Emily Quartermaine sat back against the frame of the couch and crossed her long, slender legs. Candles filled the darkened room, casting a warm glow on her face. She took a sip of the red wine and closed her eyes as she listened to the music of a group from her teenage years.

The funeral was over. It had been restricted to only close family and friends, but that rule didn't follow through and many who had interacted with him had come to the funeral anyway.

She had stood apart from the rest of the crowd, listening to the priest as he recited the prayers, watching those who had come. She hadn't cried, however. She wanted to grieve, she wanted to mourn, but the tears just wouldn't come. Instead, she watched as her godson Michael, now seventeen years old, tried to keep his walls from crumbling down as he consoled his mother.

AJ had been present too, saying his final goodbyes to his only brother. Strange, Emily had thought as she watched AJ, how something like this could finally bring a family together.

Turning away, she had caught sight of Sonny Corinthos standing further away from the service than she, dressed in black, head bent down in silent prayer. As if he had felt her eyes upon him, he lifted his head and turned in her direction, meeting her eyes. She didn't smile or wave, however. Instead, she held his gaze for a moment, and then turned around and headed for her limo.

Long after the funeral had ended, she finally returned to the cemetery. Holding an arrangement of flowers in her hand, she had walked to his grave. Believing that no one would be there, she was surprised to see Sonny Corinthos. Without saying a word to him, she set the flowers down on the gravestone. Her eyes trailed over the marker. How final it had seemed, seeing his name engraved in stone, flowers surrounding the earth around it. Jason Morgan, beloved father, beloved husband, beloved brother-1972-2014.

"He was a good guy."

Emily had looked up. "Excuse me?"

"Jason, he was a good person. He wasn't meant for this business."

Emily had narrowed her eyes in anger. "So why didn't you stop him from joining in the first place."

Not wanting to hear Sonny's answer, she had walked off to her limo and rode away.

Now, in the solitude of the Quartermaine mansion, Emily sipped her wine and gazed around her. It was hers now, the estate. It had been hers for a long time, ever since her parents had died a few years ago. It had been willed to her. The business, the house, the money, it was all hers. And yet she hadn't wanted it. To many memories were locked up in this house. Memories that she had chosen not to bring up again. She hadn't come back in so long for fear that they would become unraveled once again. So, she had remained in Italy, not even returning home for her parents' funerals. After receiving word of her brother's death, however, she knew that it was time to return to Port Charles.

Emily closed her eyes and took another sip of wine, trying to relax as the soft music played on. The quiet was shattered, however, as the door to the mansion opened and someone called out.

"Emily?"

She stood and set her glass on the coffee table. Slipping on her heels again, she hurried out into the foyer, to greet the unmistakable voice of her long-time friend.

"Lucky!"

The man set down his bag, smiled, and opened his arms to embrace her. "It's been too long, Em." He said quietly as he held her tightly. Emily smiled as she pulled away to look at him. Even though it had been close to twelve years since she had last seen him, it was impossible to mistake him. The lock of dirty blonde hair still fell over his deep blue eyes, his grin continued to make him irresistible.

"I'm so glad you came." She told him, hugging him again.

"Me too, Em. I'm really sorry about Jason."

Emily turned away, not answering him. Lucky cleared his throat. "What have you been doing with yourself way over there in Europe? Still dancing?"

Emily nodded. "And singing, yes."

"What was it again? Ballet?"

She nodded and Lucky smiled. "I always knew you'd make it big, Em."

"Emily!"

They both turned around to see someone standing in the open doorway.

"Liz!" She smiled, hugging her friend. "Oh, I've missed you."

"How are you holding up Em? I'm so sorry about your brother. I wish that I could have made it to the funeral, but my flight was delayed."

As Lucky helped Elizabeth with her bags, Emily began to follow them inside. She stopped however, as she saw someone coming up the front walk.

Her lips parted and she spoke softly, "Nikolas."

The man smiled as he came to a stop in front of her. "Hello, Emily."

Within moments, the two were embracing one another, holding on tightly.

"It's been so long." She whispered.

"Too long." He replied, just as softly. He stepped back and let his hand trail along a lock of brown hair. "You grew it out." he commented.

Emily laughed and reached up. "I certainly did."

"You look wonderful, Em." he held out an arm and escorted her into the house. As Emily closed the door behind them, she wondered why she had waited for so long to return. The memories were buried, the past was long gone. She had the future ahead of her, and a new chapter of her life to start.

"Oh wow, this place hasn't changed at all."

Emily smiled as Elizabeth glanced around the parlor. "That's exactly what I thought when I first came in."

They seated themselves around the coffee table. Emily poured three more glasses of wine for her friends and then settled onto the couch beside Lucky.

