Chapters 32 & 33     CHAPTER 32: THINKING OF STACI   Nikolas sits silently on Staci's bed in her room at Wyndemere. He looks around, taking in the surroundings as if for the first time. He picks up a photo album off the dresser. Flipping through the pictures, tears form in his eyes. Staci's album is full of pictures of the family; pictures of Staci playing chess with Stefan, Staci sitting on Lucky's shoulders, getting make-up tips from Lu, sitting on Lesley's lap and on and on. Most of the pictures are casual, spur of the moment photos taken by whomever happened to be closest to a camera. Nikolas smiles, fortunately Staci didn't inherit his and Stefan's hatred of cameras. In fact, the only formal pictures either of them are in are ones that Staci wheedled them into. The next picture is one of those rare formals. It is of Staci, Nikolas and Gina, all smiling happily. Gina sits in a high backed chair with Staci in her lap. Nikolas stands somewhat behind the chair. The tears finally escape from Nikolas' eyes as he stares at the picture. "I will get you back, my precious Anastacia," he pledges softly to the picture. Gina enters Staci's room quickly, "Nik, I'm so glad I found you. Mrs. Lansbury said you were up here." Nikolas stands and turns to face his ex-wife, still clutching Staci's photo album. He says nothing. Gina looks around quickly, "Is Staci here?" Pleadingly she adds, "Please tell me this is all a bad dream." "She's not here," Nik says without emotion. Gina sinks onto the bed, cradling her head in her hands, "I can't believe this is real. This can't be happening." "Gina, where were you when Staci was kidnapped?" Nik asks harshly. "On my way to the hospital." Nik starts yelling, "This is YOUR fault! You shirked YOUR responsibilities!" He throws the photo album across the room, "What were you thinking, Gina?!? You just opened the door and LET them take her!" Gina starts quickly defending herself, "It's not like that. We were on our way here, I got an emergency page. I had to go. I left her with Lu, they were on their way home." "Lesley Lu is recovering from a gunshot wound," Nik says by way of information. "If I could do anything to change what happened, I would. You know that Nik, you know I love our daughter." Nik sits on the bed and sighs, "Yes, I know," he says softly before turning towards Gina, "I'm sorry." She reaches over and puts a hand on his arm reassuringly, "It's okay. We just both feel helpless right now." As Gina starts to cry again, Nikolas pulls her towards him in an embrace and holds her comfortingly. "We will get her back, I promise," he tells her soothingly. Lucky sits on a bench by the docks. It's pouring rain and he's soaked to the skin, but he doesn't care. He takes a long drag on his cigar and thinks about his niece. He remembers last year's Christmas parade. Staci had fussed about not being able to see, so he had quickly hoisted her up on his shoulders. Laura grabbed her camera and took a picture to send to Lesley. Staci asked for a copy to keep in her photo album. Lucky smiles; he loves that girl like a daughter. Emily wanders around the docks. She listens to the pouring rain bounce off her umbrella and raincoat. She thinks about how much has changed in the last few weeks. The baby, getting engaged to Tommy, breaking up with Lucky. That last one is the hardest to deal with. She wishes there was a way to make things easier for him. "Don't kid yourself, Em," she says quietly to herself, "You're trying to do what's best for the baby. You can't worry about Lucky." Then she sees him, completely soaked, looking like a drowned rat. Her heart goes out to him even though her head tells her to leave well enough alone. She goes to him quickly and sits next to him, "Lucky, what's wrong? What happened?" she asks hurriedly. Lucky looks blankly over at her as water pours down his face. Emily tries to get information out of him, "Lucky, please, you can tell me." Lucky wipes his face with his hands, "Staci's been kidnapped," he says slowly, his voice barely above a whisper. Instinctively, Emily pulls Lucky towards her in a comforting embrace. "Oh Lucky, I'm so sorry!" Lucky suddenly pulls back, "What are you doing here, Emily?" he asks harshly. "I, uh, I was walking along and saw you sitting here," she says defensively, all the time wondering why SHE was the one needing defending. She steels herself to ask, "Do you need help finding Staci?" He stands up and starts to walk away, "No. I WILL find her." He turns back to Emily, "You know, Staci is as close to a kid as I'm ever gonna