Author’s Note: Hey guys – two things…#1 – sorry for the delay. #2 – F.Y.I. The story has been advanced about 2 and a half weeks. Happy Reading!

Lucky grinned as Elizabeth padded her way back into the bedroom. The t-shirt that she’d swiped from his side of the closet, showing the tell-tale signs of her growing belly. It hung out in front of her as if propped up by a throw pillow. The thought made Lucky grin even wider as she moved closer.

Elizabeth looked up with cookie crumbs on her mouth and he started to chuckle.

"What?"

He knew better than to voice what he was thinking. She’d take it completely the WRONG way. She was beautiful. She was gorgeous. But all she would hear in that description was, ‘fat.’

"Nothing," Lucky smiled from his place against the headboard. "Just wondering if I’m gonna have to by some kind of stock in that brand. Is that the second or third bag of cookies you’ve gone through today?"

Narrowing her eyes, she jerked her hand back as she neared the bed and he made a grab at it. She moved to the end of the bag and away from his hands.

"It’s the FIRST, Lucky…and I’ll have you know that it’s still half full."

Lucky bit his lip and crawled to the end of the bed. Knowing she was fibbing, but not caring in the slightest. She looked too yummy herself to think about the damn cookies.

He tugged her near by the loose sides of her shirt. The material spread nicely over her flesh. Pulling taut over every curve. He licked his lips and devoured her with his eyes.

It was only the first way he’d devour her. As it turned out, he had a craving too and it wasn’t for cookies…Although now that she’d brought them into the room, they did look kind of tasty.

Among other things beneath the shirt that she wore. A Dallas ‘Cowboy’s t-shirt never had looked so good, he thought.

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his neck and giggled when he pulled her onto the bed. As he continued to try and reach for the bag even as he rose to his knees and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Let me have a look," he sighed. His voice deep as he reached over head to snag it away from her. She suddenly wondered if he meant the cookies or something entirely different. His eyes spoke volumes as they swept over her.

They always had.

Snagging it…he chuckled and placed it to the side of them. Digging in with one hand. She immediately went in for the steel - succeeding only in crumbling it between her fingers as she fought for it.

Elizabeth laughed when she landed beneath him. Smiling wide as he gazed down at her.

He shook his head like someone disappointed in the misbehavior of a child. She’d never been so happy to be ‘reprimanded’ in her life.

"Oooooh no…now you’re gonna get it," Lucky sighed.

She tried to contain her giggle as he straddled her. This was serious business of course…oh yes – punishment indeed as his hips positioned themselves over hers…oh yes of course, she thought. Licking her lips as that certain twinkle in his eye that had been missing for days, suddenly returned.

Seeing it was like seeing a wonder of the world. She wanted to sigh aloud but didn’t.

There would be NO deep moments tonight. All she wanted was a little fun with her fiancée. Things had been so stressful lately, and Lucky had just arrived back in town. This was exactly the kind of welcome home she’d imagined giving him. The kind she’d dreamed of…fantasized about.

Looking down at her with hungry eyes, Lucky unrolled the top of the bag once more and slowly pushed her shirt upward with his other hand.

All she wore were panties beneath the soft cotton and his sultry gaze turned wicked. Yes, this was what he’d been craving…exactly.

Elizabeth smiled as his gaze lingered. "Sorry…I had to buy maternity panties yesterday…they’re not the sexiest thing in the world, but hey your children have decided to make their presence known pretty early on here."

"Not sexy?" he growled suddenly. "My dear you are SADLY mistaken." Leaning down he took her earlobe in his mouth. She shivered beneath him and eased a leg up and over his hip. Her center found him hard and ready…already.

"Oooh…oh I – I didn’t know you’d…you’d like them so much Sir…But I bought – well I bought a lot so…oh wow," she sighed. Shuttering as he ground into her.

That, plus the moisture on her lobe made all coherent speech fly out the window. The things that turned Lucky on were sometimes rather strange to her…but who was she to argue? Especially when she reaped such massive benefits.

Massive indeed. His length teased her through his pajama pants.

When he drew back, Elizabeth smiled and wiggled on the bed. Already restless for him. She let her thighs fall open in silent invitation.

Food and Lucky…the only two things she wanted in life lately…and not necessarily in that order.

Lucky smoothed his now slightly callused palm over her satiny stomach, making her shiver. He’d been working on their home, and even that made her wet to think about.

Slowly he began to inch her panties down over her hips. Taking a nibble of her hipbone as it was uncovered.

He rose before her then and reached for the cookie bag again. Elizabeth laughed aloud when he lay one small pink elephant on her navel.

He grinned at her. "Hey, stop that…it’s gonna fall off."

"Oh, oh…sorry," Elizabeth smiled. Biting her lip to try and hold back the laughter. It was failing miserably. Until however, Lucky removed yet another cookie from the bag and then another, and another. She held her breath. Watching in rapt fascination as she awaited his next action.

Elizabeth took a rapid gulp of cool air when he bent before her suddenly. His tongue lapping at her breasts. Her flesh, slippery after a few short seconds. Every part of her…slippery. Whether it was from his tongue, or the promise of it.

She gazed at him through hooded lashes as he rose once more. Gazing back down at her as he made two fists. Crumbling the cookies that he held in his hands.

"It looks like," he panted then. As he began sprinkling the crumbs that he’d made all over her body…her breasts, her stomach, right above the elastic band of the panties that sat at her hips now. "It looks like I have a craving for these too…You don’t mind sharing Elizabeth………Do you?"

Elizabeth gasped when his mouth descended on her. Lips, tongue, and slightly nipping teeth eager to gather the sweet crumbs. Eager to feast upon her flesh.

