"Wake up, Mommy, it's moving day!" Cameron screamed a few days later, running across the room and flinging himself onto the bed. Turning over, Elizabeth looked at the fuzzy numbers on the clock on the nightstand. It wasn't even five yet, and the little boy was already full of energy, eagerly anticipating the move to Wyndamere.

"Climb in here, Sweetie," she told him, pulling back the blankets. His little body fit perfectly next to her as she absently stroked his hair. "I want to talk to you about a few things before we get started."

Rolling over so that he could look at his mother, she smiled at how genuinely concerned he seemed. "What is it, Mommy?" he asked.

"I wanted to make sure that you are okay with us moving into the house with Nikolas," she began. "And I want you to understand what this mean. It doesn't necessarily mean that we are going to be a family, and it especially doesn't mean that he is your father. Daddy will always be your daddy, no matter where we live."

"I know," he grinned.

"Oh, you do?"

"Sure, Daddy already told me," Cameron explained. "He told me that it doesn't matter who lives where, we are all still going to be a family. He said that he loves you and me and the baby, no matter what anyone else says. And he said that he will always be my dad and love me best and that I shouldn't worry."

Elizabeth felt a familiar tug on her heartstrings. "Your daddy is absolutely right. The only thing that matters is that you are happy, safe and loved," she said. "You and your little brother or sister are the most important thing in the world to me. Nothing could change that."

"You know what else Daddy said?" he asked, continuing before Elizabeth could reply. "He told me that I'm lucky to have so many people that love me. I have Grandpa Luke and Grandma Audrey and you and Daddy and Aunt Emily and Uncle Nikolas and Aunt Lulu and Aunt Bobbie. There are a lot of people who care about me."

"Your daddy is a smart man," Liz offered gratefully, happy that Lucky had been so careful to reassure him. "All three of us – you, me and the baby – will have our own little part of the house at Nikolas'. We can see him when you want, maybe hang out with Spencer, but still go home when you want. You're going to have your own bedroom with all the train stuff we picked out last week. And your daddy even picked up a railroad sign that he found out by the boxcar where we used to hang out a long time ago."

"Cool!" he cheered, giggling happily. "Daddy is going to move into Grandpa Luke's old house, so I'll have a bedroom there, too. He let me go over there yesterday and pick out my bedroom. I'm going to have the same one he did when he was little."

"You will have two bedrooms, two sets of toys, two places to be spoiled. You're a very lucky little boy."

Cameron grinned before leaning over to kiss his mother. Then, dropping a kiss on his mother's rounded womb, he rolled off the bed. "I'm going to go put my toys in my backpack. I told Grandma that I was going to leave some of my stuff here so that I still had toys when I came to visit her. I'm afraid she is going to be sad without me here."

"Oh, I think she will manage," Elizabeth assured him. "Besides, we'll be here so much that it will be like we never left. You don't have to worry about her. And if you ever start to miss her or your daddy, you just have to tell me and we will go visit them or you can call."

"Thanks, Mommy," he called over his shoulder before pulling the door closed behind him. Alone in her room, Elizabeth reached for the receiver and dialed Nikolas' number from memory. She waited a few moments as it rang before hearing his voice. She smiled to herself as his groggy tone filled her ear.

"Hello?"

"Good morning," she cooed.

"Good morning," he replied, instantly perking up. "It's moving day. You know, it's not too late to back out."

"Don't tempt me," she taunted.

"Hey! You're supposed to say something like, 'I wouldn't dream of it.' Instead, you ask me not to tempt you? What is wrong with this picture?"

"Nik, you know that I can't wait to move in with you. Neither can Cameron. He just woke me up, eager to get a move on the day. He's already in there packing up the rest of his toys. I can't believe how big he is getting."

"He's a very special kid, Liz. You've done a great job with him."

"I can't take all the credit, I've had a lot of help. Gram has been irreplaceable over the past year, and I couldn't ask for a better father in Lucky," she proclaimed. "I just hope that Jason and I will be able to come to some sort of a mutual agreement like I have with Lucky. I don't want to raise either of my children in a hostile environment."

"You haven't heard from him yet?"

Elizabeth sighed. "No, he promised to get back to me by the end of the week with his decision. In all honesty, I don't know what is going to happen. I want to trust Carly when she says that he would never take a child away from its mother, but people do scary things when they are angry. I'd certainly deserve it if he got vengeful. I mean, I know how I'd react."

"I know how I reacted," Nikolas agreed. "Still, Carly is a mother, and she has been through this same sort of situation twice. Jason has seen how it affected her. I can't see either of them wanting to put a child through it."

"I hope you're right. But enough about that, today is moving day. The movers will be here in three hours, but I think everything is pretty much packed. We don't come with a lot of baggage, unless you count the emotional kind."

"I'm a Cascading, remember?" he joked. "I think we have the market cornered on familial drama. Still, I think we're going to be okay."

She cradled the phone closer to her face, snuggling beneath the warmth of the covers. "I think that maybe it's time that we try to talk to Lucky and Emily," she said slowly. "There is too much history between us for us not to make an effort. I know there is anger there still, but I really hope that we can overcome it. They are still my best friends in the world, and I need them in my life. I can't imagine raising my child without them."

"I know," he concurred. "Lucky is Spencer's uncle, and Emily is his godmother. I want them to be a part of his life. It wouldn't be the same without them. The three of you are a huge part of who I've become, and I want you to influence my son in the same way."

