Liz burst through the door at Luke's. Her strides long and quick. Her cheeks rosy with winter frost and the promise of things to come.

The club was a bustle. Black T-shirted employees scurrying from table to table, getting ready for the dinner crowd. Laying down silverware, folding napkins.

She turned as she heard his voice. Loud and blustery as he came out of the kitchen. For some reason, even when he was screaming at someone, his voice brought her an odd sense of comfort. She only hoped she wouldn't be next on his list of people to scream at.

"Claude, I swear if you don't get that ketchup supplier on the phone in five minutes you can kiss this cushy job goodbye!...What the Hell am I paying you for anyway?!..." Lukes voice trailed off as he rounded the bar, seeing her bright face. "Hey you," He said, walking over. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

"Hi Luke,"she said, smiling weakly as he pulled her into a short embrace. Short as he felt the rigidness in her petite frame. He pulled away looking into her eyes. "Somethin' the matter darlin'?"

Not that he couldn't guess what it was. It was December 20th. Five days before the big day that everybody was so keen on...and no Lucky. The thought made him sigh from somewhere deep in his soul.

"Luke," she said, her eyes scanning the room as employees hustled around. "Is there somewhere we can talk?"

Luke nodded his head, acknowledging her need for privacy. "Of course sweetheart...of course."

~*~

Liz sat down in the high-backed chair as Luke sat across from her, quickly glancing at the picture of his son. "Is this about Lucky?" he asked. His voice soft. His eyes tired.

She twiddled her thumbs nervously in her lap as her mind reeled. She'd thought about how to tell him that his son was alive the entire walk over, yet she was still at a loss. She desperately tried to find a way to tell him this. To tell him how much time had already been wasted. It was that thought that propelled the sound from her throat. Too much time had gone by already.

"Luke," she began slowly, watching his eyes. There was no way he'd believe her. Why should he? She swallowed hard and continued. "This is gonna sound crazy...beyond crazy...ludicrous really...I mean totally outlandish, but you have to be - "

"Elizabeth," Luke interrupted, smiling. "Spit it out."

She did just that. "Lucky's alive."

The words halted his breathing. Halted hers. Halted the entire world for all they knew. The stillness in the air palpable. The look in his eyes completely unreadable.

Luke breathed in deeply through his nose then, taking a moment to collect himself. Although his first reaction has been one of shock, his second one had been that of anger. It was that emotion that he struggled to keep in check now. "Elizabeth," he began slowly. His voice even and calm. "I know you miss Lucky...I miss him so much I can't breathe sometimes. But Elizabeth...you can't go around claim - "

"I saw him!" She blurted. She was on a roll, why stop now? There was no calling the words back.

Luke licked his lips quickly and titled his head to the side. The action reminded her so much of Lucky that she shivered involuntarily. "What do you mean you saw him?" He asked, his voice painstakingly serene.

Liz closed her eyes briefly. You're in this up to your neck now Elizabeth Emmajean. You better think of someway to explain this to him, and fast!

"He was taken," she said. Her voice a whisper as she looked down towards her lap. "I know everyone thinks he died in that fire...but he didn't...Luke...he was kidnapped. Lucky was kidnapped."

Luke stood up abruptly. Her eyes timidly followed him as he walked away from his desk. She turned back around in her seat, facing his vacated chair when she realized he was not going to look back at her. She winced at his next words.

"Elizabeth this isn't something you joke about." His words hit her strong even thought she knew he wasn't even facing her.

"I wouldn't joke about something like this Luke," she responded, a lump forming in her throat. She turned Lucky's picture around to face her, smoothing her finger over the glass.

She realized that without proof, Luke would not believe her. He needed concrete evidence. She hoped and prayed that her story would be believable.

"I must have blocked it from my memory Luke...God only knows why...I mean I know I have a tendency of blocking things out that I don't want to remember...........I thought he had died in that fire just like everyone else did. I saw those flames...but Luke....Lucky wasn't in that building - "

"Elizabeth.."

