Chapter Forty-Seven

        Lizzie and Bobbie were still up when Laura, Lucky and Nikolas got
home. The minute Lizzie saw Lucky she threw herself into his arms,
forgetting for a second that he hurt all over. He groaned in pain and she
immediately tried to pull away, but Lucky held her tight, resting his cheek
on her hair. "It's worth the pain, Lizzie," he said softly. She wrapped her
arms around him and held onto him tightly. She had been so worried. She
rested her head on his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart.
He was here and he was alive.

        Bobbie was relieved to see Nikolas alive and well. She went over
and gave him a hug.  "How are you?" Just then she noticed that someone was
missing. "Where's Luke? Is he okay?"

        "He's fine," Laura said. "He stayed behind to work things out with
the police. Helena is dead...Bobbie, there's something we have to tell you.
Maybe you should sit down."

        "What is it?" Bobbie said. "What happened?" Nikolas, Lucky and
Laura looked at each other. "Just tell me."

        "Helena told Tony that he had to do an operation on me to repay his
debt, or Lucas would be killed," Nikolas said. "He didn't want to do it,
but he didn't see anyway out of it, and then he found a way."

        "What?" Bobbie said, fearing the worst.

        "He attacked Helena and was shot by her guards," Laura said gently.

        "But he's okay, right?"

        "He died right after our confrontation with Helena. Nikolas had a
chance to ask him why he had done it, but that was all."

        Bobbie dropped onto the couch in shock. Sure she had been angry at
him for all he had done to her daughter and her grandson, but dead? They
had shared so many things, been through so much together. Lucas, she would
have to tell Lucas. "What did he say, Nikolas?"

        "He said that his life was over anyway, and that Lucas was all he
had left, and that he was stuck in between two impossible scenario's, so he
made up a new one, in which I could be myself, and Lucas would live. And he
said that no one would miss him anyway. I hope that that's not true Bobbie,
and that people *will* miss him. I know he did some terrible things, but in
the end, he gave his life for me and Lucas. I'll never forget that, and
neither should anyone else."

        Bobbie closed her eyes, unable to believe that this had happened.
She also would never forget Tony's sacrifice. He may have made a horrible
misjudgment and believed in it with his entire being, but he always
attempted to do the right thing by his children, for his children and for
the children of others. He had died a good man. Nikolas watched Bobbie,
wanting to do something for her, but knowing that there was nothing that
could be done. Tony was dead and she would soon have to tell her son that
his father would never be coming back.

        Lucky was beginning to feel a little woozy again, and Lizzie felt
him start to sway. "I think that it's time that you went to bed Lucky," she
said. "You can barely stand up."

        The others looked at Lucky in concern, much to his discomfiture.
"I'm fine," he said, stubbornly.

        "No, you're not," Lizzie said.

        "We can talk about everything tomorrow," Laura said. "Right now,
everyone's going to bed, no arguments!" Everyone nodded, none of them able
to really think anymore that night. Lucas would be fine with Felicia until
the next day, and the other things that had happened could wait. Nikolas
was about to help Lucky up the stairs when they heard Laura exclaim, "Oh my
god!"

        "What is it, Mom?" Lucky asked.

        "Stefan. We never even called to let him know that Nikolas was
missing."

        Nikolas looked at her in shock. He couldn't believe that he hadn't
even asked about his uncle. What kind of a nephew was he? Stefan had been
there for him his whole life. If only he hadn't lied to him the whole time.
"Could you call him, Mother?" he asked, not having the energy to do it
himself. "I don't think that I could handle that right now." Laura nodded
and went to the phone.

        Nikolas turned and started to help Lucky up the stairs, but
listened to the conversation that his mother was having. "Stefan?...Yes, I
know that it's late but this is important...Of course it's about Nikolas,
what else do we have to talk about?... Helena kidnapped him tonight...Luke
and I got him back, and he's alright...He's tired, so I sent him to
bed...Yes, he knows that I didn't inform you until now...Stefan...Why must
you turn every conversation I have with you into a discussion about what a
horrible mother I am!...Let's not have that conversation now!...Helena's
dead...I killed her...Yes...Tony Jones was killed as well...She wanted him
to do some sort of mind altering operation on him...He's okay...Tony died
in order to protect him...Yes...Yes, I'm sure he'll call you
tomorrow...Good-bye Stefan." She hung the phone up with a sigh. That man
could be so infuriating!

