Chapter 34

Robin hurried into the shabby apartment building on Cortland Street. She looked 
around to make sure nobody was following her before making her way up the 
stairs.  She pounded on the thin door and waited for it to be answered.  The 
door was yanked open by a tall thin brunette. There was a cigarette hanging from 
her lips.  "Yeah?"  She muttered.

"I'm here to see Stella."  Robin said with a little attitude.

"Stella!  It's that girl!"  The brunette yelled into the apartment. She walked 
away from the door, leaving Robin in the hallway.

A very pregnant blonde came to the door.  "Robin!  I wasn't expecting you until 
later in the week."

"I have to go out of town this week.  Here's the money, Stella." Robin shoved a 
stuffed envelope towards the girl.  

She greedily grabbed at it.  "Thanks! I could use this."

"Make sure some of it goes to buying yourself some food.  Have you eaten 
lately?"  Robin inquired.

"Yeah, three square meals a day."  Stella nodded. "Like ya said."

"Tell whoever that is to not smoke around you.  It's not good for the baby."  
Robin ordered.

"My sister don't like me telling her what to do."  Stella whispered.

"Tell her or the deal's off.  It's a lot of money she's going to be given up 
just to be able to smoke."

"Well… if I put it that way…" Stella nibbled on her lower lip. "Oh!"  She 
squealed suddenly.

"What happened?"  Robin asked worriedly.

"The baby just kicked.  Feels like a soccer player or something."  Stella rubbed 
her belly.

Robin's eyes glowed. "Can I touch it?"

Stella shrugged.  "Sure, it's yours."

~*~*~

Emily was in a tizzy over what to wear.  Nikolas had said her best dress but 
he'd already seen all her dresses and she wanted to wear something new.  She 
knew that tonight was special even though Nikolas wouldn't tell her what was up.  

There was a knock on her door and Emily lunged for it.  She threw open her door 
and was grateful to see Liz standing before her with several dress bags thrown 
over her arm.

"Tada! Lizzie Webber to the rescue!"  Liz smiled broadly. After rushing home 
Emily had called Liz and spilled everything and requested that she come over to 
help Emily get dress. 

"Did you bring them?"  Emily asked as she grabbed for the first dress bag.

"Yup. I had to be super sneaky too.  Sarah would have had a fit if she knew that 
I was borrowing her clothes for you to wear on a date with Nikolas." Liz walked 
in and closed the door behind her.

"Who cares what Sarah thinks.  I needed something fast!"  Emily laid the bag out 
on her bed and unzipped it, slowly revealing a bright red dress.  

"Uh, Em, I don't think Sarah's taste is going to fit you.  She's changed since 
her year in Europe."

"I can tell."  Emily muttered as she held up the long dress in front of her.  
She stood in front of her tall mirror and frowned at the image.  It was too 
long, too red, too deeply cut, and how high was that slit?

"Oh, this isn't right."  Emily groaned.  "Maybe there's something  better."  She 
reached for the other bags.

"I don't think so."  Liz said regretfully as Emily went through the bags.  
Emily's face reflected her distaste for Sarah's fashion sense with every dress 
she saw.  They were either too long or too short, too plunging of a neckline or 
not plunging enough, the colors didn't suite Emily at all and Sarah seemed to 
have this fascination with slits, the higher the better. 

Emily dropped the dresses back onto her bed in frustration.  "What am I going to 
do?"  She flopped onto her back.

"Emily, why don't you just wear one of your dresses?"  Liz suggested gently.

"Because Nikolas made it clear that tonight was going to be special and I want 
to look special."

"Okay, so you want everything to go perfect for your first date?" Liz asked as 
she went over to Emily's over stuffed closet.

"It's not our first date."  Emily sat up. "He just has something important to 
tell me, something that he couldn't tell me on the docks…with Tino around." 

"He wants you to dress up, he won't tell you where, its going to be some sort of 
surprise and you're freaking out. It's your first date."  Liz nodded.

Emily lay back on to the bed and sighed, "Okay, so it's our first date.  I just 
don't want to put too much into it in case he feels differently than I do about 
this whole thing."

