She was more than a woman
A goddess for all it seemed
All I ever needed, was her right here loving me

For awhile we were cool
In a groove and our love was on
But I still remember
How it felt when our love was gone.

Shattered picture frames
Was a photograph she took years ago
Secret memories in her mind
How could love be so unkind
Heartbreak time

Faded pictures in a broken glass
Like a mirror revealing
What the woman is feeling
Was it someone from her distant past
'Cause it's breaking my heart
To watch her stare into the glass

Manhattan, New York
Hart & Hart Art Gallery

Lucky pulled his jacket tightly around him as he strolled past the giant window once again. "Stroll" was probably the wrong term. "Paced" was probably closer to the truth. He cupped his hands around his face and pressed them to the glass, staring inside. He nearly laughed at himself as he pulled away, looking down at the cement beneath his feet. 'You feel like a stalker, Spencer? You should, you ass. That's what you're acting like.'

'Just go inside,' he thought to himself. 'And do what? Tell her you're sorry? Tell her that you did it for her, and ask her to take you back? Tell her you can't live without her and that you haven't slept a whole night through in 3 years?...Expect some feelings of nostalgia or sentimentality over a bouquet of white roses on Valentine's Day to just clear everything up?!........Yeah Sherlock, that's it exactly.'

Lucky turned around, facing the street that he'd been standing on just the day before. The bench where he'd sat, waiting for her to emerge from the gallery. He ran a hand frustratedly through his wind blown hair. 'Why shouldn't she take you back, huh? You did it for her...you left to protect her! Not because you wanted to leave. Not because you stopped loving her.....Ugh, how many times are you gonna go over this in your head before you grow a set!? Just walk in there and tell her. Tell her everything.'

He took a huge breath and blew it out as he turned back towards the window. His clammy hands gripping the long, cool metal handle as he pulled the door open. It was now or never.

He'd be fine...if his heart didn't give out first.

The plush eggshell carpet sunk beneath his feet and he looked upwards toward the ceiling. It towered high above him, not much more than glass. The sun shone through the transparent panels and cast gorgeous patterns of light wherever it hit. She had done well for herself. She finally had everything she'd always wanted.

'Not everything,' Lucky thought, trying to instill a sense of confidence in himself that he did not truly have at that moment. 'Walk straight over to that receptionist and ask to talk to Elizabeth Web-...Hart...Yeah, Hart.....'Lucky stopped in his tracks.

"Shit."

"Excuse me?" the red-haired woman said, standing up from behind her desk. "Can I help you sir?"

Lucky swallowed dryly. It was the same woman from the day before, and he had obviously not said that last part within the confines of his own mind.

It wasn't as if he hadn't known that she was married. His brain wouldn't allow him not to know, but his heart...His heart was another story entirely. In his heart she was his wife. If not by the law of man, than by the law of God and everything else sacred in this world.

He'd never forget her wedding day. The day that his good friend Denial finally turned against him, and the world stopped turning on it's axis.

Lucky shook off the images that played before his eyes by shutting them tightly. He opened them a second later and forced his vocal chords into action again. "Um...Yeah - Yes, I was wondering...is...is Elizabeth We - Hart, here please?" He asked, nearly choking on the word.

The woman shook her head slowly, taking the young man in. He looked vaguely familiar. Did she know him from somewhere? No. She would have never forgotten a pair of eyes like those.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Hart is gone for the day, is there something I can assist you with?...Are you looking for a particular piece on exhibit today, or were you just taking a look around?"

Lucky shook his head, a bit out of sorts from the woman's announcement. He hadn't even considered that she might not be at work today. She was always there. From what he'd seen she'd become a friggin' workaholic. Why wouldn't she be there today? "Um...no, um...I was just wanting to speak with Elizabeth.....do you by any chance know when she'll be back?"

Suzanne paused for a moment. The young man seemed to know her boss on a personal level. He had dropped the formality of calling her by her married name fairly quickly. "I'm sorry, Sir...I really don't know. She may not be back for quite awhile though. She and her husband have gone on a trip."

"A trip?" Lucky stated. Knowing he had heard correctly. Somehow repeating the words made them seem more true. "Where?"

'Oh, what're you gonna do hotshot? Track her down and profess your undying love?...........................Maybe.'

The woman shook her head once again, the phone ringing in interruption. She glanced quickly at her desk.

