"I want to do this now," Patrick whispered some time later, as they lay together watching the sun peak above the horizon through the single window in her private hospital room. Careful to avoid the tubes attached all over her body, he held her gently in his arms, periodically rubbing her hand absently or dropping a kiss on her silky hair. "I don't want to wait to marry you. I want to do it tonight."

Robin pulled away, cocking her head to the side so she could look into his eyes. She looked for a hint of doubt in his gaze, but there wasn't any. He was serious. "You're really sure about this, aren't you?"

He nodded, his chin bumping the top of her head. "I'll make the call, get anyone you feel like you need here. I just want my father here. We don't need anything much. We can do it in the chapel here. I'm sure Father Coates would come over."

Threading her fingers through his, she thought for a moment. She would need Mac here to walk her down the aisle, which would be difficult considering she was still far too weak to walk. And she would want the girls here to stand up with her; Georgie and Maxie were the sisters she would never have. Of course, she would want her parents there ordinarily, but they were on the other side of the world on some mission. Mac had called and left a message for her mother, but Anna was unable to come back. Once he had reassured her that Robin was stable, she had once again fallen off the radar.

"Okay," she agreed brightly, smiling up at him. "I want to call my uncle and the girls, they're the only family I have here. I think just our immediate family is the way to go with this. Maybe we can have a dinner in a few weeks when I get out of the hospital to celebrate. I'm sure there are other people we will want to share this with, like Sonny and Nikolas."

Patrick jumped off the bed, pumping his fist in victory. "We're really going to do this!" he exclaimed in disbelief. Robin grinned and nodded silently. Leaning over the bed, he took her face firmly in his hands and kissed her hard on the lips. "I am so happy we're going to do this."

"Me too," she said as he handed her the telephone. She dialed the number from memory, waiting patiently for someone to pick up on the other end of the line. When she finally heard his voice, Robin could feel the salty tears prickling her eyes. "Uncle Mac, I need you to come to the hospital."

"What's wrong? Are you okay"

"No, I'm fine," she assured him. "In fact, I'm better than fine. I'm getting married."

"Patrick proposed?"

"He did."

"I can't wait to celebrate this with you. Congratulations, Sweetheart."

She smiled to herself, running her free hand along the smooth tube connecting her to a bag of blood. "Actually, we are going to get married today," she revealed hesitantly.

"Are you sure that's the best thing? You just went through something pretty traumatic."

"Exactly," Robin retorted. "I realized tonight just how much I love Patrick. Why delay the inevitable? I know that I am going to spend the rest of my life with him. I just want to start that life now." Patrick looked over at her fondly and winked, bringing another wide smile to her beautiful face. "Please, I need you to support us on this."

"Of course I will," he promised. "If this is truly what you want, I will do whatever you need me to do. You are like a daughter to me, Robin. I just want you to be happy."

"I will be," she avowed. "As long as you and the girls are here, I will be happy. You're my family – you, Maxie and Georgie. I need you to be here with me."

"We'll be there within the hour," he told her before ending the call.

Robin replaced the receiver on its cradle and looked up at him. "It's all set. An hour from now, I will be your wife, Dr. Drake."

Four hours had passed before Emily and Lucky were able to leave General Hospital. They had managed to secure fresh clothes thanks to Monica, and now, they were sitting in Lucky's squad car trying to figure out what to do next. The silence between them was comfortable as they both stared ahead at the brick wall. Finally, Emily turned to Lucky. "We have to tell them. There's no way around it. I don't want to hide it, and I can't lie to them about it, either."

"I would never hide my love from you," Lucky said, looking over at her. "I love you, Dr. Emily Quartermaine, and I am very proud of that. There is no way I would ever ask you to lie about how I feel about you or how you feel about me. Other than Cam and the baby I am having with Elizabeth, there is nothing in the world that matters to me more than you."

"You're a father to her children," Emily mused, raking her fingers through her hair nervously. "I hadn't even thought about that."

"Don't do that," he ordered her softly, bringing her hand away from her face. "Do not worry about that. No matter how angry Elizabeth gets, she would never keep my children away from me. She's not like that."

"I know, I just hadn't thought about how complicated this all is going to be. I knew that it would affect Liz and Nikolas, but I guess I had blocked the kids out. Cam, Spencer, the baby…"

"If it makes it easier, I'll tell them on my own. You won't even have to be there. You can go home and sleep. By the time you wake up, it will all be over."

"I could never let you do that, but it means a lot that you would do it for me," she replied. "No, we're in this together, so I have to be there. They are my friends, too. Elizabeth is my best girl friend, and Nikolas is my ex-husband. She's your ex-wife and your brother. I don't think we could be more intertwined if we tried."

Lucky half smiled. "It would be easier if they were two people we didn't care about anymore, but they're half of us in so many ways," he remarked.

Emily shrugged. "Like everything else, it is what it is. We have to do this, and we need to do it now. I know that you're probably anxious to see Cameron. Why don't we go over there now so you can visit him? We can tell them before we leave."

"It's a plan," Lucky mumbled before putting the car in reverse and heading toward Audrey's house. The route was familiar, one he had walked and driven more times than he could count since his adolescence. So many times, he had been exhilarated as he turned onto her street, knowing it would be just a few minutes since he held her. This time, however, he felt anxious as they neared her house, knowing it was time to finally let her go.

