What Happened to Forever?

Chapters 61-62

~*~Chapter 61~*~

“Who is N.B.?” Emily asks again. The planchette doesn’t move.

“Who do we know whose name starts with and N?” Liz asks.

“Me, but my last name starts with a C,” Nikolas says

“Ned, but he would be N.A.” Emily adds.

Lucky sighs, frustrated. “Okay, let’s try something else... Can you tell us any more?” The pointer moves again.

“S....C....” Lucky looks at Nikolas. “Stefan Cassidine?”

Nikolas shakes his head. “He’s in jail, what’s he going to do?”

Lucky looks at Nikolas, “Any other Cassidines with S-names?”

Nikolas thinks for a moment. “Just Stavros, but he’s dead.”

Liz shrugs. “People have been known to come back from the dead around here, you know.” She looks at Lucky pointedly.

Nikolas shakes his head. "No, Stavros is definitely dead. Heleana wouldn't have let Stefan raise me if he wasn't."

“Stone Cates..” Lucky thinks out loud, “but he’s dead, too.”

Emily gasps. “Sonny Corrinthos! No, he wouldn’t do anything...would he?”

Lucky shakes his head. “Not on purpose, but a lot of people have gotten hurt in the past because of him, so it’s a possibility. Maybe this N.B. person is trying to hurt Sonny, but gets an innocent person instead. I assume it’s one of us, or this thing wouldn’t be telling us to beware...”

“Or it’s someone close to us. Maybe we’re supposed to protect them,” Nikolas adds, amazed that he’s believing this stuff.

“Well, then, let’s find out,” Lucky says, and asks another question. “Who should beware?”

“L....S....” Elizabeth gasps and looks at Lucky. “No......”

Lucky runs his hand through his hair. “Great, of all the initials it could give us. L.S. could be anyone. Me, my dad, my mom, even LuLu.”

“So basically, someone in your family has to be watching out for someone with the initials N.B., who probably has something to do with Sonny,” Emily says.

Lucky is getting annoyed with the Ouija Board. “Who is L.S.? Come on, spell out a name!” The pointer moves quickly to the bottom of the board.

“Good-Bye,” Liz reads. “I guess it didn’t want to talk to us anymore. I’m sorry guys, this was just supposed to be for fun. I didn’t think it would do this. I’m sure it’s nothing, really.”

Lucky gets up and starts pacing. Something about this doesn’t feel right. He looks at his watch and sees that it isn’t too late yet, and goes tot he phone.

“Who are you calling?” Nikolas asks.

“Hi, Dad?” Lucky says into the phone. “No, we’re fine. I just have a question. This may sound strange, but I need to know the answer. Do you know anyone with the initials N.B.? I’d rather not say right now, just tell me, please? Really? Are you sure? Oh, that’s it? No one else? Okay, thanks.” He hangs up and looks back at the group.

“Well, did he know someone?” Elizabeth asks, frightened at the look on his face.

“Yeah, we all do in fact.” He looks at Nikolas. “Did you know that Alexis’s real name is Natasha Bergman?”

Nikolas is startled. “You’re right! I forgot about that. I always think of her real name as Natasha Cassidine, but Helena wouldn’t have allowed that, so she was given her mother’s maiden name.” He looks at Lucky. “But she wouldn’t do anything to hurt any of the Spencers, or Sonny!”

“Maybe the S.C. is Stefan after all. Maybe finding out she’s the only remaining heir goes to her head, and she joins forces with him to take down my family.” Lucky says.

“No, wait, guys. You’re forgetting something,” Emily says. They all look at her, waiting for her to explain. “Alexis is married to Ned now, so even if Bergman was her birth name, it’s Ashton now, right?”

They nod. “Technically, yeah, but it could be a trick. Maybe on this thing married names don’t count. Which would rule out Mom as the target,” Lucky says. He chuckles. “Listen to me, I sound like one of the Hardy boys!”

“You’re right. We’re acting as though this is a real thing. I mean, this is just a toy. Why don’t we just forget this happened, and if later, we find out about a person named N.B., then we can worry. I really doubt it’s Alexis anyway.” Nikolas says, trying to be the voice of reason.

“He’s got a point,” Elizabeth says. “Why don’t we put this thing away and just watch a movie or something? It’s not like we’re going to solve it tonight anyway, right?”

Emily smiles. “Good idea, but let’s not watch a horror movie, okay?”

They all laugh, and settle down to watch Austin Powers.

~*~Chapter 62~*~

[A week later]

The Ouija board incident had rattled them a little, but when nothing else happened, they had forgotten about it. Lucky had managed to convince his dad that the phone call he had made was no big deal, but Luke was still sort of suspicious.

The next day, Nikolas found out that Alexis had gotten control of the Cassidine estate, and had transferred a large portion of it to him. She had taken some for herself, of course, and then distributed the rest among the remaining family over in Europe. Nikolas had been shocked that she would do this, but after a lengthy argument with her, had finally relented and accepted the money. She had said it was the least she could do to make up for everything he had gone through as a result of growing up as a Cassidine.

The four teens are having lunch at the Port Charles Grill, one of the perks of Nikolas being wealthy again.

The waiter approaches their table. “Excuse me, Mr. Spencer?”

“Yes?” Lucky and Nikolas answer. Lucky chuckles. Nikolas had changed his last name a few weeks after the plane crash, and it was taking a while to get used to.