        Nikolas helped Lucky into his room followed closely by Liz. He
couldn't understand his unc...father sometimes. He never reacted quite how
Nikolas expected to. He had thought that his mother would have to argue
with him to keep him from rushing over here, but she had hardly had to say
anything, except that he'd call him. He and Liz got Lucky into his room.

        Lucky didn't even have the energy to change, he just flopped down
on the bed and sighed in relief. It felt so good to be laying down. Nikolas
took Lucky's shoes off while Liz sat down next to him. "How are you
feeling?" Lizzie asked, brushing his hair away from his forehead. Nikolas
tossed Lucky's shoes to the side, and studied his brother's face.

        "Better," Lucky said. "Nikolas is okay, and you're here. I just
need a little sleep and I'll be as good as new." Lizzie snorted at his show
of bravado. Nikolas was touched. His brother had been worried enough about
him to literally drag himself out of his bed to go look for him. For the
first time in his life Nikolas realized what having a brother like Lucky
meant. Once Lucky accepted you as family, nothing was ever allowed to
separate you from him. He would fight hell and high water to protect his
family, and Nikolas suddenly realized that he would do the same for Lucky.
When he had thought that Lucky was dead he had been willing to give up
anything in order to get him back. He would do anything to protect his
little brother, from anyone. For the first time in his life he felt like he
had a true family, and it meant the world to him. No one would ever take
that away from him again.

        "Dreams of gold, Lucky," Lizzie said. She didn't get an answer,
which she took to mean that Lucky had  fallen asleep. She looked at Lucky
in such a way that Nikolas felt his amazement at the connection these two
had, grow. It was a look full of such emotion and empathy that it was like
they were extensions of each other.

        Nikolas waited a minute before saying, "Lizzie?" She looked up,
suddenly remembering that he was there. "I think you should get some sleep.
I'm going to stay in here tonight, so why don't you go to bed. I'll make
sure he's alright." Lizzie nodded. It had been an unbelievably long day,
and the thought of sleep was incredibly tempting. She felt secure that
Lucky would be okay, so she got up.

        "You know, the way Lucky used to talk about you, I never would have
thought that he would do what he did for you tonight," Lizzie said. "I had
to help him sit up and stand up, but he refused to rest knowing that Helena
had you. He said that he hadn't been much of a brother and that he wasn't
about to let you down now. I hope you feel the same way about him. He needs
his brother, and he always has, whether he was willing to admit it or not."

        "Just telling all my secrets, huh, Lizzie," Lucky said groggily.

        "Go to sleep!" Lizzie said. Again, she didn't get an answer. "My
god, that boy!" Lizzie said exasperated. "I wonder if he was even awake?"

        Nikolas looked at her, impressed by how much she had grown
recently. She had gone from a jealous, schemer to a person he was honored
to know. He only wished that she hadn't had to go through what she had. "I
need him too, Lizzie. Tonight proved that, not just because he literally
saved my life, but because I know what it feels like to think that he was
dead. I saw him fall, and that was all. Don't worry Liz. From now on, I'm
going to do anything and everything in my power to protect him. Now go to
bed."

        "Yes sir," Lizzie said, turning to leave the room. She paused at
the door, and went over to Nikolas and gave him a quick hug. "I'm really
glad you're okay, Nik," She said.

        "Thanks Lizzie," he said, watching her leave the room.

        A few minutes after she left, Laura came in with a pillow and a
blanket. "Lizzie said that you were going to sleep in here with Lucky, so I
brought these for you." She handed him the blanket and the pillow. She
looked down at the sleeping Lucky and back up to Nikolas. "I'm glad that
you two finally found each other," she said. "I always knew, that if you
gave each other a chance, you could become friends. I'm so happy that I was
right."

