Nadine stood in front of her tiny, overstuffed closet, staring at hanger after hanger of striped tee shirts, scrubs in varying shades of the rainbow, cardigan sweaters from three seasons ago and corduroy overalls that she still had from high school for some reason. Nothing seemed right for a first dance with a prince. She wanted everything about tonight to be perfect, but maybe that was putting just a little too much pressure on the situation. Nothing between her and Nikolas had been perfect up to now, and she would be silly to think that their first date would be any different. Still, the little girl in her, the one who had danced around in her aunt's costume jewelry and her mother's wedding dress, wanted just one perfect night where she would feel like a princess.

Thumbing through the dress section of her closet, she came across the amazing white dress she had worn the night of the Black and White Ball. Somehow, she didn't think wearing the gown would be appropriate, well, ever again. Next she came across the dress she had worn the night of the Haunted Star reopening. As much as she liked that dress, Nikolas had already seen it. He'd also already seen the knee-length yellow satin dress that she had saved two months salary to buy, only to waste it on him asking her to Wyndamere so that she could work at the clinic for him. None of these dresses would do. In fact, nothing in her closet was appropriate for tonight. She needed something new. She needed a fashion miracle.

Throwing the doors shut in exasperation, she padded across her room to her dresser. Pulling an antique jewelry box from the top of the bureau, she crossed back to sit on the edge of her bed. The box rested in her lap as she brushed her fingers over each piece. Nadine didn't have a lot of things that mattered, but the things that mattered most to her in the world were all in this box – a love note her father had written to her mother early in their marriage, a pair of photographs of her with Jolene when they were still kids, the silk handkerchief her aunt had always carried folded neatly in her pocketbook, a dried flower from the backyard of her childhood home. Last week, she had added something else to the box. Tucked between the carefully weathered love letter and the snapshot of her making a funny face at her sister was an article from the Port Charles Herald. It was all about the new clinic and Nikolas' endless philanthropic efforts in the medical community. He'd sung her praises in the piece, and it ran along with a photograph of them standing together in front of the clinic's sign. It was the first picture of them together, and Nadine had saved it in hopes that it wouldn't be the last.

There was one more thing in the jewelry box, the reason she had went after it in the first place. Her aunt had given her a piece of jewelry on her eighteenth birthday, a sterling silver bracelet with multicolored precious gemstones in the shape of flowers. Nadine had only worn it a handful of times, on special occasions really. It had been handed down from generation to generation, one of the few legacies her family had, and was said to bring luck to whoever wore it. As she fingered the delicate clasp, she knew that this was exactly what she needed to make her dreams for tonight come true.

Returning the box back to the dresser, Nadine tucked the bracelet into her pocket before dialing Leyla on her cell phone. "Round up the girls, I'm going to need some help," Nadine said excitedly. "We've got a fashion emergency here."

Leyla giggled on the other end of the line before placing her hand over the mouthpiece. Nadine could hear her talking to Kelly, Lainey and Robin in the background. "Meet us at Wyndham's in a half-hour. We were just having coffee and herbal tea over at Kelly's," she ordered her friend. "I'd invite Elizabeth too, but she is nowhere to be found."

Nadine agreed with her friend's plan before hanging up the phone. She didn't even take the time to put herself together as she rushed around her apartment. It didn't matter what she looked like to go shopping. It only mattered that she accomplishes her mission. Nikolas had told her to dress formally but wear comfortable shoes. He had no idea what a difficult task that would be considering the vast array of cute and sexy high heels in the world. She also didn't know exactly what kind of occasion would call for such a strange ensemble. Did he really want her to show up in a ball gown and Chucks? Not going to happen, not even for Nikolas.

Exactly thirty minutes later, an excited Nadine strolled into the upscale department store to find her friends waiting restlessly in the formal wear section. Robin, looking incredibly cute pregnant in her scrubs, was sitting in a chair while the others paraded various dresses by her for her approval. One after another, she shook her head disdainfully and called the next one forward. "Hey, guys, what's going on here?" Nadine asked as she strode up to her girlfriends.

"You have a date with Nikolas in less than four hours, and serious shopping takes time. Sorry, we had to start without you," Kelly announced as she help up a strapless number in a bright indigo blue. "While this would look amazing on me, I'm just not sure it's you. What do you think, Robin?" The doctor shook her head in response. "Okay, Lainey, I guess you're up again."

The savvy psychologist offered Robin an olive green tea-length dress with a flared skirt and spaghetti straps. "Maybe a little too retro," Robin disregarded before looking over at what Leyla held up. Her choice was a soft lavender wrap dress. "I don't think that's quite formal enough. Come on, people, we are going for perfection here. It's not every day that a girl goes out with a prince."

"Ugh, could you quit saying that?" Kelly implored, wrinkling her nose up in disgust. "I mean, I know it's true, but it makes it sound like Nadine isn't worthy of his stature in life. He is damn lucky to get to go out with an incredible girl like her. He should be the one worried about impressing her, not the other way around."

