It was decided that they would leave for Port Charles the next day.
They still had things to figure out, but the most important things had been
discussed and everyone was still in one piece. They had come to a few
conclusions and formed a few plans about Helena. Nikolas now had the
protection of Luke and all of his connections, which regardless of how much
Laura trusted Stefan, was a great relief to her. The Mob may be horrible
when you're running from them, but they are very helpful when they're
protecting you.

        When the discussion was finished, Lucky, Elizabeth, Nikolas and
Emily went outside to walk in the gardens. It was beautiful and the world
was looking a little brighter than it had when they had left Port Charles.
Nikolas and Emily sat down in the grass, while Lucky and Lizzie went
further into the gardens.

        Luke and Laura watched them go, knowing that their son had found
love. They weren't the kind of parents that thought that a teenager was too
young to know their true feelings, besides that, Lucky had never said how
deep his feelings for Lizzie were...they just showed. Laura turned to Luke.
"I never thought that this would happen while I was gone."

        "What?" Luke asked.

        "That Lucky would fall in love. I figured that I had years before
that would happen, but here he is, head over heals in love."

        "I think that Lizzie is good for him. She listens to him. She
doesn't judge what he's feeling and I have a feeling that she would die
before she'd hurt him."

        "Luke, I think that you should know that I'm never leaving home
like this again. I missed so much. Lucky's fallen in love, Nikolas is
falling in love and I missed it all. I can't do that again." She looked
deep into his eyes, "i don't want to miss anymore of their lives, I don't
want to abandon Nikolas again. Luke, we have to KILL Helena!"

        Luke looked at his wife, glad that her fire was back. "Don't worry,
doll," he said with a glint in his eyes. "We will."

*In the Garden*

        Liz and Lucky walked through the garden soaking in the sun and
feeling at peace with the world for the first time in a long time. Looking
around the garden so beautiful and bright it was hard to believe that all
of the horrible things that had happened recently had actually occurred.
All those dark and horrible things, their importance seemed to fade in the
bright world they were now in. How could all those horrible things have
happened? The world went on as if nothing had happened while people were
hurt and killed and threatened. "I wish that we could stay here," Liz said.
"It feels so safe, like nothing bad could possibly happen here. Like
nothing that was so horrible in Port Charles ever happened."

        "I know," Lucky said. "I wish that everything would just go away.
That we could just relax and be normal for once, without having to fight
every hour of every day, just to stay alive. I wish..."

        "What?"

        "I wish that Helena were dead. Maybe then my family could have some
peace, and we could form a truce...a Truce," he said with a short laugh.
"God, how I would love that! Finally, maybe we could stop running and just
live."

        "Lucky, I've seen you in action. You love it too much. If it
weren't this thing with the Cassadine's there'd be something else."

        Lucky smiled sheepishly. "You're probably right, but let's just say
that I'm getting tired of this feud in particular. It's lasted what, twenty
years? It's about time that Nikolas was able to be a part of the family and
for all of us to realize that...It's time for us to realize that whether we
like it or not we're all connected. Mom loves us all so we need to get
along, that's all there is to it. It's time that we stop punishing her.
Every time Nikolas and I fought, it hurt her, and I could see that. I hated
hurting her, but I was so mad. Here was this guy, this brother that I had
never even heard of. He sweeps in and he saves my little sister's life.
Sure I was grateful, but he was so cold. It was like her life mattered to
him...and mine didn't. I didn't know how to react to that, so I acted like
I hated him, maybe I even convinced myself that I did. It's funny though,
because all along, I was hurt. First off, there was nothing I could do to
save my sister, and then there was this other guy that could and it turned
out that he was my brother, but it was like, oh you. I don't care about
you. I came for my sister, but you don't matter to me. I hated him for
that, so I kinda just hated him in general. And then there was Mom, so
happy. So happy that she could finally see her baby again, the one that she
had had to give up. I don't know..."

        "You felt left out?"

        "Forgotten," Lucky said, sadly. "I felt like...like something had
been taken from me. My place in life, ya know? I had been the first son, I
had been the older brother, and then along came someone that seemed to be
taking that away from me. I think that it would have been easier if I had
felt that my being his brother had mattered to him at all, but I didn't. I
felt like Lu was all he cared about and I just came along in the deal."

