Nikolas tapped his foot against the thick carpet, counting the number of times his leather shoe pounded against the floor. He was well past 200, having started the useless game once Elizabeth had drifted to sleep an hour before. Since Lulu had disappeared, she had been a little tenser than before. He had finally convinced her to rest, knowing that it was the only way she was going to be able to stop worry.

"Wake her up," One demanded, kicking Nikolas' foot as he paced by.

"She's exhausted," Nikolas argued. "She's pregnant, and the stress isn't good for the baby. You won't let her go and you won't give her any water. Just let her sleep, please."

"Why should I?"

Nikolas looked at him. "Because at one time, there was someone who loved you as much as she loves her baby," he tried. "You have a mother, or at least you had one. How would you feel if someone was doing this to her?"

"Nice try," One chuckled. The truth was, the young nurse reminded him terribly of his mother and he had spent much of the night trying to avoid the connection. They had the same wide eyes, filled with unabashed kindness. Sometimes he wondered how such a gentle woman had ever raised a man like him. "Wake her up."

Defeated, Nikolas gently shook Elizabeth from her sleep. Her green eyes fluttered open as she struggled for a moment to remember where she was. Straightening her back against the wall, she stretched her legs before carefully laying her hands over her womb. She hadn't felt the baby kick in a few hours.

One stopped pacing and stood at Liz's feet. "I've decided to let you have a drink," he offered, handing her an unopened bottle of spring water. "You're not to share it with anyone, and you need to drink it all."

Elizabeth nodded gratefully, sorry that she had to be thankful to such a horrible man. Still, she was in no position to be picky, and the baby needed the cool liquid. She hadn't realized how thirsty she was until she was halfway through the bottle. Sliding the lip of the plastic bottle against her ruby lips, she scanned the room to see if Lulu had returned. When she noted that she hadn't, she became nervous again.

"Where's Lulu?" she asked Nikolas quietly, whispering behind the bottle as she pretended to drink. Nikolas shrugged in response before One noticed that they were talking without permission again.

"Did you have something you wanted to share with us?"

"I was just saying how grateful I was to you for this water," she said, holding it up in a mock toast. "I really appreciate it. You were kind when you didn't have to be."

One grinned at her and nodded, surprised that someone had finally learned to play the game. Out of all the hostages, he had never expected that Baby Breath Elizabeth would be the first one to catch on to how to get along with him. "For that, I think I will also give you something to eat," he decided, walking to the table that housed food and beverages. Scouring the contents, he finally decided on a red apple. Tossing it at Nikolas, he ordered the prince to hand it to the nurse.

Elizabeth bit into the juicy apple, eliciting a happy kick from her baby. She smiled at herself, glad to know that there was still life in there. "Hey, there," she bubbled softly, rubbing her swollen belly while she ate. The truth was that there was something to her plan. She knew that if she was kind enough, he would give her food and drink. And if he gave her that, she would need to use the bathroom. That was probably the only way she would get a moment away from the lobby and get a chance to escape.

As if on cue, the baby pressed against her bladder. "Oh, no," Elizabeth squeaked, earning her a look from One. "I'm sorry."

"What is it now?"

"It's just that I'm pregnant," she said, "and when you're pregnant, things tend to go right through you. I guess between the water and the juice from the apple, it was too much for my bladder to handle."

One seemed to consider her for a moment before nodding. "We can't have that happening here," he announced. He was going to have to have someone go with her to the bathroom, and the only female guard was attending to the doctor in another room. Looking at one of the random gunmen, he nodded. "Two, you'll go with her."

Elizabeth panicked for a moment, trying to figure out a way that she could include Nikolas in her departure. "I'll need help with my dress. Please don't make a stranger do it," she pleaded.

He was playing right into her hands, and Elizabeth knew it. For some reason, he had suddenly developed a soft spot for her. "Fine," he relented, pointing his gun at the prince. "You can go with her. Two will be right outside and has strict orders to shoot you both if anything happens."

"Yes, sir," Liz replied courteously, smiling brightly into his eyes as Nikolas helped her up. Placing his hand on the small of her back, Nikolas followed the nurse as they made their way to the staff bathroom just off the lobby. Once they were shut inside the room, Liz threw her arms around Nikolas and hugged him tightly. "It worked."

"What worked?" he whispered, reaching for her zipper. He knew that they didn't have long, and if she needed to go to the bathroom, they should probably take advantage of the little time they had.

"Stop," she said, turning away. "I don't have to go to the bathroom. I faked it. I just wanted to figure out a way for us to get out of here."

"I think I can help with that," Luke offered as he popped out the vent and stuck his head through the ceiling.

