Dillon woke up the next morning, his arms still around Lulu in his bed. Tracy had seen them coming in, but she hadn't said anything when they had slipped into his room. She was still grieving for Alan and couldn't muster the strength to argue. Yawning, he reached across Lulu and pulled the ringing phone off the receiver. "Hello?"

"You're still asleep?" Lucky chuckled, glancing down at his stainless steel diver's watch. "It's past eleven."

"We were up late talking," Dillon confided. "I took Lulu to see your mom, and then we came back here and stayed up late. She had a lot of stuff she wanted to talk about, and I guess I did, too."

"Well, do you think you could wake her up and meet Emily and me at Kelly's? I have something I need to tell her, and it'd probably be helpful if you were there," Lucky retorted. "I know you got a lot going on with your family, but this is pretty important. I wouldn't ask otherwise."

"Sure, man," Dillon agreed. "Give us a half hour and we will be there."

"Thanks," Lucky replied before ending the call.

Dillon grimaced in confusion as he reached back across his girlfriend to replace the phone on its cradle. Lulu was awake now, peering up at him with hooded eyes. "What is it? I could hear Lucky's voice," she said with concern.

"He needs to see us. We're supposed to meet him at Kelly's," he remarked as he rolled off the bed. Leaning back over the bed, he kissed her briefly before heading toward the closet. Pulling out a pair of jeans and sweater Lulu had left behind when she had lived at the mansion, he tossed them to her. "I told him we'd meet him in thirty minutes."

Lulu rolled her eyes as she watched Dillon dress. This was one of her favorite parts of being in a relationship with him. It was such a normal task, dressing for the day, but it was something she shared with only him. It was their ritual, belong solely to them. "Hey, Dillon?" she murmured, looking up at him. "Can you come here for a minute?"

"Sure, are you okay?" he asked worriedly, sitting down next to her.

She nodded and threaded her arms around his neck, burying her face in his crook. "I just want you to know how much I love you," she whispered, kissing his skin softly.

"I love you, too," he avowed, stroking her blonde hair soothingly before kissing her. Before either of them knew it, she was lying on her back with him on top of her, proving to her just how deep that love was.

Thirty-seven minutes later, Dillon and Lulu rushed up the front sidewalk toward Kelly's hand-in-hand. They would have been on time but the heavy makeout session had prolonged their time getting ready. As they filed through the door, they quickly noticed they weren't the only ones who were late.

"What do you feel like having?" Dillon asked as he pulled out her chair. He could see Georgie behind the counter and knew that it could get uncomfortable rather quickly. Thankfully, Penny came over to take their order instead.

"I'll have a hot chocolate," Lulu ordered, scanning the menu for something to nosh on. "And a piece of apple pie ala mode with a fork, we're going to share."

"Anything else?" the waitress asked.

"Just a cup of coffee," Dillon said dismissively just before they were left alone again. He was just about to tell her something when the bell above the door dinged, indicating that Lucky and Emily had arrived. "Oh, they're here."

"Lucky!" Lulu cried happily, jumping to her feet. She looked at her brother, clutching Emily's hand, with confusion. "Hey, Em."

"Hey, Lu," Lucky greeted her, dropping Emily's hand to embrace his sister. Emily moved past them to hug her cousin.

"How are you holding up?" Dillon asked softly as they pulled apart.

Emily nodded and shrugged. "Lucky helps."

Looking over her shoulder at Lulu, he smiled genuinely. "I understand."

"So what brings you here?" Lulu asked as she sat back down, moving her chair closer to Dillon to help make room for them. Dillon reached under the table and took her hand, weaving their fingers together. She knew instantly whatever she was about to hear couldn't be good. "Lucky, you need to tell me."

"Lu, I'm so sorry," he began. "I didn't want you to hear this from anyone but me. I'm not going to tell you how to feel about this, and I certainly would never ask you to give anyone up or push someone out of your life."

"What is it? What did Dad do this time?"

"It's not him," he assured her. "It's Elizabeth. She told me two days ago that the baby isn't mine."