"No! Luke...listen to me...I had a session with Gail this afternoon...it all came out...all of it Luke. Him being carried away. The blue van...the three men....one of them had long hair....Long, gray....scraggly looking hair...it was all so - "

"What?!" Luke said whirling around. He stalked over to the desk, standing in front of her. She was almost frightened by the look in his eyes. "What did you say?"

"He was taken," she said quietly. The words coming out as if they were a question rather than a statement.

"No! After that...you were describing WHO took him..."

Elizabeth swallowed dryly. "Oh...I only got a good look at one of them. I mean I could only REMEMBER one of them," she corrected herself. "He was older...long hair...gray...a little past his shoulders I think...and he had this accent...this heavy accent. I guess European...I remember him yelling at the others."

She watched as Luke sank down in his chair, his knees seemingly failing him. "I'm sorry Luke...I'm sorry it took me so long to remember this...it's ok if you hate me...I understand if you need to hate - "

"Hate you?" He asked looking up, his eyes wild with...what? Glee? He got up quickly before she could even answer his question. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I love you Elizabeth...I love you!"

~*~December 24th, 1999.....a few days later.....~*~

"I said where is my son!!" Luke demanded, slamming Faison up against the wall. Shaking him fiercely by the collar.

Faison laughed. Evil. Satisfied. Finally Luke Spencer had woken up and smelled the coffee. His amusement angered Luke more as the back of his head banged against the wall. Faison grimaced in pain. "You're son is being well taken care of Spencer...don't you worry."

Roy nervously shoved his hands in his pockets as Luke's temper soared to new heights. He'd wanted to notify the authorities, get help with this, but Luke didn't trust the cops. He never had. And Roy knew that part of Luke's wanting to do this alone came from his feelings of guilt.

Guilt for not having known. Guilt over letting his son suffer at the hands of Cesar Faison for the past eight months. How had he let it happen? How had he been so blind? There was no time to think of that now.

Luke pulled his gun form his waistband, quickly shoving the cold piece of steel flush against Faison's temple. Pressing it firmly as he spoke. "So help me I will blow you from here to kingdom come is unless you tell me where my son is in the next 3 seconds...no more games Faison...this is no longer a matter of female distraction...this is my son...I can guarantee you that if I do not walk out of this...this..." Luke's words trailed off as he assessed his surroundings. "This hi-tech BASEMENT with my son...you won't make it out of here alive."

Faison laughed once again at the seemingly ridiculous notion. "You need me Spencer...you can't kill me...you need me to let your boy go."

Roy spoke up from his post at the elaborate switchboards that controlled Faison's compound. "I wouldn't count on that Faison...looks like I found something."

Luke's head shot around, still pressing against Faisons windpipe with one arm. The other hand holding tightly to the gun at his head. What his eyes encountered made his breath catch. His son alive. Breathing. All shown via TV monitor.

"There he is Spencer," Faison breathed heinously.

"Which room Faison?" Roy asked, as he watched Luke, still riveted to the images before him. "Which room is Lucky in?"

"You're so smart," he snarled. "Figure it out!"

Luke leaned in closer, snapping from his daze and applying horrendous pressure to Faison's throat as he gasped and tried to writhe away. "Which room?" He growled.

"The floor beneath this one," he said, his voice barely audible from the force Luke was applying. "The first room on the right."

Luke pulled back, aiming his gun steady at Faison's head. Roy spoke again from behind, glancing up from his task at the keyboard in front of him. "It's a trap Luke," he said looking up. "You know it is."

Luke backed away, bound and determined to be with his son. "I know partner...that's why I'm countin' on you to back me up," he added the last with a smirk, looking at Roy with new suspicion.

Roy took a deep breath, realizing that Luke knew that he wasn't just an ex-con. How could he have spent the better part of his life in the slammer and have all this computer expertise? He shook it off, there was no time to think of that.

"Ok," Roy said simply as he watched Luke retreat. He raised his own gun to Faison's head. "You got it.....go get your son."