What Happened to Forever?

Chapters 25-26

~*~Chapter 25~*~

Elizabeth is sitting in Kelly's, waiting for Emily to show up. They had decided that it was time for a "girls-only" day, and she was really looking forward to it. It had been so long since she just goofed off with a friend.

The door jingles as Emily comes bouncing in. Elizabeth stands up to greet her and they head out.

"So, where to first?" Elizabeth asks, smiling.

They both look at each other for a second before answering simultaneously, "The Mall!" By the time they reach the Quartermaine's limousine, they are giggling uncontrollably.

Elizabeth still can't get used to riding to the mall in a limo. She feels like royalty when they arrive and find that everyone's looking to see who is going to get out. Reginald comes around and opens the door for them, knowing that they enjoy the attention it causes. He adores Emily, and loves driving her and her friends around. He enjoys the company of her teenage friends much more than any of the rest of the family! (With the exception of Lila, of course)

Once they're inside the mall they head straight for the food court.

"I'm starving!" Emily exclaims as they sit down with their trays.

Elizabeth laughs at that. 'You know, for a model, you sure do eat a lot!" She loves teasing her friend about her eating habits.

"I can't help it if I have a healthy appetite. Anyway, I don't eat much at home anymore. It's like a warzone these days. First AJ fell off the wagon and lost Michael to Jason and Carly, and now Ned is refusing to come back to ELQ. I think Grandfather is going to have a heart attack soon if he doesn't stop yelling at everyone. He's afraid that Jax is going to steal the company out from under him."

"Really? I thought he was busy with Chloe's design company. How does he have time for a corporate takeover too?" Liz asks, happy to be worrying about someone else's problems for once.

Emily shakes her head. "Jax is never too busy for that! Anyway, I hope he does take over. I've always liked him. "

Liz grins, "Yeah, cause he's hot!" They both laugh. It feels good to be able to act their age again. "Really, though, won't your Grandfather kill him if he takes over?"

"No, Grandmother likes Jax too much. She'd never forgive him if he did anything like that. Plus, he's sort of family now that he's involved with Chloe. It's only a matter of time before they get married. I can't wait to see what Grandfather does when that happens!"

Liz shakes her head. "There certainly isn't a dull moment in your house! The most excitement we have at my Grandmother's is when Gatsby disappears!" They laugh again. Liz takes a bite out of her cheeseburger before continuing. "Did you ever find out what caused AJ to start drinking again?"

"Yeah, he found out that Carly had been using him all this time to get back with Jason. She only married him so that she could destroy him and get permanent custody of Michael. He caught her and Jason in the park one day making out, and blew up at her. When he realized that he couldn't divorce her because she had never signed a pre-nup, he lost it. The only thing he could do if he wanted to keep his son was stay with her, knowing that all that time she was really in love with Jason and that she still considered him as Michael's father, not AJ. It was too much for him to deal with, I guess, and he started drinking again. He's at Betty Ford now, but from what I hear, she made sure that her and Jason got permanent custody, so even when he gets out, he still won't be able to raise Michael, especially now that Jason and Carly are married."

"Wow. Who would have thought a year ago that the whole time she was living at your house, she was secretly planning to go back to Jason?" Liz is shocked at how she would go to such extremes to get what she wanted. "You mean everything she did, the custody fight, accusing Jason of kidnapping, marrying AJ, that was all part of her plan?"

Emily nods, "Yep. I was really hard on her back then, too. I still don't agree with the way she did it, because it hurt AJ, but I am glad that Michael's back with Jason. I think I've seen another side of Carly lately, and I can understand why Jason loves her. She really would do anything for her son, you know? She has a strange way of showing it, but deep down, he's all that matters to her. At least Jason realized that early on and went along with her plan. He's probably the most patient man in the world!"

They both sit in silence for a few minutes, eating, before Liz speaks again. "So, how's Nikolas?" she asks suggestively. Emily blushes, remembering their day at the island. They had kissed a couple of times since then, but she still gets all flushed when she thinks of him. Liz notices and smiles.

"He's good. I still can't believe that this is all happening. I had a crush on him for so long, and when he started going out with Katherine, I decided it was a lost cause and gave up. Now, look at us." She sighs, "I think I'm falling in love with him, Liz."

"Don't tell him I said this, but I think he feels the same way. His face lights up whenever he talks about you, you know."

Emily blushes again. They finish their lunch and get up from the table.

