General Hospital. Back Entrance.

Lulu loved this outfit. It was like playing spy. She'd never really understood the buzz her parents got from disguises and escapes before, but now... now she got it. And all things considered, she'd rather be a chauffeur than work for Kate Howard.

And she loved this limo. She wasn't so hot at driving it, but there wasn't too far to go.

A man in an EMT outfit knocked on her window. She rolled it down.

"Lou?"

"Lulu."

"Viktor."

"Hop in."

Viktor went to the back of the limo and got in. He looked out his window. The man in the leather jacket who'd been watching Viktor looked like he'd just been handed a Christmas bonus. The man in the leather jacket went inside the hospital.

"Where's your luggage?," Lulu asked.

"Already there," he said. "Are you not going to pick up Mr. Zacchara as well?"

"Yeah. I mean, yes, I'm picking him up too."

"He is over there." Viktor pointed. "But hurry. We have been noticed."

Lulu looked more closely at the guy by the dumpster. No wonder that guy wasn't dumping the garbage into the dumpster. A little hint about John's disguise would have been nice.

Lulu shifted into 1st, and the car jolted forward.

"Sorry!"

Viktor didn't seem to care.

She slowly pulled up to John. Rolled down her window again. "Going my way?," she said, pulling up as Viktor opened the back door.

The man with the leather jacket returned, accompanied by another, rather large man.

Johnny grabbed his luggage out of the garbage, threw it in the back seat and dove in after it. "We got company," he said, slamming the door shut on the two guys following him.

"Okay, okay," Lulu said. "Let me just --" She shifted into 3rd. The gears grinded. "Shoot."

She started again. The car began to roll forward and Sonny's men jumped back as it jumped the curb.

Lulu righted the car, and gunned it. Sonny's gunmen lost sight of the limo just as they reached their own car.

"How are we doing back there?"

Johnny grinned. If Lulu had been any kind of decent driver, they'd probably all be dead by now.

Viktor wondered why a child had been sent to drive.

********************************************************

General Hospital. Loading Dock.

Matt pulled his hat down, and brought the file box to the guards.

"What's this?," the guy on duty said.

"Ahm suhpposed to bring this here." He shouldn't have chosen a Southern accent. He didn't know what he was doing. Too late now to change. "There's a woman bein' transferred to Mercy, and they needed these files too. Ahm to accompahnay they-um."

"Do you have a signed slip?"

Matt handed over the permission form.

The guard pointed to the ambulance in the dock. "That's your ride."

"Thank ye." Thank ye? Get in the van, Matt.

Matt carefully balanced the box and opened the passenger side door.

From the curb, out of the corner of his eye, he saw two guys watch him, and then discount him.

Matt climbed in with the box, shut the door behind him, and went into the back.

He opened the box up. The baby cooed.

"Excellent silence skills, Jonah," Matt whispered. "Give me five." He held up his hand and then lowered it back down. "Maybe when you're older."

**********************************************************

Liz and Dr. Waters helped Claudia up onto the gurney.

Liz picked up Claudia's labor bag. "Do the presents go in here, Claudia?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to gather everything that's yours that's not in the bag and put it in a plastic bag, okay? And both bags will go under the gurney."

"Okay. Thank you."

Dr. Waters leaned over Claudia.

"I'm putting some bottled water under the gurney, too," Dr. Waters said. "You really need to re-hydrate in the next few hours. Normally you wouldn't be allowed out this quickly."

Claudia nodded. As Dr. Waters went to move away, she grabbed his arm and pulled him close to her.

"I know," she said. "I know you didn't want to do this. But you saved my baby's life. And there is no way to tell you how grateful I am now and always will be."

"Just keep him away from the guns and the knives."

Claudia's eyes closed as she momentarily thought of Michael. Then she opened them. Dr. Waters was looking at her strangely. "Yes, sir," she said, covering.

Dr. Waters loaded the bottled water under the gurney.

Liz turned to Dr. Waters. "Are you going to be able to get out safely?"

