Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Seven:
Mood Swings

Luke's Club

Luke is, once again, asleep at his desk. It's still pretty early in the morning and he's fallen asleep after a long night of torturing himself over Laura and Lucky, the only distraction from one topic being the other. Carly enters the office and sees her uncle asleep, his head rested on his arms. He looks almost non-threatening. She cocks her head to one side, watching him a moment, then swings the purse she's carrying around her wrist a few times, gaining momentum, and lets it land with an incredibly loud thwack of leather meeting varnished wood, on the desk. The sound is slightly less jarring than a gun shot, and Luke bolts upright.)

Carly: Morning, Unc.

Luke: Jesus Christ, Caroline! (Carly smiles at him sweetly)

Carly: Wake up call!

Luke: (making a face) Were you supposed to be here last night?

Carly: I'm only going to say this once more: I have a son I have to feed, bathe, and put to bed. And once that's done, I kinda have to stick around. (Carly flops down into the chair across from him) He's visiting Grandma Bobbie today.

Luke: How'd it go with Jason? (Carly sucks her bottom lip pensively)

Carly: I've been thinking about it… Something is definitely… (She shakes her head) He's got a heck of an interest in Emily, and I guess that spreads to Lucky.

Luke: (still a bit groggy) Huh?

Carly: He seemed to know a lot about Lucky.

Luke: Slow down, woman. A man can only handle so much without caffeine.

Carly: (wryly) Since when is that your refreshment of choice? (Luke gets to his feet and wanders over to the coffee maker in the corner)

Luke: Life's blood. Go on, talk to me. (He starts to fiddle with the machine)

Carly: I was just saying… (She stops, watching him a moment, confused as to why he is not listening with rapt fascination.) Are you listening? (Luke grunts, spooning coffee into a fresh filter.) You know, you're asking me to go out on these field missions… and Jason was none too pleased to see me, thanks.

Luke: (tired) You leave open wounds in your wake, Carly, that's gonna happen.

Carly: (bitterly) Well, thanks for making me face that particular demon. (She sits back) It's like… His tolerance of me is really low. Once every six months, he can swing that. Twice in one week, he's reaching for the pepper spray. (She closes her eyes) You wanna hear what he said?

Luke: More than I wanna hear this chapter of your ongoing dysfunction.

Carly: Flattery will get you everywhere. (She looks up at him) He said let go. (Luke turns back and stares at her a moment. Then he leans against the table and crosses his arms.)

Luke: Did he now.

Carly: He said Lucky's not coming home before he decides to. He made it sound like it's fixed so that Lucky never has to come back if he doesn't want to. Which, in my world, ads up to a big ol' “NEXT!” (She gives him a bitter smile) Jason is a dead end. (She pushes herself out of the chair) Go find yourself another dupe. (She turns for the door, but Luke reaches out and seizes her wrist.)

Luke: Carly.

Carly: (looking from her wrist to him) You have to stop that.

Luke: Sit down. (Carly rolls her eyes, though it seems clear she was never intending to actually leave. She drops back into the chair. Luke hits a few buttons on the machine and makes it back to his chair sinking into it with a groan. Carly watches him a moment).

Carly: Ok. What?

Luke: Exact words. Give 'em to me.

Carly: Why don't you just talk to him yourself?

Luke: Don't think I can do it without tossing him through that bulletproof glass of his.

Carly: I'd prefer it if you didn't do that. I still consider him a friend. (Luke chuckles)

Luke: Say it with me now. With friends like you…

Carly: Who needs natural disasters. I know. I've heard. (She leans forward, resting her elbows on the desk) His exact words were something along the lines of “you can't run after something that doesn't want you to catch it”. (Luke sits up, looking at her like she's nuts).

Luke: What kind of garbage is that? (He laughs slightly) Sounds like the PCPD's motto or somethin'.

Carly: He was upset, ok?

Luke: (raising an eyebrow) Upset? Jason? (He nods slowly) Interesting.

Carly: Luke, don't get any…

Luke: (musing) You know, I kinda got the feeling you get under his skin.

Carly: (tense) I swear to God, Luke, if you think…

Luke: What else did he say? (Carly stares a moment, then shakes her head).

