Nikolas found Elizabeth curled up on the couch when he finally came back into the sitting room. Jason and Carly had left almost a half-hour before, but he had needed more time to himself. Figuring that Elizabeth would benefit from some alone time of her own, he'd taken a walk to the stables to visit Sheba. He had neglected his horse since the crisis at the Metrocourt, so a short ride had done them both a world of good.

"How are you doing?" he asked quietly as he sat down next to her on the couch. Elizabeth looked up at him with doe eyes, small droplets creating a damp track down her cheek. "Why are you crying? What did he say to you?"

She shook her head. "Nothing but the truth," Liz answered. "Jason wants to share custody with me, Nikolas. He promised that he won't take the baby away, but he wants to be apart of its life. More than that, he wants Carly to be apart of my child's life. They're together now, and my baby is going to be apart of their family."

He wrapped his arm around her petite body and drew her near to him. Running his fingers up and down her smooth skin, he stayed silent for a few moments. "I know you're not going to like what I'm about to say, but I'm going to say it anyhow. You wouldn't want Jason to tell you what to do with your life, so maybe it's not fair that you ask him. I mean, how would you feel if he asked you to cut me out of your life? I'd like to think that you couldn't do that."

"Of course I couldn't," she murmured, turning around to face him. She reached up for his hand and held it between them. "I would never stand for anyone telling me what to do with my life, not even the father of my children. It's just…Carly. Of all the people in the world for me to have to share my family with, why did it have to be Carly?"

"You're not sharing your family with anyone," Nikolas assured her. "Your family is your children, your grandmother and me. You are the only person that is holding the four of us together. You are our common link. This baby may be Jason's, but Carly isn't going to be the mother. I don't have any use for her, but I know that she'd never push you out of the baby's life. She'd be too scared to lose Jason."

"And Jason would never let her do that either, a part of me knows that. And if I'm really honest with myself, I can't see Carly even wanting to do that. She has her own sons, and say what you want to about her, she does love her children. I don't think she'd want to hurt a baby."

Nikolas squeezed her hand. "See, there's the Elizabeth I fell in love with," he said affectionately. "No matter what is going on, you can see the best in someone. I know this is anything but easy. Still, it's important that you try to get along with Carly for your child's sake. You don't want to raise your baby in negative situation. If you and Lucky can find common ground, I think you can find it with Carly."

"Only one small difference, Lucky and I were in love once. Carly and I have never even liked each other, let alone tolerated one another. I'm not sure that we are going to be able to get along, but I guess I can at least try."

"That's all you can do," he proclaimed before glancing down at his watch. "Speaking of Lucky, they should be here any minute. I saw Audrey's car leave a few minutes ago with Cam. Spencer is down for the evening. The four of us should be able to enjoy a nice, quiet evening."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and splayed her fingers over her stomach. "Will you help me up?"

"I'd love to," Nikolas drawled, standing up and reaching down to lift her from the sofa. Liz's body melted against his as they stood together. Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and drew his face toward hers. Opening her mouth willingly, she allowed her tongue to dance with Nikolas' as his hands wandered down her backside. "And I'd love to take this to the next level, but our guests should be here any minute."

"Are you actually turning me down?" she teased.

"Only prolonging the inevitable," he shot back. "As soon as Lucky and Emily leave, you and I have a very important date with a bedroom of your selection. I have twelve of them, you know."

"Twelve rooms? I'll take that as a challenge," she mused as Alfred swept into the room. Turning away from Nikolas, she smoothed an imaginary wrinkle from her pencil skirt and looked at the butler.

"Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Cassadine," Alfred apologized. Nikolas shook his head to indicate that it was fine. "Mr. Spencer and Ms. Emily are here. They are waiting in the foyer. Shall I show them in?"

Nikolas smiled politely. "Of course, Alfred, thank you."

"Here goes nothing," Elizabeth muttered under her breath. Nikolas wrapped his arm around her expanded waist protectively and dropped a kiss onto her soft hair. "Thanks."

