Lucky stepped into his father's office, instantly transported to New Year's Eve. The night that he'd come home for the first time. He'd never been as happy to see his father's club in his entire life. What had happened to that feeling? That feeling of relief. Joy. What had happened to the wonderful peace of coming home?

Was it that home had moved on without him? Was it that home amounted to a mother still in love with a Cassidine? A girlfriend too wonderful to see his faults, and how he had changed? Did home now mean a brother that was more a Cassidine than he remembered? Or was home a father who had gone to the edge of the Earth to find him? To kill for him?

'And all he got for his trouble was an ungrateful son,' Lucky thought to himself. So many questions. So many questions he was afraid to answer.

"You look good," Luke said suddenly, moving behind his desk.

Lucky looked up, a twisted sort of grin pulling at his mouth. 'Aww...Dad...come on....you only start commenting on appearance when you have absolutely NO CLUE what to say.....I'm countin' on you here.....'

"Thanks," Lucky finally said.

He watched as his father pulled a cigar box out of the drawer at the side of his desk. He pushed open the heavy lid and selected one of the expensive plastic wrapped sticks.

"Those from Faison?" Lucky asked flippantly, gesturing to the box.

Luke froze. His right hand at his mouth holding the cigar. His left hand poised to ignite the lighter held to the end of it. 'Ahhh...Lucky....you're back......Bitter...but back.'

"Diamonds for Cigars right?...That's how it went?"

Luke remained silent as his arms fell silently to their sides. It was a funny combination. The mix of feeling both wounded by, and prideful of your son.

He placed the lighter and the Cuban cigar against the wood of his desk. "They're from Sonny," he finally replied. His voice flat.

Lucky shut his eyes tightly and bowed his head. 'You're a bastard,' he thought to himself. 'You feel better now that you got that off your chest, Spencer?'

"Sorry," he said quietly as sunk down into the chair in front of his father. "This is......."

"Hard," his father finished. "Yeah, I know Lucky.........but don't stop there. Get it off your chest," he said, pouring himself a shot of Bourbon. "We've never been afraid of the hard stuff right?" Luke smirked, sliding another glass toward his son.

Lucky eyed the brown liquid for a moment, and then picked it up, rolling the smooth glass between his palms. "Yeah.......well, I'm afraid of a lot more things than I used to be," he stated quickly before downing the shot.

Luke watched as his son gulped it down, and then grimaced at the burn in his throat. "Like what Cowboy?" he asked finally.

Lucky stood up again, turning around to avoid his fathers gaze. "You know...Elizabeth told me to just come in here and tell you I didn't know what to say...........how's that for advice, huh?" He finished, smirking nervously.

Luke sank down into his chair. Easing back into the cushion. "Yeah...well, there was always something I liked about that girl," he fell silent for a moment, once again searching for the words. "I heard you moved out of your mother's house."

"My mother's house?....What? It's only her house now?"

"Well, pretty soon it ain't gonna be anybody's house anymore Cowboy...so - "

"What do you mean?" Lucky asked a bit taken aback.

"You don't...."Luke voice trailed off, realizing before the words left his mouth, that his son had no idea that Laura had decided to sell it. "You're mother is selling the house."

Lucky nodded slowly, knowing that her decision had probably been based on his reaction to being there. His claustrophobia at the mere thought. 'Damn Spencer...you've even got people selling their homes to please you now.....'

"You think that's a good idea?" Lucky asked suddenly. "I mean.......do you want LuLu living at Wyndemere?"

God new he didn't. Not with all the vultures swarming around, just waiting for their next Spencer victim. What the Hell was wrong with his father? When had the thought of his wife and child leaving at Wyndemere become ok with him?

"LuLu belongs with her mother - "

"You want mom living at Wyndemere?"

The room went quiet for a long moment, Luke struck by his son's question. Of course he didn't want her there, but it wasn't his decision to make. Laura had made her choice.

Luke looked up into his sons eyes seriously. "They're fine for now," Luke answered blankly. "Helena seems to be incommunicado at the moment." He stared at his son for a moment, knowing that had not been the answer he was looking for.