Carly: Fine, whatever. He said… He said Emily wasn't happy. He said neither Lucky nor Emily had to come back if they didn't want to. He said they could go wherever they wanted.

Luke: He's helping them?

Carly: That he didn't say.

Luke: Please tell me you ASKED.

Carly: Of COURSE I asked! (She averts her eyes) He didn't answer.

Luke: Which in his world is a yes.

Carly: I don't know…

Luke: (sitting up) Don't know what, woman? He sure as hell seems to have a grasp on this.

Carly: I don't know. I mean… Jason can make things really simple, you know? He just makes a decision. Like… he's going to help you. And that's a good thing. And he just sort of… Does it. He'll leave it wherever he thinks it ends. When you're ok, he's done. It's not like you owe him anything, it's not like he's using you…

Luke: Right. Regular Prince Charming. Get the stars out of your eyes, sweetheart.

Carly: Hey, wait a second! Jason and I, we're not even talking anymore, ok?

Luke: I wasn't born yesterday. And don't give me this “Please, Uncle Luke! Don't throw me back in the briar patch” garbage, either.

Carly: (glowering) You know, considering you actually NEED me to execute your crazy little plans…

Luke: Ain't nothing crazy about it. You're just missing a piece of the puzzle here. You think Jason's strutting around town in a white hat, you're wrong.

Carly: Well, he could be a hell of a lot worse.

Luke: He's got no loyalty. (Carly leans forwards)

Carly: (vehemently) Like hell! He'd still run through fire for Sonny Corinthos.

Luke: (narrowing his eyes) Yeah? Well, it's not like he's had to prove that lately. What would you think if I told you that Lucky's been working for him. (Carly's eyes widen and she sits back in shock)

Carly: I'd… I'd say you're getting more delusional than usual.

Luke: Ask him, Carly. He won't deny it.

Carly: Lucky? Like… Working for him how? Not actually “involved”, right? I mean…

Luke: Involved enough.

Carly: (exhaling heavily) Oh, man.

Luke: Lucky's been working for him… to hell with me, to hell with his sister. So don't tell me Morgan doesn't use people. I'm not buying.

Carly: I don't believe this… I mean… (She shakes her head) Why would Lucky do it?

Luke: (quietly) Still proving he's a Spencer.

Carly: By working for JASON?

Luke: By putting himself in the line of fire. Yeah.

Carly: You people are insane.

Luke: Now, Caroline… That's no way to talk about family.

Carly: Look… I'm having a bit of trouble wrapping my head around this. But… it doesn't really change anything. I mean… Jason basically said Lucky doesn't come home until he wants to. You said he knows enough to keep going indefinitely. (Luke stares at her a long moment, taking in all this information. Jason must know what he needs to know. He might know the name they're travelling under, or where to look to find a paper trail… And the best way to get that information is sitting right in front of him. Hell, as far as he can tell, it's about the only thing that shakes Jason up. She's just going to need a bit of a push… Just something to impress upon her that there is only one good guy in this situation.)

Luke: Guess you're right then… He's a dead end.

Carly: (slowly) Um… Right.

Luke: So we look someplace else.

Carly: Luke… there is no place else.

Luke: You can't be giving up so easy.

Carly: Oh, well… what are YOU suggesting?

Luke: Ed's been offering a reward…

Carly: No. NO way.

Luke: Hey, they might have heard something.

Carly: If they had, they'd tell you!

Luke: Nah, the Quartermaines hold their cards pretty close… As far as they're concerned, they want Lucky's hide, dead or alive.

Carly: Well, I sure as hell hope you don't think I can get anything out of them!

Luke: You did pretty well with Jason.

Carly: Luke! There's no POINT!

Luke: In knowing what those freaks know? Sure there is. Knowing what their twisted minds are concocting… All that stuff. If I'm gonna do anything, I gotta make sure they're keeping their noses out of this.

Carly: I can't…

Luke: Sure you can. If you got Jason that riled up, imagine what you could do with AJ?

Carly: (disbelieving) Are you seriously trying to turn the fact that I'm a pariah into an ADVANTAGE?

