For once the meteorologist had actually predicted the day correctly. It was a picture perfect spring day. Audrey sat contented on the swing her husband had hung on the front porch shortly after they had moved in as newlyweds. Barely any effort was needed to keep the swing in motion, which was good since currently her grandson was watching her like a hawk from his spot on the porch railing. Smiling sweetly in his direction, she patted the area next to her. "Sit down St...Steven."

"Of course. Sorry." He sputtered, uneasily taking the seat beside his grandmother. "So, how are you feeling?"

"I'm good. How are you doing?"

"Good, good. Can't complain." At least he hadn't lied to her yet. "Nothing to report here."

"You seem happy. Pa...Paris must agree with you."

"It does. It's good to be in Port Charles though." He added quickly.

"Yes. Home." Audrey nodded wisely as her eyes scanned the front of her beloved house, looking for any signs of damage since she had last been there. As much as she loved Elizabeth and Lucky for taking her in, as thrilled as both her new great grandchildren made her, the simple truth was it wasn't her home. It was theirs. She missed her home. "Ho...How long are you staying?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Sounds serious." Audrey lifted one eyebrow skyward as she turned her full attention to her grandson.

"Would you be opposed...what I mean is the movie finished production and I was thinking...would you mind me staying here for a little while?" Steven wasn't sure what had compelled him to make such a request, especially when he hadn't talked to Georgie about it. Maybe it was seeing his grandmother in the shape she was in and feeling terrible for not offering to take care of her long before now.

"Wh…what about work?" To say his request surprised her would be an understatement. Steven had always explained he had to continually keep working or he wouldn't be able to get paid. There were a select few people who did what he did and could afford to be choosey about their projects. As wonderful as Steven was, he wasn't at that level just yet.

"Well I was thinking about a vacation...and what a better place to pick than the one that has the majority of my family in it?"

"You…want to move so you can be fa...favorite uncle?" she teased him

"Well, let's face it, I've got some competition." Steven smirked.

"Not from your side of the fa…family."

"I'm going to take care of them. Until then, will you think about it? I worry about you all alone in this big house. By the way, I was worried when it was just you and Elizabeth before you start in on how you can take care of yourself."

"And be…before Lucky."

"I still worry about those around him." Steven admitted. "But I hate him less than I did. That's progress isn't it?"

"You...your sister would be proud." Audrey laughed. "I'll make a deal wi…with you."

"What kind of deal?"

"I...I'll let you stay here...if..."

Steven watched her warily. "I don't think I like that pause Grams."

"If I stay here too."

"Well that was my only condition. I have to say I am a little surprised. You seem to love it at Lucky and Elizabeth's."

"I do. And I lov…love them for taking me in. But th…they have enough on their pl…plates right now."

"I guess it's lucky for me my plate's empty."

"Well, no...now that you will be home…I can wo…work on that."

Steven leaned over and hugged her. "Did I mention I missed you?"

"No...not yet."

"My mistake! I have missed you so much."

"I mi...missed you too."

*****

"Damn it." Lucas pounded his fist against his desk, causing the cooling coffee in his cup to slosh out on the grain of the wood. Cursing under his breath, he moved quickly to wipe up the access liquid before it stained.

Running a tired hand over his features he stared once again in disbelief at the screen. It wasn't possible. Yes people disappeared from their lives every day; it was the bread and butter of his business. But they didn't just completely disappear from life. There was generally a credit card, a phone line, some thread he could grab and pull until the entire story unraveled. That was before he tried to find one Sage Alcazar.

It was almost cliché to say looking for her seemed like a good idea at the time. Correction, he told himself bitterly, it was the only idea at the time. He was beyond tired of just sitting, watching, waiting, and hoping Lance wouldn't get any sicker. Every single time his son winced in pain, another piece of his already fragile heart shattered again. No, waiting wasn't an option.

