"Don't roast those marshmallows without me." Lucas called over his shoulder as he reached for the ringing telephone. Ever since Lance came home from the hospital, he and Dillon decided to create a special event for every night of the week for just the three of them. Yesterday afternoon, they had gone to roller-skating in the park. The day before, they went and drove bumper cars. Now it was time for a movie. The catch was, Dillon didn't get to choose. It was all up to Lance.

"Daddy, you're going to miss…" Lance's voice drifted off when Lucas put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he chuckled into the receiver. "Hello?"

"Is this line secure?" the voice on the other end wanted to know.

"Yes. Who is this?" He asked even though he had a pretty good idea who had called him up. He only knew one person paranoid enough to—

"Diego Alcazar. Can you talk?"

"Diego?" Chills ran up and down the back of his neck.

"CAN YOU TALK?" Diego snapped angrily.

"Yes. Yes. I can talk. What's going on? Why are you calling me?"

"Were you expecting my cousin?"

"Well you and I never did get along all that well." Lucas reasoned.

"Is everything a joke with you?" Diego's anger caught him off guard. His impatience hadn't, but his anger definitely did.

"What's the matter?" Lucas whispered even though his family was in the kitchen roasting marshmallows over the stove, completely oblivious to anything going on in the living room.

Diego didn't answer immediately, something rendering him quiet. When he spoke, his voice was shaking. The sound alone was hell on Lucas's nerves. "This is a courtesy."

"What is? Diego, if you don't tell me what's going on—" Lucas's threat was unfounded, but he was sick of being yanked around.

"Sage is dead." Diego told him.

"Dead? What do you mean, dead?"

"As in when she closed her eyes, they didn't open. What do you think?"

"How? When?" Lucas wasn't sure which question he wanted answered first, which would be the easiest to hear. Information. That was all he really wanted. How could this have happened? She was just here. Dillon finally admitted to what he had done last night and even though it had made him mad as hell, he also realized that it was important for Lance to at least meet his mother.

"This morning. I was supposed to pick her up at the air strip when she arrived."

"The plane?" Lucas couldn't form a coherent thought. Sage was dead because she had come upon his request. He had placed her in danger. Had an enemy found her? Had she suffered? He cupped his hand over his mouth and willed himself to keep it together.

"One of ours. Her dad taught her to fly when she was a teenager because traveling commercially was too dangerous."

"She piloted her own plane?"

"My cousin was a very capable person. Just because you and your husband used her doesn't make that any less true."

"We didn't use Sage! She came to us and we're thankful everyday for Lance. What happened? "

"Engine failure."

"Do you think it could have been—?"

"Tampered with? No. It was an ironic twist of fate, nothing more."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure. Anyway, I thought I should tell you. Like a said, a courtesy. I knew Sage would want her son to know she was dead. I realize he's too young to tell now, but one day."

"I'm sorry—" The line went dead and the door to the kitchen opened.

"Baby?" Dillon questioned softly when he saw the look in Lucas's eyes. "Something wrong?"

"I'm going to be sick." Lucas explained, shoving past them.

"Lucas!" Dillon called after him. "Lance I'll be right back ok?"

"Is something wrong with Daddy Lucas?" Lance inquired.

"I don't know but I'm going to find out okay?"

"Okay."

Dillon walked up the stairs to the bedroom he and Lucas shared. Entering slowly, he looked at the prone form of his husband stretched along the bed. "What's going on?"

"She's dead." Lucas replied in a haunted voice.

"Dead? Who's dead?"

"She's dead. I killed her. She's dead."

"Baby you didn't kill anyone. Now tell me what's going on before I divorce you for re-enacting a really bad Lifetime movie."

"I brought her here. If I hadn't, she'd still be alive. It's my fault. I killed her."

"Brought who here?" No sooner had the question escaped when the answer came to him. "Sage?" Dillon whispered. "Sage?"

"She was just trying to go home. If she had left sooner maybe. If I hadn't asked her to come. I told her it was her responsibility. I told her whatever I had to."

"What happened? What happened to Sage?"

"Plane crash. Diego called."

"Plane crash." Dillon raised his hand to his mouth. Sage was dead? He had just seen her. This wasn't real. This couldn't be real. "Oh my God."

"Diego wants us to tell Lance."

"Tell Lance what? The woman he met exactly once was his mother and now she's dead?"

"Later. Tell him later." Lucas turned over.

"Well yeah. When he's old enough. Of course we would tell him."

"She was punished for my selfishness."

"No. No. It's not your fault."

"She was afraid to come. Diego doesn't think there was tampering, but a professional would be able to make it appear that way right?"

"Well maybe but still, Sage chose to come. We couldn't make her come to help Lance. She told us that herself."

"She was younger than both of us and now she's dead! And for what? Such a waste. What is Lance going to think? When he asks about his mother, he's going to think she didn't love him and that's why she wasn't here. He won't remember meeting her."

"Then we'll remember for him. Lance is going to know she loved him so much she came to help when it could risk her own safety."

"Go watch the movie with Lance please."

"Not if you're going to sit up here and blame yourself."

"Please? I just want to be alone right now."

"I'll go, but Lance and I are coming up in ten minutes to finish the movie up here."

"I won't be here." Lucas whispered to Dillon's retreating back.

