Lainey sat straight in her highback office chair, her ankles cross gingerly beneath her desk. Alternating between resting her chin on her upturned palm and scrawling notes in a leather portfolio, she had been in a session with Lulu for more than an hour. Question after question, the psychologist was trying unsuccessfully to delve into the inner workings of the only Spencer daughter. The headstrong blonde wasn't willing to give up anything without the doctor working hard for it. Instead, she had managed to build one of the strongest walls Lainey had ever seen. Much like working with Alexis Davis, there was no penetrating Lulu's emotions.

"Lulu, you're making my job very difficult. I can't help you if you won't let me in," Lainey explained. "There is something going on inside your head. I can see it in your eyes. Why don't you tell me about it?"

Lulu glanced up at the nurse and regarded her only momentarily. There wasn't anything she felt like sharing with the doctor, but she had known at the Quartermaines that she needed to be here. At the time, she felt ready to work through everything, but by the time they'd made the seemingly long drive to the hospital, she had changed her mind completely. "I can't."

"I have an idea," Lainey announced. "I'll be right in a minute. By the time I come back, you need to be ready to talk. We can sit here all day, it's your dime. But you're not leaving the hospital until you tell me something real."

"Whatever," she muttered dismissively, returning her gaze to the willowy oak tree outside the window. She listened to the steady clicking of Lainey's Italian leather pumps making their way down the hallway. As soon as she was alone, Lulu stood up and walked over to look out. She could see Dillon's pewter Mercedes parked in its spot. He had been standing down there the last time she'd looked out, talking into his cell phone. Now, the car was alone, and Dillon was nowhere in site.

"And I'm back!" Lainey exclaimed behind her, shutting the door securely behind her. She took her place behind the desk. "I brought someone with me, Lu. If you can't tell me how you feel, I want you to tell him how you feel. I'm going to listen to your conversation, and maybe I will be able to figure out some things from that."

"You're going to spy on me?"

Lainey shook her head firmly. "It's not like that at all. You have a hard time trusting people, Lulu, and apparently, that includes me. I think that by bringing someone else in that you already know and trust, you might be able to talk about the things you're locking inside."

"Fine," Lulu relented. "Send Dillon in."

The blonde boy came in at the sound of her voice, nervously running his hands through his spiked hair. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked quietly, sitting on the plush sofa next to her. Automatically reaching for her hand, he wove his fingers through hers and waited for permission. He knew how important this was to Lulu, and he didn't want to make her prolonged recovery any harder than it already was. "We don't have to if you're not ready."

She turned to him and rubbed he thumb over his. "I need to do this, Dil. It's probably the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but having you here with me is going to make it possible. I need you to help me be strong."

Pressing a kiss against her forehead, he smiled at her affectionately. Turning to Lainey, he couldn't help but pray that this would work. "Okay, I guess we're ready whenever you are. I'm not sure how this all is supposed to work exactly."

"I will take you into an observation room with two-way mirrors. You won't be able to see or hear me, and eventually, most patients forget that I'm even there. I want you to just talk to Lulu about her problems, ask her any questions you've been wondering about. There is no wrong or right thing to do once you are in there."

Following her down the hallway, Lulu wouldn't let go of Dillon's hand until they were seated across from each other at a table. The room was bare, closely resembling the interrogation at the PCPD. A single light shone over them, casting a dark shadow over Dillon's gentle eyes. "Are you ready?" he asked.

Lulu thought about the question. "Not really, but then again, I don't think I'll ever be ready," she admitted. "Still, this is the right thing for me. I need to work through this, and keep everything bottled inside isn't helping. It didn't work for Lucky, and look what happened with him. I don't want to end up like that."

"I would never let that happen to you, Lu," he vowed. "I promise you, I am going to help you get through this. Nothing else in the world matters more to me than you."

"Dillon, you can't save me from myself. We both know that. I have so much locked up inside my head, and eventually, it's all going to come out. I'm so afraid that it is going to come out on you. I guess that's part of the reason I'm so reluctant to go through everything. My dad has been tied to the memory of my mom, and I'm scared that if I did have a breakdown like she did, I'd do the same thing to you."

He leaned across the table and brushed a lone ringlet from her eyes. "You need to let yourself feel what you're feeling. I think a big reason that the feelings are so overwhelming is that they have been suppressed for so long."

"What if it happens and you don't love me anymore? You might not like everything you find out about me. I'm not even sure what's locked inside my head, Dillon. I don't want to lose you."

"I already know who you are," he reminded her. "I fell in love with you, Lu, for the person that you are. You are an amazing woman, so strong and full of life. And you also have this really great vulnerable side. I like the soft little girl that comes out when we're alone. I love that you have a side reserved for only me."

"I was so young when my mom got sick. I didn't understand what was going on," she remembered. "By the time I finally figured out that she wasn't going to get better, my dad had already fled town. Nikolas and Lucky were too wrapped up in their lives to have enough time for me, so I was left with my grandmother. I didn't have anyone."

"And now, you're afraid that once you let yourself rely on me, I'm going to leave you too?"

She looked so innocent as she nodded up at him with hooded eyes. "I've never had anyone I could depend on before you, Dillon. What if I give all of my heart to you and then something happens? I couldn't stand putting everything on the line to only have it all taken away from me. I'm afraid it would break me for good."

