Robin lightly tapped on the door to Alexis' hospital room. As she had expected to find her, the D.A. was surrounded by files that she must have felt had been neglected during her hospital stay. She smiled at Robin and waved her hand. "Hi Robin. Come in please."

Robin had never thought she would have something in common with Alexis, at least not something as terrible as this. No longer did she have to wonder what it was like to have her child practically stolen out of her arms because she was living that particular nightmare. She hadn't been home yet under the excuse of being here for Elizabeth and Maxie and Alexis and Bobbie and the guy down the hall who had night terrors and Bobbie's cute doctor and the guy that collected pennies off the floor outside. She couldn't face her home knowing that she wouldn't find Morgan there. She wondered if that was why Alexis hadn't gone home yet. Yes, she was incredibly sick, but when Alexis Davis didn't want to be somewhere, namely a hospital, she did her best to get out of there. "Hi. Are you feeling okay? Should I come back?"

"I'm feeling fine." Alexis promised with a warm smile. "Sit here." She patted the chair next to her bed. "Can I help you with something?"

"I just hadn't checked on you." Robin wondered if the words sounded as bland to Alexis as they did to her own ears.

"I'm still alive." Alexis chuckled. "Are you all right?"

Robin could feel the tears building behind her eyelids but she forced them back. "No."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alexis suggested.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you—" Robin began.

"Robin, it's over. I was out of line." Alexis assured her.

"No! No you weren't. I had no right to—" Robin tried again.

"Is that why you came in here? To apologize?" Alexis didn't sound convinced.

"Actually, no. I needed someone to talk to." Robin told her.

Alexis barely kept back her indignant yelp. "Don't you have family and friends covering the hospital?"

"I can't talk to any of them." Robin admitted.

"Have you given any of them a chance? I didn't want to talk to your uncle at first, but I eventually wore down and told him what was wrong. And you know what? I felt a hundred times better afterwards."

"I can't talk to them about this. They don't understand." Robin clarified.

"And what? I do?" Alexis scoffed.

"Look, I don't expect you to be nice to me after the way I treated you..." Robin informed her.

"Good because I don't feel obligated to be nice to you." Alexis replied. "Look, I know that you're scared. You're a good kid, you really are. The way your uncle talks about you...I just don't have enough energy to make you feel better. What you're feeling now...yeah it sucks. There's nothing you can really do. I don't have a magical cure for you. I'm sorry."

Robin bowed her head and stared at her hands unsure of what she should say next. Alexis was absolutely right. She didn't have the slightest inclination to get mad at her for what she was saying. She was the first person who wasn't filling the air with positive promises that couldn't be backed up. "Thank you." She managed slipping out of the room.

The newest member of the family tree was holding court in the NICU. Even at a few hours old, it was easy to see little Maria Alejandra Rodriguez was going to be a heartbreaker when she got older. A fine dusting of her father's almost black hair sat upon her head, set off by her mother's alabaster skin. Although they all realized things like eye color changed, there was not a person who looked into the little girl's blue eyes and didn't hope they stayed that exact shade the rest of her life. Kicking her tiny legs, she held up a tiny hand, searching for a person she could wrap around her long thin fingers.

"When Daddy?" Lance tugged on Dillon's sleeve.

"He'll be here. He's just checking on Grandma Bobbie." Dillon assured Lance.

"No." Lance shook his head. "When can I hold the baby?"

"We'll have to ask the doctors." Dillon explained to his overexcited son. "Remember what we said about her being a lot smaller than the other babies?"

"Was I a small baby too?" Lance wanted to know.

"You weren't as small as the Princess in there. You were perfect."

"Now?" Lance tried again, standing on a chair to peek through the window at his newest aunt. "She looks like she wants me to hold her."

"She does?" Lucas questioned, coming up from behind both of them. He had just finished attempting to get his mother to agree to actually follow the doctor's orders when it came to her recovery but he was under no illusions that she was going to follow anything. Unless he missed his guess, she was already on her way back to Cruz's room and planning another trip to this very spot in the next hour.

"Did you see Grandma Bobbie?" Lance wanted to know.

"Yes. She's fine. Just a little tired from little Maria Alejandra here."

"Tell Daddy Dillon to let me hold the baby. Please?" Lance looked up at Lucas with big chocolate chip brown eyes.

"I don't know. She's pretty tiny." Lucas hemmed as he caught Dillon's eye. It was hard to tell his son no, but they couldn't always give in when he looked at them like that.

"Please?" Lance stuck out his bottom look. "I want to see her."

Meeting each other's eyes over the eager face of their son, Dillon and Lance could tell the exact second when each caved in to Lance's begging. It wasn't like they were going to keep Lance from seeing her forever and it wasn't like they actually planned on following the rules about no children in the unit. With a quick wink, Dillon started toward the nurse's station. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you." Lance replied politely.

"So you're excited to go see her huh?" Lucas asked, patting Lance's hair down. Dillon must have combed the boy's hair today judging by the wild fly away look it had.

"Yeah!" Lucas clapped his hands together. "I gotta ask her what it's like to live in a stomach."