Elizabeth stretched her body in the bed, languishing in the silence of her bedroom. She could feel Nikolas asleep behind her, the steady inhale and exhale of his breath tickling her skin. His face was buried in her neck, his arms still around her body. She leaned back against him, trying to hold onto the private moment for as long as she could.

His familiar eyes fluttered open, framed beautifully by his dark lashes. Dropping a simple kiss on her bare shoulder, Nikolas smiled sleepily. "You're awake," he greeted her huskily, his voice full of emotion. Waking up with Elizabeth in his arms felt so right. Since he had shared the moment with her last night in the doorway of the room where their children were sleeping, he had known that this moment was inevitable. "Did you sleep well?"

"Like a baby," she admitted as Nikolas rubbed his hands over her stomach. She could feel the baby respond to his touch, kicking lightly against her abdomen. "She already knows your touch."

"You have to tell him, you know," he said softly, knowing that she would understand. "We have a lot of things to tell them both, but I think this might be the most important.'

"He's going to hate me."

"Maybe," Nikolas said truthfully. "I don't know."

"You hated Jax and Carly," she pointed out, "and you weren't even in love with them."

"You're right, I was very angry about that," Nikolas agreed.

"I hate it when you're honest."

"Well, then maybe you should brace yourself because I'm about to be honest again," he murmured as she turned over in his arms. "Elizabeth, I know that we said that this would only be one night, but I can't do it. I can't watch you walk away to another man, not after everything we've been through. I know that Lucky is going to end up hating me, and it literally breaks my heart that this is going to hurt Emily. But I can't just let you go."

"What if I don't want you to let me go," she asked. "Everything you're feeling, I'm feeling it too, Nik. I know that I have to tell Lucky, just like I know that we have to tell Emily. I was scared thinking about telling him alone, but I don't have to do that now. I have you. I'm sorry that I lied to him for so long, but I'm not going to apologize for how I feel about you."

"And how do you feel about me?"

"You know."

"Say it."

"I want to be with you, Nightmare Nikolas."

He laughed at her reference. "There's more."

"And I am in love with you."

"I love you, too, Baby's Breath," he mumbled against her lips as he invaded her mouth. The moment quickly deepened as he rolled her on top of him. His hands traveled up and down her back, slipping easily beneath the gauzy material of her nightgown. Her skin was soft beneath his touch and smelled faintly of peaches. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders as she leaned down to take his mouth with hers again. Moaning softly with pleasure, she leaned back on her heels as he sat up to remove his shirt. Admiring his body, she ran her index finger lightly down his well-defined chest. Bringing her crashing down against him once again, they went back to kissing until a knock at the door interrupted them.

Elizabeth shot up immediately, covering her mouth guiltily. Things had gotten out of control so quickly. "Who is it?"

"Mommy, Spencer is awake!"

"Give me a minute and I will be right in," she told Cameron.

Nikolas climbed off the bed, stepping back into his pants and pulling on his shirt. Elizabeth wrapped her soft chenille robe around her pregnant body and leaned against the door, waiting for Nikolas to finish dressing. Just as they were about to go out, Nikolas pressed flat against the solid wood. Lifting her up so that her legs wrapped around his strong torso, he kissed her again hungrily. "We are going to finish this later," he promised before setting her back now, "but right now, we're going to go have breakfast with our kids."

"Our kids," she repeated, liking the sound of it. She followed him down the hallway, listening to Cameron's bubbly voice talking soothingly to the baby. Stepping in front of Nikolas, she lifted the baby from the crib and cradled him to her body. Nikolas scooped up Cam, balancing him on his hip while kissing his son hello. Guiding her down the staircase toward the kitchen, neither of them noticed Audrey's shocked look as they sat down together at the table. She couldn't believe how much like a family they already seemed.

"Maybe we shouldn't do this," Dillon said breathlessly as Lulu rolled over on top of his sturdy frame, ceasing control of the situation. Reaching out, she pinned his arms above his head before dipping to kiss him again. He turned his head, pulling his hands away. "I'm serious, Lulu. You just went through something horrible. I don't want to take advantage of you."

"You're not," she assured him absently, trying to entice him back to her by peeling her tee shirt from her body. "I want this, I want you."

"I just don't want to hurt you," he retorted tenderly, reaching out to stroke her hair. He palmed her cheek for a moment before she turned her head to lay a gentle kiss on the inside of his hand. Finally, she shook her head in agreement, knowing that he was right. He whispered an apology as he brought her body firmly next to his. "I'm sorry."

"You don't ever have to apologize for doing the right thing, Dillon. You are a good man who just happens to love me. I don't have a single complaint in the world."

He smiled appreciatively, knowing that she was genuine. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"I want to go to Kelly's and have a cup of coffee. I want to sit with you at our usual table and pretend just for a little bit that nothing has changed. I want to forget about what has happened for a few hours and just be a kid."

"I think we can do that. I'll even steal the Bentley for you."

"Aw, you would do that for me?" she grinned teasingly.

"Babe, there is no limit to what I'd do for you."

"That, Mr. Quartermaine, is the sexiest thing you have ever said to me."

"Only you could appreciate my unusual charms," he laughed. Lulu jumped off the bed and pulled on her jeans. Dillon followed suit, dressing in his familiar uniform of faded jeans and a distressed vintage shirt. Yanking one of his worn hoodies from the closet, Lulu threw it on over her head and pulled her long blonde hair from beneath the collar. Turning around, she held her arms out in front of her. Dillon walked straight into them, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. Even if their reprieve lasted for only a few hours, for now, they were just two kids falling even more in love.