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Lucky stared at the boy who shook his hand. "Mark-Davis?" he asked, unsure.
Mark nodded. "Yes. Alexis Davis is my cousin. Do you know her?"
"You're a Cassadine?" Lucky pulled away immediately.
"A what?" Mark looked genuinely bewildered.
"You mean, you don't know of the Cassadines?" Lizzie interrupted.
"Nice try man. If Alexis is your cousin then that means that you're related to the Cassadines. And if you're related to the Cassadines, then we don't mix."
Mark glanced from Elizabeth to Lucky. "Look, I don't know what you guys are talking about. I've never heard of any Cassadines."
"Everyone in Port Charles knows of the Cassadines."
"I just moved here a few months ago. The only people I know here are a few of my friends, Alexis, and Emily."
Lucky softened. The boy looked honestly confused. "Sorry for yelling at you again, man."
"Don't worry, I'm getting used to it." Mark grinned to show Lucky he was joking. "Now do you mind filling me in here?"
Lucky glanced over his shoulder to see Jason and Carly step out of the elevator. "I'll tell you all about it later."
"What's going on, Lucky? Where's Em?" Jason asked as he and Carly walked up to them with Renaldo in tow.
Liz pointed to the room. "She's in there."
Jason glanced in the window to Emily who was asleep on the bed. "What did the doctors say?"
"Nothing. She just said that she wanted to speak to AJ." Lucky told him.
"Poor kid." Carly said as she gazed inside the room. "She's had to much to deal with."
Lucky looked away, feeling ashamed.
"So what happened to her?" Mark asked as he shifted on his crutches.
Jason turned around and looked at him. "Who are you?"
"I'm a friend of Emily's."
Jason needed no further explanation. He simply nodded and turned to Lucky.
"Do the Q's know?"
Lucky nodded. "I called them right after I called you."
"Where is my granddaughter? I want to see my Granddaughter!"
Jason and Lucky rolled their eyes as they heard Edward's booming voice.
"So where is she?" Edward demanded of them as he came down the hall with the rest of the clan. Lizzie, unsure of this man, pointed to the room.
"Jason, do you know what's wrong with her?" Lila asked.
Jason shrugged. "I haven't spoken to the doctor. Supposedly AJ is talking to her."
"My poor baby." Monica whispered as she gazed in the window.
Down the hall, a door opened. AJ and Dr. Sommers walked out.
"How is she?" Alan wanted to know.
Dr. Sommers looked at AJ. "Can you fill them in? I want to check on Emily."
As the Dr. walked into the hospital room, AJ told everyone about Emily's condition.
"She needs us now." He said once he finished explaining. "So no yelling about her" AJ glared at Edward "and no fighting."
Edward raised an eyebrow and was about to defend himself, but Lila reached up and took his arm, quieting him down.
The hall quieted as the door to Emily's room opened. Everyone stood up as Dr. Sommers walked out.
Lucky's voice was uneasy. "How is she?"
Sarah Webber wrapped her jean jacket tighter around her to block out the cold. The wind whipped through her blonde hair and overhead the clouds moved swiftly.
"Watch out!"
She glanced up to see a kid whizzing by her on his skateboard. Sarah stepped out of the way, trying to avoid the daredevil.
Soon, the kid was off in the distance. Sarah started walking along the sidewalk once again. Her face determined and full of purpose.
Finally she came to her destination. She walked among the rocks and past some of the trees, remembering what this place was like when her grandfather had taken her when she was younger.
Although it was now in ruins and there was no sign of there ever being a church, Sarah still felt happiness there because she remembered it. She remembered her grandfather taken her there, and she remembered Nikolas Cassadine.
She could picture Nikolas. It was all so clear. Every single feature was so vivid. Sarah pushed the image away and continued to step over rocks to get to the small clearing. The trees parted and Sarah stepped down from a rock.
Surprisingly enough, there was another person already there. Someone with dark brown hair. That's odd, she thought. There are only two other people who know about this place-
And then it hit her. Sarah knew exactly who this other person was.
"Nikolas?"
"How is she?" Lucky asked.
