Trina and Spencer returned home in silence. She could tell that Spencer was still shaken by what he had witnessed. She wanted to hold him so badly. Protect him from what his own mind was probably replaying over and over again, but she knew that she could hold him as much as she wanted, but nothing could protect him from memories. When they went to bed that night, she did pull him close. Allowed his head to rest against her chest, hoping that it'd soothe him somehow.

It had for a while. Spencer's mind calmed as he closed his eyes and just let his wife fill his senses. Then the nightmare came and he woke up trembling with tears in his eyes.

"Spencer?" Trina sat up with him, her eyes full of concern.

"I think he was going to try to kidnap me and Ace. Why else did he lure me to the ship...then try to have Ace kidnapped? He was going to take us away from Port Charles," Spencer sniffed. "And who knows what for."

"But he didn't get a chance to. Someone stopped him," Trina ran her fingers through his hair, trying not to think about what would have happened if Victor had succeeded with his plan. Spencer would be far away from her right now and she'd have no idea how to get him back.

"I was so stupid to go there, thinking he had some proof on Esme. Fuck, even Cyrus Renault told me not to trust the man when I was in prison. You'd think when a drug kingpin tells you not to trust someone you'd listen. I'm so stupid."

"Did you really trust Cyrus though?" Trina made a face.

"He kept me from getting beat up on the daily while I was in there. I nearly did," Spencer sighed. "He even helped me make these doves that I was supposed to give to you...but...I saw you with Rory at the Metro Court and you looked so beautiful and so happy and I just didn't want to ruin that for you with my feelings so...I tossed them."

"Spencer!"

"I'm sorry...I wish I hadn't. I wish...I wish for a lot of things. I just do things without thinking, like listening to my crazy Uncle and going to see him on a ship. I was either going to get myself kidnapped or blown up. Why are you even still with me?"

"Because I love you! You're just impulsive...and...you want to think the best of the people that say they love you. That's not a bad thing, Spencer. It's not! Despite the rumors about Victor...you still wanted to believe the best about him because he had been good to you. He had seemed to care about you. We all think the best of the people that care about us. How can we not? It's human."

Spencer sniffed, wiping away his tears. "At this point...the only people I can trust, are you, Grandmother, and Ace…"

"That's all?"

Spencer looked at her with tear-filled eyes that broke her heart. Only three people and one was a baby! That was so incredibly sad for him. To feel that he couldn't trust anyone. That one too many people had betrayed him.

"I'm so sorry, Spencer. It shouldn't be that way for you. It really shouldn't," She pulled him close.

"It's part of being a Cassadine, I guess."

"We should change that. We have to be a family who trusts each other. It's too lonely and hurtful not to be. I am glad that you count me as one of the people you can trust."

"Of course you are. You and Grandmother are the reason I'm not more messed up than I already am. You seem to love me despite my flaws that drive you both up the wall."

Trina just laughed. "True. The prince annoys me to no end and is a pain in the ass...but...I wouldn't have you any other way, Spencer. Because I know what's underneath the Prince and it's a good heart and a compassionate soul that is easily hurt and damaged. The prince is there to protect that heart. It wasn't too hard to figure that out."

"You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, Trina. You really are," He stroked her cheek, nearly getting lost in her eyes, which were full of love and compassion.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, too Spencer. I don't ever want to lose you," She breathed before claiming his lips in a passionate kiss.

…..

Gia Campbell was on her niece's doorstep pounding on the door. She had heard about what happened the night before and all old anxieties that had rattled her during her engagement to Nikolas were back with a vengeance. But the worry wasn't about herself this time. She barged in, just as Trina opened the door.

"I heard about what happened last night! Are you okay?" She looked her niece over, looking for any sign that she wasn't.

"I'm fine. I'm not the one who was traumatized," Trina crossed her arms. "Aunt Gia, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see about you when I heard what had happened, and be glad it was me. Taggert was on his way over at first and not in a happy mood."

"When is he in a happy mood?" Trina sighed, going into the kitchen, beckoning for Gia to follow her. Spencer had finally drifted back off to sleep and seemed to be sleeping calmly this time. She didn't want Gia to wake him.

"With you marrying into that psycho family, hardly ever."

"Shh," Trina hushed her aunt, giving her a good glare. "And don't say that. Spencer is already having a hard time."

"What happened?" Gia asked, lowering her voice as she took a seat as Trina began to prepare two mugs of hot chocolate.

"I thought you heard already?"

"I heard that you nearly got blown up by the Cassadines."

Now Trina was annoyed. Gia jumped a little as Trina nearly slammed the mug in her hand onto the counter. "That is not what happened at all. God, it's like a game of telephone around here."

"Oookay. How about you tell me what actually happened then?"

Trina was quiet as she prepared the hot chocolate, poured it into the mugs, and added the mini marshmallows that she loved so much. She placed a mug in front of Gia and took the other one for herself as she sat down. She breathed in deeply, letting the aroma of warm chocolate calm her.

"Trina, are you going to tell me or not?" Gia asked, growing a little impatient.

"Spencer's uncle lured him to The Haunted Star last night, just in enough time for Spencer to witness him get blown up with the ship. That's the basics of it."

"Oh, my god…"

"Victor was obviously planning to kidnap both Spencer and his brother Ace and take off for only god knew where…"

"How did you get involved?"

Trina sighed and rolled her eyes. "When my husband gets a call in the dead of the night and he leaves, of course, I'm going to follow him. I probably would have followed him onto that boat as well if things had gone the way Victor wanted them to...and then who knows what would have happened. All three of us would have been kidnapped."

"Do they know who was responsible for the explosion?"