        Nikolas looked at his mother and for the first time totally forgave
her for all the times that she had left him. Finding out the reason she had
stayed away, Helena's threats, had helped him understand, but understanding
and forgiveness were two different things. He forgave her, because for the
first time he could believe in the love that was shining out of her eyes,
directed at him, and know that she would never leave him again. He walked
over to her and gave her a hug. It was the first time that he had initiated
contact between them and she felt her breath catch in her throat. She
looked up at him with a small smile and tears glittering in her eyes. Her
son had finally forgiven her, and accepted her. Her husband had accepted
her son, and Helena was dead. Laura felt herself relax and contentment
overtook her. Everything was finally just the way she had always wished.
Her family was whole.

        Laura walked slowly down the stairs and into the living room to
wait for Luke. Nikolas was sleeping on Lucky's floor. Lizzie was sound
asleep in the guest room, as was Bobbie. The only thing that Laura needed
right then was for Luke to come home.

        Laura sat down on the couch and thought about all that had happened
recently. It was good to be home. Her family felt whole for the first time.
Not that she hadn't always been happy with her family, there had just
always been a huge piece missing. That missing piece was laying upstairs on
Lucky's floor. She thought of all the mistakes that she had made and that
Luke had made. If only she had told him and Lucky the whole story from the
beginning. She had a feeling that if she had things would have been
different. But, regardless of all the secrets, of all the lies, they were
together, and they loved each other as much now as they had before they
found everything out, more maybe. Luke was the love of her life, her
soulmate and she needed him to come home.

                You know our love was meant to be
                The kind of love that lasts forever
                And I need you here with me
                From tonight until the end of time

        Luke opened the door to his house and saw his angel sitting on the
couch waiting for him. She must have been exhausted, but she wasn't going
to bed until he came home. He smiled and then thanked the lord, just like
he had ever since the day he had found her, that he had been found worthy
enough to given this angel for his love. She was the world to him, she was
everything. He shut the door and she turned to face him. Their eyes
communicated their love.

                You should know, everywhere I go
                You're always on my mind, in my heart
                In my soul

        "Oh, Babe," Luke said. "What a day."

        Laura nodded and walked slowly over to him. They wrapped their arms
around each other, and stood silently. They're was nothing that needed to
be said. They were together, and those that they loved were safe.

                You're the meaning in my life
                You're the inspiration
                You bring feeling to my life
                You're the inspiration
                Wanna have you near me
                I wanna have you hear me sayin'
                No one needs you more than I need you

        They had been apart for so long, but it didn't matter. All that
mattered was that they were together now, and the worst seemed to be behind
them. They were free of Helena, free to live and to love. No  one in the
world would ever compare to the ones that they were holding in their arms.
They would never need anyone like they needed each other. They were
extensions of each other. They shared the same soul, and so only felt whole
when they were together.

                And I know, yes I know that it's plain to see
                We're so in love when we're together
                And I know that I need you here with me
                From tonight until the end of time

        Luke ran his fingers through Laura's hair, reveling in the silky
feel of it. She was there, and she had forgiven him. She always forgave
him. How had he come to be so lucky? To find his soulmate, and to be with
her. They looked deep into each other's eyes, connecting at the deepest
level possible, and communicating all of their feelings in that single look.

                You should know, everywhere I go
                Always on my mind, in my heart
                In my soul

        The kiss was the most natural thing in the world. Neither one of
them making the first move, they just flowed together. It felt so right,
just as it always had. They were meant to be together. Meant to be.

                You're the meaning in my life
                You're the inspiration
                You bring feeling to my life
                You're the inspiration
                Wanna have you near me
                I wanna have you hear me sayin'
                No one needs you more than I need you

        They separated slowly, and turned towards the stairs, holding
hands. They went up to their room, together. It had been a long day.

Chapter Forty-Eight

        Everyone was slow to get up the next morning. Bobbie insisted that
Lucky be taken to the hospital. Everyone wanted to go not only for Lucky,
but to see how Alexis and Sarah were. Lizzie had called Emily and she met
them at the hospital. She gasped at Lucky's appearance and gave him a hug.
"My god, Lucky! Since when do you let people use your face as a punching
bag?"

        "Since he was bigger, stronger and I was kinda shot," he said as
Bobbie ushered him towards an examining room where one of the doctors would
look him over.