Luke: Whatever works. (Carly puts her hands to her head, rubbing her temples).

Carly: Luke…

Luke: You say Lucky can keep going… I'm not agreeing with you. But you gotta trust me, Caroline, even if you don't think I'm making sense, 'cause I know… the longer he's gone, the harder it's going to be. Right now, I know all the kid's contacts. He makes any knew ones, we got problems. Now are you gonna close a door on me before I even open it? (Carly stares at him a long moment, then sighs, looking away)

Carly: I did… kinda open the doors of communication… (She closes her eyes) Explain to me what it is I'm supposed to do?

Luke: Find out what they know. Make sure they're not going to do anything stupid. Hell, you can even set them off the trail a bit.

Carly: WHAT trail? There is no trail!

Luke: (leaning back in his chair, smiling slightly) There will be.

Outdoor terrace, Eyio, Greece.

Lucky is sitting at a wooden table under the minimal shade of a tree. He's flipping through a small black booklet… a passport. He continually flips it over in his hands, puts it down, stares off into space… Picks it up again. He seems to be either waiting for something or avoiding something… not entirely clear which. Either way, he jumps slightly when Emily grabs his shoulder from behind.

Em: Wow. You're slipping, Spencer. Since when do you let anyone sneak up on you?

Lucky: I make all kinds of concessions for you.

Em: Uh huh. (She flops down in the chair across from him and places three slips of paper in front of him) Tickets to Athens. Now I can say I've accomplished something with my day. (Lucky nods a moment, staring at them. After a moment, he picks them up and flips through them. Emily looks at him oddly) Did I make a mistake?

Lucky: Not as far as I can tell.

Em: (slowly) Ok… You're making me nervous. (Lucky sighs heavily and drops the tickets)

Lucky: Do you want to hang onto those? (Emily stares at him a moment, then takes the tickets back)

Em: If you trust me. (No response) Ok. What is with you?

Lucky: (protesting) Nothing!

Em: Ok, then talk or something, you're freaking me out. (Lucky leans back in his chair, closing his eyes)

Lucky: I think I'm tired.

Em: That's valid. (She glances at her watch) I think the train leaves in two and a half hours… I'm not sure. I hate communicating by phrase book. (She glances at the tickets) I guess I should check with Nikolas.

Lucky: If you want.

Em: Where is he?

Lucky: In his room, I guess.

Em: You haven't seen him?

Lucky: Not since yesterday. (Emily's eyes fall on the booklet).

Em: What is this?

Lucky: Passport.

Em: You're kidding. Nikolas'?

Lucky: James Graham… Technically.

Em: Can I see it? (Lucky nods and pushes it across the table. Emily opens it). Ok. I don't know if I find this scary or amazing. (she glances across at him)

Lucky: It's not that hard. It's not like he's going to have to cross a border with it. When this is over, he can be Nikolas Cassadine again.

Em: (quietly) When this is over, huh? (she stares down at the picture of Nikolas) I've stopped pretending it's ever going to be.

Lucky: It will be.

Em: And then what? I mean… What do we do? Go home?

Lucky: We'll figure that out when we have to.

Em: It's easier than I thought. Just… Leaving. I thought I'd think about home more. But I don't.

Lucky: Survival skill, never look back.

Em: (taking his hand) I get the feeling you're thinking about home more than I am. (Lucky says nothing) I noticed you were gone for a little while last night.

Lucky: I couldn't sleep. (Emily smiles at him, turns his hand over and kisses the palm)

Em: I know. I just… I'm trying not to push you, Lucky. But… It's like every time I turn around… If you're ok for five minutes, then suddenly you're…

Lucky: Why the hell does everyone pay so God damned much attention to my mood?

Em: (sitting back) Gee, I wonder. (She glares at him) Do we have to take this particular trip around the merry-go-round again? You've been totally bizarre since you went to see Nikolas. (She looks heavenward) Correction. Since about half an hour after you went to Nikolas.

Lucky: (muttering) Delayed reaction.

Em: To WHAT? I thought you said he was fine… you didn't fight…

Lucky: He WAS fine.

Em: I'm so beyond lost. (Lucky picks up the passport again and flips it over in his hand)

Lucky: Do you buy this?