"You're good at that, you know?" He finally said, a grin pulling at his lips.

"What?" Lucky asked.

"Changin' the subject........we were supposed to be talkin' about you and me.....not you're mother and I."

Lucky grinned as his father poured himself another drink.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Thanks Claude," Elizabeth said, taking her glass from his hands. She whirled her red straw around through the bubbles in her Cherry Coke. She checked her watch as she sipped the cold soda. '10 minutes...that's a good sign.' She thought to herself, wondering how things were going between Lucky and his father.

"Can I get an order of cheese fries to go, please?"

The voice behind her caused her to whirl around on her bar stool. 'Damnit.'

"Liz." Nikolas said quietly, his eyes immediately taking her in. From the black heels that she wore to the curve hugging burgundy dress that left only everything beyond her mid thigh to the imagination. "Hi."

"Hi," Elizabeth said, sharply, turning back around to face the bar.

Nikolas quickly moved to her side, leaning over the bar and returning his eyes to Elizabeth after Claude took his order. "They're for LuLu....Mrs. Landsbury's cheesefries didn't quite live up to her expectations."

He sighed loudly, at the cool draft coming from Liz's way. 'Go ahead Nikolas...she's here....you're here....bite the bullet.'

"It's probably a good thing that you're giving me the silent treatment," he began, speaking to her stoic profile. "Since what I'm about to tell you is probably only gonna make you more furious with - "

"I don't wanna hear anything you have to say Nikolas," Elizabeth said, cutting him off at the knees as she turned towards him. "Just save it ok."

Nikolas shook his head. "You don't understand Elizabeth...I'm trying to do the right thing here."

"Oh!" Elizabeth said, laughing bitterly. "The right thing? Is that what you've been trying to do all this time Nikolas? Darn....to me it looked like you were trying to be the biggest asshole you could possibly be....I'm sorry Nikolas. My mistake."

"Look, I know you're angry with me and you have every right to be, but you have to listen to me."

"You know what Nikolas?...I'm really tired of you telling me what I HAVE to do!" Elizabeth said, her voice raising as she stood from the bar stool, walking quickly back to her table. "I haven't had a father in quite some time....and I'm doing fine without one.....but I'll let you know if the position ever needs filling ok?"

Nikolas followed her, grabbing her by the arm as he caught up with her.

Elizabeth stopped in her tracks, looking down at her arm. Nikolas quickly released her. "Sorry."

She sat down, eyeing him suspiciously as he took the seat across from her. Lucky's seat. "Guess you did learn something from that little run at the hospital, huh?" She remarked, taking a long sip through her straw.

"I'm sorry about that too," Nikolas said softly. "I really don't know what got into me that day."

"Me neither," Elizabeth said bluntly. She stared down at the ring on her finger for a few silent moments before looking up. "You know Nikolas........you were the best friend anyone could ask for while Lucky was gone......and I never wanted that to change. I never wanted to lose you as a friend........but it seems like I can't have it both ways you know........you make it so difficult."

Nikolas sighed and looked down at his hands. She was going to kill him when he told her what he did, and she had every right to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I needed to be the one Dad," Lucky said, his voice nothing more than a whisper as he took another swig of the half empty bottle of Bourbon. "I needed to be the one to to take care of things.....Faison........to fix my own mess."

"Your own mess?" Luke questioned, leaning forward in his seat as if he hadn't heard him right. "Your own mess, Lucky? Come on.......who the Hell do you think started this whole damn thing? Me! I started it..........Helena had it in for ME! ME Lucky...and she knew that the way to get to me was through you. She knew that the quickest and most painful way was......" His voice trailed off as he raised his glass again, and looked at it. Pleading with it to take away some of the painful sting that attacked his heart.

They were going in circles.

"She may have had it in for you Dad, but I'm the one that spent eight long months in a steel room. Me........I did that, Dad..........and I'm not blaming you for not finding me - "

"Why not?" Luke asked, cutting him off. "Why not?....I blame me."