        "I guess that's one more thing that we should have talked about,
huh?" Nikolas said, surprising them.

        Lucky turned and stared at Nikolas. "How much did you hear? You
shouldn't listen in on other people's conversations you know!" Lucky said
defensively.

        "This time, I think that it's good that I did. We need to talk
about this." Nikolas hadn't realized how much his own behavior had
contributed to Lucky's treatment of him. 'Of course not,' he thought to
himself. 'I was too busy being jealous of him to realize that maybe he was
hurting too.' Nikolas turned to Liz, "Could you give us a minute?"

        "Sure," Liz said, heading back to where Emily was still sitting in
the grass. Nikolas turned back to Lucky. "We need to talk about this." He
thought for a minute, and then started off slowly. "When I came to Port
Charles, I had grown up knowing that my mother had left me. That she didn't
care that I needed her. And that she had had another son that she had never
left. I was so jealous of you, that I didn't even realize how I was
behaving. I loved Lulu from the second I laid eyes on her, cause she was so
small and helpless, and I could help her. Then I met you, and I had no idea
how to act. You were the chosen son, from the chosen family. I was jealous.
I wanted to have had her all the times that you had had her." He paused.
"Do you think it would have been different between us if I had acted
differently?" he asked a little sadly.

        Lucky thought about that for a minute. "If you had acted towards me
anything like you did towards Lu, I just might have listened when Mom said
that you were her son and therefore should be treated like family. I don't
know though. I'm pretty hotheaded, and I was jealous that you could help
Lulu and I couldn't." He let out a small sigh."Nikolas, how can I say? All
I know is that you breezed into town, saved my sister's life, and then
coldly informed me that you were HER brother. No mention of me, like it was
my fault that Mom had left you behind. And yeah, I resented you for that.
The question of how I would have acted had you treated me differently that
day...I can't answer, so we'll never know. I will say that I understand
that you were hurt by Mom leaving...I just don't understand why you hated
me...before you even met me."

        "I never hated you Lucky. I hated the fact that you were with her
and I couldn't be. I hated the fact that as far as I could see...she loved
you more than me. Then after we met you were so hostile, and I didn't
understand that it was partly because of how I had treated you. I thought
that you hated me because I was a Cassadine, and that you wouldn't give me
a chance for the same reason."

        "There was too much between us before we even met," Lucky said,
shaking his head slowly. "At that point in time, we didn't stand a chance.
Mom was the only person in the world that wanted us to be friends...and
those aren't exactly the best odds. How 'bout this. I forgive you for
everything you've done to me, if you forgive me for all the things I've
done to you, and then we try to start again, leaving the feud behind."

        "I'd say that sounds like a great idea," Nikolas said smiling at
Lucky. "The feud ends with us." They shook hands.

        "Okay," Lucky said. "Enough of the sobering past. I want to enjoy
today, before we have to go back to Port Charles and face Helena. And you
should see as much of Emily now as you can," he said winking at Nikolas.
"cause when we get back to Port Charles, the Q's are going to lock her in
the tower and you won't be seeing her for a loooooong time."

        "What's the wink for?" Nikolas said with a slightly defensive
expression on his face. "Emily and I are just friends."

        "Whatever you say," Lucky said, heading towards the girls.

        "I'm serious, Lucky," stopping him.

        "Sure," Lucky said, nodding innocently.

        "Lucky..."

        "Methinks thou dost protest too much, good sir," Lucky said.
Nikolas broke into laughter. He couldn't help himself. The sound of those
words coming out of Lucky's mouth was just too funny. "What, do I need to
work on the accent a little?" Lucky asked jokingly. Nikolas kept laughing,
and Lucky shook his head, all the while managing to keep a straight face.
"You got it bad, bro," he said soberly. "There's no hope." He grinned at
Nikolas.

        Nikolas stopped laughing. "I know. I don't know where it came from,
just all of a sudden...I'm kinda worried though, I'm not sure about the
family. They're a little...intimidating when it comes to her. Not to
mention Jason. HE makes me nervous. I don't think that he likes me. I've
seen him a couple of times, like after I'd been to see Robin in the
hospital, and he seemed so cold."

        "Well, I have a feeling that he might warm up after he finds out
that you're going after his sister and not his girlfriend. Then again,
there's the whole, 'hurt her under penalty of death thing,' going on with
either one. You just can't win." Lucky said with a shrug.