"So, Elizabeth, was that your artwork I saw at the museum the other day?" Nikolas asked.

Elizabeth smiled. "It could be. I've been in love with painting, ever since I painted the boxcar and the apartment walls for Lucky." She turned to Lucky and with a teasing smile said, "I do hope that you moved out of that apartment of yours."

Lucky laughed. "I'm living in the penthouse now, actually. And you?"

Elizabeth smiled. "Still living in Colorado with Brandon." She held out her hand and wiggled her finger. "He proposed last week."

"Lizzie, that's fabulous!" Emily exclaimed. She leaned across Lucky to admire the engagement ring. "It's so beautiful."

"Congratulations, Liz." Nikolas and Lucky said in unison.

Elizabeth beamed. "Well what about you two?" She wanted to know. "It's been so long, what have you been doing with yourselves?"

"Well, I've been working at L&B records along with Lois and Ned." Lucky replied.

Nikolas cleared his throat and took a sip of wine. "I took after my father and work at the hospital."

"You're still living on Spoon Island?"

Nikolas looked over in Emily's direction and held her gaze. "I never left."

Emily's eyes clouded over, as her face grew hot. "What exactly was that supposed to mean?" She demanded, sitting up straight.

"It was just a statement."

"A statement with a hidden meaning, you mean." She replied angrily.

"Perhaps."

The woman stood, trying to calm her temper. "Nikolas Cassadine, it has been twelve years and you are still the most obnoxious, selfish, arrogant man I have ever known. And believe me, Nikolas, I have known quite a few."

Grabbing her wineglass, she stalked out of the room. The others watched her, surprised at the scene that had just taken place. Lucky turned to his brother and glared at him. "She's been through enough hell today, Nikolas, she doesn't need any from you."

He stood and hurried out of the room to check on Emily. Elizabeth glanced at Nikolas, wondering exactly what had triggered the scene just moments before. He looked up and saw her gazing at him. Sighing, he stood. "I guess I should apologize."

They found their way to the kitchen, where they saw Emily absentmindedly twirling the wineglass by the stem. Lucky was leaning against the counter. He looked up as the two adults walked in.

Nikolas cleared his throat. Emily looked up, set the glass down, and pushed back her chair. "Forget it, Nikolas, you don't have to apologize."

"I didn't mean for it to come out like it sounded."

"I know," she told him, going over to the sink. "It's okay."

"Why did you leave?" Nikolas stepped closer to her.

Emily's laugh held no humor as she shook her head and turned around. "Are you kidding? Go upstairs and see. Everything is still the same from when I was sixteen years old. My whole life was falling apart then, everything was a mess. I couldn't stay like that."

"But you never came back."

Emily stared at him and responded softly, "You know why I never came back."

Lucky coughed quietly, causing the two to break their gaze.

"Maybe we should go back inside", Liz suggested.

Emily nodded and told them to go ahead. A few minutes later, she walked into the parlor carrying a large platter. "Reginald came by earlier and helped fix this up." She told them as she set the platter, which was filled with various assortments of cold meats, cheese, crackers, tiny cakes, and fruits, down on the coffee table.

"Wow, Em." Lucky's eyes were wide as he regarded the large amount of food. "You didn't have to go all out."

Emily laughed as she sat down once again. "Are you kidding?" she asked, reaching for a cracker, "this is what the family used to eat before the main course."

Elizabeth smiled as she spread some cheese on a cracker. "This reminds me of the time when we were sixteen. Your parents were away, Em, and the house was deserted. And you invited us all over, without your families' knowledge, by the way, and we had the best slumber party."

Emily grinned. "Do I remember? I'll never forget it! That night was one of the best times I had as a teenager."

"And one of the worst." Lucky said quietly.

The three adults paused, their smiles fading, as they turned to look at him.

Lucky looked up over the rim of his glass. "You couldn't have forgotten."

"No one forgot, Lucky." Nikolas spoke up for everyone. "No one could ever forget."

"Lizzie!" Emily Quartermaine flung open the door and excitedly ushered her friend in.

"Is everyone gone?" Elizabeth Webber asked, looking around the foyer.

Emily nodded. "They left for Italy this morning. No one is here except for Cook and Reginald, and Cook promised that if we stay out of the kitchen, she wouldn't tell."

"What about Reginald?"

"Don't worry about him, he won't say a thing."

"Really?" Elizabeth's smile was doubtful. "And why not?"

Emily grinned slyly as she closed the door. "Trust me."

"Oh, I don't know, Em." Her friend teased, "I don't like that smile."

The two hurried upstairs to drop off Elizabeth's bags. As they were headed back downstairs, they heard the doorbell ring. Emily smiled as she opened the door. "Come on in." She said to her guests.