        Emily shook her head at him and then went over to Nikolas and they
hugged. She was so happy that he was okay. When Lizzie had told her what
had almost happened, she had been horrified. What if Tony had done the
operation? She might never have seen Nikolas again, well at least not
*this* Nikolas.

        Nikolas held onto Emily tightly. It felt so good to hold her. He
released her and then grabbed hold of her hand. He wanted her close to him.
"I'm going to go see how Alexis is doing," he said. "Would you like to
come?" Emily nodded.

        "I'm going to go see how Sarah and Gram are doing," Lizzie said.
"I'll see you guys in a little while."

        Nikolas and Emily walked to Alexis' room. The guard let them both
in regardless of his strict instructions. (Hey, we're talking about the
boss' sister, here:-) They found Ned still sitting by the bed, holding
Alexis' hand. He stood up when they entered the room. "How is she?" Nikolas
asked.

        "No change,"Ned said disheartened. "They have no idea if she's ever
going to wake up."

        Emily went and gave him a hug. "It'll be okay, Ned. Have faith."

        "There is some good news," Nikolas said. Ned looked at him. "Helena
made her move last night. She's dead. She kidnapped me, shot up the cabin
and a couple of guards."

        "Lucky was hit, but he's okay. They beat him to a pulp though."
Emily added.

        "There was only one death other than Helena's."

        "Who?" Ned asked.

        "Tony Jones. Helena threatened to kill him and Lucas if he didn't
operate on me. He didn't want to do it, so he threatened Helena and forced
her guards to shoot him. He died like he lived most of his life."

        "I should tell the family," Ned said. "Oh, well, I need to go back
to the gatehouse for an hour or two anyway. Are you going to be around for
a while? I don't want her to wake up and not have anyone here."

        "Yeah," Nikolas said. "I'll be here for a while. My mother will
probably come in too. They had to bring in Lucky." He looked down at
Alexis. "I wish that there was something more that I could do for her."

        "You said you grandmother's dead right?" Ned asked. Nikolas nodded.
"Well, then, you could always find her son for her."

        Nikolas looked up in surprise. Of course! Why hadn't he thought of
that before. He nodded. "If he's to be found, I'll find him."

        "I'm going to go with Ned," Emily said. Nikolas could tell that she
was worried about him, so he nodded. He gave her a hug. "I'll see you
soon," she said with a small smile. The two of them left. Nikolas sat down
by Alexis' bed. He couldn't believe that it was really over. Helena was
dead. It was finally over. Now if only Alexis would wake up.

        Down the hall, Elizabeth was listening to some disturbing news. It
seemed that Sarah had slipped into a Catatonic state, which is associated
with Schizophrenia. Since it had been brought on by a stressful situation,
rather than a slow descent into the disease, it was curable. It would take
time to bring her out of the world that she had created for herself, but
there was no reason to believe that it would be a permanent condition.

        "Some people stay like this forever?" Elizabeth asked the doctor
who was explaining Sarah's condition to her.

        "Schizophrenia is a horrible thing," the doctor said. "It is like
the person has no touch with reality, and they usually don't even think
that there's anything wrong. Your sister will be fine though. We're going
to recommend a number of hospitals that specialize in this sort of thing."
Elizabeth nodded. She thanked the doctor and went in to visit with her
sister and tell her grandmother what had happened.

        Lucky was looked at by the doctor and given a clean bill of heath,
though he was told to go home and sleep. Besides that there was nothing
serious beyond a few bruised ribs. Upon finding out that he was okay, Luke,
Laura and Lucky went down to see Alexis and Bobbie went to the Brownstone
to tell Lucas and Felicia what had happened to Tony.

        They walked into Alexis' room and saw Nikolas alone in the room.
"How is she?" Laura asked.

        "No change," Nikolas said. "Are you going to be here for a while?"

        "I can be," Laura said.

        "There's something I need to do. I promised Ned that I wouldn't
leave her alone, in case she wakes up."

        "I'll stay," Laura said.

        "Thanks," Nikolas said, heading for the door. Lucky followed him
out. Luke stayed with Laura.

        "Hey, Nik," Lucky said. "Where are you going?"

        "Helena's yacht," Nikolas said. "I want to find Alexis' son for her."