Dr. Sommers smiled. "She'll be okay, Lucky." She looked at the adults. "Her fever went down. We're going to keep her in the hospital for a few more days, and if it doesn't rise, she can go home by the end of the week."
They all sighed in relief.
"Can we see her?" Carly asked.
Dr. Sommers nodded. "Go right in. I'm sure that she'd be glad to see you."
Jason leaned in and whispered something to Carly, who nodded and turned to Monica. "We're going to come back later", she said. The two said their goodbyes and left.
Mark gazed after the Quartermaine family as they went into Emily's hospital room.
I'll be back, Emily, he silently promised her. He turned on his crutches and walked off down the hallway.
Elizabeth Webber turned around to see Lucky standing alone by the wall, watching as the family crowded into the room. She walked up beside him and leaned against the wall.
"You're not going in there?" She looked over at Lucky.
He shook his head.
"Why not?"
"I don't know. I guess I'm just scared."
"Of what, Lucky?"
"I don't want to lose her, Liz. She's my best friend. I don't want to lose that."
"Don't you think that she's just as scared? Isn't that what this fight is about?"
Lucky looked at her. "When did you get so wise?"
Elizabeth laughed. "So, are you going to talk to her?"
"Yeah." Lucky looked through the window at the Q's who were crowding around Emily's bed. He thought, and I'm going to tell her how much I need her, and how much I miss my best friend.
Lucky Spencer stepped out of the elevator on the second floor of General Hospital and glanced around. Not many visitors were on the floor, but then again, that wouldn't be likely considering that it was eleven o'clock at night.
In the waiting room sat a woman and a teenage girl his age. The girl looked obviously nervous and she gave Lucky a small smile. The woman was holding a magazine, but she wasn't reading it. Only staring at the page before her, looking upset.
Lucky gave the teenager a slight smile and walked over to the nurse's station.
"Hi Aunt Bobbie."
Bobbie looked up from her paperwork. "Lucky, hi. What are you doing here so late? Does Luke know you're here?"
"Yeah, I told him that I was coming to see Emily. Is she up for visitors?"
"Well, you know, she just woke up about a half an hour ago. I'm sure that she'd like the company."
"Thanks. I'll see you later."
Bobbie said goodbye and continued on with her paperwork.
A commotion in the waiting room caused Lucky to turn around. A man in a doctor's uniform was talking with the teenager and the older woman. Tears were streaming down the girl's cheeks and she was hugging the woman.
"I'm sorry." He heard the doctor say.
Lucky felt sympathy for them and wished that he never would have to lose someone like that.
But he realized that he almost did. Lucky hurried down the hall to Emily's hospital room. He knocked on the wooden door and opened it. The radio was playing soft music. Emily was sitting up in bed, she looked better than she had a few hours ago, but still incredibly weak.
She turned as Lucky stepped into the room. "Lucky." She said, a faint smile came to her lips.
"Hi Em. Are you up for a visitor?"
"I'm up for visitors anytime." Came her reply.
"Well, how about a friend?"
Emily stared at him for a moment, then gestured to the chair in the corner. "Have a seat."
Lucky dragged the chair over to the edge of her bed.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
Emily shrugged. "Not great, but I'll be okay."
"Look, Em, I have to talk to you."
"Lucky, please, I don't want to fight."
"Neither do I. Not now, not ever again." Lucky nervously ran his fingers through his hair as the radio turned to a new song, a song that seemed to spell out his feelings.
Oh, why you look so sad? Tears are in your eyes
Come on and come to me now.
Don't be ashamed to cry, let me see you through
Cause I've seen the dark side too.
"I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you before. I was so infatuated with Sarah and so angry at Nikolas and my mom, I lost track of my friends. That won't ever happen again. I'll be there for you, I promise."
When the night falls on you, you don't know what to do,
Nothing you confess could make me love you less
I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you, won't let nobody hurt you,
I'll stand by you.
"Lucky, I needed you. All of those times, I needed you, I needed a friend, and you weren't there. No one was there."
So, if you're mad get mad, don't hold it all inside,
Come on and talk to me now.
