While Robert was tracking down leads for Cheryl and Shep, Robin had provided Tiffany with the perfect distraction. The penthouse was buzzing with anticipation of Sean and Anna, who were expected to arrive soon. Whenever she spoke to Sean last night, he seemed cagey, and Robert had just swept out of the penthouse without joining her or Robin for breakfast, merely saying she wanted to have her sister and Shep with her when he returned. Whatever news they had must not have been good.

"You don't like it do you?" Cheryl asks, pointing to the moses basket sitting on the coffee table. The basket was lovely but the ribbon around it was bothering Tiffany. Dark blue. Always dark blue haunting her dreams and now her reality.

"No, I love it. It's beautiful. I just don't care for the ribbon you picked out. That's all." She says.

"Oh well, that can be changed. Mama said you spent your first four months in a basket with a blue ribbon. They were so sure you would be a boy that when you were born, they couldn't replace everything and kept the Moses basket that way." Cheryl says as she takes a seat on the couch by Shep.

"Mama didn't tell me that when I told her she was expecting a granddaughter, why would she not tell me?" Tiffany asks, coming over and joining them.

"I don't know Tiff, you left at eighteen. You're not as close to her as I am. I kept in touch unlike you."

Her sister's abrasive words catch Tiffany off guard. She thought they had put the past in the past, because their mother was supposed to visit Port Charles once Tiffany gave birth. How could Cheryl say something like that now? She has been acting oddly since arriving, and as she was about to ask what was wrong, she hears a key being pushed into the door and the lock being released. Shep scrambles up to help her stand while her husband and Anna enter through the door.

"Hi," he says, dropping his bags and coming to stand in front of her.

"Hi, yourself." she says, wrapping her arms around him as tightly as possible with her bump in the way. It's been so hard for her to be without him. She missed her best friend, her husband, and her love. She couldn't wait to return to their everyday lives. Putting the finishing touches on the nursery, cooking dinner, and even doing the dishes. Their lives would be transformed when their baby was born, and a new normal would be created. When they break apart, she places her head on his shoulder, noticing Anna watching them.

"Hi, Anna. Robin is upstairs packing up the new clothes we bought the other day." she says, smiling at her, while Sean pulls her tighter into their hug.

"Hi Tiff. Thank you again for letting her stay here and for spoiling her. I'm going to go up and see if I can help her pack." She replies, smiling back and disappearing up the stairs.

She looks back up into Sean's face as they remain embraced and notices that he looks exhausted. She peppers his chin with kisses till he cracks a smile and lets her go from his embrace.

"You two certainly don't act like you're going to have a baby in two months." Shep says reaching out and shaking Sean's hand.

"Hi Shep, Hi Cheryl." He hugs his sister-in-law. "I miss my wife. What can I say?" Sean says as he takes a seat. Tiffany and Shep sit back down when there is a knock at the door.

"Gosh, we really are at Grand Central Station today." Tiffany jokes struggling to stand up yet again.

"I'll get it honey, you sit." Sean quickly gets up and goes to answer the door.

"Must be nice, honey." She says to his retreating back. She hears him laugh and it warms her heart. Yes, it was annoying at times to not be able to get up as quickly as she used to but knowing that Sean appreciated her joking about it made everything worth it.

"Robert,Lucas? What are you two doing here?" She hears Sean asking shutting the door behind them.

"Lucas? Honey, don't tell me Bobbie talked you into babysitting? I thought you had some news for us on Cheryl's case." Tiffany questions picking up her glass of water and taking a sip.

"That's why I'm here. Cheryl. This is your son. Lucas is your son." Robert says coming over and placing the eighteen month old in her arms.

Tiffany coughs her water out of her mouth, sending a shower of water onto the table and the dark blue ribbon of the moses basket. She sucks in a deep breath, apologizing, and looks at the bewildered expression on Cheryl's face. This could not be happening. How was Lucas living in Port Charles this entire time? With Bobbie and Tony? How had she not realized he was her nephew? She has so many questions running through her head, but she knows now is not the time or the place to ask them. She finally finds the courage to speak.

"This is…This is wonderful," Wonderful, and terrifying. She's thrilled for her sister but equally shocked by the turn of events.

"Isn't it wonderful Sean?" she asks, watching him chat quietly with Robert. He looks in her direction at the mention of his name and Tiffany catches Sean's eye and tips her head to the side. He narrows his eyes and she repeats the gesture. He finally looks over at Cheryl, Lucas, and Shep.

