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Chapter One Hundred Six: Ground WorkGeneral Hospital, Emily's Room. Lucky leans against the door, looking in at Emily. She's asleep, the room dark, her hair spread out against the light blue pillowcase. It reminds him of some painting he's seen somewhere. Nothing he'd know the name of, just an image he's come across at some point. He takes a deep breath, and walks into the room, crossing to the bed. Nikolas watches from the doorway, feeling like he's intruding on something. Not that Lucky seems to care… in fact, he barely seems aware of his presence anymore. He clears his throat. Nik: I'm going to check the nurse's station. (Lucky nods) I'll… I'll be right back. (Nikolas hesitates a moment, but Lucky doesn't even look at him. He shakes his head, and leaves, closing the door behind him. At Emily's bedside, Lucky takes her hand, the bandaged one, the one he was holding when car hit, and cradles it in both of his, palm up, her fingers curled. He gazes down at her, for minutes, loosing himself in the study of her. Bruised and pale, she still looks beautiful to him. The familiarity of her… He smiles slightly, then lowers his head to kiss her palm. She doesn't stir. He leans over and brushes her hair back from her face, then lets his hand slide down the side of her face.) Lucky: (whispering) Emily… (She makes a small noise. He kisses her temple, then whispers in her ear) Come on. Time to get up. (She stirs a moment, until this sinks in. Then her eyes fly open and he pulls back, smiling down at her.) Hey. (Emily closes her eyes, a wave of relief flooding her. She's not sure if she's ever been this happy to see him before.) Em: You're here. Lucky: Nowhere else I'd rather be. Em: (exhaling heavily) Hannah said you were coming. Lucky: She was here? (Emily nods) Em: Yeah… (She looks up at him) I am so glad to see you. Lucky: You better be. (Emily smiles at him, and Lucky notices for the first time that she looks sad. He leans over, examining her expression) What’s wrong? (She shakes her head a little) Em: Nothing. Nothing, I don't want to think about it. Lucky: Ok… Later? (She nods) How're you feeling? Em: (groaning) I don't know. I never know how to answer that question. Lucky: Dizzy, sleepy, bashful… Come on. Give me a hint. Em: Dizzy, yes. Lucky: How's the whole walking thing coming? Em: (a little confused) I don't know. I haven't tried. Lucky: You want to give it a shot? (Emily narrows her eyes at him) Em: What's going on? (Lucky sits down in the chair next to her bed, still holding her hand. He studies it a long time, giving it excessive attention, caressing her fingertips with his. Finally he looks back at her) Lucky: Do you trust me? Em: You know I do. Lucky: Ok. (Exhaling heavily) I think we're out of time, Em. (Emily stares at him) Em: Now? Like, RIGHT now? Lucky: Look, you're out of ICU, time is money… Em: So… Wait! (She struggles to sit up, pulling her hand out of Lucky's grasp, but sinks back into the pillows.) Oh, man. (She puts a hand to her forehead, and closes her eyes while the room stops spinning around her. Lucky looks at her with concern. THAT doesn't bode well.) Lucky: Look, don't push. We'll work it out. Em: Did Helena make another threat? Lucky: You could say that. But if doesn't matter. Even if she hadn't, I'm not taking the chance. (She opens her eyes and looks over at him, taking in the determined expression on his face) Look, I've noticed something while you were out of commission… You're all I've got anymore, Emily. I mean… There's Lulu, but… If something happened to you… (He looks away) Em: I know… Trust me, I know EXACTLY how you're feeling. I'd be so lost if… Lucky: (looking back at her, with a forced smile) Not gonna happen. Em: Lucky… Lucky: No, we're going to have lots of time once we get out of here to mess around with "maybes". Right now, we have to act fast. Em: Lucky… My parents are going to be here, in like… Lucky: When? Em: I think… They were here late last night, I think they said they'd be here for lunch. Lucky: Ok. What about breakfast, did you eat? Em: Yeah. Lucky: And you've had enough sleep, obviously. Em: (uneasy) Define "enough" Lucky: I just need to know you're going to be at… Well, the best you can be right now. Em: My best is pretty bad right now. Lucky: We'll handle it. Em: How? It's the middle of the day, the place is totally