"Oh, trust me, he is," Lainey scoffed before covering her mouth. Elizabeth had sworn her to secrecy before she had rushed off to help Nikolas prepare for tonight's date. "Just forget that I said that. Let's find Nadine a dress."

She thought about pushing her friend for further details but quickly decided against it. Nadine didn't want to know what was going to happen before it happened. She wanted to lavish every single moment without any pretense for what it should be. "Right, let's find me a dress," she agreed before walking down the aisle of dresses. Her hand skimmed over a scarlet chiffon gown and then a slate grey number. As she was considering the merits of a melon slip dress, she saw it. It was simple but sophisticated, formal but not too formal. "Please let it be my size, please let it be my size," she prayed silently as she jogged across the store. Pulling it from the rack, she nearly screamed when she saw "Size 4" printed on the designer label. Holding it up against her body in the mirror, she knew that was it. "What do you think?"

"Perfect!" Leyla clapped as she grabbed her friend's elbow and ushered her toward the fitting room. Kelly and Lainey both nodded in agreement as Nadine disappeared into the tiny dressing room by herself.

Tossing away her fitted green tee and faded denim capris, she pulled the perfect dress from its hanger. She slipped it over her head easily, smiling to herself as the gauzy fabric fell perfectly into place over her hips. Stepping back out of the fitting room, she spun slowly in a circle to give her friends the full effect. "Well, what do you think?"

Robin was the first to move toward her, pacing slowly as she watched her friend with all the delight in the world so apparent in her eyes. Nadine looked stunning. She had picked out a strapless dress that hit just below her knee and hugged her curves perfectly. The cornflower blue material was the exact same shade as her eyes, and the small silver glimmers were strategically placed all over the dress to set off just the exact right amount of sparkle in the light. The tulle beneath the calf-length skirt gave it a fairy princess appearance. It was indeed the perfect dress.

"You look beautiful," Robin praised her, tiny tears springing to the corner of her eyes. While she could have blamed it on pregnancy hormones, the truth was that she was ecstatic that Nikolas was finally moving forward and that two people she cared about were going to have a storybook beginning. "This is it. You can pair it with silver ballet flats, and it'll be absolutely perfect."

"Well, almost perfect," Nadine commented before disappearing back into the fitting room. She pulled the bracelet from her pocket and returned to her friends. Handing it to Kelly with shaking hands, she asked her friend to help her put it on. Once it was clasped securely around her wrist, she stood in front of the mirror and examined herself.

Leyla hugged her best friend from behind before resting her head against hers. The two women met each other's gaze in the mirror and smiled thoughtfully. "Now it's perfect."

Meanwhile, across town, Nikolas stood at the opposite end of a table from Lucky, moving the furniture as Elizabeth commanded them in a motherly tone. They had been at it for nearly an hour, trying to set up the private dining room at the Metrocourt to the nurse's liking. Nikolas had come to her with the idea this morning, wanting to make plans for a perfect evening. He'd had no idea what to do for Nadine, wanting to give her something completely different than he had ever given Emily. He needed for this to be a fresh beginning. When his friend had suggested renting out the hotel's dining room in order to create their own private casino night, Nikolas had jumped at the chance immediately. The first time he remembered really feeling something for Nadine was the night of the Haunted Star opening. With the ship still shut down because of Luke's so-called illegal doings, this was the next best thing he could imagine.

"You know what, if you hadn't sent away all the hotel staff, we wouldn't have had to move these tables a half-dozen times by ourselves," Lucky grumbled to Elizabeth, a mischievous glint twinkling in his cerulean eyes. "Now, make sure that this is where you want it because I am not going to move it again."

Elizabeth nodded happily as the guys set the table in place. Walking around the perimeter, she seemed satisfied with how the room had been set up. There was a pair of playing tables set up in the middle of the room with a roulette wheel on one side and a craps table on the other. There was also a small table for dining and a fairly big size cleared for dancing. "This is exactly what I had in mind," she declared before coming over to stand between the two men. "What do you guys think?"

Nikolas scanned the room and bobbed his head. "I think that I'm glad we moved those tables all those times because this is exactly what I envisioned," he grinned before placing a kiss on top of his friend's head. "Thank you both so much for all your help."

"No problem," Lucky shrugged before falling tiredly into a chair. He was exhausted from all the moving and knew that he wouldn't do it for anyone else but Elizabeth and Nikolas. When his ex-wife had called and excitedly begged him to come help, he had jumped at the chance to do something for his brother. He knew what a big step this was for him. Still, he worried that Nikolas was putting to much pressure on himself to make tonight perfect. "What else do we need to do?"

Elizabeth looked over her list once again before shaking her head. "I think that we've got everything covered. Nikolas arranged the meal with a private chef and I managed to track down a few of your dad's dealers to help out tonight. I've got that string quartet that played our wedding coming to provide a little musical background. Since he has a stock of tuxedos at home, fashion has been taken care of. The only thing left is for him to get dressed and pick her up."