Liz shook her head as she tried to make sense of what Emily had just said.  "Em, 
if all he wanted to do was talk to you about something, that something probably 
being that little ultimatum you gave him, then he could have done it at the 
docks with Tino there or in your living room.  He wouldn't have gone through 
this big deal of arranging some sort of surprise for you if he didn't feel 
something."

"Oh, you're probably right.  I just being… pessimistic."  Emily turned over on 
the bed.  "Maybe we should just do my hair and make up and then I'll worry about 
the dress."

"Okay, what do you want done?"  Liz went over to Emily's collection of hair and 
make up products left over from her modeling days.

"Nikolas wants me do my hair up in curls.  He likes that." Emily smiled shyly.

"He's requesting hairstyles? Oh, well then, that puts yet another spin on 
things." Liz stated.  She got out Emily's curling iron.

"Just do the hair. I don't have much time." 

"You have at least a hour and a half."  Liz told her.

"That's all!"  Emily squealed.  "Hurry! Hurry!"

~*~*~

Wyndemere

Carly was just hanging up the phone when Bobbie strolled through the living 
room.  "Hi, Carly."  Bobbie said cheerfully. Carly didn't answer; she stared off 
into space, a wide smile on her face.  "Talking to Jason, I see."  Bobbie 
nodded.  

Bobbie sat down on the couch and nudged Carly gently.  "Carly." Bobbie said 
firmly.

Carly glanced over and nearly jumped out of her skin.  "Gosh, Mama, could you 
warn a person rather than sneaking up on them?  You almost scared me to death."

Bobbie scowled.  "You obviously didn't hear me talking to you.  So, am I to 
assume that was Jason on the phone?"

"How did you know?"

"That silly smile on your face."  Bobbie pointed out. Carly immediately covered 
her face with her hands.

"It shows that much?"  She asked.

"Yes. I'm glad things are working out between you two."

"So am I.  I thought it would never happen.  I even gave up on the two of us."

"You?"  Bobbie asked shocked.  "You actually gave up on something?"

"Yes but don't let that get around.  And do not tell Jason.  He doesn't need to 
know about that!"  Carly quickly said.

"My lips are sealed."  Bobbie swore. "So things are good. That's great. Do you 
happen to know what's been bothering Nikolas?"  Bobbie suddenly asked out of the 
blue.

Carly had been wondering when Bobbie was going to bring that up. "Why are asking 
me?  Why don't you talk to Nikolas?"

"Because he won't talk to me or Stefan.  We've noticed that he only talks to 
you."

"And that has to be a bad thing right?" Carly jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"No, it's not a bad thing.  Stefan just isn't used to being shut out of Nikolas' 
life and he's…concerned."

Carly reached over and patted Bobbie's knee.  "You just tell him that Nikolas is 
fine and that if everything works out tonight, there will be no reason to be 
concerned about the guy."  A smile lit up Carly's face as she spotted Nikolas 
descending the wide staircase.  Bobbie looked up too and gaped at the sight of 
Nikolas dressed in his tux.

"Nikolas? What on earth?"

Carly got off the couch and went over to him.  "Looking good, my friend, looking 
good.  You're going to knock her socks right off."

"I better."  Nikolas said.  "I'm nervous enough about tonight."

"What is going on here?"  Bobbie joined them.

Carly glanced at her mother.  "You'll find out tomorrow okay?"

"Can I just clarify that I do not like being kept out of things?" Bobbie said.

"You on your way to get her?"  Carly ignored Bobbie.

Nikolas nodded.  "I just have to make one stop and make sure everything's okay 
and then…it's ShowTime!"

Carly slapped him on the back.  "Well, good luck Nicky!  Hope everything goes 
well."

"Hope what goes well?"  Bobbie demanded.

Nikolas turned to Bobbie and said gently, "I'll tell you tomorrow okay.  Trust 
me."

Bobbie threw her hands up in the air.  "Oh, I give up!"

~*~*~

Emily gingerly touched her hair and smoothed down the folds of her dress.  After 
finishing up her hair and make-up, Emily had calmed down long enough to select a 
suitable dress from her closet.  It was a simple black silk dress with a 
mandarin collar.  

