What Happened to Forever?

Chapters 5-6

~*~Chapter 5~*~

****From Faison's control room***
Lucky sits on his bed, playing that same song, over and over, the one he played whenever he was depressed. As a "gensture of good will" (as he called it), Faison had given him a guitar for Christmas. He figured it would distract the boy from his constant attempts at escape. Since then, most of Lucky's 'spare" time was spent playing music and writing songs. Faison hated this particular one, probably because Lucky played it so often.

***In Lucky's Room***
Lucky was so immersed in the song, he didn't realize right away that the door had opened. He never sang out loud, because he know that he was always being listened to, and he didn't want to give Faison the satisfaction of knowing the song he played so often was about Elizabeth. He sighs, wondering if he'll ever be able to hold her again. His thoughts are interrupted by a sudden burst of applause from the doorway.

Lucky flinches, then frowns when he sees the source of the noise.

"Don't stop on my account" Faison smirks, as he enters the room.

"What do you want now?" Lucky growls. He had lost all patience for his captor over the past few months. He had been locked away in this cold, steel room for a year now with no sunlight, no fresh air. He was going stir-crazy,

Faison shakes his head, walking over to the television set on the wall. "Tsk, tsk. Watch your temper Spencer, or I won't show you what I came in here for. It's been a while since you've seen your lovely lady, hasn't it?"

Lucky cringes. The only times he was shown footage of Elizabeth was when it was something that would anger him. Faison was not into physical torture, which was a small comfort in this hell that had become his reality, but he excelled in psychological abuse. He delighted in showing Lucky how his loved ones were moving on without him, how his parents had become even more estranged, how his mother had turned to Stefan for comfort, and especially how Liz had moved on, with his own brother. He knows this would just be another installment of what Faison liked to call, "This Was Your Life."

The TV came on, and Lucky finds himself looking at the Hardy home. As much as he knew he wouldn't want to see this, these short videos were his only chance to see her, and even though it hurt him, he had to watch. According to the time stamp in the corner, the scene was taped only a few hours earlier that morning. (Faison had installed a clock in Lucky's room that showed him the date and time in Port Charles) His heart almost stops when he sees Nikolas climbing through Elizabeth's window, just as he had himself so many times in the past. He closes his eyes, trying to control his rage.

Faison smiles. Mission accomplished. It was only a matter of time now.

***Back in the Control Room***

A woman sits back, watching the scene play out, impatiently tapping her fingers on the table in front of her.

"This is taking way too long. The boy is too strong - he'll never break. I think it's time for Plan B..." she muses to herself, a slow smile spreading across her face.

~*~Chapter 6~*~

Elizabeth leaves Gail's office, wiping at her tears. It had been a particularly difficult session, as she had expected. But, she did feel somewhat better, having worked through some of the grief that had resurfaced. She felt like she was back to that day, she could even smell the smoke every now and then. Now she understands why Bobbie was always so sad on the anniversary of BJ's death. Just knowing that it was the day made the memories come rushing back at full force.

She is so lost in her thoughts that she doesn't notice the woman walking in her path, and runs right into her.

"Omigosh. I'm so sorry." She exclaims, looking up into a pair of eyes she had gotten to know so well that past year. "Oh, Laura." She smiles, realizing that Laura had been just as distracted.

Laura smiles warmly at the girl that she had come to think of as a daughter. She gathers her in her arms and gives her a hug. "How are you Liz? Did you just finish with Gail?"

Liz sighs. She always felt closer to Lucky when she was with Laura. She hadn't felt this calm all morning. She pulls back and nods, looking up at her. 'He had her eyes' she thinks, fighting the tears that well up suddenly. "Um..yeah. We just finished. I think it was one of the hardest sessions I've had in a while. I never realized how painful today would be..." she breaks off in a sob, and Laura pulls her close again. "I know honey, I know." She smoothess Liz's hair, comforting her, trying unsuccessfully to fight her own tears that now threaten.

Liz lets out a shaky sigh and releases Laura. "Thanks. I'm sorry to dump my grief on you like that. I know how hard this day is for you." She wipes her face, trying to compose herself.

"Hey," Laura says, lifting Liz's chin. "Don't apologize. I needed that as much as you did. I'm actually on my way to Gail's now. I'm not looking forward to it, but I know it's something I have to do. You remember what happened the last time I tried keeping it all in!" Liz grins "yeah, you tried to kill Helena!" They both laugh at that.

Liz's face gets serious again. "Laura? Can I ask you something.?"

"Of course honey. You know you can ask me anything."

She takes a deep breath. "Do you feel like he's gone? I mean, deep down, do you really feel it? Becasue, this may sound silly, but I don't. I keep telling myself it's some kind of denial. I mean, my head knows he's dead, but it's like my soul refuses to believe it. I know, people always say that he'll always be in my heart, and in that way he's always with me, but it's not that kind of feeling. We had such a deep connection, you know? I always thought that if something happened to him, I would feel it. And I did, kind of. That night, I had been dreaming about him, and in it we were dancing at Kelly's, and then all of a sudden there were flashing lights and sirens, and I woke up with my heart racing. I didn't know why, but I just had a bad feeling. That's when I tried calling him, and the phone didn't work. So, I got dressed and ran there. And, well, you know the rest. But even then, it didn't feel real. Everyone was telling me that he was gone, but I couldn't feel it. I still can't." She takes another deep breath, relieved to have finally gotten that off her chest. It had been weighing on for a year now, and she hadn't gotten up the courage to tell anyone, not even Gail. For some reason, standing here with Laura, she felt like if she could tell anyone, it was her. She looks down and sees that she is absently playing with the subway token around her neck again, a nervous trait she had picked up whenever she was thinking about him.

Laura's heart skips a beat when she hears this. She had been feeling the same thing, more or less, but just as Elizabeth had, she felt like she couldn't tell anyone without them looking at her with pity: 'poor thing, she can't accept his death' She smiles at Liz. "Oh Liz, I'm so happy to hear you say that! I've had the same feeling, but I knew if I said anything, people would tell me I was in denial. I was starting to think that maybe that's all it was, but hearing you say that makes me feel so much better. Maybe I'm not crazy after all! I don't know what it means, though. It could just be that he's watching over us, and his presence is so strong that we can feel it."

"You think so? I mean, what if somehow he's not really dead? I know, that's crazy. They matched up the medical records and everything..." she trails off, looking at the subway token, then snaps out of it and looks at Laura. "What if it was a mistake, and he's out there somewhere, trying to get back?" Liz lets out a short laugh, "God, now that I've said it out loud, it does sound crazy!"

Laura grabs her hands and looks back at her. "No, it's not crazy. I've thought that myself. It would be wonderful if it were true, but in reality, if there was evan a slight chance that Lucky was still alive, you know that Luke would be moving heaven and Earth to find him." She pauses to gather her thoughts. "I think our connection with him was just so strong, that not even death could break it, and that's why we can't feel it." Liz relaxes, comforted by this statement. She hadn't really realized before how much this had weighed on her. She sqeezes Laura's hands and thanks her for listening. They hug once more, and part. Laura continues on to Gail's office, feeling better than she has all day, thankful that her son had been loved so deeply.