Chapter 15

They stared at each other for long moments after the embrace. The embrace
that had itself lasted quite some time. Mother and son and father had all
gathered around Luke's desk now, each barely breathing, fearing the slightest
movement would erase the dream that enveloped them.

"How?" Laura asked then, finally finding her voice through her tears.

"Faison," Lucky said, barely audibly as he wiped at one of the remaining
tears that refused to dry beneath his eye. "I was sleeping that night...I had
just talked to Elizabeth...and the next thing I knew I was waking up in this
steel...room...they drugged me. That was the only way they were able to drag
me out."

Laura's eyes darkened, a cool shade of iron replacing the blue that made them
sparkle. She looked at Luke, and he nodded slowly at her in recognition. The
recognition that they had both been made fools of. They had actually believed
their son dead for months.

"Seems, Count Vlad's mama also had a hand in it," Luke sneered, trying to
keep the bitterness out of his voice. This was not the time to admonish Laura
for taking up with the vampire, but his tone was indisguiseable.

Laura's eyes widened, her eyebrows arching high upon her forehead as she
turned her attention back to her son. "Is that true?"

Lucky nodded and Laura looked down at her hands. "I'll kill her."

Lucky's ears perked up. "No you won't mom...she's mine," he added coldly.
"Faison too...they'll both pay."

Laura looked up quickly and turned to Luke, who shook his head once again.
His expression saying, 'There's no changing his mind Laura...he's as serious
as a heart attack.'

She turned back to Lucky, after reading her husband's thoughts, almost amazed
that she still could. "Lucky...I want you to let your father and I handle
this," she pleaded. "It was your father and I that they were after anyways."

Lucky got up from his chair and turned his back, "Yeah, well they took me!"
He said, his outburst taking, the entire room by surprise, even himself. It
hadn't been loud, he hadn't yelled it. But it's total intent had been felt.
The anger in his voice apparent.

Luke looked down, and Laura's face silmultaneously buckled into a mask of
despair. Her lip trembling and her brow creasing. She didn't cry though, she
wouldn't allow herself. Afteral, any maliciousness she heard in her sons
voice was of her own doing wasn't it? It was a debt repayed to her from
Helena.

The silence in the room broke as Luke looked up at his son. Lucky was once
again, rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand, this time his eyes
squinting in pain. "You sure you're ok?" he asked, concern lacing his voice.

"Yeah...yeah, I'm ok," he said, lowering himself back into the chair.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Liz checked her rearview mirror and saw no sign of Nikolas following close
behind anymore. Some where along the line she'd lost him. All she now saw in
that mirror, was the reflection of a girl she didn't know. A girl that much
like Nikolas, was lost somewhere out on that highway. Except she was really
lost. The smudges of black mascara under her eyes made her laugh out loud at
who'd she become.

She turned the radio up louder. The dulcid tones of the DJ echoed through the
small car. He talked about a girl named Michelle and her boyfriend Danny.
Danny was stationed at an army base nearby and decided to dedicate this
beautiful song to his one and only. A song whose familiar first notes sent
Liz's stomach jumping into her throat.

Can this be true
Baby can this be real
How can I put into words what I feel

Her small hands pounded against the middle of the steering wheel,
inadvertantly causing the horn to sound in the dead of night. The anger she
felt at him for leaving, at God for taking, and the contempt she had for
herself at that very moment, bursting forth like lava from a volcano.

My life was complete
I thought I was whole
Why do I feel like I'm losing control

She screamed "I hate you!" So loud it brought on yet another onslaught of
tears, this one stronger than any before it. She had no idea who she was
talking to, or even who it was that she hated exactly. She just had to get it
out, and as the fog got thicker and thicker and her foot became heavier and
heavier upon the gas pedal, she did.

And I'm trying hard to figure out
Just how I ever did without
The warmth of your smile, the heart of a child that's deep inside
Leaves me purifyed

"Do you know what I did tonight Lucky?!" She screamed, now between
bodywracking sobs. "Do you know what I almost did!!! Damnit! Why did you
leave me? Why did you...." her voice trailed off, the words of the song and
the alcohol swirling together in her head forming a poisonous brew.