No she didn’t mind sharing. She didn’t mind sharing at all. Anytime he wanted some of her cookies all he had to do was ask……

Breathless beneath him, her eyes rolled backward into her head and Lucky clasped her hips lightly to keep her place. Her writhing already having begun.

Of course Lucky knew that she was sensitive everywhere, that she was – in seconds – already so close to coming. He’d barely touched her and she was already poised to detonate.

Had yet to really touch her where he knew she longed to be touched.

"Not yet Elizabeth…not yet," he mumbled. His voice muffled by the actions his tongue took upon her heaving chest. She reached up for him to ease her own hands along his taut skin, over smooth arms and chest. He was filling out even more these days, with the construction…and she wanted to peruse the evidence, but he held her hands. Easing them back to the bed and pinning them down by twining their fingers together. "Not yet."

"Are….you….are you," she panted unable to spit the words out before he interrupted.

"Am I what Elizabeth? Am I close to slipping inside you and staying there until you call out my name so loudly that the neighbors come knocking?…Yes."

Elizabeth let her head roll to the side and lifted her hips as he tugged at her panties. "That’s…that’s not what I was going to ask…but…but that sounds lovel – OH GOD!"

She called out then. Not his name, but something easier – something that carried one manageable, powerful syllable as his tongue slid quickly between her folds.

"Ooops," she heard him vaguely mumble against her. The vibration of his voice and movement of his lips against her body drove her insane. "Can’t forget my cookies."

Her hands roamed her own body restlessly as Lucky leaned to the side and grabbed the bag once more. He had to stop for a minute, just to watch…admire. Only the throbbing between his own legs and the slithering of her hand up his arm, brought him back to the task at hand. She whimpered aloud and he got back to ‘work.’

Reaching inside the bag, Lucky pulled out yet another cookie. Spread her and then sprinkled the fine dust of crumbs. Elizabeth could do nothing but shut her eyes and hold on for dear life. Clinging to the bedclothes beneath her as he began his wonderful torment. Knowing that if anything caused her to fall off the bed – this would.

And it almost did.

With the very first lick, she nearly bucked right over the side. If not for his instant securing of her hips she would have. If not for the immediate earnestness of his mouth she would have had time to form a thought.

But the only thing that occurred to her then was the brilliance of feeling and sensation. She was nearly blinded by it…and Lucky…he bowed before her, reveling in the pleasure that only he could bring her. Now more intensely than ever before.

"Mmmm….You taste delicious," Lucky sighed. Tugging her sweet nub into his mouth. "I think," he paused. Licking. "I think I like these cookies…We’ll need to buy more."

Unable to withstand it she reached for him, wove her fingers through his hair and pulled. Lucky grinned at the subtle pain and pinned her hands back down to her own thighs as he held them.

"Don’t rush me Elizabeth……Remember – the way to a man’s heart –

"AAAAH!" She cried out. "Lucky! Lucky!"

"There’s definitely that way too," he growled. His tongue faster now as she teetered on the edge of extreme ecstasy. Rubbing her back and forth and back and forth until his tongue began to feel a bit numb.

Elizabeth cried out again and once more he was forced to hold her body down as her hips rose and fell, as they slid closer to the edge of the bed. He eased her feet up on his shoulders then and bared down.

She nearly lost her mind. "My God! OH GOD! LUCKY! LUCKY! LUCKY!"

He would have laughed if he hadn’t been so damn turned on. If even the subtlest of movements at that moment wouldn’t have caused his own body to burst.

His pajama pants couldn’t have fit any looser, yet they felt like the tightest of gloves right then. Man, it had been weeks since they’d done anything this reckless and fun. Weeks of trying to catch a killer. Trying to track down Rick. Trying to ward off Alexis’ suspicions that he wasn’t any more of a murderer than she was.

Weeks…

But tonight, they’d planned on not talking about any of it. On simply enjoying each other. Enjoying every second. Every second of the orgasm that quaked through her entire body at that moment. Sending her head thrashing back and forth as it consumed her. Forcing her hips closer to the source of her satisfaction – his mouth.

He took and gave back once more. Slipping his tongue inside her and using his fingers to bring her to one last high before he gave her a bigger one.

She shook around him and he eased her back down to the bed. Comforting her dry sobs with the smooth caress of his hands on her thighs. The trembling slowly became less fierce. Her breathing deepened…as if sleep could overtake her at any moment if he failed to act quickly.

"I think…I think I’m full now," Lucky sighed. Inching up her body as he moved into kiss her. His words were true in more ways than one. Elizabeth felt his fullness on her hip as he kissed her deeply. Tasted herself, and cookies as his tongue slid inside.

It tasted delicious.

Weary and sweaty, she held him to her as he lifted her knee. Easing it up to lay at his waist. Readying him self to enter her in one swift –

The ringing of the phone caused him to bury his head in the crook of her neck and groan painfully. The same frustration that had plagued him for days threatened to move back into the muscles of his shoulders. She felt the tightening knots beneath his skin.

Elizabeth smoothed her hands down his back and tried to pull herself out of the partially sated – horny haze that enveloped her. Tried to get her mind to work.

"Maybe you should….Maybe we should answer it Lucky…It might be important. It might be Alexis."

Exactly why he didn’t want to answer the damn thing, Lucky thought. Among other reasons…more pressing reasons. Like the now excruciating ache that he found himself tormented by.

"Unless she’s got sudden proof that the asshole offed HIMSELF, I don’t wanna talk to her…this is more important."

"Lucky, nothing is more important than you staying out of jail," Elizabeth said quickly. Pleading with her eyes.

Sighing, Lucky rolled off of her and towards the phone. Lifting the receiver just as it rang again. Elizabeth followed. Attaching her lips to his jaw line. Licking away some errant crumbs. Maybe she could make him feel a little better. A little phone call didn’t mean a complete ‘intermission,’ did it?