"What time is it now?" Emily asked sleepily, grabbing Lucky's wrist to look at his watch. "It's past 2 a.m. now, only three hours left."

He grimaced with anguish as she rolled over to look at him. They hadn't said much since the intimate moment an hour before. Instead, they had elected to simply sleep. Sitting up, a mischievous smile played on his lips. Forming his hand into a mock microphone, he held it up to his face. "You've been a hostage for nine hours, Emily Quartermaine, what are you going to do next?"

"I'm going to Disney World!" she giggled, ruffling his hair. "Let's play another game. How about we play Truth? I'd say Truth or Dare, but there aren't really a lot of viable dares available."

"That sounds harmless," Lucky agreed. Emily sat up next to him, leaning against the wall. Lucky wrapped his arm around her to bring her near to him, a position that had become customary in their given situation. "I'll go first. What's your biggest regret?"

Emily thought for a moment, scanning her brain. "There are a lot of regrets. I wish I had never taken drugs or stayed away from Port Charles for so long. But when I really think about it, I guess it's marrying Zander. I feel like things would have never gone the way they did if I had just been honest with him up front. He might still be alive today."

"You can't blame yourself for that," he reminded her. "It'd be like Nikolas blaming himself for the year I lost when Helena killed me in that fire."

"Okay, it's my turn now. What is the happiest you ever remember being?"

"You promise you won't laugh?" he asked. Emily nodded obediently. "Well, I have two. The first moment was the day I adopted Cameron. It's the first time I ever felt permanently connected to anyone in my entire life. There was this little boy who was completely dependant on me as a father. That was a bond that no one could ever break or take away."

"You're a good father, Lucky," she complimented him. "I admire that you and Elizabeth have managed to stay devoted parents to Cam, even when you couldn't be married to each other. You have really put him first."

"He's the reason for everything, Em," he confessed. "My reasons for living have varied greatly over the years, but they won't ever change again. He will always be my reason for fighting."

"And what's the other moment?"

"There's this moment, we couldn't have been more than eleven. I remember chasing you and Annabelle through the park with Foster. After years of being on the run with my parents, it was the first time I really felt like a normal kid. I was free from everything."

"I remember that day," she reminisced. "I'd been in Port Charles for two months. You found out the day before that it was going to be the anniversary of my mom's death, so you planned the entire thing out. We went to the docks and fed the ducks, had grape snow cones on the pier, ate ribs at Eli's, snuck a piece of apple pie from Ruby. It was so great."

"And then later," he continued, "I snuck out and came over to your house. You were upstairs in your room, and I threw pebbles at the window until you woke up."

"I climbed down the trellis and we took the rowboat out on the lake," she giggled. "We were so young and stupid. We could have tipped the boat over and drowned."

"I would have saved you."

"Yes, you would have," she drawled, the moment quickly deepening.

Lucky reached out and cupped her cheek in his hand, but she turned away. "It's my turn again," he proclaimed. "Tell me a secret you've never told anyone."

"You already know all my secrets," she protested.

"I don't buy that for a second, Quartermaine."

"Fine," she grumbled. "When I was in California, I danced in a strip club for a single song."

"What?!?" Lucky cried.

Emily covered her face, her throat now a deep red hue. "I know!" she exclaimed sheepishly. "But you have to understand."

"I understand completely."

"Ha ha," she muttered sarcastically. "No, seriously, it was right when I found out that I had breast cancer. I went out with a couple of girlfriends from the college I was going to and had a few too many drinks. I made the mistake of telling one of them that I had always secretly wanted to do it, and before I knew it, we were across town and I was being dragged on stage."

"That's priceless!" he cracked up, his ribs aching from the laughter.

"Paybacks are hell, Spencer. Your turn, same question."

"I've already told you one secret tonight," he pointed out.

"Doesn't count, so spit it out."

"When I was little, I wanted to grow up to be Sonny."

"I already knew that," she argued. "It has to be a secret."

"Okay, fine. You want a secret? This is so embarrassing, but my first crush ever was on Angela Lansbury, you know that chick from the crime show?"

"The really old lady?"

Lucky shrugged. "I've always had a thing for mystery."

Once Emily stopped laughing, she finally managed to tell Lucky that it was his turn to ask her a question.

"What song did you dance to?"

Emily smacked Lucky on the head. "I hate you."

"Dr. Drake, you have a phone call," a petite intern announced from the doorway of Robin's room. She still wasn't awake, and the ventilator was still helping her breathe artificially. He took her hand in his and kissed each knuckled before leaving the room.

"Thank you," he said passively before taking the receiver off the desk. "Drake."

