Elizabeth, after more than two years, finally was able to trust Lucky with her entire life. On the night of the senior prom, she offered her body to Lucky for the first time. It was this event that created the single most important thing in his life: his daughter.

They named her Katherine Rebecca Spencer. Lucky had insisted on Rebecca for the middle name. Elizabeth had been hoping to name her Sarah, but Lucky told her firmly that it simply did not fit in with the rhythm of the name, and, after hours of argument, Elizabeth had finally caved. So Katherine it was.

When Katherine was three months old, Lucky and Elizabeth finally married. Their parents had all protested loudly to the union, but the couple was determined to raise their child in a happy, normal home. This, of course, would not be the case.

It did not take long for Lucky to start referring to his daughter as Katie. It drove Elizabeth nuts, for some reason, to hear the shortened version of the girl’s name. She asked Lucky repeatedly not to use the nickname, and he’d be happy to oblige, but within a week he would slip up and the cycle would start again.

For years after, Lucky debated with himself whether or not this was the beginning of his problems with his wife. Elizabeth soon got bored with married life, and she made it very clear to her husband and her year old daughter. She developed a rather nasty case of cabin fever after spending a year at home with her under-aged family, and any excuse was good enough to get out of the house. The worst that Lucky could remember was the night Elizabeth left for the store to buy milk and didn’t return until a full week later.

When she returned the next week, soaked from a sudden April downpour, Lucky only stared at her balefully, tears shining in his blue eyes. Nothing after that would be the same. A year and a half later, Lucky woke up and was alarmed to find a rose and one page note occupying the space where his wife usually slept.

That was the morning that had changed Lucky’s life forever. Without Elizabeth, he was forced into a life of sometimes heart-wrenching loneliness and single parenting. The weight was enough to nearly collapse him, and he was yet to reach twenty-one years old.

Part 1 - In the Beginning...

Lucky watched his daughter play in the yard, a gentle smile on his lips. Katie was alarmingly intelligent and attentive for her age. At nearly four years old, she was already stringing together full sentences, and her attention span was incredible. As far as Lucky knew, she was the only child at her daycare who had learned her alphabet. She and Lucky had spent nearly two full hours working on this task alone, and her father started to show signs of boredom before Katie even began to think of anything better to do with her time. She was also a quick learner. After that single session of repeating and memorizing, she had been able to recite the entire alphabet on command. Not only that, but she seemed to grasp the meaning of the letters. Lucky had a strong feeling that he could begin teaching her to read as soon as the next year.

Now, as Lucky watched from his post on the front porch, Katie was working on remembering the alphabet backwards as well. It was amazing. She repeated the letters slowly as she played with the dolls Bobbie had bought her for her last birthday, her focus never wavering on either of her tasks.

Lucky smiled again, then sighed bitterly as he heard the shrill ringing of the phone from inside. He lifted the receiver to his mouth and spoke loudly over the blues that played in the living room. “Hello?”

“Lucky, is that you?”

“Who else would it be?” Lucky asked, then laughed. “I thought you were going to stop calling me like this, Em.”

“I missed you.”

“We just talked last night, Emily. Your parents are going to kill you when they see the phone bill.”

“They’re the ones who asked me to visit them, Lucky. I still can’t believe they moved to California.”

“I know. How dare they?” Lucky asked, moving towards the window. His eyes fell on Katie playing the yard, and he smiled in relief.

“So, how’s Katie?”

“She’s good. Playing in the yard.” He paused. “She misses Elizabeth though.”

“Well, it’s only been a year Lucky.”

“I know, Em, but…I really want her to be happy. She can’t be with all of this hanging over her head.”

“She’s young, Lucky, she’ll bounce back just fine. Geez, isn’t she already in the Guinness Book of World Records for intelligence or something? How long do you think she can stay on one train of thought?”

“That’s part of the problem,” Lucky explained in low tones. “She has this amazing attention span, Em. It’s like she can sit and do something…and I mean something incredibly boring, like learning her alphabet…for just hours. I get bored watching her after about five minutes.”

“You’re right. That is amazing. I’ve got a two month old who’s already throwing out toys after a single use.”

Lucky laughed, then paused for another long moment. “So you decided to do it,” he stated.

“What, adopt?” Emily asked. “Yup. I got tired of being alone, Lucky. What can I say? You inspired me. I’m only twenty years old, too. We were surprised the agency let me do it. But when they saw who I was related to, and learned about my history and how my mother died…well, I think they let me adopt him out of sympathy.”

