Lucky stood in the dark at the window in Sonny's penthouse staring out at the rain. It had started to rain just after Luke and Laura had arrived at the penthouse, a fierce rain with thunder and lightning and high winds that gave no indication of letting up any time soon. He couldn't help but feel that this was a bad omen, a portent of something terrible to come. And he knew that whatever it was he would be responsible for it.
The events and emotions of the past day were still fresh in his mind. There was the joy of seeing his parents and Lulu again after two years. He thought of Lulu then. She had been five when he left and she was nearly eight now. He was amazed that she still remembered him, even though Elizabeth had told him that she still talked about him every day. In fact she had cried out his name and run to him as soon as she had seen him enter the living room. He had caught her in his arms and picked her up, holding her close to him, overcome with the emotional impact of seeing her and realizing how much he had missed. He thought of that as he stared at the rain, and his heart felt heavy with the fear he felt for her now.
And there were his parents. He had seen Luke first, had seen that first look of shock, then amazement as he had whispered his name, "Lucky?" Luke had stood back, watching as Lulu ran to him. Lucky watched Luke intently, as everything unfolded, not sure where he stood with him. Things had not been good between them for a long time before he left, and although they had been on good terms the last time he had seen him, he knew there were still unresolved issues between them. But none of those things seemed to matter to Lucky now. He just wanted to be home with his family and Elizabeth and feel safe again.
He wondered if that were really possible. Faison was such an evil force, and a man with no conscience; he wondered if they would ever be free of him. He thought of Laura, and the things Elizabeth had told him about her problems after he was kidnapped. She had told him of the nervous breakdown she had a month or so after he was gone, and of her long, slow battle back to sanity and back to Luke and of the pain she still dealt with daily because Lucky was gone. He thought of these things as he put Lulu down and turned to his mother. There were tears streaming down her face as he reached out his arms to her and pulled her close, holding her for a long time, just letting her cry. He looked at Luke and saw the tears in his eyes as he nodded slightly to Lucky, a wistful, but sad, smile on his face.
Lucky was rocked by the realization that he still could tell what Luke was thinking, that after all the time that had passed, they still had that connection, that strange sense of always knowing what the other was thinking. He knew that Luke's nod was a nod of approval that he had returned to face whatever demons lay ahead. And he knew the wistful, sad smile meant that he was resigned to the fact that they were all in danger now and that life would never be the same for any of them again.
Laura held onto him for a long time, looking into his eyes, wiping the tears from his face. He said to her, softly, "It's okay, Mom. I don't want you to cry. I'm home to stay." It had always hurt him to see his mother cry, and he had witnessed it so many times growing up. Seeing her cry had always made him cry, too. Her emotions were always so raw, and he could not help but feel her pain each time she cried. But this time he knew they were tears of joy.
Finally she pulled away from him and said, "This is the happiest day of my life, Lucky. I've prayed for this every day since you've been gone."
He smiled, "So have I. I've missed you so much."
Laura kissed him on the cheek and pulled away from him then and turned to Luke, stepping aside as she did. Lucky looked at Luke and the look that passed between them spoke volumes. There were so many unspoken understandings of love, and happiness and fear of the danger lurking.
Finally Luke spoke, in barely a whisper, as he put his hand over his heart, "Son, you've come home to us?"
Lucky nodded. "I have to know; are we okay, Dad?"
Luke smiled, "We've never not been okay, don't you know that?"
Lucky felt the tears starting again, and did nothing to stop them from spilling down his face. He went to Luke then and they embraced, holding onto each other for a long minute. When Luke pulled away he put his hands on either side of Lucky's face. "It is damn good to have you back here. He was smiling, as he turned to Sonny, "I think this calls for a celebration, don't you, partner?"
Sonny had fixed a feast for all of them and they celebrated Lucky's return. After they ate, they sat in the living room, Elizabeth on one side of Lucky on the couch and Laura on the other. She held onto his hand as if she were afraid if she let go he would vanish again. Lulu was lying on the other couch with her head in Luke's lap, sleeping.
Lucky began to tell them of his ordeal during the past two years. He told them everything he had already told Sonny and Elizabeth.
"Dad, it was Faison who took me."
Luke looked shocked. "But he died in the explosion with Anna and Robert."
"That's what he wanted you to think. He's very much alive. He's been tormenting me for two years, over some ridiculous vendetta against you. He was always threatening me, but never seemed to follow through on the threats. I gained my freedom by making him think he had been successful at brainwashing me. But of course, I'm not free of him. The price of my freedom was to never see any of you again."
Luke was having a hard time believing Faison was still alive, and was the one responsible for putting his family through two years of hell.
"You know, Dad, there is one other thing that I just thought of. It was right after he took me that he told me you knew him as someone else. That you still thought he was dead. I was never sure if he was telling me the truth or not."
"Who did he say I knew him as?"
"He never gave me the name; just that he sold you those little cigars you used to smoke."
He saw the look of realization and horror wash over Luke's face, "Krieg. My God, Sonny, it's Herr Krieg. He's had Lucky all along."
Sonny finally spoke, "This is great news, Lucky. This will make it easier to find him. He's been here in Port Charles for over a year." "Dammit, I should have known. I should have been able to tell."
"Dad, how could you have known?"
Luke just shook his head. "All I can say is he had better be watching his back. When I get my hands on him, there will be nothing left of him."
Lulu had awakened then and they said their good-byes soon after. Luke, Sonny and Lucky made plans to meet with Jason the next day to plan their strategy on finding Faison. For now, Lucky would not contact him, and Sonny would do everything in his power to protect them.
Elizabeth came up behind Lucky and put her arms around him. He turned enough to put one arm around her waist and his other hand in her hair as he laid her head against his shoulder. "It doesn't look like this storm will end anytime soon."
"I know. Lucky, let's go upstairs."
"You're staying?"
"I don't plan on leaving you for a minute, Lucky."
He looked down at her, kissed her softly on the lips and said, "I'm so afraid for them, Elizabeth. I'm afraid for all of us."
From the street corner a man in an overcoat carrying a large umbrella watched the window as the two figures come together in an embrace. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number. "It is as you suspected. He is with the Webber girl and the Spencers were here earlier. Yes, that is good; let them have their fantasy of believing they are free for now. I will keep you informed." He then hung up the phone and turned his back to the window, and walked away.