The room stands still for a far longer period of time than anyone expects it to. All four pairs of eyes fixate on the dead body just outside the lab, their bodies frozen in place, unsure of what to do.

"So…" Spencer breaks the ice, his voice muffled slightly by his mask, "do we go to Dex or…?"

"Liesl," Anna looks at the doctor, "is it even safe to approach him? Is this pathogen some form of anthrax?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Victor tried to brief me on this in between his annoying, self-serving creeds. It's a pathogen that's been in development for years, back when Mikkos was still alive. He called it 'airborne,' so as long as we don't breathe in the air, we're fine. It'd probably be a good idea to wear protection with gloves and sleeves just in case, as that man has a penchant for lying."

"Can we even take Dex to the hospital?" Kristina asks, "Or is he stuck like this forever?"

"I doubt this is permanent. During the boat ride, Victor locked me away and forced me to make the vaccines, which contain agents that combat and kill off the main chemical in the pathogen. I kept one vaccine with me in the hopes of crafting a long-form antidote. The sooner we get Dexter back to Port Charles, where we can set up a formal control space to cure him, the better," Liesl eyes Anna and Kristina, "How did you arrive on this island?"

"By plane."

"Then that's where we'll need to go. Did you land on a public or private airstrip?"

"I don't know," Kristina shakes her head, "I just know that there weren't a lot of employees around when we landed."

"Good."

"Does anyone outside know about this?" Spencer questions, "What if they come in and end up sick?"

"I'll catch up with them," Anna answers, "You three focus on getting Dex out of here."

Liesl guides the cousins to another crate in the room as Anna rushes up the stairs.

She discovers an assortment of gloves and bright yellow hazmat suits. The trio dresses themselves accordingly before they enter the lab, staring down at the man strapped to the bed. Liesl exits briefly and returns with a towel, wiping the blood away from his face.

"Dex…" Kristina sighs, dropping her head down to his chest. She closes her eyes to focus, faintly hearing a rhythmic thumping.

Liesl places two fingers against his neck, "He barely has a pulse."

"Let's get him out of here-" Spencer says, beginning to undo the straps. Just as he manages to loosen one, an alarm goes off, the lights flashing red, "What the hell?!"

"Keep going," Liesl snaps, leaving Kristina and Spencer to continue undoing the leather. She runs to a monitor in the far left corner, watching the cameras turn dark and a timer appear on the screen, counting down in a perfectly sequenced succession: 1:00, 0:59, 0:58…

"Hurry up!" the doctor snaps, her accent thick and she gets involved in loosening the straps.

"What's going on?!" Kristina asks, pulling all of them loose.

"There was a fail-safe installed in this compound," she explains, releasing the last strap. She attempts to pull Dex up, wrapping one arm around her shoulders while Spencer does the same with the other. Kristina joins her as they try their best to scurry up the stairs with the young man in tow, "It's going to explode!"

On the outside, with the oxygen mask hanging around her neck, Anna does her best to walk through the snow, her steps heavy as the white powder swallows her ankles. She attempts to climb up the hill, letting out a tired breath when she comes to a stop.

"Anna!"

The older woman looks up to see Trina and Laura rush down the hill to meet her. Laura helps her up as Trina clasps her hands together, looking around.

"Is it just you?" she asks, "Where's everyone else?"

"They're coming. They're getting Dex out of his restraints."

"How is he doing?" Laura questions.

"Not good, but the hope is that Liesl's quick thinking to use the vaccines as a stopgap works in his favor."

"Vaccines?"

"It's a long story, but Victor managed to turn Dex into a bioweapon. He was injected with some kind of pathogen, and it seems to work."

"Pathogen?" Laura raises an eyebrow.

"Liesl said it's been in development for years, well before Mikkos's death."

"God…" the woman shakes her head, "that poor young man."

"I'm glad they're on the way. It sounds like Victor isn't a threat anymore?"

"No. He decided to…die for his cause."

"What do you mean?"

"Since Victor succeeded with the pathogen, and it's treated as an airborne disease, he stuck around Dex and inhaled those toxic chemicals."

"And you're out here to warn us, aren't you?"

"Yes. Most of us will be taking the Haunted Star back to Port Charles," Anna looks past the women, raising an eyebrow, "Where is everyone else?"

As if on cue, Curtis, Jordan, and Dante march downhill towards the group of women, the infants in tow.

"We managed to find someone willing to steer the Haunted Star back to Port Charles," Curtis huffs, taking deep breaths. Jordan stands to his left, passing Ace to Laura. Dante stands nearby, keeping Ciara in the crook of his arm.

"Did you run into any trouble on the Haunted Star?" Anna asks.

