"Now that one I like." Harper whistled approvingly as Sam twirled around the small living room. The full floral skirt flared out from her legs, giving him an extra glimpse of her thighs. The blue top skimmed her curves in all the right places. If this was the outfit she was going to wear when they went after the alleged madam of Port Charles, the old lady would never know what hit her. She looked gorgeous and no one would ever suspect her of knowing how to throw a punch.

"You think so?" Sam glanced down at the outfit skeptically. "It doesn't leave a lot of room for mobility."

"But that's the genius of it Gorgeous. No one would suspect you could kick their ass into next week if you have to." Harper pointed out as he made his way over to where she stood by the hallway next to the steps.

"It's not too frou-frou?"

"What the hell is frou-frou?"

"That's the phrase my dad used when he didn't like what I was wearing." Sam answered, reaching for the zipper at the back of the skirt.

"No. No." Harper protested as he placed his hands on her shoulders before spinning her around. "Please allow me."

"We have other outfits to get through." Sam murmured as he kissed the base of her throat.

"We have time." He nuzzled his nose into her hair.

"I thought this case was especially important. For the D.A. right?" Sam managed to slur out as her eyes fluttered.

"All the more reason for us to take our time and make sure everything is perfect." Harper reasoned, slowly running his hands up and down her sides. "Don't want to rush something so important."

"You were the jock in high school, weren't you?"

"Football. I'm guessing you weren't the cheerleader?"

"Not exactly." Sam grinned, leaning up to wrap her arms around his neck. "I was doing all the things they teach nice girls not to do."

Harper smiled slowly and pulled her close to him, his fingers dancing at the start of her zipper. "So we would have been doing exactly this under the bleachers."

"No." She shook her head and gripped the collar of his white button-down. "Principal's office."

"Even better." Harper grinned wolfishly at her as he pulled down the zipper slowly, letting the skirt fall at her feet before he pressed his lips against hers, tracing her lips with his tongue.

"Do you always wear a tie?" Sam teased, tracing the red and black silk tie and tugging it toward her so that their lips met in a hungry kiss.

"Only when I want to impress."

"I am so impressed." Standing on tiptoe, Sam slid her hands inside his collar, a whine escaping her when she came in contact with bare skin.

His breath hissed a little when his fingers slipped beneath the blue shirt she still wore. "Glad you approve," he whispered into her ear as he squeezed her bare waist.

"Let's go upstairs." Sam whispered, moving her finger down the front of his shirt until reaching the button on his pants.

Tightening the grip on her waist, Harper lifted her up immediately forcing her to wrap her legs around her waist. Kissing the side of her throat, he winked up at her. "Thought you would never ask."

Unlike the first night they had spent together, there was no haste in their actions. Their lips met and fused together and every few feet Harper would stop and hold her against the wall, her legs dangling, and then be able to move again. Falling onto the mattress in a tangle of arms and legs, Sam arched into his hands and used her own to pull the shirt free of the pants. "I don't feel very productive. One outfit..." She adorably pouted.

"If you want to stop..." Harper teased as he leisurely slid her shirt over her abdomen. "I know how dedicated you are to your work."

"No. No, that's okay. I was due for a break anyway." Almost choking him with the tie in her rush to get it off of him, she sat up on her elbows and slipped her tongue between his lips.

Groaning against her mouth, he tangled his fingers into her dark hair. Tugging lightly, he separated their lips for the sole purpose of relieving her of the shirt. Tossing it off to the side, their arms tangled in hungry mass searching for skin. Using his height, Harper tried to tilt them back toward the bed, but misjudged it, causing them to topple off the bed. Looking down at her from where she landed on the floor, he ran his hand down her face. "You ok Gorgeous?"

"Not the first time I've fallen off the bed, but definitely the first time I've been pushed." She laughed, taking his offered hand and dragging him to her. "There. Much better." She whispered crawling into his lap.

"I aim to please." He joked as he kissed her lips.

"Yeah?" Sam pushed him onto his back, suddenly liking the idea of being on the floor more than the mattress at the moment. Her smile dimmed when she saw that he wasn't looking at her anymore but under the bed, his eyebrows drawn together. "What's the matter? Looking for monsters?" She teased, kissing the side of his mouth.

"No." He pulled out a half-empty bottle of whiskey. "What's this?"

"A bottle of whiskey. What's it look like?" Sam tried to snatch it out of his hands, but he held it out of her reach.

"What's it doing under your bed Samantha?"

"I'm sorry Officer. Did I break a law?"

The other bottles under the bed glittered in his sight. How many were there? Five? Ten? Twenty? How long had they been there? He fixed his gaze on her beautiful face. "Samantha...what's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked carefully.