Lucky looked down at his hands for a moment, and then looked up into his father's sullen blue eyes. "I saw pictures.......I know what the garage looked like....there was nothing left..........If I were you I would have believed it too.........there's no way anyone could have survived that." He thought back for a moment. Remembering the feel of strong hand clamping down over his mouth. Remembering the first inhalation of chloroform filling his nostrils. He shook it off, as his father's voice penetrated his memory.

"I should have known.......I knew you weren't dumb enough to leave candles burning while you slept. I knew that!............I should have felt it damnit!" Luke said, his hands starting to shake as he stood from his desk. He walked over to the bookshelf, bracing himself with an outstretched arm. "I should have felt it," he repeated quietly, almost to himself.

Lucky sat back in his chair and sighed. "You're not the only one that didn't feel anything.....I think maybe all this mumbo-jumbo bond stuff is maybe just a load of crap..................don't worry about it."

Luke turned around, facing the back of his sons head. When had this happened? When has his son turned into the cynical man before him? A man that reminded him of his self. Lucky had always believed in bonds too strong to be broken, faith in man, and miracles.

'What happened to him Spencer?' Luke thought. 'He was locked in a cell for the better part of a year.....and nobody came for him......that's what happened.'

"Anyway Dad...." Lucky said standing up and taking one last swig of the hot liquid. "I'm enjoying this conversation about past atrocities and all.......but I've got a beautiful girl waiting for me outside, and I haven't danced with her once tonight....so I'm gonna go-"

Luke stepped in front of his son, placing a firm hand against his shoulder. He stared into Lucky's eyes for a long moment. "Ok," he said simply, the words he wanted to say, failing to reach the surface.

Lucky stepped out of his grasp, and turned the brass knob of the door quickly. "Lucky!" Luke called, as his son stepped over the threshold. Lucky turned around.

"I love you," he whispered.