"I'm right here with you," he whispered back as Alfred led Lucky and Emily into the room. The two stood closely to each other, Lucky's hand resting on the small of her back. Nikolas glanced at her left hand, noting that the large engagement ring he had given her was missing. She was dressed in an olive green peasant dress, her hair loose around her shoulders. Lucky wore a black suit with a green shirt beneath the black blazer. They looked like the perfect matching pair with their complimenting colors.

"Sorry we were late," Emily said kindly as she stepped forward to hug Elizabeth. Lucky stood in his position, watching on as his girlfriend shared an awkward embrace with his brother. "The launch was on its way back, so we had to wait a few minutes. We ran into Carly and Jason on the docks."

"Yes, as Lucky knows, Jason came here to talk to me about the baby," Liz said. "He has asked that we come up with a joint custody agreement. I will have primary custody, but he will have very liberal visitation rights."

Lucky looked down at his feet and then up at his ex-wife. "I'm glad that you two could find an answer so easily," he told her genuinely. "I only hope that we can do the same."

"I'm sure you two will be able to," Nikolas replied before Elizabeth could say anything. "Would you two like a drink? The bar is fully stocked as always."

"That would be lovely," Emily answered.

Nikolas poured a glass of merlot automatically, knowing what she wanted without even having to ask. Alfred had set out a bottle of her favorite. Handing her the crystal goblet, he looked at his brother questioningly. "Gin and tonic," Lucky ordered. Emily smiled at him over the edge of her glass, winking secretively so that only he could see. He returned her grin and moved back to her side.

"Here you are," Nikolas offered before handing Elizabeth a tall glass of sparkling water. Mixing scotch and water for himself, he hated how awkward it felt for the four of them to be together. They hadn't had to make small talk in years, and now that they did, it surprised him how little they actually had to say. "How are things at the station, Lucky?"

"Fine," he answered. "We're working on a few cases, nothing major. I'm actually going to take some time off to spend with Emily while she is on spring break."

"That sounds nice," Elizabeth retorted, only half meaning it. "What are your plans?"

"Oh, we're not going to go anywhere," Emily answered. "I think we're just going to spend some time with my mom. She could use the company."

"How is Monica?" Nikolas inquired.

Emily looked over at Lucky, immediately regretting bringing up her mother. "She's fine, I guess. We're all going through a hard time right now."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thank you, Nikolas," she said to her ex-husband. Lucky sensed her discomfort and set his glass down on the table to reach for her hand. Interlacing their fingers, he pulled her toward the couch and sat down. "How about you, Elizabeth? How is the hospital? We haven't worked the same shift in awhile."

"I took some time off as well. I just went back this week," she explained. "I had so much going on with the move and the baby and everything. But work is fine. Nothing really changes at General Hospital. I guess that's why I like it so much."

"I'm sorry, I can't do this," Lucky said suddenly. "This is just too weird. I thought I could do this, but I can't pretend that everything is fine."

Nikolas regarded his brother. "No one is asking you to pretend anything, Lucky. The only thing anyone has asked of you is a little respect and maybe some manners. I know that can be difficult for you Spencers, but please try."

"Why do you have to bring my family into this?" Lucky asked angrily, standing up. He paced behind the couch, ignoring Emily's imploring looks. "Not all of us were raised as royalty, Prince Cassadine. I'm sorry that we're not good enough for you."

"That's not what he meant, Lucky," Emily defended.

"Em, you don't have to protect me," Nikolas said.

She shot him a look. "I'm not doing this for you," she stated matter-of-factly. "My days of protecting you are long over. The only thing that matters to me right now is Lucky. You are his brother, and he needs to find a way to get along with you. If you two can't do it for your own sake, why don't you think of your little sister? Lulu has gone through enough without having to deal with your petty bickering. I'm tired of it."

"I'm sorry," Lucky apologized softly, dropping back to the couch next to her. "I shouldn't have picked a fight with him. I didn't mean to upset you."

"You didn't," she assured him. "I just don't like to see you angry. I thought we had gotten past all this. Maybe you aren't ready for this."

"I promised," he whispered before looking back at his brother. "I apologize for my behavior. It's important to Emily as well as Lulu and our children that we find a way to peacefully coexist. I'm trying to work on my anger, Nikolas, but it's going to take awhile."

Elizabeth finally piped up. "It's not just Nikolas."

