Chapter Twenty-Six:
Pressing the Issue

Luke's Club.

Hannah is still reworking stuff with the piano player. Lucky is behind the bar, on the phone. Emily sits alone at a table, staring off into space. Hannah is clearly distracted by her presence. Her movements are nervous and tense. Lucky and Emily, however, are oblivious to this. Lucky hangs up and comes around the bar to sit with her.

Lucky: You Ok?

Em: Do you have any idea how many times you've said that to me today?

Lucky: I guess I'm hoping the answer will change.

Em: It'll work out. Somehow. Who was on the phone? (Lucky shrugs)

Lucky: A friend. I have some favors to call in.

Em: Not about me, I hope. (Hannah, flustered and frustrated, leaves the stage, and walks over to the bar, stealing a glance at Emily out of the corner of her eye. They don't notice)

Lucky: Nothing that's going to make anything worse. (Emily eyes him suspiciously)

Em: Please don't do anything extreme.

Lucky: Me? Never. (He takes her hand) Just focus on what you have to think about.

Em: Tell me you're not going to see AJ.

Lucky: I might like risk, but I'm not stupid.

Em: Ok. That's all I need to know. (Lucky opens his mouth to say something, but is distracted by a man in a dark suit. He nods to him, and Emily turns around to face Jason’s driver.)

Jacob: Miss Quartermaine? Mr. Morgan sent me.

Em: Oh. All right. (She smiles at him) You're new, huh?

Jacob: Yes. (Emily stands up, giving Lucky a pointed look).

Em: Just give me a moment. (She turns back to Lucky) Ok. I'm going. (Lucky stands up).

Lucky: I don't know what to tell you.

Em: It'll be all right. It just will. (She sighs heavily) I'll call you, Ok?

Lucky: I'll be here or upstairs. (Lucky puts a hand to her face. Jacob, tactfully looking everywhere but at the couple, notices Hannah. He furrows his brow)

Jacob: Sophie? (Hannah freezes. She looks up at him slowly, forcing herself not to react, no matter what she sees. Only the slightest flicker of recognition flits across her face, unnoticeable to anyone. She looks down again. Jacob takes a step towards her) Aren't you Sophie Clark?

Hannah: I'm sorry? (Lucky looks up at this)

Jacob: I'm Jacob, I was a friend of Oliver's. In New York? (Hannah looks at him blankly)

Hannah: (without the slightest emotion) I'm sorry, you have the wrong person. (Jacob looks at her, frowning. He realizes what must be going on, and backs off) My name is Hannah. (Aware that Lucky is watching, she forces a fake smile and extends her hand) Nice to meet you. (Jacob looks at her pointedly, letting her know that he doesn't buy it, but will play along).

Jacob: I'm sorry. You just looked a lot like the girlfriend of an old friend of mine. (Hannah nods)

Hannah: I have a plain face.

Jacob: (with an icky smile) On the contrary, there is nothing plain about it. (Hannah clears her throat and looks over at Lucky and Emily, who are both watching this, Emily once again frowning at her. Hannah turns away quickly)

Hannah: Excuse me. I really have to get some work done. Nice to meet you... Jacob. (Lucky watches her walk away. Jacob returns to his post, and ignores the look on Lucky's face. Emily looks over at him, searching his eyes)

Em: That was weird.

Lucky: Yeah. (he shakes his head) Probably nothing. (Jacob is now waiting, hands folded, at the door, his face blank. Lucky looks back at Hannah, now in conference with the piano player again, and shakes his head) Not a big deal.

Em: (not believing a word of his disinterested act) Yeah. Be good.

Lucky: No worries. (she kisses him quickly, and turns to leave. He watches her go with Jacob, then looks back at Hannah, who he catches stealing a nervous glance in his direction. He walks over to the bar, sits down, and begins to ponder the ramifications of what just happened.)

The Quartermaine Mansion

Monica, Alan and AJ are sequestered in the study. They are all in a highly agitated state.

Alan: I still say we go after her.

Monica: What good would that do? We don't even know what happened for certain.