"This better be a matter of life and death," Lucky sighed into the receiver. A slight grin tugging at one corner of his mouth as Elizabeth’s mouth worked across his chest.

"It just might be," Alexis responded. "I can ask the powers that be, how long the waiting list is for the electric chair this time of year."

Lucky did his best not to tense up. Not wanting to see Elizabeth stressed out again. She’d been through so much of that lately, and this was the happiest he’d seen her in days.

He looked down at her with a smile as she giggled and licked her way lower. Lucky lifted a finger to his mouth in signal to keep it down.

"Glad that you and Elizabeth can find entertainment value in the fact that you might be going to jail – excuse me – PRISON," she emphasized. "For the rest of your life. You do understand that this isn’t some overnight stay at a really crummy motel, we’re talking about here right?"

"Yes, I do realize that," Lucky answered. Keeping his voice light even as his erection faded fast.

Though, Elizabeth – God bless her – was doing her best to kick him back into action.

"You know Lucky," Alexis began again after a long-suffering sigh. There are two BIG reasons, aside from imprisonment that you may want to give me the time of day…1 – I sincerely doubt that you can afford to keep me on retainer indefinitely, and 2 – there are others of us – namely myself - who would like to get back to having the ‘fun,’ that you seem to be having over there."

"Listen –

"No, YOU listen Lucky," Alexis returned. "Need I remind you that I’m involved in a ‘not-so-smart’ relationship with the police commissioner? A commissioner that presides over a department that is actively building a case AGAINST you? Do you see my dilemma here? Do you see why I may be a bit anxious to get this case behind me?"

Lucky sighed. Little did Alexis know that he’d been actively investigating the case himself. He didn’t need this right now.

"I see your dilemma," Lucky said then. A definite edge slipping into his tone. "And I raise you an larger one…"

Elizabeth’s lips stilled against his chest and she looked up into his eyes. Trying to get him to concentrate on her before he blew up…but it was too late.

"You’re right Alexis…I’m about to go on trial for the murder of a man I hated with every fiber of my being. A man who is still busy FUCKING up my life from the great beyond!"

Elizabeth sat back on the bed and bit her lip. Listening as his voice rose and the vein in his forehead protruded viciously.

"And guess what?!" He added then flippantly. His face turning a shade of pink. "I’m supposed to get married soon. Of course, my fiancee and I haven’t been able to tell anyone….because – well up until a couple of weeks ago she still had a husband to deal with……..Oh, oh and GUESS – WHAT- ELSE," he added slowly and sarcastically dragging out the words. "I’ve got THREE kids on the way……THREE…and God help me Alexis, I’m trying to do what’s best for MY family……and now – what I need for you to do is your JOB."

Alexis collected herself in the silence. Knowing that this wasn’t the regular cool, calm, and collected Lucky that she was dealing with. She was dealing with a man under a tremendous amount of pressure, and she’d simply hit a nerve.

Knowing that didn’t make her any less pissed off though.

"Well Lucky…" Alexis began then. "It’d be much easier to do my job if you’d be straight with me. Because we both know that you’re NOT being straight…isn’t that right? Isn’t that why you feel as if you’re being attacked?"

"What are you now a shrink?" Lucky struck back. "Listen to me, Alexis I killed Alexander Hart…I pled guilty…either work on getting me off or tell me right here and now that you can’t do it. I’ll go with plan B."

Elizabeth shut her eyes and inhaled deeply. Willing the tears not to come.

Seeing her cry was just one more thing he wouldn’t need right now. Elizabeth fought against being the ‘highly overemotional pregnant with three children’ girlfiend right now, and tried her best to be a bestfriend. A bestfriend who wouldn’t cry over something that he obviously needed to get off of his chest.

Especially when she was the cause of all his stress.

"Plan B?" Alexis began. "Do I take that to mean you have other counsel in mind? Perhaps Justice? Oh yes, a viable candidate for sure."

"Plan B means that I’ll take matters into my own hands, and make my own justice…the only kind that really works anyway."

Alexis pressed two fingers to the bridge of her nose. She hadn’t brought the phone call up yet or the coroner’s report…especially since she’d been waiting for the final verdict to come in. But now seemed as good a time as any. She’d use it as her trump card if Lucky refused to see reason.

"You know Lucky, you’ve made all the right noises so far…Answering the right way. You did indeed purchase the gun that killed Alexander Hart. Your story checks out… Your fingerprints were indeed all over the gun…

"The barrel, the butt, the trigger," she paused then. Letting him mull that over before she struck. "You know it almost seems as if you touched it as much as you possibly could…it seems a little – messy for a Spencer."

"I wasn’t exactly thinking about cleanliness at the time. Will Martha Stewart be on the jury?" Lucky deadpanned.

"No," Alexis responded. Smiling just a bit at that. He could be a very charming young man when he wanted to be…Even as he was busy being obnoxious. "But I do think Martha might be very pleased with your execution – pardon the pun – I mean, there you were…shooting away at the man who’s done despicable things to your lovely fiancee……and yet – yet you managed to remove all evidence of gun powder residue from your hands.

"I’ve gone over the police report several times Lucky," Alexis said then. "I’m not imagining it…they didn’t find any residue at all on your hands. Not even a trace amount."

Lucky stared down at his hands, and at that very moment Elizabeth reached out to twine her fingers with his. He could have kicked himself right then…for he couldn’t help wondering if somehow those tiny, delicate hands had finally had enough of the bastard and pulled the trigger.

But how? None of it made any sense. Not only because he knew her, but because of the logistics.

He’d found her lying beneath Alex, and the police report indicated that the bullets had entered through Alex’s back. It was amazing that Elizabeth hadn’t been killed and here he was having these…thoughts.