Lucky looked down, the words tightening his throat something fierce. He looked up and brushed an errant, unwelcomed tear away from the corner of his eye. He nodded silently before closing the door.

~~~~~~~~~~

Elizabeth rose from her table, rolling her eyes. She had no desire to sit and listen to the large preamble to whatever Nikolas was trying to tell her.

Nikolas jumped up, and reached for her once again. "Elizabeth...I have to tell you this.....Lucky thi - "

"I don't care Nikolas! Whatever it is...I don't wanna hear about it, and Lucky doesn't need to hear about it either...alright?! Are we clear?!"

Nikolas looked to the his right and sighed, his eyes meeting a pair of angry blue ones at the same instant that Elizabeth's voice came to stop.

"Lucky doesn't need to know what, exactly?"

Chapter 46

Elizabeth cleared her throat as she turned towards Lucky, meeting his eyes. She gave fleeting thought to whether someone had turned the air conditioning up, as a teeth chattering shiver ran up the base of her neck. "Nikolas here was just leaving," she said, gesturing towards the man that stood awkwardly before her.

Lucky glanced slowly at his brother then back at his girlfriend, waiting for an answer to his question. An answer that didn't seem to be coming out of either of their mouths. Why did they look so nervous all of a sudden? So....guilty.

Maybe he could get good ol' Nik to answer the question. He turned to him and smirked. "So what are you doing here anyway," he questioned, a cool frost radiating from his voice. "You slumming?"

Nikolas looked quickly down at his leather shoes, and up again. He sighed tiredly before answering. "No, Lucky....our sister wanted cheesefries. Only Lukes' were good enough."

Lucky rose an eyebrow and shoved his hands in his pockets. They were a lot safer in there. "Oh!" He chuckled. "Hmm...wow. So your granting me a sister? That's nice. I thought maybe she was only YOUR sister now. Thanks," he finished with a bitter smile.

Nikolas bit his lip and looked to the side, as Elizabeth nervously brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. He didn't have the energy for a scene right now. "Lucky, you know what? You can cut the bitter routine was just tryin - "

"Oh, I know what you were trying to do Nikolas. I mean I've been dead for a while, but your grandmother didn't perform a lobotomy or anything. I still know when somebody is puttin' the moves on Elizabeth."

Liz placed a hand on Lucky's shoulder, in silent protest. "Lucky..he wasn't. He wasn't trying to pick up on me at all...he was just....he was just trying to tell me something, and I got upset. I just didn't want to hear it, you know?....It's no biggee....really."

Lucky turned to her, his lips slightly parted in shock. 'No biggee? Damnit Elizabeth...What the Hell is going on here?' He thought, his eyes darting from her to his so-called brother.

Nikolas tilted his head to the side, watching the scene in front of him. Although they weren't saying anything, he could tell by the look in their eyes that he had caused more harm good. Again. 'You happy Cassidine?...Even when you try and do the right thing you wind up screwing it up............just turn around and walk away.'

He shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. "For what's it's worth Lucky...she's right. I just wanted to explain some things to her, but.....I guess I was too late. She doesn't wanna hear it or hear from me anymore," he said looking into her eyes. They seemed blank, as she were caught in a daydream she couldn't get out of. Seeing something she didn't want to see.

Elizabeth watched as Nikolas turned and walked out of the club unceremoniously. Something was off. There was more going on here than she knew about. Something only the deepest corner of her mind was aware of. It flashed before her like deja vu, but the picture was foggy, hazy. Unrecognizable. She pushed whatever it had been away as Lucky's eyes turned on her.

She saw the twitch of his jaw muscles and knew his mind was working overtime, calculating what had just happened here. Thinking something he had no business thinking. It was the same look he'd given her after the day at the hospital. It was the same look he'd given her earlier this morning in their room. He licked his lips quickly, propelling sound from her throat.

It was little more than a whisper when it finally escaped. "Honestly Lucky...it wasn't anything...Nikolas was just being Nikolas, you know?"

Why the Hell did she feel guilty? As if she'd done something wrong. She hadn't.

Her eyes widened in surprise as he smiled at her. He shook his head, as if ridding himself of something inconsequential. "Yeah....I understand..........you wanna dance?"

'You wanna dance?....Did he just ask if I want to dance?! Huh?....Lucky, I know your angry with me just...' Her minds voice trailed away as her vocal cords took action. "Lucky, it's ok...we don't have to dance. We can just go home. I mean I'm really ready to just call it a night...aren't you?"

"No," Lucky said, grasping her hand and pulling her behind him as he walked towards the dwindling crowd on the dancefloor. "You said you wanted to dance right? I mean that's why we came here in the first place. So why don't we just dance?"

Elizabeth closed her eyes at the tone of his voice. "Lu - "

"Ssh," he said, his hands moving up from the small of her back to just under her strapless bra, as he brought her closer to him. "Let's just dance, ok."

It wasn't a question. More of a statement. More of a passive demand. Elizabeth breathed in deeply and brought her arms under his, her hands coming to rest on his upper back. Her head slowly falling to his left shoulder. God, the night was not supposed to have gone this way.

She wanted to ask him what had just happened? What was going on in his head? How things with his father had gone? But she couldn't speak, and she suddenly felt like crying.

Their feet barely moved, as the melodic sadness of Etta James radiated through the sound system at Lukes. The sultry twinkling of the piano, causing them to move in slow motion. They drifted together, slower than any other couple seen on the floor. Slower then the music dictated.

Trust in me In all you do Have the faith, I have in you. Love will see us through, if only You trust in me

Why don't you...you trust me

 ~~~~~~~~~

Nikolas slammed the door, stalking into the parlor at Wyndemere. He sighed loudly when he spotted his father rising from the table, shutting down his laptop quickly. Stephan grinned sadly at his sons apparent lack of joy upon seeing him. "That happy to see me Nikolas?"

His eyes followed as his son ignored him, bounding up the stairs. He called after him. "Nikolas!.........Nikolas!"

He paused midway up the staircase, turning towards Stephan. He looked completely out of sorts. As if he had taken a wrong turn at a stop sign. "I don't wanna talk to you right now."