Dr. Wexler could talk all she wanted about how far off the mere idea of a transplant was for Lance. Lucas remembered all too well how Aunt Felicia, Mac, and Uncle Frisco had all been told the same thing about Maxie's heart. And how fast had that happened? One day they had been playing soccer in the backyard; the next he couldn't go back to see his cousin because kids under the age of fourteen weren't allowed on the ICU floor. Lance was fine now, the doctors all told him. They had told them the same thing about Maxie too.

He wasn't going to be caught unawares again. Yes both he and Dillon had huge families, all of whom he was certain would volunteer to be tested as quickly as possible if Lance needed a transplant. Maybe it was his skeptical nature, his pessimistic streak, but the worst-case scenario would never leave his mind. What if no one was a match? What if the best case for Lance's survival relied on Sage? How would they find her if they hadn't already started looking?

The last time he had seen Sage, she had been insisting she wanted no visitation with Lance. This was their baby, their dream, she had insisted, not hers. She was just happy to help. And then her uncle had wheeled her towards his gunmetal gray limousine and whisked her away to "recover." Sage hadn't so much as called since then, much less dropped a letter or sent an email. Lucas hadn't been able to find a single address listing for her, a phone number, an email address, a My Space page, a credit listing, nothing. It was if she had vanished or become a ghost.

He shook his head and refocused his energy. That was crazy talk. "No one just disappears," he said sternly to the still office air. "She is out there."

His fingers flew across the keyboard once more. "I just need to find the right thread to pull."

*****

It was too damn quiet. The apartment was too damn big. The bed was too damn lonely. Patrick told himself it was just eight weeks, nothing to worry about. As long as he thought of it in terms of weeks, he would be fine. Well he wasn't fine. Thirty-six hours after sending her and Morgan off, he was so far past fine and just a little closer to maniacal. What had Robin been thinking, leaving him alone with all this quiet space? Yes, there was a time when he loved his quiet little studio. There had been a time when he wouldn't answer the phone after his clients went home and use those hours to catch up on sleep or a sporting event. Now? Now he was an absolute wreck. They just had to get him used to a schedule, didn't they? Despite the fact that he had put off business for the time being, he had still woken up at seven-fifteen to take Morgan down the street to school. It wasn't far enough to have to drive so it was the only time they got to spend together without Robin hovering. He loved that woman, but he would be happy when she had the baby so the hormones would leave their ordered little life.

It didn't help that today was Sunday and Sundays were reserved for crossword puzzles and French toast. Morgan always slept in late so the hours in-between were reserved for only them. What was he supposed to do this morning? He could call her, but it seemed too soon. He didn't want to appear needy...even if that was how he currently felt. The clock was so loud against the overwhelming quiet he almost covered his ears to buffer it. Lucky and Cruz were too busy taking care of their own families to worry about how he spent his day. It was just as well because he didn't want to spend it with them anyway. There was a silent agreement between every Spencer but him and Lucky that they steered clear of his apartment and calling him, but he had no details on that matter.

He wasn't sure how to make sense of his family's sudden abandonment of him. Okay, so the announcement of the engagement was brash, but they should have gotten over that by now. They should be able to find a way to be happy for him and Robin. Wasn't this what they had all been hinting since the beginning or had he imagined that? They had supposedly wanted the same thing for Lucky and Elizabeth and look how they had reacted to the baby news. Of course, the situations were slightly different, very different. At least he told himself they were different.

Lucky and Elizabeth had kept the twins' existence a secret for a little while; he and Robin were halfway through the pregnancy and no one but Lucky, Elizabeth, and Morgan knew. Georgie and Robert probably knew by now because there was no way to hide it anymore. It was one of the reasons Robin had been so ready to leave Port Charles. Elizabeth had sworn to anyone who would listen, along with a few dozen who wouldn't, that getting married for the sake of the baby—he wondered exactly how soon she had known there were two of them—would have been a mistake. He had made the engagement public to keep his psychotic brother from intercepting his family yet again. Okay, so when it came right down to it, nothing was the same.

