What Happened to Forever?

Chapters 69-70

~*~Chapter 69~*~

"Nikolas! Are you ready yet?" Lucky yells up the stairs, looking at his watch again. They were supposed to pick up Elizabeth and Emily at the Quartermaine's in ten minutes, and Nikolas was still getting ready.

"Yeah, yeah, keep your pants on!" Nikolas shouts from the upstairs bathroom. He was having problems with his hair, but he finally managed to get it to behave. He barrels down the stairs, grabbing his jacket. "Okay, let's go."

Lucky lets out a whistle. "Looking mighty spiffy there, big brother."

"Spiffy?" Obviously, Nikolas had never heard that particular slang word.

Lucky shakes his head, they were too late for him to waste time explaining. "Forget it. Let's just get out of here. You know, the girls are supposed to keep us waiting, not the other way around. What were you doing up there?"

"Hair crisis, okay? Come on, we better hurry before they lynch us."

The two brothers hop into the Jag and speed off to the mansion.

~*~

"Emily! They're going to be here any minute!" Elizabeth yells through the bathroom door. She had been in there forever.

"I'll be out in a sec. I can't get my makeup right!"

"Well, hurry up. We're going to be late!" She looks at her watch and mutters to herself, "where are they anyway? They should have been here by now."

Just then, the doorbell rings downstairs. "You hear that Em? They're here. Now get your butt out here. I'm sure you look fine!"

Emily opens the bathroom door and rushes out. "Are you sure everything's okay? I want this night to be perfect. It's the first time Nikolas and I have really gone out anywhere."

Liz smiles. "Em, you look beautiful. Stop worrying. Nikolas won't be able to pick his jaw up off the floor when he sees you."

Emily giggles. "Thanks. You look really good, too. I think Lucky's jaw is going to be right down there with his!"

The two girls laugh and link arms, getting ready to walk down the giant staircase.

"I feel like Scarlet O'Hara or something walking down these stairs," Liz whispers to her as they begin to descend, causing them to start giggling again.

Nikolas and Lucky are standing in the foyer, waiting anxiously for their dates to come downstairs. Nikolas elbows Lucky in the ribs. "See, you were all worried, and they're not even ready yet."

Lucky's eyes wander to the top of the stairs. "Uh...yeah they are." Nikolas follows his gaze, and gasps slightly. Emily looks beautiful. They both walk down the stairs, arm in arm, grinning from ear to ear.

Lucky is speechless. Elizabeth looks more beautiful than he's ever seen her, and he can't take his eyes off of her. She walks up to him and wraps her arms around his neck. "Hiya gorgeous," she says before giving him a quick kiss.

"Hi, yourself. You look amazing, Elizabeth." She smiles and they head for the door.

"Wow, Em, you look....wow," is all Nikolas can say. Emily grins and adjusts his tie.

"You look pretty wow yourself. Come on, we better hurry or we'll miss the opening number," she says as they follow Lucky and Elizabeth out to the waiting car.

~*~

"Have I told you how ravishing you look tonight?" Luke asks his wife.

She smiles. "Let's see, you said it when I first came downstairs, then again in the car, then when we got out of the car, then when we first sat down, and again now, so yeah, I think you might have mentioned it." She squeezes his hand and laughs. It feels so good to be so completely happy again. "Are you nervous?"

"Why would I be nervous? Lucky's the one performing tonight, not me." Luke says, wondering what she means.

"Well, this is really the first time we've all been together in public as a family. I wasn't sure how you were feeling about it." She looks at him lovingly, hoping that he's okay.

He caresses her face and smiles. "I'm fine, babe, really. I couldn't be happier, even, so stop worrying about me and just enjoy the evening. Hey - you wanna place a friendly wager on how Lucy's going to end up in her knickers tonight?"

"Luke, that's horrible! Why would you say such a thing?"

He laughs. "Actually, it wasn't my idea. I heard that Kevin, Taggert, Mac, and even Felicia were placing bets at the ball last year..." he trails off, remembering why he hadn't been there. It seemed like a lifetime ago that he had been grieving over his son's death.

Laura laughs. She hadn't heard about that. "Well, what I heard was that Katherine orchestrated the whole thing. I wouldn't be surprised if Lucy got her bacl this year."

Luke's eyes widen. "You think it'll be Kathy in her undies this time? Nah, it wouldn't be the Nurses Ball if it wasn't Lucy. It's tradition, and we all know how superstitious she is."

"Hey, you beat us here!" Lucky says, approaching the table with Liz on his arm. Nikolas and Emily are right behind them.

Laura smiles at them. "Wow, you all look wonderful. Don't they Luke?"

"Yeah, they sure do. How'd my sons end up with such gorgeous ladies?" He looks at Laura and winks. "It must be in the genes."

Laura blushes slightly as the kids take their seats. Not wanting to deal with her family tonight, and not wanting to leave Nikolas's side, Emily had agreed to sit at the Spencers' table. They all make small talk for a while as the rest of the guests come in. The women dish about everyone's dresses, while the men discuss Lucy's chances of losing her clothes again.

Finally, the lights dim and Lucy comes out on stage in an outrageous dress, as always. She twirls around a few times while everyone applauds.

"Thank you, thank you all. Welcome to the Seventh Annual Nurses Ball!"

~*~Chapter 70~*~

"We've got a great night planned for you tonight, so sit back and enjoy yourselves. Our first number is always my favorite: those wonderful, handsome Quartermaine men!" Lucy leaves the stage as Edward, Alan, and Ned come out.

Edward:
Once upon a time I had plenty of nothing,
Which was fine with me.
Because I had rhythm, music, love,
The sun, the stars and the moon above,
Had the clear blue sky and the deep blue sea.
That was when the best things in life were free.