"What?!?" she cried incredulously. "Lucky, whose is it then?"

He glanced at Emily, silently pleading that she take the lead. "It's Jason's," Emily answered. "Apparently, they had a one-night stand. During the hostage situation, she told Nikolas. They told the two of us when we went to see Spencer."

"We?" Dillon repeated. "Are you two…?"

"We're just figuring that out," Lucky said shortly. "Apparently, we're not the only two that bonded. Elizabeth has decided that she is in love with Nikolas, and they are going to give their relationship a shot. I don't think Jason knows yet, and I'm not sure how he is going to feel. Other than Cameron and Spencer, I really don't care about any of this."

"Come on, Lucky, Nikolas is our brother."

"Our brother knew about the one-night stand months ago and hid it from me," Lucky said. "Even when he knew there was a chance that the baby was Jason's, he couldn't be bothered to tell me."

"That's not how it was, Lucky," Nikolas declared behind them. "I understand that you're angry, but we need to be honest with Lulu about what is going on. It's not fair to present only one side."

Dillon instinctively wrapped his arm around Lulu, hoping to shield her from the inevitable pain he knew was about to ensue. "I don't think that Lulu is up for this right now, guys. She has been through a lot."

"No, I'm fine," she insisted, looking between her brothers. "I know that there are two sides to this, Nik, but I have to know if you knew."

Nikolas bit his bottom lip and nodded reluctantly as Elizabeth came in the door, Spencer in her arms and Cameron in tow. "Daddy!" Cameron screamed, running across the dining room and into his father's arms.

"Cam," Lucky murmured, squeezing his son tightly. Elizabeth looked at her best friend and ex-husband apprehensively. "Hello, Elizabeth."

"Hey, Lucky," she replied softly. "Hello, everyone."

"Dillon, can you take Cameron and Spencer over there?" Lulu asked. "Emily can probably help you. I need to talk to my brothers and Liz."

"Sure," she offered, grabbing Cam's hand as Dillon took Spencer.

Once the four of them were alone, Lulu looked at Elizabeth sharply. "How did this happen?"

"Lulu, I'm sorry," she apologized. "I know this puts you in a hard place, and you have no idea how sorry I am about that. However, this isn't really your concern. Lucky, Nikolas, Emily and I will figure it out on our own."

"That's where you're wrong," Lulu spat. "This is my family. These two men, Lucky and Nikolas, they are the only family I have. Everything you do that affects them will affect me."

"Lulu," Nikolas pleaded. "You don't need to get yourself worked up. You've already been through so much."

"He's right," Lucky agreed begrudgingly. It was more important that his sister be okay than it was to prove a point to Nikolas.

"We're not going to put you in the middle," Nikolas agreed.

"That's good," Lulu laughed humorlessly. "I'm glad you're not forcing me to pick because I'm not sure you'd like the outcome."

"What does that mean? Are you blaming me?"

She raised her eyebrow. "I'm not blaming anyone."

"But you'd still take Nikolas' side?"

"It's Lucky," she said simply. "Nikolas, you know that I love you, but if you asked me to pick, I couldn't take your side. Lucky would never ask me to choose between you two."

"What if I did?" Lucky asked.

"You wouldn't," she said confidently before looking over at Elizabeth. "You created this mess, and I don't even know that you care. I love Cameron and Spencer, they are my nephews, but right now, I don't think I can be around you. I don't wish you any harm, Liz, but I can't believe you would lie to us."

"I didn't lie to you."

"Yes, you did," Lulu countered. "You let us hope for something that wasn't ours to wish for. You didn't just break Lucky's heart, you broke mine, too."

Lucky reached over and covered his sister's hand, seeing the pain in her eyes. "We should get you out of here," he whispered to her softly. He looked over at Elizabeth. "I'd like to pick Cameron up tomorrow."

"Fine," she agreed.

"Come on," he told his sister, helping her up from the chair.

