Chapters 29 & 30

 

Chapter 29: Aftershocks

Shortly before closing time, Lucky sits morosely at the bar of the club. Mike catches sight of him and walks over. "You look like you lost your best friend. Didn't go so well with Emily, huh?" Lucky gives him a nasty look and Mike backs up with his hands up. "Okay, Okay, it's none of my business. I'll stay out of it."

"Damn right it isn't," Lucky says with a growl in his voice. "You lost that right when I found out you were a Cassadine spy."

Mike busies himself with straightening behind the bar. "I may not have a right to ask, but it doesn't stop me from caring what happens to you. For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Lucky shoots Mike another dirty look. "Best thing you can do is just drop it, Man. You wanted to talk, so I'm here. Talk."

"How long you plan on staying in town?" Mike asks. "Is this just a dropping in visit, or are you staying permanently?"

"Something in between," Lucky replies. "I don't know how long I'll stay in town. Depends on what shakes out in the next couple months. Could be permanent or not."

"Then I'd like to put you on the work schedule, if that's not a problem. Cassidy's due to have her kid in the next month or so and I told her I'd try to make it to Switzerland in time for the birth."

Lucky's eyebrows go up in surprise. "Sure. I need to keep busy anyway. Boy, I sure missed a lot while I was gone. Cassidy's in Switzerland?"

Mike nods. "Yep. They rescued Jerry Jacks from some terrorists a few months back, but he was in pretty bad shape. He's still recuperating in a Swiss Clinic, so she moved over there to be near him."

"I think I can commit to sticking around for three months to man the club," Lucky gives him a crooked smile. "Besides, it'll make us even for the time I took off."

"Does this mean we're still partners?"

"For now," Lucky shrugs. "Who knows about the future. All I know is I'm not ready to give up my Dad's legacy just yet, even to rid myself of the likes of you. This club is one of the few things I've got left of him."

Emily is coming downstairs for breakfast when she hears Reginald talking with a man at the door. As she reaches the bottom step, she notices a large bouquet of spring flowers in Reginald's hands. "Hi, Reggie. You want me to take those in for Grandmother? Grandfather must really have stepped over the line this time. They're stunning."

"Uh, they aren't for Mrs Quartermaine, they're for you." A smiling Reginald hands her a note. "Looks like someone wants to impress you. Would you like me to put them in a vase and some water for you?"

"Thanks Reggie, that'd be great." Once she's alone in the foyer, Emily opens the note with trembling hands.


Dear Emily,

I meant every word I said last night, I love you with
all my heart . Give me a chance, Em. Let me show
you I can cherish you the way you want, the way
you deserve.

I have tentatively made reservations for dinner at
the Cafe Matisse tonight. Please say you'll come!
I'll call you this afternoon to confirm.

Love,
Lucky


Emily wipes a tear out of the corner of her eye just as Reggie walks back into the foyer. "Where would you like me to put them, Miss Emily?"

"Gosh, I don't know." She looks around fretfully, then notices a table centrally located. "How about right here? No, wait. I think I'll take them upstairs to my room." Emily takes the vase from him. "Thanks, Reggie. Oh, and can you do me a favor? Don't mention it to Mom and Dad. They'll start asking questions and..."

Reggie nods knowingly. "Of course, Emily. I understand perfectly."

Nik and Gina's apartment within Wyndemere. Gina and Nikolas sit in the kitchen after eating a private breakfast. Nikolas grabs the morning paper while Gina sits quietly sipping her herbal tea. After a few minutes of silence, Nikolas looks over the paper at her. "You are unusually quiet this morning."

Gina feigns a casual shrug. "Sometimes I just feel quiet."

Nikolas' eyes narrow slightly with suspicion but he goes back to reading the paper.

Several minutes pass in silence while Gina's irritation grows exponentially. He isn't supposed to take what she says on face value, he's supposed to know something's upsetting her. She puts her tea cup down with a loud clatter.

Nikolas glances over the paper and sees her mutinous look. "So you're ready to talk," he says as he puts down the paper. "I figured you'd get around to it eventually."

"If you knew something was wrong, then why didn't you ask about it?!" Gina snaps. "It makes me wonder if you really care if I'm upset!"

Nikolas sighs impatiently. "Did it ever occur to you to just tell me what's bothering you rather than waiting for me to ask? How am I supposed to know the difference between you needing time to think things through on your own and you needing me to draw it out of you?"