"Yes, wonderful. You've had one bad break after another. It's about time you've had a good one." Sean says to Cheryl before turning his back around to continue his conversation with Robert.

"Thank you, Sean," Tiffany hears her sister reply but she never takes her eyes off Lucas. She must be overwhelmed. They all were thrown for a loop with this revelation. Tiffany has so many questions, and so many thoughts running through her head that she misses whatever conversation has been going on because Robert's voice brings her out of her thoughts;

"Yes, with that being said. Is Robin upstairs?" Robert asks. He seems to want to be anywhere else. In time, she will question him about how he got to Bobbie and Tony - she knows he will feel guilty, even angry.

"She is. So is Anna."

"Thanks Tiff. I'm going to run up and see them." he squeezes her shoulder on his way past. Tiffany looks at Cheryl cuddling Lucas and babbling away to him, off in her own little world, she just knew she was going to be the same with her baby. She looks at Shep next, who is sitting there silently looking at Cheryl and Lucas. He's looking at his watch and attempting to get Cheryl's attention but she is too focused on her son to notice. Tiffany clears her throat and Cheryl looks up and mouths "what?" to her. She lifts her eyebrow at her and gestures toward Shep, her sister turns to look at him and they start their own silent conversation that she can't decipher.

She allows them a few moments of silent communication before looking at her husband and raising an eyebrow. He lifts his back and she rolls her eyes at him before she says;

"You're going to need a place to stay. You can't go back to that brownstone. Or a hotel room."

"You'll stay with us," Sean says, coming over to join them. Tiffany notices Cheryl gives Shep a sharp look and she goes to open her mouth but Sean interrupts her before she can speak.

"Don't object to this Cheryl. It would make the both of us feel a lot better knowing you weren't cramped in that hotel room without a crib for him to sleep in."

"But-"

"Please Cheryl,it really would make me feel a lot better knowing you and Lucas are with us. You to Shep." They stare at each other over the coffee table. She breaks the silence first.

"Are you sure? We wouldn't want to put you out."

"Who said anything about putting us out?" Tiffany asks. "We want you to stay with us. My mind is spinning with questions, and I'm sure yours is as well. Let's have dinner and ask Robert all our questions. I hope you'll stay." Tiffany says, tickling Lucas. He giggles and reaches out to her.

"Plus, I want to get to know him." She says. Cheryl gives Tiffany a small nod before putting the child beside Tiffany. Her eyes are captivated by his cherub face and soulful eyes. She realizes that he has Cheryl's eyes. In all the time she spent with him, she never noticed he had her eyes and the same ear shape as both of them.

"Well, when you put it that way. Maybe we can stay. Just for the night, Shep?" Cheryl asks, bringing Tiffany's attention away from Lucas. As Tiffany catches his gaze, he smiles at her, and she smiles back. Something's not quite right, but she can't exactly pinpoint it. Perhaps Shep wasn't ready for an insta-family, maybe he was just overwhelmed that Robert had been successful, whatever was going on she wished he would tell her straight out.

"I think that would be nice. I have a little gift I was going to give to you Tiffany. A little memento from our Midvale adventure." He goes over to the satchel bag he was wearing when they had arrived earlier and pulls out a square box. He brings it over and places it in front of Tiffany.

It has a dark blue ribbon wrapped around it. Her fingers hesitate over the box, this isn't from Faison, she knows that but she can't help her hesitancy. She can feel Sean standing behind her looking over her shoulder, she pulls the ribbon off and the box releases to reveal a Jack-In-The-Box. She laughs, only Shep would think of giving her a clown.

"Shep, a clown? Really?" She says as she picks it up. It is painted blue and white and she turns it in her hands as Shep just shrugs and heads to the bar cart to get some drinks. Turning around, she holds it up to Sean, who looks at it briefly. As he reaches for the toy, she feels a tiny hand touch her arm. When she turns back around, Lucas is looking up at her and the toy.

"Shall we play with this? What do you think, Lucas?" She reaches out to turn the handle when Cheryl grabs it and puts it back on the coffee table by the Moses basket, picking up Lucas as well.

She has Lucas sitting on her hip and asks, "Is there any milk or juice or a snack for him?"

When Cheryl reaches out her free hand to Tiffany and helps her up, Tiffany says, "I think so." Together, they walk around the coffee table and head for the kitchen when they hear Shep talking quickly to Sean and Robert asking for clarification. When Tiffany hears Shep and Robert's voices becoming louder, she instantly turns around to see Sean passing Shep the Jack-In-The-Box on his way to the terrace doors. "Sean, what?" she frowns, as she approaches him.