crowded… Lucky: You're three doors down from the stairwell… Em: But I'm on the sixth floor! Lucky: Yeah, I know. Trust me, ok? Em: You can't carry me down six flights of stairs! Lucky: Seven. Parking garage. Em: Lucky! Lucky: Don't sweat it! We're fine. Em: (suspiciously) Ok. What are you not telling me? (The door opens and Nikolas enters) Nik: I talked to Bobbie, I don't think we've got a whole lot of time. Lucky: (to Emily) We’ve got assistance. (Emily lifts her head slightly and takes in Nikolas) Em: Wow. Nikolas. (She looks over at Lucky) How long was I asleep? Lucky: I have no idea. (He turns to Nikolas) Spill. What'd she say? Nik: Well, you were right. She was suspicious enough of ME asking about Emily… if it had been you, they would have called security immediately. Lucky: I figured. You didn't tell her I was here, did you? Nik: (tense) Did you not tell me about eight times not to let her know you were here? Lucky: I didn't keep count. Nik: WHAT do you think I did? (Lucky looks at him blankly) NO, I didn't tell her you were here. Lucky: Great. (He stands up and gives Emily an encouraging smile. She looks heavenward, feeling more than a little confused. Lucky picks up the charts at the end of Emily's bed, and opens it). Nik: You can't take that… Lucky: I don't have to. (He pulls off the first sheet of paper) Oops. Clerical error. Very sloppy. Nik: Lucky. Lucky: I have to go see someone. (He looks back at Emily) I'll be fifteen minutes, I swear. Em: Where are you going? Lucky: (with one of his more charming smiles) Just relax. (He looks at Nikolas) What did Bobbie say? Nik: Uh, that she'd just checked on her… So that means she won't be checking in again for about an hour. Lucky: Em? What time does your doctor usually come by? Em: Uh… I don't know. I just got here. Nik: Rounds usually start around eleven. We've got a bit of time… but anything could happen. Lucky: Thanks for the bulletin. (He leans over and kisses Emily quickly) I'm gone. Hang tight, ok? Em: I won't run any marathons. (Nikolas steps back. Lucky gives him a quick look… almost an unconscious gesture, and Nikolas gets the message… take care of Emily. Lucky stops at the door and glances out the thin window to ensure no one is coming. He looks back at Emily and gives her another smile. She returns it weakly, and then he's gone. Nikolas sighs as the door shuts and sits down next to Emily) Nik: Just so you know, I have no idea where he's going. Em: He's in his element. I'm sure it's important. (She looks over at him) I take it he's forgiven you for yesterday? Nik: Uh… Probably not. But I don't think he can afford the luxury of hating me right now. Em: He doesn't hate you. Nik: Well… Whatever it is… He asked for my help, so… (He smiles slightly) I took your advice. I didn't offer it. (He sits back) And… He seems to know what he's doing. Em: He… He gets this focus when he has to plan something. It's like everything else totally disappears for him. There's a part of his brain that thrives on it. No matter what he's going through, he knows how to keep moving. (Nikolas nods) Nik: I can see that. It was strange, the minute he started in on getting you out of here, it was like I was… Anyone. Who I was, whatever history we have just disappeared. The only important thing was getting to you, making sure you were safe. He barely even acknowledge my presence on the way over here. Unless it was to tell me what NOT to do. He's kind of convinced I'm going to mess this up somehow. Em: (smiling to herself) It’s a test. (She looks over at him) Congratulations. Nik: Congratulations? Em: Well… You're test worthy now. Something must have changed.
Wyndemere Docks. Stefan stands at the top of the stairs, his face typically without expression as he watches the launch dock and Laura disembark. She looks up at him, and for a moment, he allows himself to drift back in time to the first time he saw her after coming to Port Charles. Stefan: Lasha. (He lets the word stand alone for what feels like minutes. She meets his intense gaze without blinking, her jaw set, hands clenched at her side.) Laura: Stefan. (He starts down the stairs, descending towards her. They maintain eye contact as he comes towards her, stopping at the bottom of the stairs.) How are you? Stefan: You can dispense with the pleasantries, Lasha. I presume there is something you want? Laura: We have to talk. (Stefan nods