"Thanks, Mike," Nikolas said warmly, taking the two cups of hot tea from the man behind the counter and carrying them over to a quiet table in the corner. The café was empty other than himself, its manager and Elizabeth. Setting it in front of her, he sat down and peered across at her. "How are you holding up?"

Elizabeth looked down at her hands on the table and shook her head silently. Still shaken from her confrontation with Lulu earlier, she had called Audrey and pleaded for her to come retrieve Cameron and Spencer. She had tried to reassure her grandmother that everything was fine and that she just needed some time with Nikolas to talk things over, but she knew that Audrey hadn't bought it. She knew Elizabeth far too well to not see the darkness in her wholesome eyes. "I don't want to tear your family apart," she grieved. "You lived a lonely childhood, devoid of the siblings you have since come to know and love. I don't want to be responsible for keeping you from them anymore. My actions aren't just hurting Lucky and me anymore. They're hurting Lulu, Spencer and you. I don't want to put you in the middle."

"It's too late for that, Elizabeth," Nikolas said. "Here I am, smack in the middle of everything. We can't go back and change that. Even if we could, I'm not sure that I would want to."

"How can you say that? Your brother and sister are both so angry at you. I'm not worth losing your family over."

"I'm not going to lose anyone over this," he promised. "Lucky is so wrapped up in being hurt, he can't see past the situation right now. All he knows is his pain. He just lost a child, and he needs to blame someone. If he wants to put it on me to help him get through, I can take it. My concern is not for myself here, it is for my brother, my sister and you."

"You're so selfless," she murmured, reaching across the table to cover his hand with hers affectionately. "This has the potential to rip your entire life apart, and you're worried about everyone else. What about Spencer? He could miss out on having a family."

Nikolas shook his head vehemently. "Neither Lucky nor Lulu would ever distance themselves from their nephew, no matter how they feel about me," he said. "Family is everything to both of them, you should know that better than anyone. Just like they will stay apart of Cam's life regardless of their opinion of you, they will want to be in Spencer's life."

"Lulu was so angry. I've never seen her like that, except maybe in the weeks before and after the abortion. She was so cold, so distant."

"She's a Spencer," Nikolas chuckled. "I definitely saw the Luke part of her persona come through, just like it did in Lucky. But they also have a lot of our mother in them, and that's the part I know will win out in the end. Lucky will come around and tell Lulu that this isn't about her. She'll trust in him because other than when he was on drugs, that is what she has always done. I've never seen two siblings believe in each other quite like they do."

Elizabeth felt a frown tug down the corners of her mouth. "You feel like you're on the outside," she said pointedly. "You see a brother and a sister and know that they're you're their family, too. But you can't quite figure out where you fit into that relationship. You want to be a part of their life but are afraid that you'll never share that special bond."

"In a way, that's exactly how I feel," he agreed. "Lucky and Lulu grew up together. They share the same parents and in so many ways, are exactly a lot. I always feel like I come in second place, that I'll never be apart of their clique."

"Growing up, I was always the black sheep of the family," Liz remembered. "Sarah and Steven were both so confident, so perfect and assured. My parents knew that they would follow in my grandfather's footsteps and become doctors. They got straight As, never got in trouble and were exactly what any mother or father would want. With me, I never really fit into the Webber clan. I was a troublemaker, someone who barely went to school and just did well enough to pass."

"I used to be so jealous of them both," she continued. "I just wanted to make my parents proud, and if I couldn't do that, I was determined to mess up enough that they would have to pay attention to me. Little did I know, they would end up sending me to Port Charles to live with Audrey. If I wasn't there, they didn't have to deal with me."

"Look at us," he laughed, moving his chair so that he was next to her. "We're a couple of black sheep who just ended up together."

She couldn't help but giggled in response. "In a weird way, we make more sense together than our past relationships. I mean, in some ways, you seemed perfect with Emily. You were both wealthy and white collar. Lucky and I didn't come from much and were both decidedly blue collar. But when you got to the root of who we are, you and I are much more alike."

"And Em is so much like Lucky," Nikolas added. "They are both the soul of their family, the conscious that oozes rationality and morality when things get bad. They are so intricate to the existence of their respective families. You and I, we're the ones they sometimes forget."

"Promise me something," she murmured.

"Anything," he responded, leaning in closer to her. Slinging his arm across the back of his chair, he could feel her breath tickle the inside of his neck.

