Lucky stood alone at the window, watching his angelic wife sleep peacefully in her hospital bed. Her chestnuts ringlets framed her face, eyelids hiding her clear green eyes and genuine smile. The gentle rise and fall of every breath reminded him that while she was still alive, she was far from being with them. Part of him wished that they had already finalized the divorce so that he didn't have to make this decision. The other part of him was glad that he hadn't because he had known Elizabeth longer and better than anyone else.

"Wake up," he pleaded silently. "Wake up and tell me what you want me to do. It's almost time for them to make a decision, Liz. We need you here. I can't do this without you."

The doctors had come in immediately after the surgery, happy to report that they had managed to stop the contractions for now. It was likely that the medication would only hold her off for the next few hours, giving him just enough time to make a decision. Audrey had listened to the explanations with him, but she refused to make a choice. She feared that hers would be selfish as she wanted dearly for her granddaughter to live. Surprisingly, she trusted the most Lucky to make a decision for Liz. He was the only one who had all the key players in mind and could ably push away his own needs and wants.

Nikolas and Jason were in with the surgeons now, getting the same spiel he'd gotten from Audrey minutes before. Nikolas was the more vocal of the two, occasionally calling out in anguish as he listened to them give the grim news. Jason appeared to be as composed as ever with Carly by his side. Lucky's blonde cousin was unusually quiet as she listened to the explanation so that she could help Jason make any choices should the need arise. She had spoken with Lucky briefly before going in, telling him that Jason trusted him to make the right decision. Nikolas still hadn't talked to him since returning with Emily earlier.

"Penny for your thoughts, Spencer," Emily announced as she slipped behind him. Wrapping her arms around his torso, she leaned her head on his strong back. "I know that this can't be easy for you. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I will eventually, but not right now," he apologized. "I need to make this choice with only her voice in my head. I know that Elizabeth would trust me to do what's right for her children, and they're what I need to think about now. I can't have everyone else telling me what is right for her. I feel like I'm the only one that can really answer that."

"That sounds like the answer of a man still in love with his wife," she replied softly. "I don't want to tell you what to do. I just want to know if you want me here."

"Of course, you're one of her best friends, Em. Elizabeth would want you here."

"That's not what I asked, Lucky. I asked if you wanted me here."

"You weren't that worried about me when you were with Nikolas earlier," he shot back angrily. He couldn't believe that she was picking a fight with him now. "Look, I can't do this with you. Not now, not ever. I love Elizabeth, I always will, but I'm with you now. I can't be jealous every time I see you with Nikolas just like you can't be jealous every time I'm with her. We have a son together, our lives are intertwined. You are a part of Spencer's life. We need to be supportive of each other. We need to build up our relationship, not tear it apart."

"You're right," she agreed affectionately, dragging one hand around his waistline as she walked in front of him. Standing on her toes, she looked into his eyes and smiled warmly. "I'm sorry. I just got you, so I guess you can understand if I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me if you can just support me in this," he promised. "For now, can you do me a favor? I know that Cam is pretty scared. I don't want to ask Audrey to take him home, but do you think you could spend the night with him at my house? He needs to spend the night in his own bed around his own things. You'll be able to distract him pretty easily. You have a way with him."

"I think it's the least I can do," she retorted. "I'll talk to Nikolas and see if he wants me to take Spencer, too. It'd probably be better if I kept the boys together as to not break up their routine. I want to minimize the impact as much as possible."

"I'll call you if there is any news," he told her, pressing a quick kiss against her hair. "I'm going to go for a walk. I think I'll know where to go to get the answers. Tell Nikolas that I'll be back in an hour with an answer."

"Okay," Emily responded as he started to walk away. When he was almost at the end of the hallway, she called out to stop him. "Lucky!"

"Hmm?" he called back over his shoulder without turning around.

"I love you," she shouted, her hollow voice echoing throughout the corridor.

Silently, Lucky turned on his heel and sprinted back toward her. Sweeping her off her feet, he held her tightly against him. "I love you, too," he mumbled as their mouths crashed together.