"I've already made sure that my driver had the town car washed and waxed," Nikolas smiled as Elizabeth crossed another item off her list. "I also made sure to order a bouquet of tea roses for the table because she told me once that her aunt used to grow them. I was thinking about ordering a lemon tart because I know how much she likes them but decided to go for a little more of a comfort food."

"Ah, pineapple upside down cake," Elizabeth smiled, knowing about her friend's deep passion for the fruit dessert. Nadine coveted the one day a month when the hospital cafeteria served it with lunch and had successfully petitioned Mike to add it to the dessert rotation at Kelly's. "She'll love that. It's the thoughtful little details that get girls the most."

Nikolas started to lament over another half-dozen mundane details that he was anxious about when Lucky finally interrupted him. "Nik, don't you think you might be overdoing it just a little? I know that you want tonight to be perfect, but you're putting a lot of pressure on this one date," he suggested, hoping that his brother wouldn't take offense. "I don't want you to feel let down if everything doesn't go exactly how you have it planned in your head. Nadine really cares about you. She's not going to be upset if you have the wrong scent of candles or get a little sauce on your tie."

Running his hand over his face, Nikolas was exasperated by his brother's comment. There were still so many stark differences between the Spencer and the Cassadine. "Tonight isn't just about one date, Lucky," he attempted. "It's about the past nine months when I stopped living. It's about trying to give back to someone who has already given me so much. It's about trying to start a new life not only for myself but for my son. It's about so much more than a single evening."

"I get what you're saying, I do, but you're wrong. This is still just one night in the grand scheme of life. You cannot stress out over all these little things," Lucky offered. "Besides, don't you think it's a little premature to start worrying about how she's going to fit with Spencer?"

"But Lucky, I have to think of these things! I miss Emily all the time. I loved her so much more than I ever thought I would be capable of loving anyone. She was everything to me until I met Courtney, and then that all changed in one night," Nikolas tried to explain. Desperate tears burned in his eyes as he struggled to get his brother to see the one thing that was holding him back. "The night that she told me that she was pregnant, I knew that my life would never be the same. Finding out that Spencer was my son, he became the single most important thing in the world to me. He became more important than Emily and certainly more important than me. Loving him means that he comes first every single time. It's not just Nadine and me in this relationship. Spencer is a huge part of it, maybe the biggest. I need for this to be okay for him, too."

Elizabeth came over and rested her hand on Nikolas' back supportively. "I think what Nikolas is trying to say is that Spencer goes into every decision that he makes. You know what that feels like, Lucky," she reminded him. "Cam and Jake are the biggest factor in all of your choices. You want things to be perfect for them just as much as you want them to be perfect for yourself or me, probably more. That's what we do as parents. We put our children first. Nikolas decided a long time ago to put Spencer first, and now, he is deciding that he wants to put Nadine first, too. It's only too soon if he's not ready. Can't you see that he's ready?"

Lucky knew that she was right. He had felt like that too once upon a time when Elizabeth had not only given him her heart again but also a place as a father to an amazing little boy. There wasn't anything in the world he wouldn't do for the boys, even if they weren't his biologically. They were his sons. "I'm sorry, Nikolas," he apologized softly, looking up at Elizabeth instead of his brother. An unspoken understanding passed between them. "I'm glad that you have found something in Nadine that made you want to hold on, especially for Spencer's sake. I wasn't trying to criticize."

"I just want you both to be happy for me. Nadine is an amazing woman, and it's important to me that you both like her," he told them. "She'll never be the fourth Musketeer, that place was taken a long time ago. I'm just finally ready to move on, and I want to do that with her. It's only the first date and we are going to take things very slow. I just want to know that if the time comes, you'll accept her into our family."

Looking from one brother to the other, Elizabeth smiled genuinely. "If you decide to love her, we will love her," she promised as Lucky slipped his arm around her waist. "That's what a family does, it accepts the people that matter. You guys did it once when Lucky decided that he loved me, and it has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. It brought me you and Emily."

Lucky nodded in agreement as he looked down at his older brother. "She must be an amazing girl if she could land a Cassadine," he teased good-naturedly. "I've seen the quality of women you've paraded around this town, one of which just happened to be my best friend in the entire world. Emily would be happy for you, Nikolas, and so are we."

A single tear drifted down Elizabeth's cheek as she turned away sheepishly to dab it with the edge of her sleeve. Lucky and Nikolas both laughed, lightly taunting her for being so sensitive. Before long, she had joined them in giggling. It had been a long time since the three of them had been together under joyful conditions. Finally, Nikolas peeled himself from his chair and grabbed his keys from a nearby table. "Come on, let's get me home," he announced, pulling Liz toward the door. The nurse held onto Lucky's hand and dragged him after her. "For once in my life, I'm grateful for my manners. This is a night that I don't want to be late for."