What Happened to Forever?

Chapters 47-48

~*~Chapter 47~*~

The five of them stayed there for a while longer, talking about the past year, filling Lucky in on what he’d missed. They told him how Ned and Alexis got married, how Chloe came to town and seems to have stolen Jax’s heart, how AJ and Carly had gotten married, then later divorced when he fell off the wagon, and how she was now married to Jason. Luke had finally accepted her as his niece, and although he still loved to tease her, he did it with love now, not contempt. Luke also talked about his adventures with Felicia, keeping them in stitches the whole time.

They were acting like a normal family, and it felt really good. Liz and Lucky hadn’t let go of one another all night, always keeping some sort of contact. Luke and Laura were constantly shooting little glances at one another, thinking they were being discreet when, in reality, the three teens saw every look. Nikolas couldn’t stop smiling. He finally felt like he was a member of a real family, and to make things even better, tomorrow he would be spending the day with the love of his life.

Finally, Nikolas stands up. “As much as I’ve enjoyed this evening, I need to get home. I have a big day tomorrow.”

“So when are you going to fill us in on that surprise?” Liz asks him, still wondering what he had planned for her friend.

He smiles. He knew she’d bring that up again. “All right, fine, I’ll tell you. But if you let this slip to Emily, I’ll have to kill you!” Everyone laughs, and promises not to say a word.

“Okay, I was going to take the family jet...huh, I guess I can’t call it that anymore. Well, I guess I should take full advantage of the perks of being a Cassidine before the truth comes out, right?” Luke and Laura are looking at him strangely. “Don’t worry, after tonight I have come to the conclusion that I’d much rather be a Spencer than a Cassidine....bet you never thought you’d hear me say that, huh Luke?”

Luke laughs and claps him on the back. “No, I didn’t. And I also never expected that I’d actually be happy to hear you say it either!”

After another round of laughter, Nikolas continues. “Anyway, I was going to take her to New York. She really liked Manhattan when we were there before, even if it wasn’t under the happiest of circumstances, and she’s always wanted to see a Broadway play.”

Laura smiles warmly at him. “Oh, that’s so romantic!”

Liz nods. “It really is. Emily is going to love it.”

“You’re becoming a Spencer already. We’d do anything for the women we love, right dad?” Lucky says, winking at his father, who laughs.

“Yeah, we’re suckers for that romantic stuff. It must work, cause the women can’t resist our charms, right baby?” Laura laughs. Luke walks with Nikolas to the front door. “I hope Emily enjoys her birthday. Say hi to Count Stiff for me,” he says, winking at him.

Nikolas looks at him, shocked. “How did you know that’s where I’m going?”

“I had a feeling you’d want to see him, even if it’s just to hear his side of the story, you know, about Lucky. It’s okay. We don’t expect you to just forget that he’s the man that raised you. I may not like the guy, but I have to give him credit for one thing: he did a damn fine job where you’re concerned.” Luke says, and gives Nikolas another hug.

“Thanks, Luke, for understanding. I’ll let you guys know how the trip turns out,” he says before leaving.

“Wait, we’ll walk you out!” Lucky shouts, pulling Elizabeth towards the door. “I should walk you home now anyway,” he says to her, not wanting her to leave, but knowing that her Grandmother must be getting worried. Plus, he had a feeling his parents wanted to spent some time alone with him tonight. Liz nods, and they join Nikolas outside.

As they’re walking Nikolas to his car he turns to them, a gleam in his eye. “Hey, I just got an idea! Why don’t you guys come with us tomorrow?”

Lucky and Liz exchange looks. As much as they’d love to go to New York again, they don’t want to intrude on his romantic day with Emily. “Oh, no, we couldn’t. We’d be in the way.” Liz says.

“No you wouldn’t. Besides, I don’t think I could give Em a better present than Lucky being alive. We have such a good time together, come on, do this for me?” he begs, trying to look pitiful.

Lucky laughs. “Oh, all right, but stop pouting. Anyway, you won’t have that big jet at your disposal forever now, so we might as well take advantage of it, right?”

“Exactly! So, I’ll pick Emily up in the morning and give her the ring, then we’ll come get you. Don’t say anything to her before then, I want this all to be a surprise, okay?”

“No problem. Hey-what show were you going to take her to?” Liz asks.

“She’s always wanted to see Chicago, so I got tickets for it. I’ll call tonight and get two more for you guys.”

“Thanks. So, we’re going to New York...to see Chicago?” Lucky asks. Nikolas chuckles as he gets in his car. “Where do you want me to pick you up?”

“I’ll be at Liz’s first thing in the morning, so you can get us there. That way you can keep me a secret until the last possible second. Send Em to the door to get Liz, and I’ll answer it.” Lucky answers, grinning at his plan.

