"Is everyone alright?" Sonny asked, climbing to his feet. Liz and Carly
were also lying on the ground, both shaking from what happened.

"Lucky," Liz moaned as she rose to her feet. "Oh God, no!" she screamed and
flew through the front door.

Lying on the pavement, in a pool of blood was Lucky. Not too far from Lucky
was Johnny, though not hit as seriously.

"Oh God, no, no, no," Liz cried, taking Lucky's hand into hers. Liz's head
began to spin and she felt like she had been thrown into some sadistic
game. Just as she was about to have him back, to be whole again, he's
ripped from her grasp.

"Liz, honey," Carly whispered, kneeling down beside Liz and her cousin.
"Are you alright?"

"Lucky, no not Lucky," was all she was able to say, tears streaming down
her face.

"Lucky, Lucky, can you hear me?" Carly asked, trying to get a response from
him. But he lay motionless on the ground. "It'll be fine Liz, Sonny just
called 911, they'll be here in a second."

"I can't lose him again Carly, I can't."

"You won't, I promise," she whispered, making a promise she didn't know if
she could keep.
 
 

"Hey Em, what are you doing here?" Chris asked as he saw Emily walking
through the emergency room lobby.

"Oh, Juan and I were in his apartment in the kitchen . . ." Emily started
to blush as Chris gave her a joking smirk. "We were making dinner and he
cut himself chopping peppers, pretty bad, he's getting a couple of stitches
now. How are things on the Ramsey front?"

Chris shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "I wish I knew . . .but hey, I'm
cool with everything."

"It's Liz isn't it? Did she . . ."

"Not really, but it's inevitable, don't you think? I don't want to hold her
back so I've got to let her go I guess."

"Chris I'm so sorry for you, I know you love her . . .this is a very noble,
sweet thing you are doing."

"Then why do I keep getting the short end of the stick when it comes to
women?" Chris sighed.
 

Liz sat in the back of the ambulance as Frank Scanlon did all he could to
stop Lucky's bleeding on the way to the hospital. She held her eyes closed
tightly and tried her hardest not to let herself feel what was happening.

"Liz, are you alright? You weren't hit were you?" Frank asked.

"I'm fine . . .don't let Lucky die Frank, don't let him die," she begged,
the look of desperation in her eyes almost unnerving him.

"The doctors at GH will take good care of him, I promise," Frank smiled,
taking Liz's shaking hand into his own.
 

"Well Corinthos, what's going on?" Garcia barked at Sonny. The two men
stood face to face in front of the penthouse, the sidewalk stained with the
blood of an innocent man.

"Garcia, if you want to make your mark as Commissioner go find Tony Moreno,
cause he is responsible for this."

"Did you do anything to incite this?"

"No I didn't . . .if it's not too much trouble I'd like to join my wife at
GH to see how Lucky is doing?"

"Fine, but I want to question you and Morgan further in the morning,"
Garcia ordered.

"I'll be there once I get word on Lucky," Sonny nodded and jumped in his car.
 

Chris and Emily stood in the ER talking and laughing when the doors flung
open. Frank and the other paramedic rushed in, pushing a stretcher with them.

"Frank, what's up?" Chris asked, going into doctor mode.

"We've got a gun shot victim . . .three shots in the abdomen, there has
been quite a loss of blood," Franks stated.

"Ok, let's get to work, call Karen Wexler, she's up doing rounds, I want
her to assist on this-now!" Chris shouted, slipping on a pair of rubber
gloves as the paramedics pushed the stretcher into one of the ER rooms.
"Liz, what are you . . ." Chris gasped as he saw her stagger into the ER.

"Thank God . . ." she sighed at the sight of him. "You've got to save him,
I can't lose him Chris. Not again, not this way . . .please, save him!"

"Save him, who?" he asked bewildered. "The gunshot victim . . .it's Lucky?"

"Please, you're the best doctor I know, please," her voice was weak and
scared.

"Don't worry Liz, I won't let anything happen to Lucky, I promise."

"Chris what is it? I heard the page," Karen noted stepping off of the
elevator. "Hi Liz."

"I need your help, we've got a gunshot victim pretty bad," he whispered as
they walked hurriedly to the room where Lucky was being tended to. "It's
Lucky Spencer, we've got to save him."

"Well Chris, you are one hell of a doctor and so am I, we can do it," Karen
said confidently.

"I'm going to need you in there," he said shyly.
 

"Liz, oh no, that wasn't . . ." Emily gasped as she rushed to Liz's side.

Liz answered with a weak nod. "Em, this can't happen again," she cried and
at that moment her legs giving out, causing her to crash to the ground.

At the same moment Juan walked into the lobby, just in time to catch Liz.
"Whoa there, what's going on?" he whispered to Em.

