"It's so beautiful tonight," she said as we walked on the docks. "Maybe this cancer isn't a curse." She looked at me. "It made me realize all of this." Her eyes looked up at the moon and stars.

          "It's always been there," I said, "you just realized not to take it for granted."

          Her lip started to tremble as a tear fell from down her cheek.

          "Emily?" I placed a hand on her shoulder. "What is it?"

          "I can't do this anymore," she said in between sobs. "I can't lie to my family, to Zander. It hurts too much."

          I wrapped her inside my arms, soothing her, kissing the top of her head. "You don't have to do this. If you want to tell your family and Zander, I'll be there right by your side."

          And I meant every word.

ZANDER

          It still hurt to see them together. Nikolas and Emily. Nikolas, who was just engaged to Gia. Emily, who was just in love with me. It seemed so easy for them to move on and not look back.

          When I walked into Kelly's, I almost turned right back around. They were now in public together. They didn't care anymore who saw them, not even me. I saw Emily take Nikolas's hand and walk out the door; neither of them looking over at me. Maybe they felt sorry for me. Well, I didn't need their pity. I went up to the counter.

          Penny smiled at me. "The usual?"

          I nodded.

          She poured me a cup of coffee.

PENNY

          Working at Kelly's had its ups and downs. I worked crazy shifts, always covering for Courtney and Liz, and now that Liz had quit, I was forced to pick up more hours. The pay was okay. The regulars tipped well and I made sure to greet every single customer with a smile because, hey, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do in order to get some dough.

          I looked Zander over as I poured him his coffee. Poor guy. He was suffering from a broken heart. I caught on quick to the gossip around Port Charles while working. There was even this one about vampires. Anyway, I heard about Nikolas Cassadine moving in on Zander's girl. Liz had introduced me to Emily Quartermaine once when she had returned to town. Sweet girl with a pretty smile. Now she must have it tough. I could see it now: "Do I feel like a Dark Prince today, or a Bad Boy with a heart of gold?" She was one lucky girl. As for me, I would always be known as "Penny the Kelly's waitress," doomed to take coffee orders from gorgeous men like Jason Morgan and Lucky Spencer, not date them.

          "Hey, Penny." Zander looked up at me from the other side of the counter.

          How Emily could have picked Nikolas over Zander still confused the hell out of me.

          Zander raised his coffee cup. "Can I get a refill?"

          Of course. I should have known.

I grabbed the pot of coffee.

NIKOLAS

          I made sure Emily got home safe before I went back to Wyndermere. My uncle's office light was still on.

          "Nikolas? Come in here," he said.

          I walked in with my hands in my pockets. "Yes?"

          "Where have you been tonight?" he asked.

          "I went out," I said.

          He walked around his desk to me. "With Emily Quartermaine?"

          I sighed. "I don't feel like fighting with you, uncle."

          "I don't want to fight," he said. 'I just want to talk."

          Knowing my uncle, it would eventually turn into a fight somehow.

          "You and Emily have been friends for a long time, and I have nothing against that," he said, "but being romantically involved is something else. I worry about the Cassadine business."

          "Because I have a girlfriend?" I said.

          "Because you're dating Emily Quartermaine," he said. "If you do anything to hurt Edward's precious granddaughter, he's going to come after us."

          "I don't want to hear this, uncle." I turned to leave the room.

          "Look at what she's done to you, Nikolas," he said. "You lack discipline. You don't listen to authority---"

          I turned back to my uncle. "When you say authority, you mean you. I'm not a little kid anymore. I've grown up and I'm fully capable of making my own decisions."

          "Even if they're the wrong ones?" he asked.

          "Good night, uncle." I closed the door behind me as I left.

STEFAN

          I watched Nikolas shut the door in my face. I let him go. I leaned back against my desk, wondering what was going on inside my nephew's head. I was glad I had returned to Port Charles in time to prevent Nikolas from making anymore mistakes. A part of me wanted to blame the Spencer side in him—spending too much time with Luke and Lucky could have caused this sudden personality change. Maybe it was his way of dealing with his mother. I had seen Laura and it had been painful to see such a beautiful person in an ugly world.

