~*~Chapter 63~*~

“Hey, Frances,” Lucky greets, walking up to Sonny’s door. The guard opens it and smiles at him.

“Mr. Spencer,” he says with a nod.

“Where’s Johnny? I thought this was usually his shift?”

“It is, but I’m covering for him. He had a date.”

“A date?” Lucky asks, grinning. “Well, that old dog....do you know who she is?”

Frances shakes his head. “No, I haven’t met her, sir.”

Lucky chuckles and pats him on the shoulder as he walks into the penthouse. “Save that sir stuff for Sonny, Frances. Have a good evening.”

“You too, sir....Lucky.” He smiles and shuts the door. Lucky flops down on the couch and picks up the television remote, flipping through the channels mindlessly as Sonny comes out of the kitchen.

“Hey, I didn’t hear you come home. How’s it going?” he asks, joining him in the living room.

“Pretty good. I just spent the day with my new niece. She’s got to be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, well, since Lulu was born, at least.” He grins up at Sonny, looking every bit the proud uncle.

“Well, it’s good to see you happy. We’ve all been worried about you since...”

“Since that incident with Kimber?” he asks before Sonny can finish. “I know, and I’m touched that you all care so much, but I’m okay now. I’ve learned my lesson, and I’m staying far, far away from bars now. No drinking for me anymore. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, I’m just going to try to enjoy what I still have left: my family and friends.” He chuckles softly and shakes his head. “Listen to me, I sound like a commercial for a long-distance company!”

Sonny laughs and heads back toward the kitchen. “I’m glad you’re finally moving on. It’s not healthy to keep things bottled up like that, trust me, I know. Anyway, I was about to make some pasta, you eating?”

“Yeah, man, thanks. And thanks for letting me stay here for so long. I have a feeling I’ll be able to move back to the house soon.”

“Don’t worry about it, you’re welcome here as long as you need. It’s nice to have someone else around. Gets really quiet here around sometimes.”

“Quiet? Sonny, my cousin lives right across the hall from you, how can it ever be quiet here!?” he asks with a laugh.

~*~

“You know, if the coffee business doesn’t work out for you, you should think about opening a restaurant,” Lucky jokes, standing up from the table to bring his plate into the kitchen. “That was the best pasta I’ve ever had.”

Sonny laughs and stands up to follow him. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Well, you know, they always say it’s good to have something to fall back on.”

The two men laugh as they make their way into the kitchen to clean up. Just then, the front door opens.

“Thanks again, Frances. I can take over now,” Johnny says, shaking his friend’s hand.

“I trust the date went well?” Frances asks, smirking at him and his companion.

Johnny looks at the woman next to him and smiles. “Yes, it did. Now go home before Mr. Corinthos finds us loitering out here!”

Frances laughs and heads for the elevator, chuckling to himself the entire way. Johnny turns to his date and smiles sheepishly. “Sorry about him. I had a good time tonight.”

“So did I,” she says, blushing. “I hope you don’t mind me coming up here with you, but I had to give..”

“V!” Lucky says from behind her, surprised to see her standing in the doorway. She turns around, blushing harder.

“Um, Lucky, hey. I came up to give you some fan mail that came today from the New York office.” She steps into the penthouse, glancing back one more time at Johnny, who smiles and closes the door behind her. When she turns back to Lucky, she finds him grinning at her. “What?”

“You were Johnny’s date tonight?” he asks bluntly.

V blushes again. “Um, yeah, how did you know?”

“Well, seeing Frances at the door tonight sort of gave it away. It’s Johnny’s shift, so I asked, and he said he was on a date. So, I come out of the kitchen now and find you and Johnny standing in the doorway, and you’re all decked out in that dress, which, by the way, looks very good on you, and it wasn’t too hard to put it all together.”

“Thanks,” she says sheepishly, looking down self-consciously. “It’s been a while since I’ve been on a date, I’m still nervous, even though it’s over.”

“Why Johnny? I mean, he’s a nice guy, I just didn’t know you two had even met before.”

“You don’t remember? That night after I chased Kimber out of your house, you passed out. When you came to a few minutes later, you asked me to bring you back here. Johnny was at the door, and after I helped Sonny get you to bed, we talked out in the hallway for a while, then he asked me out.”

“So, you and Johnny...” Lucky mutters, enjoying the slow torture he’s causing her. “What do you two talk about anyway?”

V glares at him for a moment. “First of all, that sort of thing is none of your business. Anyway, I was a police officer once, remember? He’s a bodyguard, there are a lot of similarities, believe it or not. He’s a great guy.”