have, so I will bring her back, not only for the rest of the family, but for myself." He walks away slowly but with a deliberate stride. The pit in her stomach grows as Emily bites her lip to keep from telling him about her baby. Their baby. Instead, she just looks up at his disappearing form, "I know you'll do it, Lucky, if anyone can," she says before holding her head in her hands and sobbing. Dylan peeks slowly into Lu's hospital room. He's being released today, but he knows that Lu will be here another couple of days. Seeing that she's alone, he comes the rest of the way in. She's asleep, so he sits next to the bed and just watches her sleeping form. He still can't get over how beautiful she is, even covered in cuts and bruises from the accident. Smiling, he's thankful that neither of them were hurt worse than they were. He notices tears coming down her cheeks, even in her sleep. Concernedly, he takes a tissue and gently wipes them away. She stirs slightly and looks up at him. "Hello, Princess," he says softly. "Dylan," she says, smiling slightly. "Are you okay?" He nods, "I'm fine. Getting out of here today, what about you?" Lu shrugs slightly, "My leg is still pretty sore, but other than that, I guess I can't complain." He can't help but notice the sadness in her voice, he knows it's because Lu is worried about Staci. "Any clue who grabbed your niece?" "Nope," she says, wiping away a stray tear. "I saw the same thing you did. This is my fault, you know." Dylan shakes his head, "No it's not. You couldn't have stopped it if you were there. For all we know, they would've either grabbed you or killed you." "What if they kill her?" Lu chokes out before starting to cry. Dylan stands up and sits on the edge of the bed, stroking Lu's hair with his good hand. Her hair is so soft and she looks so small and vulnerable in that large hospital bed. "Don't worry, Princess, she'll be fine." Lu nods slightly. Dylan bends over and kisses her briefly, "I love you, Lesley Lu Spencer." "I love you too." She smiles again. "Now, you'd better go before any of my family comes back." "Should I e-mail you or call, or what?" he asks, standing to leave. She shakes her head, "I'll get Georgie Jones to catch up with you. She's my best friend and she'll relay messages for us. I don't know how much Daddy will be monitoring the email and phones, hoping to hear something about Staci." Dylan nods and heads out the door. Suddenly, he remembers something and turns around, "Oh, Lu?" "Yeah?" "Happy Birthday." "Thanks." Dylan grins wickedly, "I'll give you your present later." She nods, "The best present would be to get Staci back." Dylan blows Lu a kiss as he walks out the door, "Until later." Lu laughs slightly and wipes away more tears. Looking around her empty room she says, "I'm so sorry Staci. I never did this to hurt you." CHAPTER 33: THE SEARCH BEGINS Gina sleeps on the sofa at Wyndemere. Nikolas watches her from across the room. He can see the worry marring her beautiful face and it bothers him. He pulls the ransom note out of his pocket and reads it again. "Two hundred point seven million dollars. What on earth does it mean?" he mumbles to himself. He crosses to the liquor cart and pours himself some port. "I thought you hated port," Gina says sleepily, having woken up from her nap. "Things change," Nikolas replies softly. "Would you like some?" "Sure," she says, crossing over to him. "What do we do now?" she asks as she takes her glass. Downing his drink in one swallow, he shrugs, "The police are on their way. I'm sure they will insist on calling the FBI, especially because of Richard. I can't see how they could be anymore competent this time than last, though." "They have to be," Gina says, trying to convince herself, even though she isn't convinced. Across town at the Morgan's, Lucky is beginning an investigation of his own. Jason opens the door and lets Lucky in. "Hi Lucky. I heard about your niece. Is there anything I can do?" "I was hoping you'd ask," Lucky smiles as he walks in the room. "I need some information, Jason." Hearing the tiny cries from the other room, "Oh, I'm sorry man, did I wake your new baby?" "No, she was crying before you got here," Jason smiles. Getting down to business, he continues, "What kind of information?" Lucky sighs, "I need to know everything you can tell me about a Lisa Smith. She showed up at the Nurses' Ball with Scott Baldwin and performed. She came to MY club afterwards AND she was the one that found Lu. The name Smith makes my hair stand on end and I want to know whether she