Wyndemere. Spoon Island.

Nikolas looked around the living room. Most of the books had been shipped that day. He was going to have to start in on his clothing tomorrow. Although most of it could probably be tossed.

He'd spent so much time preparing for the baby to arrive, that he hadn't handled some of the practicalities of Ever After.

Lulu poked her head in the door and waited for Nikolas to notice her. When he looked up at her, she tipped her chauffeur's hat at him and smiled. And came in.

"Everything went smoothly. Except for some damage to the car. Which was my fault. And this --" she handed him the birth certificate papers "-- is for you."

"Thank you," Nikolas said. He opened up the birth certificate. He traced the baby's footprints with his fingers.

Lulu surveyed the room. "You're leaving for good," she said, in realization.

"Yes," he said. "But you'll be able to find me."

Lulu sat down on the couch. Nikolas had been dreading this moment. Lucky would be fine. Lucky had existed without him before. Alexis had a whole family. But aside from whatever strange family relationship there was with Carly, and Lulu's occasional visits to Lesley, Nikolas and Lucky were basically it for Lulu. And Lucky was a little less rational about his baby sister than Nikolas was.

Nikolas sat down next to Lulu and turned to her.

"You're the reason I came here in the first place," he said.

"I know," she said. Nikolas had told her that for a long time, she was the only Spencer family member he'd really had.

"You gave me a life, a whole new world. Anything good that has happened to me, happened because you brought me here." And it was true. Lulu was the first person who ever made him happy. And he would have never met Emily if he hadn't lived in Port Charles. Or Courtney. And as much as it would have pained Lulu to be aware of it, there was no other place on earth where Nikolas would have crossed paths with Claudia, regardless of everything they had in common, including their independent international journeys.

Lulu began to cry. She tried to wipe the tears away. She looked at him. "I don't know how to be here without you," she said.

"Well," he said. "I'm here for at least another week. If you change your mind --"

"No," she said. "I couldn't live with Claudia. We're just -- It wouldn't work. Visits would work though."

"You have another few weeks to get to Italy if you want to."

Lulu was quiet.

"If you want to," he repeated.

"I don't think so. I lose myself when I'm with Johnny. We love each other, but we end up hurting each other, and losing ourselves, and I don't think it's a good idea."

"You still have some time. Just in case you change your mind. And if you ever, ever need me, I'm always a phone call away. I'll drop everything for you." With that, Nikolas kissed the side of her head.

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

Alexis' House.

The knocking was polite, but insistent. So probably not Sonny. But it was late. She could feign sleep, if it came to that.

The knocking wouldn't stop. She got off the couch and went to the door.

It was Mac. And a bottle of fine brandy.

She opened the door wider, beckoning him inside.

"Are you sure?," he said. "It's about Sonny."

Alexis came outside and closed the door behind her.

Mac opened the bottle and took a swig. He held the bottle out to Alexis. She looked at it with some distaste.

"Live a little," he said.

Alexis took the bottle, wiped the mouth and took as dainty a sip as she could.

"So," he said.

"Yes?"

"Helena's hidden room at General Hospital. That was quite a brainstorm."

"I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"Claudia Corinthos. Giving birth."

Alexis wagged her finger at Mac, shutting him down. "You see, this is where you don't understand me. I know none of this -- I know none of the details. Because I am the district attorney. If I knew anything, I'd have to do something about it. So I never know anything. That didn't come out right. My point is, I don't allow family members I love to tell me details."

Mac took a big swig of brandy. "Well, tell your nephew that he has about sixteen hours to clean up whatever he did in Helena's secret room. If he did anything in Helena's secret room."

Alexis snatched the bottle away from Mac. She took a large swig. Choked a little. Caught her breath. Looked Mac in the eye. "Is there any point to our jobs in this town?"

"None whatsoever. But the titles are nice."

"That they are," she said.

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

The sign on the side of the road said, "Now Entering Beecher's Corners."

Laura steered the station wagon through roads that were by now second nature to her.

She turned onto a dirt road and followed it to its end, finally coming to a stop in a gravel driveway in front of a small, cozy house.

She looked at Spencer. He was asleep, clutching the toy doctor's kit Claudia had bought him.

"Claudia," Laura whispered. No answer. She looked in the back. Claudia and the baby were asleep. Laura gently shook Claudia's shoulder.

"What?," Claudia said sleepily.

"We're here," Laura whispered. "I'm going to take Spencer in, and then the baby. Then I'll come help you inside."

"Okay," said Claudia. She closed her eyes again. She must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew, Laura was waking her up again.

"Are you in a lot of pain?," Laura asked.

"It's not too bad," Claudia said, slowly crawling to the back door. "I've had worse. Do you think Nikolas is all right?"

"He's a Cassadine. He can survive anything."

Claudia fixed Laura with a no-nonsense look. "I know their history."

"Okay, granted the others haven't been so lucky. But he's The Cassadine. He survives everything. Hold on to me," Laura said.

Laura helped Claudia up, and then into the house. There were a couple of rocky moments on the steps up to the porch, but Claudia got a determined look on her face after the second one, and that was the end of that.