curtly). Stefan: You're aware of my mother's presence in Port Charles. Laura: (tense) She came to my home. But I'm sure you knew that. Stefan: I anticipated she would attempt something of that nature. Laura: You didn't tell me. Stefan: I didn't think it necessary. (Laura shakes her head, slightly, studying him) Laura: You look different. (Stefan says nothing) No… You look the same. It's just been a long time since I've seen you like this. Stefan: Is this what you came to speak to me about? My appearance? Laura: No. I'm here about Nikolas. And my family. Stefan: I assure you, no harm will come to either. Laura: It's too late for that. (Stefan registers no expression. She waits, but he says nothing) I’m telling Luke. (Again, not expression is registered, though Stefan can no longer feel the earth beneath his feet. He rallies quickly) I'm going to tell my husband the whole truth about the island. Stefan: Why on earth would you do something that foolish? Laura: (her anger building) All these years, I let you hold that secret over me. I let you keep that power. All to save my marriage, to save my family, and to spare Nikolas the pain I KNEW it would cause him… (She stops, fighting against the tremor creeping into her voice.) And then, then… When Katherine died… Stefan: (with barely contained rage) Don’t you speak of her! Laura: (hissing) I’m on to you, Stefan. I spoke to my son last night… I know that he's working for Jason Morgan. And I know YOU told Nikolas. (She advances on him) All this time, this morose, reclusive grief… I felt for you! I did. The only question I have is for who's benefit were you pretending? For mine? For Nikolas? Or for my husband's? Stefan: (smiling coldly) You haven't changed. All these years, still selfish, still seeing yourself as the reason behind all of my actions… Laura: I am NOT naive, Stefan. From the moment you first came to this town, since we first spoke right here on these docks, you have manipulated me. You have prayed on my fears, on my… Stefan: On your LIES? On your fear of exposure? You made you bed, Lasha… Laura: (viciously) You sound like your mother. (THIS registers. Stefan turns away, quickly. Laura takes a deep breath, knowing full well she hit below the point. She takes a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down). But you're right. I did create this. It's my responsibility. (She looks at his back) I know Lucky is of less than no importance to you. You don't see him as my son, but as an extension of Luke. A symbol of my life with him, of what I left Nikolas for… Stefan: (turning back) Don’t presume to know my mind. Laura: (boldly) I do know your mind. I know I do, a part of it. And this viciousness, this anger… It's not serving either of us now! Stefan: I have done NOTHING to hurt your son! Laura: No. But I have. Stefan: Ah. I see. By giving birth to Nikolas almost a full two years before that child was even born? Am I supposed to feel for that mannerless brat for that reason! Laura: (angrily) I don't ask for your pity, Stefan! I never have. Stefan: Haven't you? Haven't you PRAYED upon it? Laura: Is that what you really believe happened? That I used you? Is that why you will NEVER hear me out? Stefan: I have tired of hearing the same lies and excuses over an over again. Laura: You LOVED me, Stefan. You told me so yourself! Stefan: (spinning on her in rage) And I told you those feelings died with you in that fire! I was unaware of the kind of woman you were. Of what levels of deceit you were capable of! Laura: You know that's not true. You KNOW that we shared something. And even if you can deny the connection we had on the island, then you cannot deny that we share a son! Stefan: No. But you certainly can. Laura: I know. I've denied it for too long. And I'm here to tell you I'm fixing it. I was worried that I'd loose my husband. Or that he would go crazy and kill you… which IS a very real possibility. And then… Where would Nikolas be? I tried and tried to do what was best for everyone, and I cost myself the love of my son. But I can live with that. I can bear that. What I can't stand, what I will never be able to live with, not for another day, is that I cost my son his ability to love himself. Stefan: You delude yourself if you believe you have that much control over Nikolas' self image. He is stronger than that. Laura: I'm not talking about Nikolas. (She takes a deep breath and fortifies herself) I'm talking about Lucky. Lucky knows.