Alan:
Then time went by and now I got plenty of plenty,
Which is fine with me.
'Cause I still got love, I still got rhythm,
But look at what I got to go with 'em.
"Who could ask for anything more?", I hear you query.
Who would ask for anything more? Well, let me tell you, dearie.

Ned:
Got my house, got my yacht, got a girl I adore.
I'm so happy with what I got, I want more!

Count your blessings, one, two, three
I just hate keeping score.
Any number is fine with me
As long as it's more
All: As long as it's more!

Edward:
I'm no mathematician, all I know is addition
I find counting a bore.
Keep the number mounting, your accountant does the counting.
All: [More! More!]

Ned:
I got rhythm, music too, just as much as before
Got my girl and my sky of blue,
Now, however, I own the view.
More is better than nothing, true
But nothing's better than more, more, more
Nothing's better than more.

Alan:
One is fun, why not two?
And if you like two, you might as well have four,
And if you like four, why not a few
Why not a slew
All: [More! More!]

Edward:
If you've got a little, why not a lot?
Add a bit and it'll get to be an oodle.
Every jot and tittle adds to the pot
Soon you've got the kit as well as the caboodle.
All: [More! More!]

Ned:
Never say when, never stop at plenty,
If it's gonna rain, let it pour.
Happy with ten, happier with twenty
If you like a penny, wouldn't you like many much more?

Alan:
Or does that sound too greedy?
That's not greed, no, indeedy
That's just stocking the store
Gotta fill your cupboard, remember Mother Hubbard.
All: [More! More!]

Edward:
Each possession you possess
Helps your spirits to soar.
That's what's soothing about excess
Never settle for something less.
Something's better than nothing, yes!
But nothing's better than more, more more

All:Except all, all, all]
Except all, all, all
Except once you have it all Ned: [have it all]
You may find all else above Ned: [find all else above]
That though things are bliss,
There's one thing you miss, and that's
More! More!
More! More! More! More!
More! More! More!

By the time the song is finished, the audience is in hysterics.

Luke has tears streaming down his face from laughing. "Ooh, that was too much. I'm surprised Mr. Ed agreed to do that! "

Lucy comes back onstage, chuckling to herself and applauding. "I told you tonight would be entertaining! Next is Jasper Jacks and his beautiful fiancee, Chloe Morgan, to do an encore of their ballroom dance number from last year!"

"I can't believe you got me to do this!" Jax whispers to Chloe and they walk out on stage. She just smiles at him as they start to dance. This year, they were able to rehearse, so their routine was much more complex and polished. The crowd loved it.

Lucy comes back, clapping. "That was beautiful, wasn't it? We're going to take a quick break, but don't go far, because there's much more to come!"

She leaves the stage and the audience immediately starts talking.

Emily excuses herself from the table to go backstage and get ready for her number with Ned, which is coming up soon. A few minutes later, Lucy comes back onstage in another outrageous dress and does her usual twirl.

"Thank you everyone! Those Quartermaine men were a riot, weren't they?" Everyone applauds. "Well, this next number is by two people who sing for us every year. Please welcome Ned Ashton and Emily Quartermaine!"

Ned and Emily sing a very touching rendition of "One Sweet Day," leaving most of the audience in tears. [I already used these lyrics earlier in the story, so I won't waste space by typing them again. If you want to read them, they're in Ch. 39.]

As they leave the stage, Lucky looks over at Elizabeth. She's crying and looks like she's a million miles away. He covers her hand with his and asks if she's all right.

She squeezes his hand, then looks up at Nikolas who also looks worried. She smiles at him to reassure him that she's okay. She knew he was remembering the same thing she was. He smiles back and nods.

Lucky looks back and forth between the two of them, confused. "Am I missing something here?"

Liz smiles sadly and shakes her head. "No, it's just that the day you came back, I was working, and the place was empty so I decided to put on some music. Instead of the song I wanted, 'One Sweet Day' played instead, and I lost it. Luckily, Nikolas showed up in time to pick me up off of the floor and cheer me up. That's probably about the time you showed up and saw him showing me Emily's ring." She smiles at the memory, still amazed that he would actually believe that Nikolas would propose to her!

Lucky nods. "That would explain why you looked so sad when I first showed up. I almost came in, but then Nikolas took that box out of his pocket and I froze." He chuckles at how stupid he was for thinking he was proposing. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I wish there was something I could do to erase all of that pain."

She smiles and caresses his cheek. "You have. You came back to me, and that's all that matters."

Before he can say anything in response, the stage lights come up and V walks out. A confused murmur rises from the room. The only people who ever introduce the numbers are Lucy and sometimes Katherine. Why was V there?

"Good evening everyone. I'm here to introduce a special, surprise performer. Some of you who have lived here for a while probably remember him. On behalf of L&B Records, I'd like to introduce Miguel Morez!"

Everyone applauds wildly as Miguel takes the stage. His newest release "Livin' La Vida Loca" has become a worldwide hit, and V had somehow talked him into performing it at the Ball. On stage behind him are Felicia, Bobbie, Eve, Karen, and Lark as his backup singers and dancers. The audience can't help laughing at their attempts to salsa dance.

Miguel is a hit, of course, and receives a standing ovation at the end of the song. He thanks everyone for their kindness and urges them to donate generously to the AIDS fund before leaving the stage.

Lucy comes back on, looking slightly flustered. "Whew. That was something, wasn't it! Well, we're going to take another break so everyone can cool off. Don't go too far!"

Lucky looks at Liz. "We better get backstage. We're next."

She smiles nervously. "Okay, let's go."

[Song Credit: "More" by Stephen Sondheim. © Rilting Music and Touchstone Music Company. From the movie "Dick Tracy", performed by Madonna]