''Okay, this is the second time that you have done this to me, Mrs. Lansburry! I know
that he is a busy man, but I doubt that he is already in a meeting, or deep in paperwork!''
''No, what I told you was that Mr. Cassadine was still sleeping!'' A very exasperated and
still half asleep Mrs. Lansburry answered. ''Mister Spencer,'' the old lady said with a
sigh, ''It's 5 in the morning!''
''Oh!'' Lucky exclaimed sheepishly. ''I thought that it was much later than that. I guess
that when you can't sleep, time goes by slower than usual. Do you mind if I sit in the
living room to wait?''
''Actually, yes, I do mind.'' The housekeeper answered stiffly. If Mrs. Cassadine knew
that Mr. Spencer kept asking for Stefan and that she let the boy see the man, all hell
would break loose.
''Mrs. Lansburry, would you mind telling me what is going on?'' Lucky heard Stefan say
from behind the door. ''I summoned you and there was no ans--- Hello, Lucky, what are
you doing here at this hour of the morning, is everything all right?'' Stefan asked at the
sight of his son, his forehead frowning with worry.
''I came to see you. I just didn't realize that it was so early,'' Lucky answered nervously.
He had wanted to talk to Stefan but now that he actually had the chance, he wasn't sure
it was quite the good idea he thought at first.
''Come in,'' Stefan said and Mrs. Lansburry didn't have any choice but to open the door
to the young man, knowing Helena would likely have a heart attack. Maybe that
wouldn't be such a bad thing, since Mrs. Lansburry would finally be free of her
blackmailing clutches. ''What is it that you need to talk to me about?'' Stefan asked
gently as he led his son to the kitchen. ''Lucky will have breakfast with me, Mrs.
Lansburry, thank you''
Lucky waited until the old woman was out of hearing range, and sighed. ''Look, I don't
know why I'm here,'' Lucky lied as he looked down at his shoes. ''Actually, I do know, I
just don't know how to say it.''
Stefan took a sip of the coffee that Mrs. Lansburry had just put in front of him and leaned back against the chair, crossing his legs slowly. He hadn't meant to sit at the head of the table, making Lucky sit on his right as if Stefan was somehow Lucky's superior. He should have asked Mrs. Lansburry to serve breakfast in his office, where it would have been less formal. It was too late now. ''Well, start at the beginning.'' Stefan said helpfully.
''Well,'' Lucky started nervously, ''there is no start. Not really. I just had some time to
think and I've realized that there's an apology that needs to be made. From me to you.''
Stefan stared at Lucky for a long time, trying to read the reason for his son's tortured
eyes. Something had happened between now and the last time he had seen Lucky, and
Stefan knew he had to be really careful in seeking a confession from the young man, for
Lucky would retract in himself again if he felt trapped. Still, in everything he thought Lucky would find reason in coming to see him, apologizing was never one of them.
''And what would be the reason for this apology?'' Stefan asked in a soft voice.
''When I realized that you were my father, I reacted violently and unfairly, acting as if
your fatherhood abilities were laughable or horrible. I acted as if having you as a father
was the worst thing that could ever happen to me. I didn't give you a chance to prove
yourself as either a poor, or a good, father. I'd like to give you that chance now, if you'd
let me''
''You only reacted according to your upbringing, Lucky,'' Stefan said, wanting to put his
son's mind at ease. ''Your father, well, the man who raised you had raised you to believe that all Cassadines were evil creatures. Bloodsuckers, I believe, is how he called us. I do not think less of you for believing the man you loved more than anything else. I would have been surprised had you reacted otherwise. I accept your apology, but I am curious to know what brought on this change of heart.''
How could Lucky tell him the truth, that his impending fatherhood, along with the need
for Stefan's help in neutralizing Luke in his quest were responsible for Lucky's apology?
''Nikolas did,'' Lucky said half truthfully. ''I know that you raised my brother. I know you
did a good job, and Nikolas adores you. I would like to discover why he loves you so
much. I want to know my father as my father, instead of seeing him as my former
family's enemy.''
''Is that all?'' Stefan decided to ask. ''You look like there's something else you'd like to
tell me.''
''Well, it's rather that I need advice on something on a friend's behalf, and I need a favor.''
''What favor would that be?'' Stefan asked, casually taking a sip of his coffee. He wanted to act as if he hadn't noticed the urgency in Lucky's voice. Stefan knew, if Lucky
thought he guessed how important this was to the young man, Lucky would probably
just retract inside himself as he always did when Stefan showed he knew too much.
''I need you to help me with Luke,'' Lucky answered as he passed a nervous hand
through his hair. ''I don't want him to know what happened between Helena and me, but
he won't stop searching until he does!''
''What difference would it make if he was to find out?'' Stefan asked slowly. ''I mean, if
worse comes to worse, he will kill Helena. Would that be so bad?''