          Whatever it was, it wasn't good. Not for him, and certainly not for me.

Part 2

          Sometimes the best feeling in the world is the one you don't even recognize. You can feel this new feeling forming, stirring inside of you, but you have no idea where it came from, or why it's there, but you just feel it. You wonder if you should embrace it. You wonder if you should be afraid of it.

**

EMILY

          I saw Jason today. My big brother. God, how I missed him. He was alone on the docks. He was standing very still as though he was a statue. "Jason?"

          He smiled at me and I ran into his arms. We hugged for a moment until I pulled away.

          "How are you doing?" he asked. "I heard about your counseling sessions."

          "It's okay," I said. "Mom and Dad have been really supportative and the family too."

          I hated lying to Jason.

          He nodded. "You know, I do care. I haven't been by the hospital, but---"

          "You don't have to say anything, Jason. I know you care," I said. I wanted to change the subject. Change it before I could tell him the truth. "So, how's Courtney?"

          A huge grin appeared on his face at the sound of his fiancée's name. "She's fine. She and Carly are really into planning the wedding. It's kind of crazy."

          I laughed, trying to picture Jason and Sonny in the middle of Carly and Courtney's wedding planning.

          Just then, the sound of footsteps came down the steps. We looked up to see Courtney walking to us.

          "Hi, Emily," she said.

          I smiled at Jason and Courtney as they wrapped their arms around each other. A pang hit me as I reminisced of Zander's arms around me.

          "I've got to get going," I said.

          Jason hugged me one more time. "If you ever need anything---"

          "I know." I turned from him and left the docks.

JASON

          Normally, I would always believe everything Emily told me, but as I watched her walk away from the docks, I couldn't help but feel as though there was something she wasn't telling me.

          "Jason?"

Courtney's voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked at her.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said with a sigh. "I'm just worried about Emily."

Courtney frowned. "What's wrong?"

I glanced back at the corner where Emily had disappeared behind. "I wish I knew."

NIKOLAS

          "Emily."

          She turned to me, holding a bag. "I know I should have called before I came over, but—-"

          I closed the door behind me as I walked inside the room. "No, it's okay."

          "It's just that I wanted to get away for awhile, you know," she said. "I saw Jason today and I was so close to telling him, Nikolas. I really wanted to tell him."

          "What stopped you?" I asked.

          "You weren't by my side," she said.

**

          We walked inside one of the bedrooms in Wyndermere. I put Emily's bag on the bed as she drifted over to the open window. A calm expression came over her face.

          "Are you hungry?" I said. "I can have the cook make you something."

          She continued staring out the window. "Some people live their whole lives not knowing how beautiful their world is. Everything is so perfect. The trees, the water, the sky. My family, my friends. They're all perfect."

          I walked up behind her as she talked.

          "And they're all going to live very long lives for me," she said softly. "Especially you. You're going to live forever for me, Nikolas, promise me that."

          I wrapped my arms around her and looked out the window with her. "I promise, but only if you promise me something."

          "What's that?"

          "You have to live with me forever."

          She leaned against me, grabbing my hands with hers. "I like that."

EMILY

          I opened my eyes to the dark room. Another bad dream had awoken me in the middle of the night. Most of the time, I could hardly remember the dreams, but it was the feeling I had when I woke up. It was always a bad one. I sat up in bed and ran my hands through my hair. I turned on the lamp and got out of bed, putting on a sweatshirt over my tank-top. I left the room and wandered down the hallway.

          Most people would be afraid of a place like Wyndermere. It was like one of those dark castles you saw in old horror movies. Then again, most people were scared of the Quartermaine mansion when all it really was to me was a big house.

          I quietly opened the door to Nikolas's bedroom. I saw his figure in the bed as the moonlight came in from the window. I leaned over him and nudged him gently. "Nikolas?"

          He stirred and opened his eyes. "Emily? What is it?"

          "I can't sleep," I said.

          He lifted up his blanket and I climbed in next to him. He pulled me in, placing his chin on the top of my head.