Alan: She TOLD us, point blank, what Lucky had admitted to. He's not a kid anymore, Monica. AJ's right. He was raised by an infamously immoral man --

Monica: Well, Laura is hardly immoral --

Alan: Lucky worships his father. He's following in his footsteps. Do you want Emily to have to chase him all over the country dodging bullets like Laura Spencer had to?

Monica: I think that's premature.

Alan: He's already dragged her across the country once.

Monica: That's a bit revisionist! They were looking for HER aunt.

Alan: Why are you defending him?

Monica: I'm not! The fact is, Alan, we don't know Lucky Spencer at all. I always thought he was pretty straight forward, but apparently that's not the case. And no matter what we find out about him, that doesn't change the fact that Emily loves him.

Alan: She's young. She'll get over it!

Monica: Oh, don't be so obtuse.

Alan: Well, think about it! Who were AJ and Jason's high school sweethearts? Are they still together? No!

Monica: Karen DUMPED Jason, remember?

AJ: He sure doesn't. (Alan shoots AJ a disapproving look)

Alan: What about you?

AJ: I went to boarding school, remember?

Alan: All right. But there was that Nicky girl.

AJ: Yeah, who you paid off to leave me!

Alan: Right! That worked.

Monica: Lucky Spencer cannot be paid off any more than his father could.

Alan: Well, has anyone ever TRIED to pay off Luke Spencer?

AJ: I don't believe this.

Monica: I'm sure if Luke Spencer could be paid off someone would have done it by now.

AJ: This really isn't getting us anywhere.

Monica: The thing we have to remember here is that we are talking bout teenagers. Teenaged love. It's passionate, it's emotional, and it's usually short lived.

AJ: (Looking at his parents pointedly) Sounds familiar, Mom. Except for the short-lived part.

Monica: I'm just saying that there isn't much choice here, except to let it run it's course! What can we do? Lock her in her room? Forbid her to leave the house? She's just going to keep seeing him. And then they'll be thinking of themselves as Romeo and Juliet, and THAT never did anything to calm anyone's hormones. Our hands are tied.

Alan: I don't accept that.

Monica: (emotionally) If we don't accept it, then we lose her, Alan. She goes to Jason's, with that damned bullet-proof glass. Or, even worse, she moves in with Lucky! (Alan visibly shudders) Exactly. She's left us no choice. We didn't raise her to roll over and play dead, and now we're going to have to pay for that.

Alan: That boy is going to be the death of her.

Monica: He's irresponsible, yes. He's dishonest, yes... Those aren't the dream qualities I hoped for in my daughter's first boyfriend, but at least he's not putting her in any physical danger.

AJ: Yet.

Monica: (glaring at her son) Emily's right. We have to trust her. We don't have any other options.

Alan: Alright! Alright. There's nothing we can do to stop her from seeing him. But we can ban him from this house!

Monica: What good will that possibly do?

Alan: It means I won't have to see that self-satisfied smirk on his face! And it gives me at least the illusion of control. (Alan sinks into a chair) I just can't shake the feeling that this will all end with Emily in pain.

Monica: Well.... Even if the worst happens, she's strong. She'll survive. We have to believe that.

AJ: So, now what?

Monica: We wait for her to come home.

Luke's Club.

Lucky stands behind the bar watching Hannah, an expression of deep thought on his face. He's been watching her every move since Jacob left, and the nervous manner and flustered appearance is no longer escaping him. He makes a concerted effort to look detached and calm, never allowing himself to obviously stare at her, while still being aware of every move she makes. Hannah can't decide if Lucky's onto her, or if she's just being paranoid. She's relieved to see Lucky turn his attention away from her when Carly enters, with her son on her hip, looking thoroughly frazzled. Lucky turns to his cousin and grins at her.)

Lucky: You made it.

Carly: Barely! What's going on? You were being so mysterious on the phone.

Lucky: (to Michael) hey, kid. What's up? (Lucky's cousin looks up at him, eyes huge. Carly laughs)

Carly: You still scare him.

Lucky: (frowning) I don't get that.

Carly: (sitting down, with the kid on her lap) I don't get this. What do you have to talk to me about so urgently?

