Miranda stared out the window of the plane. She wasn't really looking at anything in particular, but it was comforting to watch the clouds fly by. She wasn't even paying attention to the sleek jet with its endless amenities. She couldn't stop thinking about what she'd left in Pine Valley.

Her hand snaked its way around her middle as she tried to brush back the tears that threatened. God knew, she'd cried enough to supply water to a small third-world country. And as much as she tried to tell herself that she was okay, she had a hard time believing it.

Of course, she was physically okay. Or at least she would be, in time. Emma had promised her that her body would heal. But right now, Miranda was more worried that her heart would hurt forever.

It wasn't the pain of the cramps or the loss of blood that hurt her; it was the fact that she'd been pregnant for a brief moment and before she'd realized it, her baby was gone. Emma, bless her, had tried to act clinical and had told her that miscarriages were sometimes nature's way of solving a problem. Perhaps the baby would have been born with a problem that was incurable. Maybe it was better that she lost the baby early on before she became too attached to it.

But the problem was, Miranda was already attached to the idea that she had managed to become pregnant after being told that it was impossible.

She knew in her mind that Emma was right. It was better that she lost the baby before she'd really known of its existence. Her heart, on the other hand, was another matter entirely.

Miranda knew that she would have loved the child. She would have tried her hardest to be the best mother and she also knew that Spencer would have been a wonderful father.

That knowledge alone made Miranda want to walk away from him, from their life together, from their love. He deserved someone who could give him children, his own children, heir to the throne. And evidently, she wasn't that person.

She felt him slide onto the seat next to her, tuck a stray hair behind her ear. The action alone made her want to weep with rage. Spencer deserved someone better, someone who wasn't a defect.

"Hey, you're awfully quiet," he whispered, his arm around her shoulders and she felt the tears fall.

He frowned, reaching for a tissue to mop them up. He'd already been doing that since he'd arrived at the hospital yesterday. "Hey, hey, hey. It's okay." He pressed a gentle kiss to her brow and she melted.

She knew that despite her good intentions, there was no way she could give him up. She simply loved him too much. She turned, leaned into his shoulder, her head pillowed by his arm. She needed his strength, was afraid that without him she wouldn't survive.

"Spencer…" she began, looking up at his face. He glanced down worriedly.

"Miranda, don't. We've been over this. I'm not going to dump you just because you may not be able to have a biological child," he sighed. It was an argument they'd already had earlier that morning before they left the hospital.

"But—"

He shook his head, dropping a kiss on her lips this time. "No buts. I love you. That's it for me. I will figure out a way for you to be a mother if that is what you want. But I want you. Any children we have, biological or adopted, will just be really great bonuses." He pulled her into his arms, moving her carefully, for he knew that she was still a little sore.

She couldn't help but smile. "That's good because it would break my heart to give you up."

"Then why were you so determined to do it?"

She looked down, a little embarrassed. "Because I want you to be happy and I know how important an heir to the family fortune is."

"That doesn't matter to me. You matter, we matter. Don't worry about an heir. I love you."

She snuggled closer. "I love you too."

"When you are feeling better and after the holidays, I think that we should take a little trip to Greece. I want to see you naked on a beach. Just the two of us," he grinned now.

"That sounds wonderful. I love you Spencer."

"I love you too, Miranda."

And for the moment, all was well. But they both knew that their heartache was only beginning.

GH*GH*GH*GH*GH

Mattie stood in front of the long mirror in Maxie's bedroom in awe. She didn't know what to say. She couldn't help smiling as she took in her reflection in the mirror. She twirled for the heck of it, enjoying how the beaded bodice glittered in the sunlight that was streaming in through the window.

Maxie stood in the doorway, her hands over her mouth in surprise. "Oh Mattie, you look beautiful," she breathed.

Mattie turned and flashed a thousand-watt smile. "You think?"

"Yes," Maxie moved into the room to take her niece's hand. "Yes, you're gorgeous. Morgan's not going to be able to take his eyes off you. And your father, oh Mattie, Patrick's going to second-guess giving his little girl away."

"I didn't expect something so beautiful. I mean, I knew that whatever you found would be great, but I never thought that it would be like this," Mattie said, fingering the burgundy sash that matched with her colors. "It's perfect."

Maxie smiled now. "Feddie really outdid himself this time."

"Yes, he did. But I must say I think that Morgan will be happier when he can take it off me," Mattie agreed, grinning. She knew that Maxie would think that it was funny.