"I'll be fine."

"Then I guess we'd better get going."

She put her hair in a ponytail and tucked it under a baseball cap. She looked at Claudia.

"Claudia, can you pull up that sheet a little and use the pillow to hide your face? Good. Let's go."

Dr. Waters opened the sliding door for them, and Liz wheeled Claudia out.

**********************************************************

GreyStone.

Sonny came in the front door. Max and Milo were waiting for him.

He headed to the living room.

Max stepped in front of him.

"What are you doing?," Sonny asked.

"You got company, Mr. C."

"Who?"

The doors to living room opened. Nikolas Cassadine was standing there.

"Welcome home, Sonny. We need to talk."

*************************************************************

Lulu pulled up to the Port Charles airport. She pushed a button and the divider between her and her passengers came down.

John was now dressed in normal clothes. So was Viktor.

"We're here," she said.

"Thank you," said Viktor. He got out of the car.

Johnny came to the divider. He passed packet of folded papers to Lulu. "That's for Nikolas. It's the birth certificate."

"Okay," she said.

Johnny hesitated. "I guess this is it," he said.

"Bet you never thought you'd end up here that day you pulled over your car to pick me up, huh?," she said.

"See?," he said. "We started with me driving you, and we end up with you driving me."

"Driving you crazy, you mean," she said.

"In a good way," he said. He smiled at her, beginning to feel a weird sense of closure. "I'm glad we were together for as long as we were, Lulu."

"Me too."

"And I hope you find everything you're looking for."

Lulu smiled wistfully. "I hope you find someone who makes you happy and keeps you on your toes."

"I already had that," he said. "I just need to learn how to keep it." He leaned into the front seat and kissed her on the cheek.

And then he grabbed his luggage and stepped out into the night.

**************************************************************

Port Charles Police Department. Mac's Office.

"My client," Diane Miller repeated, "will not be sated by a few well-chosen words."

It was a struggle for Mac to look concerned. It had been a long night. There was a lot of mob activity, and it wasn't from the usual suspects.

"We'd like an investigation," Ms. Miller said.

Claudia Corinthos had gone into the hospital. No one knew where she was. She hadn't come back out. And Nikolas was involved.

"If you would at least consent to do a cursory search of the building, that would be a start."

Mac knew exactly where Claudia was. It didn't take a rocket scientist. Then again, how would Sonny or Diane know about Helena's hidden rooms under the hospital?

"Barring that, perhaps an interview with Nikolas Cassadine?"

The next time Alexis got him messed up with Cassadines and the mob, Mac hoped she would let Mac in on exactly what he was getting into.

"Commissioner Scorpio, may I have some indication that something is going to be done?"

Claudia had been missing for eight hours. If he massaged the law a little, Mac could begin a search in four hours. If he buried this in bureaucracy, Nikolas would have eighteen more hours.

"Ms. Miller," Mac said, finally. "I'm happy to see Mr. Corinthos taking an interest in the right side of the law."

Diane's face froze. Precisely what she was afraid of.

"But this is a tricky case," Mac continued. "How do we know Mrs. Corinthos wants to be found? She never checked into the hospital. Were she and her husband having domestic issues? Maybe he should be our first interview. In eighteen hours. When we're first allowed -- legally -- to investigate."

**************************************************************

General Hospital. Loading dock.

Matt saw Liz and Claudia being stopped by security. And they appeared to be attracting some attention from the two men outside the loading dock.

Matt peered down into the box. "I have to cover you back up again, Short Stuff. Keep thrilling me with your silent act." He put the cover back on the box, and tucked the box away to the side.

Liz wheeled the gurney down to the ambulance. Matt opened the back doors.

"We have company," he said under his breath.

"I saw." She handed the bags to him, and the water.

"What's going on?," Claudia said quietly.

Matt and Claudia lifted Claudia inside the ambulance.

"Two men outside the entrance watching," Matt said. "We need to get out of here fast."

"Wait," Claudia said quietly, but firmly. "You both have to get out of the ambulance again."