"Lucky, he was shot, I don't know how or by who, but he's really bad,"
Emily explained as she and Juan walked Liz over to the row of chairs.

"Liz, honey, are you alright?" Juan asked kindly, all the while holding
Emily's hand for support. "Do you need anything, can I get you something?"

Liz just stared out in front of her blankly. Not thinking, not feeling,
shutting down just like she did after the fire. It was the only way she
knew how to deal with the pain, a pain she knew all too well.

"Sweetie, hey, Liz, it's me, Sonny," he whispered. He and Carly had finally
arrived and rushed to Liz's side. "Did anyone call Luke and Felecia?" Sonny
asked turning his attention to the others.

"Yeah, I did, we umm . . .they should be on their way," a shaking Emily
stammered.

"Come on, let's go to the cafeteria, I'm sure someone will let us know if
there is an update on Lucky," Juan suggested, helping Emily to her feet.
"Can we get anyone anything?"

"No, I'm fine, we're all fine," Carly noted, holding on to a trembling Liz.

"Corinthos, what is going on?" Luke yelled as he strode into the hospital.
Sonny motioned for Luke to join him in a more private area. "It's Lucky, he
was leaving the penthouse when a drive by happened and I . . ."

"First things first, how is Lucky?"

"He's got Ramsey and Karen Wexler and a bunch of other doctors working on
him, he'll be fine, I know it," Sonny said, looking into Luke's eyes.

"He better be, I just got my boy back . . .who was responsible, Moreno's
dead, so who?"

"His son, he's one sick bastard and if the PCPD doesn't pull him in
tonight, I swear I'm going to take him out. I have a family now Luke, I
can't let this happen," Sonny said bluntly.

"Do what you have to do Sonny," Luke mumbled, his eyes red and brimming
with tears as he walked over to his wife. He and Felecia made their way
over to where Liz was sitting.
Her eyes were staring off into space, Carly had been trying to get through
to her but there was no response. She was cutting herself off, off from the
pain and fear. Luke knelt in front of her, taking her oddly calm hand in his.

"Darlin' is there anything I can . . .what do you need?" he begged, but got
no answer.

Felecia stood up as she saw Nikolas enter the ER. "Felecia, what's . .
.what is going on? I saw Frank he said there was a shootout at the
penthouse is Liz . . ."

"She's fine, so is Emily, maybe you should sit down Nikolas," Felecia
noted, leading him to a seated. "Lucky was hit, I think he was mistaken for
Jason and . . ."

"How bad . . .he's not . . .where's my brother?" Nikolas stammered, barely
able to comprehend.

"He's in surgery now, they are doing everything they can to help him,
they'll save him."

"If he died thinking I hate him . . ."

"He won't die," Felecia said confidently.

Nikolas looked up, scanning the room to see who was there. His eyes fell on
Jason who had just walked in with V. Nikolas flew to his feet and ran
across the lobby, attacking Jason.

"Because of you! Because of you my brother may die, I can kill you for
this!" Nikolas screamed his hands around Jason's neck. "What do you and
your partner have to say for yourselves? I thought you were clean, you
swore you were clean. It could just have easily have been Liz or Emily,
Michael or Carly. Damn you, putting everyone in danger," Nikolas was
shouting as Taggert, who just arrived, tried pulling him off of Jason. "Let
go of me, he's getting what is coming to him! He's got my brother killed,
you killed my brother Morgan, you killed him!"

"Somebody get a doctor, get this man sedated!" Taggert ordered, trying his
best to hold and constrain Nikolas, but failing.
 

Chris stood over Lucky's body, working furiously to stop the bleeding and
find out what was hit. Karen was by his side, keeping an eye on his work.
"What the?" he muttered.

"What's wrong?" Karen whispered.

"Have you ever seen a spleen look like this," he pointed. "This has to be
removed."

"Let's do it," Karen smiled.

Chris took a deep breath, about to go back to work when the last three
years with Liz passed in front of his eyes. He had seen her happy, or at
least what happy had come to be for her. Deep down, Chris knew she would
only ever truly be happy with Lucky, and he had to accept it. He had to let
her go, let her be happy. And the first step was saving Lucky's life.

"Let's save this young man," Chris said steadily to the other doctors in
the room.
 

"Jason, honey, are you ok?" V whispered, as Jason was getting some stitches
in over his eye where he had a nasty gash from Nikolas's attack.

"Yeah, I'm fine . . .is Cassadine?"

"They sedated him, and put him in a room. I think the shock of having Lucky
back and this was too much for him to take, he'll be fine though."

"He's right," Jason noted glumly. "If it weren't for me and Sonny this
wouldn't have happened. We got so cocky V; everything was so quiet, so easy
for so long we didn't think twice. Why should we? We were clean, but Tony
Moreno didn't believe it, and he took his revenge out on us for a life we
once lived. If Lucky dies . . ."