Patrick found Lucky in the cafeteria of all places but he wasn't eating anything, he was just sitting at an empty table with his head in his hands. From this distance, he could tell his younger cousin was shaking. Having not been completely oblivious to what this must be doing to Lucky, and not just because of Cameron, Patrick had waited to approach Lucky until he was away from everyone else where he would most likely feel compelled to be strong for them. "If you stick around long enough, I hear they give out free Jell-O." Patrick greeted his cousin sitting down in the only available seat.

"The good cherry kind?" Lucky questioned.

Patrick snapped his fingers. "No, green."

"Well I guess we can't actually get everything we want then." Lucky sighed.

Patrick grabbed a lone straw off a nearby table to give his hands something to do. "You okay?" He asked carefully.

Lucky wanted to proclaim ignorance or lie. It would be the easiest thing to do. But Patrick knew better and would call him on it. It was what they did: they called each other out on their lies and self delusions. "I've been better." He allowed

"You want to talk about it?"

Patrick's proposal was a double-edged sword. Talking about it could very well relieve some of the tension Lucky was feeling resting in his chest. It could also lead him to the dark place he didn't want to go right now. Talking about his experience always accompanied a black mood for the next few days, which was the last thing Cameron, Elizabeth and his parents needed right now. He had to be strong. At the same time, not talking about it could very well lead him to completely break down, something he could feel himself teetering on the edge of. Blowing out a breath he made his decision. "I don't know what I'm feeling right now."

"Scared?" Patrick ventured lightly.

Lucky snorted. "I wish for scared."

"Too many similarities?"

"Way too many. I know he's dead, but I keep thinking..." Lucky let his voice trail off, unwilling even with Patrick to voice his darkest fear.

"He is dead." Patrick clarified with vigor.

"I know. I saw his body. But this is Port Charles. I can't help thinking it."

"That's understandable." Patrick nodded. "But he is dead. I promise he's dead."

"What good are promises?" Lucky wondered. "I can't keep Cameron safe. I can't promise this won't happen again. I can't promise Steven that I'll keep Elizabeth and the baby safe. I can't promise anything."

"Lucky..." Patrick tried to reassure his cousin, but he didn't have any answers for him. He had done his own what ifs since this whole thing had started. What if he had kept Morgan home from school? What if he had taken Robin and Morgan out of town until the culprit was caught? What if he had simply forbade Robin from going to the hospital to check on Alexis, gone himself, and convinced her to keep Morgan home with them for the rest of the day? Would taking Morgan have still been as easy? Would they have climbed up the building and snatched Morgan out of his bedroom window?

"Don't try to tell me it will all work out. I just...I just don't know what's going on. Why target Cameron? Why any of them? Why is some one determined to do this? What did I do?"

"The sooner you tell me, the sooner you can back to being everyone's hero." Patrick promised sardonically.

"I'm no one's hero." Lucky shrugged off. "Cruz got shot because of me."

"Cruz is fine. You gave him a great story for Maria." Patrick pointed out.

"Yeah, the day he missed her birth."

"The day he was a hero." Patrick countered.

"I just want everyone to be safe. I want everyone here. I want everyone to be fine."

"We're not all here, but we're all safe." Patrick insisted. "Lulu and Kristina and Morgan are okay."

"I thought you weren't going to sugarcoat it?"

"Think about it. Lulu wasn't the primary...by taking her, I'm sure it's screwed up their plans royally. She's smart and resourceful. If anyone could get the kids out of this, she can."

Lucky allowed himself a small smile at the thought of anyone trying to tell his sister what to do. "They'll probably beg us to take her back."

Patrick nodded. "And pay whatever ransom we ask." The atmosphere was at once somber and Patrick wished he had chosen his words more carefully. The last thing he wanted was to force Lucky to relive the worst moment of his life.

"She shouldn't have to go through this. None of them should." It was easier to focus on the unfairness of the situation for Lulu, Kristina, and Morgan. Talking about his own feelings would lead him down a slippery slope he wasn't sure he could handle being on right now.

"They're going to come home. All of them."

"And then what?" Lucky wondered. "What happens then? Nightmares, panic attacks, clinging to their parents?"

"Then we get them back!" Patrick snapped, trying to grasp onto something that resembled patience for the horror Lucky had gone through, continued to go through.

"I'm sorry. I want them back too. I just can't help but think..."

Patrick wiped his hand down his face. "I shouldn't have yelled at you." He never knew how to approach the subject of Lucky's kidnapping, not even after it had just happened. He had to cling to hope or he would be of no use to Robin or anyone else. "I'm scared I'm going to be wrong."

"Me too. I want to hope for the best. I know that's what everyone needs to do. I just can't seem to do it."

Patrick didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. They had to get the kids back because he couldn't let their last conversation be the last one they ever had.

"You just want me to like you so you can stay with Robin." Morgan accused.

Patrick got to his feet awkwardly. "If you need to talk, I'll be here." And then he was gone.

"Thanks." Lucky said to his cousin's retreating back. Most likely he wouldn't take Patrick up on his offer, but it was nice to know it was there.