Liz and Matt stared at Claudia.

"Are you crazy?," Matt hissed. "Those guys are huge."

"Well, you know what?," Claudia hissed back. "I'd do it myself, only I'm the one they're looking for. My son is not going to end up in the arms of the man who murdered his mother. So man up, Wussy Pants."

Matt stared at Claudia.

"Liz has to go back to the security guards." She turned to Liz. "Make up something. Tell them you need a copy of the patient transfer forms. And then, Matt, you will be tired and frustrated with your partner. For making you late. You will go out to Sonny's men and bum a cigarette."

"I don't smoke."

"Then say you're going to smoke it later. Who cares? Bum a cigarette. Make some small talk about the weather or the moon or whatever. Let them ask you about your patient. Give them an answer."

Matt nodded slowly, catching on.

"Good. Go ahead, Liz."

Liz fix Claudia with a not-so-nice glare, and then left the ambulance.

Matt and Claudia sat in silence. Claudia noticed that Matt's hands were shaking.

Claudia patted Matt's arm. "You're going to be fine. And if I know one thing, it's that you have a higher I.Q. than eight of Sonny's men added up together."

Well, that was certainly true. Matt went back out, shutting the back doors behind him.

"Jonah?," Claudia said quietly. "Mommy's here." The baby sighed a little. "How are you? Hmmm?" Jonah cooed. "I know. I know." Claudia wondered if Nikolas knew what he was doing, involving the nurse and the doctor. They were both a little vanilla. She began to sing softly to Jonah, as if singing a lullaby, "Regrets... I've had a few..."

Liz came back in. She was quiet. She opened her mouth to speak and then shut it again.

"Go ahead," Claudia said.

"You were way too harsh on Matt. The man is in the middle of a lawsuit. The last thing he needs is to bending the law, and yet here he is helping you out. He volunteered for this. He's not your hired hand."

Claudia rolled over onto her side and looked Liz in the eye. "I have no illusions about what we're doing, Liz. And believe me, I know exactly how much I owe you both."

"Then what are you sending Matt out there for?"

"Because if we just drove off, they'd follow us. Some of us would end up dead. And the rest would end up in legal trouble. Which, as you pointed out, is the last thing Matt needs. You don't like the way I do things? That's okay. I'm a big girl. But the things I do -- that's a different story. I'm right about this. And I won't back down."

Matt came back in, shutting the doors behind him.

"What's up, Doc?," Claudia said.

"You're an eighty year-old Asian man," Matt said. He tossed an unlit cigarette at her. "With lung cancer complications brought on by smoking."

"I hope I can live with that," Claudia said.

Matt smiled. "You were right about the I.Q. thing." He curved his thumb and forefinger into a circle. "One of them thought the moon was this big." He looked through the circle up at the moon.

Claudia and Liz laughed. And the tension was broken, at least for a moment.

"Who's driving?," Liz asked.

"The one who can drive through a tornado with Godzilla giving birth in her backseat," Matt answered.

"What?," said Claudia.

"You can take that question," Liz muttered to Matt.

Liz climbed into the drivers seat. She checked under the seat and picked up the driving directions.

Keys in the ignition.

Away we go, she thought, as they pulled out of the loading dock. Sonny's men were conferring. She held her breath as she left the street. They did not follow.

In the back, Matt took Jonah from the box and gave him to Claudia. He tucked the blanket around him.

Jonah kicked his little feet in the air. Claudia laughed. "So they work out here, too, huh?" She kissed the baby. "Ciao, piccolo." Her eyes kept searching over him, not quite believing that he was hers, he was healthy, and he was in her arms. "Did you have a good trip up the elevator?," Claudia said.

"He was perfect," Matt said.

Claudia smiled, finally believing things might work out. "He is," she said, as ambulance began its journey out of Port Charles.

***************************************************************

GreyStone.

"Where's my son?," Sonny said.

Nikolas gestured to a small package on Sonny's desk. "We have some things to discuss." He looked at Max and Milo. "Gentlemen, if you would excuse us."