"It's a bomb, "It's a bomb! Robert get her out of here. Now!" The penthouse bursts into chaos, and Robert tears across the living room toward Tiffany. In front of the penthouse door, he grabs her arm and pushes her. She feels a hot blast of air hit the back of her neck as Robert curls her in his arms. In shock, she wonders where Sean is, what happened to Cheryl and Lucas? Oh god, Robin! What's happened? As she tries to lift her head to look for him through the blown out door, Robert pushes it back down.

In an attempt to calm her, he repeats, "I've got you, love. I've got you." over and over.

Sean can't get the image of Tiffany's face out of his head. Everything had been blissfully normal, domestic then all hell had broken loose. Her frown as she turned to see what they were arguing about. Him shouting at Robert to get her out of the way, Shep dashing for the terrace with the bomb, the explosion and being thrown back against the barcart. He can't remember how they got to General, he can't even remember what Tiffany had said to him when Dr. Morgan rushed her to a private room in the maternity ward. He's sitting outside of her room trying to make the pieces fit, trying to solve the puzzle.

Faison, the traitor, Cheryl, Shep, Anna, Robert, Robin, Tiffany, and now Lucas. How did they fit? Why a bomb? That wasn't his style. Unless he was provoked, wanting, no needing to make a statement. His contact was in that room. But who? It wasn't Anna or Robert. Which only left Shep, he had given Tiffany the toy but also had tried to throw it off the balcony before it went off. But why? And Cheryl? Cheryl. Her voice is coming into focus.

"Lucas is fine. Simone wants to keep him overnight for observation. He only has a few cuts but nothing serious. I'm so glad that we were headed towards the kitchen when the bomb went off. I can't get anyone to tell me about Shep, though. Just that he is in surgery. How's Tiff?" Cheryl asks, sitting down in the chair beside him.

Sean carefully looks her over and notices that she is virtually untouched. Her clothes are dirty but she has no visible injuries whatsoever. The pieces begin to fall into place. Her showing up out of the blue in October, then leaving just as quickly with Shep. The bombshell of her son being alive in December. Her reluctance when he had suggested Robert could help them and never once asking for the specifics about the threats being made towards Tiffany. Something wasn't right. God, how could he have been so blind?

"It was you. Wasn't it?" He bluntly asks her.

"I don't know what you're asking me. Sean? Are you ok? You really should go and get that cut looked at." She says pointing to the hastily placed bandage around his head.

"You were feeding Faison information about Tiffany's pregnancy. Weren't you." He says. Cheryl stares at him like a deer caught in the headlights before her demeanor changes and she slumps down into the chair.

"You have to understand Sean, I would have given anything for my son to be alive. So when Faison approached me back in September, saying that Lucas was alive, that he would help me get him back if I helped him, I said yes. I honestly, never thought for once he would bring bodily harm to Tiffany. I thought he was just going to send her a few letters, string you along but then she just had to announce her pregnancy and, well,- the letters turned into gifts and his plans changed."

"And Shep. What part did Shep play in this deception?"

"Faison promised Shep he would break the news about the babystealing. We thought that your baby would be taken away for just a short time, and when you got back your little girl, I would get Lucas back." She tells him. He watches a myriad of emotions pass through her face before she continues.

"We wanted to leave because we were in love with each other. That's the reason we returned from Cape Cod. We tried to tell Faison we were done. But Faison refused to listen. I wanted to come clean so many times. I wanted you to help us. When he found out that we had given evidence to you and Robert, he threatened to kill us if we didn't plant the bomb." Cheryl begins to cry, and Sean feels his heart constrict. Even though he knew what it was like to be in love, what it was like to want to protect his child, he couldn't stomach the fact that his sister-in-law had fallen under Faison's spell.

"I didn't mean for it to go this far Sean," Cheryl says, unable to control her emotions. "I didn't mean for anyone to be hurt. Shep might die. And god, Sean, if anything happens to Tiffany or the baby, I couldn't live with myself." When she reaches for his hand, he yanks it back.

While Robert had said contrary things countless times, Sean always stood by Cheryl. He treated her as the sister he never had. He said they should give her a second chance, but boy was he wrong.

"No, Cheryl. You can live with yourself. That's the difference between you and Tiffany. You run away when things get difficult, you lie when all of this could have been avoided." he says, looking at her as she begins to protest.