Maxie slapped her arm slightly. "Oh you! Don't let your father hear you talk like that. He'll never let you walk down the aisle. You may be a grown woman but you're still his baby. And it's a little difficult for a father to imagine his daughter being ravished by a man."

Mattie sobered. "Be that as it may, he wants grandchildren. So he'll have to get used to the idea."

Maxie looked surprised now. "Oh! That's wonderful. Have you and Morgan been discussing children?" she leaned in and hugged her niece, careful of the dress.

"We have, not it great lengths or anything. We're thinking that we'd like to wait at least a year before we try to get pregnant. But we both want them. I think that Carly would kill us if we didn't give her babies to spoil."

"You really like her, don't you?" Maxie mused, smoothing the dress down in the back.

"Well sure, she's going to be my mother-in-law. And once she stopped blaming me because I'm Robin's daughter, she's actually nice. A little over the top, but I can deal with her," Mattie replied, studying herself in the mirror once more.

"I'm so happy that you found your soul mate, Mattie," Maxie said. "You two are going to make magic together."

It was all that anyone could wish for.

GH*GH*GH*GH*GH

Cameron thoroughly enjoyed being a cop. Not only was he following in the footsteps of his father, he'd managed to make a name for himself. He liked the fast-paced work, even in little old Port Chuck. He couldn't even complain about the paperwork.

But if there was one thing he didn't like about his job, it was when interrogations weren't going anywhere.

Cameron turned away from Erosa for a second to gather his thoughts. He needed a new angle. Nothing he'd tried so far was working. Mikhail was a clam.

"Okay pal, I get that your mother raised you and your sister by herself because your father wasn't there. But your mother didn't exactly tell Lansing that he was going to be a daddy, did she?"

Erosa didn't move, didn't make a sound. But Cameron could tell that those carefully built walls were beginning to crumble.

Finally, the wall broke and Erosa turned to face Cameron. "I am not admitting to pulling the trigger. But I wanted Ric Lansing to pay for the pain he caused my mother. She was depressed for years because she believed that he would be coming for her, for us. And she died of a broken heart. Thank God she never knew that the bastard was living the high life with another family."

Cameron walked to the window and motioned to where Lila and the officer stood. They walked into the small room, as Cameron moved behind Erosa and hauled him to his feet. "Mikhail Erosa, I am arresting you for attempted murder in the second degree and for openly admitting to mob involvement. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot get one, then the courts will appoint you one. Do you understand the rights as I have recited them?"

Erosa said nothing, didn't even fight when the officer led him out of the room and into a holding cell. Cameron turned to Lila, smiling. "We did good, partner."

Lila smiled, "We did." She hooked an arm through his. "I believe we both have paperwork to deal with now. We need to focus on getting a conviction. Ric Lansing will be pushing for it. Although I'm not certain how he will react when he finds out that Mikhail and Anya are his children for sure." They moved out into the bullpen and she gathered up her briefcase and coat.

"I have to get to the hospital and talk to Lansing. He's getting out today."

"Do you want company," he looked forlornly at his desk. After working so closely with Lila for so long, it was hard to think that it was nearly the end.

She smiled. "No, you do your work. Come over later and bring dinner. Baby's craving some Italian." She put a hand to his cheek and almost stepped away, but he caught her wrist and pulled her to him. He captured her mouth with his in a deep kiss.

When he let her go, she grinned. "Yes, you definitely need to come over later."

"I'll be there. Six o'clock?"

"Fine." She waved and caught a last kiss before she strode out of the precinct.

Cameron knew that they were finally getting back on their feet. Their relationship was looking up. He fingered the velvet box in his pocket. He could only hope that she would accept it soon.

Then they'd truly be able to be a family.

GH*GH*GH*GH*GH

Lila stepped off the elevator and into the fifth floor nurses station. The waiting room was quiet for the most part, with only a few patients and doctors milling about. She saw Mattie standing behind the desk, but hurried down the hall before her friend saw her. She wanted to get her talk with Lansing out of the way before she focused on greeting her friend.

But as she made her way to Ric Lansing's hospital room, she stopped when she saw a pretty Latino nurse. Anya Erosa. Taking a deep breath, Lila pasted a smile on her face and detoured to where the woman was updating charts. "Ms. Erosa?"

Anya looked up, surprised. "Yes?" she set her papers aside as Lila sat across from her on the chair.

"I'm Lila Alcazar. I'm Ric Lansing's lawyer and I've been consulting on your brother's case."

