Elizabeth scooped her hair into a ponytail and took a deep breath as she sat down in her director’s chair behind the curtain. She forced her sweaty palms into her lap.

She’d done this before, waited in the wings while the Fancy Feet Dance studio took the stage at the Mr. Woahbly Theatre for one of their opening nights, but this opening night was different. Tonight her baby was making her debut. It would be the first time the four-year-old took any stage aside from the one at Elizabeth’s small dance school or the desk in Daddy’s office.

Elizabeth had dreamt of producing ‘Water Lily’ ever since she’d been a little girl herself But after her own little water lily had been born, she’d decided to make the dream a reality.

It was coming true tonight, as a tiny little blonde with big curls made her grand entrance with fairy wings. She fluttered in with a glitter of other fairies as two older children did their solos center stage.

She was among 10 fairies but for Elizabeth and Lucky, Lily was the only one out there.

The light bounced off her cherubic cheeks and Elizabeth smiled. All nervousness seeped away from her shoulders as she leaned forward in her chair. She should have known that a child of hers and Lucky’s would not be plagued by stage fright. What the heck had she been worried about?

Elizabeth caught Lucky’s eyes in the front row of the theatre and winked at him. He grinned from her to his daughter and then back again. His eyes twinkling with pure merriment. Elizabeth knew he had to be thinking the same thing – how on Earth had they gotten so unbelievably lucky?

The showroom they sat in was one of two in the hotel that Lucky and Wallace owned. This one, just for kids – housed ‘kid friendly’ shows on Friday night, Saturday nights, and Sunday afternoons.

Lucky and Wallace’s video game corporation, Play Zone was also doing extremely well. Having beat Game One in sales when Leprechaun Leap was introduced to the world.

Elizabeth’s dance school was thriving with children – both privileged and non-privileged - who wanted nothing more than to dance their hearts out. To top things off, she and Lucky had three beautiful homes.

One penthouse level apartment on the top floor of The Good Luck Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, one cabin house on Mt. Charleston, and a larger loft apartment in Manhattan. Although they didn’t live in the penthouse anymore, they were still able to visit since Lucky was now renting it to Leslie Lu at an insanely cheap rate. His little sister had decided to move to Manhattan after high school graduation so she could pursue a career in fashion. Her internship at DKNY was going swimmingly and her penthouse was the perfect place to throw the occasional party.

‘Occasional’, because Lucky was smart enough not to announce his visits.

And then there was Lily McKenzie Spencer. Or Lily-Mac as her Uncle Wallace liked to refer to her as. Lily-Mac hadn’t been a stroke of luck at all. No she’d been an honest to God miracle. Little Wonder Woman as her daddy sometimes called her, was more than they could have ever dreamed.

Lucky must have felt it too. The almost blinding sense of shining luck that settled over them, because he looked past the stage and into the wings. Meeting his wife’s eyes once more. He mouthed the words ‘Isn’t she fantastic!’

Elizabeth nodded vigorously, trying hard to contain herself. She was supposed to be giving her littlest dancers subtle direction from the sidelines just in case they got lost, but she was so caught up in her own child that she’d missed a few wandering fairies.

Lily fluttered around from stage right to stage left and back again, getting lost only a couple of times. To her credit, she stayed on point in her little ballet slippers even as she wandered. Fancy Feet specialized in many kinds of dance, and Little Lilyfly – as Elizabeth liked to call her – was turning into quite the ballerina.

Lily watched the older fairies flutter their wings and did the same. She stopped when they stopped during the rare moments when she forgot her stage blocking.

Elizabeth had never seen anything so cute in her life and she giggled with merriment.

When it was time for Lily to exit stage right for the next scene, she exited off the side steps instead and wandered through the front row towards her daddy. Elizabeth covered her face and peaked through her fingers. Shaking her head as the little girl climbed into her father’s lap, as if now it were time to simply watch the show.

The crowd laughed but Lily was too young to understand that she was the reason for it. She just smiled as Daddy kissed the top of her head.