        "That's very reassuring, Lucky. Thank you." This time Nikolas was
the one that started towards where the girls were sitting.

        "No problem," Lucky said with a grin as he clapped Nikolas on the
back. "Glad I could help."  Nikolas smiled at him and they walked back to
where the girls were sitting. Liz was glad to see that the two of them were
looking pretty happy and relaxed with each other still.  She had been a
little worried, since the conversation had been so serious when she left.
She knew that the two of them were starting to really like each other and
she didn't want to see that end.

        Lucky sat down next to Liz and took her hand. Nikolas sat next to
Emily and the four of them sat in a comfortable silence. It was so peaceful
there, and there really wasn't anything that needed to be said.

Chapter Thirty-Five

        Before long it was dinner time. They ate and then went to bed
early. It had been a long day and they needed to leave bright and early the
next morning. Liz and Emily took the bed in the guest room, while Lucky and
Nikolas took the room across the hall. They left both doors open for the
night, all of them knowing why, but none of them mentioning it. It didn't
matter though because Liz made it through the night with no dreams.

        They were up early the next day and headed out on their way back to
Port Charles. Luke, Laura, Lulu and Lesley in one car, and Lucky, Liz,
Nikolas and Emily in the other. They were back in Port Charles by late
afternoon. Their first stop was at the Quartermaine's. Emily sadly said
goodbye to her friends she had a horrible sinking feeling that she wouldn't
be seeing them for a long, long time. Nikolas gave her a quick hug and a
kiss on the cheek, and Lucky and Liz both hugged her. "It'll be okay, Em,"
Lucky said reassuringly. "They'll get over it. You can tell them whatever
you think will help."

        "That's right," Nikolas said. "I'm sure it'll be okay."

        Emily looked doubtful and headed towards the house with a look of
dread on her face. Laura went with her in an attempt to act as a buffer.
The minute they opened the door they were enveloped into a group of
screaming Quartermaine's. Laura held on to Emily's hand and together they
waited for the storm to die down a little. When the yelling stopped Emily
said quietly, "I'm sorry that I scared you all. I just needed to get away."

        "From what?" Edward blustered.

        "From this," Emily said. "I feel so suffocated. Besides, my friends
needed me."

        "What was so important that you had to go all the way to North
Carolina with them?" Monica asked.

        Laura thought that this was the best time to step in. "As you
probably all know Helena's in town." The Quartermaine's nodded. "Well,
she's making her move against my family now. Lucky and Nikolas learned
something that upset them from her, and she is threatening all those close
to the boy's, including Elizabeth. The boys decided that Elizabeth had to
go with them, because they were more secure knowing that where she was.
They were also thinking that Emily had been seen with them recently so she
might also be in danger." Emily gave a slight start at Laura's slight fib.
No one had ever mentioned her being in any danger. Luckily for her the only
one that noticed her start was AJ and he wouldn't say anything until they
were alone. "You should know that Luke and I have trained Lucky well in the
ways in which to protect those people close to him from danger. At that
moment he felt that the safest place for Emily and Liz was with him and
Nikolas. That's why they all went together. Please take that into
consideration, and don't be too hard on Emily. She was safe."

        "You really think that Helena would hurt someone that just happened
to be friend with your sons?" Ned asked, finally realizing that he had no
idea what kind of pressures Alexis faced when it came to this woman. Laura
was an expert on the witch, so maybe she could help him understand.

        Laura remembered the kids telling her that Ned and Alexis had been
involved before the whole Tony Jones trial, and Alexis' defense of him.
Maybe she could help her friend by letting Ned know exactly what Helena was
capable of. She looked him straight in the eyes and said, "she's killed for
less. My daughter, who also happened to be a Cassadine, was killed as a
lesson to me. You never knew that Nikolas was a twin did you? He was and
the day that he and his sister were born was the day that his sister died.
Why? So that Helena could let me know that each second that my son breathed
was because of her and that she could take that away at any moment. Lucky
tells me that you're family is upset with Alexis because she defended Tony
Jones?" The Quartermaine's nodded, stunned by Laura's revelation. "Well,
let me tell you that I have it on good authority that Helena was behind
that. Alexis didn't have much of a choice. She knows Helena the same way I
know Helena. We both lost a child because of her."