And hey, what you got to hide? I get angry too
But I'm a lot like you.
"Lucky, I didn't want to fight with you. I just felt so alone." Emily wiped away her tears. "My life was going through all of these changes and all of these turns, I was so confused. And you weren't there."
When you're standing at the crossroads, don't know which path to choose,
Let me come along, cause even if your wrong
I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you, won't let nobody hurt you,
I'll stand by you.
Take me into your darkest hour, and I'll never desert you.
I'll stand by you.
"But you're here now." Emily smiled. "And I am so grateful for that."
Emily wiped away the tears that were streaming down her cheeks and grinned.
"So, Spencer, you promised me a sno-cone."
Lucky only laughed and grasped her hand tighter.
And when, when the night falls on you baby, you're feeling all alone,
You won't be on your own, I'll stand by you. I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you, won't let nobody hurt you. I'll stand by you
Take me in into your darkest hour and I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you.
I'll stand by you, won't let nobody hurt you. I'll stand by you
Take me in into your darkest hour and I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you.
Emily felt tired, her eyelids felt heavy. But she didn't want to sleep. She squeezed Lucky's hand tighter, afraid that if she let go or closed her eyes that he would go away, that none of this would have happened.
"Don't leave." She whispered drowsily.
"Never." Lucky replied. He watched as she drifted off to sleep, and as her breathing became steady. Emily's grip loosened, but Lucky still hung on to her hand.
The door opened and Bobbie poked her head in. "Hi Lucky, how is everything?"
Lucky shrugged. "She just fell asleep."
"Well, I think she needs her rest."
"Can I stay here with her?"
"It's against the rules of the hospital" Bobbie looked at Lucky's pleading face. "But yeah, you can stay here. There's an extra blanket and pillow in the closet."
"Thanks Aunt Bobbie."
"Yeah," Bobbie smiled. "You owe me."
As the door shut, Lucky got up and walked over to the closet. He pulled out a blanket and pillow and settled back in the chair by the bed. He pulled the blanket over top of him and lay his head back on the pillow, keeping an eye on Emily. She stirred, and for a minute Lucky thought that she was going to wake up, but her breathing resumed its steady pace. Lucky took Emily's hand in his own again and closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep.
He reopened his eyes to feel pressure against his hand. He smiled as he realized that Emily had gently squeezed it. He gazed down at this friend.
"I'm going to show you the world, Em." He whispered.
"Nikolas?"
The dark haired boy turned around and smiled.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I-"Nikolas swallowed, trying to speak clearly. "Came to…see you."
Sarah could feel herself smiling. "Really."
He nodded and offered her his hand. "I thought…about…what you said." He helped Sarah down from the rock. "I'm sorry."
"I just missed you Nikolas." She glanced away. "Why wouldn't you let me see you?"
"I didn't want you to see me like this."
Sarah shook her head. "I don't care what you sound like, don't you get that?" she paused. "I'm in love with you, Nikolas Cassadine."
Emily stared out the window at the nature outside. She reached over to touch the glass windowpane. The glass was warm. Emily sighed and pulled her hand away. She wished that she could be out there enjoying the sunshine. Instead she was stuck in the hospital.
She had asked the nurse when she could go home, but the nurse just gave her a pat on the arm and smiled sympathetically. It was so frustrating when she asked questions but she never got answers.
The door opened and Lucky came in, carrying a cup of orange juice that he had gotten from the cafeteria.
"Hi." He said. "How are you feeling?"
Emily shrugged. "Okay, I guess."
He nodded toward the empty food tray. "You have breakfast?"
She nodded. "Yeah, and what a meal it was! White mush, that I think was supposed to be cereal, with burnt toast. Can't get any better than that."
Lucky laughed.
"Lucky, do you know when I can get outta here?"
"Not for another couple of days."
Lucky and Emily looked up as Bobbie came into the room.
"How are you feeling, Em?"
"Better."
"That's good, you look better. We're going to keep you here for at least another week for observation."
Emily nodded as Bobbie looked over at her breakfast tray.
