The sun had set over the city as Mattie came out of the building and walked toward her car. She was on her way over to her aunt's house to talk wedding. Part of her was excited because it meant that she was getting married to her best friend and the love of her life. On the other hand, she knew that Maxie was bound to go overboard on the wedding details.

Mattie eased her car onto the road and shook her head for even think that way. It didn't matter how many hoops Maxie made her jump through. It didn't matter as long as she and Morgan made it to the altar. She just wanted to be married, but knew that Maxie…and her father for that matter, would kill her if she eloped. And Carly—oh God, that was not a door she'd like to open.

She might as well just shut her mouth and do what she was told.

Within minutes, she was pulling her car into her aunt's driveway. She shut off the engine and climbed out. Gathering her purse, she hurried to the front porch and rang the doorbell. Spinelli opened the door and smiled at her as he moved aside to let her inside. He shivered at the freezing temperatures and hurriedly shut the door.

"How's my favorite doctor this evening?"

She smiled. "Tired. It was a long day. I was half-tempted to cancel tonight. But I knew that Maxie would kill me if I waited any longer to discuss wedding plans." She dropped her purse on the floor as Spinelli eased her coat from her shoulders.

"Can I get you anything? Coffee? Food? We just finished dinner. Maxie made tuna casserole." He hung the coat in the closet and ushered her through the foyer into the living room. The television was on low and Fiona sat flipping through a magazine on the couch.

Mattie turned and grinned at Spinelli. "Um, no. I'm good. Just tired." She sat next to Fiona and glanced at the magazine. "Whatcha readin' about?"

"Nothing," Fiona grumbled and jumped up, racing out of the room.

Mattie looked at Spinelli with raised eyebrows. "What's wrong with her?"

He shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Maxie blames it on her being a teenager."

"I don't miss those days."

"Miss what day?" Maxie called, walking into the room as she dried her hands on a dishtowel. She threw the towel at Spinelli and hugged Mattie. "I'm so glad that you're here!"

"Yeah. I'm sorry that I'm late. I had a mom deliver just as my shift was getting over and I felt that I should stay and help."

Maxie grinned, thinking of when her own children had been delivered. "That's fine. You're here now and that is all that matters. I'll be right back. I have to get my books." She raced out of the room and headed for the stairs.

Mattie's eyes widened as she sunk back into the pillows. "Whew! She's too excited for me. I'm on the back end of a twelve hour shift and haven't eaten in more than six."

"I offered you food. I will go make something." Spinelli started for the kitchen, but Mattie stopped him.

"No no. I'm fine. I really am. I'm not that hungry. Deliveries always make me run on adrenaline for a while," She said quickly. Spinelli hesitated, sighed and sat down on the chair instead.

Maxie returned with a clatter, carrying several books. Spinelli rose quickly to take them from her. She smiled gratefully and dropped to sit next to Mattie. "Okay, here it begins. First of all, you are still dead-set on getting married in three weeks?"

Mattie nodded. "Yes, I just want to be married. I'm not too concerned with the details of the ceremony."

"See that's where I come in. You tell me what you have in mind and all you will have to do is show up on New Year's Eve at Queen of Angels," Maxie said, reaching for one of her gigantic notebooks. "Here's what I have in mind…"

She opened the notebook and Mattie's mouth dropped open in surprise. She closed her eyes and touched the picture. Then she looked up at Maxie's face. Tears dripped out of her aunt's eyes. "How did you know?"

"I just thought that you would look good in those colors. If you saw how it turned out, then it might give you some ideas," Maxie whispered, afraid that her voice would break.

"That's perfect," Mattie breathed. She flipped through the book, her eyes on Robin's forever smiling face.

"You favor her so it would work."

Mattie turned and threw her arms around her aunt. "Thank you. That was exactly what I needed."

Maxie laughed out loud. "I think that a wedding is what we all need. You and Robin are so much alike that everything will work out perfectly. Now go. I know that you are exhausted. You need to sleep and maybe a little visit from Morgan." She grinned, stood and pulled Mattie to her feet.

Moments later, Mattie was out of the door and on her way home. Maxie shut the door and turned to face Spinelli. He rose and came to meet her. Closing her in a hug, he laid his lips on hers and she felt herself begin to sink into him.

He pulled back and looked at her. "You did a good thing today, Maximista. Mattie needed that memory of her mother. As much as she won't show it, she misses Robin. Especially in a time like this."

"I know. I miss Robin especially at a time like this." Maxie hugged Spinelli again. He grinned at her.

"You know that the girls are safely in bed. How about a romantic night in front of the fireplace?"

She smiled. "It's just like old times." She kissed his again and started for the stairs. "I'll be right back…"

She darted up the stairs and Spinelli headed for the kitchen. An occasion like this deserved a nice Italian wine.

And perhaps an occasion like this is exactly what they two of them needed to relive the past.

GH*GH*GH*GH*GH

Cameron juggled the paper bag of Chinese food and the gift box he'd picked up on a whim. When the elevator door opened, he calmly walked down the hallway toward Lila Rae's apartment even though his feet wanted to run ten times faster.

Shifting the bags, he managed to knock on the door without dropping a single bag. Moments later, the door opened and Lila stood in front of him. She moved aside to let him in and shut the door behind him.

He set the food bag on the coffee table and presented her with the wrapped gift box. She took it and raised an eyebrow. "Blue paper? Are we stating an opinion here?"

"Well…they didn't have any pink wrap."

