CHAPTER 13

''Do you mind if I come in?'' Stefan asked Luke from the door and Luke smiled. He knew he was gonna see the bat back as soon as Nikolas left. ''No, come on in, I've already been sent to hell, what harm can you do me?''

Stefan sighed as he walked in and stood at the end of his enemy's bed. The man thought nothing Luke could do or say could hurt him, but he was wrong. Taking Nikolas away from him was the ultimate punishment, because now Stefan knew what his mother said was true. He would truly finish his life alone, because going back to Laura was out of the question. Not after her final betrayal. She knew what the boy meant to him, she knew he would have never hurt a hair on his head, but she still hid the truth from him, letting him take his guard down, and allowing himself to love, after promising himself he would never fall into that death trap. It destroyed his father, his brother, and now his heartache would probably destroy him, too. Even though the love he was feeling wasn't for a woman, like the other Cassadine men in the family, his love for Nikolas and the fact that he was losing him, would tear him apart slowly, until the pain would be unbearable, and finally, Luke would destroy him.

''Well, talk'' Luke said to the man standing at his feet, He knew why Stefan was here. And Luke would gently but firmly tell him he was wasting his time. Stefan probably wanted Luke to tell Nikolas he wanted nothing to do with him, so that the boy would go back with his ‘uncle' but Luke would never do that. Never before had he turned his back on one of his children and he wouldn't start now.

''You know why I'm here Spencer'' Stefan answered quietly. ''To talk about the latest in the ‘life of Laura Webber' soap opera. There is no doubt that this and the fact that Lucky being back will change a lot of things in your life. Are you sure this is the right time to deal with all of this?''

Luke chuckled and shook his head. ''My, my, my, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were concerned for my health!'' Luke answered in an amused tone. ''But I do know better, and it won't work.'' The man's voice had no amused intonation in his voice anymore, but an hint of threat. ''I will say this once, and I hope you listen good, Stefan, if you do anything, anything to come between me and MY son, I will crush you like a bug and I won't even think about the tears Nikolas will cry at your memorial service. Have I made myself clear?''

''You see, that's where you and I differ Spencer. I would never do anything to you that would hurt Nikolas, because I love him. You are only using him to have your revenge against me. There's only you and I, so let's be honest with each other. The only reason you are continuing this farce of the perfect family with him is because you know I believed him to be my son. You know this is the ultimate way you can hurt me. But as Lucky and Nikolas told us time and time again, the Cassadine/Spencer feud is our war, not them. Don't hurt an innocent boy just to get revenge on my family. Especially since he isn't even a part of it.''

''Don't tell me how to act with my son'' Luke said sharply. He didn't want to get into this with Stefan, the reasons he wanted Nikolas with him, having to say again the conversation he had with his son, especially not in front of his life long enemy. ''How I act, think and address my son is none of your concern. He is none of your concern anymore. So turn around, and walk away Stefan, there is nothing for you here anymore''

''What are you doing out of dad's room?'' Lucky asked his brother as he and Elizabeth joined him and Emily. Nikolas quickly hugged Elizabeth and turned to his brother. ''Stefan is in there with him, I honestly don't want to get in the middle of the argument I am sure they are having because of me, so Emily and I stayed outside. She knows. I told her''

''Wait a minute, she knows what?'' Elizabeth asked Lucky. ''Why are you calling your father simply dad, instead of ‘my dad' when you talk to Nikolas?''

''You didn't tell her?'' Nikolas asked Lucky and the young man smiled sadly. ''We had other things on our mind'' He answered and turned to Elizabeth. ''Nikolas is my full fledged brother. It turns out my mother lied, and she was already pregnant with Nikolas when she was kidnapped, but she passed him off as a Cassadine so she and he would stay alive. So she says''

Elizabeth instinctively moved to hug him, but he backed away before she could reach him. The instant of closeness they felt near the tree was gone, and Elizabeth didn't know how to react to the new Lucky, the one who physically, as well as emotionally didn't want to be close to her. Not that she blamed him, with everything he went through, but now he was safely back, so why was he still pushing her away? She could make him get better, she could make him forget, but it seemed as if he thought what happened was his fault, or that he was scared they would come back for him and hurt her in the process.

Elizabeth didn't know how far from the truth she actually was. The truth was, he didn't think he was allowed to still love her, he didn't think he had the right to hold her, the right to be the safe place for her he once was. He broke down and begged Faison not to leave him with Helena, he broke down and trusted a guard that worked for them, nearly causing his father to die. He let them abuse him, physically and mentally, making him a coward, scared or someone getting too close, scared of every little sound, scared of actually seeing the darkness outside slowly taking possession of the skies. He didn't have any place to go, any warm room to call his own.

''So what happens now?'' Emily asked to break the uneasy silence between them. ''I don't know'' Lucky sighed. ''I guess we'll have to wait and see. And actually, I have to leave, it's getting late and I have to go to the motel on the other side of the town, they are keeping a room for me and it's quite a walk''

''No way'' Nikolas answered. ''You are staying with me. My little brother didn't come back from the dead to be sleeping in a cheap motel. I have the room anyway, so it's settled''

''Nikolas'' Lucky started but his brother interrupted him. ''Listen, you've been gone forever, and last time I heard about my father not being my father, we slept in the same room, I'd like that again. You are the only person who never lied to me, so I guess I need the same closeness we had that night in January.'' With a thankful smile, Lucky nodded his head slowly in agreement. ''I have to tell dad though'' Lucky added and walked to his father's room, and heard Stefan's last repartee.

''I don't see why you want to make this a public matter just yet. I have to say that my faith in Laura has been greatly diminish, and I don't think I want everyone to know how she played us again. There is also the matter of a baby I have to inquire about.'' Lucky saw his father's face change and he knew his father would ask the question even him was dying to know. ''A baby? What the hell are you talking about?''

''Laura was pregnant with my child when she left the Island. She thinks I don't know it, but I had counted on our child to bring her back to me and Nikolas. But she never did anyway, and I want to know what happened to the child''

At this moment, all dawn on Luke. When Laura told him she was pregnant, two months after she came back to him, how they thought she was having twins because she was unusually big for her time, how Luke went away to work for 8 weeks, thinking he still had two months before the baby was born and came back to find his son born a couple of days before, and how even then Lucky was big for a one week old baby, he was even able to hold his head, how he was eating cereal at a month old, had his first tooth at 2 months old, walking at 6, talking at 10, how everyone said he would be an extremely advanced child. Luke saw the door open and Lucky walk in, and, from the look on his face, Luke knew he heard what Stefan had said.

''What is going on here dad?'' Lucky asked as he stood next to Stefan at the end of the bed. Luke thought about how to best resume the situation, when he finally saw what his mind was trying to tell him since Stefan talked about a baby. He finally saw what his heart was refusing to know. But there was no denying it when you looked at them that way. Luke started to shake his head slowly, saying ''No, no, no'' Over and over again, while the two other men looked at each other confused. But then Stefan saw it, too. How could he have been so blind. Nikolas and Lesley Lu, both with black hair, while Lucky had blond hair most of his life, and even now they were light brown. He had the natural grace, the temper, and most of all, he had the Cassadines hard and definite facial traits.

''Oh God'' Stefan whispered as it all occurred to him slowly, what Laura did to both men she claimed to love. She gave Luke's son to Stefan, so she decided to give Stefan's son to Luke. Lucky was the baby she was pregnant with when she left the island.