"What are you doing, bossing my men around? This isn't your Dracula Island," Sonny said.

"If you'd prefer they'd stay, that would be fine, too." Nikolas began unpacking items from the package.

Sonny nodded to Max and Milo. They began to leave the room.

"When are we going to tell him about the --"

"Shut up," Max said, closing the doors behind them.

Sonny lunged for Nikolas' throat. Nikolas gasped for breath.

He brought his hands up and pried Sonny's hands from his throat.

Then he kicked Sonny's legs out from under him.

"I prefer to handle this civilly," Nikolas said. "But if you persist, I will have no choice but to defend myself."

Nikolas went back to the package. He continued as if he had not been interrupted. "Before I begin, I should tell you that --"

Sonny lunged for Nikolas again. This time he tackled him to the ground. "Where is my son? What have you done with my son?," he shouted.

Nikolas made a sudden move, and chopped at Sonny's windpipe. Sonny fell back onto the floor, struggling for breath. Nikolas took the opportunity to disarm him.

Nikolas went back to the package. "The next time you interrupt me," he said. "I will bring this package or one of its copies to the authorities. And you will end up in a little prison cell for the rest of your miserable life. Knowing as I do your susceptibility to claustrophobia, I wouldn't take that risk if I were you. Your sister was the mother of my child. I do know things about you."

Sonny struggled to his feet, regained his breath, and then sat on the couch.

"Thank you," Nikolas said. "As I was saying, before I begin, you should be aware that there are many copies of these items in various locations. In fact, this is not the complete package. This is just a sampling. One of the complete versions is stored with Claudia's Uncle Rudy, whom I am sure will be happy to take action against you once he hears this. If we can't come to terms."

"Hears what?," Sonny asked condescendingly.

Nikolas took out a digital recorder and pressed PLAY. Sonny's voice issued forth from the recorder. "...we take Claudia from the hospital quick enough, she won't be armed and she won't be able to fight back..." Jason's voice interrupted. "That still doesn't solved the problem of the Zaccharas." Sonny again. "You'd be surprised how little they're gonna care when they find her with a bullet in her head. Anthony's already tried to pull it off himself."

Nikolas clicked it off. He slowed his breathing down. Got the anger under control. Continued. "I'm sure you remember that discussion in its entirety. It was quite graphic. Very specific. Both you and Jason contributed to 'the plan.' This package contains enough evidence to put you -- and Jason, and Spinelli, among others -- away for life. There won't be any need for your testimony, so there will be no opportunity for a plea bargain."

"This is blackmail."

"Prove it happened. But before you do, be sure that you don't want what I'm blackmailing you with out in the open."

"Look, I don't care about Claudia. Keep Claudia. But give me my son."

"He's not your son. He's Claudia's son."

Sonny shot up and got up in Nikolas' face. "You shut up. You know nothing. That woman is a child killer."

Nikolas casually leaned back against Sonny's desk. He continued as if Sonny had not spoken. "I have made a list of the charges you will be brought up on if this package makes its way into the hands of the authorities." Nikolas tapped his hand against each of the little piles he created as he reeled them off. "Conspiracy to commit murder. Trafficking. Accessory before and after the fact."

"She got my son shot. She tried to kill me."

"Extortion. Money laundering. Tax evasion."

"Everything I did, she did too."

"She was not foolish enough to leave a trail. Grand theft. Petty theft. Racketeering. Fraud."

"This isn't over. You tell her I will get my son."

"Assault. Illegal wiretapping. Illegal computer access."

"You have no idea who she is."

"You have no idea who I am. Illegal computer interception. Data interference. Federal systems interference."

Sonny went silent as his eyes fell on the evidence. He worked his way slowly down the desk, scanning documents.

Nikolas continued. "Consult your lawyer. See what she says. I am sure that when you present her with the options -- hypothetically, of course -- she will urge you to do as I ask."

Sonny needed to talk to someone who wasn't a textbook. "Where's Claudia?"