General Hospital, Pediatrics Playroom. Carly cleans up at pile of books, tossing them without enthusiasm onto the cart in the corner of the room. Lucky appears at the door and looks at her with amusement. Lucky: So this is where you're wasting your talents, huh? (Carly spins around. A grin spreads across her face) Carly: My, my. Didn't think I'd see you again for another couple of months! (Lucky shrugs, entering the room, and looking around at the scattered toys) Lucky: So… From Quartermaine wife to cleaning up after little children… Carly: You'd be surprised at the similarities. (She sighs, putting a hand to her forehead) You know, technically this isn't my job, but no one else is doing it. Lucky: I know… I used to volunteer here. Carly: (with undisguised shock) YOU? Volunteered? Lucky: Yeah, well… Temporary insanity. I blame it on a hormonal imbalance. Carly: Ohhhhh… What, did Big Al rope Emily into working here or something? Lucky: Emily… No. No, that I could probably explain… This I'm not even going to admit to, not in this lifetime. (He looks at her, in mock confusion) I don't really remember that summer, it's all a blur…. Blocked it out. Carly: That traumatic? Lucky: You have no idea. (He picks up at book off the table) Are You My Mother? Huh. I remember this. Carly: Ok… I can't believe I actually get to say this to you this time, but… What do you want, Lucky? Lucky: I told you, I may be in need of your expertise, oh wise woman. Carly: (crossing her arms) Flattery. This must be big. Lucky: Big. And quiet. As in, you breathe a word of this to anyone, I will NEVER speak to you again. Carly: Somehow I doubt that. Lucky: I will never speak KINDLY to you again. And you know that's just a nice way of saying I'll make your life a living hell. Carly: Flattery AND threats. What DID I do to deserve this? Lucky: (getting annoyed) Are you going to help me or not? Carly: How can I resist? What's going on? (Lucky sighs, running his fingers through his hair, as he makes sure there's no one in earshot) Lucky: (quietly) I’m taking off for awhile. Carly: Are you kidding me? (Lucky glares at her, and she lowers her voice) While Em's in the hospita… (She stops dead, seeing what's going on here) Oh. This is where I come in, isn't it? Lucky: (yet another killer smile) I love watching you put the pieces together. (He pulls the folded chart out of his back pocket and hands it to her. She looks at him warily then opens it.) Carly: Where did you get this? Lucky: It's her chart. Sort of. Where do you THINK I got it? Carly: If anyone's doing rounds… Lucky: So you appreciate that I'm in a hurry here. Carly: What… What do you want me to do with this? Lucky: Decode it for me. What are they talking about… I mean, I get blood pressure, temperature, all the stuff… What I need to know is… How IS she? Like, in layman's terms. What are they doing for her here, why's she still a patient? Carly: I don't have to look at the chart to tell you that! She took a major blow to the head. That requires close observation. Lucky: I can do that. Carly: Close MEDICAL observation. Lucky: If I observe anything WRONG, I'll GET medical observation. Carly: It's not that easy, Lucky. I mean… (She looks down at the chart) Man. Now THIS is bringing back some bad memories. Lucky: Such as? Carly: (smiling ruefully) Oh, Tony used to come home after work, you know… And I would have made some nice romantic diner, candlelight, flowers, soft music… (The smile fades), and he'd sit down and whine about cerebral hemotomas, and… GOD, he was boring. Lucky: (flatly) Hey. That's my… ex-uncle-in-law, you're talking about. Carly: Ever try living with him? Lucky: Briefly. Go on. Carly: Ok, ok. (She looks down at the chart) See, for the most part it's ok. I mean, there in no bleeding… which is good. 