~*~Chapter 27~*~

V carefully approaches Lucky, who is still sobbing on the ground. “Lucky...”

He jumps and whirls around, looking at her wildly. “Elizabeth!”

She shakes her head. “No, Lucky, it’s V.”

He continues to stare at her, his eyes glazed over, his lip trembling. His eyes aren’t completely focused, as though he’s looking right through her. “Eliz...” he whispers, his hand flying to his mouth as another sob escapes.

V rushes to his side, not knowing what else to do. She crouches on the ground and gathers him in her arms, rocking him like a baby. “Shhh, Lucky, it’s okay. It’ll be okay.”

“No, no, no, no...” he mumbles over and over again. “Not okay, never okay. Not without you....”

She sighs and looks up at the sky in complete bewilderment. He still thinks she’s Elizabeth, and she has no idea what to do. Should she play along, or would that just make things worse? The more she tries telling him who she really is, the more agitated he seems to get. Lucky clutches her tightly, as though he’s holding on for dear life, and mumbles incoherently in between sobs. She sinks farther to the ground, letting him fall into her lap. “Man, this was not in my job description!” she mutters under her breath.

“Elizabeth, where are you?” he croaks, his eyes searching V’s face. She has a feeling that even if she answers, he won’t hear her, so she remains silent, hoping this episode will just play itself out, and wipes a tear off her cheek. ‘Great, now I’m crying too,’ she thinks.

“Where? I...I can’t hear you. You’re so far away...” he says in that same cracked voice. V’s starting to worry that he’s gone completely delusional on her. She remembered having to deal with drunks and crazy homeless people when she was a cop, but none of them were this bad. Maybe it was because she knew Lucky personally, maybe not, but either way, it was tearing her apart to see him this way.

“Nikolas? What about Nikolas?” He pauses for a minute. “A baby. Nikolas is having a baby, I know. It should have been us, Elizabeth. It should have been our baby...”

V gently smoothes the hair back from his face, trying to figure out what was going on. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say he was actually talking to someone, but she knew that wasn’t possible. She was the only one out here with him.

“An uncle...I’m going to be an uncle....” he says with a bitter chuckle. She searches his eyes, worried that he’s taking a turn for the worse. His voice had changed suddenly, from the cracking sobs to this clear, but bitter whisper.

“I love you so much. Come back to me, Elizabeth. Come back.....” his voice trails off quietly, as his body becomes limp. V groans as she realizes he has just fallen asleep.

“Oh, great. Now what am I supposed to do?” she mutters, trying to rub her leg, which has fallen asleep under Lucky’s weight.

~*~

Nikolas walks into the kitchen and smiles when he sees Emily hunched over the table. “Hey, honey. How’s your day been so far?”

She looks up at him and grimaces. “If I had known that morning sickness was going to be like this, I wouldn’t have gotten pregnant!”

He chuckles and sits down next to her. “Emily, you didn’t try to get pregnant, it just happened. Anyway, from what I’ve read, it doesn’t stay for the whole nine months, just at the beginning. Have you eaten anything yet?”

She glares at him as her hand flies up to her mouth, then jumps out of the chair and runs out of the kitchen. He smacks himself on the forehead. “Good one, genius. Mention food to someone who just complained about being sick! Guess that’s a lesson those Cassidine tutors missed.”

A few minutes later, Emily comes slowly back into the kitchen, her face pale. Nikolas jumps up and hugs her. “I’m so sorry, I should have known better. Are you feeling any better?”

She nods slightly and falls into a chair. “I can tell this pregnancy thing is just going to be a constant party. First this, then I get to blow up like a blimp, and after waddling around for months, I get to go through hours of painful labor, only to end up trying to push something the size of a watermelon out of an opening the size of a lemon!”

Nikolas makes a face and she laughs. “I’m sorry, honey, I didn’t mean to gross you out!”

He shakes his head. “It’s okay, but I’m sure you’re exaggerating a little there, don’t you? Just remember that this is our baby, our very own little person. It’ll be all worth it, right?”

She nods and rubs her stomach, even though it’s too early for her to begin to show. “Easy for you to say, the only pain you’re going to feel is when I squeeze the life out of your hand while I’m pushing!”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’d gladly trade places with you if I could.”