"Don't you need to close up the car?," Claudia said.

"Where we are, the worst that could happen is a raccoon climbing in," Laura said.

Claudia looked around. Isolated. And this was the first time she'd heard crickets since Spoon Island.

They entered the house, and Laura turned on the lights. It took Claudia's breath away.

Toys. A playpen. A cradle. And a banner with "Welcome Home, Baby" scrawled across it.

Claudia's hand flew to her throat as she took in the room. "Thank you," she said. "I never... I didn't have a chance to ..."

"No baby shower, huh?," Laura said.

"I'm not really the shower type," Claudia said. First I'd have to find a friend, she thought.

"Come on," Laura said, leading her toward the back of the house. "You need all the sleep you can get. How are you going to deal with feedings?"

"La Leche all the way," Claudia said. "We can't risk anyone tracking down formula orders. I'm going to be getting up every time the baby gets up."

Laura turned on a night light.

The bedroom was huge. Jonah was already there, asleep in another cradle. There was a nightgown folded on the bed.

"I can get you some more clothes tomorrow. I wasn't sure of your size."

Claudia laughed softly.

Laura looked at her.

"I'm not sure of my size anymore," Claudia explained.

Laura smiled in amusement. "Yeah. I remember that. The supplies are under the changing table, but wake me up when he needs to be changed. I can take you through the beauty of diapers. Bathroom's through that door." Laura pointed.

"Laura, I...," Claudia began gratefully.

"It's almost morning. We can talk about everything later," Laura said, touching Claudia's arm. "You need your rest."

Claudia left Laura's side and went over to the cradle. She felt her eyes filling with tears and her heart felt like it was going to burst. She turned back to Laura. "I never thought I'd have even this much time with my son."

"You're going to have a whole lifetime with him," Laura said.

Laura left the room.

Claudia kissed her fingertips and gently placed them on Jonah's lips. Then she slowly and carefully walked to the bed. She pushed the nightgown aside, and pushed down the covers. She crawled into bed.

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

Metro Court Hotel.

Liz came out of the bathroom.

Matt was collapsed on the bed.

"Matt."

"Yeah."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"You look comatose."

He sat up. "What are they going to do with that ambulance? And what do we do with the Buick?"

"Well, I figure we tell Nikolas that the ambulance is back at Crimson Pointe and the Buick is at the Metro Court, and he'll take care of the rest."

"I wish I was a prince."

Liz sat down next to him on the bed. "The prince is sleeping alone tonight."

"Good point," Matt said.

"Thanks for taking me here."

"I don't want to be anywhere near my apartment building right now either. I'd probably collapse in a blubbery mess if I saw Jason or his boss."

Liz laughed.

"What?"

"You were great with the whole 'Hey, which one was Mrs. Corinthos again?' thing. With Sonny."

"Yeah. Unfortunately, I tried a Southern accent at the loading dock. That didn't go over so well."

Liz laughed again, harder this time.

She looked up at him and caught him staring. "What?," she choked out.

"Ma'am," he said, in the worst Southern accent known to man, "Ah'm gonna make you stop laughin', if ets the last thang ah do."

She laughed even harder. He kissed her. She buried her hands in his hair and pulled him down onto the bed.

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

Beecher's Corners. Laura's House. Morning.

Laura could have sworn she'd set the alarm clock for nine o'clock, yet the clock now read 10:30 A.M. and it sounded like she was the last one up.

Something smelled great. Laura put a robe on and followed the smell to the kitchen.

"Uno scoiattolo!," Spencer called out.

"I'll see what I can do," Claudia said.

Laura came in to find Claudia sitting on a stool at the stove, pouring pancake batter onto a griddle. At the kitchen table, Spencer was devouring a pancake that looked like it might have started out in a dinosaur shape. Jonah was lying peacefully in his bedroom cradle, which had been moved into the kitchen. There was a beautiful spread of fresh, sliced fruits. Freshly squeezed orange juice. Hot coffee and hot water were on the spare burners.

"Gramma!," Spencer said. "Claudee's making animals. What do you want?"

"I don't know," Laura said. "How about an elephant?"

"That's good," Spencer said solemnly.

Claudia began to "paint" an elephant next to a pancake squirrel that was sizzling up.

"Sit. Please. Sit," Claudia said to Laura. "I turned your alarm clock off. I figured you could use a break."

"Me," Laura said, sitting down and staring at Claudia.

"You were driving all night."

"You gave birth, what, twelve hours ago?"

Claudia deposited the squirrel on Spencer's plate and kissed the top of Spencer's head.

Spencer beamed, and began pulling the squirrel apart with his hands.

Claudia poured some more batter on the griddle. "I feel okay. And cooking relaxes me. I'll take a nap when I put Jonah down."

"Where's Daddy?," Spencer asked.

Claudia deposited a pancake elephant on the plate in front of Laura.

"Your daddy's in Port Charles," Claudia said. "Do you know what he told me?"

"What?"

"He said that he misses you so much that he's started saying 'please' all the time. Just like you."

"No!"