“Maybe they just knew what a great mother you would be.”

“Oh please, Lucky. Give me a break. They don’t even know what I’m like. It was based entirely on my past and my family. It’s sort of nice having aristocrats in the family.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“No, I guess you wouldn’t, would you?” Emily was silent for a moment. When she spoke again, Lucky could detect a faint sniffle. She was crying. “It’s not fair, Lucky,” she cried.

“What?”

“You and me. Here we are, just over twenty years old, and both single parents. Not only that, but we’re still living in Port Charles. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course, but it’s not exactly where I pictured myself when I was in high school.”

Lucky sighed. “I know, Em. But we can’t have regrets. I’m happy with my life. Well, except about Elizabeth leaving me. That wasn’t part of the plan.”

“It’s not fair,” Emily repeated bitterly.

“Nothing is,” Lucky said with a smile. He glanced again at Katie through the window. “Look, I should go. It’s really great hearing from you, but…”

“I want to see you.”

“What?” Lucky asked. He could not mask his shock.

“I want to see you,” Emily repeated. “I’m going back to Port Charles.”

“Emily, I thought you made plans to stay in California for the whole year.”

“I did. I’ll just have to change the plans, Lucky. I want you to meet Jonathon.”

“That’s his name?”

“Yeah, I picked it. I don’t know…Jonathon…it just seemed like a good name for a baby.”

“It is.”

“Look, I’ll fly back to Port Charles tonight. I can rent a hotel room until I can find a place to live…”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lucky interrupted. “You can stay with us.”

“Lucky…”

“You’re staying here with me and Katie,” Lucky said firmly. “No arguing. You can look for a place if you want, but you and John are welcome to stay here as long as you’d like.”

“Lucky, this is just so…”

“I know, Em. But I want to see you too. And I know Katie will be thrilled to see you again. She cried for an hour after you left, you know.”

“Yeah, no more gifts from Aunt Emmy.”

“Ah, it’s more than that, Emily.”

“I know, Lucky,” Emily said with a laugh. “I guess I’ll see you tonight then.”

“I’ll pick you up from the airport. I can call and get the times for myself, don’t worry about it.”

“You think of everything.”

“I know. Now start packing. I can’t wait to see you.”

“Me neither.”

“Bye,” Lucky said quietly, and gently hung up. He couldn’t help but smile. For the first time in months, he had something to look forward to. Shaking his head, he walked back outside and joined his daughter in her play on the lawn.

***

Lucky laughed as he unlocked the door. “You have no idea what you’ve missed, Emily.”

“Apparently a lot. I never thought my brother would actually settle down. I leave for a few months and come back and he’s married?” Emily asked incredulously. “I couldn’t even imagine Jason getting married, and to Carly!”

“Yeah, not exactly the pair you’d imagine.”

“Well, imagining Carly in any stable relationship is sort of tough, Lucky. She usually blows it before it gets too serious.”

“Yeah, and we don’t know anyone who does that.”

“Lucky!”

“Daddy!”

Emily looked up, surprised, to see Katie barreling down the hall toward her father. Lucky, a huge smile plastered on his face, swept her into his arms, planting kisses all over her face. “Hey, honey! I missed you so much,” Lucky gushed.

“I missed you too,” Katie said solemnly, then glanced over at Emily. Her face brightened. “Aunt Emmy!” she squealed, then hurled herself into Emily’s arms.

“Wow, you sure are getting big,” Emily said through joyful tears. She looked over at Lucky. “Are you sure we should let Jonathon stay the night at Jason and Carly’s? I mean, Katie would really love to see him. Wouldn’t you?”

Katie nodded enthusiastically, then looked to her father expectantly. “Can we get him, daddy? Please?”

“Not tonight sweetheart,” Lucky said almost regretfully. He smiled, and gently picked the tiny girl up again. “And it’s time for you to be getting to bed anyway. I’m surprised Aunt Bobbie let you stay up so late.”

Bobbie appeared at the end of the hall emptying into the living room, her expression slightly guilty. “It’s so hard to say no to her,” she said. “I probably would’ve given her my credit card if she asked for it.”

Katie’s eyes widened. “Credit card?”

The adults couldn’t help but laugh. Finally, after the moment ended, Lucky carried Katie in to her room. As she snuggled into her sheets, Lucky knelt down beside the bed. His eyes filled with tears as he regarded his daughter. “I missed you tonight,” he said quietly. “And I was only gone a few minutes.”

“I know daddy,” Katie said with seriousness rare for her age. “I missed you too.”

