Chapter 15
Early the next morning, Lucien went over to the hospital, hoping that no one was there yet to see Elizabeth. He didn't know why, but she was all he could think about anymore. He crept over to her room and tentatively looked inside, then breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that no one was in there with her yet.
He quietly approached her bedside and looked down at her sleeping face. She looked like an angel. He suddenly knew that this was the girl he was meant to spend the rest of his life with. He had no idea how he could know such a thing without ever even speaking to her, but the feeling was so strong, he didn't know how else to interpret it.
He sighed and sat down in a chair. Why was this town so confusing? Ever since he'd arrived, nothing was as it seemed. The people all thought he was someone else, and everywhere he looked was somehow familiar. He looked down at Elizabeth and realized that for the first time since landing in this crazy town, he felt at peace.
~*~
Nikolas slowly approached Liz's room. When he woke up and found that Lucien had left already, he'd had a feeling this was where he would be. He glanced in the window and saw Lucien sitting quietly by her bed, and smiled. He looked so much like Lucky the way he was watching over her. Not wanting to interrupt, Nikolas stayed out in the hallway and watched his cousin keep his vigil over her.
~*~
"I have to see him, Luke," Laura insisted for the hundredth time that morning. "If you don't help me find him, then I'll just do it myself!"
Luke sighed. He'd been arguing with her ever since they left the hospital last night. She was determined to see Lucien, even though he kept insisting that he wasn't Lucky. Realizing that she was going to be stubborn about this, he finally gave in. "Fine, we'll go to this hospital this morning to check on Elizabeth, then we can try to find Lucien."
She smiled and hugged him. "Thank you, Luke! Don't worry about me, okay? I know who he is and who he isn't, and I'm not going to react like Liz did. Trust me, I know what I'm doing."
He nodded slowly, but was still unable to convince himself. She may have thought she was prepared to see him, but he knew in his heart that once she was faced with Lucien, she would throw all common sense out the window and start insisting that he was Lucky.
~*~
"I'm not sure if you can hear me, but I feel like I should be talking to you or something," Lucien whispered. "You don't know me, well, I guess you think you do, but I'm not who you think I am. My name is Lucien Cassidine. I'm Nikolas's cousin, and I just got into town a couple of days ago. From what I've been told, I bear a strong resemblance to someone who died a few years ago, your boyfriend, I believe. I'm so sorry that I have caused so much pain and trouble since coming here. It was not my intention to hurt anyone. I just wanted to see for myself what the big deal was about this town."
Lucien sighed and tentatively touched her hand. A small shock ran up his arm, and he quickly drew his hand back. She stirred and muttered, "Lucky," but didn't wake up. He tensed up for a moment, waiting to see if she would open her eyes, but she didn't. Reluctantly, he stood up and left the room.
~*~
Nikolas had seen what happened, and was about to go inside to tell Lucien that he should leave, when he saw him stand up and head for the door. Lucien smiled when he saw that Nikolas was there.
"How did you know I'd be here?" he asked.
Nikolas smiled and shook his head. "It wasn't too hard to figure out. She was all you talked about last night. Still, you should be careful coming here like that. If she wakes up and sees you..."
Lucien nodded. "I know, that's why I left. Don't worry, I don't want to hurt her any more. I just...I don't know, I felt something when I saw her yesterday, like I was meant to meet her. I've never felt this way about anyone, and I don't even know her!"
Nikolas frowned. Something wasn't quite right with all of this. First, this guy shows up out of nowhere claiming to be the Cassidine heir, he looks like Lucky's lost twin, and now he's standing here talking about how connected he feels to Elizabeth, Lucky's soulmate. He looked up into Lucien's eyes, and really studied them. Was it possible....?
"What's wrong?" Lucien asked uneasily, noticing the way Nikolas was staring at him.
Nikolas shook his head quickly. He didn't want to say anything until he was sure. "Nothing, sorry. We should get out of here before Luke and Laura show up." He turned and lead Lucien down the hallway, but it was too late. Luke and Laura were already there.
Nikolas quickly placed himself in front of Lucien, to shield him from Laura's sight. He didn't want another person he cared about to break down because of his cousin, or whoever he was.
Luke smiled at his attempt to protect Laura. "It's okay, Nikolas, she knows who he is," he said, looking at his wife to make sure she was okay. She smiled and nodded at him, seeing the concern in his eyes.
"I have to do this," she whispered, squeezing his hand, then looked back at Nikolas, waiting for him to step out of the way. She wasn't sure what to expect, but she was trying to brace herself for the worst.
Nikolas looked at Luke and his mother for a moment before moving aside, and watched Lucien to see his reaction. Lucien met Laura's eyes and saw the same spark of recognition that he'd seen in nearly everyone else he had met in Port Charles, but this time it was different. Like he had with Elizabeth yesterday, he felt an instant connection to this woman.
Laura's hands flew up to her mouth as Lucien came into view. She had prepared herself for a look-alike, but not for this. Their eyes met, and she gasped. "Lucky!"
Luke squeezed her shoulder. "No, baby, this is Lucien Cassidine," he said, practically spitting out the last name. "Lucky died, you know that."
Laura turned so that her eyes were boring into his, and he could see the certainty in them. "I'm not crazy, Luke, and I'm not having a breakdown. I know this as sure as I know my own name. That man is our son."
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