Dancing on the rooftop beneath the pale moonlight had been a romantic moment for Nadine, but reality soon came crashing back to the ground when her life resumed its usual frantic pace. Things at the hospital had been busier than usual as various nurses with seniority took late summer vacations and extended time off to see their children back to school. Early autumn always brought more activity to the emergency room than usual as kids spent their carefree afternoons chasing each other on bikes, skateboarding around the park and getting into fistfights over girls they are sure that they will love forever. For the families that couldn't afford a trip to GH, the clinic had been keeping later hours to accommodate everyone needing service. Most of the time that the nurse was able to spend with her new boyfriend – a term that still made her feel a little silly – was at the clinic.

Now that she finally had an afternoon off, Nadine had thought about calling Nikolas to see if he wanted to meet for a cup of coffee or a walk in the park. However, there was something more important that she had been meaning to do, and that would have to take precedent for now. Grabbing her overstuffed tote bag, she jumped out of the car and stared up at the looming building in front of her. She hadn't spent much time there since that very dark night when Nikolas had turned to her for help. As she came through the front door of Shadybrook, she was surprised to nearly run straight into Elizabeth. The brunette was busy searching through her bag and hadn't been watching where she was going.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Elizabeth replied automatically without even looking up. When she finally dragged her eyes away from her bag, her blue eyes lit up at the sight of her friend. "Nadine! What are you doing here?"

Nadine shrugged nonchalantly and held up her visitors' badge. "Probably the same thing you are doing. I wanted to come by and check on Lulu. I haven't been able to come by as much as I would have liked," she confessed. "Nikolas is off doing some business and I had some time free. I thought she might appreciate a visit from someone other than her family and Claudia. Nikolas said that a lot of her friends haven't been by to see her in days."

Elizabeth grimaced at the mention of her former sister-in-law's state of mind. "I've been trying to come by as much as I can since Lucky has been so busy at work with the case," she retorted. "I keep waiting for her to get better, but she isn't. In fact, I'm afraid that she is actually getting worse. Her hallucinations are more frequent than before and she barely recognizes any of us sometimes. Spinelli called her earlier from the hospital. Other than that, I'm the only one that has been in to see her today. Tracey and Edward are supposed to stop by later."

"Well, hopefully she won't mind a visit from me. I remember Nikolas telling me how much she likes vanilla caramel ice cream, so I brought her a surprise," she revealed, lifting the carton from her bag. "I also brought her some of those gossip tabloids and a few mixed CDs to help take her mind off things."

"I'm sure that she'll like them," Elizabeth told her reassuringly. "Sorry to talk and run, but Grams is keeping the boys while I stopped by. I want to go pick up some lunch before I get them so that we can surprise Lucky with lunch at the station. Cam has been asking to see him all week, and I know that Lucky misses both of them."

The two women exchanged pleasant goodbyes before Nadine slipped down the hallway toward Lulu's room. She paused outside the door and looked forlornly across the corridor to another patient's room. Nadine has thought about coming to see Laura a few times, wondering what it would be like to be around the sainted woman that Nikolas and the Spencer children both spoke of often. She had never gotten the chance to know Nikolas' mother. He hadn't really been given the chance to know her very long himself. As someone who had also lost both of her parents, she understood the pain Nikolas felt when he talked about his family. He was lucky enough to still have both of his siblings around. The only family Nadine had left was someone that made it nearly impossible to love her. Even with everything Lulu was going through, Nikolas could still see all of the amazing things still below the surface with his baby sister. Nadine almost envied that. She'd give anything to be able to talk to Jolene.

Knocking on the door, she waited to go in until Lulu gave her permission. Opening it up slightly, she stuck her head in and smiled at the younger blonde. "Hey, do you mind if I come in?" she asked. Lulu shrugged and turned her attention back to the bound stack of paper in her lap. Nadine crossed the small room and arranged herself in the armchair just beside her bed. "I brought you some things I thought you might like."

"Thanks," Lulu replied as she closed the book in her lap. "Sorry, I was just reading this manuscript that Dillon sent to me from California. I think he's a little more than worried about me. He asked for my notes on his latest script, but I know he just wants to take my mind off things. Either way, it's pretty good."

"Oh, yeah?" Nadine asked with a raised eyebrow. "What's it about?"

Lulu's eyes glazed over for a moment, and Nadine knew that she was lost in her thoughts. It was the same look Nadine got herself when she was recalling a memory. "It's about a guy and a girl who really love each other but their timing is all off," she summarized. "Anyhow, I don't really want to talk about that. What'd you bring me?"

Resting the tote on her knees, Nadine handed over the carton of ice cream and a pair of spoons. "Your brother let it slip how much you love this stuff. My personal flavor of consolation is mint chip," she giggled as Lulu tore off the lid. "I also brought you a few magazines and some new music. I figured you might be bored between your sessions. I mean, have you seen what is on daytime TV these days?"