She nodded skeptically. "Sure. What is it?" She shook the box, could hear a faint rattle. Then she ripped into it. And came out up with a fuzzy yellow duck. "Oh! That's adorable. It's the baby's first gift." She studied the duck, surprised that she was getting so emotional over a stuffed toy.

Cameron looked down, slightly embarrassed. "I didn't know what to get. But the sales lady said that stuffed animals were a good bet."

She set the duck on the table and wrapped her arms around his neck. Placing a kiss on his lips, she smiled. "It's perfect. And so are you. See, you're being a good dad already."

"Well thanks. I-I also brought dinner."

Her smile widened. "I would hope so. I'm starving. I've never eaten so much in my life. But I just can get enough. Mattie says that I will get fat. I don't want to get fat."

Cam stopped her from taking the food out of the bag. "Hey, don't worry about getting fat. You're supposed to get fat. That way our baby will be healthy. And I love you, no matter what size you are." He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You always say just the right things at the right time. That is one of the reasons I love you," she said, laying her head on his shoulder.

"One of the reasons?" he asked suggestively. He raised an eyebrow in question. Lila grinned and nodded.

"You know what? I think that I'm not so hungry for food right now. I think that all I want is you, Cameron Spencer. Think that you can settle that ache for me?"

"I think that I can," he said, lifting her into his arms and carrying her to the bedroom.

It was all that would be said concerning dinner for a while.

----------------------------

Lila shifted so that her head was resting on Cameron's chest. "I missed that. This, being with you." She lifted her hands to accent her words.

He wrapped his hand around her shoulders and turned her so their lips met. "I did too. But it is okay, right? It's okay to have sex? It won't hurt the baby?"

She smiled and shook her head. "No. It's perfectly fine. We're both fine. I love you Cameron."

"Say that again?" he kissed her hair, breathing in her sweet scent.

"I love you a million times over."

"And I you. Now I think that it is time I feed my girlfriend and our future child." He shifted her so that the covers were still around her body when he rose from the bed. He walked to the door, obviously unencumbered over his naked body. Lila said nothing, but let herself take in the view.

Minutes later, Cameron returned with plates full of food. Lila breathed in the tantalizing smell. She sat up and reached for the food. Cam went back into the front room to retrieve a glass of milk.

She made a bland face when he handed her the glass. "I hate milk."

"I know, but it's good for the baby. And because you love me, you'll drink it."

She muttered a few threats that were humanly impossible, but took a sip just to please him. He handed her a fork and she took a piece of chicken. They said nothing for several minutes as they both ate ravishingly.

When they'd gotten their fill of food, Cam took the plates back to the kitchen—but not before making certain that Lila drank every bit of the milk. She grumbled mostly for show.

When he returned, she was sitting on the edge of the bed wearing a robe. Her face was serious now. "Before we go any further, we need to talk."

"Okay." He reached for his own robe and tying it securely, taking a seat across from her on the armchair she kept in the room for such purposes. "First of all, you need to know that I love you. No matter what. I love you and our baby."

"I know that you do. That isn't in question here. But we need to figure this out. But at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I need to say that I won't agree to marry you…not right now," she fingered the bedspread as she spoke.

"I know, but I can promise you that I will prove to you that I love you for you and not because of the baby."

"Cameron, I can see where you are coming from. I know that you are an honorable man and that you stand up to your mistakes." She held up a hand to stop him from speaking. "And I know that our baby is not a mistake, but you get my point."

"Lila, I just want to be a part of our baby's life. I want to go to all of your doctor's appointments and birth classes and the delivery. Where we go from there is up to you. I just hope that you won't shut me out of this baby's life," he took her hand even as she shook her head.

"No. I want you to be a part of this child's life. In fact, I need you to be a part of the baby's life. This baby is a Spencer and much as an Alcazar and it needs to be a part of your crazy Spencer clan. Your parents and Lulu and Nickolas Cassadine, they are all family," she replied, smiling. And thinking how lucky her child was to be a part of a wonderful family.

"That's good as my parents already know about it," Cam said hesitantly. He watched her eyes for a flicker of anger, but when there was none, he relaxed.

"I know that Elizabeth already knows. You told Lucky?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes, I didn't know what to do."

She smiled at the nervous father-to-be. "That's okay. I want your family to be a part of this baby's life, even this early." She hesitated. "My family on the other hand, well, I'm not really planning to tell my mother right now. Skye's, well, she's Skye. And if she knew that I was pregnant, she'd be on the next plane here. And, well, I love her, but we do better at a distance."

Cameron laughed and hugged her. Her eyes widened as she remembered. "Oh!" She jumped up from his embrace and hurried to her dresser. She picked up the ultrasound pictures and handed them to him. "Congratulations Daddy! Here's your son or daughter's first picture. I think that it's that little white blob right there." She tapped the center of the grayish paper.

He studied it, trying to make out a baby. "I can't see it."

She shrugged. "Well, maybe in a few more months. By the way, you can keep those. I have copies."

He set the photos on the nightstand and cast Lila a long look. "Is there anything else to say?"

She grinned mischievously. "No, I'd say that the talking portion of our evening is finished. And the eating portion."

"Well then. Can we get on with the rest of our evening?" He took her in his arms and placed a long kiss on her neck, her cheek, her lips. Kisses rained down her body, over her breasts and onto her belly. He gently framed her flat stomach as if giving the child a hug. She laid a hand over his and returned the kiss.

"I think that we can," she breathed as he laid her on the bed and covered her with his long body.

She couldn't even think of a better way to spend an evening.