          "Wanna talk?" he asked.

          "Not really," I said.

          "Okay."

          I listened to him breath. It was a comforting sound.

NIKOLAS

          I woke up the next day to find Emily standing by the window.

          "What are you thinking about?" I said, sitting up in bed.

          She turned to me with a grin. "About how much I want to go swimming!" She went to me and grabbed my hand. "Let's go!"

**

          I couldn't remember the last time I had swam in the pool, let alone the last time I had on a pair of swim trunks. Emily found some spare bathing suits in the pool house and changed in there as I sat at the edge of the pool with my legs dangling in the water.

          It really was beautiful outside. Listening to what Emily said last night, I had to agree with her. Everything was perfect.

          Suddenly, I felt a hand push me into the water. The cold water hit me fast as I fell into the pool. I swam back up to the surface to see Emily standing over me laughing.

          "Now you're going to get it!" I started to splash her. She shrieked and backed away from me. I climbed out of the pool and chased her. I caught her and pushed her into the pool, but her hand quickly grabbed onto mine, sending me in with her. Underwater, she smiled at me. We swam back up together.

          "This is so much fun," she said.

          "What can I say?" I said. "I'm a fun guy."

          "Oh, yeah, Mr. Nikolas Cassadine, heir to the Cassadine fortune, Prince Nikolas Cassadine---"

          "Look who's talking, the Quartermaine Princess."

          Emily splashed me and I started to swim away. She swam after me, laughing and calling out my name.

Part 3

          You know the saying, "Whenever one door closes, another one opens?" Well, sometimes, it's not true. Sometimes a door opens and when you walk through it, you start to remember the path. Maybe it's because a sense of familiarity washes over you. Maybe it's because you get a flash of memories from the last time you chose this trail. But then, you remember it all and you know. You know because when you look back at the door, you realize that that door never closed.

**

EMILY

          My hair was still wet when I returned home from Wyndermere. I managed to sneak up to my room and change my clothes when my phone rang.

          "Hey, Emily, I just wanted to see if you got home okay," Nikolas said on the other line.

          "Yeah, I did," I said. "Listen, thanks again for letting me stay the night. I really appreciate it."

          "It's no problem," he said. "Just warn me the next time you want to push me into the pool."

          I laughed. "No way."

          He laughed with me.

          "Thank you, Nikolas," I said softly.

          "I already said it was no problem."

          "No." I fiddled with the phone cord. "I mean for everything. Thank you."

          "But, I didn't give you everything," he said, and I knew he was probably smiling.

          I smiled back. "Good bye, Nikolas."

NIKOLAS

          "Can I ask you a question?" I looked at my brother from across the table at Kelly's.

          Lucky glanced up at me. "Sure."

          "When you and Liz were together, I know it was pretty serious," I said, "but how did you know, you know?"

          Lucky shook his head, probably at my poor excuse on asking a relationship question. He shrugged and said, "You don't know really. It just catches you off guard, but then at the same time, there's this feeling."

          "What kind of feeling?"

          "Kind of like it wasn't a big surprise," he said. "Kind of like it was there all along and you just never acted on it."

          I nodded, taking a sip of my coffee.

          Lucky grinned. "What's with all the questions? Are you and Emily---"

          "Just curious," I said quickly cutting in.

          "Come on, Nikolas," he said with a smirk. "It's not everyday you ask me for love advice."

          "Who said I was asking for love advice?" I had to act defensive to get him off my back. It usually worked with people.

          He leaned back against his chair. "Fine."

          Good. He wasn't going to pry anymore.

LUCKY

          Nikolas went back to drinking his coffee and acting like a brooding prince after asking me for love advice. And that was for sure love advice he was asking for, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

          I remembered when it was me and Liz and Nikolas and Emily. When we were young. When we were innocent. Before we grew up. Before we saw the harsh light that the world shined on us. Me. Liz. Nikolas. Emily. Me and Liz. Nikolas and Emily.

          I wondered if it made any difference, how Liz and I were together in the before, and now Nikolas and Emily were together in the after.