"It's Mac," the police chief announced over the line. "I just wanted to call and check on Robin? Your father called when she got out of surgery to tell me, but I haven't got a status report lately."

"I'm sorry, my dad went home to get some rest," Patrick apologized. "She's still holding her own, Mac. I don't think she'll be off the ventilator tonight, and I'm still waiting for her to wake up."

Patrick could hear a heavy sigh as Mac rustled the cell phone. "I can't talk long, but I want you to know that I really appreciate you staying there with her. I wish I could be there."

"Robin would understand, you know that," Patrick assured him. "And there is nowhere else I belong other than by her side. I love Robin."

"I know that you do."

"How's it going there?"

"Not well," he said. "There haven't been any more releases, and we haven't had contact for a few hours. At this point, we're running out of options."

"Well, good luck," Patrick said, knowing that there really wasn't anything else to say. "I'll call you if anything changes or if she wakes up. Let me know if anything happens on your end."

"Will do," Mac agreed before ending the call.

Patrick handed the phone back to the nurse behind the counter and headed tiredly for Robin's room. His body was wracked with exhaustion by now, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer. Grabbing a blanket from the supply closet on his way by, he quickly made up a makeshift bed in the armchair next to Robin's bed. Kissing each eyelid before settling into the chair, he once again leaned his head next to hers. "Goodnight, Robin," he murmured as his eyelids drooped toward sleep. "I love you."

"Dillon, how did you get in here?" Lulu asked once they had finally pulled apart. Dillon was afraid to let go of her, his fingers playing with the long tangle of blonde hair splayed across her back.

"There really isn't time for that," he told her, gripping her hand fiercely. "We need to get out of here."

"Wait, my family is still in there," she protested. "I can't leave knowing they're not safe."

"Your dad and Jason will get them," he promised. "I told your dad that I would get you out of here. That's the only reason he even agreed to let me come."

Dillon busied himself pulling a chair underneath the vent as she watched on. "You came for me?"

He immediately stopped what he was doing and turned to her. Shortening the distance between them, he once against slipped his arms around her waist. "Who else would I have come for?"

"It's take a hostage situation for you to finally realize, huh?" she teased as he led her to the chair. Using his hands as a lift, he hoisted her into the ventilation system. She cursed as her dress became momentarily caught before he popped himself into the ceiling after her. Pulling the tile back into place, he gave her directions on which way to go. When they finally reached a clearing, he was able to maneuver his way into the lead.

"Can we stop for a minute?" Lulu pleaded. "We're safe up here. They can't hurt us up here."

"I just want to get you out of here," he retorted, stopping despite himself.

"Just come here for a second."

"Lu, we don't have time."

"Yes, we have time," she insisted, reaching for his hand and pulling him near her. "We always have time for this. We will make time for it." Running her hands up his arm and down his back, she leaned into his body until her lips crashed on his. His fingers quickly found her hair as her tongue darted past his lips.

Taking more of her into himself, Dillon reveled in the knowledge that she was finally safe in his arms. After a minute, he pulled away breathless. "I'm so happy that you're safe," he murmured, stroking the soft hair next to her face. "I'm sorry that it took me this long to realize. I'm sorry that I haven't been more there for you. I'm sorry for everything."

Lulu looked at him meaningfully. "I know you are," she murmured, pecking him on the lips. "You made up for it. You came for me. You saved my life."

"I had to. I just realized that I love you, I can't lose you now."

"You love me?"

"Yes, I love you. I love you so much, Lulu."

"I love you, too, Dillon." He grinned at her before starting to crawl again. Looking over his shoulder, he called for her to follow him. "You know, I'm kind of glad this happened in a way. Without it, you might not have realized that you loved me."

"Bite your tongue, Lu," he muttered as they neared the end of their journey. Kicking forcefully through one last tile, he was relieved to see the empty ballroom. "We made it," he announced as he dropped from the ceiling. A second later, Lulu followed him out. "We just have to go down the staircase and we're out of the hotel. I want to take you over to General Hospital to have you checked out before I take you home."

"Dillon, I can't leave without knowing my family is okay."

"Please," he begged. "I need to know you're okay."

"They didn't hurt me," she promised, surprised to see the anxious tears slipping down his cheeks. "I promise, Dillon, he didn't do anything to me."

"I saw him with his hands on you, taunting you," Dillon sobbed. "I'm so sorry that I let you go down there."

"You do not get to blame yourself," she said. "We are going to get out of this hotel, and I am going to get checked out by the paramedics outside so that you feel better. Then, we are going to wait for my family to come out. Once everyone is safe, we are going to go home, and we are going to start our lives together. Everything is going to work out just like I said because we've come too far for God to disappoint us now."