He was losing his mind.

All of that swarmed him at lightening speed and he responded with careful control. "I washed them."

"You washed them." Alexis repeated. Not a question, but a statement made in disbelief. "You washed them, yet you failed to take the precaution of wiping your fingerprints off of the weapon?"

"There was no time," Lucky said calmly. He’d rehearsed his answers to her questions time and time again now. "I heard the cops coming through the door…I had seconds. There was no time to meticulously remove my fingerprints from the Sig."

Of course that was a bald face lie. That was pretty close to exactly what he HAD done.

Only they’d been Elizabeth fingerprints that he’d wiped away…or so he thought at the time.

Lucky shut his eyes now. Thinking of the potential evidence lost…damn it!

"Interesting Lucky," Alexis said then. "No tissue samples were found beneath your fingernails either…and I must say you scratch better than any female I’ve ever met. I see the heavyweight title for cat fighting in your future."

"Do you have a POINT!?"

"My POINT is that I’m trying to be your attorney…and I don’t understand why you’d put yourself through this if you don’t HAVE to. If you didn’t DO IT, Lucky."

"I did it…try for manslaughter Alexis. Try for manslaughter, and leave the rest alone."

Alexis nodded and sighed dejectedly. "You know Lucky, even if I get you ‘manslaughter,’ which is completely possible because I AM a GREAT lawyer…you’re still gonna do time. You still stand a good chance at missing the first couple of years of your children’s lives…If you’re lucky you’ll be around for their birth…I suggest taking a lot of pictures."

She knew she was being harsh, but he obviously needed this. It seemed the only way to get through to Lucky was by dropping bombs on him. Other than that it was ‘his way, or no way.’

However, there was a part of Alexis that understood. A part of her even admired it. Empathized with wanting to protect those you loved. She wouldn’t have accepted the role that her family had assigned her so long ago, if she didn’t admire that trait.

But still – HER job was to protect Lucky. His complete and utter silence prompted her further.

"Do me a favor Lucky…Ask Elizabeth if she knows anything about signs of asphyxiation/strangulation deaths…or what might cause a man swelling of the trachea, but not leave a bruises."

Lucky’s brows knit together after a moment. What the Hell was she talking about? Was this what she’d gotten from the coroner’s report? Billions of questions suddenly bombarded him…he couldn’t legitimately ask any of them.

"What are you talking about?"

The sudden disconnection of the line caused him to throw the receiver across the room. Dropping his head into his hands as it hit the wall. He glanced up however, at the immediate dip of the bed. Watching in self hate as Elizabeth ran into the bathroom. He heard her sniffle once and then the door lock into place.