"I could sit here all day long and proclaim my love to you. I will do it if you actually think it will help. But nothing is going to work if you don't trust me, Lu. You have to believe in our love. If you can't do that, you're going to create a prison around your heart that not even I will be able to break you out of. I don't want that for you. I don't want that for us."

Jason stepped out of the launch and reached for Carly's hand, helping her swing up onto the pier. Before them, Wyndamere loomed like a gothic castle from a horror movie. "I don't want to do this," he murmured as they headed for the stone pathway. "I wish I could be anywhere but here."

Carly allowed herself to dream momentarily. "We could be on the beach at the island, wrapped up in nothing but each other. Or in a cozy ski lodge in Colorado, playing board games with the boys by the fire."

"If I had my way, we'd be on the back of my motorcycle, driving down an empty highway in the middle of the night. I can imagine your long blonde hair flowing behind us as we wind through the countryside with no particular destination in mind."

"We could find a little hotel off the beaten path and rent a room. We'd make love all night and then have breakfast from the vending machine in the morning. It almost sounds perfect."

Jason smiled at the though before shaking his head. "It could never be perfect without the boys. It'd be fun for a night, but by morning, we would be so desperate to get back to them. Morgan would probably call us 20 times."

As they reached the door, Carly turned to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She leaned up on her tiptoes to press her forehead against his. "Well, they're expecting us."

"Tell me that I'm doing the right thing."

"I want to, but I can't, Jase. You're the only one who can decide what's right."

"How many times have you wanted me to fix your life? You can't help me this one time?" he taunted before kissing her cheek.

"You want my help? Well, I could come up with my plans…"

"Nevermind," he laughed. Pressing the doorbell, he grabbed her hand and waited for the butler to come retrieve them. With a polite smile, Alfred led them into the sitting room where Nikolas was playing with Cameron. With their matching complexions and dark hair, they almost looked like father and son. However, Cam was far too attached to a certain cop to ever call someone else Daddy.

"Mr. Morgan and Ms. Corinthos are here, Mr. Cassadine," Alfred announced.

"Thank you, Alfred," Nikolas replied. "Jason, Carly, please have a seat. Elizabeth should be down any minute. If you will excuse me, I'm going to go check on Spencer upstairs where he's napping. Cam, why don't you come help me and then you can help Mrs. Landsbury make chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen?"

The little boy followed him obediently as they headed toward the staircase. Elizabeth met them on the landing. Jason couldn't hear the hushed conversation between them, but Nikolas soon left her standing alone. Carly noticed it too before letting go of his hand. "Maybe you two should talk about this alone."

Jason shook his head. "You are apart of my life," he insisted. "I want you to be a part of this, too. If we are going to be together, we need to have a united front. I don't want Elizabeth to think she is going to dictate what is going to happen with my life or who my child is going to be around when I am with him or her."

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting," Elizabeth said loudly to announce her presence. She sat as gracefully as she could manage on the edge of the loveseat, propping her feet up on table in front of her. "If you don't mind, I'd like to wait until Nikolas is back before we start. Since you have Carly here, he should probably be present, too."

"That's fine," Jason said curtly. They waited awkwardly until Nikolas returned. The handsome prince asked Elizabeth if she needed anything before joining her on the small couch. When everyone was finally present and accounted for, Jason leaned forward anxiously to reveal his decision. "As you know, I've made my choice. I want you to know upfront that I've already discussed this with Carly and Lucky."

"Lucky?" Elizabeth asked. "What does he have to do with this?"

"He's Cameron's father. My choice is going to affect his son, so I thought he deserved to know. I wanted him to hear my explanation straight from me."

"You had no right to do that," she insisted quietly. "I should have been the one to do that."

"Well, you'll have your chance," he shot back evenly. "Elizabeth, I am not going to let you take my child away from me. I want to share custody with you. I am willing to work out a fair agreement, but I won't agree to stay out of his or her life."

Elizabeth sighed tiredly, rubbing her hands over her stomach. "You gave up Michael because you believed it was the best thing for him. Jason, your child is going to be in danger. I am begging you to think about that."

"Do not bring my child into this," Carly warned. "You have no idea why Jason gave up Michael. You weren't a part of our lives then."

"This isn't any of your business," Liz spat.

"Liz, don't get worked up, it's not good for the baby," Nikolas reminded her. "Maybe we should step out of the room. It might be more productive if they talked alone."

"I can't believe I'm gong to say this, but I actually agree with you," Carly said. She turned to Jason and kissed his cheek. "I'm going to go outside with Nikolas. Get it out of the way as quickly as you can. We have a dream to live out."

Nikolas leaned down and looked into Liz's wide eyes. "I'll be right out there if you need me. Just try to find a common ground with him. Your child deserves the best of everything."

Nodding understandingly, she waited until their counterparts were gone before returning to Jason. "I am not going to let you take my child away from me either. I'll be damned if Carly is going to raise my child."

"I'd never do that to you, Elizabeth, you have to know that. I'm just asking you to let me be apart of my baby's life. And I know that it's going to be hard for you, but Carly is going to be in my life, too. I want to marry her. She is going to be our baby's stepmother."

"No, I don't want her around my baby."

"You don't have a choice. Besides, how would you feel if I made demands that you stay away from Nikolas? It's not fair."

"Nothing about this is fair."

"You're right. It stopped being fair when you chose to lie to everyone, including me."