Elizabeth slipped out through the wings a few minutes later when the house went dark, smiling to herself at the picture of father and daughter cuddled together and waiting for the next scene. Elizabeth hunched over, and scampered past parents and children alike.

"Wasn’t my Little Wonder Woman GREAT?" Lucky said, grinning down at her with gleaming pride. Lily smiled as Lucky bounced her on his knee. Uncle Wallace reached over to ruffle her hair.

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes she was, but she’s got a solo in exactly 10 minutes…so if you two don’t mind letting her get ready for her close-up?"

"Oh come on," Wallace said, from his seat between Lucky and Lucinda. "She should at least get to watch some of the show. She worked hard. And besides, Lily-Mac wants to stay with Uncle Wally…don’t you Lily-Mac and Cheese?"

Lily giggled loudly and several people in the rows behind craned their necks to see what was going on. The next scene had already begun and those noisy people in the front were at it again.

Lucinda elbowed her husband in the ribs to keep him quiet. "Stop egging her on. Elizabeth’s trying to get her backstage and you’re making things difficult."

"I don’t make things difficult. Since when do I make things difficult for Elizabeth?"

Lucinda sighed. Sometimes he made life difficult, but it was a fun kind of yummy, delicious difficult. Nothing like the truly hellish times she’d had with Jack. Jack who was now doing 15 to 20 for attempted murder.

Lucinda draped her arm over her husband’s shoulders and laughed as Elizabeth rolled her eyes. Elizabeth held her hands out towards Lily.

"Ok Mommy," the child said, finally wiggling away from Daddy. She stopped a moment before taking her mother’s hand and turned towards Wallace just to make certain things clear. "Uncle Wally I not Mac and Cheese, and you halfta stop makin’ things ‘ifficult for Mommy," she said pointing a finger. "We already talked about this. ‘Member?"

"I ‘member," Wallace said, scrunching his forehead. "But you look so delicious you MUST be Mac and Cheese!" He said, reaching out to grab her pointer finger. He growled and pretended to try and take a bite of it.

She squealed and several people behind them groaned and shushed them all.

Elizabeth hissed. "Wallace!" Before tugging Lily down the aisle as she giggled.

Lucky shook his head as people around them shifted in their seats in the universal sign of ‘shut up morons.’

"You’re a bad influence on my daughter," he whispered through a smile. "And you’re gonna get me in trouble with my wife for bringing you to the show. You’re not civilized enough for this kind of thing, you know that right? Next time, Lucinda comes - you can’t."

"I am too civilized," Wallace said with a pout. "Besides, I own part of this hotel. I can come see whatever I want," he finished in a voice that could not be mistaken for a whisper.

"Oh yeah," Lucky whispered a bit too loudly himself. "When am I buying you out again?"

"When pigs FINALLY decide to do us all a favor and fly already."

"Right…so…why aren’t they doing that yet?"

"Because they know you love me…and don’t want me to leave, Peaches."

Lucky rolled his eyes. "Somebody needs to put those pigs out of their misery."

Lucinda shushed them both just as Lily ran across the stage. The crowd around them burst into hysterics again. Elizabeth must have let go of Lily’s hand for a second too long as she hopped across the stage like a bunny. Wiggling between two dancers who were actually supposed to be on stage.

Elizabeth snatched her up quickly and tugged her backstage. Lucky held his stomach as he doubled over.

Wallace folded his arms across his chest. "You can’t blame that one on me. That’s YOUR kid. I have nothing to do with her high jinx."

"Right. You probably told her to do that."

"I did not and I resent the implication that –

"I’ve got it on tape," Lucinda said from the side. A chorus of "sssssssssh" came from behind them.

Wallace turned around, tempted to tell them all to go to straight to hell because he owned the place. Lucky yanked him back around, having read his best friend’s mind.

Ten minutes later, all three of them were reduced to mere puddles of mush as Lily returned to the stage for her grand solo. She fluttered in with fresh silver glitter on her eyelids. It made her Lucky Blue eyes sparkle. She stuck out her round, white leotard covered tummy as she twirled around on point.