Lucky dropped his head back and sighed. "Shit."

~~~~~~~

Lucky sat next to the bathroom door. His head cradled by his knees. He’d given up asking her if he could come in about 2 minutes before. Figuring after he’d fucked up in such a major way, the least he could do was give her a few minutes to herself.

Not completely to herself – considering he sat there, listening to her sniffle and then wash her face. Sniffle and then wash her face again.

He shook his head at what an ass he’d been. He never should have lost control like that in front of her. Here he called himself trying to protect her – protect his family, and all he succeeded in doing was causing her more pain every time he opened his mouth!

Closing his eyes he let the weeks events swim through his mind once more. Finding Elizabeth in a pool of blood just a couple of weeks ago, forcing his father to get her out of the mansion, spending the night in prison, evading Alexis’ questions, and paying a visit to Rick’s clan of Neanderthals just two days ago.

The afternoon spiraled like a psychotic backward dance of the hands of a clock. He thought of Jerry’s face, instantly frightened by his presence. Afraid he’d actually kill him…this time.

***

Jerry Van Hest was still the same moron he’d always been. The same moron that had first told Lucky about the weekly poker games at the garage on 6^th street. The same moron who had unwittingly invited him back into the game years later when Lucky had come searching for Rick – Helena’s right hand at the time all of this begun.

If his luck held, Jerry would be the same moron who told him where Rick was now. If luck didn’t hold, he’d simply be a moron spitting up a couple of incisors, Lucky thought.

He didn’t hear Lucky come up from behind, but he felt it. Felt it without a doubt as his body was jerked backwards. Lucky’s forearm coming up to press hard against his windpipe.

Jerry gasped for breath and clawed at the arm. Trying in vain to turn around. See where the surprise attack came from…In his own house.

"Wh – who is it?"

Had his bookie finally found out where he lived?!

"No, no…We’re gonna play a little game of ‘Guess who,’" Lucky seethed. "Do you know who I am Jer. Do you remember me this time or are you just as stupid as ever?"

The man’s eyes nearly rolled backwards in his head as he fought for breath. "Sp – Sp –

"Spencer," Lucky allowed. Breathing it hotly in his ear. "You shouldn’t forget that name Jer. You should never ever forget it. It’s the name that’ll put you in your grave if you don’t tell me exactly where your little friend Rick is in the next 10 seconds."

Lucky released him. Pushing him aside violently. When Van Hest went to open his mouth, he cut him off with a frighteningly controlled warning.

"Don’t lie to me Jerry…Nobody would miss you."

Jerry shook his head and rubbed at his bruised neck. Still gasping. "I don’t – I don’t know what you mean. I tho – thought you had a beat on Rick…I thought you two struck up some kind of deal and he was helping you out with the Hart guy."

‘A deal,’ Lucky thought. ‘Yeah a fucking deal to stay put in a cabin until I got around to him. That was the deal…Now all bets are off.’

"The Hart guy," Lucky said sarcastically. "Is dead…As if you didn’t know."

Jerry’s eyes widened. "He’s dead? He…Did you and Rick…Did you and Rick do him in? You offed the guy?"

Lucky shrugged. Faining nonchalance. Jerry was a dumbass, but even some dumbasses proved good for information. He’d play it as long as he could.

"I didn’t kill him. Rick did."

The man looked away and then covered his mouth as if truly shocked. When he spoke, Lucky narrowed his eyes. Examining an insect.

"I always thought it’d be the other way around. I always thought Hart would be the one but…good ol’ Rick beat him to the punch huh?"

"Yeah it looks like it," Lucky bluffed. He remembered a few poker moments of the past. Jerry had never been able to see past a blank expression. "Just need to know where he is now."

Jerry blanched. "Why? You wouldn’t be lookin’ to turn him in would ya? You’re gonna give him up? I mean, you hated that Hart guy…after what he’d done to your girl?…That’s horrible what they done…Rick told me about it once. Told me he heard her screaming that day in the apartment.

"You gotta know we really did like the girl," Jerry continued apologetically. As if his apology was worth a damn. "All those things we said – how we threatened her…it was always the Boss lady’s idea…Rick was all broken up about it."

Despite the incredible urge to knock all his teeth out, Lucky held back. Pressing his fists to his side and inhaling deeply to calm the vein he knew was about to burst from his forehead.

All this time…Rick had known? The bastard had known about the miscarriage and hadn’t said a damn word? The questions mounted and he waited with baited breath as Jerry continued. Scooping mounds of dirt for his friend’s grave.

"Rick didn’t know he’d slipped up. He was drunk that night…but I heard him. He was so torn up about it…I never mentioned it again. I figure, a guy goes through something like that, he doesn’t need to relive it again, right?"

Then as if realizing his faux pa, Jerry opened his mouth and then closed it. "Ah, Junior I’m sorry…that was your – your kid that they…"

"Where the Hell is your friend, Jerry?" Lucky said quickly. Before he interrupted him with more than words. Before he interrupted him by shoving his fist inside his mouth and continuing on until he was able to yank his guts out.

As if truly at a loss, the man shrugged. "I honestly don’t know." When Lucky started towards him, he held up his hands and squealed like a little girl. "I’m serious! I don’t know! I don’t know!"

Lucky took a step back. "You see him, tell him I’m lookin’ for him…that I wanna congratulate him," Lucky lied.

Jerry nodded quickly. Eager to get the guy out of his house. Still exploring the door behind the kid with his eyes. He hadn’t broken the lock or anything!

He exhaled in relief as Lucky moved towards the front door and opened it. Stepped out onto the porch. But right as he opened his mouth to say his final goodbye, Lucky turned and did what he’d wanted to do from the beginning.

Jerry only hoped his dental plan would cover dentures at such an early age.

***

"I’m sorry."

The timidly spoken words woke Lucky from his haze and he quickly got to his feet.

"No, I’m sorry. There’s absolutely no excuse for the way I just acted."

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth said then, shaking her head. "Lucky, you had every right to get upset. I’m the one who has no right to turn on the waterworks every time you let off a little steam," she insisted. Placing a hand to her chest. "Here you are, carrying all this weight around – trying to find out who killed Alex, trying to throw Alexis off the real trail…..and all I give you in return is more grief. That’s not fair of me Lucky. Especially when it’s all my fault."

"Elizabeth –

"Lucky, you can’t deny it. I know you and I know the way you work. I know that the only reason you’re doing this is to save me from being investigated…but Lucky, what if we just told the truth? What if we told them I was there that day and –

"No," he said then. Shaking his head. He turned back towards their bed. Moving towards it. "Elizabeth I’m not letting you take the blame for murdering that bastard."

"But you’ll take the blame?…Lucky now you’re not being fair to ME. All I’m suggesting is that until we find the real killer, I call Alexis and tell her that –

Lucky shook his head again and Elizabeth sighed. She moved slowly back towards him. Placing one leg on the bed and sitting down.

"Lucky, they’re not gonna put a pregnant woman in jail…at least not one carrying three babies and a note from her doctor," she said the last flippantly. As if she were trying to get out of P.E. class in junior high.

When Lucky looked up at her with wide eyes, she smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, you know my mouth has a tendency to work without the cooperation of my brain when I’m scared."

Lucky reached up to cup her face. "I don’t want you to be scared…Elizabeth please believe me when I say that’s the last thing I want."

"I know that," she sighed.