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
''Hello, Ms. Davis,'' Roy said when he met with Alexis in the elevator going up to Luke's
room. ''How are you on this fine morning? Aren't you here a little early?''
Damn, Roy had forgotten that his stepsister and Luke were now involved. How was he
going to get past her Cassadine eyes to see his plan unfold? She was going to spill the
beans to Luke about him being Mikkos' adopted son, that he was sure of. But she
hadn't seen him in over 20 years, maybe she wouldn't realized he and Roslyi were the
same.
''Sonny isn't here now, so you can give up the pretense,'' Alexis said as she looked
directly in Roy's eyes. So much for her not remembering. ''What are you doing here so
early? Hiding?''
''Why would I be hiding, Natasha?'' Roy asked slyly as he smiled at her. ''I came here to
visit my good friend who is in the hospital.''
''Somehow, I doubt that,'' Alexis told him honestly. ''How is it that you haven't come once
since he's been in the hospital, but you come here the very next day after your teary
reunion with your mother dearest.''
''How do you know that I saw my mother?'' Roy asked suspiciously.
''I keep a close eye on her. I have men on her, Roy. She wants me dead, and I'm not
going to make it easy on her. But let me warn you, Roslyi Cassadine, that if you plan on
entering Helena's game about destroying Luke, I won't let you.''
''You have men on Helena, did you bug her yacht, too?'' Roy asked bitterly. He looked
at her right in the eye and said ''I am not here to hurt Luke. He is my friend. But tell me,
little Natasha, if you are fighting against my mother, where does your loyalty lie? You
are a Cassadine, too''
''My loyalty is to the Cassadines. She isn't one,'' Alexis pointed out. ''She is just a blood
thirsty bitch who's probably bored. And why should I be loyal to someone who's trying to
kill me, anyway? You do know that she will do the same to you, once you've served
your purpose, don't you?''
''What purpose, Natasha?'' Roy asked with a sigh. ''I'm nobody's pawn. I do what I
want, when I want. My mother's war with Luke is of no concern to me. It's never been
before, it won't be now. But Luke won't believe me if he knows I'm a Cassadine, so can
I count on you not to tell him?'' Roy asked her hopefully. Maybe not all was lost if she
thought he didn't want anything with Luke other than his friendship.
Alexis sighed as the elevator door opened. ''On one condition,'' she said, looking at him
seriously. ''If I have the littlest doubt that you are working with Helena, I'm spilling the
beans. I won't even ask you to explain yourself, I will simply tell him the truth and let him
deal with your betrayal. Luke has been through enough, I won't help you destroy him.''
''All right,'' Roy said, raising his hands to show his surrender. ''I have nothing to hide, so
I don't see why I should be nervous. Thank you, Alexis. Luke's friendship means the
world to me and it would never be the same if he came to know that I am Mikkos'
adopted son.''
Alexis looked at Luke greeting Roy into his room from the window next to the door, and
sadness filled her eyes. Roy was Luke's only friend, only real friend, and Roy was right,
Luke would never trust him again if he knew his relation to the hated Cassadine. With
her, it wasn't the same. They had been enemies and worked up to becoming friends,
and now they were lovers. She did love him. With every fiber in her soul, she loved her
father's enemy. But as she turned her back on her family to be with Luke, she had to
give Roy the benefit of the doubt. Luke didn't judge or withhold from her because of her
family, so she wouldn't do that to Roy. On her love for Luke, she would leave his best
friend alone.
And hope that she wasn't wrong.
''I don't care if Helena dies!'' Lucky lied gruffly. ''But Luke never succeed before, next time he tries, he might be the one ending up in the coffin!''
''I guess you are right,'' Stefan admitted reluctantly. ''With everything that has been going on, Luke might not be the best person to deal with Helena. He would not be objective enough. I will make sure that Luke is sent off track in his investigation. Does that suit you?''
''Yes!'' Lucky exclaimed gratefully. He just knew that another Helena/Luke confrontation would only result in having one of them killed and for purely selfish reasons, Lucky didn't want either of them dead.
''Now that this is settled,'' Stefan said, seeing that the torment in Lucky's eyes didn't ease at all after Stefan agreed to distract Luke. ''What is the advice your friend needs?''
Lucky nervously ran a hand over his face, knowing that he couldn't back out now. The only thing he hoped was that Stefan wouldn't guess who the friend was. ''Ok, the story is that a friend of mine had a one night stand with a woman he despised while he was drunk. The woman has other lovers but they are all crazy. She came to my friend because she is pregnant and she claims that he's the father. My friend is against abortion but the lady says that she'll get rid of the baby if my friend doesn't marry her.'' So far so good, Lucky couldn't help but think. As long as he didn't meet his father's eyes, he knew that he could pull it off. He just had to keep looking at the spoon in his coffee mug so that his father wouldn't read the truth in his eyes. ''My friend doesn't want the baby being raised by the woman alone, or worse, by her and one of her crazy lovers. He asked me what I would do, but since I have no idea, I decided to ask you.''