"He won't," V tried, holding onto her husband's hand.

"But if he does, I'll never be able to face Luke or Liz again. If I'm
responsible for them losing him again," Jason said fighting back tears, as
V held him close for support.

"Don't go there Jason."
 

"Lucky, Lucky. Where's Lucky?" Liz whispered to Carly.

"Sweetie, what?"

"Where's Lucky?" she repeated.

"He's in surgery, they are doing everything in their power to save him.
Chris and Karen Wexler are two of the best doctors in Port Charles, if
anyone can save him it is them," Carly smiled, trying to give encouragement
to Liz.

"I can't lose him . . .he's got to come back to me. I have to tell him, I
have to tell him Carly," Liz muttered. At that moment Chris came into the
lobby.

Luke was the first one to his side as everyone gathered around to hear the
diagnosis. "So Ramsey, what is it?"

"He's alive. Fortunately none of the shots hit his chest, so the heart
wasn't damaged. Two shots hit his abdomen and one his left shoulder. The
shoulder was more superficial than anything, which was no problem to fix.
The two in his abdomen shredded his spleen so we had to remove it in order
to stop the bleeding . . ."

"Wait, doesn't he need his spleen?" Carly asked, all the while holding on
to a now shaking Liz.

"Well, not to live, it process some vitamins, but many people live healthy
normal lives without spleens, that's no worry. Lucky did lose a lot of
blood though, which was a concern. But thankfully his blood type is common
and we were able to start a transfusion right away."

"So he's fine now?" Felecia asked.

"Well, there was one other problem. After he was shot, Lucky must have
struck his head on cement or the wall or something, because he has pretty
bad concussion. He's still unconscious, though we are fairly certain, he'll
come out of it soon. Just to be safe though, we have Dr. Tony Jones running
some tests now. But hopefully he'll be awake by morning. All in all, Lucky
was very, well lucky."

"Thank you Chris," Luke smiled and shook the doctor's hand.

"Excuse me," he said, looking to Liz before leaving.

"See? I told you he'd be fine," Carly boasted, hugging Liz.

Liz's eyes suddenly came to life when the realization that she hadn't lost
Lucky hit her. "Thank you God, thank you," she whispered, looking up to the
ceiling. "I didn't lose him, we can be together. Oh God, Luke!" she called
out, running to his arms.

"He's still with us darlin', we still got him!"
 

Chris sat down on the couch in the On Call room, exhausted, when Karen
burst in. "Well there he is, the hero of the evening!"

"What?" he sighed.

"You, everyone in the ER is talking about what a superb job you just did?"

"It was basic Karen, very basic."

"No it wasn't, you have to stop being so modest. That was a very tricky
operation, lots of bleeding. You did one hell of a job," Karen
congratulated. She gave Chris a high five and then headed to the shower to
clean up for the evening.

"Yep I save a life to lose my love," he closed his eyes and curled up on
the couch. He now understood what Lucky mean when he said he had to leave.
There was no other choice, only one way, the right way. And if it meant
losing what he cherished most, that was how it had to be. Chris's head had
given up on Liz, but it would take so much more for his heart to give up.
 Chapter 11

"Oh God," Lucky moaned as he opened his eyes. "What the hell . . ."

"Lucky, you're awake," Felecia announced excitedly, jumping up from her seat.

"Felecia," Lucky squinted trying to get his eyes to adjust to lights.
"Where . . ."

"Don't say anything, I'll go get a doctor, don't move . . ."

"Wait," his voice was weak but urgent. "Elizabeth, she's . . ."

"Fine, everyone's fine," Felecia smiled before sprinting out of the room.
Lucky's hand slowly moved down to his abdomen, which was heavily bandaged,
and then to his left shoulder, which was also bandaged. He felt weak and
tired, and his body ached all over.

"Well, what a pleasant surprise," Karen noted as she walked into the room.

"Doctor?" Lucky winced in pain as he tried to adjust himself on the bed.

"Call me Karen . . .now, you had one heck of a night last night. Two
gunshots to the abdomen, one in the shoulder, we had to remove your spleen.
But all in all, with the exception of a tiny concussion you came through
the shooting miraculously well. But a lot of the credit must go to Dr.
Ramsey; he was a whiz in the ER last night . . ."

"Dr. Ramsey, Chris?" Lucky whispered. "He worked . . .he saved my life?"

"Yes . . .do you mind if I take a look at those wounds?" Karen asked,
walking over to the side of the bed.

"My dad? Is he around?"

"Yes, he and Felecia are right outside . . .this looks good, it should heal
really well . . ." she smiled, replacing the bandage over the wound. "You
had quite a lot of people keeping vigil over you last night."

"Who?"

