What Happened to Forever?

Chapters 19-20

~*~Chapter 19~*~

Liz is walking along the docks, trying to sort out her thoughts. The way Luke had spoken about Lucky has really been bugging her. It wasn't the way a person talks about someone who is dead. He spoke about Lucky as though he were still around somewhere.

"I wonder if he knows something the rest of us don't?" She wonders to herself., but then dismisses the thought. If Luke knew anything more about Lucky, he would tell her. Wouldn't he?

Before she could answer her own question, she bumps into someone and nearly falls. She had been so deep in thought, she hadn't been watching where she was going, and almost ran someone over. Luckily, he caught her before she could hit the ground. She looks up to apologize and smiles.

"Nikolas! I'm so sorry. I guess my mind is elsewhere today. Are you okay?"

He smiles back. "I think I should be the one asking that. You almost landed on your butt there."

She laughs. "I'm okay. Thanks for catching me. You've got some quick reflexes there!"

"Yeah, well, when you're a Cassidine, that's sort of a survival technique. Especially living so close to the Spencers! Oh, sorry. That was insensitive of me. You know I was kidding right?"

"Of course I did. It was funny. Who know you'd get a sense of humor?" She pokes him teasingly, remembering how serious and proper he was when she first moved to Port Charles, and how much she had disliked him. She's so glad that they had been able to overcome her stupid antics when he was going out with Sarah, and become such good friends. He really was a wonderful person. Even Lucky had realized that before he died.

"Hey! I think I'm insulted by that remark......nah, I guess you're right. I was pretty boring when we first got here. I had been taught for my entire life how to act like a Prince. I guess you guys managed to knock me off that horse." He grins, remembering how rude she used to be, and how she always managed to put him in his place.

They sit down on a bench together. "So," Liz says, "how is everything going?"

Nikolas smiles, remembering the previous day's events. "Oh, pretty good. I spent the day with Emily yesterday. It was amazing." He gets this dreamy far-off look on his face that makes Liz laugh. She remembers that feeling all too well.

"Fine, laugh at me. I don't care." He pretends to pout.

"Oh, get over yourself, Nikolas. I'm just messing with you. Come on, give me all the gory details" she prods.

He looks are her uncertainly. "Are you sure you want to know? I don't want to upset you or anything. I know you're still sensitive about this kind of thing."

"No, I want to hear. You and Emily are my closest friends. I'm happy for you, and I want to live vicariously through you."

He then tells her about the picnic, the horseback riding, the near-kisses, then finally the real one. He's blushing by the end of the story. Liz squeals and gives him a big hug. "I'm so happy for you guys! I bet it was a magical kiss. Did sparks fly? Did you get chills? Is it all you can think about now?" She's giggling with joy over the news. She knows how long Emily has waited for him to come to his senses and realize how perfect they were for each other.

Nikolas hugs her back and laughs at her enthusiasm. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were more excited by this than Emily and I are! You're right, though. It was definitely magical. She's all I can think about now. That's why I ran into you. I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going either."

"Yeah, well get used to it. You're going to be like this for a while yet. Believe me." They both laugh. In fact, Nikolas is laughing at pretty much everything today, he's so giddy.

Nikolas stands up. "I hate to leave so soon, but I promised Em that I'd stop by today."

Liz stands up as well and gives him another hug. "Then you get out of here! Tell her I said hi, and congratulations. Oh, and give her that kiss for me!" He laughs and salutes her, "Aye, aye." They laugh again and he leaves.

Liz watches him go, grinning like a fool over her friend's happiness. She sighs, remembering how happy she used to be. "Will I ever feel that way again?" she wonders.

~*~Chapter 20~*~

"Luke, I really think you should sit down before I tell you this." Bobbie warns, really worried about what his reaction will be.

He sits, wondering what in the world this news could be that would get her so shaken up. "Alright, Barbara, lay it on me."

She takes a deep breath, trying to figure out the best way to drop the bomb. "These charts are wrong. Stefan isn't Nikolas's father........you are." She flinches, expecting him to explode. Surprisingly, he doesn't. He just sits there, staring at her.

"What?" he says, barely whispering. "Did you just say...."

"That Nikolas is your son."

He shakes his head, still not believing it. "How? I don't understand..."

"Well, it looks like someone, maybe the doctor, or Helena, switched Stefan's medical chart with a copy of yours. They are identical, up until the point of his birth. When I looked at Lucky's and saw that there were similarities that could only come from having the same father, I got confused. That's why I asked for your records. It's unmistakable. Nikolas is yours and Laura's son. No doubt. I'd still suggest doing some tests to make sure, because who knows how much of this is forged."

Luke gets up and slowly paces the room. "Who would switch the files like that? Not Helena. No, she doesn't know about this, or else Nikolas would be long dead by now. Wait, Alexis said something about a Doctor being killed..."

Bobbie looks at the charts. "Dr. Lastiris? That's the name on the charts."

"Yes! That's it. She said Helena had him killed in an effort to keep them from finding the file. But she must have thought she was protecting herself from being exposed for knowing that Nik was Stefan's all along, not this."

She's still nodding. So far, it all made sense. "So, the Doctor, who had probably worked for the Cassidines for a long time, and knew what Helena was capable of, did the paternity tests and saw that he was yours. He would have known about the feud between the families, and realized that the baby would be killed if it came out that he was a full-flooded Spencer, so he doctored the records to show that he was Stefan's. That way, she would be so distracted by that news, that she wouldn't press it any farther. I guess it worked. Until now. That is, if these are correct records."

Luke stops pacing for a minute, then goes back to the safe. He digs way into the back of it and pulls out another folder and hands it to Bobbie. She reads the tab and chuckles. "Demon Spawn?" she asks.

"Oh, just look at it. That's from when he was tested as a marrow donor for LuLu. I kept it just in case. Call me a packrat." He resumes his pacing, unable to wrap his mind around the whole thing. How can Nikolas be his son? Laura must have become pregnant right before disappearing, so the timing would have worked out that it would be conceivable that he was a Cassidine instead. 'This is all too much' he thinks.

Bobbie is comparing the file Luke saved with the one Alexis gave him, then with Luke's own records. She puts them down and stands up to face her brother. She puts her hand on his shoulder to stop him from pacing and looks him in the eyes. "Luke, he is your son." There's a moment of silence and then they both double over in laughter over the way she had just said that. (Just like the line from Star Wars, "Luke, I am your father.") When they regain their composure, she gives him a hug, knowing the turmoil he must be in. Just a year ago he lost who he believed was his firstborn, and now he finds out that the boy he has hated for so long is actually his own.