CHAPTER 5

-Montreal. I went there last January, and I don't think Helena will look of us in a big, french city. Answered Lucky

-Great, I've always wanted to visit Cannada,

-Well, it's just a small part of it, reeally, said Lucky, with a smile

-I know silly!"

Jeremy was sitting in the back, laughing. But the truth was, he couldn't wait to go to sleep. He was really tired, but he wanted to listen to everything his "parents" had to say. They finally rented a room in a motel, in the middle of the city.

"-J'peux-tu vous aider? The guy at the desk said

-Do you speak English? Asked Lucky

-I said, can I help you? Said the guy with a really big french accent

-Oh thanks. Well, I'm Vincent Cappadorra and this is my wife and my son. Could we have a room?

-Sure, file this form. Room 207"

Elizabeth went to the room with Jeremy, and Lucky took their bags in. Once again, Jeremy took a bed and the "adults" took the other one. Jeremy still could not believe his luck. For the second night in a row, he would sleep in a bed, his stomach full. Lucky told him a story, and the boy's eyes closed nearly at the beginning. Elizabeth took a shower, and kissed Lucky goodnight. They were all exhausted from their one day trip. Lucky was sleeping even before his head hit the pillow.

He was awaken in the middle of the night by screams of terror. He woke up and turned to Elizabeth, thinking she was having a nightmare again, but it was Jeremy, screaming at the top of his lugs, fighting with something only he could see. Lucky jumped out of his bed and sat on the boy's, took both his arms in his hands, and called for the boy.

"-Jeremy? Wake up, it's dad. JEREMY? Cowboy, wake up, come on"

Finally, the boy opened his eyes, his cheeks were full on tears, his hair was all wet. He stopped screaming when he saw Lucky, and he slowly calmed down, his poor little chest going up and down real fast. Lucky could see he had trouble swallowing, and Elizabeth ran in the bathroom to fill a glass of water. Jeremy sat on his bed and drank the water real fast. Lucky was slowly passing a hand on the side of the boy's face.

"-Are you OK? He asked, and Jeremy nodded, still drinking. That must have been some dream huh?

-Yeah, said Jeremy, still catching his breath

-Wanna talk about it?

-There's nothing to tell. The guy at LLeann's store found us. That's all. I was scared.

-Oh baby, said Elizabeth

-Cowboy, I will not let anything happenn to you. I swear. Are you OK?

-Yeah, thanks. It's good to wake up wiith concerned adults for a change, Jeremy said with a smile.

-Do you want to go back to sleep? Wantt us to leave the light open?

-That's OK, I know you are here

-Good night

-Night"

Lucky kissed his forehead and got up, to tuck him in. Elizabeth kissed the boy too, and went to bed. Lucky was about to lie down when he heard;

"-Dad?

-Yeah?

-Would I be a baby if I asked to sleep with you guys?

-Of course not, he said, after looking at Elizabeth. Hop in"

Jeremy got out of his bed, and jumped in theirs. He snuggled between Liz and Lucky, and smiled at them both. Lucky gave him a kiss and told him to give it to Elizabeth, and the boy was happy to oblige. Elizabeth did the same, and Jeremy gave it to Lucky. Lucky was on his side, his hand holding Elizabeth's, both their arms resting on Jeremy's waist. The boy was asleep in no time, so was his "parents".

Elizabeth was out, shopping for lighter clothes, the weather in Montreal was a little warmer than in Port Charles, and they needed jackets, instead of winter coats. When she came back, after getting lost at least three times, she found Jeremy, sitting on Lucky's lap, looking at sheets of paper.

"-Hey there beautiful, did you ruin us? Asked Lucky

-NO! Said Elizabeth, laughing. Jeremyy, come here sweetie, I want to be sure the coat is big enough for you"

Jeremy tried it on and it fitted perfectly. Lucky whistled at Jeremy, saying he looked sharp in his brand new Football coat. Jeremy went back on Lucky's lap, after he said thank you and kissed Elizabeth, and she heard him recite the alphabet.

She couldn't believe it. Lucky was teaching Jeremy how to read. Elizabeth's eyes filled up with water, though she didn't know why. It was so sweet. Lucky was nearly whispering, every time Jeremy missed a letter. He was patient with him, encouraging the boy when he got it, made him start over when he made a mistake.