Nikolas laughed at Sonny. "You think she'd talk to you? Or were you thinking of something more sinister? Some weeks back, Claudia had a Will witnessed, which states that should anything happen to her, her child will go to me. That, too, is stored with all our evidence. I hope this will dissuade you from trying to silence her."

"What do you want?"

"A divorce and annulment for Claudia. And a renouncement of custody for your son. You have twenty-four hours to decide, after which there will be no choice. If you feel that isn't sufficient time, remember that it took me one day to dismantle you. One day and a little planning. Remember that."

Nikolas put everything back in the package except the list of potential charges. He laid the list out on Sonny's desk.

He turned back to Sonny. "I feel sorry for you. Truly. What you went through as a child were things that no child should ever have to experience. But think back to the way you treated Claudia, the death you were planning for her. Congratulations, Sonny. You outdid your stepfather with that one."

Sonny looked like he was ready to murder Nikolas on the spot.

Nikolas tucked the package under his arm. "I almost forgot," he said. "Claudia wanted me to return this." Nikolas pulled out Sonny's pen and placed it back into its holder.

Nikolas walked to the doors. He turned back. "Can you hear that?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The ticking clock," Nikolas said.

**************************************************

An Isolated Country Road Just Outside of Port Charles.

Liz pulled the ambulance up next to a late model station wagon.

"What's going on?," Matt asked.

"We're here."

The driver got out of the station wagon.

"I don't believe it," Liz said. She hopped out of the ambulance and ran to the driver.

"Liz!," Laura said, hugging her. "What a wonderful surprise!"

"I can't believe Nikolas didn't tell me."

The back doors of the ambulance opened and Matt hopped out. Laura watched as Matt smiled at Liz and gave her a big thumbs up. And Liz laughed warmly. And looked like she was ...

Laura looked at Liz quizzically.

"There's too much to tell you," Liz said.

"Okay," Laura said. "I'll get it from Nikolas."

Liz and Laura went in back of the ambulance.

Matt and Liz brought the gurney out of the ambulance.

"Hi, Laura," Claudia said.

Laura smiled at Jonah. "Look at your little boy."

"Can you believe it?"

"He's beautiful."

Matt started loading Claudia's things into the station wagon. "Do you have far to go?," he asked Laura.

"I'm afraid so," Laura said. "But we thought it would be less conspicuous driving this than the ambulance."

"You're right there."

Laura took Jonah from Claudia.

Liz and Matt helped Claudia up.

"Can you make it?," Liz asked.

"I think so," Claudia said. But she stumbled a little bit. Matt and Liz helped her to back of the station wagon.

Claudia sat on the bumper. She looked at Liz and Matt. "Thank you for my son. Thank you for my life."

"It was our pleasure. Sort of," Liz said.

"And if he ever needs a middle name...," Matt said.

Nikolas had odd but good friends, Claudia decided.

Liz went over to hug Laura one last time, while Matt closed up the back of the ambulance and then climbed into the driver's side.

Liz made her way back to the ambulance and climbed into the passenger's side. The ambulance took off.

Claudia crawled into the back of the station wagon. And a face peered over the passenger's side seat.

"Claudee!"

"Spencer!"

Laura handed Jonah to Claudia.

"This is your baby? From your stomach?," Spencer asked.

"Sì. This is Jonah. And we brought you a present."

Claudia opened her labor bag and brought out a wrapped present.

Spencer's mouth shaped itself into a perfect "O."

He took the gift and disappeared back into his seat.

Laura covered Claudia in a blanket. She ducked out of the back and shut the back door.

Spencer popped his head over the seat again. "You stay?," he asked Claudia.

"Yes, Spencer," she said. "I'm here to stay."

Laura got into the driver's seat. "Okay, Spencer -- back into your seatbelt. Oh my goodness -- is that a present from Claudia?"

"Yes. And the baby," Spencer said.

"What do you say?"

"Open it."

Laura and Claudia cracked up.

Spencer quickly added, "Please."