“Sorry, Nikolas Spencer, you have a telephone call,” the waiter corrects, holding out a phone. Nikolas takes it, smirking at Lucky. He speaks for a few minutes, then returns the phone to the waiter.

“That was someone at Deception. They needed my approval on something. Sorry for the interruption,” he says.

Lucky shakes his head. “I still can’t get used to you having my last name.”

Nikolas smiles. “I know, it’s still weird for me, too. I just didn’t see the sense in keeping Cassidine. I mean, I wasn’t one anymore, and I think my having the name was making it harder on Luke than he let on. Anyway, the Cassidines have caused the Spencers nothing but grief, so why flaunt the name around?” He shrugs. “Spencer is easier for people to spell, too.”

Everyone chuckles and goes back to their food. They look up as Sonny and Jason enter and take the table next to theirs. The two men look very serious.

“I wonder what’s up?” Emily asks, nodding towards them. Jason spots her and waves. She waves back.

Lucky shrugs. “I don’t know, problem with the coffee, maybe?” They all smile, knowing that coffee isn’t the only thing they do anymore. Ever since Moreno disappeared, Sonny has been in charge of the territory again.

As they continue to eat, pieces of the men’s conversation float over to their table.

“...moving in on us...”

“Does Benny....who it is?”

“...has a name....not sure...”

“Sounds like someone’s moving in on them. This can’t be good,” Lucky whispers as they try to hear what Sonny is saying.

“...partner....Moreno’s....Nelson Bartolli”

Emily gasps. “Nelson Bartolli? Guys, that’s N.B.!”

Nikolas shakes his head. “I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.”

“No! It fits too well. A guy with those initials, trying to take over Sonny’s territory! What if the Ouija Board was right? What if one of the Spencers are going to get hurt by this guy?”

“Calm down, Em, Nikolas is right. It’s probably just a strange coincidence,” Lucky says, not too sure if he believes it, but not wanting her to worry. “If it will make you feel better, I’ll tell my dad, and we’ll make sure none of us goes near the club for a while. If memory serves, that seems to be where Sonny gets targeted all the time.”

Nikolas nods gravely, remembering when he was shot in front of Luke’s. “Yeah, that’s where it happened to me. I think that’s where Robin was almost killed, too.”

“But Mac was shot at the Outback, so the club isn’t the only place,” Emily adds.

“I know, but Mac was shot because of Jason, not Sonny. They were trying to get Robin again.” Lucky says.

“Still, Sonny and Jason are partners, so no place is completely safe, is it?” Elizabeth asks, getting worried.

Lucky notices her fear and puts his arm around her. “Don’t worry, we’ll be okay. I’ll make sure we just stay away from Sonny and Jason until this blows over. As long as none of us are in the same building as either of them, we should be fine.” He smiles, hoping that reassured her.

“Well, if that’s the case, then we should get out of here as well,” Nikolas says, pulling out his wallet.

Lucky chuckles, “Good idea there, bro.” Nikolas glares at him. He hates it when Lucky calls him that, which is exactly why he does it so often. Lucky just smiles innocently at him, then gets up, pulling Elizabeth after him. They go outside while Nikolas pays the bill.

Once all four are outside, Nikolas asks, “So now what do we do?”

“Go talk to Dad,” Lucky says, heading for their car. “Mind if I drive this time?”

Nikolas tosses him the keys. The two brothers now share the Jaguar. Nikolas felt it was the least he could do after the number of times he has turn Lucky’s family inside out. Sort of a consolation prize for not being the only son anymore. They all pile into the car and head off to their parents’ house.

“Dad! You here?” Lucky yells, entering the house. Luke comes out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on his pants.

“Well what do you know, it’s the Four Musketeers! Haven’t you gotten tired of each other yet?” Luke loves to tease them about how they are seldom apart these days.

Lucky rolls his eyes. “Very funny, Dad. We have to talk to you about something. It’s kind of important.”

Luke nods, and they all sit down in the living room. “Okay, lay it on me.” He narrows his eyes at the two boys. “No one’s pregnant, are they?”

The two girls burst out laughing, while Nikolas and Lucky turn bright red. “No, Luke, it’s nothing like that,” Elizabeth says, laughing at the horrified look on Lucky’s face.

Luke chuckles. “That’s good. Well, then, out with it. What’s gotten you four so riled up?”

“We think something’s going on with Sonny that could end up hurting someone in our family.” Lucky says.

Luke frowns. “What do you mean?”

Lucky and Nikolas take turns explaining about the Ouija board and what it said, then relating what they overheard at the restaurant earlier that day. Luke listens without interrupting, even through the Ouija board part.

“Well, as hard as it is for me to put any stock into what that board-thing said, any time someone’s looking to take over the territory it can mean trouble, so I’ll talk to Sonny and see what’s up, okay?”

“Fine, but please, humor us and keep Mom and LuLu away from them. And yourself. Something about this has me freaked, and if there’s even a possibility that it is true, then it could be any of us that’s in danger. I just got back, and Nikolas here just found out you’re his father, so we need you to be safe, okay?” Lucky pleads.

Luke is touched by his son’s words and nods. “Well, Cowboy, when you put it like that, how can I refuse? Don’t worry, I’ll stay away, too.” He pats Lucky on the shoulder to reassure him. The four teens go back to the cottage, relieved that they may have been able to avoid disaster.