"Ah, hospital food." She smiled. "Enjoy it while you're here."
Emily rolled her eyes. "Grandfather's cooking seems better every day, even though he has never cooked a day in his life."
"That's the spirit!" Bobbie laughed.
The door shut behind her as she left the room. Emily looked over at Lucky and grinned.
"I'm desprate. Order a pizza and I'll give you fifty bucks."
Nikolas blinked. "Sarah-"
"I can't believe that I just said that outloud," she said, "but I'm glad that I did. Nikolas, I love you."
Nikolas shook his head. "I'm sorry. Look, Sarah, I'm not ready to be in love."
Sarah looked at him, her smile fading. "But-"
"I can't-" he started over. "I'm not ready for a relationship, I can't handle it right now."
"What are you saying, Nikolas?" her voice quavered.
"I don't think that we should see each other anymore, at least, not as anything other than friends."
"Friends?" Sarah whispered unsure of what he was saying.
Nikolas nodded.
Sarah looked away so that he wouldn't see the tears that started to fill her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared up at the light blue sky.
"Okay." She said at last, turning around to face him. She shrugged as if she didn't care. "Friends."
Sarah turned around and walked back over the rocks, keeping up her brave-front until she was out onto the street. Only then did she let the tears finally fall.
Emily quietly opened the door of her hospital room and looked out into the hallway. Down the hall at the nurse's station, she could see Amy doing paperwork. At the other end of the hallway, the lights were out in the playroom. Emily snuck down the hall and prepared to open the door.
"Hold it."
She froze with her hand on the knob. She held up her hands innocently.
"Forget it, you're caught."
Emily turned around to see Mark grinning. "Very funny."
He shrugged. "What are you doing out of your room?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you the same question?"
Mark quickly changed the subject asking, "so, how are you feeling?"
"Fine I guess."
"You scared everybody, you know." Mark hesitated. "Including me."
Emily could feel red creeping into her cheeks.
"Come on," he said, opening the door to the playroom. "Knowing the nurses, they won't know that we're gone for another few hours."
Emily walked into the playroom and glanced around. A small television was set up in the corner. A children's table was in the center of the room and held various puzzles. A shelf with books, magazines, and games stood against one of the walls. A couch sat opposite the television. Emily turned the lamp on to the lowest notch, causing the light in the room to be dim, not wanting to be caught out of her room. She sat down on the couch and waited as Mark propped his crutches against a wall.
"How much longer will you have to wear that?" Mark shrugged. "Hopefully not that long. I'm getting pretty sick of lugging this around."
Emily laughed.
"How long until you get outta here?"
Emily grew quiet. "I hope not anytime soon."
"Why's that? I would think that you'd be happy to get out of this place."
"I don't want to go back home, although, I wouldn't exactly call it home anymore."
"You seem to have a lot of people that really care about you. Especially that boyfriend of yours."
"Who, Lucky? He's not my boyfriend. Just a…friend."
A moment passed before Mark responded. "Good."
Emily looked up at Mark, unsure of what he was saying.
"I want to know you, Emily. I want to know what you're thinking, what you're feeling."
Emily shook her head. "No you don't, Mark. My thoughts are too deep for you to understand."
"Give it a try, you might be surprised."
Elizabeth hummed to herself as she walked down the hall to her room.
The radio was playing in her sister's room, and she stood outside the doorway.
"What are you doing?" she wanted to know.
"What does it look like?"
Sarah continued to fold clothes and pack them away in her suitcase.
"Well, it's pretty obvious what you're doing, but the question is why. Where are you going?"
"Back home."
"What?" Elizabeth exclaimed.
"You heard me, Lizzie."
Elizabeth walked into the room and sat on the bed, watching as Sarah took clothes out of the dresser drawers and packed them into the suitcase. She glanced around the room. Sarah had already taken down most of her posters and her books were packed away. On the night table stood some pictures, but one was lying facedown. The one of Nikolas Cassadine.
"This is about Nikolas, isn't it?" Elizabeth asked, still looking at the night table.
"So, what if it is?"
