It was completely insane to do so, but the moment called for it. And when the moment demanded for him to look over his shoulder as if he was about to be caught by the worst possible person, then damn it Dillon Hornsby-Quartermaine-Jones was going to answer it! One did not pass up a moment. Glancing back after to make sure that no one was going to catch him making what was really a perfectly innocent phone call, Dillon pressed the numbers, double-checking against the paper he had hurriedly scribbled them on after his last visit to Elizabeth's. Everything was crashing and burning and it was high time someone did something. And this situation called for subtly, sophistication, a calm cool rationale. Naturally he was perfect for the job.

Chewing on his lower lip Dillon waited impatiently, shifting his weight from foot to foot, hoping for a familiar voice to pick up the phone. God help if her father answered. He could get around Morgan but Robert Scorpio? That was a different kettle of fish altogether.

"Hold on! The phone!" Robin called after her father and son as they headed out the door of the small apartment. "Hello?" She asked breathlessly. Once she got over her turmoil, as long as that had lasted, she had started to see the sun in front of the clouds instead of hidden behind them.

"Robin? Robin?"

"Yes." She managed to force out, her lungs struggling to catch up.

"Oh thank goodness. While you know I am the definition of charming, I don't think my particular brand would work on your father. Hell I'm not even sure it works on Morgan half the time. Lucas would argue it never works."

"Dillon? Hey. How are you?" She couldn't pretend her curiosity wasn't spiking to unhealthy levels.

"Me? I'm fine. Totally not dying to know why you bailed on me and everyone else but you know me. I'll wait on details."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You are in Paris. I am here in upstate New York. Something wrong with the picture."

"I didn't bail." Robin corrected defensively.

"To be fair no one is saying you did. How's Paris?"

"Oh." Robin blushed even though he couldn't see her. "It's beautiful. We were just about to go to a nearby carnival." Dillon did not call for no reason, but she told herself not to push him. As it went, he and Elizabeth were the closest things she had to her home and she would practice patience.

"Carnival? I thought that was the sole province of Rio? Did you switch continents on me without saying anything?"

"I thought it was kind of crazy too, but you know my dad. He's not above making things happen."

When Robin had a point, the woman had a point. Dillon sucked in a quick breath. "I don't put anything past your dad. So with that in mind, might I make one small request before you go globetrotting on us?"

"Globetrotting with swollen feet? Yeah, what?"

"Swollen feet? Girlfriend what kind of strange shiny object is that?"

"Dillon?" Robin goaded.

"Fine. I'll just come out and say it. You need to come home."

"I know." Robin nodded, again forgetting he couldn't see her. "I'm only here for another—"

"No I mean now Robin."

"Now? What are you talking about?" Robin was confused. Had Elizabeth put him up to this? It seemed very plausible.

Looking around again, Dillon threw himself into Lucas's desk chair. "Describing things around here as tense would be an understatement."

"I wouldn't expect anything less with the custody trial." Robin mused.

"Oh we are dreaming of the days it was a simple custody trial." Dillon stated ominously.

"What do you mean? Has something else happened?" She couldn't keep the panic out of her voice.

"Where to start?"

"Is it the twins? Or Elizabeth? Did something happen to—?" She was still asking questions when he cut her off again.

"Nothing like that. Look you know how we call Max the Cheating Bastard?"

"I'm familiar with that animal, yes." Robin concluded.

"Elizabeth doesn't know I know this, but whatever. Lucky hired Lucas to find out information on him. Mainly when he gets out of prison."

"They're finally putting scumbags in prison? Refreshing."

"Robin, they don't put assholes in there for cheating. Max is in there for assault and battery."

"Why do I feel like I'm in the last act of the play without my lines?"

"Because apparently we all are. Diane Miller called Elizabeth to the stand to ask her if she ever considered Max as a suspect for the attempt on Cameron, what with his history of beating and choking her until she was unconscious and all."

Tears filled her eyes and for a long time she couldn't speak. Beaten Elizabeth? Unconscious? And he was still alive? Did Lucky and Steven know? "Wh-wh-why would Max come after Cameron? From what I understood, he preferred to show off his attributes."

"That seemed to be what Elizabeth fired right back at the allegedly illustrious Ms. Miller with. Apparently what he didn't like was people who told him where the hell to get off. Lucky didn't go into details and Elizabeth isn't exactly answering phone calls these days."