Lucky’s mouth stayed open in ‘aww’ formation the entire minute that she was on stage. As she patted costumed squirrels and rabbits on the tops of their heads, dancing from tree to tree as she waved her magic wand. When she disappeared, the three of them stood up in the front row and applauded. Wallace dabbed at his eyes with his sleeve as he pulled away from his video camera for a moment.

They sat down and Lucky sighed. "I’m calling Julliard tomorrow. I think they should just reserve a place for her now, don’t you think?"

Lucinda opened her mouth to remind him that Lily was only four years old, but Wallace stepped on top of the would-be bubble bursting.

"Right now. Yes. Places like Julliard have waiting lists a mile long. You gotta get her in there like NOW, Spencer. You could send them this tape I made…make sure those people rewind though."

Lucky nodded vigorously. "Maybe we should spruce it up a little first? Add in some credits, make it look really professional? We could take it to a film editing company and -

"Guys, she’s FOUR," Lucinda said, the voice of reason.

"Doesn’t matter," Lucky and Wallace both said in unison.

Shushing came from behind again and they continued the mumbled debate even as they lowered themselves back to their chairs.

They finally quieted when Lily fluttered her way across the stage for the final scene. She and the other fairies danced around the prince and princess as they reunited and danced together. She came to the edge of the stage and uttered her only line in the entire production. It was the final line of the show: "And there was feasting and mewwy-making thooo-out da kingdom for six weeks!"

Wallace couldn’t wait another moment. He lifted the bouquet that he’d stashed beneath his chair and bum-rushed the stage before the scene was even over. A couple of groans came from behind Lucky and Lucinda.

Lucky turned in the direction of the last groan. "Listen! I OWN this place and that’s MY kid up there so if we want to give her a standing ovation, flowers, and a friggin TONY award that’s my prerogative, you got me!"

The stuffy older man opened his mouth as if to retort and Lucinda stepped all over it. "Pops, I’ll smack you around a little after he does…and not the fun kind your leer is suggesting."

Wallace returned with a grin and they watched as Lily dance off stage with her flowers, waving to the crowd. She returned only seconds later for the curtain call when she decided it would be fun to do the reverse of what normally happened. She removed one lily at a time from her bouquet and tossed them out to the audience. Clapping for each person who caught one.

Lucky laughed so hard he started to cry. "Oh my God she’s brilliant! Is she brilliant or is she brilliant?"

"Brilliant," Wallace agreed, throwing up his hands as if he couldn’t believe how intelligent and BRILLIANT their child was.

They’d really done good. He patted Lucky’s shoulder. He and Lucky were quite the team.

Lucinda laughed and clapped up at the little girl who took her bow and then stayed for the next few rounds of bowing even though the chorus of fairies had already left stage and only the main players were left.

When Elizabeth came out center stage for the director’s bow, Lucky stuck his fingers between his lips and whistled loudly. Wallace and Lucinda did their impressions of an early 90’s Arsenio Hall audience.

~~~~~~~

Lucky rubbed the center of his daughter’s back as the three of them entered their suite from the private elevator. It traveled from casino level to the penthouse and back again with no stops in between.

"Man, she is wiped," Lucky said, climbing the short flight of stairs to the small bedroom on the right.

"I know," Elizabeth said following him inside the bedroom. Lucky laid a sleeping Lily down on her butterfly covered twin bed, as Elizabeth turned to the chest of drawers to find the spare pair of pajamas that they kept there. "This morning she said she wanted to go home with Grandma Jill and Grandpa Walter tonight but she was falling asleep just talking to them."

"We can leave after her show tomorrow," Lucky said, removing the ballet slippers from his daughter’s small feet. "It’ll be nice to get out of here for awhile."

"Sounds good," Elizabeth said turning around. She grinned at the sight of her husband fumbling with the wings on his daughter’s back. He propped Lily’s sack-of-potatoes body up against the headboard and tried with one arm to remove the feminine little ensemble.

"I won you know," he said out of nowhere as he fiddled with those darn wings.

Elizabeth’s brow knit and she turned to look at him again. "You won what? Were you playing poker while I was gone?"

"No, I mean our little jackpot here," he said gesturing towards the little girl that he was STILL trying to pull out of her clothes. "It just came to me the other day. I was thinking about Christmas…four years ago. I won – I helped make her and all. I mean you helped, but just because you CARRIED her for 9 months, doesn’t mean …"

Elizabeth threw a pair of balled up socks at his head and he laughed. "I’m just sayin."

Lily grimaced in her sleep and Elizabeth walked over. "Move out of the way ‘winner,’ I’ll do it…You’re liable to take her arm off at that rate," she said with a smile. "Seems you know how to MAKE children, but simply can’t dress or undress them."

Lucky shrugged and stood up, watching as Elizabeth so adeptly handled what he’d been unable to. He’d won alright. He’d won the best wife and kid anybody could ever have.

"So what," he said sticking out his tongue. "My expertise is really in undressing much OLDER women."

Elizabeth glanced over her shoulder and lifted an eyebrow suggestively. "Oh really?"

Lucky backed his way out of his daughter’s bedroom and winked. "Yeah, when you’re done, find me. I’ll give you a demonstration."

Elizabeth smiled wickedly as he retreated and went down stairs.

She smiled down at her daughter. Good thing she was out cold because something told her it was going to be a long night for she and Lucky.