Nikolas Cassadine and Lucky Spencer entered the house and glanced about. "God, it's been forever since I've been here." Lucky commented. He smiled as he noticed Elizabeth.

"So, what do you have planned for tonight, Em?" Nikolas wanted to know.

Emily shrugged as she guided her friends into the parlor. "Whatever we want, the house is ours."

Lucky chuckled and winked at Liz. "Anything?" He asked slyly.

Elizabeth elbowed him in the ribs. "Don't get smart, Spencer."

Lucky stopped walking and lifted his hands in a questioning gesture. "Who's getting smart?"

A few hours later, the four walked outside through the garden to the lake. Taking off their shoes, they hung their feet in the water as they sat on the dock. Emily rolled up her pant legs and swung her legs back and forth, letting the water drip from her toes back into the water, creating tiny ripples.

"Emily," Elizabeth spoke up. "Truth or dare?"

Emily whirled around to look at her. "Are you kidding?"

"Dead serious, truth or dare?"

She shook her head. "I haven't played that since Arizona."

"Aw, come on, Em." Lucky grinned.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She muttered. "Fine, truth."

"If you could go anywhere other than Port Charles, where would you go?"

Emily leaned back on her hands and thought a moment. "Europe." She decided at last.

"Why Europe?" Nikolas asked.

She shrugged. "It's nice there, less worries, less problems. And it's far away from here."

"You always want to go away, don't you?" Lucky stared at her, an expression of wonder on his face.

"If it means leaving Port Charles, then yeah. I want to be something, be someone other than a Quartermaine. I want to get away from all this manipulation and deceit."

"You mean Michael?"

Emily nodded at Nikolas' question. "When AJ told me that he was Michael's father the other day, I ran straight over to Jason's and I asked him. And he told me that even though AJ was Michael's biological father, Jason was his true father." She stared down at the water before continuing. "And me being the naive person that I am believed him. Now, he's off who knows where with Michael. Sonny told me that I might not see him or Michael again."

"Em, I'm so sorry." Elizabeth put an arm around her friend's shoulder.

Emily sighed and glanced up at the dark sky. "Now you know what it's like to be a Quartermaine."

"Hey," Lucky objected. "It's pretty bad being a Spencer too."

"And a Webber." Liz offered.

The three glanced at Nikolas, who looked up in surprise. "Between my uncle and Helena, I've got it worse than any of you."

The trio nodded in agreement and laughed. They stood, Nikolas helping Emily to her feet, and slipped on their sneakers.

"What do you say we head into town?" Emily suggested. The others agreed and soon they were walking through the park on their way to Lucky's dad's club.

"I swear if one more guy hits on me like that, they'll be gasping for breath."

"You mean you didn't like having handsome men fawn all over you, Liz?"

Elizabeth tried to suppress a smile as the four walked out of the club. "Well, not that it was such a bad thing." She glanced over at Lucky, who had his hands thrust into his pant pockets, his head down low as he stared at the ground as he walked. Turning back around, she saw Emily come up beside her as they past by Kelly's.

"I do believe that Lucky's a little jealous," She whispered, looking at the boy.

Elizabeth stared at her, "what?"

"You mean, you don't see it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Emily smiled as she caught Liz sneaking a glance towards Lucky's direction. "Right." She said before walking ahead.

"Hey Emily?"

Emily turned around to see Lucky staring at the docks.

"Isn't that the guy that Jason and Sonny are after?"

The four stopped walking and turned toward the dimly lit docks, where four men stood talking. Emily took a step forward and peered into the darkness.

"That's Moreno." She answered.

They moved closer and watched the men from a distance.

Although they couldn't make out what they were saying, it was clear that there was an argument. Moreno stood tall and calm, facing a smaller man, with two other men at his side. His expression was unreadable as the smaller man gestured wildly.

The four moved even closer, trying to understand their shouts.

"You told me that you would have him taken out already. I didn't expect any mistakes."

"There wasn't supposed to be any mistakes, Moreno, but that bodyguard of his almost saw me. If he did, he would have killed me."

Moreno's laugh was deep. "He was going to kill you, was he?"

The man nodded slowly, unsure of the large mob boss.

Moreno's smile faded as he reached into his breast pocket. "You should have let him."

Their eyes widened in terror as they watched Moreno pull out a small gun.

"Oh, no." Emily muttered.

A round of gunshots pierced the air, and just as quickly as it began, it ended.

The smaller man fell back onto the ground, blood quickly beginning to stain the wood.

"Clean this up." Moreno gestured to the body.

"Oh, no." Emily continued as she began to back up. "Oh, no, oh, no."

Lucky looked towards Emily, but her eyes were fixed on the docks. "Emily."