Stephan approached slowly. "What's wrong Nikolas? Did something happen with Spencer?...The Webber girl?"

Nikolas groaned outwardly. "Damnit father! 'Spencer' is my BROTHER, and the Webber girls' name is Elizabeth!..........Liz," he said looking down at the carpet beneath him.

He had tried to make sense of the insanity that had become his life the entire drive home. The top down on his Jag, the cold winter air assaulting his skin. He thought back to the morning that Elizabeth had thrown herself at him. The look of pure despair and pain that he'd seen in her eyes. She hadn't even looked like herself. She'd looked and acted like the 15 year old girl he'd argued with so many times on her porch. She looked confused and terrified. The only thing missing had been the smoke of her cigarette to choke the air from his lungs. A wave of salty guilt washed over him. He'd taken her pain and used it to his advantage. He was no better than any of the other Cassidines that had tread up and down these steps. When had he turned into all that he loathed in his family?

"I'm sorry," Stephan insisted, beckoning his son downwards from the staircase. "I didn't mean to disrespect....Liz. I know how you feel abou - "

"Do you!?" Nikolas yelled, suddenly descending the steps as quickly as his feet could carry him. "Do you, Father? Because I get the feeling that you don't have a clue how I feel. I get the feeling you're only interested in how I feel, when it suits your purposes...namely a way to stick it to the Spencers....am I right Father?" He asked pointedly, staring him in the eye for the first time in a long time.

Stephan's face grew tighter, his eyes taking in his son's every gesture and move. "No....Nikolas, you know that nothing could be further from the truth....it is true that there is no love lost between myself and Luke Spencer, but I hold no animosity towards his son. I know how much he means to you and your mother.....My only wish is for you to have the happiness you so richly deserve in this life."

Nikolas once again looked down at his shoes. A small grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. He was being played.

"Now," Stephan said, leading Nikolas over to the couch by his shoulders. "Would you like to tell me what happened tonight?"

Nikolas looked up at Stephan and chuckled a little before pausing to collect his thoughts. "I took an incident that happened a few months ago, and I stretched it and embellished upon it until it looked like something different......Until it looked like something dirty and deceitful," his words dwindled away as he stood from the couch looking towards the door. He couldn't stay there tonight. Or any other night. "You woulda been proud."

 ~~~~~~~~~~

Come to me When things go wrong Cling to me Daddy Whoa yeah, and I'll be strong

We can get along, we can get along Oh, if only You trust in me

The first kiss had taken her by surprise. He'd gone from not saying anything to kissing her with a fierce passion in a matter of seconds.

As his lips grew more insistent so did his hands, clutching her sides through the soft material of her dress. Her knees were getting weaker by the second. The tightness of his arms, the only thing keeping her upright. She couldn't help but kiss him back. Couldn't help but be turned on, but should she have been? Things weren't right. She was more sure of that now than ever.

While there's a moon A moon on high Whoa there are birds Birds to fly

While there is you A you and I I'll love you Oh...

Stand beside Stand beside me All the while Come on Daddy face the future Why don't you smile

His hands were on her face now, and she was quite sure that most of her lipstick was now on him. She tried to drag herself from the fervor of his kisses. Tryed to be the voice of reason, where no reason was to be found. "Lucky," she panted breathlessly as he stepped away slightly. "Lucky...we're in public.." She sighed as he placed kiss after kiss on her neck.

This wasn't Lucky. This felt like someone else. She didn't mind the extra attention, but he had never been one for public displays of affection. It both excited and frightened her all at once.

He looked up at her. There was something different in his eyes. Something slightly dangerous. Something promising more where those kisses had come from. He sucked in a few gulps of air before answering her. "Well, let's go someplace less public then."

Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat as he looked into her eyes. Their gaze seemed to lock and hold for a few moments before she could respond. Her voice was inaudible. Her only communicator, the lips that formed a visual "ok."

Trust in me And I'll be worthy of you...

Song lyrics from "Trust in Me" by Etta James