"Don't speak until I'm done. You're a selfish person. Yes, Tiffany can be the same, but at the end of the day, if it meant that the people she loves were safe, she would drop everything for them. But you would never be able to do that. You better pray that Dr. Morgan comes out of that examination room with good news or I don't know what I will do to you. Do you understand me?" Cheryl shakes her head yes and they sit in silence with the bustle of the hospital in the background. It feels like an eternity before the doctor comes out of Tiffany's room and stands in front of Sean.

"Sean, Tiffany and the baby are going to be ok. I want to keep her overnight for observation. And she's going to have to come back for the next four weeks for iron infusions, her blood work from her last appointment shows she is slightly anemic and while I was just prescribing a pill for her to take, given the trauma you've all just experienced I would like, and Tiffany agrees to do these infusions instead," Dr. Morgan finishes.

"Thank God! I'm going to go sit with Lucas. I'll check back with you later." Cheryl says, but not before Sean grabs her arm. He tightens his hold forcing her to look at him directly.

"We will talk later and don't even think about leaving this hospital." Squeezing her arm, he lets it go before she stands and quickly walks away. He will handle her later right now he feels nothing but relief. All the tension, all the adrenaline, leave his body and he is keenly aware of his own bumps and bruises. He places his head in his hands the events of the day finally registering and he sobs. He sobs with relief that Tiffany wasn't seriously injured, that she wasn't in premature labor, that they still had more time, to be together, to live their lives, to have this baby. He feels the doctor placing his hand on his shoulder and he looks up,

"I know you want to go right in there and see her. But Sean, you should let Tony look at the cut properly, get it cleaned, wash your face. Tiffany is resting, she's not going anywhere. Come on, I'll take you back down to the ED." He helps him to his feet and starts to lead him away from Tiffany's room and the elevator doors.

"Wait, security needs to be posted at her door. I don't want anyone coming in or out who is not me or you or family." He goes to the desk to use the phone, when an elevator opens, revealing Robert and two plainclothes officers. As Sean waves off the nurse, Robert walks over to him and gives him a big hug. He holds on to him and repeatedly says thank you, thank you before Robert pulls away and asks,

"Is Tiff really ok?"

"Yes, she and the baby are fine, but I don't want to leave her alone. I was going to have you paged. Could you?" he asks, gesturing towards her door.

"I've got it Sean," Robert replies. "Go and get that head checked out. I'll stay with Tiff. Before you ask, Anna and Robin are fine. I'm glad they were still packing her things upstairs. We'll talk later." Robert says, looking him squarely in the eye and leading him to the elevator.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Tiffany asks, looking for any obvious signs of injury. Sean looks as tired as she feels, but thankfully not seriously hurt. He hasn't let go of her hand since he entered the room.

"Shouldn't I ask you that?" he replies, rubbing his thumb over their intertwined hands.

"I'm ok. We're ok." What she wants to say is that she's lost and confused. She wants him to explain everything and assure her that everything will be okay.

"Sean, I was so scared when that bomb went off. I knew that Faison hated you. He hated us. But why?" She pleads with him. She trembles and takes a shaky breath trying to stop the tears from falling from her eyes. Her cheeks feel wet and Sean gently wipes them away with his thumb.

"Tiffany, I never meant to put you in danger. I will always have enemies, and I'm so sorry I failed to protect you, protect our family from Faison. He's a part of my past I wish I could just erase. But I can't and because of that I almost lost you and our baby."

"But you didn't."

"No, I didn't. But Shep was seriously injured in the blast. He may die. He may die because he chose to get involved with Faison as well as your sister. I'm so sorry, Honey. But they've been helping Faison for a long time."

Tiffany swallows hard. There was something off with Cheryl over the last two weeks. It wasn't easy for her to pinpoint, not when she was so worried about Sean being in Nova Scotia. It is impossible to comprehend why her sister would betray her in such a way. Her mind refuses to accept it. Yet, she knows that what Sean says is true in her heart.

"Sean, why would she do this?" She asks.

"Lucas." He simply says, taking her hand again. He doesn't say anymore. She understands how much mothers love their children and what they would sacrifice for them. But it still does not lessen her pain.

Notes:

I have conflicting feelings about Cheryl because she was a completely different character in 1990-1991 vs. 1988-1989. I am trying to find the right balance with writing her. Also thank you to Alex for being the best beta.