Beecher's Corner's. Laura's House.

Claudia stayed frozen on the bed. And then she turned to get up and began to shake. Nikolas grabbed her wrist.

"Don't do it, Claudia," Nikolas said.

Claudia was lost in a tumult of emotions. She knew she should go to the cradle, get Jonah, and give him to Sonny.

"Let her go, Nikolas," Sonny said.

Someway, somehow, she and Nikolas would find a way to get Jonah back. If Sonny let them live.

Claudia choked back a sob. She pulled away from Nikolas. She got up and went over to the cradle.

Sonny leaned forward and whispered in Nikolas' ear. "I know things about you, too. This is how it happened, isn't it? Your mother had to choose. And she let you go. How does it feel knowing that you're going to make Claudia do the same thing?"

"Don't do it, Claudia," Nikolas said again, pleading with her.

She wouldn't look at him.

Jonah was sleeping so peacefully. So precious. She couldn't see her mother's eyes while he slept, but there was her brother's mouth. She bent over the cradle and brushed the tips of his fingers with her own. How was she going to do this?

She swore something inside her was breaking. She tried to breathe. Was this how it was for her mother?

Suddenly, there was the sharp and unmistakable sound of a shotgun being cocked.

"Step away from my son, Sonny."

Sonny froze. Laura.

"Laura, you don't know what's going on here --"

"I know you have a gun trained at the back of my son's head. That's all I need to go on. Step away from Nikolas."

"Listen, Laura, I'm not going to do anything. Just let me have my son, and you can all stay here."

"I've got both bullets in here, Sonny. At this range, I'm not likely to miss."

Claudia instinctively stepped toward Nikolas.

"Where are you going, Claudia?," Sonny said, raising his gun firmly to Nikolas' temple. "Bring me my son."

Claudia froze.

"It's okay, Claudia," Laura said. "Sonny will put the safety back on his gun. And he will give the gun to you. Because Sonny knows I'm capable of murder."

Laura jabbed the shotgun harder against Sonny. Sonny put the safety on the gun.

Claudia went to her night table. She picked up the pen she'd been using for a crossword puzzle. She slid it into the barrel. Sonny let go of the gun.

Claudia lifted it with her pen and put it on the night table.

She doubled over, gasping for air. Nikolas rushed to her side.

"I'm sorry," she said, brokenly. "I'm sorry."

Nikolas pulled away from her, and turned. He rushed at Sonny, grabbing him by the throat.

"Nikolas!," Laura said. "Stop it."

It took every bit of strength he had, but Nikolas let go and backed away from Sonny, glaring at him.

Laura looked from Nikolas to Claudia, trying to make a decision. Nikolas was too genteel to have ever handled a shotgun. But Claudia seemed too off-balance. Maybe she'd rally, Laura thought.

"Claudia," Laura said. "I need your help. Can you help me?"

At first, Laura didn't think Claudia had heard her. But then Claudia stood up straight. She took a deep breath. She looked at Laura.

"Come here," Laura said. Claudia went to Laura's side. Laura handed Claudia the shotgun. Claudia pointed it at Sonny. And a struggle began inside of her.

Looking at Claudia, Nikolas knew something was off.

Laura picked up the phone and dialed. "Hello, Bob? ... I'm sorry, Sam. This is Laura Spencer. I've caught an intruder in my house. Armed."

Claudia took a firmer stance. She took a step back and aimed the gun precisely.

"Claudia," Nikolas said. "Не делай этого." Don't do it.

"Он собирается принять моего сына." He's going to take my son. She sounded so cold.

"Это все прямо сейчас. Все кончено." It's all right now. It's over.

"Это никогда более." It's never over.

Laura said, "Thank you" into the phone and hung up. Claudia didn't look right. "Claudia, I can take the gun back now."

"Пожалуйста, Claudia" Nikolas said. Please, Claudia.

"Он найдет нас. Когда-нибудь он найдет нас." He'll find us. Someday he'll find us.

"И он не сможет ничего сделать. Дайте ей, что пистолет. " And he won't be able to do anything. Give her the gun.

That was a word Sonny understood from his Russian cheatsheets. "What are you saying about the gun, Nikolas?," Sonny said.

Nikolas switched to Greek. "Παρακαλώ. Μην εγκαταλείπεις μας." Please. Don't give up on us.

Claudia looked at Nikolas. When she spoke again, she looked like a lost child. "υτός είναι ο κόσμος μου. Αυτό είναι ό, τι συμβαίνει." This is my world. This is what happens.

NIkolas looked deep into her eyes. "Οχι πια." Not anymore.

He held his breath. This moment was so fragile. And then she took a deep breath. She lowered the gun. Laura quickly stepped in and took it from her.

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

Jake's.

Last call was two hours ago, but somehow Coleman kept pouring, and Diane kept drinking.

Coleman and Luke Spencer were horrible, horrible men. Instigators.

Diane couldn't figure out what Luke was doing here. He certainly wasn't drinking, or smoking one of his smelly cigars. He said he was there to enjoy the scenery, but then something broke through Diane's inebriation. "You're here to make Tracy Quartermaine jealous," she said, fixing him with as knowing a look as she could muster in her current state.

"Tracy Quartermaine Spencer," he corrected.

"So I'm right."

"You lawyers like to win too much."

Tracy had actually thrown him out. Said he was still hung up on Laura. He had nowhere else to go. Laura's kids were still sore about Ethan. And Ethan was nowhere to be found.