"It was practically empty," Jordan responds, "We barely made it through half of the cabins when Dante contacted us. We wanted to go for backup, but he said you and Kristina had it covered."

"And we did."

"Speaking of," Dante looks around, "Where is Kristina?"

"And Spencer?" Laura asks, "You said they're coming."

"And they are."

The moment the words leave Anna's mouth, each person feels the ground beneath them violently shake. With the exception of Dante and Laura, everyone falls into the snow upon impact. Trina is the first to get up, doing her best to climb up a nearby hill. She stops midway when she sees smoke appear in the sky.

"Oh my God…" she gasps, "Spencer…no…"

"Holy crap!" Dante swears, bouncing a frightened Ciara, "What was that?!"

"That smoke," Anna marches up the hill just enough to see the smoldering remains of the house that covered the underground compound, "Oh no…"

"Anna?" Laura asks as the woman comes back down.

"The…compound," she tries to clear her throat, "is…it's gone."

"Gone?!"

"It…It blew up."

"No…" Trina shakes her head, tears pouring down her face, "No, you're wrong. You have to be wrong!"

"I wish I was-"

"This can't be happening," she begins to back away, shaking her head, "There's no way that place just blew up! It was a trap!"

"Victor was nothing if not calculated…" Laura sighs.

"We have to find them. Maybe it was just the house that blew up and they're trapped underground."

"Trina-" Curtis speaks up.

"We've come so far to rescue the people Victor took from us. There's no way we lose them, not like this."

"Trina…" Jordan sighs sadly.

"I…I have to go over there. I have to-"

"No!" Anna yells as Curtis grabs Trina's arm, holding her back.

"Let me go!" she cries.

"Trina, it's too dangerous to go over there."

"I can handle a little fire-"

"But you can't handle the pathogen."

"Then give me your mask."

"Trina, please, come on."

"I'm not giving up. I can't," Trina relaxes her stance, prompting Curtis to let her go. She first looks at Dante, "I mean, do you look at the explosion and think that Dex and Kristina are gone? That Ciara's now an orphan?"

Dante doesn't respond, frowning at the infant.

"Do you look at the explosion and think that's it for Dr. Obrecht?" she then turns to Anna, who also doesn't respond.

"I don't look at what happened and think Spencer is gone. At least, I don't want to think that he is," she locks eyes with Laura, "and I know you don't want to either."

"I don't."

"I admire how hopeful you are about this, Trina," Curtis offers her a sad smile.

"It's not just hope. It's…I feel it in my soul. Spencer isn't dead, and neither is anyone else, and we owe it to them to get them out of the mess this explosion left behind."

The sound of footsteps crushing snow startle the group. They turn their attention to the top of the hill, eyes wide with surprise and relief when they see Spencer, free from any burns or debris, coming down the slope.

"Spencer!"

Trina takes off, her footsteps lighter than air as she dashes across the snow. She leaps forward, launching himself into his arms, and he catches her with relative ease. Their arms wrap around each other, fitting like puzzle pieces.

"Thank God," she whispers sweetly, her fingers tussled in his hair. He rubs her back in response. She pulls away just enough to pull down his oxygen mask, taking his lips in hers.

"Thank God!" Laura echoes as Trina hops off of Spencer. He approaches his grandmother and embraces her and Ace.

"You made it out of there just in time, huh?" Dante asks.

"All of us did. I mean, we got knocked down, but no one got hurt. Speaking of," Spencer looks between him and Curtis, "we'll need you two to help get Dex to the airplane."

"Give us your mask and we'll do it for free."

"Deal," Spencer nods at Anna, and they hand their masks over. In return, Dante passes Ciara off to the young man.

"Thank God everyone made it out," Jordan sighs in relief, "Well, everyone except Victor, anyway."

"Are you both okay?" Laura asks, looking between Spencer and Trina.

"I mean, this whole event was pretty emotionally scarring, but…" Trina flashes a smile before breaking into a giggle. Spencer mimics her expression.

Curtis and Dante make their way over the hill with ease, picking up speed as Liesl, Dex, and Kristina grow closer in their line of sight. While Liesl lifts Dex up enough to have him lean against her, Kristina pulls Dante into a tight hug when he gets close enough to her.

"I'm glad you're okay," he says, rubbing her back, "I love you."

"I love you too," Kristina replies before stepping back.

"We'll make sure Dex gets to the plane in one piece," Curtis nods.

"Thank you."

Dante and Curtis nod at each other before pulling Dex to his feet, each arm around their shoulders. With Kristina's mask in hand, as well as a detailed tip on locating Sonny's private jet, Liesl guides the men away from her and on a path towards the private airstrip. Kristina watches them leave her behind, smiling sadly at the back of Dex's bouncing head before she walks forward, going over the hill and joining the rest of the team.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Trina hugs the young woman.

