you have awakened. He hopes your full recovery is pending," Spinelli said.
"I hope so too. I haven't talked to the doctor yet, so I don't know for sure," Lulu responded.
"How is the Miniature Fair One that grows within you?" he asked.
Lulu sighed and tears came to her eyes. Not knowing the answer to that question was killing her. What if the baby was gone before she had even talked to Johnny?
"I don't know, Spinelli. No one has told me anything. Do you know who all is here? I remember Johnny being with me when I got shot, but I haven't seen him," Lulu said anxiously.
"The Mob Prince was banished from the hospital by the Brothers of the Blonde One. The Conscientious Cop felt that the Mob Prince was responsible for the unfortunate bullet that pierced the Blonde One's fair skin," Spinelli explained.
"Why would they think Johnny was responsible? He wasn't standing by me. It couldn't have been meant for him. Someone was aiming to shoot me," Lulu cried.
"Can the Jackal be of some assistance to Fair Lulu?" Spinelli asked.
Lulu was going to answer, but the doctor came in. She asked Spinelli to leave and then took a deep breath.
"Your brother said you had questions for me?" the doctor asked.
"Yes," Lulu answered. "I wanted to know how my baby was. Or if you had checked the baby because I just recently found out and I don't know exactly how the records work here."
"We have run tests, but we are still waiting for the results. You lost a lot of blood, which could have hurt the baby, but there was no spotting or any other indication that you had lost it. When we get the results I will let you know. Until then, it is important for you to remain as relaxed as possible," the doctor advised.
Lulu thanked him and he left the room. Relaxed. She was supposed to be relaxed when she could lose her baby. When the father of her baby didn't know about the pregnancy yet and wasn't allowed to see her.
There was no way she could be relaxed.
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Johnny was sitting on a barstool at Jake's. He was staring at the full beer in front of him desperately wanting to know how Lulu was doing. Why the hell hadn't he stood up to Lucky and Nikolas when they all but shoved him on the elevator? Why hadn't Luke said something? Luke probably hated him for what he did to Lulu, but he would want what Lulu would want. Maybe Lulu didn't want him after all.
Not that it mattered now. Lulu didn't have to want him, but she had to live. She had to make it and Johnny was going crazy not knowing what was happening at the hospital.
Johnny heard a crash and turned to see Spinelli stumbling through the door. Spinelli rushed over to him and began babbling quickly. Johnny cut him off because he couldn't understand what he was saying.
"How is Lulu?" Johnny asked.
"The Fair One has awakened from her post-surgery nap and is stable," Spinelli answered.
Relief rushed over Johnny and then the anxiety built again. He had to ask another question.
"Did she ask about me?"
"The Blonde One wanted to know why the Mob Prince was missing from her bedside. The Jackal informed her of the situation. However, the Jackal urges the Mob Prince to forgo the wishes of the Menacing Brothers of the Blonde One to rush to her aid," Spinelli said quickly.
"Why? What's going on that you aren't telling me about?" Johnny questioned.
"The Blonde One surely needs the father of the Miniature Fair One that grows inside of her!" Spinelli exclaimed.
"The what? You need to speak English, Spinelli. This is obviously important and here you are saying something about a 'Miniature Fair One' and-" Johnny cut himself off when what Spinelli was trying to tell him sunk in.
Johnny spoke slowly, annunciating each syllable to make absolutely sure that Spinelli heard him correctly. "Lulu…is…pregnant?"
Spinelli just nodded his head and Johnny took off. He ran as fast as he could and got in his car. He had to get to Lulu and their baby. Was the baby okay? He hadn't taken the time to ask, but he forced himself to believe everything was fine.
Lulu would be fine, the baby would be fine and they would be a family. They had to be.
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Lulu was trying to stay relaxed. So she kicked everyone out of the room. She didn't want to explain to them why she was nervous. She didn't want to talk at all. Not to them.
She curled up on her side and faced away from the door. It felt like hours since the doctor had talked to her, but according to the clock it had only been twenty minutes. She heard the door open and she sighed. Why wouldn't they leave her alone?
"Go away please," Lulu said angrily.
"I really would like to stay if you don't mind."
Lulu turned toward the most beautiful voice she had ever heard. She saw Johnny standing there and she couldn't help but to burst into tears. He immediately climbed in the bed with her and held her face to his chest and stroked her back soothingly.
When she finished crying, he pulled back slightly and gently caressed her face. She leaned into his touch and was so lost in the moment of being close to him again she almost missed it when he spoke softly.
"Did we lose the baby?" Johnny whispered.
"What? How did you know I was even pregnant? Is that the only reason you came?" Lulu asked and the tears came back to her eyes.
"Shhh, no. I came for you because Spinelli said that you needed me. That was hard for me to believe considering everything that has happened. He told me that you were pregnant and that you had asked about me, so I came," Johnny explained.
"Oh," Lulu responded simply. Then the words came fast and jumbled. "I don't know if the baby is okay yet. I'm waiting for the doctor to come in and I'm so scared. I'm so sorry I hadn't told you, but I wanted to. I just hadn't seen you and when I did-" Johnny cut her off with a kiss.
Their lips melded together and her hands instinctively went to his face to pull him closer. Her reaction caused him to deepen the kiss. He pulled her body towards his and she didn't fight him. For a beautiful moment, they went back in time to the place where everything was clear and simple and all that mattered was that they were together.
Johnny slowly pulled away and Lulu tried to catch her breath. She couldn't remember the last time Johnny had kissed her like that, but to be perfectly honest her brain had lost all coherent thought when his lips had met hers.
"Everything is going to be okay, Lulu," Johnny whispered while tracing her facial features with his thumbs. "I know it will be."
His eyes were confident and she believed him. She leaned into him again and allowed him to just hold her. To make the world go away. She was just drifting off to sleep when the sound of a door opening caused her to stir.
The doctor came into the room and Johnny moved to get out of the bed, but she clung tightly to his hand so he couldn't go far.
"We have the results, Ms. Spencer. Do you mind if this gentleman hears them?" the doctor asked.
"No. He's the father. He has every right to hear them," Lulu answered giving Johnny a hopeful look.
He gave her a confident smile and squeezed her hand tightly. She took a deep breath as the doctor opened his chart.
"Everything looks great," the doctor said with a smile. "We're going to have you stay in the hospital for a few more nights as a precaution, but you and your baby appear to be just fine."
The doctor exited the room and Lulu was once again crying, but these were tears of joy and relief. She looked to Johnny and he had the same tears in his eyes. He climbed back into the bed with her and she laid her head on his chest and listened to his heart beating perfectly in sync with hers.
He kissed her forehead and smiled contently down at her. She returned the smile and closed her eyes. She felt his hand come to her stomach and she covered it with her own.
This was their first family moment and it was perfect.