~~~~~~~

"Do you know how much I missed you?" Lucky said, slipping his arms around Elizabeth’s bare shoulders from behind.

"Oooh…why Mr. Spencer whatever are you up to back there?" Lucky kissed the tiny shamrock shoulder tattoo that her black sequined halter top revealed.

"Demonstrating," Lucky said nibbling at her neck. He moved down to kiss her shoulder again. "This is so sexy……I missed this. I missed everything about you."

"You missed my shirt?" Elizabeth asked, playing coy as she lifted a flute of champagne that he’d set out for her while she’d been tending to their daughter. She’d missed him too, more than she could even say.

Even from backstage she’d been admiring the flicker of his blue dress shirt dancing with the reflection of his eyes. She’d been imagining him out of it, mostly.

Lucky licked the little shamrock again. "You know exactly what I’m talking about…and don’t ever do a show in New York again. I can’t take it…not even a part time one."

Elizabeth had flown back and forth from New York to Nevada for over a month. Doing a part time show in New York, while directing Water Lily in Las Vegas. The eagerness of Lucky’s mouth was proof enough that she should in fact leave as often as she possibly could.

"I don’t know…with this kind of welcome home, I may just –

Lucky turned her around, removed her champagne flute and found her mouth with his. The slight stubble on his face was rough and so was his kiss as heat ignited between them the same way it had since the first time they’d touched. The same fire that had begun in this very same city, still burned like crazy every time they were near one another.

"Mmmm," Elizabeth moaned, weak kneed. She eased her hands immediately towards the fly of his black slacks. "I missed you too.…I can’t even explain to you how much.

"I missed your cooking and listening to you read bedtime stories to our daughter, and your hands…God most of all I missed your hands."

Lucky wound those very hands around her neck and reached to untie the skinny straps that held up her summer top. "I want you," he mumbled against the side of her neck, his mouth hot and wet. "I want you right here…right now."

Elizabeth let her head fall back, feeling cool air for a moment when her top fell away, but she was covered quickly by his chest. "D-…don’t you think we should…Lucky we should go to the bedroom." He found her mouth and tugged her bottom lip between his teeth.

She attacked the knot of black at his neck. Ripping at his tie.

"She’ll be asleep all night long. You wore her out with all those rehearsals……now it’s time to wear me out."

Elizabeth’s hands descended once more and she finally managed to work his zipper down, slipping her hands inside. She wrapped them both around her husband in a tight grip.

"D- do you think it was too m – much for her? She kept begging me to be in all the scenes…she wanted…wanted to be like the big kids," Elizabeth panted, breathless as he kissed the life out of her.

Was she really asking him a question like that? NOW? When her hands were wrapped around his…

"No," Lucky said quickly. Trying to put an end to all conversation. "I think everything you do is perfect."