"Oh, no, oh, no." Her voice continued to grow louder.

"Emily, shhh, they'll hear you."

Nikolas and Elizabeth turned around, their eyes wide with fright.

"Emily." Lucky began to move toward her, but it was too late...Emily screamed.

"We never told anyone." Emily recalled. "There were no bloodstains on the docks when we went back the next day. There was no missing person, there was no body."

"I had nightmares about it for months." Elizabeth added. "I've never watched anyone die before. Especially not violently like that."

Nikolas watched Emily as her eyes traveled down to the floor of the mansion.

"It affected all of us. How could it not?"

"I thought we'd eventually forget." Emily murmured.

Nikolas reached over and grasped her hand. "Something like that you can't forget, even if you spend your life trying."

"There are memories I'd like to take with me." Elizabeth said quietly. "And memories I'd kill to leave behind."

Lucky turned and watched her, understanding exacly which memories she meant.

He patted her leg reassuringly. "Let's just hope that the good ones have outnumbered the bad."

She climbed the staircase in the dark. It was late in the evening, nearing eleven o'clock, and she could hear the laughter of her friends in the parlor as they turned the pages of the photo albums Elizabeth had found in a bookcase. She had excused herself from the group and stood in the foyer for some time, staring up the marble stairs. It seemed to beckon her, the room, and she knew she couldn't ignore it. Walking down the hall, she hesitated at the door to her room. Walking inside, she felt a chill- the same chill that had swept over her just hours before. Gazing around the room, she reached out to touch the furniture, the pictures, the clothing...all of the memories. She walked about the room sweeping her eyes across every item that was strewn about. As she came to her nightstand, she opened a drawer, looking for something very particular. Papers and photographs crowded the space. She reached her hand in to feel around, her brows narrowing with confusion, her eyes widening with bewilderment. It wasn't there.

She opened the drawers to her vanity, bureau, and checked under the mattress of her bed. Standing in the middle of her old bedroom, she glanced around with worry. Nothing had changed in the twelve years that she had been gone, but the one thing that had stored so many of her memories, so many of her thoughts, was gone.

"I have it."

Emily whirled around to see Nikolas standing in the doorway. By the way he stood with his hands in his pockets, she could tell that he had been standing here for some time.

"What?" She now asked.

"It's with me." He repeated, taking a step inside the room.

"What do you mean?" She asked, puzzled. "When? How...?"

Nikolas turned to stare out the window, which overlooked the patio and gardens. "It's been in my possession for awhile, now. Ever since you left." He glanced at her secretly, but quickly returned his gaze to the window. Her eyes clouded over with anger, but as she opened her mouth to speak, he stopped her. "Let me explain." He insisted, turning around to face her. Emily nodded silently.

"I came over the day that you left. I found Monica up here, trying to go through your things. She sat on your bed, just staring at your photo. And she was crying. She almost didn't hear me come in and it took her a moment to realize that I was there. And she smiled and tried to dry her eyes quickly, but I noticed." Nikolas paused and watched Emily as she stared at the bed. "She told me to sit beside her, so I did. And she began to talk to me as she went through your things, wondering what to save and what to throw away. She asked me if I thought that she had been a good mother to you, and when I answered yes, she said 'then why did she leave? Were we really that horrible to her?' And she broke Emily, she broke down right then and there and I didn't know what to do."

Nikolas stared at Emily hard as she fought to control her tears. "She broke down, Emily." He repeated fiercely. "You tore her heart, why did you leave? Why the hell did you have to leave!"

Emily's wall tore down as her face crumbled and tears poured down her cheeks. "I couldn't stay!" She told him. "I couldn't, I couldn't. You don't understand what it was like to live here, Nikolas, you don't understand what it's like to feel unloved and lonely all of the time. I tried my hardest, believe me, I did. I tried to follow Jason, to be strong, to not show emotion, but it's so tiring and I couldn't do it anymore. I was about to break, Nikolas, and I wanted out of here before I did. I wanted out of this horrible, horrible life."

"What's is so horrible about having people around to love you?" Nikolas demanded.

"Who loved me, Nikolas? Which one of them actually took time to care about how I felt? If they did then they certainly didn't show it. If they weren't screaming at me then they weren't even noticing that I was in the room. So maybe you can tell me, Nikolas, which one of them actually loved me."

"You left before I could tell you." He said quietly, his face showing no emotion.

Emily shook her head slightly as she wiped away her tears. "Tell me what?"

"I was an hour late, Em. One hour earlier and I could have told you everything, but I never got a chance, you had gone."

She stared at him, silent and unmoving. Her brown eyes gazed into his.

"One hour earlier..." she whispered.

"And I could have told you I loved you."