"Oh my God. My God." Those two words tumbled from her mouth at least a dozen more times before she was able to stop herself. "How did Lucky take it?" What a stupid question. He had to be as livid and confused as she was.

"I don't know; he's being all Lucky. Not talking. Swearing he's ok when we all know it's a crock. Normally I would say Patrick and Cruz would eventually get it out of him but that's probably like waiting for a noble mobster."

"Do they not know?" It was rare for the Three Musketeers to abandon each other in a crisis.

"Cruz may. I don't think Patrick does."

"Did I miss something?"

"We all did. Something, and I stress I have no clue as to what, has caused those three to stop talking to each other. Well Cruz and Lucky seem to be on the same side, but Patrick is definitely on the outs. And they are being all guy-like which means no one has any idea as to why it's going on."

"How long has the silence been going on?"

"Hard to say for sure but definitely since you left. Maybe right before the custody trial started."

"But I've been gone for two months!" Robin exclaimed. "Are you telling me they haven't spoken to each other in two months?" She hadn't thought this would ever happen. A few weeks would have been fine, but not two months' of total silence. Had Elizabeth been lying when she had told her Patrick spent time with the twins? Or...wait, since the custody trial? They had been closer than close for a while and then, out of the blue, stopped talking to each other. She had hoped the cold war between her and Bobbie wouldn't have extended to Patrick and Cruz, but perhaps it had. Ever since Cruz had admitting to dating Bobbie, possibly before then, the guys simply hadn't been as close as they once were. First, it was the lies that had set them apart from each other, and then the discovery of the relationship. For Lucky and Patrick to not be on speaking terms set her teeth on edge. Lucky could barely hold a grudge for more than a week and Patrick had learned to let things go...for the most part.

"I don't think it's been the entire time you've been gone." Dillon tried to assure her. Yes, he realized he was hitting her with a lot at once, but it had to be done. Better she know now then walk back in a few weeks and know nothing. "Patrick was spending tons of time at Lucky's. I even caught him babysitting the twins once with Steven, which by the way hilarious story for another time. All I know is within the past few weeks my mother-in-law has been complaining that her husband is spending no time with his friends and this time she has no clue why."

"And you want me to come home and fix all of this?" Robin asked slowly.

"Robin, please. I am fully aware that most of these problems our friends and loved ones need to solve themselves. However, I am advocating you get your butt home pronto so I have backup in convincing these stubborn fools that I am right and they need to talk to each other."

Robert and Morgan must have grown tired of waiting for her, because they came back through the door, simultaneous confused expressions playing across their faces. Clearing her throat, Robin said, "Daddy, we have to go home."

*****

Looking at her watch Georgie tried not to sigh once again. Where was Steven? She had told him dinner was at seven. He had even agreed to meet her early before her dad and Alexis arrived so they could go over one more time how exactly they were going to tell her dad everything and hopefully not cause him to have a stroke on the spot. Steven had sworn to her on his grandmother's life he wouldn't be late. He knew how important this was and yet, here it was almost seven-thirty and there was still no sign of him.

She had tried texting him, but there was no response. Steven had always claimed to hate texting anyways, but Georgie knew the truth. He just didn't get the shorthand and couldn't pick it up easily. If she could have sneaked a call to his cell she would have. However the daunting task of trying to figure out how she was trying to call someone her father had no idea was coming to join them had stopped her. Damn it, tonight was supposed to be about stopping the lies, not continuing them. Steven had another ten minutes to show himself or the next time he saw her was going to be in divorce court. With Alexis as her lawyer.

"You seem agitated sweetheart. What is it?" Mac asked lovingly. She had been quiet since this dinner started. He didn't know what the big deal was. They ate dinner here all the time. Something had his daughter upset and he made it his mission to find out.

"Nothing. Nothing. I'm just a little jumpy tonight that's all. You know with all the sirens we heard a few minutes ago." It was probably no more than a minor traffic accident, but Georgie still couldn't shake the dread sirens filled her with. She blamed too many years growing up in the shadow of organized crime.

"I haven't been called to the scene so I'm assuming it's minor." Mac tried to reassure her. Alexis was equally silent beside him. "Why are you quiet?" He asked her.