Elizabeth pulled back for a moment, her eyes dazed but sober. "No Baby, I’m serious. Do you think –

"Perfect," Lucky mumbled again, finding her mouth. "You’re perfect here," he said kissing her. "You’re perfect here," he said cupping her breast in his hand. "And you’re perfect every single place I want to be right now," he said grinding slightly against her.

"Lucky…"

"Perfect, perfect, perfect…Perfect."

"But Luck –

"And you’re driving me perfectly insane," he said finally lifting her by both legs. She gasped as he hitched them both around his waist and turned towards the steps that lead to their bedroom. "Fine…we’ll go the bedroom if that’s the only way to shut you up," he mumbled into her mouth.

"Th – thank you…I just…I just r-re-remember," Elizabeth stuttered as he nudged the door open with his foot. "I remember that one time she woke up…and you were…"

"Iwashelpingmommyfindsomethingshelostonthelivingroomfloor," Lucky mumbled, his mouth too full to say the words clearly. He laid mommy down on the bed. "And now I’ll help mommy find something in the bedroom."

Elizabeth moaned and sighed. "Yes Lucky…help me find it."

Lucky grinned widely as her head fell back against the pillows and she shut her eyes for a moment. His mouth took the opportunity that total abandon presented, traveling south.

That oh so familiar warmth started working it’s way from the tips of her toes to the very top of her head the second she felt his mouth against her flesh. The warmth culminated in a slow simmer right between her thighs.

"I’ll help you," he mumbled against her stomach. "Is it right here?"

Elizabeth shifted her legs anxiously, and Lucky pushed them apart so that he could sink lower. He shimmied the satiny skirt she wore down her hips and chuckled to himself as she moved her legs over and over again trying to get it off the rest of the way. He took those moments to remove his own pants and throw them on the floor.

"Almost," she sighed as he continued to lick and nibble at her tummy. "Y – you’re almost there..."

"I’m a getting warmer?" Lucky asked with a wicked grin as he stopped long enough to shrug out of his shirt.

Elizabeth’s hands found his firm shoulders and sunk her fingers into the muscles she found there, pulling him towards her and then pushing him low. "V – very warm."

His tongue edged the lacy trim of her panties and she shifted impatiently. "Am I even warmer now?"

"B-burning up…yes…yes…"

Lucky wasted not another moment as he pulled her panties down. Inching them past her thighs and past her knees and finally down to her feet where she kicked them off.

He ended the torture that had lasted for weeks. They’d seen each other sporadically, but with the schedules they’d both been keeping lately, making love had become a priority that fell somewhere after catching up on everything that had happened for the other person and spending time as a family. Which meant it came at the very end of the day when each of them were too tired for all this yummy foreplay.

Lucky licked his lips as he settled between her thighs as she arched towards him. "Hot now……aren’t I?" He asked as his mouth found her center. She nearly screamed the word yes, but bit it back as Lucky handed her a pillow.

She screamed something into the cloth that Lucky took as encouragement to continue.

Her hips left the bed over and over again as Lucky feasted upon her. Taking everything she had to offer and giving so much more. When he’d said he’d missed everything about her he truly had even the sweet taste of her. Everything.

He especially missed the way she sounded when she came. Whether it was complete abandon or a muffled wail into a pillow, he loved it. When she started to come undone, he pushed her towards it. Up and over the cliff until the sound was made over and over again into the plush cloth at her mouth. When he removed the pillow, she sighed. Satisfied with life.

But he wasn’t. Not yet.

"Hold on to that pillow," he said, his voice tight as he entered her. "You’re gonna need it."

Elizabeth let her dazed eyes travel over his body as he sat up, holding her hips in place while he sat on his knees, seeking his own end. She watched the muscles in his chest bunch and flex and he moved, the rhythm of his hips. The shamrock just left of his right hipbone. It was just slightly bigger than the one on her shoulder. Later, she’d have to lick it for good luck…and keep going left till she hit center.

A few months ago, on their fourth wedding anniversary they’d both decided to do something in keeping with the theme of their relationship – spontaneity. So they’d gotten matching tattoos on the spur of the moment. Shamrocks not only because they always felt so damn lucky, but because it was the symbol that Lucky and Wallace had decided to use as the hotel emblem after their blockbuster video game hit, Leprechaun Leap.