"Trust me, we're all well aware of that," Emily said. "But for my brother's sake and the sake of my niece or nephew, I have to find a way to get along with you, too. I was hoping that this dinner could be nice, but apparently, it was destined to be a mess."

"Where is this all coming from, Em?" Liz asked. "I thought you had forgiven me."

Emily looked at her sharply. "Do you ever think about how your actions are going to affect anyone but yourself?" she asked bitterly. "You had to know that your choices were going to ruin lives, Elizabeth. You lied to Jason and Lucky, and then you dragged Nikolas into your little world. Did you really think I would be fine with it? You hurt the two most important men in the world to me and now, you're dating my ex-husband?"

"Don't you think it's a little hypocritical of you to be angry about my relationship with Nikolas? You two were long over before we got together. Besides, I'm fairly certain your boyfriend over there was married to me before."

"Elizabeth, you can't get yourself upset. It's not good for the baby," Nikolas said.

Lucky looked at Emily. "And this isn't worth you getting all worked up about, Em. Everything is over. What's done is done. You are the one who taught me that. I don't want to see you angry like this."

She gazed at him, a soft happiness spreading across her gentle features. "Now, I'm the one who is sorry," Emily whispered to Lucky, leaning in to kiss his cheek. She forgot about Elizabeth and Nikolas for a moment as she pressed her forehead to his. Looking into his eyes, everything else seemed to fade away around her. "I guess that was me working through something. I don't like to let people see my mini-breakdowns."

"I've already seen all of them," Lucky reminded her. "I've seen the best of you, and I've seen the worst of you. I love all of it."

Returning her eyes to the two people sitting across from her, Emily smiled graciously. "I apologize for speaking to you as such, Elizabeth. It's not up to me to judge your decisions. I'm sure you did what you felt was right at the time. You're the only one who will ever know how hard that was. You'll have to live with the consequences. It's none of my business."

Elizabeth grimaced at the non-apologetic apology. "Uh, thanks. I think dinner is set in the dining room. Mrs. Landsbury has prepared a lovely meal as always. I asked her to make ribs. I know they're not Eli's, but I thought they might make do. Cam helped make dessert."

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea," Nikolas agreed, once again lifting Liz from the sofa. Lucky and Emily followed them quietly, their hands crossed at the wrist in a tight grip. Pulling out her chair for her, Lucky slid next to Emily and waited wordlessly while Alfred served them. When four silver trays had been set in front of them, lids removed, Nikolas looked over at his guests. "Please enjoy."

The four of them ate in silence, the only sound was of silverware clinking against plates. Every once in awhile, one would exchange a look with another before staring back down at their food. Lucky asked a few questions about Cam's school, and Emily shared a random tidbit from her latest class. Nikolas talked about Spencer's new favorite foods, and Elizabeth filled the empty times with anecdotes. By the time dessert came, they were all tired of pretending to like each other.

"I'm sorry we can't stay," Emily said as Lucky helped her with her coat. "I just don't like being away from my mother for too long right now. She's the loneliest at night. We've been staying there."

Neither Nikolas nor Elizabeth bought the lie, but they didn't really care either. "That's nice of you," Liz said as she watched Nikolas and Lucky shake hands. Emily patted Liz's hand and gave Nikolas a very short side hug. Lucky looked at his ex-wife, trying to remember a time when he had felt like this about her. Then, to the shock of everyone, he leaned over and kissed her cheek quickly. "You look very nice tonight. I've thought that all evening but haven't said that. I should have told you."

"Thank you."

"Good night to both of you," Lucky proclaimed before escorting Emily out of Wyndamere. Her arm looped securely through his, they didn't say anything until they were tucked in her convertible.

In their safe haven, Emily felt like herself again. Cupping the back of his head, she kissed him like she had never kissed anyone before. "You're incredible."

Pulling on a lock of her hair, he just smiled at her cheekily. "I know."

Elizabeth was still in the living room, not exactly sure what to do next. She wanted someone to tell her what she was supposed to do. As if to read her mind, Nikolas crossed the room and took her hand. Leading Elizabeth up the stairs with her trailing behind, they soon got to work on bedroom number one.