"Stop fidgeting."  Liz slapped at Emily's hands.  "You look fine."

"You think?"  Emily eyed her image in the mirror with uncertainty. 

"Nikolas won't know what hit him!"  Liz grinned.

There was a soft knock at the door.  "That's probably Reginald telling me 
Nikolas is here."

"Are you ready?"  Liz asked.

Emily took a deep breath.  "As ready as I'll ever be."

~*~

Nikolas stood with his back to the door.  Emily took a moment to compose herself 
before clearing her throat and announcing her prescience. Nikolas slowly turned 
around with a ready smile and a single red rose in his hand.

Emily smiled.  "Nikolas…"

"Emily… You look… you look fantastic." Nikolas took a step towards her.

"I… thank you.  You look wonderful yourself."

"This old thing?"  Nikolas joked.  "You did the curly thing with your hair."

"You asked me to."  Emily shook her head.  

"I know.  I like it." Nikolas said softly. "For you."  Nikolas held up the rose 
to Emily.  Before she could take it he gently brushed the rose across her lips 
causing her to blush.  He smiled at her reaction and then finally gave her the 
rose.

Emily took it gladly. She buried her nose in its petals and breathed in deeply 
its sweet smell. "Thank you, it's beautiful."

"You're beautiful."  Nikolas whispered.

Emily ducked her head and blushed again.

"Am I embarrassing you?"  Nikolas asked with a half-smile.

"No, no, it's just that…" Nikolas had never complimented her before and it 
stunned her a bit.

Nikolas could tell that she didn't want to finish her thought so he offered his 
arm to her.  "Shall we go?"

Emily took hold of it.  "Let's.  I've been dying to find out what you've planned 
for tonight."  Emily grinned up at him.

Nikolas tapped a finger against the tip of her nose.  "You just have to wait and 
see."

~*~*~

Emily held on tightly to Nikolas' hand as he slowly led her into the room. The 
smell of roses tickled her nose. She couldn't believe she let Nikolas talk her 
into this.  When they got to his car, he unfolded a black blindfold and told her 
to put it on, he didn't want to spoil the surprise. She had hesitated at first 
but after Nikolas insisted she do it she gave in and let him blindfold her.

"Nikolas?  Can I take this off now?"  This was the same question she repeated 
over and over during the short elevator ride and the walk down a long hall.

"Just a second."  Nikolas said as he let go of her hand.

"Nikolas!"  Emily cried.  She put her hands out in front of her and tried to 
feel around for him.

"Hold on."  Nikolas flicked a switch and soft romantic music began to play in 
the background.  He came up behind her and untied the blindfold. "Surprise."  He 
whispered softly in her ear.

Emily blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light.  She gasped softly in wonder as 
she looked around the room. They were standing in a hotel room, probably at the 
Port Charles Hotel.  Emily saw the pink roses that she'd smelled since she 
stepped into the room.  There were light candles all around and in the center of 
the room stood a dinner table with two chairs waiting for them.

"Do you like it?"  Nikolas asked from behind her. He seemed unsure of himself 
and Emily was surprised at that.

"Do I like it?"  She repeated.  "I love it!"  She beamed at Nikolas and he 
couldn't help but smile in return.

"Good."  Nikolas almost sighed in relief.  There was a short knock at the door.  
"That would be dinner."

Emily stepped out of the way as Nikolas let in room service.  She waited 
patiently as the bellboy set up their meal.  Nikolas tipped him generously on 
his way out.  Nikolas went over to the table and pulled out a chair.  "Emily?"

"Thank you."  Emily sat down and waited for Nikolas to go around the other side 
and get seated.  "This is… wow, I can't believe you did this!"

Nikolas smiled.  "I just wanted to make tonight special."

"And you did."  Emily smiled back.  No knowing where to go next, Emily picked up 
her fork.  "I guess we should dig in then?"

"I… yes."  Nikolas wasn't sure how to broach the reason why he wanted to talk to 
her and it seemed like Emily was in no hurry to either. They ate in silence 
until a certain song began to play.  Nikolas immediately looked up and wondered 
if Emily recognized the song and the symbolism of it.  The look in her eyes told 
him she did. 