Lucky: AJ's back in town.

Carly: (paling) You're kidding.

Lucky: Nope. He's back and wrecking havoc with Emily's life.

Carly: Oh, man....

Lucky: Look, Carly.

Carly: (panicking) Lucky, I can't. Whatever you're about to ask, I can't do it.

Lucky: Caroline. (Carly sighs heavily. Lucky only calls her that when he's really serious). I know you're not in the habit of caring about other people, but Emily is really on edge. Alright? And if Em's on edge, then I'm on edge. And if I'm on edge, things just get nasty, Ok?

Carly: What are you saying.

Lucky: I'm saying you owe me. You needed to protect your son, I helped you. I need to protect my girlfriend, you help me. That's it.

Carly: (heavily) What do you want me to do?

Lucky: Look, you have custody. And you're doing a great job. No one's going to dispute this. But AJ ... He needs a distraction, Ok? Because as long as he's still hurting from losing Michael, he's not going to let go of this vendetta he has against me.

Carly: You can't be asking me --

Lucky: Just open the lines of communication, that's it. (Carly shakes her head violently)

Carly: My son isn't a peace offering!

Lucky: He has a right to know his father.

Carly: EXCUSE ME?

Lucky: I never supported what AJ was trying to do to you, alright? And the worst place for anyone to grow up is in that mansion. Emily's proving that to me on a daily basis. But being raised a Quartermaine, and being able to know who his father is are two different things.

Carly: (leaning as close as she can with Michael on her lap) If they get Michael into that house, they won't ever let him leave! AJ will get on that stupid private jet of his, and I will never see him again!

Lucky: I will not let that happen.

Carly: (whining) Lucky, you're just a kid! How can you stop him?

Lucky: (dead serious) Never, ever say that to me again. You still don't get it, do you? You're a Spencer. I'm a Spencer. We beat the bad guys. That's how it works.

Carly: (sarcastically) Without fail?

Lucky: Have you met the Cassadines? If they had ever won a battle against us, then there would be a lot more of them running around, with maniacal little plans to take over the world.

Carly: (grasping at the only straw she has) They kept Nikolas for years!

Lucky: Well. My Dad didn't know about that, did he?

Carly: And if he had?

Lucky: Stefan would be at the bottom of the Aegean Sea.

Carly: I don't want to take the risk.

Lucky: I don't think you understand what I'm saying to you here. Have you seen Emily lately? She's lost weight, she's not sleeping, and she's pushing herself to the absolute limit. That was before AJ even came back. Last week, she collapsed, Ok? If she collapses again, I will go over the edge. And at that point, I can't take responsibility for my actions. I have only the most tenuous grasp on sanity as it is.

Carly: Is that a family trait, too?

Lucky: Well. You should know that. (Carly frowns at him) Relax, Bobbie's the sanest one in the whole family.

Carly: What are you telling me, here.

Lucky: For starters, Carly, the Q's pull anything, and you can't expect me to be in your corner. Emily comes first.

Carly: What is it with the men in this town? You all have women that you lose your heads over if anyone sneezes in their direction. Well, except for the ones I pick.

Lucky: AJ had his moments.

Carly: (bitterly) Not enough of them.

Lucky: Yeah, well... Ask Em how sensitive I was back in high school.

Carly: The key word being HIGH SCHOOL. AJ's almost thirty. (Carly taps her fingernails on the bar) I don't think you're serious. I mean, the Q's try to take Michael, and you'll be there. You can't tell me you won't. Your Dad does that. He used to threaten to kill me, you know? And he never did. (Lucky shrugs)

Lucky: I could be bluffing. Do you what to find out, or do you want to do the Spencer thing and help out your family?

Carly: If they make one move one Michael, I mean, even the tiniest thing, you have to help me. I mean, you HAVE to.

Lucky: I will not only help you, I'll pull in Dad, Jason, Emily, everyone.

Carly: Emily would never help me.

Lucky: Believe it or not, Em actually sees your point of view. (Carly looks unconvinced) A little.

Carly: No... I don't think so. She hates me.

