Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with General Hospital.
A/N: I finally got a few free minutes to work on my stories. Work is insane right now. Sorry for the delay, I swear I'm working on all of them.
To Choose Life
Chapter 26
After hanging up the phone with my brother, I maneuvered myself into the car with Dillon. "Who was that?" Dillon asked absently as he put the car into gear.
"Nikolas."
"Any news?" he asked with a tinge of hope laced into his voice.
"He wanted to know the sex of our baby so I told him. He promised to keep it between himself and Emily until everyone else found out."
Dillon smiled sadly. "I hope he finds Spencer soon."
"Me too." I dropped my head and pictured my little nephew who was lost out in the world somewhere. I had taken him for granted the last few months. I suddenly realized the last time I held him would be the last. I started to cry.
"He's going to find him Lu. We have to have faith. Our daughter needs her big cousin."
"What if he doesn't? What if something happens and Spencer is gone forever?"
"You can't think like that. You need to stay positive for Nikolas and for Spencer."
"You of all people should know I'm not very good at positive."
"Do it for our daughter," he suggested.
"Our daughter; I love the sound of that."
"What do you want to do until this dinner?"
"I have to get ready."
"What do you need like half an hour?"
"Half an hour?" I exclaimed. "In what universe?"
"What are you sewing your own clothes?"
"Dillon, do not complain to a pregnant woman about the time it takes her to get ready or she will be getting ready for your funeral. I have a lot of extra weight to carry around. I have swollen feet and a throbbing back. I will take as much time as I need. If that is three hours then I will be ready in three hours."
"Will it help if I rub your back?"
I turned to him with a smile. "It will definitely help."
Dillon parked the car in front of Carly's and followed me inside. Michael and Morgan were sitting on the floor playing monopoly with Leticia. "Hi Lulu," Michael greeted me as I came inside.
"Hi? How was school?"
"Boring as usual."
"Oh, okay well Dillon and I are going to be upstairs if you need us."
Morgan nodded as Michael did and then Dillon and I disappeared up the stairway. Once in my room, I pulled him to me. His mouth pressed against mine, as he gently pushed me back onto the bed. I pulled him onto me.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. "We should talk about this."
"Talk about what?"
"Well last time we slept together, you got upset. I don't want to push you."
"You're not pushing me. We're together and I want this."
"Being together with someone isn't all about sex."
"Well how else am I going to be sure that you'll stay?" the words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.
"Whoa," Dillon said as he pulled away. "Is that what you think? Do you really believe that I will only stay with you as long as you are having sex with me?"
"That's what love is."
"No it's not. I know that you don't have parents around to show you but you can't honestly believe that the basis of love is sex."
"Love ends Dillon. Love falls apart. It shatters and people leave. I don't know how else to ensure that you will stay."
"Lulu what is this about? Is this about your parents? Is this about Lucky and Elizabeth? Is it about Nikolas and Emily?"
"See love doesn't last."
"It does last. People have problems it doesn't mean that you stop loving someone. Love is about more than warming someone's bed. It's about feeling connected to a person. It's about wanting to be around that person all of the time. It's about feeling like a better person in their presence. It's about wanting to spend the rest of your life with someone. It's about them making you smile and making you cry."
"Sounds good in a movie but what about real life?"
"This is real life. I love you not because you sleep with me, but because I love the person that you are. You have become a part of me Lulu. You are someone that I can't live without. If we didn't have sex ever again, I still wouldn't leave your side. I know you're afraid to believe that, but you need to. You need to trust me."
"How can I trust the guy that slept with me and then jumped back into Georgie's arms and called me a selfish bitch?"
My words stung. I saw it in his eyes. "You're right, I was horrible to you. I was an absolute idiot and I take full responsibility. I didn't realize the depth of my feelings for you until it was too late; until I had hurt you. However it doesn't change how I feel about you now. I may have been a jackass when you considered having an abortion, but I am asking you to forgive me for everything I said and did so we can start our life together. I don't love Georgie; I love you."
"What if you change your mind? What if you and Georgie find your way back together?"
"I'll admit I loved Georgie when I was sick last year. I thought I wanted to spend my life with her and there is a chance if I had, I never would have realized how miserable I was. I have never been happier than I am with you. I have never felt this way about anyone, not even Georgie. You've taught me to live my own life instead of the one I dreamed about. I love what I can have with you and our daughter. That is the life I want, not the one I could have had with Georgie. She doesn't make me happy like you do."
I pushed Dillon back onto the bed and straddled him. "Are you sure you want this?" he asked patiently.
I nodded. "I want you. I need you. I love you…" they were the last words I uttered before Dillon had rolled me beneath him and ran his hands across my trembling body.
"You're shivering," he whispered.
"I'm not cold, I just really want this," I breathed.
He smiled. "I love you Lu."
This time we took our time. His hands roamed over every inch of my exposed flesh. I had never felt safer and happier. His tongue caressed mine as our bodies came together again and of course afterward I got my promised back massage. I melted beneath his touch.
XXXXX
As soon as I was ready Dillon and I went downstairs to find Carly on the phone. She winked at me from across the room and I suddenly wondered what was going on. "Are you ready?" she asked.
"For what?"
"Dinner."
"I thought it didn't start for another hour."
"It starts in half an hour and I want to be early."
"You want to be early for Lucky and Elizabeth's?" I asked with shock resonating in my voice.
"No Elizabeth and I were talking and we decided it would be best to hold it at the Metro Court."
"Wait you and Elizabeth were talking?"
