The man walked back over to the window and thrust his hands into his pant
pockets. Emily stood there, staring at the floor, the walls, anything except
him. Twice she tried to speak to him, but both times she remained silent, not
knowing quite what to say. She wiped at the last stray tears and tried to
compose herself.
    "Maybe we should go back downstairs." She said quietly as she walked across
the room.
Nikolas looked up in surprise as he watched her leave the room. He was almost
expecting another round of shouts. After a moment, however, he followed after
her.
As the two walked back into the parlor, Lucky and Elizabeth looked up from the
photo album in surprise.
"We were wondering where you two had gone." Lucky said with a smile. He
watched his friend as she silently seated herself on the couch. "Are you
okay, Em?"
Emily forced a smile. "Yes, Lucky, I'm fine."
    Nikolas stood in the doorway, watching the woman in awe. So that was how she
did it, he concluded. She hid beneath a fake layer of happiness, but why?
Why couldn't she just give in, why did she have to be so damn strong all of
the time? He couldn't figure her out. Even after being her friend for over
fifteen years, he still didn't know this woman who was sitting right in front
of him. But oh, how he admired her. It was everything about her, really. He
admired her passion for life and her bravery, but most of all he admired her
strength. It was a wonder after all these years that she never broke, being
as fragile as she was. She had gotten through so much in these past years,
surviving so many things. She was almost like a marionette whose stings would
keep on breaking. But no matter what, there was always one string to hold the
doll in place, and it would forever be dancing, trying to please everyone.
    Someday that string will break Em. Nikolas thought sadly, watching her as she
smiled over the album. Someday, you'll have to stop dancing, you'll have to
let go. But I promise...He sighed as he regarded the beautiful woman before
him. "I promise that I'll hold you up."
    "Hey, man, don't tell me you're talking to yourself again."
Nikolas' head shot up. "What?"
"You just muttered something, what did you say?"
"Nothing." He said quickly. "Just thinking out loud." He walked over to the
chair and sat down beside Lucky and Elizabeth. Although he was staring down
at the photo album, he could tell that Emily was watching him. Had she heard?
He wondered. Glancing up, he noticed that his senses were right as his gaze
met hers. She quickly looked away, though, as she heard Elizabeth exclaim.
        "Oh, these are the pictures taken at our junior prom!" Elizabeth beamed as
her mind trailed back to that year. "Seeing how I never got a chance to go to
my senior one, I promise, I'll never forget that day for the rest of my life!"


    "Lizzie!"
She hurried over to the vanity to check on her lipstick. Finding a strand of
hair out of place, she quickly tried to fix the twist.
"Lizzie!"
"Oh, I'm coming." She muttered, growing frustrated at the stubborn strand.
"Liz!"
"I'm coming!" She called out louder. Giving herself another once-over, she
hurried into the bathroom to check on Emily.
"What is it, what's wrong?"
"This stupid button." The girl muttered as she tried to twist her body to
reach the hook. Elizabeth placed a hand on Emily's shoulder and fastened the
hook. Emily sighed and turned around to look at herself in the mirror.
    "Well, think we'll have the time of our lives tonight?" She asked.
Elizabeth giggled. "Oh, you bet. And especially in that dress of yours."
Emily smiled and looked over her dress. She had gotten it only a few weeks
before, falling in love with it as soon as she'd laid eyes on it. It was a
midnight blue satin with a row of tiny sequins along the neckline. She wore
her mother's tennis bracelet, and her own necklace, which consisted of two
diamonds and a sapphire in the middle. Her hair, much like Elizabeth's, was
done up in a French twist. Satisfied that she was ready for anything, she
turned around and grinned at Liz.
    "And look at you." She exclaimed, regarding her friend's lavender dress of a
similar make. "Come on." She linked an arm through Elizabeth's as she heard
the doorbell ring. "Our dates are waiting."


    Nikolas Cassadine and Lucky Spencer glanced around the foyer of the
Quartermaine mansion nervously, hands thrust in the pockets of their tuxedos.
Glancing up the stairs, Lucky lightly elbowed Nikolas to get his brother's
attention and nodded toward the staircase. As the girls descended the
staircase, they smiled and greeted the two with a kiss on the cheek.
    "You look beautiful." Nikolas said, presenting a corsage. Emily smiled as he
pinned the flowers to her dress.
    After watching the two, Elizabeth smiled and turned to Lucky expectantly.
"Well?"
Lucky turned to her and smirked. "Well what?"
"Where's my corsage?"
"What corsage?" He asked innocently.
"Lucky..." Elizabeth's voice trailed in a warning.
    Lucky laughed and pulled out a clear box he was hiding behind him. "Oh!
This corsage."
    After Lucky pinned the corsage on his date, the four headed out the door
ready for a night of excitement and romance.