"I just don’t think we should risk it…Elizabeth, we both know how the cops in this town are! If they think they’ve got an open and shut case with you on the hook, they’re not gonna investigate any further."

Elizabeth looked down as he continued.

"You tell them you were there that day. That you argued with Alex. That you went there with a gun, that you fought with him……Elizabeth what does that accomplish? They’ll gladly use all of that to take you away from me………and I won’t let them do that," he said softly. "I won’t."

She shut her eyes and hit the bed before standing up. "Damn it Lucky! All of this would be solved if I could just REMEMBER! Why can’t I?! It’s just bits and pieces every single time and never the RIGHT pieces!

"Someone had to be there," she continued ranting. "SOMEBODY besides me had to be in that damn kitchen that day! And if nobody was – then I did it…I did it Lucky."

He shook his head just as adamantly as he did every time she suggested such a thing. "You didn’t," he whispered. "Elizabeth you didn’t do it…but until I find out who did – find that scum bag Rick……I’m not letting the police or Alexis anywhere near you."

Elizabeth let her head fall back as he rubbed her arms. She sighed loudly. "Do you really think it was him? Would he even have the brains to pull something like this off Lucky?"

"It’s a possibility," Lucky said then. Seemingly talking to him self.

Elizabeth prompted him forward. "What do you mean?"

"I mean what if he’s the one? What if he’s our missing person Elizabeth – figuratively and literally."

"You think he escaped from the cabin to go confront Alex?" Elizabeth asked then. "But why would he do that if he was afraid of Alex?…Afraid of what he could do?"

Lucky looked down. He’d yet to share all of the information he’d attained from Jerry yet. But since he seemed to be on a role for upsetting her tonight…

He sighed. "Maybe a guilty conscience. He knew that I wouldn’t have any use for him after he testified, and I sure wouldn’t keep Alex from killing him once he caught up with him…Maybe he didn’t want to die with what he knew sitting on his chest."

At Elizabeth’s silence he continued. Shutting his eyes, he began.

"Elizabeth, he knew. He knew about the miscarriage. He knew Alex had been waiting outside that day…"

Elizabeth turned, walking slowly to sit down on the bed. Lucky followed, kneeling down in front of her.

"How?" She asked then. Her voice merely a whisper.

Lucky laid his hands on her knees. "I don’t know all the details…Apparently, he saw Alex though. He knew. You were there – in pain…and he knew."

His voice cracked and his eyes filled with tears. Elizabeth reached down and brushed one errant drop from his cheek. She wouldn’t ask how yet another person could have been there, listening to her terror and anguish. How another person could have stood idly by and done nothing to help her.

She was afraid she wouldn’t like the answer…or worse yet, he wouldn’t have one.

Elizabeth placed her hands atop of his on her knees. "So…" she said hoarsely. "Maybe I’m there…fighting with Alex, and I black out. Maybe in that time Rick shows up…shoots Alex in the back…but how? I mean you said you found him on top of me?"

Lucky closed his eyes at the memory. "Yes."

"How is that possible Lucky? Wouldn’t I have been shot too? Wouldn’t I be just as dead as Alex is right now?"

He was forced to shut his eyes again. Blanching at the thought. He stood up in order to get himself back together.

"What if it played differently? What if after you blacked out, Alex got up," Lucky saw it playback in his head like a videotape. "Maybe Rick walked in and caught what happened with you and Alex. Maybe he shoots Alex in the back. Alex goes down, and Rick – being the Ratbastard that he is – positions him on top of you so that it looks like………what it looked like," Lucky finished reluctantly.

Elizabeth’s head swam. "But the bullets came from your gun Lucky. The gun that I was carrying."

"That doesn’t mean you had to be the one to pull the trigger, Elizabeth. Rick could have seen the opportunity presented and simply used the gun that was there, instead of the one he’d brought himself."

Elizabeth shut her eyes and Lucky swore under his breath.

"God, I’m so stupid! I can’t believe I wiped the prints off that gun…we could have known. I could have taken the damn thing and had it analyzed myself, but I……" His voice drifted away.

"Seconds," he said then. Nearly inaudibly. "All I had were seconds before the damn cops showed up."

"You had seconds, and you thought I’d been hurt…Lucky no one blames you for going with your gut. With what your instincts told you to do."

Lucky looked down. HE blamed him. And he’d already had enough guilt to last him two lifetimes.

When he looked up, he painted a smile on his face and led her back to sit down. Pulling back the covers of their bed once more. She followed his gesture and got inside. Snuggling up beside him when he did as well.

They each knew that they wouldn’t find the kind of playfulness that they had just a half an hour before, but they could find one thing…each other.

Elizabeth placed her hand on his chest and listened to the beat of his heart. Knowing that he was still trying to fit the pieces together even as he changed the subject.

"I think we have better things to discuss…" Lucky began. "For instance all those books you’ve got on your side of the bed over there," he gestured towards the night stand. It was littered with literature on pregnancy.

Elizabeth smiled. There was nothing she’d rather discuss. Quickly she reached over to the side and scooped a handful of things. Paperback books and magazines - placing them all on Lucky’s chest. He chuckled a bit when she opened a catalogue.

"Ok, remember how I was talking about wanting the babies to be in the same room? Well look at this Lucky – look at his crib – isn’t this the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen?!…It’s like they all connect!"

Lucky glanced down at the full color ad. It certainly was like nothing he’d ever seen before. A huge canopy crib that fit perfectly into the corner of a nursery. The cribs connected in a carousel like fashion so that the babies could be right next to one another. Various customer testimonies proclaimed what a wonderful asset it was at the bottom of the page. Along with the glowing praise, was the glowing price:

$400…for one.

Elizabeth took the expression on his face for a questioning one. "Oh, I know everyone says it’s horrible if you keep them that close together because if one starts crying than the other does and then the –

"No, no" he said quickly. Still gazing at the picture. "I think it’s a great idea. I mean I think…I think I’d like that. They’d probably…like that. They’ll have spent 9 months together in a cozy little place, I don’t see why they’d want to be so far apart all of a sudden…I wouldn’t want them to get lonely."

Elizabeth smiled at the genuine things he said, but he also sounded so very far away. She gazed up at him. "What’s wrong then?"

It was strange. Sometimes they were on the exact same page with things. Like they had been 4 years ago. But sometimes – times like now, there were little twinges of the difference that time had created. Time and experience. They were both older, and had gone through a myriad of different things without one another.

Sometimes it showed and sometimes it was as invisible as if they’d never been separated.

Right then, it was obvious that Elizabeth had spent the last few years of her life, not having had to worry about money. Lucky sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"We’d have to get three," he said then. "They’re 400 dollars each Elizabeth."

Elizabeth smiled and shut the catalogue. "Lucky, I’m pregnant but I didn’t just get a brain transplant ya know?"

When his brows furrowed she continued. Swiping the books off of his chest and placing her head there once again. "I didn’t show you that so we could buy them…I thought it’d be fun to build them…together.

He shut his eyes. Sometimes things fell right into place. Like now.

He looked down at her and she rubbed his chest as she spoke. "I think I’d love that."

Lucky slowly tugged her up to meet his lips. "I think I love YOU."