'Cause then you have to worry about clots and things get really messy. (Lucky nods, shaking off the memory of Nikolas' stroke) Lucky: (irritated) Time constraints, Carly. I don't have time to worry about what's NOT wrong with her. Carly: CALM DOWN! Geeze, you're excitable. Lucky: Oh, look who's talking. Carly: Do you want me to do this or not? Lucky: Yeah, yeah. Just start telling me something I want to HEAR. Carly: Look. All I can tell you is that she took a hard knock to the head. And the reason head injuries get hospitalized is because they're unpredictable! Stuff can change, I mean if she's out in the world, running around… Lucky: Trust me, she's not running anywhere. Look. This is what I want to do. Get her some place safe, away from here AND the person who did this to her in the first place, and let her recover. I'm not going to put her at risk, not anymore than I have to. Carly: Lucky! There's stuff here that… Ok. She's still on a lot of medication, I mean LOOK at this stuff. Lucky: Precisely why I'm here. What is it all? Carly: (scanning the list) Pain killers, mostly. Man… What's wrong with her again? Lucky: She was hit by a car! Carly: SPECIFICALLY… I mean, I get the head injury, but this is like… More than headaches… Lucky: She cracked some ribs, and her wrist is sprained or something. Carly: Ah ha. (She sighs) Well, some of this is probably precautionary. I mean… (She points out something on the sheet) This is a blood thinner, but you can probably get away with simple aspirin. (She looks at the list again) And ONE of these painkillers should do it. And some kind of sleeping pill. Or a sedative. Lucky: Damn. Carly: What? Lucky: Oh, nothing… Not important. Carly: But look, this is not over-the-counter stuff. Lucky: I'll take care of it. Carly: Oh, and how are you going to do that? Lucky: Trust me. Carly: Ok… (She leans across the table, lowering her voice) Look, if you really need it, I could probably get the key to the drug closet… Lucky: Carly. Not that I don't appreciate how ready you always are to bend a few rules, break a few laws… But I don't think we have to go that far. (He smiles) I got connections, you know. Carly: Oh, of course… But do you think your "connection" is going to be so willing to help if he knows you need this stuff to kidnap his sister from the hospital? Lucky: Carly! Jason 101… he hates hospitals. Carly: All right, I know… Lucky: And… He loves Emily. This isn't a joke. Someone's trying to kill her. (Carly's jaw drops) Carly: Seriously? Kill HER? Lucky: You figured it was me, huh? Carly: Well… It stands to reason. Lucky: It's a long story, but the car accident was about her, I'm sure of it. Apparently Helena Cassadine has bigger things in mind for me. Not that I'm going to stick around to see what they are. Carly: Helena Cassadine? You mean that totally psychotic witch? Lucky: Don't worry, she'll leave you alone. Carly: That wasn't really my point! She's, like crazy, isn't she? Lucky: That's why I have to leave. Things are going to get intense and if I'm not around to mess with, the Dark Queen's plans go a little haywire. And it means Dad only has to concentrate on Mom and Lulu… (He stops, frowning) Actually, this is probably best for everyone across the board. (He shakes his head, not wanting to think about the implications of his mother's secret colliding with Helena's plans.) So, you think I need everything on this list, or what? Carly: Get a doctor, I'm sure Jason has one. Have him look at her and prescribe the minimum of what she needs. Lucky: Why the minimum? Carly: Because. She's over-medicated. She doesn't need all this stuff, and it's probably going to cloud everything. You want to keep this simple. Hospitals do this stuff all the time, but it doesn't matter if their patients are zombies. You probably want her a little more alert… But don't push, ok? Give her lots of time. Lucky: I can do that. Carly: Ok. Because stuff like this… Even after she's better, she's probably going to keep getting mean headaches, for months afterward, and she might even… Lucky: Even what? Carly: Ok. I just… I remember this. THIS is why they're so unpredictable. Injuries like this, they can lead to other things. Like epilepsy, stuff like that. Lucky: Epilepsy? Seriously? Carly: Probably not, but even if she's fine, there's a chance of seizures if she's pushed too hard… you know, it's like the electrical currents in her head are all messed up. So… If she does too much too soon… Lucky: You know me. I'm not going to let her do anything dangerous. Carly: I know. Just… Be warned. And GET A DOCTOR TO LOOK AT HER, ok? I know Jason's got some guy who handles… ummm… Gun shots and stuff. Lucky: Good idea. Ok. Thanks Carly. (He takes back the chart page and stuffs it back in his pocket) Carly: Lucky… (He stops and looks back at her.) When are you coming back? Lucky: (shrugging) When it's safe.
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