Lulu looked back at her other brother one last time. "I expected more from you, Nikolas," were the final words from her mouth as she slipped back into Dillon's arms and ambled out of the store. Emily and Lucky were a step behind, none of them looking back at the people they were leaving.

"Take her home," Lucky told Dillon as Emily helped Lulu into the passenger seat of Edward's Bentley. "We're going to be right behind you. I told Emily that I'd come over and help her deal with the funeral and everything."

"How is she holding up?"

"She's going through the motions right now."

"Kind of like Lu," Dillon retorted.

"Exactly," Lucky said, "which is why I am worried about them both."

"Me too."

Lucky squeezed Emily's hand as he kneeled in front of Lulu. "I am going to go over to the mansion with Emily, so I'll be there if you need me. It doesn't matter what is going on or who I am with, nothing in this world is more important to me than you." Lulu nodded silently as her big brother pulled her into an embrace. "I promise I'm not going to let you end up like her, Lu."

"I'm scared, Lucky," she confessed in ear, her tears dampening the collar of his jacket. "What if you can't save me?"

"I've never let you fall before, little sister, I'm not about to start that now," he promised. "And I'm not alone this time, either. You have Emily, who happens to love you like a little sister. And you have that guy over there, and I'm pretty sure he's in love with you."

Lucky didn't say anything else as he closed the door firmly behind him. He nodded knowingly at Dillon and reached for Emily's hand, leading her toward her own car. When they finally reached the convertible, Emily stopped and pressed him against the driver's side door. "You did good back there, Spencer," she complimented him, leaning on her tiptoes to kiss him deeply. "I'm very proud of you."

"I just want to take care of her, Em," he confided. "I saw her starting to break all over again. I knew that this thing would affect her. She had so much faith in what I shared with Elizabeth. She thought that we might be the one couple in her life that could actually make it."

"I guess Nikolas and I haven't done much to uphold her resolve, have we?"

He shook his head. "She's been failed her entire life," he remarked, "but I have a feeling she is going to be the one to break the pattern. There is something there between her and Dillon. He loves her very deeply."

"And I love you very deeply," Emily said. "I'm not going to let them be the only ones to break the pattern, Lucky. We are going to figure out a way to change our lives together. This isn't just about you anymore, this is about us. You, me and Cameron, we're a family."

"How do you feel, Lu?" Dillon asked, reaching for her hand as they paused at a red light.

"Not good but better than I expected."

"You're doing good, baby. You're holding on. You didn't freeze up, you stayed grounded."

"I've been so wrapped up in myself that I haven't even looked at what is going on around me," she said. "They've traded lives and can't stand to be around each other. How did I not see it? Lucky is devastated, and Nikolas doesn't really know what he is supposed to do. There always has been such a delicate balance to the family; I don't know how we're going to manage this. But I will tell you one thing - I won't let Elizabeth Webber break up my family."

"She won't mess you if she knows what's good for her," he teased good-naturedly.

"Dillon, I haven't even asked how you are," she said. "I'm not the only one dealing with a lot. You just went through a breakup that had to be hard on you. And your uncle died."

"Alan and I weren't exactly close, but I loved my uncle. Despite everything, he truly but he cared about my mother and probably loved her in a way that no one could. I don't know what she is going to do without him."

"She has my dad. I know he has his downfalls, but he's great in a crisis."

"They really do love each other."

"This makes our family tree very contorted."

"Neither the Spencers nor the Quartermaines are known for being conventional, so why start with us? I am in love with you, Lesley Lu Spencer, all of you. The craziness, the sweetness, the feistiness, the bitterness, all of it."

"You say that all the time."

"And I'm going to keep saying it until you believe me."

"I think I actually do believe you," she smiled. "You're it for me, Dillon. There is no one in this world for me but you. I don't know how I made it 18 years without you because I'm not sure I could make it 18 minutes now."

"And you'll never have to," he promised, kissing her on the cheek as he turned into the Quartermaine drive. Pulling the car into the garage, he turned off the engine and turned back to her. "Hey, Lu?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you doing for the rest of your life?"