"Are you ready from some serious shopping?" Emily asks her friend. Liz laughs and they head off to the stores.

~*~Chapter 26~*~

Luke is waving a piece of paper in front of Laura's face, trying to get her to wake up, when the door to the club opens. "We're closed!" he yells, hoping whoever it is will go away. He hears footsteps quickly approaching him and turns around, suddenly on guard. He relaxes, seeing that it's just Sonny.

"What happened? Is Laura okay?" he asks worriedly, sitting down across from him.

Luke continues fanning his wife. "Yeah, she's just had some news that was hard to handle. She'll be fine."

"So you told her about Lucky. I thought you weren't going to say anything until you knew he was okay?"

"I know, but when I told her about Nikolas, she asked what I was up to, and I couldn't lie to her anymore, so I told her. It's better this way. She'd have killed me if I hadn't told her about Lucky until he was rescued. I should have known better than to try and keep it from her...'

Sonny starts shaking his head. "Whoa, wait a minute. You've lost me, Luke. What about Nikolas? What does he have to do with all of this?"

Luke stops fanning her for a moment and sits back, knowing this is going to take a while. He had forgotten that Sonny didn't know about the latest developments. "Sorry, partner. I forgot that you didn't know. You aren't going to believ this, but I found out yesterday that Nikolas is my son. Stefan isn't his real father. It was all a big scam by his doctor to save him from Helena." He goes on to explain about the medical records Alexis and Jax had stolen, and how Bobbie discovered that his and Stefan's were switched. Sonny just sits there, taking it all in, amazed at how much drama seems to follow his friend around.

"You know, Luke, life with you is never boring! Are you saying that all this time, you've hated that boy because he's a Cassidine, and now you discover that he's yours?" Luke nods. "Did Laura know?" he looks at her, still unconscious on the sofa.

"No, it seems that the Prince's doctor was the only one who knew." Luke chuckles. "I guess I better stop calling him that. He's a Spencer now, and we're hardly royalty!"

Sonny is still reeling from this news. "So, when are you going to tell him?" He stops as a thought hits him. "You are going to tell him, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but not until this stuff with Lucky's done. I can only handle one crisis at a time, and Lucky is more important right now. Nikolas can wait. My first priority now is to wake up my wife. This is the second time she's passed out. The first was when I told her about Nikky, then she fainted again a few hours ago when I told her about Lucky."

Sonny suddenly gets serious again. "That reminds me why I'm here. One of my men followed Helena to Wyndemere earlier today. She went in some hidden back entrance."

Luke thinks about this for a moment. "Normally, a Cassidine going to Spook Island isn't that big a deal, but considering her relationship with Count Vlad, this is definitely strange. Thanks for letting me know. And have them keep an eye out for Faison too. I'm sure they're in on this together. Oh! That reminds me....could you stay out here with her for a moment? I have to get something from my office."

While Luke is gone, Sonny stays and watches Laura. She stirs, but doesn't come to yet. He hopes this means his friends are close to reconciling. They had the kind of love that he had never seen before, and it was a shame to see them apart.

"Here you go, my friend." Luke says, coming back from his office with a photograph in his hand. "Felicia brought this for me to identify. It's Faison, AKA Herr Krieg. His hair's about shoulder-length now, but the rest is the same."

Sonny takes the picture from Luke and studies it. "He looks kind of evil" he comments.

Luke laughs. "Yeah, well, from what I hear he is. Give a copy of this to all of your men. I want my boy found ASAP. I don't even want to think about what Helena could be doing to him."

Just then, Laura starts to wake up. Luke rushes to her side, patting her face and calling her name. Sonny excuses himself and leaves, knowing the two of them have a lot to discuss.

"Luke," Laura says, happy that he's still here. "Did I faint again?" she asks, still groggy from her latest fainting spell. He smiles and nods, helping her sit up. She looks at him, eyes wide, suddenly remembering the last bomb he had dropped on her. "Did you say that Lucky is still alive?" she asks, afraid that it was all a dream.

Luke smiles and caresses her face. After all these years, she is still the most beautiful woman he's ever seen. "Yes, baby. He is, and I'm doing everything I can to bring him back home to us." Relieved and thankful, she collapses into his arms crying, but this time her tears are of joy and hope, not grief and sorrow. She keeps repeating the same thing over and over again, unable to believe this is all happening.

"He's alive. Our baby's alive. He's alive."