Chapter 3

Lucky looked up to Tony Jones as he was hanging up the phone. ''Sorry, just had to catch up with someone.'' He didn't care for the suspicious look on Tony's face at all. ''Did you call the cops yet? I know you have places to go so why not do it? Or.'' Lucky said dangling the phone out. ''Do you want me to call them?''

''No need, I'll call them.'' Tony said taking the phone from Lucky. ''If something happened here Lucky, now would be a good time to tell me. I can help you, but I need to know exactly what happened.''

''Nothing happened. I walked in here and I found him. I was going to have a chat with him and I couldn't as you can see". Lucky flushed as he recalled the blood he'd wiped on his pants. He could be in trouble here.

''That's all? Then why the huge cover up, trying to get rid of me.'' Tony dialed 9-1-1, knowing this was going to look very bad. His nephew was in over his head. ''When I'm done with the police, you should call your dad or mom. Someone else should be down here with you Lucky. I'm sure they're going to want to question you.''

''Haven't you heard? I don't deal with the pair of liars anymore. Luke is wherever and he's a murder suspect in the death of Stefan Cassadine. I have no idea where Laura is. I wasn't trying to cover up. I didn't know he was a stiff when you got here Tony. I just wanted to talk to the guy.''

''I'm not exactly tight with the Spencer's anymore Lucky. I only hear a little here and there, and most of it, I know better then to believe.'' Tony had heard about Luke's suspected involvement in Stefan's murder, and now a second Spencer was in similar circumstances. ''Who can you get here then to help you out. I don't know what happened, just what I saw. And Lucky, that isn't something that's going to help you.''

~*~

As they walked to the car with Lulu chattering merrily between them, Laura stared at Liz. The young woman was severely out of sorts. ''So what was it you did last night that has you feeling so poorly.'' Laura asked gently.

''It wasn't that big of a deal, I was at a party with Emily, Lucky and Nikolas. Then we split up, to look for Emily. She wasn't having a very good night, and left early.'' Liz said thinking over her night, trying to pin down why she felt so awful. ''I'm sure sleeping in the boxcar didn't help matters any. It's not the most comfortable place to be.''

''No and I'm certain your grandmother is quite worried. Why don't you call her? What happened to Emily?'' Laura's voice was gentle as she watched the young woman carefully

''Emily saw Juan with another girl, and was pretty upset. She ran off, before any of us could stop her.'' Liz said, knowing that in the end, it might be best for her friend that she found out now that Juan was someone she couldn't trust. None of them had ever really liked Juan to begin with, which should have been a big tip off. ''I'll call Gram once I have some coffee in me. Maybe that will help me get things together.''

''You seem to be as much of a morning person as I am, which isn't much of one at all.'' Laura shared. ''But with my little one, I have to be active in the early mornings."

''I've gotten better, I work some weekend mornings, but not after being out all night.'' Lulu was active if her mom was paying attention or not, and was getting into the back of the car while having a conversation with her remaining stuffed animal. ''I tend to prefer a nice comfy bed and blankets to the hard floor and the cold air.''

Laura looked back at her daughter and smiled, before opening the drivers seat. ''Of course. We all do. Are you out late many nights Elizabeth? And is Lucky ever with you?''

''No, not often at all. And you know, Lucky and I aren't really together anymore right?'' Elizabeth's heart broke for the woman who she had always thought would be her mother-in-law, but she wasn't in a position in Lucky's life to be giving away any information. ''I don't see him more then anyone else does.''

Laura frowned and hugged the young girl close. ''Liz I had no idea. No one tells me anything about Lucky's life these days.''

"If I knew anything more then I did, I’d tell you." Liz said, moving closer into Laura’s embrace. "I want to know more, I miss the us that used to be. But he’s so distant."

''Oh honey." Laura smoothed Liz' hair back and rubbed her back. ''He will find his way back to you. I'm sure of it.''

"I wish I could be so sure. I’ll just take what I can get from him now, and hopefully in the end you’ll be right." She wasn’t sure if there was going to anything but an end in sight for she and Lucky. They had somehow moved away from that perfect love and she couldn’t get him to see it could still be there. "Hopefully he’ll come home again too. He’s got a lot to work out."

"I know and the hardest thing for us all is that we'd already worked through them with him. Do you remember the time just before the fire?'' Laura asked gently. ''He came home to me and we worked so much out in a small conversation. Now, were back to square one and Luke and I cannot even comfort our son or discover what monsters and demons he faced in that long year.''

"I remember. But I also remember how long it took him to be able to get to a point where he could do that. It might just be a matter of time and letting him work out things in his head before he can come back and be a part of your family." Liz hoped that was the case. If he could go home again, he could come back to her, and they could run away to New York like they had planned. "We just have to make sure he knows we’re here and we love him, no matter what he does."

Laura sighed and nodded, struck by the wisdom of Liz' words. ''Intellectually I know, but with Luke on the run, and we're not getting any younger...'' She trailed off and sighed. ''And I want him to see Lulu more.''

"I’ll see him soon I’m sure. I’m going to have to call him and see if he or Nikolas ever found Emily. If you want, I’ll mention it to him." Liz offered, not knowing if she was overstepping her bounds as Lucky’s onetime girlfriend. "If not, I’ll talk to Nikolas, and he can say something."

Laura bit her lip for a moment then nodded. Any port in a storm would do. ''That would be very kind of you Liz.''

"It’s the least I can do. You and Luke have done everything you could to help me through everything that’s happened since the fire. If I can help just a little, I’d really like that." Liz said through a small smile. "And maybe you’re right, and it will all be ok. I hope so. I miss the Lucky I knew and loved."

~*~

Nikolas sighed and led Emily back to the bedroom. As he sat her onto the bed he pulled her close. ''Lucky called with some news. He and Liz have been out looking for you all night just like me and even though he didn’t find you, he found something else instead.''