EMILY

          I took a hold of my mother's hand as I came back from the chemo session. I felt light-headed and dizzy as I sat down next to her in the hospital room. She touched my hair and smiled, trying to comfort me.

          "I know what you're going to say," I said.

          "What?"

          "It's only going to get better." I lowered my eyes. "What if it doesn't?"

          "Oh, Emily, you will get better," she said.

          She was so strong and brave. Nothing like me. I was dying. I was fading away.

          "You will get better," she said again.

MONICA

          I continued to stroke Emily's hair as she rested her head on my shoulder. She was so strong and brave. Nothing like me. I was scared. I was worried.

NIKOLAS

          A few days passed. A few nights went by too. I became oblivious of what day it was, what time it was. My uncle noticed, but didn't say anything to me. He barely acknowledged my existence anymore; only to scold me or remind me about business.

          I stared out my bedroom window at the moon and stars. I remembered the look on Emily's face as she looked up at the night sky. It was as if she had left this world, as if she had found a way to escape. I wondered if it was possible. Did she really escape, even for a moment, from the reality of her cancer, her isolation?

          Could I find the same escape?

STEFAN

          I looked up to see Nikolas run past my door. "Nikolas!" But he didn't stop. He didn't turn back. I threw down the pen I was holding onto my desk and rubbed my chin. Where was he going?

EMILY

          I walked down the stairs to find Nikolas waiting for me on the bottom. "Hey."

          "Come with me," he said.

          "Where?"

          "Just come with me."

          His eyes were so urgent, pleading with me.

          "Okay, let me grab my coat," I said, going to the closet.

**

          We ended up walking on the docks. We hadn't said a word since we left the mansion. I glanced at Nikolas from the corner of my eye. He was looking at the water as though he was searching for something.

          "Nikolas—"

          "Emily—"

          We spoke at the same time. We smiled.

          "You first," he said.

          "I just wanted to know if everything was okay," I said.

          "I just needed to get out," he said, half-convincingly.

          "Well, we're out," I said. "Now, tell me what's really bothering you?"

          "Nothing's bothering me," he said. "I just wanted to go on a walk."

          I reached over with my hand and slowly touched the end of his coat sleeve, letting my fingers linger on the fabric. "I don't believe you." I didn't say it to accuse him of anything or to spite him. I just said it to let him know that I knew he wasn't telling me everything, and that it was okay.

          He grabbed onto my fingers that were tracing his coat sleeve and interlaced them with his, holding on tightly to my hand.

NIKOLAS

          We continued walking down the docks until we reached the end. The end. There was no where else to go. I looked down at our interwoven hands. This felt…this felt---

          "Zander," she said suddenly. Her eyes were looking behind me.

          I turned to see Zander standing a distance away from us, but I knew he could see us. I knew he was looking at us.

          "We have to do something," Emily said. "Hold me, do something."

          "Emily---"

          "Kiss me," she said.

          "No."

          "Just kiss me," she said.

          I sighed and leaned down. My lips found hers. They were soft and they moved gently against mine. She opened her mouth a little and I took the invitation, deepening the kiss. I reached up to cup her face with my hands and she tilted her head closer to mine. We slowly pulled away from each other. I felt like I was in a trance. Emily looked like she was too. Her cheeks started to blush as she looked over my shoulder.

          "He's gone," she said.

          He? Oh, yeah. Zander.

          "So, it worked?" I said.

          "Yeah," she said. "If I didn't know better, I would have thought that was a real kiss."

          But, it wasn't.

          "But, it wasn't," she said.

ZANDER

          Fuck her. Fuck him. Fuck them all.

EMILY

          I finished writing in my journal and looked up at the stars. It was late, but I felt wide awake. I looked at the tree that Zander used to climb up to my window, knowing that he probably would never climb on those branches again. I opened my journal back up to the latest entry, re-reading it.

          …and so I kissed Nikolas. If Zander saw me kissing him, then I knew he would realize I was serious, that I wanted nothing to do with him, that I wanted Nikolas. It worked. And I wish it hadn't.