~*~Chatper 5~*~

“This next song, like most of the ones I’ll be playing tonight, was written a few years ago. As most of you probably have heard, I was kidnapped and held against my will for a year, while everyone I loved thought I was dead.” He sighs as another tear runs down his cheek. “Anyway, I was given a guitar, and spent most of my time there writing songs. I’ve taken some of them and cleaned them up a bit since then, and this is one of them.” He smiles at Elizabeth for a moment, then begins.

Woke up to the sound of pouring rain
The wind would whisper and I'd think of you
And all the tears you cried, that called my name
And when you needed me I came through

I paint a picture of the days gone by
When love went blind and you would make me see
I'd stare a lifetime into your eyes
So that I knew you were there for me
Time after time you were there for me

Remember yesterday - walking hand in hand
Love letters in the sand - I remember you
Through the sleepless nights and every endless day
I'd wanna hear you say - I remember you

We spent the summer with the top rolled down
Wished ever after would be like this
You said I love you babe, without a sound
I said I'd give my life for just one kiss
I'd live for your smile and die for your kiss

Remember yesterday - walking hand in hand
Love letters in the sand - I remember you
Through the sleepless nights and every endless day
I'd wanna hear you say - I remember you

We've had our share of hard times
But that's the price we paid
And through it all we kept the promise that we made
I swear you'll never be lonely

Woke up to the sound of pouring rain
Washed away a dream of you
But nothing else could ever take you away
'Cause you'll always be my dream come true
Oh my darling, I love you

Remember yesterday - walking hand in hand
Love letters in the sand - I remember you
Through the sleepless nights and every endless day
I'd wanna hear you say - I remember you

Remember yesterday - walking hand in hand
Love letters in the sand - I remember you
Through the sleepless nights and every endless day
I'd wanna hear you say - I remember you

By the time he’s done, Elizabeth is in tears. The song was so beautiful, and at the same time, so sad, especially when she thought of when he wrote it. Everyone applauds, and he takes a moment to collect himself before continuing. The next song he does is “My All” (lyrics are in Chapter 13 of What Happened to Forever?). Once again, there isn’t a dry eye in the house. Lucky is so torn up after singing it, he needs to take a break, so they bring up the house lights for a few minutes while he goes in the back.

“Should I go see if he’s okay?” Liz asks hesitantly, not sure what to do. Lucky rarely talks about the time he spent in that room, and the few times he did, he was always very vague and detached, as though he was talking about something that happened to someone else.

“He’ll be fine. Just give him a minute to take a breath. I’m sure singing this stuff is bringing back bad memories for him, that’s all.” Luke smiles, hoping to reassure her. He’s worried as well, but Lucky’s tough, and he wouldn’t be up there if he didn’t know he could handle it. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Lucky comes back onstage to a smattering of applause.

“Sorry about that. This next song means a lot to me, and was also written while I was, well, dead.” The audience chuckles uneasily, not sure if he meant that as a joke. He smiles to let them know it’s okay, then launches into the song.

You can find me in a room somewhere
Deep inside you,
Dreams apart
And though I may hide from daylight’s fair
The night time leads me to your heart

And though a dream may seem so far away
I’m flying to you
Fly to you

You can find me when you close your eyes
As night time falls around your bed
And though miles come between you and
I The visions flow into your head

And though a dream may seem so far away
I’m flying to you
Fly to you

Oh, Lord I’m flying to you
Oh, I’m flying
Oh, Lord I’m flying, I’m flying, I’m flying
Back to you
Back to you
Back to you

And though a dream may seem so far away
I’m flying, Lord I’m flying, oh I’m flying to you
Fly to you
Oh, to you

Once again, Liz is in tears when he finishes. He plays a few more “generic” songs, then calls it a night and thanks everyone for coming. They all applaud wildly as he leaves the stage. Liz stands up and embraces him as soon as he reaches their table.

“Baby, that was so beautiful. I can’t believe you wrote all of that back then!”

“Well, I didn’t really have anything else to do,” he says bitterly, hugging her tightly. “Did you like them?”

She loosens her grip and leans back to look him in the eyes. “Lucky, you’re kidding right? Of course I liked them. I loved them all!”

He smiles, planting a light kiss on her lips. “Well, now you know why I wouldn’t let anyone come to the rehearsals.” He lets go of her and looks at the rest of his family, who are all smiling at him.

“Cowboy, I am so proud of you. You have some major talent there, you know that? And....thanks,” Luke says, barely getting the last part out, he is so choked up. Lucky nods, not trusting himself to speak, and hugs his father. He had been so nervous about playing “Hero”, but he knew he had to do it. He needed his father to hear it, needed him to know how he felt.

The two men pull apart, wiping their eyes. Luke sniffs and smiles. “Hey now, this is supposed to be a celebration, so let’s start celebrating!” Everyone cheers and sits back down at the table to eat.

