"~~~ THREE YEARS LATER ~~~

Holly sat her special package gently on the porch stoop, and opened the door. "Robert?" she called. "In here, luv," he called back to her from the kitchen. "What on earth are you doing?" she asked seeing him struggle to put the last shelf in the refrigerator; the contents, which were once inside, strewn on the counters and in coolers. "What does it look like?"He said slightly irritated. "Ahhh..."With a self-satisfied smile, he finally got the shelf in place, brushing his hands together. He stands and plants a kiss on her lips. "I'm cleaning the refrigerator so my lovely, very pregnant wife won't attempt to. Who's bright idea was it to install the refrigerator in the corner of the kitchen where the doors can't be opened wide enough to pull out shelves? Bloody idiot designer!" Holly stifled a giggle. "Oh, my poor darling. Why didn't you have Robin help you?" "She asked Uncle Frank to take her and Samantha shopping. Seems she wanted to protect their tender ears," he said sheepishly. He pulls her into his arms and gives her a long, passionate kiss. "I missed you." "I was only gone a couple of hours." "I know, but it feels like an eternity when we're not together. By the way, there's a letter in the mail from Celia on the counter."

After searching through the clutter, Holly found the letter and opened it. A clipping fell out of it. "It's an article from the Port Charles Herald about the opening of the Carla Escobar Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation class="apple-converted-space" /spanShe and Grant were in Port Charles last week for the dedication. Seems like Edward and Lila were so grateful to Grant for his support of Celia and the rest of the family during the takeover fight with Jimmy Lee, that he supported Grant's effort to establish a sports medicine clinic. He even proposed it to the hospital board, and wanted it named after him. Grant, however, wanted it named in honor of his first success story." "I'm surprised Jimmy Lee didn't threaten Edward with the Bible page." "Don't you remember me telling you that he did?" "No, what happened?" Seem like he came to the house waving that page in Edward's face. Unbeknownst to Jimmy Lee, Monica entered the room behind him, grabbed that page, ripped it up, and threw it in the fireplace." "I've always liked Monica. She has spunk. I would have loved to see the look on Jimmy Lee's face." "So would have I! Monica is very protective of her family." They both laughed. "Quentin even was grateful for Grant standing by Celia and convinced the board at Long Island Memorial to offer him a staff position after Celia and Grant remarried. He's recently been appointed as Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery. He's been very supportive of Celia's art career as well. She's had several successful shows. The picture in the article is of her and Grant standing beside a statue of Carla she sculpted. It looks like they have a bright future in front of them." "Yeah, well. I'm happy for them. Now where were we?"

He gave her a quick kiss then led her into the living room. "What about the mess in the kitchen?" Holly protested. "Leave it. I plan on making much better use of my time." "We can't. Uncle Frank and the girls will be back soon." As if on cue, the door opened and Uncle Frank, Robin, and two-year old, Samantha Rebecca entered. "Daddy!" Samantha launched herself into her father's arms. As he scooped her up, she planted a wet, sloppy kiss on his cheek. "Daddy, what's in the box on the porch?" "What box?" "It's making funny noises." Instantly alert, he puts her down, fearing his past has put his family in danger again. He cautiously approaches the box and notices it looks suspiciously like a pet carrier, and the sounds emitting from it, suspiciously like yapping. He opens the box to discover a golden retriever puppy. "How did he get here?" Robert said confused. Holly, with a big grin on her face and a twinkle in her eyes, said, "Happy birthday, darling! I just thought I'd end the debate once and for all. We've already decided our younger son will be named Charles Francis after two of the most influential men in our lives, but our older son will have his father's name after the most influential man in our children's lives. You can namespan class="apple-converted-space" /spanemhim /emMortimer. "Uncle! I give!" Robert roared with laughter, remembering a time the tables were turned. He planted another deep kiss on Holly, wrapped his arms around her, as they joined the others as they watched the antics of the newest addition to the Scorpio family. His life was complete.