Lucky smiled and placed a gentle kiss on his daughter’s forehead. He started toward the door, then turned back to Katie, another smile touching his lips. “Good night,” he murmured, then exited the room, closing the door gently behind him.

As he passed through the hall back to the living room, Emily’s eyes widened in wonder. “She sleeps with her door closed?” she asked, clearly surprised. “Already?”

“Yeah,” Lucky responded. “She hollers if it isn’t closed.”

“Precocious,” Bobbie murmured.

“More than that!” Emily cried. She turned to Lucky, an awed expression lit across her face. “Are you sure she isn’t…you know, a genius or something? I mean, she seems to be aging so quickly…”

“I already talked to a doctor,” Lucky said. “If you would believe that. I talked to Gail Baldwin at GH. She said it was a little unusual, but nothing to be worried about. She said that a lot of children growing up in a single parent situation mature more rapidly than kids with two parents. If anything, I should be happy. Katie’s like a blessing.”

“Oh, I don’t think she’s anything but that,” Emily agreed. “It’s just so…unusual.” She sighed and sank onto Lucky’s couch. “I’m so exhausted,” she admitted. “I love Jonathon to death, but he sure can be a handful.”

“Katie was the same way at that age,” Bobbie said, sitting across from Emily. “I don’t know how many times Elizabeth called me, just begging for a little time off. That’s how I got to be Katie’s regular babysitter.”

“Wow. I wish I had someone to call on to do that. Monica practically cringes when I ask her to change or feed Jonathon. I don’t think she ever raised a baby herself. That’s what the servants were for.”

Lucky, who had become eerily quiet at the mention of Elizabeth, looked to Emily, a slight frown on his face. “You’re calling her Monica again?”

“Yeah. It just seems kind of weird calling her mom when I’m a mom myself.”

Lucky nodded. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Well, what do you call your parents?” Emily asked pointedly.

“I try not to speak to them,” Lucky replied. “Unless I have to. They aren’t exactly my favorite people in the world anymore. Especially since they got the divorce…”

“You aren’t even speaking to them anymore?” Emily asked, shocked. “You were when I left.”

“A lot’s happened since then.”

“I only left four months ago, Lucky. It’s not like it’s been so long.”

“Yeah, well, you have no idea what’s been going on since you left!” Lucky snapped. He stood and walked on unsteady legs to the kitchen. At that moment, he didn’t trust himself to let anything else come out of his mouth.

Emily followed after, stubbornly refusing to drop the topic. “Lucky,” she said.

Lucky leaned up against the counter, hanging his head over the sink. “You need your rest Emily. It’s been a long day. You ought to get to bed…I’ll have Bobbie fix up the guest room for you.” He started out of the kitchen.

Emily grabbed his arm and spun him around until he faced her again. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on,” she said firmly.

“Look, no offense, Emily, but this really isn’t anything I’d like to discuss with you…”

“Well, you don’t have a lot of choice.”

“Emily…”

“Talk, Lucky. I’m not letting you off this easily. Something big happened, and I’m not letting you out of my sight until you tell me exactly what it was.”

“Why the concern?” Lucky asked sharply.

“Well, gee, Lucky, you’re only my best friend.”

“That’s not good enough.”

“Alright, Lucky,” Emily said carefully, drawing him closer to her. “What about Katie? You know everything you do affects her, right? She loves her grandparents. I can tell that by the way she acts around them. If you’re at odds with them, it’s bound to affect her. Now is that fair?”

“No,” Lucky mumbled. “But talking about it with you isn’t going to change anything.”

“Now, how do you know that? I might just be able to help.” She pulled a chair out from the table and sat down, still eyeing Lucky carefully. “You could at least tell me what happened.”

“It’s just…after Elizabeth left, they tried to put my life back together. As if they had some right to interfere. God, Em, I worked so hard to keep it together after she left, their interference just wanted helping. My mom’s idea of helping out was babysitting Katie while I 'pulled my self together’. That was the last thing I wanted. Katie was the only thing keeping me sane, Emily. She’s all I’ve got left to hold on to. And my parents’ answer to helping me out was taking her away from me. Can’t you see why I would be angry with them?”

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this then?” Emily demanded. “I might have been able to…I don’t know, talk to them or something.”

“Oh right, you mean keep them from calling every half hour to see if they could take her for a while? They just didn’t get the point. So finally, about a week after you left, they got desperate. Mom thought, apparently, that I needed some time off from parenting now that you weren’t here to help me out. So she picked Katie up from daycare early and took her over to their house.”