        "Hey, I'm coming with you. I'm not giving up the chance to go
through the old bats stuff." Nikolas nodded. "Do you know where Lizzie is?"

        "She went to see how Sarah is. I hope she's okay Lucky."

        "Me too," Lucky said, still feeling responsible. They walked down
the hall and went into Sarah's room. They listened to the explanation of
what was wrong. Lucky gave Liz a hug and told her that he and Nikolas had a
few things to do, and that they'd be back before long. She nodded and told
them that she'd be staying with Sarah for a while.

        They left the hospital and drove to Helena's yacht, which had been
brought back and docked in it's usual spot. The police were still searching
it. Mac was there overseeing the investigation. "Hey, Mac," Lucky said,
standing near the yacht. "Find anything interesting?"

        "Quite a few interesting things," Mac said. "I don't think that
there's a person in the world that she didn't have some kind of dirt on."

        "Well if you find anything with the name..." He looked at Nikolas.

        "Alexander, or Alec," Nikolas said.

        "If you find anything with the name Alexander on it, let us know."

        "Sure," Mac said. "But why do you need it?"

        "He's Alexis' son," Nikolas said.

        "I didn't know she had a son," Mac said.

        "Helena took him from her when he was born," Nikolas said. "She
kept him somewhere as a threat to hold over Alexis' head."

        "That's why Alexis defended Tony," Lucky said.

        "'Do it or your son will die,' might sound melodramatic," Nikolas
said. "But with Helena it's a certainty."

        Mac nodded. "Taggert! Garcia!" he yelled.

        "Yeah," Taggert said, exiting the yacht. "Oh, hey Lucky, Nikolas,"
he said.

        "Glad to see you're both okay," Garcia said, following Taggert out.

        "Thanks," Nikolas and Lucky said together.

        "Have you two found anything with the name, Alexander in it? The
boys need to find him."

         The two thought for a while, and then Taggert said, "I think that
I may have seen that." He turned to Garcia. "You remember the file on that
boy with all those reports on his condition? It looked that he lived at
some sort of compound or something. Wasn't his name Alexander?"

        "I think so," Garcia said. "I'll go get it." He walked back into
the yacht.

        "So how is Alexis doing?" Mac asked.

        "No change," Nikolas said.

        "And the Webber girl?" Taggert asked.

        "She's still the same. There going to send her to some special
hospital. They think that she's going to be fine, though."

        Garcia came out with an impossibly thick file and handed it to Mac.
Mac flipped through it. "Yup," he said. "Here's the birth certificate.
Mother: Alexis Davis. Here you can take this, just get it back to me as
soon as possible. If we find anything else we'll let you know."

        "Thanks, Mac," Lucky said. "We'll get it to you soon." They headed
for the Spencer's to go through the file.

*THE BROWNSTONE*

        Bobbie walked into the Brownstone slowly, not looking forward to
having to tell Lucas about his father. She found Felicia in the kitchen.
"Hi, Bobbie. How's Lucky?" Felicia said.

        "He's okay," Bobbie said. "Where's Lucas?"

        "He's in the backyard with Maxie and Georgie. Is something wrong?"
Felicia asked, worried at Bobbie's expression.

        "Tony's,... ah, Tony's dead, Felicia."

        "What? How? I thought that he was okay. They let him out of the
hospital."

        "That wasn't it, Felicia. Helena was responsible for having Alexis
defend him. She called in her favor." She explained the circumstances
surrounding Tony's death, and how he had died a hero. "Can you get a hold
of Frisco?" Bobbie asked.

        Felicia nodded, the tears streaming down her face. "He gave me a
number for emergencies. I call him. Oh god, Bobbie." The two women hugged.
"I knew, I knew that that man was still in there somewhere." Bobbie nodded.
 

        "Are you going to be here for a while?" Bobbie asked.

        "Yeah," Felicia said.

        "I'm going to tell Lucas, and I think that I should go tell Carly.
I don't want to leave him, but i think that it would be best if I told
Carly."

        Felicia nodded. "I'll keep an eye on him," she said. She went to go
call Frisco, and Bobbie went to tell Lucas. It was one of the hardest
things that she had ever had to do.

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