"I don't know sir...is there something I can help you with?" She added, already distracted by the sound of the phone. She smiled at him and signaled him to wait a moment while she attended to the customer on the phone. "Hart & Hart Art Gallery, this is Suzanne. How may I help you?"

Lucky shoved his hands in his pockets as he turned around, crossing a few steps away from Suzanne's desk. He circled the lobby, absently surveying the various pieces of art. During the last three years he'd read anything and everything he could get his hands on about her. About the gallery she'd opened and all the unknown artists that she'd helped get started. Seeing her name in print had always brought a bittersweet mixture of both pride and pain.

As he looked around he spotted some work that he knew and some that he didn't. Some pieces were done by obscure young artists from around the country. While some were from older, more established artists.

Some were priceless. Those were hers.

He'd recognize her work anywhere. He'd recognize this particular one in his sleep.

Clear as day. Still vibrant as the day it had been finished, Miller's Pond. Their day. Their masterpiece that should not have ever seen the fluorescent light of some ritzy multi-million dollar complex.

The breath escaped from his body as the realization of what he was seeing and what it was doing here, began to sink in.

"How could she do this?" He whispered aloud, his voice coming forth through no will of his own.

'Do you really need an answer to that question, Spencer? After you stepped all over her heart....I'm not sure you'd like it.'

"No Mrs. Hart...hold on...I'll check...No, I was right...Miller's Pond hasn't sold yet......."

Lucky's head shot around sharply. His feet carrying him swiftly back towards Suzanne's desk.

"Oh, Mrs. Hart I'm sure it will very soon....I actually saw a woman look -

"It's sold," Lucky interrupted. His deadpan statement and the seriousness of those killer blue eyes enough to cause Suzanne to pause mid-sentence. Enough to put a halt to any women's speech.

She cleared her throat and continued on. "Excuse me sir...I'll be right with you, this is a very important ca -

"It's sold," Lucky said again, never taking his eyes away from hers.

"Is someone there?" Elizabeth asked, shifting the receiver closer to her ear as it sat nestled between her neck and shoulder. Something about the voice she had just heard in the background caused her to swing her legs around the side of the bed and sit straight up. A feeling of warmth began to travel slowly up the base of her spine.

"Uh...just a customer Mrs. Hart...can I call you back?...I think he's interested in Miller's Pond."

Lucky nodded silently, licking his lips. 'That's right Elizabeth...I'm interested...Am I the only one now?'

It took all the strength he had not to grab the receiver out of Suzanne's hand at that very moment. But he knew that the first time he spoke to the other half of his heart it couldn't be over the phone. It had to be in person.

Elizabeth's voice hallowed as she moved back against the headboard. "Someone's interested in m-... the painting?"

The warmth began to subside as she suddenly felt as if the rug had just been ripped from under her. Yet this is what she had wanted. She had dug the thing out of the attic for this exact reason, had she not? She wanted it gone. Absolutely.

"Yes, Mrs. Hart...it's getting a bit busy in here, so I have to....No, ok..."

Lucky's eyes darted immediately towards Suzanne's hands as she grabbed a pen and pad and scribbled down 10 digits. He tilted his head to the side and quickly surmised the area code. 'Valentine's Day in Paris......how original.'

He looked back up and flashed a disarming smile at Suzanne as she finished up a conversation with the love of his life.

"Ok, sure thing Mrs. Hart. Have a nice trip...I'll get back to you soon...Yes, don't worry. Ok...bye-bye." Suzanne placed the receiver back into its cradle, and returned to the young man's grin. "Ok...Mister???"

"Spencer," he said, extending his hand. She shook it hardily.