"I know who you are," Anya replied darkly. "What do you want?"

"I want to tell you before you hear it from the press. Your brother has been arrested for attempted murder." Lila frowned as she studied the woman. "But you aren't surprised." It was said as a statement, not a question and had Anya's eyes glinting in brief anger.

Anya sighed, knowing that her charade was up. "No, I'm not surprised. Counselor, I've lived my entire life in this little glass box, where nothing could hurt me, where I was put because my grandfather and my brother were in the mob. I'm not completely stupid. I knew what they were doing and still, I let them do it. And now it's coming back to bite my brother is the ass." She rose, glanced back at Lila. "Look, I have rounds to do. Thanks for telling me. Then I have to figure out where my life is going."

"Ms. Erosa, I wanted to tell you this because Ric Lansing is—well, he's your biological father," Lila blurted out.

Anya stopped, turned. "I know. I've always known. Mikhail has held a grudge for as long as I can remember."

"I have a feeling that Lansing's going to want to know you. And you have sisters. They'll want to know you too. I just want to warn you," Lila said quickly, knowing that Anya didn't want to hear it.

"Right now, I don't care. Excuse me, counselor." Anya walked away without waiting for an answer.

Lila shook her head, rose quickly, and hurried down the hall to Lansing's room. She knocked, waited until she heard an okay and walked inside. Ric Lansing was dressed in street clothes, gathering up his belongings. Claudia Zacchara, mother to his youngest daughter stood in front of the window, glowering.

Lila raised her eyebrows and stepped back. "I'll come back. I can see that you are busy."

Ric shook his head. "No, I'm not busy. Claudia was just lecturing me on my children."

Claudia snorted. "I was simply telling him that it's crazy to get his hopes up. Molly and Sarah already avoid him like the plague. Who's to say that these new kids of his will take to him?"

"Maybe it'll be different. Maybe because they're adults, they'll reason," Ric protested, zipping up the travel bag. He turned to Lila, "What do you think?"

"I think that Claudia's partly right. I just saw Anya Erosa outside and she wants nothing to do with you or your other daughters. I'm here to talk to you about your case," Lila said, setting her briefcase down on the edge of the bed.

Claudia turned now, her interest piqued. "Ooh, what interesting news. It just gets better and better, doesn't it Ric?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's a damned soap opera. What news Lila?" he asked, looking at Lila and plainly ignoring Claudia's words.

"Mikhail Erosa was arrested today, just now, for attempted murder. He may not have pulled the trigger, but we have enough motive to convict him. He's quite the character," Lila said, half-smiling. She proceeded to explain why Erosa held such a grudge against Ric, while Claudia hooted with laughter.

"I don't recall Marianna Erosa ever contacting me," Ric said. "After I found out that she was working for my father, I refused to help her with her citizenship and she was deported back to Argentina. I never heard from her again."

"Obviously it was better that she didn't. You can barely handle the two kids you've got. Two more would have been terrifying," Claudia said dryly. She grabbed her purse and walked to the door. "I'm going to tell Sarah about this, Ric. She deserves to know—and while I'm at it, I might as well tell Molly."

The door closed softly behind her before Ric could answer. He sighed, "It's probably better this way. Neither Sarah nor Molly has very warm to me. And you're right, it's doubtful that Anya or Mikhail Erosa will be either."

"Mikhail Erosa will hopefully go to prison for a long time. I hope that finding out that he is your long-lost son won't cloud your judgment and make you not want to press charges," Lila said. She was half-afraid that she'd be right and then a mobster would go free. At least this way, she was one her way toward her life-long goal of making Port Charles mob-free.

Ric shook his head as a nurse poked her head in the room. "Ready to go, Mr. Lansing?"

"Just another moment."

Lila waited until the nurse was gone and they were alone. "I will proceed with the trial now that you've given consent. You may be called upon to testify—especially since you were involved with Marianna Erosa and nearly married her."

"Thank you, Ms. Alcazar, for everything you've done. I really appreciate the fact that you've put so much into my shooting," Ric said as an orderly arrived with a wheelchair.

Lila walked out ahead of Ric and the orderly and smiled. "It was my pleasure. Thanks for the opportunity to exercise my talents as a lawyer."

And thank you Ric, Lila thought as she walked down the hallway toward the elevator, thanks for bringing the father of my baby and the love of my life to me.

Please review! Also, there is a link to the picture of the wedding dress that Federico made for Mattie on my profile. Thanks for reading!