Gina's eyes fill with tears at his stinging words. "You're mad at me."

"I'm not angry, I am merely frustrated." He closes his eyes to bring his own irritation under control. "Please just tell me what's bothering you."

She bites her bottom lip nervously and looks at her hands. "You told me when we got married that we shared everything with each other."

Nikolas gets up and takes Gina's hand, leading her to the couch so they can sit comfortably together while they talk. "I meant it then and I still do. We share everything."

"I... I went to see Emily yesterday to apologize and she said some things that made me wonder if it's true," Gina begins. "She told me something I didn't know.. that she kissed you. Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"That's what has you so upset?" Nikolas stifles a laugh. "That Emily kissed me once ages ago?"

Gina's eyes fill with tears again. "Nikolas! Don't laugh at me! How could you keep something like this from me? Here I am telling Emily that you've told me everything about your friendship with her and she blind sides me with it, thinking I know all about it. Do you know how stupid I felt?!"

Nikolas forces down his amusement in the face of Gina's obvious distress. "I'm sorry you were embarrassed, Sweetheart. But the reason I didn't tell you is because it's totally irrelevant. There's never been anything between Emily and me. There never has been."

"That's not what she says," Gina argues. "She says she had a huge crush on you until she began seeing Lucky. She didn't start seeing Lucky until after we were engaged! How can you say there's never been anything between you?"

Nikolas shakes his head ruefully. Since when had Gina become so insecure? "There has never been anything between us but friendship. Yes, she had a teenage crush on me, but she knew I never returned her feelings. The kiss she gave me was ages ago, and if I were to guess, she was probably high on something at the time. We've been nothing but friends ever since, that's all there is to it."

"As her friend, what kind of things have you done for her?" Gina presses. "How close are you as friends?"

Nikolas once again stifles his impatience. This third degree is getting tiresome, and while he wants to be open with Gina, the details of Dorman's death and Emily's part in it are not open for discussion as far as he's concerned. "I did what any friend would do for another when they're in trouble, I helped her out however I could. The details aren't important, so I won't bore you with them." He kisses Gina on the top of the head before getting off the couch, signaling the end of their conversation. "It's time I went to see Lucky now that he has returned. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Nikolas, wait..."

"I'm sorry, this meeting with Lucky can't wait. Uncle is counting on me to smooth the way and I don't want to let him down." Nikolas gives her an encouraging smile from the doorway before he leaves. "I will see you at dinner?"

Gina nods while giving him a weak smile. "Sure. Good luck with Lucky."

Kelly's Diner. Emily is just finishing her lunch shift when Nikolas arrives. She smiles at him cheerfully. "Hi Nikolas!"

He motions for her to join him and takes a table in the corner. When she arrives, he gives her a quick hug. "Hey, how's it going?"

Emily takes a seat across from him. "Okay, I guess."

"You don't sound very convincing. I gather Lucky's been to see you?"

"Yup." Emily sighs heavily. "I can't believe how hard it was to see him. I love him so much, you know? It actually hurt me so much to see him that I sent him away. I never imagined I'd feel like this when he finally came home."

Nikolas takes her hand and gives it a squeeze. "Give it time. The fact that it still hurts like this means you love him. He's very lucky to have someone who loves him as much as you do."

Emily smiles gratefully. "Thanks.... did Gina tell you she came by to apologize yesterday?"

Nikolas nods "Actually that's part of the reason I'm here. That and I was hoping you might know where Lucky is."

"No, but you might try the club," Emily suggests. "He's supposed to call me this afternoon, I can tell him you were looking for him."

"Yeah, that'd be great...listen about Gina..." Nikolas leans closer to talk more quietly. "I want to apologize if she upset you, I don't know exactly what's going on, but she isn't feeling very secure right now. She told me you two talked about our friendship and that you told her about the kiss. I just wanted you to know I'd never tell her about what happened with Dorman or any of the rest. That's between you, Lucky and me and will always stay that way."

Emily looks visibly relieved. "Whew, I thought when she said you two shared everything that she knew about what happened..." Suddenly her eyes widen as a thought occurs to her. "Oh no, she didn't know about that stupid kiss, did she?"

"No, and not about your crush either." Nikolas shakes his head. "I figured I'd spare both of you that, but instead it blew up in my face."

"Gosh, I'm sorry, Nikolas! I never meant to cause any trouble, I just thought when she said she knew everything, she knew about it. I wanted her to know it was nothing.... and now I've just made things worse for you."