    "Yuck!" The girl remarked, her face turned upwards towards the dark sky. "Of
all the nights for it to rain..."
"It is April, Emily."
"Yes, but Mother Nature could have spared us a night."
    The rain began to pour now, beating down upon them in steady rhythm as they
headed towards the mansion. Her junior prom had been wonderful, a night she
was certain that she would never forget. Tonight, she was simply Emily. The
Emily who was without worries or cares. The Emily who was simply enjoying
being with her friends.
    "Come on!" She shouted joyfully, tugging on Nikolas' hand as they hurried up
the driveway. Opening the front door, the dripping couple hurried inside the
deserted mansion. As Emily closed the door, a flash of lightening streaked
through the air and the power suddenly went out. She groaned and headed
towards the parlor.
    "I'll go get some candles."
"Are you sure you can see?" Nikolas asked, hoping she wouldn't get hurt.
"I'm fine, Nikolas-"
    He whirled around as something crashed to the floor. For a moment there was
silence. He tried to suppress a laugh as he heard her remark,
"Well, that was an ugly vase anyway."
Soon, she reappeared with candles and a lighter in her hand. "I think Cook
has food in the kitchen for us." She began. A knock at the door interrupted
her thoughts. Distributing the candles and lighter into Nikolas' arms, she
hurried over to the door. A blast of sudden wind and rain made her take a
step backwards and she tried to make out the figure standing before her,
another figure cradled in his arms.
"Jason!" She exclaimed. And without another word, she ran into his arms.
"What are you doing back? And Michael..." She smiled as she kissed her godson
on the head.
"No one's here, right?" Jason asked.
Emily shook her head. "They're all out. Jason, what are you doing back?" She
repeated her previous question.
    As Jason stepped inside, he finally took notice of Nikolas standing by the
stairs, acknowledging him with a slight nod. "Sonny came to see me."
    Emily narrowed her eyes, remembering how Sonny had told her that he didn't
know of Jason's whereabouts.
"What did Carly tell you?"
    Nikolas watched this interaction, with curiosity, wondering what had happened
that Emily hadn't told him.
"She said that you kidnapped Michael." Her eyes flicked over to the tiny child
who lay comfortably in Jason's arms.
Jason sighed and shifted Michael's body. "That's what I was afraid of."
"I know that it's not true, Jase, I know that you would never, ever do such a
thing."
"But the Quartermaine's will greedily swallow the lie." Running a hand through
his hair, he tried to decide what to do. "AJ wants custody of Michael, and
with me leaving and the mob, there are too many points against me."
"You're not going to give up, are you?"
"Never, Em. But that's why I'm here. If I want to fight this, I'm going to
need your help."
    As Emily opened her mouth to reply, the front door forcefully opened as the
family walked in. AJ's eyes widened as he caught site of Jason and the
sleeping child.
    "What the hell have you done with my son?" His booming voice demanded as
Michael awoke with a start and began to cry.
    Emily took a small step back, her eyes darting over towards Nikolas watched
the family, obviously intimidated. As he met her gaze, he shrugged and
stepped closer to the wall, trying to remain inconspicuous.
    As Edward stepped through the doorway, he gasped as he saw Jason.
    "What in the world? AJ, call Taggert, and you..." he pointed an angry finger
towards Jason, "you get away from that child."
    AJ made no move to call the police. "Jason," he tried calmly. "Michael is
my son. You had no right to kidnap him."
"And that's why we should call the police, AJ, and if you won't I will."
    "Edward." Monica warned as Edward started towards the parlor. The large man
turned around.
"Monica, that hoodlum has kidnapped that little boy. It's only right to get
the police involved." He made another attempt to walk into the parlor.
    "Edward, if you so much as pick up that phone, I will throw all of you out of
this house." She threatened. "I did it once and I would be glad to do it
again."
As Edward grumbled to himself, AJ stared hard at Jason.
    "I am Michael's father. He belongs with me."
As Michael wailed even louder, Emily reached over to take her godson from
Jason.
    "Jason is his father, AJ." She said, cradling Michael.
"You're taking his side? Em, you and I both know how dangerous he is. Think
about Michael."
"I am thinking about Michael, AJ. He won't be able to stand it here. He's
going to grow up, not able to defend himself with your lying and
deceitfulness."
    Jason half glanced at her. "Em-"
"No, Jason." She persisted. "It's true and you and I both know it. He's
going to grow up to be manipulative just like all of them."
"Come on, Em." AJ said. "We're not the bad ones."
"Neither is Jason." She argued.
    Her brother stared at her appalled.
"He kidnapped Michael!"
"And you're the one trying to take him away from all that he knows." She felt
ready to explode and she would have, had Jason's hand not been placed
reassuringly on her shoulder.
    All seven pairs of eyes looked up as another person hurried through the front
door.
    "Well, the rain sure let up fast..." The blonde haired woman halted as she
met a pair of light brown eyes, her smile completely vanishing, shock and a
hint of fear in her voice.
    "Jason."

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