"Really, I know!" Lulu chuckled. "Whose lives are really that messed up?" She stopped talking for a few minutes as she savored the taste of her frozen treat. Nadine handed over the music and the magazines, all of which Lulu smiled at approvingly. "This stuff is great, Nadine, I really appreciate you bringing it all by. I know that we don't really know each other, but Nikolas tells me how great you've been to him over the past few months. I should have been there more for him, but since I wasn't, I'm glad that you were."

"Your brother makes it pretty easy to want to be there for him. He might not always want me there, but he's incredible. I don't have to tell you that," she smiled. She couldn't help but get a little giddy when she talked about the man she had come to love. Nikolas brought out something in her that she never really knew existed. "You don't have to thank me for caring about Nikolas. I am grateful to have him in my life."

Lulu smiled widely for a minute, her blue eyes twinkling mischievously. "You love him, don't you?" she asked knowingly. Nadine ran her fingers through her tangled hair self-consciously, avoiding answering the question. She knew that it was apparent, but she had never said those words aloud to anyone when it came to Nikolas. He had no idea that was how she felt, and until he did, she didn't want to let anyone else know. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me. I'm just glad to know my brother's feelings are reciprocated."

"Uh…" Nadine trailed off, wondering if Lulu meant what Nadine thought she meant. She knew it wasn't fair to ask Lulu about Nikolas' feelings. He had been very clear that he wanted her to come to him when she had questions about their relationship. She had promised to do that. "So, how have you been feeling?"

A hoarse grumble escaped past Lulu's lips as she flung herself backward on the bed. Throwing her hand over her eyes, she kicked her feet against the mattress a few times before propping herself up on her elbow. "I get so tired of hearing that question. I know that people have to ask it, but I wish that people could just come in here and be normal," Lulu professed. "Elizabeth tried earlier, but I could just see the concern in her eyes. At least you don't look at me like I could break any minute."

"I know how strong you are," Nadine replied automatically. "You're a Spencer, and everyone in Port Charles knows how resilient and driven you can be. You'll get through this. I don't care what the doctors say or what you think, you're a survivor. You would never let the ghost of Logan take away your life. Nikolas didn't let that happen with Emily."

The younger woman looked at her brother's girlfriend for a moment. She had never drawn the comparison before. Nikolas' delusions had been due to a tumor that nearly took his life. Lulu's were spurred from the regret of killing someone she had once loved. Even more than that, she felt guilty for keeping the secrets from everyone she loved and putting Johnny through all of this. "I guess I hadn't thought about it like that. Nikolas has been through something like this before. Maybe he'd actually understand…"

"He already does, Lulu," she assured her. "Nikolas talks about you all the time. If he had the chance, he would take all of this as his own. He knows what it's like to feel like a captive in your own mind. He understands what it's like to have everyone look at you as if you're crazy. I was the one person he told the truth when he started seeing Emily. I was able to help him get through it because I believed him. I knew that he was just sick, not crazy. I wanted to be there for him like Johnny has been there for you. Johnny sees the things in you that others might not see. He would give up anything to get you the help you need. I would've done the same thing for him."

It was the first time someone other than Carly had expressed an understanding for her feelings toward Johnny. "I guess it's kind of the same way with how I feel about Johnny," Lulu proclaimed. "No one gets how I could love him, but I see things in him that they miss out on. He just loves me. He doesn't care what his family thinks, he wants to take care of me. He's an incredible musician, fiercely loyal and amazingly soulful. He is so sentimental. I love to hear him talk about his mother and what it was like growing up with Claudia. I can actually see someone wroth loving in that woman through his eyes."

Nadine listened to Lulu gossip about her boyfriend, understanding that she just needed a friend to talk to. For the first time in weeks, Lulu didn't have to answer questions about what happened that night or defend her relationship. She didn't have to worry that Logan was going to pop up in the corner of the room and bring on a wave of terror. She didn't need to pretend that everything was alright or try to hide who she was so that everyone wouldn't scrutinize every word that came out of her mouth. She could just be who she was – a young woman in love with a boy that everyone might think was all wrong for her but she confidently knew was exactly what she needed.

After nearly an hour, Lulu entertained her with stories about growing up the younger sister of Lucky and Nikolas. She talked about when her oldest brother first came to town and how awkward it was for him to first be around the family. She recounted tales of watching him struggle with the everyday, mundane things that most people took for granted. She also talked a little about her parents and Lucky growing up on the run. It was nice to get a glimpse into the unconventional group of people that Lulu called her family. These were the people that mattered to Nikolas too.