“Just like that?” Emily asked in shock. “Without even letting you know?”

“Well, she called and left a message on the machine. But I was working Em. I went straight over to the daycare after I got off work. Do you have any idea how scared I was, Emily? Can you imagine how I felt when I realized that she wasn’t there? God, I thought she had been kidnapped or something. I called everyone I could think of to find her. I called the parents of every other kid in the daycare and no one knew where she was. I was never more scared in my life.”

Emily covered her mouth with a slim white hand. “Oh, I can’t imagine…when did you find out she was with your parents?”

“Well, Bobbie…who was as scared as I was…made me come home after a couple of hours to relax. She kept insisting that Katie was just fine. But I couldn’t imagine how she could be, when she was missing like that. That’s when we found the message.” His face darkened. “I’ll never forgive them for that,” his said. “I couldn’t even begin considering it. And they haven’t seen Katie since, much to her dismay.”

“Oh, god, Lucky, you should’ve called me.”

“I was going to,” Lucky admitted. “But then I thought about how happy you must have been, visiting with your parents. I didn’t want to make you come back here, which I knew of course you would do.”

Emily smiled, then reached across the table to grasp Lucky’s hands. “Of course I would have. But I guess I’m sort of glad that you waited. That just makes our time together now even more special.”

Lucky returned her smile, grateful tears shining in his eyes. “Well, I’m glad that you see it that way.” He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, checking to be sure no tears had escaped them. “I guess we should go back into the living room. Bobbie probably thinks we abandoned her.”

“Oh, she can handle it,” Emily said, but rose to follow Lucky out of the kitchen.

Bobbie was waiting patiently on the couch, looking only slightly bored. Her face brightened when Lucky and Emily entered the room. “I should probably be going,” she said as she embraced Lucky. “I absolutely loved watching Katie, though. Feel free to call me back anytime.”

Lucky laughed. “Lucas is going to forget what you look like.”

Bobbie only laughed and engulfed Emily in her arms. “You’ll have to stop by to see me sometime,” she told her. “We’ve got a lot to catch up on.”

“Yeah, I guess we do. Are you going over to see Jason and Carly anytime soon?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Well, we left Jonathon over there for the night. He fell asleep while we were talking and I just didn’t have the heart to wake him up again. Two month-olds tend to have that affect on me.”

“I think they have that affect on everyone,” Bobbie laughed. “I guess I might see you tomorrow when you pick him up then?”

“I certainly hope so.”

“Great! I was hoping to meet your baby anyway. I’m sure he’s going to be just wonderful, with you for a mother.”

Emily blushed, and waved Bobbie away. “Come on, get out of here before I decide to adopt you too."

Bobbie tossed her nephew and Emily a smile before walking out into the night, a smile on her face. “You really should get some sleep now, Emily,” Lucky said.

“I know. Can I just look in on Katie one more time before I do? She’s such a precious girl.”

“Alright,” Lucky relented. “But be quick, would you? She’s already had an exciting day. The last thing she needs is you waking her up in the middle of the night.”

Emily lightly pinched his arm. “Watch it Spencer,” she said and hurried down the hall to Katie’s room. She pulled open the door and gazed inside, her heart full. After a moment, Lucky joined her. “She’s so beautiful when she sleeps,” Emily whispered.

“She’s always beautiful,” Lucky said, smiling peacefully. “She looks just like an angel, doesn’t she? It’s so hard to believe she’s got a father like me,” he added ruefully.

“Lucky,” Emily chided, turning to face her friend. “You are the most wonderful, devoted father a girl could ask for. You’ve been so great to Katie. You know, she couldn’t have handled her mother walking out without you.”

Lucky shook his head in disagreement. “No, it was Katie who saved me, Emily.” He walked into the room, and crossed over to his daughter’s bed. Leaning over the bed, he brushed his lips gently across hers, then joined Emily in the doorway again. “She’s my lifeline,” he whispered, then drifted on down the hall.

***

The month that followed was probably the best that Lucky had ever experienced. His reunion with Emily alone was enough to thrill him. However, it was not the only pleasant surprise that he received. On Katie’s fourth birthday, as his daughter opened her gifts gleefully in the living room, Lucky chatted with Nikolas in the kitchen.

“I can’t believe how big she’s gotten,” his brother remarked in awe.

“Yeah, she’s growing like a weed,” Lucky agreed. “But she isn’t chubby at all. She’s just getting to be so tall.”

