Chapter 25

Elizabeth was still giddy from her date the previous night. She finally felt alive again, for the first time in 2 years. She got dressed and went downstairs to find something to eat. Audrey was at the hospital, so she had the house to herself. She grabbed the phone and went into the living room. After making herself comfortable on the couch, she dialed.

"Hello?'

"Carly! Guess who?" she said happily.

"Well, normally I'd guess Liz, but you sound way too happy to be the Liz I know!" Carly joked.

"That's because I am happy!" she responded, laughing.

"So, I take it the date went well...." Carly prompted, dying to hear all the details. She didn't exactly get a lot of girl talk with Jason, so now that Liz was back, she was going to make the most of it!

Liz giggled. "Yeah, if went really well. The only thing that could have made it better was if he kissed me, but that will come in time. I think he's just trying to be a gentleman. He kissed me on the cheek, though!"

Carly laughed. "Hey, that's a start. I have to admit, when he called and asked me to get you guys into the No-Name, I was shocked. Lucky's in there somewhere, I just know it. How close do you think he is to surfacing?"

"I'm not sure. Sometimes I can see him so clearly, it's like he's right there, on the brink. Then other times, especially when he talks about Helena or Greece, he becomes Lucien again, and I can barely recognize him. It's like going out with someone who has MPD!"

"MPD?"

"Multiple Personality Disorder. I learned about it at school. It's when someone has more than one separate personality in their head. That's kind of how Lucien is, in a way."

"Since when does an art school teach that kind of stuff?" Carly asked, chuckling.

"I took a psychology class at a nearby college. Gail suggested it might help me cope. It was really interesting. Anyway, my point was that I'm sure that all he needs is the right push to remember who he is. I just haven't figured out what that push is..."

"You're the push, Liz! Just spend time with him, try to do things you used to do, things that might bring up memories for him. Sooner or later you'll hit on the right one."

"You're right, Carly. Maybe I'll call him and see if he wants to go to Eli's for lunch. That was our place, you know. We ate their ribs religiously. It was Lucky's favorite food, although something tells me that Lucien has never had them before." She chuckled, trying to imagine a Cassidine eating ribs. Even Nikolas couldn't understand why she liked them.

"Then maybe that's what you should do. They always say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Maybe it's the same for his memory! Just keep feeding him foods that Lucky liked until he remembers."

Liz laughed and was about to agree when her call waiting beeped. "Oh! Just a second, there's another call." She clicked over to the other line. "Hello?"

"Hello, Elizabeth? It's Lucien. Is this a bad time?"

She grinned, trying to suppress a giggle. "No, of course not. I was on the other line with Carly, but we're done talking. Wait a second and I'll get off." She quickly clicked over and squealed.

"Ow...Liz, what was that?" Carly asked. She had never heard Liz squeal like that before!

"Lucky, Lucien, whoever, anyway, he's on the other line, so I have to go. I'll call you later, bye!" She switched lines again before Carly even had a chance to say good-bye.

"Okay, I'm back. Sorry about that," she said breathlessly. She felt like a kid again, getting her first call from a boy. It was silly, but she couldn't help it.

Lucien was trying to hide his nervousness, not only because he was talking to her, but because Nikolas was sitting right in front of him, listening to everything he said. "That's okay, I don't mind. Did you sleep well last night?"

"Like a baby. It was good to be in my old bed again, instead of that horrible hospital one!"

"That's good..." he said, trying to think of something to talk about.

Liz smiled at his obvious nervousness. 'I can't believe we're acting like a couple of teenagers!' she thought to herself. Finally, she decided to just go for it and ask him out. "Lucien, would you like to have lunch with me this afternoon?"

He was speechless for a minute. He had been trying to gather the courage to ask her out again, and here she was asking him! He looked up at Nikolas, who was waiting to see why he had been so quiet.

"Lucien?" she asked tentatively. He had been quiet for so long, she was afraid she had scared him off or something.

"Oh, sorry. Um..I'd love to. Do you want me to pick you up?" He looked at Nikolas, who was grinning at him, and smiled.

"I don't know, do you think you can beg Nikolas for his car again?" she teased.

"I don't know, why don't you ask him this time?" he joked, then handed Nikolas the phone.

"Hi Liz," Nikolas said, laughing at how Lucien had just passed her off to him.

"Hey. I'm going to take him to Eli's for lunch. I think it might help bring back some memories, you know? Anyway, Gram is at the hospital, so we need your car again."

"Liz..." he started, trying to figure out how to change her mind without saying anything too revealing in front of Lucien.

"Nikolas, I know what you're thinking. You never let Lucky drive because he was so reckless. But I swear, Lucien isn't. He was very careful, and never went over the speed limit. Please? This could be the only way to get Lucky back. You wouldn't stop that from happening just because of a car, would you?" she pleaded, pouring on the guilt.

He sighed, knowing she was right. "Fine, but if anything happens, I'm holding you responsible!"

"Thanks, you're the best!" she exclaimed as he handed the phone back to Lucien. They made plans for him to pick her up at noon and hung up.

"Thanks, man," Lucien said before heading upstairs to change. Nikolas just sat there, watching him go, a small smile on his face. Lucien Cassidine had never called him "man", but Lucky, on the other hand, did it all the time.

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