Chapter 3

Luke sat in his office, smoking a cigar and going over the club's books. He checked his watch, and saw that he had another 20 minutes before he had to leave. The phone rang shrilly.

"Speak to me!"

There was a chuckle on the other end. "You sound like you're in a good mood tonight!"

His face lit up at the sound of her voice. "Why darlin', it's good to hear from you! How's New York treating you?"

"It's good. We have a break coming up and I was thinking of coming back to Port Charles to see you guys."

"Now, that's the best news I've heard all day! We'd love to see you again. Laura misses you, ya know."

"I miss her too. I miss all of you, which reminds me why I called. You didn't think I'd forget your anniversary, did you?"

"Anniversary? Is that today? I guess I better cancel that hot date I have tonight!" he joked.

She laughed. "Very funny, Luke. Please tell Laura that I said hello and congratulations."

"Of course. Say, have you met any nice young bachelors there yet?"

There was a pause before she answered. "No, not really. Don't get me wrong, I've been on dates, but, I don't know. I always find something wrong with them, you know?" She sounded sad all of a sudden, and he mentally kicked himself for bringing up such a sensitive subject.

"Give it time, honey. You'll meet someone."

"I know, but I'll never meet anyone like him again, and I guess that's what I'm subconsciously holding out for." She sighed, frustrated with the way her life was going.

"Well, Lucky was definitely one in a million, but that doesn't mean you can't find love with another man. Just keep on truckin' along. It'll happen." He hated to hear her so sad, but didn't know what else to do for her. He and Laura had become like parents to her over the past five years, but no matter what they did, she always carried this deep loss in her heart.

"Thanks, Luke. I'm sorry if I brought you down. I'll be okay, really. You go have dinner with your beautiful wife and enjoy yourself. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"You can count on it. Good-bye Elizabeth." He hung up and gazed at the group of pictures on his desk, picking up one of the newer additions: a framed picture of Liz and Lucky. He smiled sadly, remembering how in love they had been. His heart still ached for his son, but after reuniting with Laura, they had managed to help each other heal, and the pain had become more bearable.

"Okay, Spencer, this is a happy day. Stop obsessing over what could have been and go meet your wife!" After giving himself that little pep talk, he got up and left the office.

~*~

Lucien was sitting in his dorm room, trying to study, but his recent conversation with his uncle kept running through his head. As soon as he had mentioned Robin, his uncle had gotten very quiet. He tried to cover it up, but Lucien knew him too well. Something about her bothered him, and he wanted to find out what it was.

He dug out his copy of the university's phone book and located her number. He dialed and waited for her to answer.

"Bonjour!" she answered cheerily.

"Robin?" he asked, not sure if it was her.

"Oui," the man's voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it.

"It's Lucien Cassidine. We met at the library yesterday?" He really hoped she remembered him.

She was surprised that he had called her, but was glad to have another chance to talk to him. Something about him was nagging at her, and she couldn't figure out what it was. "Lucien! How are you?"

"I'm good. I was wondering if you would meet me for coffee this afternoon. I'd like to hear more about Port Charles." He hoped that he didn't sound too forward. After all, he hadn't had much experience with other people his age, and was afraid that she would think that he was asking her out.

She smiled. "I'd love to, Lucien. I'll meet you at the cafe on the corner in 20 minutes. Is that okay?"

"That's great. I'll see you then!" He hung up, hoping that she could shed some light on this whole thing.

Twenty minutes later, Robin entered the cafe to find Lucien already sipping a cup of coffee. She smiled and joined him at the table. "I'm glad you called. I had wanted to talk to you again as well."

"About what?" he asked, confused.

"I'm not really sure. There's just something about you that makes me feel like I know you. I know, that sounds strange, but it's been bugging me all day."

He smiled. "Well, you know my cousin, so I probably just remind you of him."

She shook her head. "No, you're not really anything like Nikolas. At least, you don't look the same. Anyway, what did you want to know about PC?"

"PC? Oh, you mean Port Charles. Well, my grandmother and uncle keep forbidding me to go there, which of course just makes me more curious about the place. They claim that the reason it's so dangerous is because of Luke Spencer, but Stefan and Nikolas are able to live there, so he can't be that dangerous. Do you know him?"

"Yeah, Luke was my father's best friend, actually. They used to work for the WSB together. He's always been kind to me, and he's extremely devoted to his family. He's even managed to overcome his hatred for the Cassidines and accept Nikolas as his stepson, which is something I never thought he'd be able to do! I really don't think you'd have to worry about him. The only member of your family he really dislikes anymore is your grandmother."

He sat there quietly, soaking in everything she was telling him. The picture she had just painted of Luke was very different than the man that he had been told about all his life.

After thinking for a moment, she continued. "I haven't been back there in a long time, for personal reasons..." she trailed off, thinking about Jason. When she heard about him marrying Carly she had nearly lost it. She vowed then and there that she would never go back to that town. "Anyway, I talk to my Uncle Mac all the time, and he fills me in on what's happening. About five years ago, Luke's son was killed in a fire, and according to my uncle, he's never really recovered from the loss."

Lucien looked at her strangely. "He had a son? My grandmother never mentioned that. She said that he only had a daughter named Lesley."

"You mean LuLu? Yeah, she's their youngest. She's probably about 10 or 11 by now. His son was 16 when he died. Everyone took his death really hard. He was a really wonderful guy." She seemed sad all of a sudden and he realized that she must have known this boy well.

"What was his name?" He couldn't figure out why they hadn't told him about this boy. Knowing how much pleasure his grandmother took in seeing Luke Spencer in pain, he thought she would have told him all about him. Also, when she had said LuLu, it seemed to strike something in him, and he had a quick vision of a little, dark-haired girl. 'Grandmother must have shown me a picture once,' he thought to himself.

"His name was Lucky. Lucky Spencer." She was picturing him in her mind, remembering the last time she had seen him when it hit her. She realized now why this man had seemed so familiar. He looked very much like Lucky. He even had the same blue eyes. But it wasn't possible....was it?

As soon as she said the name, Lucien felt something in his mind shift. There was a momentary flash, like a memory that didn't quite want to surface. He couldn't see what it was, but did hear something. It was a girl, saying that boy's name, but the way she said it felt so familiar to him...

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