A/n: I know I'm not as big of a Lante fan as I am a Jolu fan but, they do still hold a special place in my heart. Especially OG Lante. With the holiday season just around the corner, I wanted to write something fluffy and that Lulu could be part of. I can't describe how much I hate that that the writers put Lulu in a coma, I detest the writers at this point. Lulu needs to be home with her babies, she can wake up now lol. Anyway, I'll get on with it.

Dante's POV

I ran a hand through my disheveled hair, with each passing day I could feel myself pulling away from Sam and it's not even that I didn't have feelings for her it was just...she wasn't Lulu. I knew I had messed up anything Lulu and I could share a long time before she slipped into her coma, in my eyes I had never deserved Lulu Spencer. There was no denying it, she was the love of my life. I felt responsible for what happened to her, maybe I would have been able to save her if I had gotten there just a moment sooner.

"Dad!" I heard Rocco call from the other room, bringing me back to the present.

"Yeah, bud?" I called back, striding towards the door.

"Dante?" I immediately recognized that voice, it sounded so small. I strode into the living room knowing that voice belonged to Charlotte Cassadine, upon entering the room he found that the teenaged girl was in tears, blood was caked on her dress and she looked disheveled.

"Charlotte? Sweetheart, what happened? Sit down." I grabbed her shaking hand leading her over to the couch.

"I'll get blood on it." Charlotte shakes her head.

"That's okay, this one was ugly." Dante brushes her off, earning a slight smile from her as she gingerly sits down.

"I miss mom...I know this is the type of thing she would have warned me about. I didn't think that boys could be so... cruel." Charlotte tries to compose herself, pursing her lips in a thin pink line.

"Someone at school did this to you? Walk me through exactly what happened." Dante's brow furrows in concern, anger bubbling up inside of him.

"I was walking home from cheerleading practice and I felt like I was being followed...I looked and saw a group of boys behind me, I stopped to ask them what they wanted and they started making unwelcome remarks to me. One of them pinned me up against the wall of a brick building, he held me still while the other two took turns hitting me and taunting me. The things they said about mom were horrible, they don't even know her. I feel like...I feel like I don't have even one parent to go around. Father hasn't been home in weeks." Charlotte was distressed and rightfully so, running a distressed hand through her blonde hair.

"Those punks don't know anything about the wonderful person Lulu is, I'm sorry you had to go through that. You're just a child, you shouldn't have to be struggling like this. Listen Charlotte, I know I can't offer you much but...I can offer you some stability. You're mom would want you to be well taken care of." Dante knew that he had to help her, she was struggling.

"Dante...you don't have to help me. I understand that you're going through things yourself. Would it look right for me to be here when you're dating a woman who isn't my mother?" Charlotte wanted to take his help but, she wasn't sure.

"Yes...I do. I promised Lulu the day that she got joint custody of you that if she couldn't be there for you...then I would be there for you. I'm sticking to that promise, I will always love your mother. If anyone else has anything to say about it, they can talk to me themselves." Dante noted that Rocco had been oddly silent.

"You're right...I do need stability. As much as I love father I'm just not getting that from him much anymore, I'm not sure what changed. All I know is that I need something stable." Charlotte gives a wistful sigh, Dante frowned not knowing what to say to make her feel better.

"Maybe we should go see mom, today. Maybe she'll wake up for Christmas." Rocco reaches over to squeeze Charlotte's hand.

"Maybe." Charlotte allowed, forcing a smile. Within that week Dante had moved Charlotte in with him and Rocco, because neither of them had heard one word from Valentin in terms of him coming back home. When Dante arrived home that afternoon, he saw Sam's car in the driveway and he bit his lip. It was now or never.

"Did you hear the news?" Sam stared at him as he walked onto the porch.

"What news would that be?" Dante quirked one brow.

"That Lulu's awake..."