"Yes!"

Laura found herself unexpectedly moved watching Claudia and Spencer together.

"Gramma?"

"Yes, Spencer."

"Juice please."

Laura poured Spencer some juice.

Claudia deposited two round pancakes on her own plate. She turned off the griddle burner and sat down at the table. A wave of fatigue swept over her, and she closed her eyes.

"Claudia?"

"Sorry. On the one hand, I just gave birth. And on the other hand, I'm so happy to be alive and to be here that I keep getting these bursts of energy. There's a little battle going on inside my body."

"Welcome to motherhood," Laura said.

Claudia turned to look at Jonah, who was kicking in his cradle.

Laura put her hand on Claudia's wrist. Claudia looked up at Laura.

"He's not going anywhere," Laura said.

"That's going to take some getting used to," Claudia said.

"Does Jonah want a pancake?," Spencer asked.

"He's too little for them," Laura said.

"These are just for big boys," Claudia said.

Spencer turned to Laura. "I helped move the baby bed," Spencer said proudly.

Laura got a lump in her throat. She didn't know what she was going to do when Nikolas finally got here. She was afraid she'd be so moved, she'd be crying all the time.

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

Wyndemere. The Study. Afternoon.

Nikolas finished signing the last set of papers. He shook Mr. Johnston's hand.

"Mr. Cassadine, it's been a pleasure."

"Have you made a decision about the staff?"

"I see no reason why they can't stay on at their current salaries if they wish to."

"And the Metro Court?"

"Inconsequential to our plans. The island is a much more desirable location. And the stables, the scenery -- an ideal spot for vacationers. I'm sure we'll pose no threat to their bar, but as far as the hotel? I don't think this town can sustain two such high end hotels. I don't see how the Metro Court can survive once Wyndemere re-opens as a vacation spot. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," Nikolas said.

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

GreyStone. Living Room. Afternoon.

Sonny sat on the couch. He hadn't slept all night. An early morning meeting with Diane hadn't gone well.

What Nikolas had told him was true. There could be no plea bargain because the police would have all the evidence they needed. And with the conspiracy to commit murder, there was definite jail time. Also, there was no statute of limitations on that one, which seemed unfair. It wasn't like there was an actual murder committed.

Jason slipped in the room.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey."

"You find Claudia?"

Sonny shook his head. "No. But her boyfriend stopped by."

"Nikolas? What did he say?"

"I'll tell you in a minute. What happened in Puerto Rico?"

"Rivera's taking back Puerto Rico. I couldn't fix that. But you get to keep the island. And the casino. You just have to pay a percentage to Rivera."

Sonny nodded dejectedly.

"I think it's important that we build back up here, make some definite moves before the Five Families feel like they can make inroads."

"Sure," said Sonny. He looked vacantly into the distance.

"Sonny?"

"She's been collecting stuff."

"Claudia?"

"Yeah. She and Nikolas, they must have been planning this for months. She copied Spinelli's computer. Got a recording of us planning the hit on her. Originals of the real books and doctored books. Files, computer files, recordings, accounting records. I give them what they want, they don't turn us in."

Jason ran his hand through his hair. "It's not possible, Sonny. We searched everywhere. Almost every day. She's lying."

Sonny took a breath, trying to calm himself. He exhaled. "Nikolas showed me everything. It's real."

"How?"

"The nursery, man. Everything in there had a secret compartment. I think Nikolas was the one who arranged the three international defections. Looks like he's been talking to Claudia's uncle this whole time."

"What do they want?"

"He got what he wanted. The Italian territory is his."

"Nikolas and Claudia. What do they want?"

Sonny rubbed the back of his neck. "A divorce and an annulment for Claudia. And I have to renounce custody of our son."

"What if we find Claudia? Track her down and -- "

"She's already got a Will ready to go. Custody goes to Nikolas, and the evidence gets released to the police. They thought of everything," he spat out. "I talked to Diane."

"What did she say?"

"She says I gotta sign. All three. He's my son."

"I'm sorry, Sonny."

Sonny turned to Jason, his eyes red-rimmed. "What am I going to tell Michael? I promised him. I promised him I'd take care of it."

"I don't know," Jason said. He hesitated, and then went on. "I don't like Michael knowing any of our business. I don't think he should be involved."

"I was trying to keep him out of it."

"You kept him in. The second you told him you'd take care of it, you were telling him that Claudia was going down. That's involving Michael."

Sonny kicked over the coffee table. "I can't lose them both. Michael and the baby," he said, anguished.

"How long do we have?"

"Twenty-four hours."

"What are you going to do?"

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

Wyndemere. The Study. Night.

Sonny finished signing the last of the papers. Diane and Jason witnessed them.

"You made the right decision," Nikolas said, folding the papers back up and putting them into their respective envelopes.

"Let's go, Sonny," Jason said.

"I'll be with you in a second. I need to talk to Nikolas alone."

Jason raised an eyebrow.

"It's okay," Sonny said.

Diane and Jason left the room.

Sonny leaned over the desk and looked Nikolas in the eye. "This isn't over," he said.

And he left.