The family took a break for a few minutes after Lulu answered the last question, both giving her and themselves the chance to breathe. She had been stoic afterward, only going inside herself slightly as silence invariably swept over the room. Dillon had been the first to file out, his mother close behind. Emily and Lucky were in the corner, talking quietly to Jason and Carly while Nikolas held court with Elizabeth, Bobbie and Lucas. As she tried to steady her nerves, she repeatedly crossed and uncrossed one ankle over the other.

Luke was still in his chair as well, slightly bent over in deep contemplation. Brushing his hand over his ashy hair nervously, he silently wished that Laura was there. She would know what to do, what to say in such a difficult moment. Hell, if she were, Lulu wouldn't be in this situation. She'd probably be a vivacious girl living life to the fullest in the dorms at PCU with nothing more to worry about than her art history final or a fraternity party. Instead, his little girl had the weight of the world on her shoulders, dealing with the aftermath of an abortion, losing her mother for the second time, an unbelievable hostage situation and now a new marriage.

"Do you want to talk about the wedding?" he said finally, his voice barely above a whisper. He couldn't stand to look at her, afraid that disappointment he didn't even feel would be visible in his gaze. "Was there a reason you did it in the middle of the night? Were you afraid that I would try to stop you?"

Lulu looked down at her scruffy sneakers, kicking her toe against the tile floor. "I think a part of me was afraid that you wouldn't," she admitted. "To be honest, I didn't really think about it before I did it. I just knew that the timing was right. I have wanted to be with Dillon for longer than anyone knows. When we became close last year, it changed my life. No one has ever gotten me the way that he does. I don't think that anyone could."

"You sound like your mother," he acknowledged with a smile. "When Laura first fell in love with me, everyone told her that she was crazy. She seemed to have a pretty good thing with Baldwin to outsiders, so no one could really understand how she could be with me. But your mother, she saw past the rough edges and all the way into my soul. No matter what I did to her, how hard I tried to push her away, she was relentless in her pursuit to love me unconditionally. Even then, I knew that it was something special, something beyond replication. I never thought I'd witness another love like that. Looking at you now, I know that I was wrong. It's the kind of love you share with Young Spielberg."

"You know what's even better, Dad?" she asked brightly. "He loves me the exact same way. He doesn't put expectations or limitations on our love. He just believes in it. He has helped me find this faith in myself, in our relationship."

Cupping her chin in his palm, Luke told his daughter how proud he was before changing the subject seamlessly. "Dillon still has to ask his question. I think there's a reason that Lainey chose him to go last. For some reason, something tells me that this is going to be the hardest question for you to answer. Are you ready for it?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I've already faced a lot of issues today that I didn't want to deal with. I married the love of my life last night. The last 24 hours have been beyond tumultuous. I just want to get this over with so that I can go home with my husband and spend our first night as a married couple together."

"I have a better idea," Luke suggested. "In fact, your cousin and I had a little talk a few minutes ago, and you won't be going home to night…or for the rest of the week for that matter. Carly has agreed to let the new happy couple have the honeymoon suite for the rest of the week for free. We want you to be able to have a little time to yourselves before you have to deal with the fallout the Quartermaines will send your way."

In the hallway, Dillon paced the empty corridor, waiting for his mother to begin her spiel. Her face was grave, frozen with a look filled with confusion and distain. He knew that she wouldn't understand. How could she? Until she had met Luke, Tracey Quartermaine had never truly loved another man. And even with Luke, it wasn't the kind of love he shared with Lulu. Their relationship went much further than anyone could really understand. He wished that she could see because then she wouldn't be so quick to argue. Finally, he stopped and turned to address Tracey.

"Let's just get it over, Mom. I know you want to yell at me, tell me that I'm stupid and I've thrown my life away. If you're going to do that, I'd rather you did it now rather than in front of my wife."

She was quiet for a few moments, almost withdrawn. Slowly bringing her eyes up, she grimaced at him anxiously. "Why didn't you tell me?" she inquired. "I would have wanted to be there, and not to stop you, Dillon. You are my son, and despite what everyone else thinks, I love you. You and Ned are the most important people in the world to me and maybe the only things I've ever done right. Last night, I missed the most important thing you're ever going to do."

"I honestly thought you would be angry," he tried to explain. "I didn't want you to ruin last night for Lulu. She has been through so much, and I just wanted to give her one perfect evening. It wasn't a dream wedding by any means, but it was ours. I'm glad we did it the way that we did. It was true to our relationship and who we have become as a couple."