Em: What?

Lucky: (holding the passport up) This. Do you buy it.

Em: Yeah…

Lucky: Ok. Do you know where Nikolas will end up without it?

Em: I have no idea.

Lucky: Either back on Spoon Island, or in Helena's clutches… whichever swoops down on him first. If he takes a wrong turn, if he runs into some police officer with an attitude, if he does anything stupid, he's going to get busted. Do you know how ridiculous it feels to be trying to tell him to “blend in”? I'm looking around this place, this country where he was born, and I'm thinking “he still looks like a freak.”

Em: I wouldn't take it that far.

Lucky: He acts like a prince.

Em: And this is a problem because…

Lucky: Because people in authority don't like it when you talk to them like you're royalty or something. The best way to outsmart a cop is to let him think he's smarter than you. Can you see Nikolas ever letting someone think they're smarter than him?

Em: Not really… Lucky. Did Nikolas say something? I mean… did he try to suggest you aren't totally necessary here or something?

Lucky: No. No, he didn't say anything. (Emily watches him a moment, then reaches out and takes the passport from him. She puts it down on the edge of the table and takes both his hands in hers.)

Em: No one… Lucky? (Lucky looks up at her, meeting her eyes) No one has ever done anything like this for Nikolas. Ever. You're helping him do something that he needs to do, you're not trying to stop him because it might be dangerous… you're making it less dangerous. No one has ever done that for him. Maybe he doesn't know how to deal with it. (Lucky stares at her a moment, then pulls his hands away from her, and grips the table, averting his eyes to the ground. And maybe, Emily thinks belatedly, Lucky doesn't know how to deal with it either. He looks back at her, clearly upset.)

Lucky: (heatedly) I'm not doing this FOR him. You know that! (Emily closes her eyes, reminding herself of something she discovered long ago. Never… ever… push the Nikolas thing. Especially in light of what Lucky's said about putting Nikolas above Luke.)

Em: Ok. I know. (She opens her eyes again) But you guys are stuck together, some things are going to keep coming up until… (She stops dead, looking over Lucky's shoulder) Oh boy.

Lucky: What? (He glances over his shoulder and sees Nikolas coming towards them. He looks back to her) Well, you can get him to.

Em: (heavily) I've seen this movie before, I'm going to let you two fight in private. (Nikolas arrives just in time to catch the end of Emily's sentence. He takes a quick glance at Lucky and groans inwardly. Great. He must have blinked).

Nik: We're fighting again?

Em: (getting up) We have train tickets. (She hands them to him) I'm going to go pack.

Lucky: We didn't unpack.

Em: Then I'm going to repack. Have fun. (She turns and walks away quickly. Nikolas watches her go, then looks at Lucky warily)

Nik: What did I do this time?

Lucky: (irritated) Nothing. She's just being… (He stops himself short of making an excuse for her) I don't know.

Nik: I guess I can understand it. I just thought we were getting beyond whatever happened on the boat.

Lucky: We're not beyond anything, Nikolas. Stuff happens between Em and I you know nothing about. Here. (He pushes the tickets at him) She wants you to check the time. (Nikolas stares at Lucky, then picks up the tickets)

Nik: (glancing at his watch) We got a couple of hours.

Lucky: That's what she said. (Nikolas looks at the vacant chair, then back at Lucky)

Nik: We gotta figure this out.

Lucky: (heavily) I told you, just ignore what Emily said, Ok? She was mad at me.

Nik: About me.

Lucky: Stay out of it.

Nik: Fine. Fine… I'll just stay out of all of this, ok? You know… whatever you want to do, Lucky. If you want to keep giving me information through Emily… fine. We can do that. It's your call.

Lucky: Knock it off. I'm sorry if she hurt your feelings, Nikolas, it was just a remark.

Nik: Emily hasn't hurt anything.

Lucky: Oh, and I have? How, Nikolas? By sitting here? By not leaping to my feet and giving you a hug? (Lucky glares at Nikolas as the image hangs in the air, the complete impossibility of it. Nikolas finally looks away)

Nik: I don't have time for this.