As Lucky talked, he was so concentrated on not meeting Stefan's eyes that he didn't see Stefan's face turn pale while his father's hands started trembling. As the silence grew thicker, Lucky couldn't bear it any longer and finally lifted his eyes to meet his father's, only to realize they were full of unshed tears.
''You can't possibly be considering giving into her demands, Lucky,'' Stefan said with a calm he wasn't feeling. Every fiber in him told him he was right when his guts said Lucky was talking about himself and Helena. A simple woman would not have put this amount of despair in the young man's eyes. ''Even she must know it would be illegal for you to marry her, it would be pure incest! It's amoral ad she is long passed the point of bearing children, anyway!''
''I don't know what you are talking about,'' Lucky said in a panicked voice, slowly looking around for the quickest way to flee, if need be.
''Helena. She made you believe that she is pregnant, didn't she?'' Stefan asked in a soothing whisper, reading the panic in the young man's eyes. Stefan realized that he was right. Any other woman would not have put Lucky through so much misery. Lucky would've simply said that he had gotten a woman pregnant and needed help to figure out what to do about it.
''NO!'' Lucky replied too quickly. ''Ok, yes, I'm talking about her,'' he then confessed when he saw his father's disapproving glance. Lucky realized how much he needed Stefan on his side. He couldn't go to Luke with this, but he needed someone to understand, someone to talk to, and what someone could be better than his own father? ''She is pregnant. I saw the ultrasound picture. I saw the proof. She was artificially inseminated. She said that she wanted a Spencer child but now that she realized I am not a Spencer, she wants to get rid of the baby!''
''Then let her!'' Stefan exclaimed, his hand coming down on the table forcefully. ''You will be doing this baby -if there even IS a baby- a favor by not letting her bring it into this world!''
Lucky's head snapped up at the sound, his hand nearly knocking his coffee mug over. ''Is that how you felt about me, about Nikolas?'' Lucky asked bitterly. ''How can you ask me to make it so that she will kill an innocent life? What if I don't marry her, but she gives birth to the baby anyway? Even if it isn't mine, how will I be able to live with myself knowing what she will be doing to it? She did it to you, she did it to me! I want to be there to prevent her from going into the child's room at night and do what she did to you, and me, and probably Nikolas, too! ''
''I protected Nikolas!'' Stefan growled, clearly indicating he was insulted by Lucky's insinuation that he had let Helena abuse Nikolas while he had bee only a few feet away. ''She was never given the chance to abuse him because he was never left alone!''
''Ok,'' Lucky allowed but countered, ''then tell me this. If you had had a doubt about Nikolas' paternity, or even if you had known right from the start that Nikolas wasn't yours, but someone gave you the chance wether or not to protect him from her, would you have turned your back on him and leave him at Helena's sick mercy, or would you still have raised him as your own?''
Stefan understood Lucky's dilemma, and he understood the young man's need to protect the child that might even not be his own from the same harm that both Lucky and Stefan had gone through, however, Stefan could not --would not-- let him marry the woman. Stefan loved him too much to leave him at Helena's mercy to protect a child that probably didn't even exist. Stefan would not let his son hold his head down in shame for the rest of his life.
''I still would not have married her, Lucky, and neither will you,'' Stefan finally said.
''You can't stop me,'' Lucky said defiantly. ''You may be my father, but you don't own me.''
''That is where you are wrong. She is your grandmother, my son, and I will make sure to get every one of your attempts at matrimony to fail by getting the marriage annulled!''
**~~**
Helena fingered the sonogram picture that Lucky had been holding earlier and smiled. She held it in one hand and traced the tiny features of the unborn child with one of her manicured fingernails.
''You're going to be my salvation, little one. You'll see. You're going to give me everything that I've always wanted.''
Helena smiled and made her way to one of the ornate couches in the room. She carefully sat down and glanced out of the nearest window, admiring the perfect blue sky.
''It's going to be so easy. It has already gone better than I could have dreamed of,'' Helena said softly to herself, smiling slightly still. ''Lucky Spencer's pride and sense of honor is strong still, even after all that Cesar has done to him. That is admirable in someone so young. Unfortunately, it will also be his downfall. He's so young and so innocent, which makes him perfect for what I need from him. What I'm already using him for. But he will only be useful for a short period of time. Once he puts a ring on my finger and gives my baby his last name, Lucky will no longer be useful, he will be a nuisance. Once the baby inside of my is recognized by law and the next Cassadine heir, I will no longer need Lucky, or Stefan. They should prove easy to eliminate, given the right circumstances. After all, accidents do happen. And then, no one will stand in my way.''
Helena leaned her head back on the couch and placed her right hand over her belly.
''Soon, little one, I will have everything that should have always been rightfully mine.''
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