“Sounds great. She’ll be so surprised. Thanks guys!” he says before driving off.

They watch him drive away before starting to walk.

Lucky turns to Liz and grins. “So...”

She stops walking and pretends to glare at him. “You’ve been gone for a year, and all you can say is ‘so’?” She punches him in the arm playfully.

He laughs, rubbing his arm. “Hey! Easy there, champ!” She’s laughing now, and he’s never heard a more wonderful sound. “I love you, you know,” he says, reaching up to brush a strand of hair out of her eyes.

“I love you too,” she says as he leans down to kiss her. “Lucky?” she asks once they pull apart and begin walking again. He looks at her, waiting for her to continue. “Can you do me a favor?”

He looks deeply into her eyes. “Elizabeth, I’ll do anything for you. All you have to do is ask.”

She grins at him and rubs her face. “Please shave when you get home. That stubble is killing me!”

He bursts out laughing. “Oh really? You don’t like my new look?” he asks, grabbing her and rubbing his chin all over her face.

She squeals, trying to wrestle away from him. He finally lets her go, and they start walking again, trying to catch their breath. They get to her front porch and he takes her in his arms. “I promise, when I show up tomorrow I’ll look more like the Lucky you remember. I hate this beard, too. Faison didn’t like giving me razors, so he would shave my face once a month, but that was it. He refused to cut my hair, though. I guess he thought it would be ironic if it grew to look like his or something.” he says sarcastically. Noticing the worried look on Liz’s face he smiles. “Bat that’s in the past, and I don’t want to dwell on it anymore. The important thing is that I’m here with you.”

She smiles back at him. “I knew you couldn’t have died in that fire,” she says matter-of-factly.

“Why?”

“Cause you’re my angel, and everyone knows that angels are immortal,” she says simply.

He smiles. “You’ve got that backwards. You’re MY angel. I don’t deserve you, but since I have you anyway, I’m never letting go.”

“Good, cause if you ever let me go, Ill kill you!”

He laughs. “I thought angels couldn’t die.”

She thinks for a moment, realizing he’s got her there. “Oh, shut up! Stop using my words against me!”

He laughs again. “ I wouldn’t dream of using anything against you...except me” he says impishly, his eyes boring into hers.

Seeing the passion that has flared up in his eyes, she blushes. She regains her composure after a moment. “Down, boy. We’ve got all the time in the world for that. Now, are you going to give me a good-night kiss, or are we just going to stand out here all night?”

“Well, to be honest, I’d much rather stand here with you all night. See, if I give you that good-night kiss, you’re going to go inside, and I’m going to have to go home,” he reasons, his eyes still burning into hers.

“Come on, we’ll be together all day tomorrow. Don’t you want to see your parents? They’ve missed you too. I can’t hog you all night,” she says, trying to hide the fact that she doesn’t want him to leave, either.

He sighs. “Okay, you have a point. Get some sleep tonight. I meant what I said about being here first thing in the morning!”

She nods as he brings her face up to his for one last kiss. She feels her knees go weak again, thinking about how much she has missed the way his lips feel on hers. He kisses her deeply, passionately, and then finally lets her go. They stand there, breathless, looking into each others eyes. Finally, Liz manages to find her voice and whispers, “Good-night, Lucky.”

He smiles down at her and brushes her lips with a tender kiss. “Dreams of gold, Elizabeth,” he whispers back before slowly walking away.

~*~Chapter 48~*~

Nikolas walks swiftly into the Port Charles Police Department. “I’m here to see Stefan Cassidine.”

Taggert turns around. “Well, well. I have to say I’m surprised to see you here. I thought when you heard what Daddy did to your brother that you’d disown yourself. Guess you Cassidines are more loyal that I thought.”

Nikolas shakes his head in annoyance. “Can I see him or not?”

Taggert shrugs. “Sure. Wait in the room over there, and I’ll go get him. I’m sure you know the drill by now,” he says, referring to the time Stefan was in jail for Katherine’s ‘murder.’

Nikolas glares at him before heading for the interrogation room, which is also used for visitations.

A few minutes later, the door opens and Stefan is lead in by one of the guards. He is shocked to see Nikolas sitting there.

“I didn’t expect you tonight, Nikolas. I’m glad you’re here,” he says, sitting down.

“I only came to hear your side of this. Why did you do it? You know how much it hurt me and Laura when Lucky ‘died.’ How could you do that to us and then pretend to comfort us?”

Stefan sighs. He knew that Nikolas would be angry, and that he wouldn’t be able to lie his way out of it. “I won’t try to excuse my actions to you. I was being pressured by Helena. It wasn’t supposed to go on this long.”