“You said something about fan letters?” he asks, figuring it was time to let her off the hook.

V sighs and reaches into her purse. “Yes, there were a couple that went to the new office in New York for some reason. I figured you’d want to see them, since I know you try to answer all your fan mail personally.”

“Well, it’s not like there’s that much of it yet, at least not that much that’s in English. I keep getting all these letters in French and German. It’s frustrating. Are these at least in a language I can read?” he asks, holding up the bundle she had just handed to him.

She laughs and nods. “I think so. Anyway, I’m exhausted, so I think I better head home. Good night, Lucky.”

“Good night,” he says, watching as she heads for the door. “Don’t stay in that hallway too long. Johnny’s on duty now.” He laughs as V shoots him an evil look, then turns to sit down on the couch and glance through his mail. It’s still strange to get fan mail from people he’s never met, especially when some of it is so personal.

As he’s flipping through, one letter catches his attention. It’s not the fact that it has no postmark or return address, or even the fact that there’s no postage that grabs his eye. It’s the handwriting. He would know that handwriting anywhere.

~*~Chapter 64~*~

Elizabeth is sitting out in the garden again, gazing across the blue water, when she hears footsteps approaching. She turns around and smiles when she sees Sergei walk up. “Hey,” she greets, hoping he has good news for her.

“I thought you’d like to know that I sent that letter for you. I had it hand-delivered to the record company, to avoid any postage giving away where it came from. I couldn’t take any chances, I’m sure you can understand that.”

Liz nods, figuring he’d do something like that. “It’s okay. Like I said, I just wanted him to know how much I like his album, that’s all. I assume you read the letter?”

Sergei nods, feeling guilty, even though she told him straight out to read it. “I skimmed through it, just to be sure there wasn’t anything that would give away your identity or location. It seemed perfectly innocent to me, so I didn’t see any harm in sending it out.”

“Thank you, Sergei. It means a lot to me that you did that. I know Helena would probably be angry if she knew, so I’m touched that you would take such a risk for me.”

He smiles warmly. “I’d do anything for you, if I could. I hate that Helena is keeping you here against your will, but there’s nothing I can do about it. She holds too much power over me, I can’t risk going against her.”

“I know, and it’s okay. If I’ve learned anything from the Spencers, it’s how lethal she can be.”

“Well, I’m back for a while. I don’t think she has any more errands for me. How is Mikkos?”

Liz smiles at the mention of her son. “He’s good. He’s getting bigger every day, it seems. If you want to see him, I think he’s still awake.”

“Really? Okay, I think that’s what I’m going to do. I missed him while I was gone,” he says, standing up to leave, then turning around again. “I missed you too.”

Liz smiles at him, but doesn’t answer. He turns back and leaves, hurrying up to the house. Once he’s out of sight, she drops her smile and sighs, looking up at the sky. “Okay, Lucky, I’ve done my part. The rest is up to you. I just hope you read that letter.”

~*~

“Come in!” Helena says, turning around in her chair to face the door. Sergei opens it and steps inside. “Well, welcome home. I trust you got the package for me?”

“Yes, ma’an,” he says, laying a large manila envelope on her desk.

She picks it up, fingering the seal. “And you didn’t open it?”

“Of course not, you gave me strict instructions not to.”

“Good. Thank you Sergei, you may go.” She turns slightly in her chair, signaling the end of their discussion.

“Good day, Helena.” Sergei leaves quietly, shutting the door behind him, then heads up the stairs to the nursery.

Once he’s gone, Helena breaks open the envelope, sliding out the contents. She sifts through the various documents, shaking her head. “Damn, I should have known! The little brat was already pregnant when she got here. Well, neither of them will ever have to know. She’ll just have to have another child, that’s all, and this time there will be no doubt about the father’s identity.”

She chuckles to herself at her new plan, then reaches down to pick up another of the most recent deliveries: a newspaper from Port Charles. She scans through it, looking for anything that would be of interest to her, stopping when she gets to the announcements page.

“Well, looks like Sergei is an uncle again. Elizabeth Paige Spencer, how sweet. I wonder how Lucky feels having his niece named after his beloved wife like that? Maybe he’s finally given up on ever finding her.” She chuckles again, folding up the newspaper. “He should, because as long as the Spencers think I’m dead, they’ll never think to look here. Elisha Cassidine is mine now, as well as her children. They will never leave this island, not as long as I’m still breathing.”

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