You're love is like a river
Peaceful and deep
Your soul is like a secret that I never could keep
When I look into your eyes, I know that it's true
God must have spent a little more time on you

Her vision blurred as the tears came faster, her sobs exploding forth from
her gut. "I just want it over," she said. "I just want it to end."
~~~~~~~~~~~
"So where are Faison and Helena now?" Laura asked, as Luke poured himself a
glass of Gin.

Lucky stared absently into space. He needed to get to Elizabeth. For the
first time in eight months, they were on the same continent, in the same
town, yet she felt more far away than ever.

Luke responded. "Jason and Sonny have all of their men after Faison as we
speak, he won't get far...I'm also quite sure that Felecia has filled Bubba
in by now..." Luke said, taking a long swig of the warm liquid. "As for
Helena...she's tied up at the moment," he looked up at the ceiling,
indicating her makeshift prison in the above room.

"You guys," Lucky began, growing antsy. "I have to g - Damnit!" he yelled, a
pain shooting through his head, more fierce than any he had ever felt.
~~~~~~~~~
The tires spun on their own volition, as the car lay partially on it's side,
steam escaping through the seam where the hood and the grill once met. They
were now seperated by the tree that had embedded itself between the two. The
occupant of the car moaned softly and shifted in her seat.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open, and her hand found her head quickly. It
pounded, as she picked it up from the steering wheel. She looked around,
trying to focus, but even if she could have seen through the cracked window,
there was nothing to see. The fog was so dense she probably wouldn't be able
to see her hand before her face.