She laughs again and shakes her head. “No you won’t, trust me! One contraction, and you’d be screaming for the epidural!”

He looks at her strangely. “The what?”

“Drugs,” she says with a chuckle. “Oh, I can’t wait to see you in those le mas classes with me!”

He stands up and walks over to the refrigerator. “Well, if you’re done making fun of me, I came home to get some lunch, so if you’re still feeling sick, you might want to go into the living room.”

Emily stands up and hurries out of the kitchen before he can take out any food. She plops down on the couch and picks up the phone, hitting one of the speed dial buttons.

“Hello?’

“Hey, Laura, it’s Emily.”

“Emily! How are you doing?” Laura said happily.

“Aside from the morning sickness, I’m okay. I don’t know if I can say the same for my husband, though,” she adds with a laugh.

“Why? What are you doing to my poor son?”

“Oh, just teasing him a little, nothing serious.” She sighs. “Why do I have a feeling this is going to be a long nine months?”

“Eight months, you’re already one month along,” Laura corrects, hoping to cheer her up a bit. “And trust me, once that little baby is born, you won’t regret a second of it!”

“I know. I can’t wait to find out if it’s a girl or boy.”

“Are you guys waiting until the birth, or are you going to look on the sonograms?” Laura asks.

“We’ll probably want to know as soon as we can. I’m not patient enough to wait!”

“Well, whatever it is, I know it will be a beautiful child. I just can’t get over that I’m going to be a grandmother already!”

Emily laughs. “At least my mom’s already been through this with Michael, so it wasn’t too much of a shock to her. I can tell this kid’s going to be totally spoiled, though.”

Laura chuckles. “Tell me about it. Oh, Lucky stopped by earlier. He’s still so depressed, but at least he’s going back to work. He said he was on his way to the recording studio, so he didn’t stay long. Has he ever talked to either of you about the baby?”

“No, not a word, why?” Emily asks, concerned.

“It’s just that he hasn’t said anything to us, either. I’m afraid he’s in some kind of denial about it. I’m sure he always thought he and Liz would be the first to get pregnant, and now not only is it you two, but with Liz gone, it’s just a reminder of something else he may never get to have with her.”

“Oh, I never thought of it that way. Has he agreed to see Kevin or Gail yet?”

“No, not yet. Oh, you know him, he’s a Spencer. When has a Spencer ever seen a shrink?”

Emily chuckles at how true that is. “Well, you did, but I guess you’re only a Spencer by marriage, so maybe that rule doesn’t apply.”

“Right, and I didn’t do it of my own free will at first anyway. I had a breakdown, I wasn’t really in control of all my faculties at the time. I just hope that’s not what it takes to get Lucky to accept some help,” she says sadly.

“Me neither.”

~*~Chapter 28~*~

“Where is she?” Helena asks as Sergei walks into the den. He sits down and pulls out a book.

“I think she went to sleep early. She seemed kind of tired today.”

“Oh, well, pregnancy can do that. Has she had any morning sickness yet?”

He nods. “I think so. How far along is she?”

“A month at the most, probably less. Let her sleep tonight. Maybe then she won’t look like the walking dead tomorrow.” She smiles at the irony of her statement, then goes back to the newspaper she had been reading.

Sergei clears his throat nervously. “If you don’t mind me asking, how is this whole thing revenge? I mean, yeah, she’s repeating what Laura went through, but with one exception. Instead of marrying and having the child, or supposed child, of a Cassidine, Elisha is doing the whole thing with another Spencer. Where’s the revenge in that?”

Helena sighs and removes her reading glasses. “Sergei, dear, I don’t expect you to understand my motives, I only ask that you do as I ask. Anyway, it’s the irony of the entire situation that amuses me. You are one of the children that Laura bore while she was imprisoned here, and now you are the one to father Elisha’s child. Even if you are, by blood, a Spencer, in every other way, you’re a Cassidine, and that’s enough for me. Just continue to do as I say, and everything will be just fine.” She puts the glasses back on and looks back at her paper, signaling the end of that conversation.

Sergei sighs and opens his book, knowing he won’t be getting anything else out of Helena tonight. A few minutes later, her phone jingles, and she answers it angrily.