"Sarah!" Lizzie exclaimed, not believing what she was hearing. "You're going home because a guy broke up with you?"
"He's not just a guy, Lizzie. I love him. But I guess I can't expect you to understand that."
"What I can't understand is why you're leaving Port Charles because of a Cassadine."
"I'm going, Lizzie. There's nothing that you can do to stop me, so just lay off."
Elizabeth threw up her hands in exasperation and left the room.
"Nikolas Cassadine, I warned you." She muttered. "You just made yourself another enemy."
"So that's the story of my life." Emily finished. She looked at Mark, who was sitting silently next to her. "Say something."
"What's there to say?" Mark shrugged. "People make mistakes all the time. You just have to take them into stride and learn from them."
"I learned a lot alright."
The door flew open and the light turned on. "What are you two doing in here at this hour?" Amy wanted to know.
Emily and Mark looked at her guiltily.
"Come on," the nurse gestured. "It's time for your medication. No wonder I couldn't find you. If it had been ten more minutes, I'd have had to alert the whole staff." Amy smiled at the two as they walked down the hospital hallway. "Mark, wait here." Amy instructed as she led Emily into her room.
Emily climbed under the covers and took the pills from Amy. She looked up from her cup of water at Mark, who stood in the doorway. Playing the role of a mime, he took an imaginary pill out of a cup and popped it into his mouth. His eyes went wide and he grinned as he put his hands to his throat and pretended to choke. Emily giggled.
"I saw that, buster." Amy said to Mark. She took the cups from Emily and rolled her eyes at Mark. "Come on, it's your turn."
As the door closed behind them, Emily shut off the light and rolled over onto her side, a smile remaining on her face.
Elizabeth Webber groaned as she opened her eyes to bright rays of sunlight. "Go away, sun."
"Elizabeth!" someone called from downstairs.
"Ugh." She pulled the pillow over her head and ignored the call.
"Elizabeth!"
"I give up." Exasperated, Lizzie climbed out of bed and went downstairs.
"What is it Grams?" she asked as she walked into the kitchen.
Audrey Hardy turned around from the stove. "I have your breakfast rea-Elizabeth, what are you doing in your pajama's? You're supposed to be at work in a half an hour."
"I'm supposed to-oh my gosh!" She exclaimed when it finally registered. "I totally forgot!" She turned on her heel and ran back upstairs to get dressed.
"Excuse me, excuse me!" Elizabeth Webber pushed her way through the small crowd at Kelly's as she hurried behind the counter.
"Lizzie, where were you?" Lucky Spencer asked as he filled a glass of soda.
"I'm sorry." She apologized as she put on her apron. "I kinda forgot."
"You forgot?"
"I've had a lot on my mind lately." She said as she rang up a customer at the register.
"Like what?"
"Like my sister moving away."
Lucky set down the glass and turned to face her. "She's what?"
"Thanks and have a nice day, sir." Lizzie handed the change to an elderly man and turned around to Lucky. "She's going back home."
"Well, how come?"
"I'll give you three guesses."
Lucky's eyes narrowed. "Cassadine."
"You bet."
"Elizabeth, you're late." Ruby walked out of the kitchen with a tray of food in her hands.
"I know Ruby, I'm so sorry." Elizabeth said taking the tray.
"Don't let it happen again."
Elizabeth sighed as she brought the food to a couple's table.
"So, how's Emily?" She asked Lucky.
"Getting better. I'm going to go over there later. Do you want to come?"
Lizzie shrugged "Sure, after I get done here."
"Elizabeth, table four!"
Lizzie rolled her eyes as she took the tray. "If that ever happens."
Sarah Webber closed her last suitcase and surveyed the room. It was exactly as it had been when she first came to Port Charles. She had to admit that she would miss being in New York. She liked it there. She liked it a lot. And she even almost regretted leaving. The doorbell rang, but she barely looked up.
Maybe I should stay, she thought. Maybe it would be better.
"No," she said out-loud. "I have to leave. I can't stay here."
"Sarah?"
Sarah whirled around to face the visitor.
"Nikolas?"
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General Hospital's Friendship Forever