"I still love him."

"You always will."

"You still love her."

"I always will."

"But it's different now," she acknowledged. "Everything has changed."

"You're not in love with him anymore."

"You're not in love with her either."

"I couldn't be, I'm in love with you."

"And I, with you."

Two other lovebirds were awake at the same ungodly hour, silently cursing the fact that they had to sneak around to be together in their own home. "Your mother still doesn't approve of this," Lulu argued as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and checked her reflection in the mirror. "I need to be in my bed when Alice makes her rounds, or Tracey will freak out. I honestly don't want to have to fight with her about it."

"We're adults, Lu, we shouldn't have to sneak around," Dillon argued, running his fingers through his messy hair. "Come on, just get back in bed. I never sleep once you go back to your room anyway."

"Well, if I remember right, you don't exactly sleep a lot when I am in here," she teased seductively. "Besides, isn't it a little fun to go behind her back?"

"We did that last summer, and remember how that turned out?"

She looked at him sharply. "Point taken. If we're going to do this, be open about everything, then I want to sit down with her and just give it to her straight out. She is either going to know nothing or everything, not anything in between. The same thing goes for my father."

"We have to tell your dad, too?"

She nodded solemnly. "Like I said, we are going to have full disclosure or none at all. I can't handle compartmentalizing my life at this point. Too much has happened for my mind to keep everything straight."

"Speaking of which, you have your counseling appointment this afternoon. Did you want me to go with you?"

"If you don't mind, I think I could really use your support," she retorted. "Lainey said that I seem to be more open when you're there. I guess I feel more comfortable knowing that you can hear everything that is going on so that I don't have to explain it later. When I get scared, I can just look into your eyes, and I know that I'm safe again."

He smiled as he climbed from the bed. Carefully pulling the elastic from her blonde ringlets, he watched as her hair cascaded over her bare shoulders. Sliding the thin strap from her tank top down her arm, he leaned down and kissed her dewy skin tenderly. "You're always safe with me," he whispered into her ear, catching her eye in the mirror before them. She nodded against him, her hands sliding down her body to cover his on her stomach. She couldn't help but flash back to a similar moment when she'd been pregnant. "Can I ask you something?"

Shaking herself from her reverie, she smiled at his reflection. "Of course, you can ask me anything."

"If I was to get an apartment, would you consider moving in with me?"

"An apartment? Move in with you?"

He laughed at her stuttered questions. "I have a housing stipend built into my trust fund for while I'm in college. I've been searching the classifieds lately, and there is an apartment for rent along the waterfront. Jason and Sonny own the building, so I'm sure they'd cut us a reasonable rate. It's two bedrooms and overlooks the harbor. It'd be perfect for our first home together."

She instantly wanted to say yes, but her logic won over for once. "Maybe it's too soon."

"Lulu, I have been living with you for the past two years, one of which I have been desperately in love with you. We sleep together almost every night and spent pretty much the rest of our time together. This wouldn't change anything."

"Yes, it would. This would be…permanent."

"Aren't we already?"

"Well, of course."

"Then, this doesn't change that either."

He's right, she thought to herself. "I don't want you to take care of me, though. I would want to pay half of everything."

"I'm not even paying for half of everything, my family is."

"Dillon."

"Fine, fine," he muttered. "Look, we'll both get jobs. I'll use my trust fund to pay for the rent, and then we can split the rest of the bills. I'm sure that I could go back to working at ELQ in some capacity, even if I'm not going to be the prodigy Grandfather wants."

"And I could stay at Kelly's or maybe get a job at the hotel when Carly reopens it."

"No," Dillon insisted. "I don't want you working there."

"I don't think I need your permission."

"Lulu, I don't want to have to worry about you."

"Something like that could happen anywhere, Dillon," she countered. "I mean, it's not like anyone would have ever expected the Metrocourt to be under siege. Keeping away from that place isn't going to necessarily keep me safe."

"That's not what I meant," he remarked. "Every single time you walk by that place, you are going to remember what happened. I don't want you to put yourself through that."

"Staying away from the hotel would give Craig power. I can't let anything like that control my life, Dillon. I have to be the one who decides what is going to happen."

"I just don't want you to go through any more pain, Lu."

"I know," she admitted, turning around in his arms. Resting her cheek against his chest, she listened to the steady patter of his heart. "You're probably right."

"Look, why don't we compromise? For now, you can get a job somewhere else, and when the hotel is open again, we can go a few times and see how you feel. If you think you can handle it, then I will fully support whatever choice you make."

"Well, I could probably talk to Bobbie about getting a job at GH," she decided. "Carly said the Metro won't be ready for a few months, so I have plenty of time to think about it. Who knows where I will be by then?"

"So, you're out of excuses now. Lesley Lu Spencer, will you move in with me?"

Leaning in, she nodded slowly, their lips bumping together in a semi-kiss in the process. "I can't think of anything I want more."

"Let's go look at it now!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"We can't."

"What now?"

"Dillon," she giggled, pointing toward the window, "it's not even 6 a.m. I'm pretty sure that every sane person is still asleep."

"Hmm, whatever will we do to kill time?" he asked, licking his lips.

I think I have an idea," she murmured, pulling him down on top of her as they crashed backward onto the bed. And kill time, they did.