        Ned gulped, there was so much that he hadn't known about Alexis.
"She lost a child?"

        "Helena had him banished. No one knows where she sent him. He was a
threat to the succession, but of course, she kept him alive. What use was
he to her dead. He is much more useful, and more easily threatened when
he's alive. Besides Helena always hated Alexis. Ask her why," Laura said
gently. "I think that she'd be more willing to tell you know that you know
this much. Also, if you do talk to her, tell her that I'm sorry for telling
without asking her. And tell her that I missed her and that we're all
united." Ned looked at her questioningly. "She'll understand what it
means." Laura turned to the rest of the Q's. "I have to be going. We still
have to get Lizzie home and there are things that we have to set in motion.
I'll see you all later." She gave Emily's hand a squeeze and headed out the
door.

        The Q's said goodbye and sat quietly for a while after she left.
They had no idea of the things that Laura and Alexis had gone through at
the hands of this woman. They remembered the very recent fear of Emily
being gone. Laura lived with that kind of fear everyday, with the added
knowledge that the person endangering her children had already killed one
of them. Monica went over to Emily and pulled her into a hug. "I understand
why you left," Monica said. "And this time, we're not going to punish you."

        "What!?!?" Edward bellowed.

        "Oh, shut up, Edward!" Monica said. "Emily is MY daughter."

        "But if you ever do anything like this again, you're not leaving
this house until you're thirty," Alan said, also giving Emily a hug.

        "I'm sorry I scared you, but we were all so scared and they just
had to talk to Laura. Please forgive me!" She said pleadingly.

        "Of course we forgive you dear," Lila said. Emily went over to her
grandmother and gave her a hug.

        Emily looked at her grandfather. "Oh, alright," he grumbled holding
out his arms. Emily went into them and gave her grandfather a hug.

        Since everything had been settled Ned gave Emily a quick hug and
then hurried out of the house. Emily hoped that he was going to see Alexis,
and that was exactly where he was headed. The rest of the family also left
the room slowly, one by one, until only AJ and Emily were left. AJ went
over and gave his sister a hug. "I'm glad that you're okay, Em." Emily
smiled at him. "So, do you want to tell me why you were so surprised when
Laura mentioned that Nikolas and Lucky took you with them when they left in
order to protect you?"

        Emily smiled guiltily. "Because it was never mentioned when it came
to me, only with Liz. It probably applied to me as well, but Liz was the
only one that Helena threatened directly. I just wanted to leave because I
couldn't breath here."

        "Oh, well I can understand that. Do me a favor next time though.
Tell me when you're suffocating next time and I'll help you get rid of some
of them. That way you won't go heading off to god knows where with all of
them hot on your trail. You should have heard the threats directed at
Nikolas and Lucky while you were gone. It wasn't pretty."

        "Okay," Emily said. She was glad that she could finally forgive AJ
for the whole baby fiasco. He had realized that Michael belonged with his
parent's, and that was enough for her.

        "You know Em, your godson could probably use a visit from you, with
Carly in jail and all. Would you like me to convince the family to let you
go see him?"

        "Do you think you could? They said I wasn't going to be punished,
but that doesn't mean that it'll actually happen."

        "I'll work on it," AJ said. He left the room and returned a few
minutes later. "Well, you can go, but under certain conditions. One, I have
to go with you. Two we have to take the Limo, three they want a report on
how he's doing. I think that we can handle that don't you. That is, as long
as you can get me by Jason's guards."

        "I think I can handle that. Let's go." The two of them headed out
the door, on their way to Jason's.

Chapter Thirty-Six

        The Spencer's, Lizzie and Nikolas headed to the Hardy's next. It
was decided that Audrey would be told about the threat directed towards
Lizzie and that they were going to ask Jason to have guards posted. Audrey
wasn't happy about the threats, but thankfully she didn't blame Lucky.
Lucky gave Elizabeth a tight hug goodbye and promised to call that night.

        They then headed home to drop off Lesley and Lulu. After they got
them settled Laura headed to Wyndemere with Nikolas and Luke and Lucky
headed to Jason to ask for added protection. Lucky wanted to go so he could
apologize to Charlie again. He was still feeling guilty and he wanted to be
sure that he was alright. He also wanted to confess his part in getting
Tony free. He hated that he had done it, but at the time he hadn't seen how
he had any other choice. He wasn't sure exactly how Jason was going to
react, but it scared him more to think about what his aunt would do. He
shuddered at the thought.