[Song Credits: “I Remember You” by Skid Row ã 1989 Atlantic Recording Corp. “Flying” by Scott Roa & Sam Jaffe ã 1994 HopHopHop Music, Inc.]

~*~Chapter 6~*~

Sometime after midnight, the Spencer family finally staggers out of the club and heads to their respective homes after congratulating Lucky for what seems like the millionth time.

“I am so exhausted!” Liz says as they walk into their house. She flops down on the living room sofa and groans. “Man, I am going to have such a hangover in the morning!”

Lucky laughs and sits next her, letting her head rest on his shoulder. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drink like that before! You’re kind of cute when you’re drunk, you know that?”

She turns to glare at him, but ends up giggling. “I am not drunk, I’m just a little bit...tipsy. I didn’t drink that much, anyway! It was a special occasion, we were celeb.. celba...celberating, no that’s not it. Oh, you know what I mean!”

Lucky laughs again and pulls her off the couch. “Come on, I’m taking you to bed, ya lush!”

“Hey! That’s not a nice thing to say! You drank too, so how come you’re not drunk, huh?” she slurs as he carries her off to their bedroom.

“Honey, my tolerance is much higher than yours. I think I get it from my dad.”

She giggles. “Yeah, he does drink a lot sometimes. When you were dead, he drank all the time, you know. He was.. always.. always in the club with a bottle. I worried about him, but he never wanted my help. Said it was how he grie...grieved, so I left him alone. You know what I would do?” she asks as Lucky lays her down on the bed. He keeps quiet, knowing that she’s going to keep talking no matter what he says. “I used to go to the cemetery and sit on the ground in front of the grave. I would sit there for hours and talk to you, and sometimes I would go to our church and sit in the front, rember... remem... thinking about Valentine’s Day.” She giggles and sits up to whisper in his ear. “One time, I kissed Nikolas cause I thought he was you! I felt sooo bad when I realized what I did.”

Lucky chuckles and pulls the covers over her. “I know, baby, you told me that before. Why don’t you get some sleep, okay?” He starts to walk away from the bed.

“Lucky?” she asks suddenly, her voice sounding desperate.

“What, baby?”

“Don’t go. Please?” she asks as she slowly drifts off to sleep. He smiles and turns off the light, then goes back to the bed and climbs in next to her.

“I’m not going anywhere, Elizabeth. I’m never going to leave you again, that I swear to you,” he says, hugging her close. She sighs and shifts slightly, sound asleep.

~*~

The next morning, Liz wakes up and groans. She grabs her head and rolls over to see if Lucky’s still there. The bed is empty, and she panics for a moment, trying to remember what happened the night before.

“Morning Sunshine!” he greets, coming into the bedroom with a tray of food.

“Oh, thank goodness!” she whispers, not wanting to risk talking any louder, afraid that her head might explode if she did. “You weren’t here when I woke up, and I got scared for a second. What happened last night, anyway?” she asks, trying to sit up, but then grabbing her head and falling back on the pillow in pain.

Lucky laughs and sets the tray down next to the bed. “You, my darling, had a bit too much to drink last night.”

She smiles. “I didn’t take advantage of you, did I?’

He chuckles and shakes his head. “No, you were too far gone for that!”

“Darn!” she says, smiling slyly at him. “Maybe next time, right?”

“Maybe. Until then, eat something, or else you’ll regret it later!” He picks up the tray and puts it across her lap, then goes back tot he kitchen for some juice. She carefully props herself up against the headboard, still holding her forehead, and tries to eat some of the food. She suddenly feels sick and hurries to the bathroom. Lucky comes back in with two glasses of orange juice and notices the empty bed.

“Elizabeth? Are you okay?” he asks, heading for the bathroom. A few minutes later she comes out and nods.

“Yeah, I guess I tried that food thing a little too soon. I’ve never had a hangover before. How can people even think of drinking again after something like this?”

He shakes his head in amusement and helps her back into bed, moving the food out of the way first. They sit in bed together for the rest of the morning, talking. Finally, she looks at the clock and groans.

“Oh, I almost forgot. I have to go pick up some fabric for Chloe today!” she says, getting out of bed.

“Hey, I’ll do it for you. You’re still sick, you shouldn’t be going anywhere.”

She shakes her head. “No, I have to do this. It won’t take long, and I’ll be back before you know it.”

He pretends to pout. “You promise?”

“Of course I promise!” she says, going to the closet for some clothes. She still feels a bit woozy, but it’s slowly dissipating. She gets dressed and brushes her teeth, then quickly runs a brush through her hair. She plants a quick kiss on Lucky’s lips and smiles. “I’ll be right back!”

“Bye hon. Hurry home!” he says as she rushes out of the room. He picks up the tray of uneaten food and brings it back into the kitchen, then goes into the living room and switches on the television, looking for something to watch.

~*~

Elizabeth comes out of the fabric store and gets into her car. Just as she’s putting the key in the ignition, a hand suddenly clamps a cloth over her mouth. She tries to scream, but the cloth is covered in chloroform, and she quickly passes out.

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