"I can handle it," Nikolas assures her. "Gina knows I love only her, she will just need some extra reassurance . But I wanted to make sure you weren't worrying about the whole Dorman mess." He looks at his watch. "My next class is in about fifteen minutes so I better go. Then I'll stop by the club to see if Lucky's there. If you talk to him, let him know I need to speak to him."

Later in the afternoon, Emily is gazing at the bouquet of flowers Lucky sent her when her phone rings. She rushes to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hi Emily. It's me, Lucky."

Emily forces herself to swallow the large lump in her throat. "Hi... thanks for the flowers you sent this morning, they're beautiful."

"You think so?" Lucky asks hopefully. "I wasn't sure if you'd like them."

"I love them."

"Good...So.. um, have you thought about having dinner with me tonight?" Lucky winces at how uncertain he sounds.

"Yeah, a lot." Emily pauses. "I just don't know... I don't think I can handle another night like last night. It's not that I don't want to see you... you're all I think about, but..."

"I came on too strong last night, didn't I?" Lucky stops himself from apologizing again, more for her sake than his own. The last thing she needs is some lame apology, what she needs to see his regret in his actions. She needs to learn she can trust him again. "What if I propose something very different than last night... some ground rules, for example."

"Ground rules?"

Lucky grins as the idea takes form in his head. "Yeah, like no heavy talk, no pressure. Just you and me going on a date to have fun. We used to have fun, didn't we?"

"Yeah, we always had lots of fun," Emily admits, smiling slightly as she remembers.

"I figure it's worth a try, right? If it flops, then we can call it a night and try something else." Lucky's voice has it's familiar cocky tone to it. "Not that it'll flop. I may have dropped out of sight for a while, but I didn't forget how to have fun. You game?"

Lucky's optimism rubs off on Emily, causing a smile to creep across her face."Sure, I'm game. But this is a full fledged date, right? You're going to pick me up at the door?"

"Absolutely... flowers, a fancy dinner, a kiss at the door at the end of the night... the whole nine yards. I'm even prepared to brave your parents. I'm sure they'll have a few choice words for me, but as long as I know you're going out with me, I can take anything they throw at me."

Emily laughs. "Well, I'd wear a full suit of armor if I were you, because certain members of my family have sworn to skin you the next time they set eyes on you."

"That's where my infamous Spencer charm comes in handy," Lucky quips. "I'll have them eating out of my hand in no time."

Emily rolls her eyes. "Oh brother!"

 

Chapter 30 Mending Fences

Lucky is finishing his phone call with Emily when he hears a knock on the door of his apartment. "That's probably Nikolas. Man, I really don't want to deal with him right now."

"You two aren't going to fight again, are you?" Emily asks with concern.

"If he lays the family responsibility trip on me again, we will." Lucky sighs when he hears another knock at the door. "I better go, I'll pick you up later for our date."

"Good luck, Lucky. I'm really looking forward to tonight."

Lucky smiles crookedly. "Me too. Catch you later."

After hanging up the phone, Lucky answers the door to his apartment. Once he confirms it's Nikolas, he turns away without saying anything, letting Nikolas close the door behind him.

Nikolas enters the room gingerly, guessing from Lucky's demeanor that he has to tread carefully."So... I finally tracked you down."

Lucky throws an icy glare at Nikolas. "Leave it to you to state the obvious. Say what you came to say and slither back to your haunted mansion. I have more important things to do than listen to you."

Nikolas clenches his jaw at Lucky's inflammatory remarks. "I know you and I have never had an easy relationship, but since when have we reverted back to insulting each other?"

"Since you had the balls to expect me to attend that ridiculous wedding between our mother and Uncle Stiff." Lucky turns to face Nikolas, his eyes blazing and his chin raised in challenge. "Where did you get off doing that, Man? Above all, using the Lulu card to guilt trip me into attend that sham? You said you understood what it was like to be the son on the outside, but then you have the nerve to expect me to join in the celebration? When you of all people knew how them getting hitched was killing me?"

"You're right, I was pretty insensitive coming to you and asking you to attend the wedding. I had no business putting pressure on you. I'm sorry." Nikolas paces back and forth in front of Lucky. "Call it temporary insanity. I wanted everything to be right for Mother and LesleyLu during the wedding, but I didn't consider how my request would affect you."

Lucky crosses his arms. "You told me once that I had to back off about Steffin if I wanted to have a relationship with you. You remember that?"