Diane's cell phone rang. "Diane Miller," she said, picking it up. "... Do you know what time it is? I am definitely charging double right now. ... I am most certainly not drunk." Diane seemed to instantly sober up. "When?," she asked. "Where are you? ... I'll be there as soon as I can. ... Where and what is Beecher's Corners?"

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

As soon as the local police had taken Sonny away, Laura had turned to Claudia.

"I shouldn't have asked you to take the gun," Laura said. "If someone had handed me a gun when Helena was keeping me from Nikolas, I wouldn't have been able to resist. I don't know what I was thinking."

"You were thinking," Claudia said, slowly coming back to herself, "that Princely over here can't handle a shotgun." Claudia squeezed Nikolas' hand.

Nikolas let go of Claudia's hand and turned away from her. "I shouldn't have come in the Jaguar. I thought it was over. I didn't think anyone would -- You told me to be careful, and I made it easy for him to follow me."

Was he seriously blaming himself for this? Claudia came up behind Nikolas and rubbed his back. She looked from Nikolas to Laura. "Can we not make this a competition? About how exactly we got into this situation? Because I would definitely lose."

Nikolas turned around to face her.

The baby began to cry.

Claudia hurried into the bedroom. Nikolas stared after her.

"Are you okay?," Laura asked.

"I wouldn't be if you hadn't saved us. Did Spencer hear anything?"

"I don't think so. He's right down the hall, if you want to check."

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

Claudia's Bedroom.

Claudia lifted Jonah from the crib. As soon as he started to nurse, Jonah quieted down.

Please, please don't let anything about tonight ever damage him, she thought. And please don't let it damage me as a mother.

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

Living Room.

Nikolas and Laura came out of Spencer's bedroom.

"He really can sleep through anything," Nikolas said.

"Apparently both the boys have that in common," Laura said.

"I should..." Nikolas gestured to the bedroom door.

"You should," Laura agreed. "We can catch up in the morning."

Nikolas bent down to kiss Laura's cheek. She pulled him into a hug. After a moment, they pulled back.

Nikolas went into the room.

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

Claudia's Bedroom.

Claudia was sitting on the bed, nursing Jonah. She smiled weakly at Nikolas when he came into the room. He quietly closed the door and sat down beside her. She leaned into him and he put his arm around her. He felt like he was home. A home that had just been through the last battle of a long war, but his home nonetheless.

She turned to face him, and said quietly. "Now I know how my mother lost her mind. I don't know how your mother managed. After. I thought I was going to break apart."

"If it ever happens again --"

"If it ever happens again, you will not encourage me to let you die. That's it. The end."

We'll argue about this later, Nikolas thought.

He leaned in toward the baby and got his first real look at him. So tiny. Smaller than Spencer when he'd finally taken him home. Nikolas brushed his hand over the back of Jonah's head.

"Nikolas, this is Jonah," Claudia said. "Look, Jonah, it's Daddy. Look!"

The second she called him "Daddy," Nikolas felt his heart unexpectedly swell.

The baby pulled away and cooed in response. Nikolas' eyes filled with tears.

"Oh my God. Was that not just the most amazing thing you've ever seen?," Claudia said.

"He has your mouth," he said, his voice wobbling a little.

"That's John's mouth," she corrected.

Nikolas laughed.

"Claudia," Nikolas said.

"What?"

"You and Johnny have the same mouth."

"Oh."

Jonah's eyes fluttered closed.

"Come on," she said to Nikolas, as she got up and put Jonah back in his cradle.

Nikolas followed her, and covered Jonah with a blanket.

"He's beautiful," Nikolas said, turning to her. He put his palm against her cheek and she turned into it, kissing it.

Claudia looked up at Nikolas and put her arms around his neck. His arms circled around her waist and they kissed. The kiss built in intensity. He pulled her closer to him and then suddenly broke away from her.

"Sorry," he said.

"Sorry?"

"How much longer until you --"

"Oh. Two weeks. At least. And don't laugh, but I already made the doctor's appointment."

He laughed anyway. "Good."

The bedroom door opened.

Spencer peered in. "Daddy!," he said, rushing toward Nikolas. Nikolas gathered Spencer in his arms and lifted him up.

"You stay?," Spencer asked.

"Yes," Nikolas said. "I'm staying. It's so good to see you, Spencer!"

"I can sleep here now?"

Nikolas and Claudia exchanged a look.

"You bet you can," Claudia said.

"Good. Let me see Jonah," Spencer demanded.

Nikolas looked at Claudia, not exactly sure how this worked. He was new to the brothers thing. Claudia had had two weeks to figure it out.

Claudia nodded at Nikolas, shrugging her shoulders and smiling.

Nikolas lifted Spencer over the cradle.

"He's sleeping," Spencer announced in a whisper. "Kiss," he demanded, reaching for Jonah.

Nikolas lowered Spencer down, and Spencer kissed Jonah on the forehead.

This is what a perfect moment feels like, Claudia thought, watching a moment that she'd long thought would happen without her. And tonight she'd almost lost it all.

When Nikolas looked back at Claudia, she was staring at them, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Nikolas carried Spencer over to the bed. Claudia joined them.

Spencer positioned himself between them. He closed his eyes, content and confident that sleep would come soon.

Claudia and Nikolas clasped hands over Spencer's head. They stared at each other, as if trying to memorize every detail of each other's face. Nikolas rested his other hand on Claudia's hip and she covered his hand with her own.

Finally, slowly, smiles began to break through. They had time. They had each other.

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

Jonah woke up two more times during the night. It turned out that there were some things even Spencer could not sleep through. And that, for better or worse, broke Spencer of ever wanting to sleep in Nikolas and Claudia's room again.