"This." Harper held the bottle out in front of her face. "Why are you drinking in your room alone?"

"Because you never joined me." Sam tried to laugh off his concern.

"This isn't funny."

"Sometimes I need a drink with my nightmares."

"A drink?" Harper asked incredulously. "This looks like more than just one drink."

"So a few drinks. It's not a big deal." Sam got to her feet and folded her arms across her chest.

"It's a big deal when you are sneaking this and doing it alone." Harper jumped up and curled his fingers around her folded arms.

"Is this the part where you tell me I have a problem? Because I've memorized the speech and I'd just rather save us both a lot of grief."

"This is me Gorgeous. You can't bullshit me; you've never been able to do that."

"Excuse me, David Harper, but aren't you the asshole who said, within minutes of meeting me, that I needed to get over my dead son because my whiny disposition was really starting to get on your nerves?" Sam challenged.

"I didn't say I'm not an asshole. And it was the only way to keep you quiet and prevent us from getting caught if you'll remember, Samantha McCall."

"You don't get to tell me how to grieve. Now, get out." Sam ordered in a grainy whisper.

"This isn't grieving Gorgeous. This is hiding. When you're ready to admit the difference, come find me."

*****

Clearly the returning nightmares had completely depleted him of all common sense. This was just about the stupidest idea he had ever come up with, ranking right up there with following Patrick's drunken declaration he should shave his head freshmen year. He should be at home. He should be at work. He should be anywhere but standing outside a Chuck E. Cheese located in a strip mall forty miles away from his own home.

His father would disown him. His mother would give him that sympathetic look she always did right before she would bust into tears. Lulu would make fun of him, if he could find her that was. Dara would probably quit, scream at him and then quit again just for fun. Elizabeth would probably be mad he didn't include her on this little trip down the insanity lane.

Lucky shook his head and ducked back around the dark windows of the video store next door. If this constant bobbing and weaving he was doing didn't merit a phone call to the police, nothing would. Even Cruz and Axe wouldn't be able to keep the headlines back this time. "Music Exec Stalking Children's Parties." "Record Mogul A Child Watching Creep!"

And God help him if Tony or Lisa actually caught sight of him. That would be it. Game over. His current slim chance at winning custody would be reduced to a snowball in hell. Rationally Lucky knew all this, but right now he didn't really care. He just needed to see his son. Even if Cameron didn't know he was there.

He had been skeptical when Cruz had told him about hiring Will Chambers. It seemed paranoid, cynical, and the very thing his father would do. However despite all the bad news the man seemed to bring, he had come up with one piece of information worth knowing. Tony and Lisa took Cameron to Chuck E Cheese every Saturday afternoon for lunch. Lucky smirked as he wondered if the Grimes realized one of the reasons Cameron loved to go Chuck E Cheese so much was because "his" Lizzie had worked there and had made it possible for him to play as much as he wanted for free.

His heart stopped as he spotted Cameron running out from the ball pit and straight towards the Skee Ball section. Sure Cameron could barely roll the ball up the ramp but he still enjoyed trying. Tracking his every movement with his eyes, Lucky drank in the sight of his son. Was he any taller? It was ridiculous to think he had grown in the few weeks since he had left, right? Certainly he seemed happy. Did he cry at night? Did he miss his room and the streetlight that put him to sleep every night? Did Tony and Lisa know exactly which voices to use for his bedtime stories? Did Cameron miss him?

Cameron turned his head suddenly and Lucky almost thought he was caught. But it was a false alarm. Cameron had tired rather quickly of just rolling the ball up the ramp and was ready to run to the video games. This conveniently blocked the rest of the window, obscuring Lucky's view. Slipping back around the corner, Lucky wondered if it wasn't just as well. The longer he stood outside, the better the odds he would get caught. Checking his watch, Lucky sighed as he realized he should probably start back home if he wanted to make it before anyone became too suspicious about his departure.

"I'll see you soon Champ." He whispered towards the window. "I'll see you soon."

*****

"This little piggy went to market. This little piggy stayed home. This li—Hey Elizabeth, you alright?" Patrick glanced up from Jake's crib and caught her small form as it paced past the nursery for the umpteenth time. Under the excuse of redeeming favorite uncle status, he had shown up a few minutes ago intent on playing with the twins. Their faces were so similar, he joked about how only the pink and blue allowed him to tell them apart.

"Fine. Everything's fine." Elizabeth protested as stepped into the room. So Lucky still wasn't sleeping and now was off for who knows what? Ok she took that back. She knew what, Cameron. It had to be about Cameron, the only subject he continued to shut her out on.