Her body ached from head to toe, but she knew she had to get out of the car.
She searched the seat next to her for her sweater, her hand fumbling around
in the darkness. She found it and moved her arm limply back to her side. It
took every once of strength she had left to push open the door, as it seemed
stuck to it's hinges. When open, she staggered out, realizing only from the
scent in the air, where she was. She had to be near the water.
~~~~~~~~~~
Luke and Laura shot out of thier chairs at once, and were at Lucky's side in
less than a second.

"Oh my God," Laura said, kneeling in front of Lucky. "Baby, what's wrong? Are
you ok?...Luke let's get him to GH."

Lucky shook his head and his hands retreated from his face. "No...no, I don't
need a hospital."

Luke looked gravely at his son. "Lucky...what did Faison do? Did he hurt you?
You don't have to be af - "

"No!" Lucky shouted, shooting up from his seat. "I gotta get out of here."

"Lucky?" Laura pleaded, taking his hand.

"Mom...I'm ok. Really. I just need some air...I'm gonna take a walk...don't
worry, I'll be careful."

Chapter 16

Lucky walked down the wooden-planked steps that he had descended so many
times before, and looked down. Down at the place that he and Elizabeth had
spent so many days and nights. He could barely see anything through the thick
fog that enveloped him, but he could just barely make out the bench. Their
bench.

He didn't know exactly why he had come to the docks, but something had
definitely willed him there. Some unseen force had led him there from his
father's club. He walked closer to the water and looked up as the sky
suddenly burst with an explosion of color. His ears rang as the thunderous
clang began and only got stronger with the continous blast of fireworks. 'New
years,' he thought. 'I almost forgot...the year 2000.' He looked down at his
watch. It was exactly 12 o'clock. Somewhere off in the distance he heard a
crowd singing "Old Lang Zine." He sighed and turned around quickly, ready to
leave. He needed to find Elizabeth.

His eyes found hers that very moment. So quick and so fast it nearly burned.

Love I get so lost sometimes.
Days pass and this emptiness fills my heart.
When I want to run away
I drive off in my car.
But which every way I go
I come back to the place where you are.

The world stopped turning at that instant. The sound of fireworks disappeared
and there were no longer any merry singers in the distance. Time stood still
and the only two people that existed on Earth were on that pier, staring at
each other.

She didn't belive it was him. She couldn't believe it. It wasn't possible. It
was a mirage, or she had hit herself in the head very hard in the accident.
It had to be that. It was either that or she had died in the accident and
this was heaven. A heaven, where she and Lucky were together. His eyes even
bluer than she remembered and burning holes straight into her soul.

All my instincts, they return
And the grand facade, so soon will burn
Without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside

He reached out then slowly, his fingers inching towards her cheek. Her eyes
shut tightly in anticipation as his hand made contact with her skin. An
electrical current shot through their bodies at the same moment, causing both
of them to sigh aloud. Tears escaped from both of their eyes.

A small noise rose in her throat. It got caught there, unable to free itself
from the shock of his touch. He grinned through his tears, his other hand
joining the one already placed on her face. He held her face in his hands,
and she noticed his hands were trembling. He couldn't believe she was there,
and that he was touching her. She was not a hallucination, not a fantasy. He
knew that as much as he knew that her skin was the softest thing he'd ever
felt. He'd almost forgotten the texture, almost forgotton how it made him
forget everything and everyone else in the world.

"What?" He asked, repeating her question to her. "I didn't die," he wispered,
trying to answer whatever question it could have been. He knew she had so
many. "Elizabeth, I was kidnapped....I....God, there's so much I need to tell
you...so much I need to...."

Her hand reached up, resting gently on his face, and stopping his words
mid-sentence. Her fingers trailed a path from his eyes to his soft, perfect
lips. She still didn't believe it. She wouldn't allow herself to. She had
dreamt of this moment so often. She had painted this moment. He always
reaching out to her, she always reaching out for him, but never ever making
contact. She always woke up in a cold sweat. She waited for that moment, as
she shook her head.

As if he had read her thoughts, he said aloud,"I know...but I'm here. I
really am...God, I dreamt of this moment so many times...Elizabeth...every
night."

They're eyes met once again and he ached to kiss her. His thumbs brushed
against her lips as he carressed her cheek. He tentatively narrowed the space
between them, he didn't know what to make of her expression. She looked as if
she had been woken from a dream. Their lips danced in silence, hovering in
the tiny space that seperated them. Their breathing, hot against each other
was the only sound their ears could descern. Each of them afraid to give in.
Afraid that they would wake up at any moment and know that this would never
be.

His bottom lip grazed hers as his top lingered, caught somewhere between
agony and ecstasy.  Her confused hands found their way back to the sides of
his face, and the encouragement that followed, would change everything. His
lips crashed down upon hers, a force so unexpected that they both leaned in,
needing the other for support. Their tears mingled together, as the kiss
became stronger and stronger. It was bigger than the two people that stood
there in the fog, and more intense than anything either of them had any power
to control. Her hands reached for the back of his shoulders, pulling him in
closer, as his own hands found their way to the small of her back. He needed
to feel every inch of her at once. His fingers unconsciously pulled at the
fabric of her dress. She moaned into his mouth, as his hungry lips devoured
hers. Her hands began to roam yet again, and this time found themselves
nestled in his hair, gripping his neck and pulling him forwards. The tears
only increased. No longer simply tears of astonishment, but also tears of
complete and utter joy. So profound no words could adequately describe.

In your eyes
The light, the heat
Your eyes
I am complete
Your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
Your eyes
The resolutoin to all my fruitless searches
Your eyes
Oh, I see the light and the heat
Your eyes
I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light, the heat I feel in your eyes.

Off in the distance a lone, dark haired stranger spotted the couple. She
looked very much like the friend he had been searching for all night. But she
couldn't have been, she was kissing someone. Who? He wasn't sure. He stopped
for a second, only long enough to determine that it simply couldn't be her,
and it most assuredly couldn't be him. Nikolas kept walking. He had to find
her, she may have been in trouble.

Lucky pulled away first, only to look again at the beautiful angel who had
been returned to him after far too long. His arms still around her waist, he
felt her begin to go weak. Her body became heavy in his arms as she
collapsed. Lucky fell to the ground with her, his hands wrapping tighter
about her waist.

"Elizabeth?!" He asked frantically. "Sweetie...oh God, what's wrong?" He
asked.

She didn't answer. The world had become black only moments before, somewhere
between the kiss and her first gulp for air. Lucky noticed for the first time
the deepening red of a bruise that lay under her bangs. He brushed her hair
out of her face to get a better look. "Elizabeth?" he said again.
"Please...what the Hell happened....answer me...please. "

Love, I don't like to see so much pain.
So much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away
I get so tired, working so hard for our survival
I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive.

Again, no words were uttered. Lucky franticly placed one arm under her
shoulders and the other under her knees and scooped her up. He carried her up
the stairs. Something was desperately wrong. Why now, after he'd just gotton
his life back? He'd just gotton her back?