So why the quiet hostility against their decision to get married? He couldn't figure it out. They loved Robin probably more than they did him most days and yet, suddenly, this arrangement was too much for them? He couldn't forget the look on Robin's face the day the ad had gone out telling the world that they were getting married and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Apparently he had just missed a confused Lucky and a very angry Elizabeth. She had told him she didn't want to lie to the people they cared about. He hadn't wanted to either. He still didn't. Lies always had a way of catching up with him and exposing themselves so drastically. He didn't know how he was going to explain a suddenly pregnant Robin to his family…but then again, maybe he wouldn't have to. Surely the obvious presence of their child would answer all of their questions.

What hurt the most was being on the outside of his family. He hadn't felt this discarded since before he and Robin were together. He remembered quite well how it felt to be on the wrong side of the argument and had thought he was beyond that now. His family understood and loved him. He didn't have to continuously prove himself to them. So why was the news of his pending marriage such a blow to their pride? It made no sense. He had tried to piece it together over the last few weeks and nothing, nothing made it seem in character for his family. They would brood for awhile, but eventually come around. Even Cruz, and that hurt, had quietly sided with his wife.

The phone rang insistently next to him so he snatched it up. He didn't even get a chance to say hello before she started talking to him.

"Patrick?" Elizabeth rushed the words out, half afraid he was going to hang up on her.

"Hi Liz. What's up?" He couldn't find enthusiasm. She was not the one he was missing. Still, her voice was a nice change to the deafening silence that surrounded him.

"It's a rare moment when I have both the twins asleep." She admitted, secretly glad he hadn't ignored the call as she had feared. Everyone had told her about the unwritten rule of not calling Patrick on Sunday and she had been worried about breaking it. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Fire away." Patrick allowed, noticing a loose thread from the couch and playing with it.

"Do you want to come over for dinner?"

Forgetting the string, Patrick sat up. "Yeah. I can do that. I mean, if you have room."

"Of course we do." She rolled her eyes. The truth was, it was entirely too quiet in this house and it had struck her Patrick was probably experiencing the same sensation they were right now. "Besides you have to come over anyways."

"I do, huh?"

"Yes. You now have serious competition in the favorite uncle category."

"What do you mean? Who could outdo me?"

"My brother's back in town."

"He is huh? You're right. I have responsibilities." Patrick had never been so happy to accept a dinner invitation in his life.

"I thought you might see it my way. Come when you can."

"I'll come when dinner starts. What time?" Patrick countered.

"I'm thinking six, which will probably mean closer to six-thirty."

"I'll be there at five then." Patrick decided after a quick look to his watch.

"See you then. And Patrick?"

"What's that?"

"No buying out the toy store on the way over."

"You can't give me conditions. I have a title to uphold."

"Don't make it look like I moved into the toy store then?"

"How about a store in the mall? Those are pretty small..."

"Patrick...."

"I bet I can find NASCAR teething rings."

"Behave or Steven automatically gets the title."

"You can't do that."

"I hate to break this to you, but she who gives birth makes the rules."

"Oh God, don't tell Robin that."

"Who do you think told me?"

"I'll see you at four-thirty. And Liz?"

"Yeah?"

"I miss her too."

"I know. See you at four-thirty."

*****

Robert Scorpio climbed in through his bedroom window for the simple reason of it being right off the trail he had taken when approaching the building. The front door was equipped with a bottom lock and a padlock, neither of which he used all that often. He had left his only set of keys for his daughter and refused to have a second set made for security reasons. It was those reasons that had convinced his wife that canceling her book tour, yes now she was writing a damn book about women in politics, would be out of the question. He didn't much mind it. As much as he loved his wife, a vacation wouldn't be the worst thing.

If he hadn't known they had stayed the night, he would have immediately realized he wasn't alone based solely on the toy car placed directly under the window. If he weren't such an observant guy, he would have stepped right on it and gone skidding across the main room. Having expected to see his daughter in the main room, or even the spare, he was shocked to find her cuddled up on the couch under a thin cream colored Chenille blanket. Her hair was spread across a soft blue pillowcase and her face was flushed. She looked like an angel, his angel, his little Robin.