Patrick let it drop for once. She could be tired. After all, one baby was exhausting. He couldn't imagine what two at once could do to a person. Her hormones were probably all over the place. Okay, so maybe he had had a little extra time to read up on the topic. So what? It didn't make him a complete loser. He wanted to be prepared. Plus, he wanted to feel like he was a part of this pregnancy, not just some sperm donor. Gracie started to whine from her crib and he took the required two steps it took to get to her, reaching down and collecting her in his arms. "Hey? Don't cry. It can't be that bad."

"I think she just wanted attention." Elizabeth laughed, grateful that he hadn't pressed her harder on her mood. "She seems to think she's the only girl any guy should look at."

"Well yeah." Patrick replied dramatically. "She is adorable. Tell her. Go ahead." He coaxed the baby as she swatted out her little fists, in retaliation or agreement Patrick didn't know. "Jake's pretty easy though, isn't he? Stick a bottle in his mouth and he's ninety-five percent taken care of."

"Just like a man. Feed them, burp them, and let them sleep. All is good in the world."

"It works for Robin and me." Patrick chuckled. Gracie rubbed her little eyes. "Should I rock her or put her back in the bed?"

"She'd love it if you rock her. It would totally give you points in this favorite uncle contest you've created."

"I keep telling you I've already won." Patrick told her quietly as he lightly rocked the sweet little girl in his arms. The small brown fluff sitting affectionately on top of her head was referred to as hair, but he thought it was too thin to be considered anything more than fuzz from her blanket. It was impossible to know which side of the family she had received her blue eyes, but they were the prettiest blue he had ever encountered.

"I don't know...Steven seems to think he has these presents that will blow you out of the water." Elizabeth wished for a camera right now. The sight of Patrick rocking her daughter back to sleep would melt Robin's heart and have her friend on the next flight out of Paris. So it was a dirty trick? Always play dirty, that was what Robin had taught her.

"What?" Patrick asked impatiently as she stared at him. "Am I doing it wrong?"

"You're doing fine Uncle Patrick." Elizabeth teased as she made her way over to check on Jake in his own crib. "I was just plotting something."

"I'm flattered Elizabeth, but I am not available for car pool. You're going to have to ask someone else." Patrick laughed, his face changing when Gracie whined in protest. "Oh, excuse me little princess. I didn't mean to leave you out. What if I hold your brother?" She made another sound of disapproval. "Oh. I don't think you should use words like that. Mama may not approve."

"No but I'm sure her father would find it hilarious."

"I'm assuming you know the 'Bitch please' debacle?"

"And the fact Lucky only pretends to be embarrassed about that when Laura brings it up?"

"Embarrassed?" Patrick lightly laid Gracie in her crib and turned to pick up Jake. "I think the word you're looking for is scared. She looks innocent, but Aunt Laura can be darn scary sometimes."

"Oh preaching to the choir here. I still run when I see her even close to a wedding store or magazine."

"At least it's all out in the open." Patrick reasoned, taking Jake's little fist and meeting it with the open palm of his hand. "Now Jacob, you're going to have to learn the proper high five." He murmured to the little blonde.

"Then he better not take lessons from you."

"Ha-ha. You take that act on the road?" He noticed that Jake had fallen asleep in the crook of his arm. "Fine. Fall asleep on me. I see how it is." He returned the baby to the crib and followed Elizabeth into the hallway, leaving the doorway halfway open.

"Wow you're a great sleep aid." Elizabeth teased him as she started towards the stairs. "Maybe I should I just record your voice when they get cranky."

"Now you've done it. You've cut me to the quick." Patrick scolded with a smirk. "You want me to stay until Lucky gets home?" It was a long drive to the apartment, longer when he did it alone, and he'd just as well have it over and done with.

"You know he's terrified that we get along now." Elizabeth pointed out, deciding not to tease him about missing Robin and the apartment being too quiet.

"Would you go so far as to call us friends?" Patrick wondered, retrieving his empty glass from the living room coffee table and carrying it to the kitchen.

"More friends now than a few months ago."

"I'll take it." He rinsed out the glass and grabbed his khaki colored jacket from the rack at the back door.

Elizabeth smiled at him as he shrugged the jacket over his shoulders. "If we going to be friendish, you doing ok?"

Patrick met her awkward smile and said, "No. Not really."

"Want me to guilt her into coming home sooner?"

"Bring her back against her will? Cost her valuable time with her dad? Yeah, that'd go over really well." Patrick answered sarcastically.

"Truth?"

"If you kept my name out of it, I'd really like to see her come home. And that's my cue. See you later Liz." He made a beeline for the door.

"I think she wants to come home too, just for the record." Elizabeth called out to his retreating back.

"You'd know better than me."