"Is Liz ok?" Emily automatically thought the worst, hoping that neither Nikolas nor Lucky would have let her go off by herself, not after everything that had happened to her before. "Nothing bad happened to her right?"

''I haven't heard from her but that's not why Lucky called.'' Nikolas admitted quietly. ''Lucky found someone else we know though, Juan.''

Em winced, knowing that the boys had no love lost between them. "I hope that Lucky just left him alone. He’s not worth fighting with, not even over what he did to me. I want him out of my life Nikolas, totally and completely."

''He is." Nikolas murmured. ''Emily, I have something to tell you,'' he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear before pulled her close. ''Lucky found Juan in the park...." He trailed off and swallowed hard. ''Dead.''

"Dead?" Emily repeated dumbly, not really believing it. "Nikolas, I think I like you better without a sense of humor, because that is the worst joke I’ve ever heard. Juan isn’t dead; he’s just a kid. A stupid idiot of a kid, but he can’t help that. But he can’t be dead."

Her gentle denial was almost his undoing. Nikolas tightened his arms around her, realizing how hard this was going to be for Emily to accept. ''It’s true Emily. Lucky and Tony Jones are down at the park now. Juan's gone.''

"Did Lucky do this?" She asked, not wanting to believe her longtime friend could hurt someone in that way. She just couldn’t believe that Juan was dead or that Lucky could have done it. It didn’t make sense to her. "This can’t be happening Nikolas. Maybe it’s someone else other then Juan. Maybe the person just looks like him."

Nikolas shook his head firmly. ''Emily Lucky would never do something like this." He tried to sound convinced, when in truth he was anything but. ''Lucky and Tony Jones found him sleeping in the park. Only he wasn't sleeping, he had passed away during the night.'' Nikolas would make this as gentle as he could.

"If Lucky didn’t do it, who did then Nikolas." Emily couldn’t think of Juan dead, not yet. Later when she’s had more time deal with that thought, and the emotions that came with it. "Who hated him enough to want to hurt him like that?"

Nikolas couldn't help the way his eyes drifted to Emily's hands. She was already presupposing his murder when Nikolas was couching his explanation to lead toward Juan dying of natural causes. This was not good at all. ''I don't know Emily. All I know is that he passed away in his sleep. I don't know the cause."

"This just doesn’t make any sense at all. This whole night hasn’t made any," Emily said burying her head in Nikolas’ shoulder. "I wish we had never gone to the party last night. Nothing has been right since."

''I know." Nikolas held her tighter and rocked her back and forth. He was disturbed by her reactions thus far. Could Emily have killed Juan and forgotten it?

~*~

Luke Spencer looked around Port Charles fondly for a moment before taking a drag on his early morning cigar. Sleep hadn't yet come to him after a nightlong flight. He had proof that Stefan Cassadine was alive now and with this proof, Mac would have to back down.

''I'm home Port Chuckles." Luke's ironic chuckle echoed across the water. ''You try and try but you'll never get rid of me.'' With a decisive spin, he turned toward the brownstone. He wasn’t yet ready for the mania of the club, and wanted to make sure Bobbie was well. Hey maybe he could get some rest there instead of his dinky over club apartment. Plus, she'd know best how the cowboy was doing. As Luke approached the brownstone he saw the door open and Bobbie step out. ''Hey little sister!''

"LUKE!" Bobbie yelled, and smiled at her favorite person in the whole wide world. "When did you get back into town? I’ve missed you." She said waiting for him to reach her before grabbing him and hugging him tight.

Luke spun Bobbie around and chuckled at the excitement in her voice. It was good to have someone excited about his return. ''I got back a couple hours ago.''

"If you’re hear, that means that you took care of the little problem that took you away from town?" She asked quietly. Although she knew that Taggert was gone, she still wanted to keep quiet, in case this was just a brief stopover. "Or are you heading out of town after you leave here?"

"I'm back darlin’.'' Luke handed Bobbie a packet of pictures. Look at the first one and see the date on the paper.'' He said as she broke the seal on the envelope. The Commish and his lieutenant should have a packet of these on their desks this morning.''

The sight of Stefan, lying on a bed, looking quite healthy in his silk boxers was one of the most incredible sights Bobbie had seen in her whole life. "I never thought I’d say I was glad to see him alive, but under the circumstances, I think that it’s appropriate."

''And check out the Laura look alike in the silk nightie.'' Luke said motioning to the blond woman. ''He sure dates to type.''

"Not always," Bobbie said with small laugh, remembering when she had been Mrs. Stefan Cassadine. "Although you’re right, this little girl is much more his type then I ever was."

''Young blond and stupid." Luke replied with a nod.'' Even Laura lost her brain when she was with him,'' he said with a sardonic laugh. As his thoughts turned to Lucky, his expression and voice softened. ''How's the cowboy?''

"I don’t know Luke. I haven’t seen him or talked to him much." She said, wishing she knew more. "My guess is stubborn as a Spencer, and he’s not ready to forgive and forget what ever wrongs he thinks you’ve done."

Luke sighed and nodded. ''I suppose you're right. How has everyone else been? Laura, Lulu, Lesley all doing ok? What about Liz?''

"Just what do I look like, the local gossip queen?" Bobbie asked, teasing her brother to try and get the serious look off of his face. "If you want to know how everyone is doing Luke, you’re just going to have to keep out of trouble from now on. I can’t keep track of everyone for you while you’re off trying to save your neck from the latest murder charge. But I’m sure if you go over to see Laura, she’ll tell you just how she and everyone else is doing."

''I plan on doing that.'' Luke assured with a smile. ''Anyway I'm sure nothing has changed. What could be different in this sleepy little town anyway?"