~~~~~~~

He hadn’t slept a wink. Hadn’t even been able to close his eyes as he lay there next to her. Even her warmth having not been enough to lure him into dreamland. All he’d been able to think about where Alexis’ words:

‘Do me a favor and ask Elizabeth if she knows anything about signs of asphyxiation/strangulation deaths…or what might cause a man swelling of the trachea, but not leave a bruise.’

What the Hell did that mean? Of course she’d hung up without telling him. Having wanted to dangle the bait in front of him, and have him come running.

Well, he wasn’t gonna fall for it. He certainly wouldn’t be showing up on her doorstep tonight.

He’d simply get the information himself.

Lucky slipped Elizabeth’s hair pin into the lock and jiggled it once before it popped open. So easy, that the damn thing might as well have been unlocked in the first place. Standing to his full height, Lucky placed the pin into his jean pocket and slipped inside.

He pulled his jacket more securely around him. Funny that it was colder in here than it had been outside under the evening stars and first snow flurries. He supposed that here in the house of death, they had to keep things cold.

And air freshened like you wouldn’t believe. The air was so sickeningly sweet that it nearly made him gag, but he knew it was leaps and bounds better than the alternative.

Had he missed something? Not noticed that Alex had been strangled, when he’d pulled him off of Elizabeth? Lucky hated to admit it, but it was completely possible. Plausible even, considering the state of mind he’d been in.

But he’d gone over it and over it as he’d driven over to the lab. The only car on the street this late at night, but he hadn’t remembered seeing anything at all that would indicate something else had happened to Alex.

Elizabeth remembered fighting with him. Perhaps the signs of strangulation that Alexis had alluded to had been put there by Elizabeth’s hands…but even so she hadn’t killed him.

Lucky walked around the silver room. The immaculateness of it, a little unnerving. Fitting though, that Alex should end up somewhere like this. His house had the same kind of clinical feeling.

It all appeared completely spotless, but you knew there was dirt just under the surface. The kind that made you want to spend a few hours in the shower.

His eyes scanned the rows of body drawers that lined the walls. Wondering which one housed the animal that had tried to ruin his life, had almost succeeded with Elizabeth. Of course he had no way of knowing which it was, but he did get an even sharper chill as he passed the one before him now.

His gut knew – even if his mind had no proof. Memorizing the number, he walked back to the regular drawers beneath the counter, and pulled them open one at a time. Looking for a file, a tape recorder, something that would clue him on what the Hell Alexis had been talking about.