“That happens.”

“I know, but I don’t want my daughter to grow taller than me, Nik. I don’t think I can handle that kind of humiliation.”

Nikolas roared with laughter. “I can hardly believe my ears,” he said, mocking shock. “My brother…threatened by his own four year old daughter? This is just…historic. Where’s Carly? She can enter it in that journal she insists on keeping.”

“Ha ha,” Lucky said without humor. “You always are the one to look for an insult, aren’t you?”

“What are you talking about Lucky? I’m just pointing out one of your many character flaws.”

“You’ve always been great at that, Nikolas.”

“I know. It’s one of my many talents. Look, Lucky, I thought your ego could use a little deflation before I tell you this next news.”

“Hmm…sounds promising.”

“Well, it’s bound to make your day.” Nikolas paused a moment before continuing. Lucky sighed. Nikolas, true to form, was prolonging the anticipation. “Gina’s coming to town this weekend.”

Lucky’s eyes grew wide. “Gina Williams?” Nikolas nodded. “You’ve got to be kidding! This is great! Oh, I can’t wait for Katie to meet her! I haven’t seen Gina in ages. Do you know what’s bringing her back to town?”

Nikolas shook his head. “I don’t know. She called me last night to let me know. She said she called you too, but got the machine. She hung up.” Nikolas smirked. “Apparently she has some aversion to speaking over those things.”

“That’s so great,” Lucky said, still shocked. “Emily and I took Katie to see a movie last night,” he explained to Nikolas. “She must have called while we were out. I’m surprised she even remembers me.”

“Why? It hasn’t been that long since she saw you.”

“Two years.”

Nikolas looked shocked. “Has it been that long?”

“Yeah, and that last time was only for a few weeks. Before that, I hadn’t seen her since I was thirteen.” He frowned. “She doesn’t stop by often, does she?”

“No.”

Suddenly the sound of crying could be heard from the other room. Lucky looked over at Nikolas, horrified. “That’s Katie,” he said, and ran into the living room. Sure enough, there was Katie, in the middle of the living room floor, bawling her eyes out. Lucky rushed over to her, scooping her in his arms. “Honey, what’s the matter?”

Katie only continued to sob, clinging to her father as if her life depended on it.

“Katie?” Lucky asked. His voice was high and strangled. “Come on honey, tell me what’s wrong.”

Katie pointed at a half-wrapped gift on the floor. Lucky looked down at it, but could see nothing but the balloon wrapping paper that covered it. “What’s wrong with it, Katie?” When his daughter did not respond, Lucky grew more concerned. Setting her down, he knelt to examine the abandoned gift. “Oh god,” he murmured.

“What is it?” Emily asked, approaching him.

“It’s a picture,” Lucky muttered, his voice barely audible. “Of Elizabeth. No wonder she’s so upset.” He pulled Katie toward him, and sighed as she laid her head on his shoulder. As he held her, he noticed the tag on the outside of the gift. An angry hiss emitted from his lips as he pushed Katie away, thoroughly disgusted. “What were they thinking?” Lucky demanded, glaring at Emily and Bobbie.

“Who?” Emily asked.

“Who do you think? My parents! They just give their four year-old granddaughter a picture of her mother who walked out on her!”

“Lucky, I’m sure they didn’t mean anything by it…”

“You have no idea what they meant by it!” Lucky said sharply, and instantly regretted the words. He surveyed the room briefly, then spoke directly to the gathered party guests. “I’m sorry. This is just…a little awkward for us, you know. My wife left me and Katie over a year ago, and it still stings…I didn’t mean to go off like that. Especially not in front of Katie.”

Katie looked up gravely at Lucky, then put her arms out toward him. She clearly wanted to be picked up. Lucky, always a sucker for his daughter’s childish manipulations, was more than happy to oblige. He swept her into his arms and swung her around. Katie, her light demeanor returning, giggled in joy as he swung her almost effortlessly around in a circle. Airplane, one of her favorite games, was the perfect trick to bring a smile to her lips again.

After a moment Lucky set her down again and watched as she tore into the nest present, the picture already forgotten. His attention turned again to Emily. “See what I mean?” he asked, exasperated. “They have to got to be the most insensitive people in the world. I’m just glad that nobody misses them at the party.”

“I still can’t believe that you didn’t invite them.”

“Well, I didn’t,” Lucky said shortly. “Get over it.” Shaking his head in disbelief, he returned to the kitchen and let his thoughts return to Gina’s unexpected visit.

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