Nikolas followed Jason and Carly out of the sterile waiting room, his body wracked with exhaustion from sitting for hours in the uncomfortable plastic chairs. His shoulders ached from awkward posture, alternating holding Spencer and bouncing his knee anxiously. His head was filled with tension as foreign medical terms swirled around in his brain. His back was sore from clenching and unclenching his muscles each time a doctor or nurse came out of the OR. More than that, his heart hurt from not knowing if Elizabeth was going to live or die. It killed him that her fate lay in the hands of anyone else. He wanted to keep her here with him.

Beside him, he saw Carly nudge her fiancée. "I'm going to go down and call the boys. I'll give you two a few minutes alone. Come find me when you're done."

Jason nodded silently before she treaded toward her destination. The two men stood next to each other, both shifting from one foot to the other out of nervousness. Finally, the mobster had to break the uncomfortable silence. "Do you know what Lucky is thinking?"

Nikolas shook his head. "I only know that he's thinking about what Elizabeth would want for her children," he shrugged. "I wish that there was something that I could do for her. I feel so helpless. All I can do is wait. I should be the one making this choice, or you at the very least. I hate everything about this."

"That right there," Jason drawled, "is probably why Lucky should be making this choice. We both have selfish stakes in this. You want to keep the woman that you love, and I want to keep the child that I love. What if we had to choose between one or the other? We could never be selfless enough to make the choice that was best for her. He can."

"Emily always told me that you were the most selfless person that she knew," Nikolas said. "I never understood how she could mean that until now. Even with your own stake in this, you want what is best for her. You know that could mean losing your child, but you're willing to do whatever it takes for her."

Jason pointed wordlessly to where Cameron was playing on the floor with Emily. His little face was lit up for the first time all day as they stacked and restacked a tower of bright blocks in the waiting room. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes for him," Jason explained. "He's the one who stands to lose the most here. I love my child, and I don't want to lose it more than anything in the world. But Cam could lose his mother, and no child deserves to grow up that way. All things considered, I think Elizabeth would want Lucky to make the choice that is going to keep her here with him."

"You should tell him that."

"No, he needs to make his own choice. Once upon a time, he was the most important person in Elizabeth's world, and she trusted him during the darkest period in her life. We both know that she would trust him to do this for her now."

"Uncle Nikolas, I'm going to go play with Auntie Emily at Uncle Lucky's house!" Cameron called excitedly as he ran toward his uncle. "Can Spencer come play with us? No one wants to stay at this stinky hospital anymore. I want to go home and make a picture for Mommy. It will make her smile when she wakes up."

"Em, are you sure you're up for taking both of them?" Nikolas asked skeptically. "I have the nanny at Wyndamere with him, and Alfred can always help. You don't have to."

"I want to," she confessed. "I've missed spending time with Spencer, and if nothing else, it will take my mind off all this. Besides, I'm not doing any good here. At least if Cam is out of this place, he can have some fun. It's what Liz would want."

"That sounds like a good idea," Nikolas acknowledged. "Why don't I take you to go get your stuff from Gram, Cameron? We'll meet you back here."

She nodded as the two toddled off back toward the dreaded waiting room. Turning to her brother, she reached out and rested her hand on his shoulder. "How you holding up, Jase?"

"I'm worried but okay," he answered. "I'm frustrated as Nikolas, but I know that there isn't anything I can do but pray. The waiting part is the hardest. Do you know if Lucky has made a choice?"

"He left the hospital to go for a walk. He said that he needed to go see something. I think he wants to go somewhere that meant something to him and Elizabeth. It'll help him gain some perspective or something."

"This must be killing you," Jason recognized. "How are you doing?"

"There are a lot of people more involved than me. I just want him to come to the best decision for everyone involved, whatever that may be," she smiled. "I know the power of permanent connection firsthand. Lucky can make this choice, something I don't envy. I know that Nikolas' will for me to get better is what helped me survive cancer. I have to pray that Lucky can do the same for her."

Lucky slipped back into the waiting room and headed immediately for his sister. "Lu, I need you to come with me," he whispered into her ear. She turned around, clearly surprised to see him, and nodded silently. Dillon was asleep next to her, but she didn't bother to wake him. She simply jotted a note on a slip of paper and left it in her seat. The urgency in her brother's voice told her that Lucky was on a mission that needed her assistance.