“It shouldn’t have ‘gone on’ at all! I don’t care if Helena held a gun to your head! You should have turned her in to the authorities or told us. I will never forgive you for letting us think he was dead like that!”

“Nikolas, I know you’re angry with me, and I don’t blame you for it. I just hope you can find it in your heart someday to forgive me. No matter what I’ve done, I’m still your father,” he says, trying to reason with him.

Nikolas can’t take it any longer. “I will never forgive you for what you’ve done to my mother and brother. As far as I’m concerned, you are no longer my father!” he shouts, before rushing out of the room. He is afraid that if he stays any longer, he’ll tell Stefan about Luke, and he isn’t ready for that yet.

~*~

Lucky opens the door and enters his house. His parents are still on the couch, making out like teenagers. They were so involved in each other they hadn’t heard him come in. He chuckles and clears his throat. “Jeez you guys, get a room!”

They break apart quickly. “What? You can make out with your girlfriend in front of us, but we can’t do the same?” Luke asks.

“That’s different. I haven’t seen her in a year, and she thought I was dead. If anyone can understand what that’s like, you guys should!”

Luke chuckles. “All right, the boy’s got a point. I guess we’ll have to continue this later,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows at Laura, causing her to laugh.

“Oh, man. I don’t need to think about that!?” Lucky groans, sitting down. He tries to act disgusted, but he can’t help smiling at the sight of his parents together and happy again. “Nikolas invited Elizabeth and me to go with him and Emily tomorrow. I hope you don’t mind me going away so soon.”

“Nah,” Luke says, “it sounds like fun. Go and be a teenager. You deserve it after everything you’ve been through!”

"Thanks. So, when did you guys finally get back together?” he asks.

Luke grins at his wife before answering. “Today.”

Lucky stares at them, shocked. “Today?!”

“Yeah, it seems that all we needed was our son coming back from the dead to bring us back together. I guess we have you to thank, Cowboy!”

Lucky grins. “Well, I guess something good came out of this whole thing. I’m glad you guys are together again. You were meant to be.”

“Just like you and Elizabeth,” Luke says, touched by his son’s words. After finding out about him raping Laura, he never thought Lucky would accept them as a couple again.

Lucky can’t help smiling at that. “We are, aren’t we? I remember when I was little, I was always so amazed at how much you guys were in love. I never thought I would find something like that, and now I have. I can’t imagine being without her.”

“Well, the girl was obviously meant to be a Spencer. So, when are you going to make an honest woman out of her?”

“Dad!” Lucky says, shocked at his father’s bluntness, while Laura hits him playfully. “I can’t believe you said that. I just came back - give it some time!”

Laura laughs. “Haven’t you learned yet Luke? If you push him to do something, he’ll just do the opposite. Why can’t you be like a normal parent for once and discourage your teenage son from jumping into marriage?”

“Oh, all right. But, I just figure if you both know you’re meant to be, then why wait?”

“Because we’re still in high school for starters! I don’t want to get married until I know that I can support us. What are we going to do, move in here after the honeymoon?” Lucky says, trying to talk some reason into his father.

Luke shudders. “Good point. You just take your time then.”

Lucky laughs at his father’s sudden change of heart. “Thanks, Dad. Oh, Mom, can you help me with something?”

“Of course, honey. What do you need?” Laura smiles, happy to have her son back in her life, and to be able to sit and joke around with him and Luke like this again.

“Can you give me a haircut?”

“What, Liz doesn’t like the Neanderthal look?” Luke asks.

Lucky rolls his eyes at his father. “No, and neither do I. I’m going to go shave now, but I was hoping Mom would be able to cut my hair tonight, since we’re going to New York tomorrow.”

Laura smiles at her son. “Sure, honey. Just let me know when you’re ready.” She gets up and walks into the kitchen.

Luke stands up to follow her, patting his son on the shoulder on the way. “It’s good to have you back, Cowboy.”

“Hey, Dad?” Lucky says before Luke can leave the room. He turns around to see what his son wants. “So how are you really about the whole Nikolas thing?”

Luke sits down again. “I was shocked at first. I didn’t want to believe it, but once Barbara explained the medical stuff, I couldn’t deny it. I guess I realized that all this time I’ve hated him based solely on his last name. I never bothered to get to know him as a person like you did. I was civil to him for your mom’s sake, but that was it. I decided that if he was really my son, the least I could do was put aside my pride and get to know him. The one thing I learned this year was not to take anyone for granted.” He sniffs, trying to keep away the tears. “I really missed you, Cowboy.”

“I missed you, too, Dad.” Lucky says, also fighting back the tears. Luke hugs his son as Laura watches from the doorway, wiping her eyes with a dishtowel, overjoyed to finally have her family back together.