Lucky: She hates what you did. But I think she understands why you did it. (he shakes his head) That's not important. The important part is that AJ gets some sense that he hasn't lost his son forever. (Carly hold her son tightly)

Carly: IF I do this.... Should I drop your name?

Lucky: No. He'll just get suspicious. He's going to be anyway, but he'll probably deal with it if there's an off-chance that he'll get to see his kid. (Carly opens her mouth to protest, but Lucky cuts her off) Supervised, of course.

Carly: There's not enough supervision in this whole town to make me feel secure.

Lucky: (ominously) My father can be very scary.

Carly: TELL me about it.

Lucky: He'd do it. He'll probably think you're crazy for letting the guy near the kid--

Carly: I AM crazy for letting the --

Lucky: Carly. It's not going to be a problem.

Carly: I hate it when you do this. Why can't I have normal relatives?

Lucky: Caroline, you are damn lucky to have us and you know it.

Carly: What do you want me to do? Phone him, or something?

Lucky: Write a letter. More official, less familiar. He'll be less likely to think I'm involved.

Carly: If I thought he'd be sane about this...

Lucky: He might surprise you. Especially if Emily is counselling him on it.

Carly: You're going to ask her --

Lucky: I don't have to. He's her brother. She's angry at him right now, but... The Quartermaines, for all their insanity, do stick together. You never knew Jason Quartermaine, but he would never, ever, have run out on that family. And Emily, she might come close, but in the long run, she'll stick with them. (Lucky stops, realizing how true that is. He shakes his head, his resolve to put this behind them strengthening) Look, the threat here was always losing custody. If, in the very long run, you and AJ work things out and can work together on this, then... who's the worse for it? Not Michael.

Carly: Do you honestly think that could happen?

Lucky: Honestly? No. (Carly rolls her eyes, then glares at him) Look, it's worth a shot! Just for now. If he gets all possessive again, then you just fight back. You can do that.

Carly: I'm getting so tired...

Lucky: You've got an army behind you this time. We kept them out of it last time, that was probably a mistake. We won't do that again.

Carly: (smiling) We, huh?

Lucky: United we stand.

Carly: I should really just be able to tell you to get stuffed and walk out of here. (Lucky gives her his most charming smile) Stop that. I'm serious. (She shakes her head, clicking her tongue) Ok! I'll write the letter! But that's it. After that, the second I need you, I don't care if it's five in the morning, you're there, Ok? (She points a threatening finger at him. He continues to grin at her.)

Lucky: One step out of line, and they'll never know what hit them. I promise.

Carly: My life was so much simpler before I joined this family.

Lucky: (laughing) Your life was a mess.

Carly: Yeah, well -- It was my mess. (She smiles again) Untied we stand. Ok. I can deal with that. (She stands up, shifting Michael back onto her hip) All right, I have to drop Michael off at Daycare and get to work. WHICH I'm going to be late for, thank you very much. (She turns and walks away)

Lucky: Carly. (she looks back at him) Thanks. (Carly's face softens and she shakes her head again)

Carly: I can't believe I'm doing this. (She turns and leaves. Lucky watches after her, feeling that elation he always gets after he successfully talks someone into something. Hannah approaches the bar, reminding him of his other focus of the afternoon. He looks up at her, and gives her a charming smile, officially beginning his campaign of mistrust).

Lucky: Good practise.

Hannah: I... I don't... (she sighs heavily and leans against the bar) I think I have to call it a day. We're not getting anywhere.

Lucky: Sure thing, Sophie. (Hannah looks up at him sharply, unknowingly nailing her coffin shut. Lucky grins at her, expertly covering his suspicions).

Hannah: (forcing the most unconvincing smile ever seen) Ha.. ha.. Yeah. That was strange.

Lucky: Guess you have a double. (Hannah straightens up, feeling like she is truly in the ninth circle of hell. She nods, distractedly)

Hannah: I really have to go.

Lucky: Hot date? (Hannah freezes, and turns back to him)

Hannah: What day is it?

Lucky: Thursday.

Hannah: Perfect. (She turns and walks out of the club. Lucky frown, then heads to the back to look up what his father considers to be a personnel file).