"Alrighty, Mr. Spencer...So, what's this about purchasing Miller's Pond?"
~~~~~~~~~
Paris, France
Montgomery Hotel
Presidential Suite 1

"Everything alright at the gallery Bethie?"

"Yeah," Liz mumbled. Her eyes still trained on the phone that sat on the nightstand across from her. Her mind still hearing 'it's sold,' in the background of her conversation with Suzanne. "Yeah, everything's great...I think Suzanne just sold Miller's Pond."

"Miller's Pond?" Alex asked blankly, pulling his wife's ivory wool coat from the closet before him. "When did that come in?...I don't think I've ever heard of it."

Elizabeth brushed a few nonexistent strands of hair behind her ear and swallowed nervously. "Um...yeah, it was sent to the gallery a few days ago...anonymously."

"Wow...," Alex said, bringing her coat over to her. He smiled as he took her hand and she stood. "Well, good for Suzanne........You ready to take a little stroll along the Champs Elysees?"

Elizabeth licked her lips as she tried to shake off the haze that enveloped her thoughts. "I thought you wanted to stay in tonight?" She asked, throwing a glance towards the desk by the window. Just a few moments ago he'd seemed completely transfixed by the New York Times he'd picked up at the Concierge.

Alex, glanced absently at his paper and then back to his wife. "Nope...I'd much rather spend some quality time with my wife."

He waited for her to respond, waited for signs of any attention at all. She was daydreaming again. She'd been doing that a lot lately. He suddenly bent down placing a kiss in the crook of her neck. "Unless...you'd rather stay inside Bethie," he murmured, his lips brushing against her skin. "I'm sure we could find something to do in this suite of ours. That jacuzzi looked mighty temt-

She jolted from her reverie. "No!..I mean, no...You know what I think? I think we should see some of the city. It's not everyday we get to see Paris, you know?"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "It's not?"...Well, I am definitely falling down on the job then. Say the word Sunshine and we'll buy ourselves a little villa right here."

Elizabeth closed her eyes for an instant. 'Sunshine' had never been a good sign and the word 'little' was not a word that fit into Alex's vocabulary. With him it had always been the bigger the better. She often wondered where his desperate need for the best of the best came from. For someone who had been born with nothing and had worked his way to the top of the economic ladder, he certainly had become accustomed to the finer things in life. Most of the time she was content to humor him. Now was not one of those times, even though she knew she was already treading on thin ice.

She opened her eyes, and gave him a sideways grin. "Ugh...Alex, I really don't think we need another place right now, you know?...I mean, we're in Manhattan a good 90% of the time anyway....and I like our place in Evergreen."

Alex nodded, knowing he'd probably be able to talk her into it later. "Well, that's fine Bethie...but once we start having kids we're gonna have to talk about moving. The best schools are in Connecticut."

Elizabeth pushed yet another nonexistent strand behind her ear. 'See what you did, Elizabeth? You opened up that same damn can of worms that you always open up! You should have just said 'ok' and that would have been the end of it...but now...Now, you know you aren't gonna hear the end of the 'let's start a family' talk tonight.'

She grabbed his hand, playfully skipping to the door. "I'm too young to be a Mommy...and you're too old to be a Daddy...so what do you say we just go see the sights?"

The running age joke had always worked in the past as a temporary diversion. Him being 12 years her senior often worked to her advantage.

Alex smiled and cupped her face in his hands, placing a fleeting kiss on her lips. When he pulled away, he reached around her, opening the door. "Fine Bethie...I'll let it go for now...but I'm not waiting forever."
~~~~~~~

Port Charles, New York
Spoon Island - Wyndemere

"Please don't tell me you've come here to express your condolences," Stephan snapped, as Luke sauntered into the palor at Wyndemere.

"Oh, you know me better than that Steffy," Luke smirked, pulling down the black shades that adorned his baby blues. "I just came here to find out whether that Ding-Dong anthem from the Wizard of Oz was really playing or if it was just my imagination."

Stephan looked down at the black keys on his laptop, ignoring the juvenile antics of his nemesis. He had no time for this. There were a billion and one arrangements to be made in light of his mother's untimely death.

"I have no time for your trivialities Spencer. If you're here for a reason, please state it and move on to your next victim."

"Well, I know I'd never be able to tell by your sour mood or fashion sense, whether or not the Queen of Darkness had really kicked the bucket, so I'll just come right out and ask you.......Is your mother dead?"

"That's what the newspapers say," Stephan sighed.

Luke smirked in mock amusement. "The newspapers also say that the PCPD has brought the crime rate down 20% over the last year. That don't mean I'm planning on leaving my doors unlocked at night."

"Uncle?"

Luke turned around, upon hearing Nikolas' voice behind him. He flashed him a quick grin and watched as he approached Stephan. The two men stood in silence for a moment, before Nikolas wrapped his arms around him in a seemingly awkward embrace. The picture of a grieving family.

He supposed he had his answer.

Yet his answer only brought more questions. Like whether or not this meant he'd be seeing his son soon.

Lyrics from Case & Joe's: Faded Pictures