Lucky: (sitting back) Guess what, Nikolas? You have time for whatever I decide you have time for. What do you think you're going to do? Leave without me? (he picks up the passport and tosses it in front of Nikolas) Here. Knock yourself out. (Nikolas stares at him a moment, then picks up the booklet. He flips it open with his thumb and stares at it a moment, then looks back at Lucky)

Nik: You did this?

Lucky: I told you I would.

Nik: Yeah, I just didn't… (he stares at it again. The photograph from his real passport, he knew Lucky would use it, it was his reason for taking the real one from his possession. That's not the impressive part. It looks, for all the world, like an actual government document. He runs his thumb across the coarse Paper and looks back at Lucky) How? (Lucky says nothing, just looking at him, his jaw set, belligerently) Never mind. (He sighs heavily) What the hell do you want to do, Lucky? I mean, it. What do you want? It's been what? Almost two days? Are we just supposed to keep doing this?

Lucky: (standing up) I told you, you can do whatever you want.

Nik: Oh, come on Lucky. You know that's not true. It never has been.

Lucky: Excuse me?

Nik: We made a deal, Lucky. We shook on it. The one thing we can do that our parents can't… stand in the same room for five minutes without killing each other. At least, we can on a good day. So what do you want me to do to keep it that way? (Lucky stares at Nikolas, feeling his heart rate speed up. Oh, SURE. Nikolas will just solve the problem…).

Lucky: Do you ever listen to yourself? I mean, do you think about what you say before it comes out of your mouth?

Nik: Do YOU?

Lucky: (gritting his teeth) You're listening to your own press. You're the tolerant and controlled one, right? I'm the hothead. But you… (Lucky smirks at him, his tongue dripping bitterness) You, sweet prince, you never lose your temper, right? Is that why you always throw me up against walls? Is that, like… A tactical thing? 'Cause that way I'm not going to get pushed down the stairs and get some attention-getting injury?

Nik: Are you suggesting that I fell down the stairs on purpose? (Lucky laughs)

Lucky: (quietly, almost threatening) No, man. But I know you're not the tolerant, accepting, hard-done-by kind of guy you always pretend to be. I know what you're capable of.

Nik: (asking his head) I can't win with you, can I?

Lucky: Nope. You can just stay out of my way. Stop keeping secrets, stop trying to talk to me like we understand each other, and just do what you're supposed to do. (Nikolas tightens his jaw, his insides raging. He could kill him. A little consistency, is that too much to ask? At the same time, there's a heat, an anger, to Lucky's words that suggest something else is going on. It's too familiar, not just the way Lucky is looking at him, but the way his blood is beginning to boil.)

Nik: (very purposely) What about Emily? Do these rules extend to her? (Lucky's hands tighten into fists, and he turns away from him.)

Lucky: Another rule. Lay off the mind games.

Nik: (pressing) You can't stand me talking to her, can you? You hate the fact that she doesn't think I'm the Antichrist.

Lucky: (looking back at him) If I told her… (He clenches his jaw, his words coming out in a hiss) If I told her that it was necessary to my mental health that she'd stop talking to you, don't think for a SECOND that she wouldn't do it. (The words hit Nikolas with their intended force. He knows this. He's known it for a long time, ever since the night Emily wandered off into the rain in search of Lucky after he and Nikolas had a fight at that stupid high school. It's never been anything he's ever questioned. But he didn't think Lucky was as certain of it as he was.)

Nik: (angrily) Then what the hell are you so uptight about? She is ON YOUR SIDE. She is ALWAYS on your side. Just like Laura, just like EVERYONE. (Lucky stares at Nikolas with dawning shock).

Lucky: You're delusional. You know that, right? You can’t even see what goes on right in front of you. Not if it's not ABOUT you, right? Not if it's not about how hard it is to be you. (Lucky sneers at him) You've got one hell of an education, Nikolas. Ever check out Copernicus? Give it a try. He's got a grip on just what the earth revolves around. (Lucky turns around and walks out, heading back across the street to the hotel. Nikolas watches him leave with the usual feelings of guilt, anger and remorse Lucky inspires. He closes his eyes a moment, feeling sick, then picks up the tickets and passport. Well. This is going to be a great trip.)