“Yes? ... Do you know what time it is here? ... Fine, what news do you have?” Her face breaks out in a smile and she nods. “Really? ... There’s more? .... You don’t say... Yes, thank you for the update, but please, next time don’t call so late! Good-bye.”

She switches off the phone and grins at Sergei. “That was my contact in Port Charles. He said that Lucky has been drinking himself to sleep every night, much like Luke does when he is grieving. Like father, like son I suppose. Anyway, the big news is that you are going to be an uncle almost at the same time that you’re becoming a father! I guess it really is true that twins do everything together!”

Sergei wrinkles his brow in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Your brother, Nikolas, and his wife after going to have a baby as well. Oh, this must be hard on Lucky, to have such a reminder of things that he can never have with his lovely wife any longer,” she says, clucking her tongue in mock shame. “It’s just so tragic, isn’t it?”

Sergei shakes his head and goes back to his book, wondering just how evil Helena could get.

~*~

Elizabeth wakes up in a cold sweat and looks frantically around the room. “Lucky?” she says softly, clutching at her chest. She had been dreaming about him, but couldn’t remember what it was about. Now, she has this pain in her chest, and she knows it has something to do with him.

“Lucky, I’m here.... can you hear me?” She strains her ears, trying to hear his voice. After a minute, she hears something and smiles. “Oh, Lucky! Are you alive? Am I really hearing you?”

“I’m at that island your mom was kept in....Lucky? Can you hear me? I’m in Greece... Lucky?” She sighs, knowing somehow that her message wasn’t getting through. She jumps out of bed and goes to the window, looking out at the stars.

“Lucky, I’m pregnant. I had to marry Nikolas’s twin brother, Sergei, it’s all part of some plan of Helena’s, and now I’m going to have his baby. Oh, Lucky, I don’t know what to do!” She sighs and rubs her face, feeling the wetness from her tears. “You’re going to be an uncle, Lucky. An uncle...” She sobs and sits on the floor, cradling her head in her hands and rocking back and forth.

“I love you Lucky, I love you so much. I wish you could find me, please come find me, Lucky...” Then, as suddenly as the feeling came, it’s gone. Whatever connection she had just made with him is gone, and she feels empty once again. She stands up slowly and stumbles back to her bed, wondering if she had just imagined the whole thing, or if somehow, she had contacted him. A tear runs down her cheek as she remembers the intense grief she had felt during the entire “conversation.” If Lucky was alive somewhere, she knew that he was in terrible pain.

Liz lays her head back on the pillow and sighs, her hand resting lightly on her stomach. “I’m sorry, Lucky,” she whispers into the air. “I have to let you go. It can’t be good for my baby to always be so sad. I just wish I knew how. No one ever taught me how to let go of my life, because that’s what you are. My whole life, my only reason for living. At least, you were. Now, I guess this baby will have to take over that role.”

She sniffs and rolls onto her side. “It’s getting easier every day. I think there are even times where I go whole minutes without thinking about you. I know, that’s mot much, but it’s a start. I know I can never forget you, that would be impossible. All I can do is try to think about you less. I’ll always have my dreams, though, that won’t change. I spend the entire day just waiting until I can go to sleep, because then I can be with you again. Is that wrong? I hope not, because if I had to stop dreaming about you too, I think I would go insane. If it weren’t for my dreams every night, I don’t think I could survive here. You’re the only thing that’s keeping me alive.”

She groans and rolls over again, facing the window. “Then tell me how I’m supposed to let you go? If I somehow manage to do it, then what’s left to keep me sane here? Certainly not Sergei, and probably not even this baby.”

A knock on the door interrupts her ramblings, causing her to jump. The door slowly opens and Sergei sticks his head tentatively inside. “Elisha, were you just talking?”

Liz sits up and rubs her eyes, then whispers like she just woke up, “Hm? What time is it?”

“Oh, I must have woke you. I apologize. I heard your voice and thought you were talking to someone,” he says, backing toward the door to leave.

She shakes her head sleepily. “I guess I was talking in my sleep. I’m sorry. Good night.” She falls back against the pillow, hoping he will leave. He quickly exits the room, shutting the door behind him quietly.

“How gullible can a person get?” she mutters to herself, rolling onto her side again as she feels sleep fast approaching. “Dreams of gold, Lucky,” she sighs softly, smiling as she falls back into a dream.

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