Before the tattoo had been there, those hips of his had driven her crazy. Now the mere thought of them could make her salivate.

Right now he was a bit…busy for her to lick it however. Elizabeth groaned and tightened around him as he rocked into her hard and fast. Taking her along as a passenger towards that dangerous cliff he was nearing the edge of.

Elizabeth thrust the pillow that was still clenched between her fingers, towards her husband’s mouth, knowing by the look of pure ecstasy that crossed Lucky’s face that he was the one who was going to need it the most. After the ticker tape parade that had come from his mouth earlier, she could now practice a little self -control. She’d be fine.

Lucky reared up but he didn’t take the pillow, instead he fell against her. Burying the sound of his climax in her neck. The vibration at both ends of her body made her entire body hum. She pushed the pillow into her own mouth.

Elizabeth sighed in satisfaction once again moments later, breathing deep as Lucky lay on top of her. Still lodged inside her body for keeps. He didn’t bother getting up yet, knowing she liked to feel the weight of him sometimes. Her voice came dreamily out of her mouth.

"And there was feasting and merry-making throughout the kingdom for six weeks."

Lucky laughed against her neck and she felt it rumble out of him and into her. "Only 6?" He asked in disbelief. "I’d say that was worth a good 10 weeks."

Elizabeth stretched as he rolled away from her. "You’re right. At least 10. Maybe 20."

"Let’s not go too far," Lucky panted. "We’re gonna have to try and top this at some point."

Elizabeth stretched again. "I don’t see how."

"Where there’s a will, there’s a way Wonder Woman," Lucky said easing towards her. He gathered his wife in his arms and shut his eyes when she laid her head on his heaving chest. "You know I wasn’t kidding before…about it being perfect. Everything about tonight was great. The audience had a blast…when Wallace, Lucinda, and I weren’t annoying them to death. Walter and Jillian should be glad they weren’t sitting next to us. We could have gotten them jumped."

Elizabeth laughed and trailed her fingers down the center of his chest. She loved him so much sometimes her heart just couldn’t take it. She suddenly felt near tears. She must have been PMSing.

"And more important than that," Lucky continued. "Was that the kids had a great time…OUR kid had a great time. Thank you for that."

"She was beautiful wasn’t she?" Elizabeth said, grinning. "I do think she had a great time."

Lucky kissed the top of her head. "She’s just like her mother when she’s on stage. I’m so glad you passed that trait down. We all know she wouldn’t have gotten anything like that from me."

"No, she gets her game smarts from you. One day she’ll be on the cover of Computer Techie magazine," Elizabeth joked. Lucky tickled her stomach and she jolted away. "Seriously, most of the kids in the show wanted to kill the little 4 year old who could beat them at Road Fury And Leprechaun Leap."

Lucky chuckled and let his fingertips drift along Elizabeth’s shoulder. "Jealous…as it should be."

"They’re adequately jealous, yes," Elizabeth agreed, letting her hand travel further south. There was still a little matter of a tattoo that she wanted to get a good look at. It’d been too long since she’d gotten up close and personal with it and one could never have too many dreams come true.

A lick of the old shamrock could have them all healthy for years to come.

"And you know what else," she added as her fingers lingered here and there.

Lucky’s voice grew deep and he shifted closer to her hand. "What?"

"She gets it – the story I mean, much better than even some of the other older kids. They all thought it was just another fairytale. Just some story about some prince who saves a young maiden after she’s been turned into a water lily by an evil witch…he turns her back into a maiden and then they live happily ever after...but Lily knew it was about so much more than that."

Lucky found his wife’s eyes. "She did, did she?"

"Yeah…she told them all it was about Mommy and Daddy…That you were the prince and I was the maiden…and that she was the little water lily, only she was a REAL girl and not something some witch had made."

Lucky chuckled to himself. "Where do you think she got that idea from?"

Elizabeth smiled up at her prince. "I have no idea…Maybe she dreamt it."

Lucky rolled his maiden over and kissed her. A dream come true.