Nikolas slowly wiped his mouth with his napkin, his eyes never leaving hers.  He 
placed the napkin on the table and stood.  He extended his hand to Emily and 
asked quietly.  "Will you dance with me?"

"Yes."  Emily breathed.  He took her hand in his and she stood. They walked 
around the table and into an open area. Emily placed her hand on his shoulder 
and gingerly laid her head on his other one.  Nikolas wrapped his arm around her 
waist and pulled her in close to him. He rested his head on top of hers. They 
began to sway softly to the song.

**
The strands in you eyes that color them wonderful 
Stop me and steal my breath 
Emeralds from mountains thrust toward the sky 
Never revealing their depth 
And tell me that we belong together 
Dress it up with the trappings of love 
I'll be captivated 
I'll hang from your lips 
Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above.
**

"Every time I hear this song I think of that day by the pool." Nikolas murmured.

Emily closed her eyes as her thoughts turned back.  "So do I."  She whispered. 

"Emily, about that ultimatum you gave me on Friday…" Nikolas began.

"Nikolas, we don't have to talk about that, I had no right to…" Emily started to 
shake her head.

"You had every right."  Nikolas asserted.  "I've been thinking about it and 
about a lot of other stuff and I realize that I've been a jerk."

**
I'll be your crying shoulder 
I'll be love suicide 
I'll be better when I'm older 
I'll be the greatest fan of your life
**

"What?  Did I just hear Nikolas Cassadine call himself a jerk?" Emily teased a 
little to lighten the mood.

"Yes, and would you let me finish this?"  Nikolas asked.

"Maybe we should sit down, if we're going to talk about this." Emily started to 
pull away but Nikolas stopped her.

"No.  I still want to hold you."

"Could I at least look at you then?"  Emily asked.  

"No."  Nikolas shook his head.  "I need to get through this and I look at you 
then…"

"Okay."  Emily sighed.  "Let's get on with it then."

"Don't put it that way."  Nikolas said.  "I… never let myself realize how much 
you mean to me."

**
Rain falls angry on the tin roof 
As we lie awake in my bed 
You're my survival, you're my living proof 
My love is alive and not dead 
And tell me that we belong together 
Dress it up with the trappings of love 
I'll be captivated 
I'll hang from your lips 
Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above
**

"Even when I stopped you from jumping off that bridge or when you were in the 
hospital, I never let myself think about what it would be like without you in my 
life.  You were my one constant."

"I…I didn't know that."  Emily frowned. She never thought of herself as being as 
important to Nikolas as he was to her.  It was comforting thought.

"I didn't know it myself until that two week 'experiment' that Dr. Baldwin put 
us through.  Not seeing you, not knowing what you were doing or where you were 
was like hell.  You would think that I would be used to it because of the way 
our friendship was up until that night at the bridge. But that was before I 
started spending more time with you and doing things with you and…kissing you."

**
I'll be your crying shoulder 
I'll be love suicide 
I'll be better when I'm older 
I'll be the greatest fan of your life 
**

"Do you have bring that up?"  Emily buried her face into his shoulder.

"Yes because I can't stop thinking about it and the way I behaved afterwards.  I 
know I hurt you and I want to say I'm sorry."

"Nikolas, I…"  

**
I've been dropped out, burned up, fought my way back from the dead 
I tuned in, I turned on, remembered the things that you said 
**

"Shhh, let me finish." Nikolas whispered. "I was pushing you away and I don't 
know why.  You've always been there for me and I've tried to be there for you.  
And when you gave me that ultimatum I realized that I wanted to be more than 
friends with you." 

Emily started to open her mouth and reply but Nikolas hurried on. "I've been 
pushing you away because I didn't want to loose you and look what I've done. I 
almost lost you for good. I can't go through that again because I was too 
pigheaded to recognize the truth."

**
I'll be your crying shoulder 
I'll be love suicide 
I'll be better when I'm older 
I'll be the greatest fan of your life (the greatest fan of your life)
**

Nikolas stepped away from her and reached into his pocket.  He withdrew his 
Cassadine Medallion.  He placed it around Emily's neck and said softly.  "And 
the truth is…I love you, Emily Bowen-Quartermaine."