"Bingo," he whispered in the dim light. Swiping his flashlight into the drawer. A row of mini-cassettes winked in the light before him. Lucky flipped through them quickly, searching for the name he loathed. "Hart."

~~~~~~~

Elizabeth woke with a start. Sitting up in bed, so quickly that her she gave herself a head rush. She couldn’t remember having had a nightmare but something had woke her from what, up until now had been a perfectly nice sleep.

"Lucky, I –

Her brow knit at the empty side of the bed next to her. Reaching out, she found the sheets cool. His pillow cool.

Maybe that had been what woke her? Lucky getting out of bed? But no…the sheets felt as if they’d been cold for some time now.

Elizabeth swung her legs over the side of the bed and placed her slippers on her feet. Padding towards the bathroom. She halted at the door. There was no glimmer of light shining beneath the door. No noises from within. Yet, she called out his name just in case.

"Lucky?"

A response came then. But it came in the response of a grunt. One that came not from the bathroom, but down the hall. Seemingly in the living room.

What was wrong? Had he gotten out of bed in some kind of pain?

The skin at the back of her neck prickled, but she moved along anyway. Maybe he needed her…maybe he had a headache or…something.

Elizabeth slowly padded down the dark hallway. "Lucky?…Baby what’s –

Nothing. There was nothing wrong because he wasn’t there.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when the noise sounded again. Another grunt that she now knew came from right outside her apartment. Her eyes homed in on the front door, at the shadow that moved across the shimmer of light beneath it.

Elizabeth felt the adrenaline move through her. Shooting up her legs and collecting like a ball of fire in her stomach. Slowly she pushed her feet into action. Moving backwards down the hall in which she came.

Someone was trying to break in.

She commanded her feet to move quicker in spite of her shock. Stumbling slightly over her own slipper as she made her way back to the bedroom. Her eyes panned the room for the phone and found it lying on the carpet. They’d neglected to fix it before falling to sleep.

Panic consumed her as the noise came again. A slight rustling paired with the soft grunt then, and it propelled her towards the closet. On instinct, she pulled his side open and reached up to the top shelf. Pulling down the box and sitting it on the bed. Lifting the lid…

And in that instant it began to flood her again. The sensation of heat, madness, anger that knew no bounds…

The box was empty this time around, but it hadn’t been – not then.

***

Elizabeth pushed herself unsteadily from the couch. Her legs shaking as the pool of warm milk seeped through the fabric of her pants. She’d have to change them. She’d have to change all of her clothes before she went.

There’d been no decision to make as she sat there on her couch – in the home she and Lucky had created for themselves together once again – no, what she had to do settled upon her shoulders the same way that you knew you had to breathe.

There was no choice about it. You simply needed oxygen to live.

She had to kill Alex to live.

Her feet carried her down the hall towards their bedroom. Methodically and carefully she pealed off her clothes and opened her side of the closet. Pulling out a pair of black slacks and a white button down blouse.

She’d bought them both just a bit a go. A size larger than she usually bought, because her waist seemed to expand just a tad everyday now.

Slowly she slipped one leg into the pants and then the other. Slipping into the blouse a moment later. She concentrated on her fingers as they slowly began at the bottom button and worked their way up. One by one they slid into the holes. Just as one by one the events of that day so long ago had come back to her as she’d sat on the couch in the living room.

The hurry – the worry in his voice. No, he hadn’t really been worried about her – just worried that he got her out of the restaurant on time. Worried that she wouldn’t bleed all over the tablecloth when the time came.

But she hadn’t. He’d succeeded in getting her back to her apartment before that happened. And then, like a night in shining armor he’d appeared before in her barely lucid state. She’d been lying there on her carpet, soaking it through when he’d appeared.

She remembered it all now. She remembered it all. From the beginning of his faked concern – to the moment they’d told her that her baby was dead and that she’d need some stupid fucking operation that she’d never actually had.

Alex was a baby killer.

Slowly, Elizabeth eased her hands around her abdomen. "Don’t worry

Sweeties…Mama’s gonna take care of everything. You won’t have to worry about anything anymore."

With that she turned back towards the closet. Closing her side and opening his.

There was a box on the top shelf. A box she’d hated seeing every day since she’d moved in, but hadn’t been able to talk Lucky into getting rid of. Now she was glad that she hadn’t. She probably hadn’t been able to persuade him, because this was meant to be.

This was fate.

She pulled the box down, and removed the gun. Then went to the drawer next to his bedside and pulled the bullets from their casing. She laid everything out on the comforter. Looking down at all of it like a doctor might look at a tray of instruments. Trying to decide how to use it.

Elizabeth closed her eyes. Trying to concentrate on the memory of Lucky showing her how to use it when he’d wanted her to carry one when they’d lived in Greenwich. It started to come back to her like pictures in a slideshow and she loaded the gun with steady hands.

After it was done she glanced at the chair to the side of their bed. The one she had all her purses draped over. The one Lucky always complained about. She had to pick one that was big enough to hold the revolver.

With her eyes she settled on the straw bag that she’d seen in Mexico one year. The one Alex had forced her to buy when he’d seen her looking at it. It was an overpriced piece of nothing, but wouldn’t it be apropos?

Slowly she rose and placed the gun inside of it. Transferring her driver’s license into that purse as well, from another. She glanced back at the bed and decided to put the box away, along with the bullet container.

She was ready.

***

"Ready," she whispered then. Into the darkness as she curled up into a ball on the closet floor. Not realizing she was crying. Not realizing that when she screamed in response to the gunshots that they were only in her head.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Over and over again the shots rang out in her mind and Elizabeth sobbed into her hands. Cradling her face from what she thought was happening now.

"Elizabeth?!"

Lucky’s voice penetrated the darkness as he threw open the closet door. Kneeling before her in a flash. His hands sought hers. He tilted her chin upward in panic.

"Hey…Hey…you’re ok…Baby, what happened? What’s wrong?"

She sniffled loudly and tried blinking. Tried bringing him into focus. All she could do was try and find words around the hysterics that threatened to overtake her again.

Lucky’s here? Lucky’s here?

"He’s here Lucky," she sobbed. "He’s here…the killer’s here."

Lucky shook his head lightly and glanced back down the hallway. Watching as confusion moved over her features. Feeling them on his own.

There’d been no one. He’d just arrived home and everything looked fine…Looks could be deceiving though, he knew.

"Sweetie, was somebody here?" He asked trying to hold back the alarm that moved through him. "Did somebody come here while I was gone?"

She thought so! Hadn’t she heard someone? Oh dear God, maybe she was losing her mind. Her surroundings started to register and she shivered at her predicament. How had she ended up in the closet?

"I don’t…I don’t know…I thought – I thought someone was trying to break in and…"

"Come ‘ere," he whispered. Lifting her trembling form too her feet. He pressed her against him for a bit. His eyes scanning the room, the hallway the entire time he held her. "Stay right here for just a second ok? I’m gonna look outside and –

"No!" She demanded. "No…don’t go anywhere. Don’t go anywhere."

Licking his lips, Lucky held her hand in his and turned towards the wall to flip the switch in their bedroom. Better able to see her eyes. God, she looked as if she were in shock. That night – both of them – came back to him so quickly that his knees gelled.

"Ok…I’m not gonna go outside. I’m just gonna check the living room…see if there are any signs of someone trying to get in ok? Ok?"

She nodded absently. Wringing her hands against her chest as Lucky walked back down the hall.

He hadn’t seen anyone outside. When he’d gotten home the neighborhood had been quiet. The only noise he’d heard when he’d walked in was her crying in the bedroom. He’d nearly tripped over himself in his haste to get down the short hall.

And had missed the note in front of the door completely.

Lucky squatted to the carpet in front of the front door. Swearing underneath his breath as he unfolded the small square of paper.

He squinted to read the nearly illegible handwriting. Saying the words aloud as if it would make more sense if he did so. "I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I stood there and listened as you screamed…I’m sorry. I was afraid and I’m sorry."

There was no signature, but he didn’t need one. Lucky bit down on his lip and set the note on the countertop to keep him self from balling it up. His fists clenched at his sides as he took a steadying breath and then walked back down the hall and back to Elizabeth.

Rick.

He was their killer.

Maybe the tape he’d listened to tonight was right. Maybe he’d somehow strangled Alex and then shot him. Lucky didn’t know, and didn’t care how it had went down. What he cared about was that the lowlife cocksucker now had the nerve to slip a note under the door in apology.

For what? For listening as his child died? For listening as Elizabeth almost did? For killing Alex and trying to put the blame off on Elizabeth? Or for the fact that Lucky was taking the heat?

He didn’t really care which it was. All he knew was that he was going to find him and when he did, Rick would wish he’d committed both a murder and a suicide two weeks ago.

When he had Elizabeth in his arms, Lucky buried his face in her hair. Inhaling deeply. Holding her to calm himself, just as much as to calm her.

"It’s over Elizabeth…it’s over."