When he had sent the letter, he hadn't expected a response. After all, he had stood her up on two previous occasions and not seen or spoken with her in over a year. It would be perfectly understandable if she wanted nothing to do with him. Somehow she had looked past all that and cut out the crap so that the situation was cut and dry, black and white. She didn't believe in holding grudges, at least not forever, and that was probably his saving grace right there. He bent down and touched her bare right shoulder, watching her curl the blanket around her tighter, and backed up slightly when she started to roll over. Having been on her side, this particular view made quite an impression on him. Clearly outlined beneath the thin sheet was a blatant reminder of just how much he didn't know about his daughter, just how much he had missed out on hearing. Suddenly, he wondered if her mother knew, and then assumed she did. This wasn't the sort of thing mothers and daughters kept from one another.

"Hi." Robin's voice spooked him. He glanced down and saw that her eyes were still closed, but also that she was smiling.

All of the questions he had told himself he was going to demand answers to suddenly slipped away from him and he smiled in return. "I didn't mean to disturb you sweetheart." He assured her and moved back when she started to sit up.

"I'm fine. Did you just get in?" A quick glance to the window on her left proved it was still dark out.

"Quite literally." Robert chuckled. "I forgot I gave you the only keys to the front."

"Slipping in your old age?" Robin teased.

"Old? I'll have you know—" His voice broke off as the blanket fell away completely.

Robin grabbed for it, but Robert's hand still her. "I know. I saw before you woke up."

"This wasn't how I wanted to tell you." Robin assured him. "It just caught me by surprise."

Robert shook his head and then nodded in agreement. "That makes two of us."

"This isn't something to be taken lightly. I know that." Robin didn't understand why she was apologizing when he hadn't had a real response yet. The cloudy uncertainty in his eyes was not a welcome sight by any means.

"I don't see a ring." Robert pointed out rather bluntly.

"It's being fitted." Robin clarified.

"Luv…" It was his soft plea that broke her heart and brought tears to her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. That's a lie. We're not really engaged. We've told everyone we are, but it's a lie. We've been lying to everyone. Patrick's family hates me—"

"How can they hate you? Last time I checked, the Spencers adored you."

"Yeah well. A lot's changed since you've checked." Robin stated callously. "I'm sorry—"

"It's fine." Robert cut her off. "I deserved it."

"No. No you don't. I don't know what to say. I want this baby and I'm keeping it no matter what anyone thinks." Robin declared, sobbing.

"Robin. Did I say I wasn't happy for you?" Robert challenged lightly, pulling her into his arms. "My poor little girl. The world's been giving you a hard time, hasn't it?"

"No one understands." Robin told him. "They think I'm crazy for wanting to keep this baby. As if there's some other option."

"It just doesn't sound like the Spencers I know. Am I missing something?"

Robin ducked her head and spoke to his shoulder. "After the car accident, the doctor told me I couldn't conceive. When I found out that I was pregnant, I was told to terminate."

"So it's…unhealthy for you to carry the baby to term?" Robert asked cautiously.

"What am I supposed to do?" Robin inquired defensively, not really fighting with him, or at least not just him. "If the doctors had told Mom that it was too dangerous to have me, would you have rather—?"

"That isn't fair." Robert snapped. "The circumstances are completely different."

"No they aren't. I'm still a mother. This is still my child growing inside of me."

"It seems you've made your mind up then." Robert sighed grimly.

"What gave me away? The giant belly or the puffiness around my face?" Robin joked with a laugh.

"I'm never going to stop worrying about you or trying to protect you."

"Well I should hope not." Robin smiled. "Morgan's been asleep for hours. I think it's time he met his Grandpa Robert."

Previews:

"Still there is no need to rush." Elizabeth pouted crossing her arms in front of her. "You barely got back and already you and Grams are racing out of here like she was given an eviction notice."

"El...Elizabeth that's not true." Audrey protested. "It's t...time is all."