knows more about this kidnapping than the obvious." "Whatever Lisa said to you, you can believe her. I've never known her to lie," Jason says reassuringly. Jumping on that tidbit, Lucky asks, "Then you know her?" "A bit." Lucky's eyes widen, "Is she part of your organization?" Jason shakes his head, "Lisa doesn't work for me." Point blank, Lucky says, "My little sister was just shot. My niece was kidnapped. If this is some sort of turf war between organizations, I have a right to know so I can protect my family." "Your father and Sonny had a deal. I've extended that protection to you and your family. I will keep you informed if I know of anything that would endanger your family. Now, unless you have something else to discuss, I really need to get back to my wife and children," Jason says blankly, ending the conversation. Lucky just nods in understanding and walks towards the door, "If you find out anything about Lisa's background, you will let me know?" "Anything that effects you, you'll be the first to know," Jason says as he shuts the door behind Lucky. Stefan sits by Laura's hospital bed. He hopes that the rest will help clear her head about Staci. Nikolas needs her support and her strength. And so does he. He reaches over and gingerly strokes her face. She looks so peaceful lying here, compared to the look of desperation she had earlier. Past events play through his mind. How many terrible memories had his family caused her? Laura's island imprisonment was because of Helena and Stavros, as well as her loss of Nikolas as a baby. Lesley was kept hidden away, dead to Laura for years because of the Cassadines. Victor Cassadine kidnapped Lesley Lu as a child. Richard and Staci were kidnapped because they were Cassadines. "When will it end, Lasha?" Stefan says in an anguished whisper. Laura stirs slightly, "Stefan?" she asks before opening her eyes. "I'm here, Lasha," he says comfortingly as he takes her hand in his. "How are you feeling?" "Better...how's Lu?" she asks softly. Stefan smiles, relieved that Laura is getting back to her old self...worrying about her children. "She'll be fine. Your mother's in with her now." Laura nods slightly. "She blames herself, doesn't she?" Curiously, Stefan asks, "Yes. How did you know?" "She's her mother's daughter." Stefan laughs, "That she is." He leans over and kisses her, "I love you, Lasha. We will get through this." She nods again sadly, "Just like we always do." He stands and walks towards the door, "I'm going to go check on Lesley Lu." He turns around, "That is, of course, unless you prefer that I stay here." She shakes her head, "No, go ahead. Give her my love." Stefan nods, and walks out slowly. He pulls the door closed behind him nearly runs into Lu, who is using crutches to get around. He notices that she is still very pale, but a lot of the bandages on her face have been taken off. She has several large cuts and bruises still noticeable. "Angel, what are you doing out of bed?" Lu smiles. "Hi Daddy. Dr. Scanlon told me that I could use these crutches so I could come down here and see Mom. How is she?" "Worried about you and Staci, of course." He is concerned about Lu's present state, "You shouldn't be out of bed too long, so if you insist on seeing your mother, at least go in there and sit down." She leans over and kisses him on the cheek, "Worry, worry, worry. I'll be fine." Wordlessly, he opens the door so Lu can hobble in. He pulls the door shut behind her so she and Laura can have some time alone. He knows they need it. Laura sits up as her daughter enters. "Lu, honey, what are you doing out of bed so soon?" Lu sits down and tries to make herself somewhat comfortable before answering. "It's just a temporary setback, Mom." Laura raises an eyebrow, "You sound just like your father. But, you're in pain, I can see it on your face." Lu winces at having being found out, "Yeah, okay, it hurts, but I needed to see you, and no one would tell me how you were." "Oh baby. I'm okay, you don't need to worry about me." "If you're so okay, why are you in here?" Dodging the question, Laura gets out of bed slowly, "You need to be in bed, Lu. Now come on, I'll walk you to your room." "But what about you?" Lu persists. Laura looks down at her daughter, "What about me? I'm just in here to rest. And you need to be in bed, you look really pale." Rolling her eyes, Lu uses her crutches to pull herself up. "Okay, okay, you win." She lets Laura help steady her, but is fiercely independent when it comes to getting to her room alone. They walk slowly down the hall together.