Trina shook her head. "They're still investigating. They probably won't discover who did it. Maybe it was the person who has been following Spencer around lately. Then again, that could have been Victor too…"

"Well, thank goodness psycho-uncle is dead now."

"He tried to take Spencer away from me," Trina's words were so low, Gia almost didn't hear her.

"What was that?"

"He tried to take Spencer away...and I can't lose him because I'm already losing people. Cam, Joss, on some level Dad and Mom and I'm just learning how to be without them, but I can't lose Spencer and I almost did and…"

Gia got up and wrapped her arms around her niece, noticing how Trina's voice was near panic and her hands trembled as she tried to grip her mug. "Hey, hey it's okay. You didn't lose him. He's right upstairs. It's okay."

"He's all I have left and I can't lose him, Aunt Gia," Trina began to sob, the emotions from the night before crashing down on her.

"You won't, sweetie. I promise you won't. The bad man is gone now. He can't take anyone away from you."

Trina pulled away and covered her face with trembling hands, trying to pull herself together. She was so embarrassed for losing it like this. The last thing anyone needed was her having a meltdown.

"I'm sorry. I can't believe I did that...don't tell Spencer, please. I don't want him to worry."

"Hey, don't be sorry. You are allowed to have your feelings," Gia gently pulled Trina's hands away from her face. "You are allowed to be worried and scared. This is your family you're talking about, right?"

Trina simply nodded. "Yes…"

"That man was trying to mess with your family so you're allowed to feel a ways about it."

Trina sniffed and looked away from her aunt. "Even if that feeling is being glad that Victor Cassadine is dead? To be grateful to the person who blew him up?"

"Even if it's that," Gia nodded, her voice grim.

"Trina?" Spencer stood in the doorway, frowning. Of course, Trina's tears were evident to him. There was no hiding them. "Are you crying? What's wrong?"

Gia looked at Spencer, then looked at her niece and knew that the pair needed some alone time. She got up, grabbing her purse. "You know, I have an appointment. I just came to check on you guys. I'm so glad that you're alright. I'll call later."

Trina sighed, knowing what her aunt was up to. "Thank you for stopping by, Aunt Gia."

"Anytime, sweetie," She gave Spencer a stern look. "Take care of her."

Spencer simply nodded as Gia made her way out of the house. He turned back to Trina. "Why are you crying?"

Trina sighed, wishing that she could hide her feelings from him, somehow. She really didn't want him to worry with all the other stuff on his mind, but she knew that it would be useless to do so. Spencer could read her like a book these days. She didn't bother to answer. She just got up out of her chair and went to him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace and hiding her face against his chest.

"Trina?" Spencer frowned, wrapping his arms around her.

"I'd follow you anywhere, you know. I wouldn't have let him take you away from me like that," She sniffed.

Suddenly, Spencer realized the reason for her tears. She must have realized just how close they had come to losing each other thanks to his Uncle's shenanigans. If Uncle Victor had his way, he and Ace would be in the middle of the ocean somewhere heading away from Port Charles and Trina. Just the thought of it made his blood run cold. For the first time since witnessing his Uncle's demise, he was grateful to the person who blew up The Haunted Star. Because if Trina had succeeded in following him onto that boat, she probably would have been thrown overboard or kept locked up so his Uncle could control him better. Neither one of those options was desirable. Whoever was responsible last night had saved both of their lives.

"Whoever blew up that boat deserves a reward. They're heroes in my book," Spencer kissed the top of her head, gently rubbing her back. "It's ok, now. Uncle Victor is gone. He can't do anything to us anymore. He failed."

"I'll be sure to thank them whenever they're found...if they're found. A man like your Uncle must have had a lot of powerful enemies."

"Yeah. Are you feeling better?"

"Yes...no...I don't know. I know we were supposed to get Ace today, but I think it'd be best if we let Esme keep him today and just take today for us. I was supposed to meet Reasia, but I think she'll understand."

"That's a good idea, I guess. We'll start our custody of my brother tomorrow. Let's just give ourselves time to just...take in what had happened and relax for today."

Trina pulled away to smile up into his eyes. "I love you, Spencer Preppy Cassadine."

Spencer laughed and pulled her into a long passionate kiss before pulling away with a smile of his own. "I love you too, Trina Queen Cassadine."

…..

Nikolas was excited as he watched the last of the news report about last night's events. His smile was wide and happy. Finally! Things were moving in the right direction! Now that Victor was gone, thanks to Uncle Stefan's genius, he'll be back with his family in no time! And then...maybe he could reconnect with an old love. Maybe...he won't be so alone after all.

"It's good to see you smile, nephew," Stefan entered the room, his hand playing with the Cassadine ring that sat on his finger.

"I actually have a reason to smile. Thanks to you, Victor is no longer a threat. My sons are safe. My mother is safe. Now all I need to do is reveal myself…"

"Not so fast, Nikolas. We can't just announce our return to Port Charles. Announcements like this take finesse. It takes...planning. Our return will be an event that this town will remember for ages to come!"

"What are you up to now, Uncle?"

"Well, since we no longer have access to Wyndemere...we're going to have to get more appropriate accommodations to house us all. Me, you, Spencer and his new bride, the baby...maybe even Lasha and her husband…," Stefan made a face when he thought of Kevin Collins. The man was so boring, he couldn't believe that Lasha had married him.

"Hey, Kevin is a good man and he's good for mother. Anyway, what are you saying? You're going to buy a new mansion?"

"That's exactly what I am saying. Something luxurious and regal. Something fit for royalty. Somewhere that can house balls and other events. Then once our new home is obtained...arrangements will be made for a coming out that will shake this town to its core."