"Thank you," she responds, pulling back to look at Spencer. He offers her a friendly smirk, walking over and placing Ciara in her arms.

"And I'm glad you're okay, baby girl," her voice is sweet and high-pitched, kissing the infant's head as it rests on her shoulder, "I love you."

"Curtis and Dante are taking Dex and Liesl to the plane, right?" Anna asks.

"They are," Spencer nods, "They're probably going to ride with them too."

"Then we need to get back on the boat. I have a call I need to make," Jordan nods, taking off first. Laura is next in line, bouncing Ace to keep him alert. Spencer and Trina trail them, walking hand-in-hand, and Kristina cuddles Ciara against her at the end. They step onto the Haunted Star one-by-one, settling in the main lounge as the ship proceeds to lift its anchor and set sail down the Atlantic Ocean. Jordan steps out for a moment, staying in the control room and dialing the radio phone.

"Hello?" TJ picks up the call, "Who is this?"

"TJ, it's me," Jordan replies.

"Mom, hey! Oh my God, where are you?!"

"I'm on the Haunted Star. We're on our way back to Port Charles right now."

"How did the mission go?! Are you okay?!"

"The mission was successful, and yes, I'm fine! Everyone's fine for the most part."

"That's a huge relief! I've been keeping up with everything since the news broke that Dex and Ciara were abducted. I'm glad they're safe!"

"They're not out of the woods quite yet, at least Dex isn't, and that's partly why I called you."

"What happened?"

"Long story short, Victor injected him with a really contagious pathogen. I wanted to give you a heads-up so you can maybe try and get some staff on hand with proper protection? Liesl Obrecht is with him on a flight back, and she'll likely have to take charge in the operation."

"Okay, yeah, I can get some oxygen masks and suits together. He'll need an ambulance from the airport, right?"

"Yes."

"I'll get some to the EMTs as well. We'll make sure no one gets sick from what Victor did to him."

"Thank you, baby," Jordan smiles.

"Anything for you, Mom," TJ says, his tone cheerful, "and anything for my friend too."

"I'll see you soon, okay? I love you."

"Love you too!"

Jordan leaves the radio phone behind, making her way back to the main lounge. She takes a seat next to Curtis, flashing him and Laura a smile before joining their conversation. Spencer and Trina watch from a distance, Ace propped up in the crook of his arm.

"I'm so glad this nightmare is over," Trina sighs blissfully, her arms wrapped around Spencer's torso. He uses his free hand to run her shoulder.

"Me too," he replies in kind, "I'm glad that you and Ace aren't hurt."

"I'm glad you're not hurt," she smiles up at him, "I'm not sure what I'd do without you in my life."

"Likewise," Spencer then turns to Ace, who darts his eyes around the room. Trina rests her head on the square of his shoulder, and he plants a kiss on her forehead in response. Laying his head on top of hers, he looks past his baby brother at Kristina, watching solemnly as she cradles her daughter.

"Oh, Ciara," the young woman coos at the infant, who stares in curious wonder, "look at you, you're gotten so big! It's been awhile since I've seen you, and it's crazy that I even have to say that…but that's what happens when you make bad decisions."

Ciara grips her shirt as Kristina stands her up, "I'm happy that I get to spend time with you, even though I'm not happy with how we got here. Our family is full of crazy people, and it sucks you were exposed to it right away. Hopefully you don't end up like any of them, and thankfully, there's still time to prevent that."

She pulls her daughter into a warm hug, kissing her forehead, "And now, we're on the way home, which means you'll be reunited with Daddy soon," she mirrors the smile that appears on Ciara's face, "I know he'll be so happy to see you. I also know that you're worried about him, and I'm worried about him too, but…he's pretty tough."

"Da…"

Kristina freezes immediately when the sound hits her ears. She looks down at Ciara, who averts her eyes while dragging her lip with a lone finger.

"What?" her question is breathless.

Ciara looks up at her again, her voice high and sweet: "Da…"

"Da…" the young woman repeats, "Dada…?"

"Da…da…"

"Oh my God," Kristina's words are full of air as she holds Ciara tight against her, tears stinging her tightly-shut eyes. The baby squirms a bit in her grip before relenting, resting her chin on her mother's shoulders.

"Oh, Ciara," she pulls the infant back, tucking her upright between her arm and her torso, "Daddy's going to be ecstatic when he hears what you just said."

The mother and daughter sit in silence for the rest of the boat ride, with Kristina watching the waves of the Atlantic Ocean pass them by. Nervous anticipation courses through her veins the closer they get to Port Charles, the closer they get to closing the chapter on Victor's escapades, and the closer she gets to Dex and what's meant to come next, and as the skyscrapers and mountains grow closer, it's all she opts to think about.