*****

"Majandra. Look over here at me." Georgie motioned for the stumbling nine-month-old to come and sit on the rug. When she had run into Bobbie that morning at the store and seen just how tired and "hung-over" her aunt was, she had taken pity on her and offered to baby-sit for a few hours so that she and Cruz could get a little sleep. They agreed to meet at Audrey's an hour later so Georgie spent that time moving the dining room table out of the living room and searching for anything sharp or dangerous. She had been reading a lot about child development lately and all the books said the same thing: babies at nine months old were more than curious; they were capable. Until she had seen it for herself—until she had stepped away for a second and not been able to find her little cousin—Georgie hadn't believed that she was already walking. Both Bobbie and Cruz had tried to warn her, but she hadn't listened.

Ever since she and Steven announced their impending parenthood, toys had started showing up all over the place. After almost a week of confusion, Audrey finally admitted to sneaking in the toys. "It's just something I saw on my way to the market." She would insist. "They were practically giving these away when I told them I was expecting a new great-grandchild." She was a kook, but one Georgie and Steven loved. Currently, her grandmother-in-law was in her room watching her "stories" with the door partially open in case she thought Georgie needed her.

Obediently, Majandra crawled over to her. It seemed to Georgie—and if she was wrong it wouldn't be the first time today—that even though Majandra could walk, she preferred crawling. Probably because she could get places faster. If asked, Georgie would swear it was because she wanted to stay hidden, the little trickster. Or, maybe it was because it was easier to drag her pale-yellow blanket she had had since she was brought home from the hospital. Even now, she dragged it behind her like a friend.

Georgie smiled down at her and loosely reached for her hands. "Okay, we're going to play a game. Are you ready?" Majandra glanced down at her captured wrists, one hand still gripping her blanket, and then looked at Georgie, uncertain. "We're going to play Pat-A-Cake. I'll show you how." She lifted her cousin's hands, watching in triumph as the blanket slipped from her fingers, and held up hers so that she wouldn't just drop them when Georgie released her hold. "Okay, now like this." Softly, she pressed her hands against the much tinier palms and Majandra giggled in response, bringing her little fists to her mouth.

"I have no idea how patty cake has lasted this long. No kid seems to be interested in it." Elizabeth laughed as she walked in the room, carrying Gracie and Jake with her.

"Hi!" Georgie greeted her sister-in-law brightly. "The books say that she's in an imitation stage and I thought, since we were just sitting here anyway, it couldn't hurt."

"The book? Oh the helpfully suggested reading list? You should have called me. I have them all. Probably recommended by the same people." Elizabeth giggled as she arranged Gracie and Jake near Majandra.

"What are you guys doing out today?"

"Wedding errands. What else?"

"Robin said you found a dress."

"Thank goodness. Only nine zillion other details to complete."

"Yes, but the dress was the most important."

"Of course it was. Now how about your dress? Is it ok?"

"Oh I love my dress. I still can't believe you want me to be in it." Georgie blushed.

"You're my sister-in-law. Of course I want you to be in it. Like I was going to choose my own sister? Please."

"I don't think there's a dress on the planet that could make her look pleasant."

"See. How could I not have someone as cool as you in my wedding?"

"Well there is that." Georgie's smile faded when she caught sight of the edge of one of the listings she and Steven had been looking at. Hurriedly, she tried to shove it under a pillow. Sure, the family knew that they were moving out of Audrey's, but neither of them had hinted about L.A. She hadn't even been able to tell Maxie because her sister was just a big gossip and she didn't want her father to be the last to know yet again.

"What's that?" Elizabeth asked, reaching for the piece of paper.

"Um, just some residue left over from Sunday's paper. Steven keeps leaving bits and pieces everywhere. I often wonder why he even bothers to get a whole paper when he just wants the Entertainment section." Georgie prattled on nervously.

"Are you...are you guys moving?"

"Yes." Georgie admitted, her eyes shooting to her hands. "We wanted to tell you together."

"Which means my brother wanted to wait until the last possible second." Elizabeth guessed.

"I'm sorry."

"No. No don't be sorry. I guess I always knew it was going to happen. Steven works in L.A. Just the longer you guys stayed here, the more used to him being here I got. I might have forgotten about the whole job thing."

"Unfortunately, I think your brother might share that aversion to work. I just remember when he was going to work here for me and be miserable."

"Miserable but pretty sweet." Elizabeth laughed.

"I'm supposed to go with him to Australia the week following your wedding since I'll have some time off for the holiday and then I'm sure I'll be a wreck."

"Yeah. But that is his life. One job in L.A. The next one half way across the world. Unless you plan on traveling with him everywhere?"

"I haven't really thought about it. I don't want to drag a baby all over the place, but maybe when he or she gets older."

"Yes and you can send him or her to Port Charles so I can spoil them rotten."

"Really?"

"Absolutely. Someone has to share the toy store Grams bought my kids."

"She's so sneaky about that sort of thing." Georgie chuckled.

"Did she try the 'they were practically giving them to me when I said it was for my great grandchild' excuse yet?"

"Only her exact words!"

"I'm familiar." Elizabeth nodded. "Soon to be followed with the 'fabulous sale' one. And a variation of 'who knows how long I'll be around. Let an old woman spoil her great grandchildren.' one. Look out for that one. There is no arguing that one."

"Thank God I haven't gotten that one yet."

"Matter of time. She pulls that one out when you've argued with her about fabulous sale or not, giveaways or not, your child does not need all these toys."

"Hey." Georgie's jaw dropped when she saw all three kids playing Pat-A-Cake, or Majandra trying to show them as they lay half-asleep in their car seats.

"Look at that. Ever consider a career in preschool education?"