Nikolas nods. "Yes, I do. It was a few months after Luke died. I wanted Lulu to spend time with me at Wyndemere. I wanted you to trust me."

"Exactly," Lucky bites out. "Well, putting aside the ironic fact that what I predicted would happen happened, I remember saying I'd never trust him. But I also said I'd back off because I trusted you. Well, I'm telling you now. If you start guilt-tripping me again like you did the day of that.... wedding, you can forget any kind of relationship with me. Got it?"

Nikolas nods. "Alright, I guess I'll have to live with that."

Lucky sits down on the bed and leans back. "So what are you really here for and who sent you? Mom or Count Vlad?"

Nikolas starts to protest, but stops himself, deciding instead to be straightforward. "Uncle did. He wants there to be peace between you, for Mother and LesleyLu's sake."

Lucky smiles bitterly. "Well, isn't that precious? And it's so important to him that he sent you rather than coming to me himself. Does he really think I'd do anything to hurt Lulu?"

"It isn't like that at all," Nikolas sighs impatiently. "He sent me because he thought I'd have a better chance speaking with you than he would. You two don't exactly get along."

"No joke," Lucky sneers. "Face it, Nikky, Uncle Steffin is a coward. He's using you as a messenger because he's afraid to deal with me himself. He knew I wouldn't shoot you on sight, so he sent you to test the waters."

Nikolas clenches his jaw again. He expected Lucky to give him a hard time, but even so he finds his temper rising. "Would you rather have had him arrive on your doorstep this afternoon?"

"As a matter of fact, yeah." Lucky goes to his door and opens it for Nikolas. "Go home, Nikky. Tell Steffie if he wants to deal with me that he'll have to do the dirty work himself for once."

At the Cassadine retreat, Alexis is curled up under a blanket on the couch. The drapes in the living room are pulled, making the room dark even though it's midday.

A miserable Alexis pulls the blanket closer around herself. All her thoughts since arriving last night have been consumed with her late husband Sonny. Whenever she gets a brief flash of her tryst with Tom, the guilt swamps her. Recalling her memories of Sonny are safer, even though they inevitably lead to her feeling empty and and very alone.

A sad smile crosses her face at the memory of Sonny's second marriage proposal....



Summer of 1998. Sonny and Alexis are on a private jet. They are both giddy with happiness and a sense of triumph. Alexis sits cuddled up with Sonny, her back against his chest and his arms around her. Her head rests on his shoulder.

"I'm so glad it's finally over," Alexis says with a sigh.

"Yep, it's really over this time." Sonny nips playfully at Alexis' earlobe. "Lulu Spencer is safely away from Victor Cassadine and in her parents' arms. Nikolas is safely back in Port Charles along with Stefan. And you and I are FINALLY alone."

Alexis chuckles. "I get the sense from your tone that the part you are most happy about is us being alone."

"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't true." Sonny places a soft kiss on her neck. "We haven't had a moment alone since Joseph told us that Lulu had been kidnapped. Do you remember that morning?"

"How could I forget?" Alexis muses. "It was the morning we admitted that we loved each other. And it was the morning after the most incredible sex we've ever had."

Sonny's voice deepens. "Hmmm, I remember that too... it's been too long."

Alexis pulls up in surprise. "Are you suggesting...?"

"That we make love right now, while we're in flight? While the thought is very tempting, I have something else in mind. Something much more important." Sonny leaves his seat to kneel in front of Alexis.

Alexis puts a hand over her mouth. "You're not."

Sonny gives her a twinkly grin as brings her hand to his lips. "Oh, yes I am. I never got to finish my last proposal."

"Sonny..."

Sonny's suddenly becomes deadly serious. "I want you to marry me, Alexis. As soon as possible. The last couple months, working side by side to get Lulu back has proven to me what I've always believed, that we are an incredible team. We took on your family and won. Nothing can stop us if we're together."

Alexis looks torn. "Sonny, I..."

Sonny puts a finger over her lips. "I love you, Alexis. More than I have ever loved anyone. I never thought my heart could be so full, that I could be at peace and be in love at the same time. And the love we share has trust. Trust that you can handle my lifestyle and that I can handle whatever you family throws at us."

Alexis cups Sonny's face. "I do love you, Sonny. And I do trust you, with my life and with the potential danger my family poses. Even so, it's hard to let go of the fear. The fear that Helena will destroy whatever happiness we have together."