*ALEXIS' ROOM*

        Alexis sat in her room listening to the tape that Luke had given
her of her mother singing. She thought of Helena and all that the woman had
done to her. Slitting her mother's throat, torturing her all those
years...and worst of all, taking Alexander from her. How long had it been
since Alec had been taken from her? He must be close to seventeen now.
Seventeen years since she had seen her precious baby. She had to wonder if
she would ever see him again. How she wished that she could see him, that
she could know that he was alright. She also wondered...Her thoughts were
cut off by the sound of a knock on the door. She dreaded opening it,
because she wasn't in the mood to deal with Helena at that moment. She
opened the door and was surprised to see Ned standing before her.

        "What do you want?" Alexis said tiredly, the pain evident in her
voice. "If you're her to berate me again you can just leave. I've had
enough of you condemnation."

        "No," Ned said. "I'm here to let you explain, like I should have
from the start. And if the explanation is anything like I'm expecting...to
beg for your forgiveness."

*DOCKS*

        Laura and Nikolas waited for the launch on the docks. Nikolas knew
that he was in for a talking to from his uncle, but he also knew that
Stefan was going to get one of his own. They got on the launch and headed
over to Spoon Island. They walked up to Wyndemere slowly, Laura sensing
that Nikolas really wasn't looking forward to seeing his uncle.

        They walked into Wyndemere Nikolas a little in front of Laura.
Stefan saw Nikolas and said, "Where have you been? I've been..." Just then
he caught site of Laura. "Laura?"

        "Yes, Stefan. I'm back, and this time, I'm not going anywhere. Now
would you like to explain to me exactly why you didn't call me when my son
was shot and almost KILLED?!" Laura's anger was clear in her tone of voice,
and her expression. "And just where do you get off telling Nikolas
something that happened between Luke and I ages ago?"

*JASON'S PENTHOUSE*

        Luke and Lucky walked out of the elevator and walked towards
Jason's apartment. Renaldo greeted them and then announced their arrival to
Jason. They walked in and were surprised to see Emily in the living room,
holding Michael, with AJ standing near by. "Hey Emily," Lucky said. "Long
time, no see. I wasn't expecting to see you. The Q's let you out on bail so
soon?"

        "Funny, Lucky," Emily said. "But if you think seeing me is strange,
just wait."

        "What do you mean?" Luke said.

        "She means that seeing me when she got here was quite a surprise to
her," a voice said from the stairs.

        Luke looked up, "Sonny!?" he said in shock.

        "Yeah, bud, it's me," Sonny said, with a slight smile. "How have
you been. When I left, I never thought that I would miss YOU."

        "Thanks a lot. Is Jason around? I need a couple of big favors from
your old organization. Helena's on the move."

        "No, he went to see Carly, but he should be back soon."

        Sonny and Luke headed to one side of the room while Lucky went over
to Emily and talked her into letting him hold Michael. He was glad to
finally get the chance to meet his cousin's son. He looked down at Michael
and was surprised to see a grin break across Michael's face. "Man," he
said. "He looks just like Aunt Bobbie, red hair and all." Emily nodded. He
looked like a different person to everyone that looked at him, but she was
getting to the point that she would go along with anything anyone said. If
you didn't agree with them they tended to go into detail about why he
looked like a certain person.

        Meanwhile Sonny and Luke were talking about the Helena problem.
"What's up with Helena?" Sonny asked.

        "Some very old and painful skeletons were dragged out of the closet
and she took advantage of the rift that they caused between Lucky and I. I
don't know if Jason's told you anything about what's been happening around
here lately, but the kid's been working for Helena. Not only that but since
you left my son's fallen head over heels in love with young Miss Elizabeth
Webber."

        "Lucky's in love? Geez, you leave for a couple of months..."

        "Yeah, well, Helena thought that it would be a good move to
threaten the young lady. I don't think that that sat to well with Lucky .
We want protection on her and Emily, on Lucky, Lulu, Lesley and Laura...and
Nikolas Cassadine."

        Sonny stared at his friend in shock. "I really did miss a lot,
didn't I?"