"I'm not quiet; I'm in deep contemplation." Alexis countered, sneaking worried glances at Georgie. The young woman looked shaky as a leaf. This dinner had taken long enough to set up, she thought to herself, but Steven wasn't here.

"You're quiet." He argued, maybe just to have her talk to him. "Let's order, huh?" Neither woman paid him any attention. "Or we could eat our weight in bread. That's fine too."

"I'm sorry. I'm just distracted Daddy. Go ahead and order if you want to." Georgie tried to smile. If Steven didn't get his cute butt here soon or at least call her, well it would be a long time before he saw her cute butt that was for sure.

"Are you crying?" Mac asked, worried.

"No. No." Shaking her head quickly, she tried to hide bringing her hand to her face to check for tears. "Why I would be crying?"

"There was something important about tonight, wasn't there? Something you wanted to tell us? Is that why we had to R.S.V.P. to this dinner?" Mac pushed her for a smile, but doubted he would get one. Who had hurt his little girl? He would find out and, once he did, they were going in the ground.

Maybe she should just follow her friends' advice and at least tell him about meeting Steven. "There is something I wanted to talk to you about. Um, it's about when I was in Paris."

"Finally, a story." He beamed.

"Yeah it's a really great story actually." Georgie smiled, finally meeting his eyes. She took a deep breath and was just about to explain the start of everything when Mac's cell phone began to ring.

"Baby, I'm sorry." He apologized and flipped it open. "Mac Scorpio." He listened for a minute completely silent. "How long? You can't tell me how long he's been there? What kind of patrolman are you? Any witnesses? A hit-and-run then." His expression was grim. "I'm on my way. Preserve the area. If I even smell a reporter, the closest job to law enforcement you're going to be able to get after this will be mall security? Understand?" Mac shoved the phone into his pocket, meeting Alexis's eyes first, and then, even hesitantly, Georgie's.

"Something wrong?" Georgie asked, knowing full well what the answer was. Mac only ever got that look on his face when he had to deliver bad news.

"There's been an accident. Your friend, Steven Webber..."

"Steven? What's wrong with Steven?" Her heart leapt to her throat and Georgie could feel the color drain from her face. Was he hurt? In an accident? Was that why he wasn't here? Had she spent all this time being mad at him when she should have been out there looking for him?

"His car stalled a few miles from here. He tried to flag down help, but the car didn't see him..." Mac explained. "It collided with his car which wasn't quite on the shoulder of the road and he hit his head. He's breathing, but unconscious. They're taking him to General Hospital—where are you going?" He demanded when she immediately reached for her light pink jacket.

"I have to go. I have to go to General Hospital." She found Alexis's eyes. "I have to go."

Mac was shaking his head. "I need to call Audrey and Elizabeth first. I don't want them to hear this from anyone but me. Stay here with Alexis and let me do that first."

"I can't lose him Alexis. I can't. I have to go." Georgie reached out for Alexis's hand, part for support and part to make this whole thing seem real to her.

"Georgie, I'm not sure I can get you into see him. I know he's your friend, but..."

"Malcolm." Alexis tried, but Georgie beat her to it.

"He's my husband, Daddy. That's what we were going to tell you tonight. His car stalled on the way here to meet me. So we could tell you that we got married while we were both in Paris." Her tears started to flood down her face in earnest now and she made no attempt to stop them. "I love him and I've been married to him for months. I have to go see him now."

"Your husband?" Mac was stunned. "But, how? All this time?" Considering his dear fiancé had been completely quiet instead of yelling incredulously, he assumed she knew too. So everyone but him? Did they not think him capable of handling news, no matter how shocking? He had always tried to support them in everything. Steven Webber was Georgie's husband? The words flooded through his brain almost too fast, making him a little dizzy. He reached for the table to right himself, punched it with one clenched fist, and then reminded himself that he didn't have time to do this with his daughter right now.

"Yes. We met and fell in love and it was the right thing to do. And Steven wanted to tell you way before this. He wanted to tell you as soon as we got back but I wanted to wait for the right time and now he's hurt and in the hospital..."

"Later. Let's go." Mac interrupted motioning toward the door.

Previews:

"Steven is critical." Elaine snapped. "And that means only family is allowed in this room. Commissioner Scorpio, I'd appreciate it if you and your daughter would leave before we have to involve security."