"Promise me that we will always make our children feel like they belong," she said. "Even if we don't end up together, promise me that you will always make certain that Spencer has a place in this world and in his family. I want both of my children to always feel like they are wanted and that they fill a specific place in my heart. All of my children will be loved equally and will hopefully care about each other equally."

"Lucky and Lulu love me just as much as they love each other, and I think you should believe that Sarah and Steven love you equally as well," Nikolas proclaimed. "But I will give you my word that Spencer will always belong somewhere. Even if it is just with me, he will have a place. I'm not even sure I will have any more children."

Elizabeth smacked her hand against the table suddenly, rattling the contents on its surface. "Okay, enough of this feeling sorry for ourselves," she said. "My grandmother has the boys for the afternoon, which means we have a few hours alone. Now, I don't know if you have anything in mind, but I say we make them count."

He cocked his head to the side, a sly smile playing across his lips. "Well, Wyndamere is empty, we could go back there."

"And whatever would we do there, Prince Cassadine?"

"You see, I have this bedroom upstairs that I don't think you have ever seen," he grinned coyly. "I'm sure you would be infinitely impressed by the art collection that is housed there. As an artist yourself, I think you would appreciate the range of talent on display. I also have some fine linen that might be of interest to you."

"Well, for the sake of my artistic eye, I think I should accompany you back for a tour," she said, pulling a few dollars from her handbag and tossing them on the table. Nikolas reached over and helped her into her coat before leading her toward the front door. Outside, they quickly headed toward the pier and tucked themselves into the launch.

"It's such a mausoleum," Elizabeth taunted, hooding her eyes to look at the majestic castle in the distance. "From here, it looks so cold and uncomfortable. But when you're inside, in the thick of it, it's warm and homey. I never thought that place could seem inviting, but you have managed to fill it with so much love."

"I have to attribute a lot of that to my son," Nikolas professed. "Before him, I never really knew what it was like to have a permanent family. No matter what happens, he is forever connected to me. This entire little person is completely dependent on me. It's a pretty powerful thing."

"It changes your life," she agreed. "Having Cameron has certainly changed my life. I have made a lot of mistakes, but he is the one thing I have gotten right. From my one-night stand with Zander until now, I wouldn't change a single thing because it gave me both my kids."

"Just another thing we have in common," he pointed out as they waited for the drive to park the boat at the private dock just outside the Cassadine estate. A few moments later, Nikolas climbed out and helped lift Elizabeth onto the wooden planks carefully. Taking her hand, he guided her up the sidewalk and through the front door of Wyndamere. Shrugging off his coat, he threw it over the couch along with Elizabeth's.

Padding over to the fireplace, Elizabeth stood in front of stone hearth and watched the flames dance across the room. They were both anticipating what was to come, knowing that it was time for them to cement how they felt about each other. Nikolas stood beside her silently, not touching her but his proximity enough to pique her inner desire. Reaching down to his side, he let his fingers brush hers before hooking their thumbs together. Grabbing her by the wrist, he turned her around and pulled her flush to his body.

Moaning in response, Elizabeth willingly offered herself to Nikolas' kiss, pressing her entire body into his. Thigh against thigh, stomach against stomach, chest against chest, they were as close as two people could get. Pulling her ponytail free, he gazed at her longingly as her chestnut ringlet fell over her shoulders. Dropping his eyes to her lips, he hungrily devoured her mouth again.

"Nikolas," she whimpered as they broke the kiss, "I want to tell you something. This, us, is about you and me. It's not about Emily or Lucky, and it's not about the hostage situation. It's about the fact that I am completely and utterly in love with you. I want to be with you right now, in this moment."

"You don't need to reassure me, Liz," he avowed. "I know your heart, and I know that you would never use me. I know that this is all going to be complicated, I won't even pretend that it's going to be easy. But I am so happy, and I'm pretty sure that life doesn't get better than this."

"I wish this could last," she managed to say before his lips interrupted her. Dancing her backward, Nikolas crashed down on the couch, pulling her on top of him. Letting his hands wander down her sides, around her waist, over her backside and up to her shoulders, he had never wanted to be with someone as much as he wanted to be with her.

As if on cue, the baby kicked, hitting first against her womb and then his abdomen. Turning them over so that he was on top, Nikolas lifted the edge of her shirt as he kissed his way down her body. Smiling up at her, he laid gentle kisses over her rounded stomach, his eyelashes fluttering against the delicate skin. "I love you," he whispered to her womb, keeping his eyes fixated on Elizabeth.

She reached down and held his face in her hands, adoration shining back at him. Bringing him back to her, she whispered the only permission he would ever need, "I love you, too."