Sonny kisses the palm of her with great gentleness. "Say you'll marry me. Don't let your fear of Helena rule your life... our lives."

Alexis brushes away the tears in her eyes and takes a deep breath. "Okay, here goes.... I will marry you, Sonny Corinthos."

Sonny pulls her down to him in a fierce hug. "Yes! You said yes!" He exclaims, his voice filled with joy and amazement.

Alexis hugs him back just as fiercely. "Yes, I'll marry you, Sonny."

Sonny gives her a hard kiss before breaking away from her. "I'll be right back."

Alexis watches with confusion as Sonny knocks on the cockpit door and says a few words to the pilot. After a minute, he returns to her and puts her in her seat and buckles her in. "What did you say to the pilot?" She asks finally.

Sonny buckles himself in and takes her hand. "We'll be making a small detour on our way back to Port Charles... to Puerto Rico."

"Puerto Rico?"

Sonny smiles triumphantly. "Yes, we're getting married tonight. Now that you've said yes, I'm not going to give you a chance to change your mind."




Back in the present, Alexis silently wipes the tears from her eyes as she gazes down at her wedding ring.

A nervous Lucky stands outside the Quartermaine mansion, waiting for the door to be answered. While he's not looking forward to the impending confrontation with Emily's family, what really has him nervous is seeing Emily. Tonight is so important for them, for their future. He can't shake the feeling that the stakes are all or nothing.

The act of the door opening breaks Lucky out of his private thoughts. He smiles in relief when he sees Reginald. "Hi, Reggie. I'm here to pick Emily up."

Reginald ushers him in. "She'll be down in just a minute. Come inside."

Just then Monica and Alan come down the stairs. Alan glowers at the sight of him. "You have a lot of nerve showing your face here, Spencer!" He accuses. "Let me be the first to inform you. You aren't welcome in our house. I suggest you leave before I have you thrown out!"

Monica puts a restraining hand on Alan's arm. "Alan, I think you're being a bit premature...."

Alan turns on Monica. "What?! You're suggesting we welcome him in our house after he tried to steal Emily away from us?! Then, when she thought better of it and turned down his proposal, he left her high and dry with a broken heart! That's the kind of man you want your daughter to hang out with?!"

"I'm just saying it's not our place to decide," Monica reasons. "I don't like what he did to Emily any better than you do, but..."

Lucky cuts in. "Mr and Mrs Quartermaine, you have every reason to be angry with me. I know I've done some stupid things lately, the biggest hurting Emily by leaving, but..."

Suddenly Edward arrives at the doorway from the living room, looking a little thinner than usual. His face flushes immediately at the sight of Lucky. "Who let this scoundrel into my house? Get out of here, Spencer!"

"It's MY house, Edward!" Monica yells back. "I decide who stays or goes!"

"But *I* gave it to you!" Alan retorts.

Quartermaine chaos ensues, leaving Lucky watching with a mixture of shock and amusement until a piercing whistle is heard. The source of the whistle, at the top of the staircase, is Emily. "Stop IT! All of you!"

Alan, Edward and Monica look at Emily in stunned silence. Alan is the first to recover. "You can't seriously be considering going out with this derelict, are you, Emily?"

Emily descends the steps with flourish, grabbing Lucky's hand to show support for him. "Yes, as a matter of fact I am. And there's nothing you can do to stop me."

The Quartermaine family watches with shock as Emily drags Lucky to the door with her. "Emily! I forbid it, you hear me?!" Edward blusters. He clutches his chest dramatically. "Do you want to be the death of me?"

Emily shakes her head firmly, seeing his dramatics for what they are. "Sorry, Grandfather. I'm going out to dinner with Lucky Spencer, and that's all there is to it."

Not one to hide behind Emily, Lucky turns to address them. "I know none of you will believe me at this point, but I love Emily. I know I've hurt her in the past, but I'd rather cut my own heart out than hurt her again. I'll take care of her, I promise."

"You're damn right, we don't believe you!" Alan retorts angrily, advancing a few steps. "You hurt my little girl again, and so help me..."

Monica pulls him back. "Alan, stop it!" She hisses. "Can't you see all you're doing is upsetting Emily?"

"C'mon, it'll only get uglier the longer we stick around," Emily whispers in Lucky's ear as she pulls him through the front door that Reggie holds open. She gives her family a bright smile and a wave. "Bye! I'll be home by midnight!"