*ALEXIS' ROOM*

        "You mean it? You're really willing to let me explain," Alexis said
surprised at his sudden change in attitude. "What happened?" She let him
into the room and closed the door behind him.

        "I spoke with Laura a few minute's ago."

        "Laura's back? We used to be good friends you know, on the island."

        "Yeah. Well she gave me a few insight's into Helena. Not only that
she told me something that gave me some insight into you. Something that
let me know what you meant by hating the thought of a child being taken
away from it's mother. Why didn't you tell me you had a son Alexis? All
those times we spoke of Brooke Lyn. Why couldn't you confide in me?"

        Alexis sighed. How could she explain that? "Because I didn't know
how to say it. I couldn't even think about it, so how could I talk about
it? Helena killed my mother, Ned. She slit her throat! And I, I am a living
insult to her family, only allowed to live so long as I serve her. How
could I tell you that I was going to defend a man you hate? I needed you. I
*still* need you. How could I explain to you that I have no idea whether my
son is alive or dead, and that the mere act of eating dinner with me could
get you killed? That there was nothing in the world that you could do to
help me?" Alexis could no longer hold back all the strain, the fear and the
pain. She broke down, the sobs tearing through her body. "I was so scared,"
she said, barely able to get the words out. "I didn't know what to do, I
didn't know." She started to sink to the floor, still shaking with sobs but
Ned caught her and pulled her into his arms holding her close. "I didn't
know what to do."

        "It's going to be okay, Alexis," Ned said, unable to believe how
fragile she seemed at that moment. He was used to her being so strong.  He
realized now that it was only a cover to hide the pain. He led her over to
the couch and sat down with her letting her cry. "We'll figure something
out. We always do."

*WYNDEMERE*

        Stefan stared at Laura, too shocked at her anger at first to speak.
He had never seen this side of Laura. Usually when he had talked to her,
*she* had been the one on the defensive, more likely to cry than to yell.
He wasn't quite sure how to react to her anger, all he knew was that she
was all the more beautiful with fire flashing in her eyes. He loved her so
much, and he hated her for causing such a weakness in him. He let none of
this show as he said coldly, "What reason would I have to tell you
anything, and what right do you have to demand it?"

        "I'm his MOTHER Stefan, and I trusted you to take care of him. You
promised when you DEMANDED that I leave, that you would keep me informed.
You broke that promise! I have every right to demand an explanation!"

        "Your husband is the one that should have informed you. Why should I?"

        "That doesn't fly with me Stefan. You are his legal guardian. It's
YOUR responsibility to keep me informed on events like this."

        "Well, maybe you can find comfort in the fact that I was going to
tell you shortly, when I informed you that you could return to Port
Charles."

        Laura absorbed that. "Oh, so you were going to LET me come back to
Port Charles, were you? How kind of you. Let me tell you something Stefan.
My leaving had NOTHING to do with you. NOTHING! I left because of Helena,
and her threats towards Nikolas. You never even entered into the equation
with your feeble threat to tell Luke. He knows now Stefan, and it doesn't
matter. Maybe now you can give your oversized ego a rest when it comes to
me. You're threats don't affect me, and neither does our one night
together, except in the way that it produced Nikolas."

        Stefan was furious, and his hand itched to slap her for her words,
but he knew that if he did , he would lose his grip on Nikolas. Instead he
held back his fury and turned to Nikolas. "How dare you go see your mother
without informing me of your intentions?" He said angrily.

        "What!?" Nikolas said, in disbelief. "I don't have a right to go
see my mother if I choose? You know what uncle, living with you really
isn't working for me anymore. When Mother's done here, I'm leaving with
her!" He stormed out of the room and out the front door to wait for his
mother outside.

        Stefan turned to Laura, feeling his control of the situation
slipping out of his hands. "So it's finally happened, Laura. You've turned
him against me."

        Laura shook her head at him disgustedly. "Don't worry Stefan,"
Laura said. "I'll talk to him. Unlike you, I think that Nikolas should be
able to love BOTH of his parents!" Laura followed her son out the door,
slamming it behind her. All Stefan was able to do, was watch, speechless
with rage.

        A little info. In this story Robin and Jason got together even
without the plane crash. Carly wasn't happy about it, but she was still
living at the Penthouse regardless of that.

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