"-You'll know how to read in no time, Lucky was saying

-I hope so, but I think I'm too dumb! Replied Jeremy

-Hey don't say that about my son. It ttakes the whole first grade to learn how to read, and I guarantee, it will take you less than a month! Because you my boy, are smart.

-No, it's because I have a great teacheer"

Elizabeth packed their stuff and they were on their way. They wanted to find a little apartment, one they could rent on a monthly basis, but they didn't want a one room apartment, like they had at the little town where they found Jeremy. They wanted the boy to have his own room, with his own bed. They found one in Anjou, a little residential suburb. It was in the basement of a home, and their Landlords were a couple of old people, and they adopted Jeremy right away. They even told "Vincent and Sarah" that if they needed a babysitter while they went out on the town, they would do it, free of charge. The couple didn't have any grandchildren, and Jeremy was happy with the attention he was getting.

When the couple asked why Jeremy wasn't in school, Lucky told them that the boy had been really, really sick and that he just got out of the hospital a couple of weeks ago, so that he couldn't enter school at the same time the other kids did, but as soon as he would be caught up with the 2nd graders, he would enter. Millie, the woman, told Lucky that she was a retired teacher, and that she could help with his education sometimes. Lucky was overwhelmed. He knew, when you are on the run, you had to mix with the others as less as you possibly could, but how could he resist Millie and George? They were both so sweet, so eager to help those two teenagers, alone to raise a boy. Lucky told Millie that "Sarah" was 20, and that he was 21, that they had Jeremy really young. Their families helped them a lot, but they were both tired of being told what to do with their own son, so they left. Millie understood what he wanted to tell her and she butt out.

Elizabeth took a job at the corner supermarket, and Lucky was doing some computer work for the guy next door. He was the owner of a company, and needed someone to set up his computer and make it run, and he gave the job to his next door neighbor, the young Vincent. Daniel, who was very found of his three new neighbors, even invited them over for Easter diner, but Lucky had other plans. It would be their first holiday as a family, and he wanted to be only with his "son" and his "wife". Also, he wanted his neighbor to understand they weren't there to socialize with anyone, but to live their lives. Jeremy was making real progress with his school work and, like Lucky had told him, he was able to read in no time. The boy was proud to finally be able to do something good. Lucky was already buying older stuff, like third grade books. Jeremy wanted to go to school, but Lucky told him it was too late for that year, it was almost over, but he promised the boy he could go next year, in September. Sometimes, Jeremy was going to play with the little boy two houses down the street, but he was always staying outside, watching for the signal to come home quick. Lucky had bought some fireworks, and, if Jeremy saw some going up, it meant that they had to leave and to come home as fast as he could.

They also had a hiding place, in case they were separate and they needed to leave. It was an abandoned store, 3 streets north from their home. If, for some reason, Jeremy didn't see the fireworks and he got home to see their stuff was gone, he had to run to the store, get in by the hole Lucky made out of sight, and wait there until Lucky and Liz could come back to get him. It was the same for Elizabeth. If she came home from work and saw they were gone, she had to go immediately to the store and wait there, out of sight. They had hidden some food and blankets, in case it took them a day or two to be able to go back to get the missing part of their trio. Lucky always hoped they wouldn't have to be separated, but, with Helena, you never knew.

Even though they were in Montreal for nearly two months now, Lucky was sensing they would have to leave soon. His inner radar was telling him Helena's men were closing in on them, and he kept Jeremy home with him most of the time. All their clothes were always in the bags, ready to go. As soon as the clothes were washed, Elizabeth would put them back in the luggage. The same thing was for their other personal stuff. Lucky wanted to be ready for a move, any move.

"-Hey there old man,

-Ok, did you get the paper?

-No I didn't. What's the headline?

-One player was injured during a practiice.

-One of our team?

-No, the guard from the other team. Hee's gonna be out of the game for a while, broken leg I think.

-Does our coach knows the game plan?

> -Yes, it says here that the coach underrstood the diversion created. Everything is fine in the team

-OK, well, the team will move again, ouut of town game

-OK, where do I take my bets?

-Koala team. They will win again

-No problem."

Lucky hung the phone, and took a deep breath. When Luke told him one player was hurt, he thought it was Lulu, but it was Helena's man. Luke told him that Audrey was good, and that she understood. He would have to tell Elizabeth when she got home from work. The girl was always worrying about her grandmother. For once, Lucky would be able to tell her everything was fine. He also told Luke they would be going south again. They would leave possibly in a week or so.