"See and you thought you didn't bring this family together," Carly teased.
"How many people are we talking?" I suddenly asked.
"Not too many," Carly said evasively.
Dillon and I exchanged a nervous look.
"Well we should get going. Do you want to ride with the boys and me or with Dillon?"
"It doesn't matter."
"Go with Carly because I have a stop to make," Dillon suggested.
"Okay," I agreed. I watched Dillon leave and then turned to see Carly's curious smile.
"So anything exciting happen today?" she asked suspiciously.
"We found out the sex of our child."
"Anything else?" she questioned.
I couldn't contain the smile that spread across my face any longer. "Promise you won't tell anyone?"
"I'm good with secrets. You should know that."
"Dillon and I got back together."
"I know I just wanted to hear you say it."
I tossed a pillow at her when she laughed. "It's about time Lulu."
"I'm really scared though Carly. I love Dillon so much but I'm terrified he doesn't love me as much in return. Georgie and I got into a bit of an argument today…"
"Do you really think Georgie's a threat?"
"I don't know what to think. I mean she told me she wished it had been me that had had the miscarriage and not Maxie."
"That doesn't sound like Georgie."
"I know. She's been really hostile lately."
"Well Lulu you won and this time things didn't work out Georgie's way. I guess she's just acting accordingly. You should be reveling in the fact that after all of this time Dillon chose you over her."
"Or did Dillon settle for me when Georgie became unavailable?"
"Considering Georgie seems to be the most upset, I'd imagine Dillon doesn't want her back and she can't accept that. Look, stop looking for ways to sabotage this. Dillon wants you, you're together again and you're going to have a baby, just roll with it. I mean if Michael had have been Jason's I would have loved to have had him act the way Dillon is."
I took a long, deep breath. "Okay, I'm going to stop worrying about this."
"Good, now we have to go."
I smiled and grabbed my jacket, before grabbing Morgan's and helping him into it.
XXXXX
We arrived at the hotel and met Lucky and Elizabeth in the lobby. "Hi guys," Lucky greeted us, before folding me into a hug. "I can't believe my little sister is having her first child before me."
"At least Nik beat me to it," I laughed. Lucky laughed, before greeting Carly. The four of us made our way towards the elevator.
"So who else is coming?" I questioned.
"Not too many more…" Elizabeth responded.
The elevator doors slid open and Dillon was standing on the other side, blocking my view of the rest of the room. As soon as he moved out of the way I realized not too many more meant everyone Dillon and I could possibly be related to, except of course for my parents, Nikolas, Emily and Ned.
The Quartermaines were bickering further across the room. I thought the large number of people would bother me but instead I realized how much love our child was going to receive and that made me smile.
"We wanted to make sure the whole family was here," Elizabeth explained.
"Since the Quartermaines are technically family…" Carly started.
The elevator opened a few minutes later and Ned stepped out. "I'm not late am I?" he asked.
"Not at all," I said before throwing my arms around one of the only other sane Quartermaines.
We all sat down. "Well when do we get to know what you're having?" Elizabeth asked.
I smiled. "Go ahead Dillon, you said you wanted to shout it from the rooftops."
Everyone turned their attention to Dillon. "Well son?" Edward said, as the smile grew on his aging face.
"We are having a baby girl," Dillon said.
As Dillon said this I was reminded of Tracy telling me about her abortion and always wondering if her child had been a baby girl. I turned my gaze to hers and she winked at me. For the first time in my entire life I felt a real bond with Tracy Quartermaine.
"Champagne for everyone," Edward announced.
"Congratulations little brother," Ned said. Dillon just grinned.
"I can't believe I'm going to have a niece," Lucky exclaimed.
"Congratulations little cousin," Lucas said.
My aunt Bobbie started crying and pulled me into a hug. I had never felt more loved by my entire family. There were so many people talking that I lost track of who said what. The only thing I knew was that for the first time in a very long time I felt content with my life. Even knowing there were empty seats at the dinner didn't bother me anymore. Of course I wanted my parents present and my oldest brother, but at least I wasn't alone.
The dinner went by way too quickly. Afterwards Dillon pulled me aside. "I went to see Spinelli. He said the phone number that keeps showing up is an old cell phone registered to Monica."
"Do you think Monica was continuing her affair with Rick Webber?" I whispered.
"It's hard to say Lu. I just wanted to tell you."
"I don't want to even think about that tonight. Maybe tomorrow afternoon?"
"I understand. Do you want a ride home?" he asked gently.
"I might as well get one with Carly," I explained.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he whispered.
"I look forward to it," I said with a smile.
Dillon waved to me and then I turned around to find Carly. She was getting her boys ready. I went over to help her.
XXXXX
The next morning I opened my eyes and found myself smiling. It was the first time I ever woke knowing I could call Dillon mine without an enormous lie between us. I went down to breakfast and found a cheerful Carly getting her boys ready for school.
"Morning," I greeted them.
"Morning," they all replied.
The morning sped by quickly and in the early afternoon Carly came bursting into my office with her arms flailing excitedly. "They found a clue to Spencer's whereabouts," she exclaimed.
"Who? Where? What?" I said incoherently.
"Nikolas and Emily almost found Colleen. She got away but they at least found out where she was staying."
"That's so exciting," I said, as my eyes filled with tears of relief.
"Hopefully they'll be home soon," she said.
After Carly went back to work I called Dillon to tell him the news. He was ecstatic. He offered dinner to celebrate and I couldn't turn him down. It finally felt like a weight had been taken off my shoulders; that maybe life didn't always have to end in disaster.