"I have something else for you," Nadine confessed as she pulled the tote bag into her lap. Wrapped carefully in her favorite pashmina, she had managed to sneak it out of Wyndamere. She didn't want Nikolas to know that she was coming to visit Lulu or that she had taken this from him. Handing the package over to the other girl, she waited as Lulu peeled away the layers of fabric. A single tear fell down her face as she ran her hand over the surface of a silver engraved photo album. "I found this in the sitting room in that table next to the sofa. Nikolas doesn't know that I took it, so I'll have to tell him. I just thought that it might help to have photos of your family around. Even if they come to see you all the time, I'm sure you miss them. Looking at old photographs always brings me comfort."

Lulu opened the book and smiled down at the pages of snapshots. "We took this one at Lucky and Elizabeth's reception and this one after Cam's second birthday party," she said as she flipped over the sheet. There were pictures of Laura, Lucky, Elizabeth, Nikolas, the three boys, even her father. As she turned the page, Lulu was suddenly frozen as her gaze locked on a wedding photograph of Emily and Nikolas. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"Emily was an important part of your past and your family. Nikolas loves her very much. I don't expect anyone to forget her or diminish her place in his life for my sake. There is room in his heart to love both of us," she assured her. "Think of it like this. Your father loved your mother more than anything. We all know the storybook romance of Luke and Laura. Your father also fell in love with Tracey. Now, I don't know her very well, but I know that they love each other. I saw it when he was in the hospital. Loving your mother doesn't limit his ability to love Tracey. He loves them both."

Looking down at the photo of her family on her parents wedding a few Novembers ago, Lulu couldn't help but smile. "I never thought I'd say this, but Tracey has been good for my father. She helped him move on when he didn't want to. They love each other, even if their relationship is completely screwed up. He's not an easy person to have in your life, but Tracey has fought to make it work. She has been like a mother to me, even if we haven't always liked each other. I think my mom would be glad that he found someone, just like I know that Emily would be glad that Nik found you."

Nikolas heard the last words of his sister's short monologue as he hid just outside her door. He had been watching Nadine and Lulu for the past few minutes, happy to see them getting closer. He hadn't even asked Nadine to take interest in his sister. She had done so on her own. She wanted to know his family, to be apart of his life. It meant everything that she had come here. He could have been angry that they were talking about him and their situation if he was who he had been just a few months ago, but he was just happy to see the two most important women in his world looking happy. "Hey, is this for girls only or can I come in?"

"Nikolas!" Lulu exclaimed as she flew across the room into her brother's arms. He hugged her tightly and smoothed her hair down. "You didn't tell me that you were coming."

"I wanted to surprise you, but it looks like somebody beat me to it," he commented with a smile, looking at a slightly embarrassed Nadine over Lulu's shoulder. "I thought that maybe you'd like to have lunch with me out in the garden. I convinced Mike to deliver a few of your favorites from Kelly's."

"I'm not really hungry," she confessed. "Nadine kind of brought me some vanilla caramel ice cream. Thanks for telling her about me, by the way. I've been craving that stuff for awhile. I was kind of surprised that Cook didn't send some over when Alice delivered the huge care package this morning. Anyhow, I don't want to eat yet but I could use some fresh air. I think I'll go down to check in with Lainey. Why don't you two meet me outside?"

The two of them agreed to meet Lulu out on the patio and Lulu went in search of her psychologist. Once they were alone, Nikolas came over and picked up the photo album. Lulu had stopped on a photo of the three siblings, their beaming faces smiling back at them as they posed in front of the big Christmas tree at Wyndamere. Nadine came up behind him and pressed her palms against his strong back. Resting her cheek against his body, she inhaled his scent appreciatively. "She's doing well, don't worry."

He turned around in her arms and hugged her tightly. Resting his chin on top of her head, he tried to just live in the moment and not let the darkness back in. "I just don't want her to suffer another setback," he murmured as she played with the hem of his light blue button-up shirt. "This has been so hard on her. I'm afraid to get my hopes up that she is actually getting better."

"You can believe," she whispered, pulling back slightly to look up into his eyes. "She needs you to believe in her. Have a little faith that she is as strong as you've told me. Give her the chance to be that woman. Whether you all like it or not, she loves Johnny. Lulu is all these different things. That's a good thing, Cassadine. It gives her more to live for."

"I love how optimistic you always are," he complimented, dropping a kiss on the tip of her nose. "Thank you for coming here."

Threading her arms around his waist, Nikolas leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him long and soft. "You're welcome," she murmured as they pulled apart. "Let's go for that walk."

"That sounds like a good idea, and afterward, there is somewhere I want to take you."

"Where? Is it a surprise?"

"It's not anything romantic," he told her. "I don't want you to feel let down, but I think you'll appreciate it anyhow. It's not somewhere incredible or anything. It's just somewhere I want you to see."

"I'd follow you anywhere, Cassadine," she joked.

Nikolas looked at her with a flash of darkness in his eyes. "I really hope so."