"Can we at least have a reception or something here?" she pleaded. Dillon couldn't believe how innocent she seemed. It was as if she truly wanted to be there for him and do something to celebrate his marriage to Lu. "We don't have to invite all our business obligations or anything – just the family and close friends. It's been a hard year, Dillon. I just lost my brother. I want to celebrate what people I do have left."

Without a word, Dillon stepped closer to his mother, wrapping his arms around her in an affectionate, warm embrace. "That sounds great, Mom. We would both really appreciate having something to celebrate the wedding," he smiled. "I appreciate your support in this. I know that you might not have chosen Lulu for me, but she's the one I want. She's the right one."

"I know that now," she admitted. "You look at her in a way I never saw you once look at Georgie. It doesn't matter how I feel because your love for her is just so apparent. That's the only thing that should matter, and I'm happy that for you, it's the only thing that does."

"Guys, we need to get back in there," Lucky announced to the crowd. Narrowing his eyes at his new brother-in-law, he managed a semi-genuine smile. "It's your turn."

Slipping into his chair back in the private room, Dillon tried not to notice his stomach churning. Pulling the crinkled index card from his back pocket, he glanced over the doctor's even handwriting. The question was hard, going beyond the realms of common decency to the root of something very dark and difficult. Folding it with a simple crease, he shoved back from where it had come from. Reaching for her hand, he gazed at her intently, making everything else around them seem to fade away. He knew if that she could just focus on him, she would be able to get herself through this. "Why did you have the abortion?"

An audible gasp swept over the room, most notably Elizabeth and Carly. The youngest mothers in the room immediately wished to protect her, but Bobbie and Tracey trusted him enough to know that Dillon knew what he was doing. He could put Lulu in a safe place where she could feel free to speak from her heart. With his love and support, he would be able to unlock the park of her heart she kept most guarded.

"There are a lot of reasons, Dillon, you know that," she sighed. "We've talked about this so many times. Why do we have to keep bringing it up?"

"Because somewhere in your head, you need to hear the answers," he retorted. "We both know that you know your reasons, but I don't think you've ever really let your heart understand. The logical part of you won out, causing your emotions to take the backseat. To help yourself deal with it, you never really dealt with it. You chose to make yourself forget. I'm choosing to make you remember."

"I wasn't ready, and you weren't ready. We couldn't give our baby the live it deserved," she rattled off. "I wish I had been selfless enough to be able to carry it to term, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to handle its every movement. It would have ended our lives. At the time, I didn't think that we would ever be together again."

"Did you think I didn't love you? If you had known, would it have changed anything?"

She shook her head vehemently. "I knew that you loved me," she whispered. "I didn't want to admit it to myself, but I knew how you felt. Everyone around us knew how you felt. You loved me even after the abortion, Dillon. You loved me when I couldn't even love myself. If that doesn't make me regret it, nothing ever could."

"Then, you know that you did the right thing," he pointed out. "You did the best thing for us at that point in our lives, Lulu. Do you get that?"

"I still killed our baby."

Those words hit him harder than anything he had ever felt, nearly suffocating him from the weight of the simple sentence. Nothing he could ever say would take that away. It was true, she had made a decision to end their child's life, but it wasn't murder. In fact, it was nothing. It had just been this incredibly difficult moment than no one would ever be able to explain or make right. It wasn't theirs to judge; it wasn't even his to judge. It was Lulu's.

"You allowed our child to return to somewhere he or she would always be safe and loved," he assured her in a soft, even tone. "Given everything else that was going on, that was the most selfless thing you could have done. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks here, Lu. It only matters how you feel about your choice. You allowed me to see that this choice was for the best. You need to let yourself see that now, too."

"What if that is the only chance we ever get?"

"I don't think it will be, but if it is, I will still be okay with your choice," he promised. "I am in love with you, both despite and because of this. I can't make this okay for you. I can't make you believe that your choice was right. That is something that you are going to have to do for yourself. I wish that I could make it easier, but I can't. You said it best earlier. You have to forgive yourself."

Her face fell, tears coming so freely. She could feel her mind going fuzzy, but Dillon reached out and pulled her to him. "Don't slip away," he ordered insistently, squeezing her tightly. "I'm going to hold you and keep holding you. You need to stay here for me."

Pulling away slightly, it finally hit her. She pressed her forehead against his and smiled widely, delightfully surprising everyone around them. "No, Dillon, I need to stay here for me."