"Other than your dad and Felecia? Let's see, Sonny and Carly spent a lot of
time here, as did Emily, Nikolas kept popping his head in . . ."

"Elizabeth . . .was she . . ." Lucky shook his head.

"She was here, spent almost the entire night by your side, she left about
twenty minutes ago to change her clothes. Lucky, would you like some pain
killers?"

"I would, yeah, I would love some," Lucky said with a small laugh.

"I'll be right back with it, I'll send your father in," Karen winked,
patting his hand. "You're one tough kid."

"I'm no longer a kid," Lucky noted.

"That's right," she smiled and then left the room. A moment later Luke
strode in, his eyes puffy and tired from a night of crying and worrying.

"Hey cowboy, you survived this one . . .no more scares OK?" Luke joked,
pulling up a seat along side the bed.

"Who was it? I couldn't be . . .it had to do with Sonny and Jason right?
This wasn't . . ."
Lucky said nervously.

"Yes son, Sonny thinks it was Moreno Jr., he's going to take care of
everything if the cops don't."

"Thank God, cause if this were Faison . . .what would I have to do kill
this guy," Lucky smiled, trying to make a joke.

"Son, I have to apologize," Luke's face dropped as he took his son's hand
in his.

"Apologize, for what?"

"I should have known that it wasn't real, I should have known it was a
set-up. Christ, I was doing business with Faison for so long and . . ."

"Dad, don't, don't do this to yourself. What's passed, it's passed. I can't
change what happened to mom, and you can't change what happened to me. It
stinks but we've got to learn to live with our lives as they are. I've
learned that."

"How'd you get so wise?"

"I lived on a ranch by myself for nine years. One tends to get old fast in
that situation," Lucky forced a smile, though a grimace spread across his
face. "Where is Karen with those pain pills?"
 
 

"Chris, are you home?" Liz asked, banging on the door to his condo. "I know
you had a long night but we have to . . ." Liz yelled but was cut off when
he opened the door. " . . .talk."

"Morning, I was actually in the shower," Chris smiled, proving where he'd
been by shaking his wet head at Liz.

"Funny guy," she laughed, playfully hitting him on the arm.

"Any word on Lucky?"

"Yeah, he woke, Felecia just called me."

"So, why aren't you over at the hospital celebrating?" Chris asked as the
two sat down on the couch.

"I had to see you first," she said, her smile fading. "Chris, I don't know
how to say this . . ."

"Don't, don't say it. I understand, I really do. It's become a pattern in
my life I think, I'm good enough for the best friend but not quite anything
else. I think I'm going to get that put on my locker at work 'best friend
only'," Chris said, attempting a joke. "But seriously, don't sweat it. What
you and Lucky had, have, I can't replace that, I can't even attempt to
challenge it. So let's not look at this as you breaking up with me, OK?
It's me walking away, letting you go . . .besides, I come out all noble and
sweet which has got to be worth something," Chris smiled, getting a small
laugh from Liz.

"I'm so sorry, I really do love you. But I'm not in love with you. Promise
me we'll stay friends, I value our friendship."

"I'm not going anywhere, and unless you plan on taking off we'll still be
in the same town. And between you and me, living in the same place is a big
plus on the side of staying friends."

"Promise me Chris. I'm not telling you to not be hurt, just promise me we
can still catch a movie or get coffee just for the heck of it," Liz ordered
with a stern smile.

"I promise Captain Webber," Chris laughed, saluting her. "Do you need a
ride to the hospital?"

"Actually, I'd love one. My car's in the shop and I don't feel like calling
another cab."

"Great, let me go put on a tie and we'll be off . . ." Chris stopped short
of his bedroom and turned around. "See, still friends."

"Still friends," she repeated with a smile.

Once inside his bedroom Chris took a deep breath, gathering the courage of
what lay ahead. To be "just friends" with the woman he loved was going to
be difficult, but he had to do it.
 
 

Lucky's eyes had just closed and he was about to fall asleep when he heard
a gentle knocking at his hospital room door.

"Lucky, may I come in?" Les asked from the doorway.

"Lulu? Of course, please come in," Lucky said happily, motioning her in the
room. "Come here little sister."

"Please call me Les, and I'm not that little anymore," she laughed, giving
him a soft hug.

"Look kiddo, I'm your big brother, I can call you anything I like," Lucky
teased. "Also, I'm sorry about not telling you who I was when we met at the
hotel."

"That's alright, I understand that dad and Liz had to be the first to know.
Let me ask you, did you know who I was right away?"

"Yeah," Lucky shook his head, smiling at his little sister. She was so
grown up now, a teenager, he couldn't get over it. She looked just like
their mother but with jet-black hair. "I could spot a Spencer a mile away.
So, how are you doing? You seem to get along with Felecia's girls really
well, which is great."

"Georgie and I are best friends, and Maxie's cool, if not sometimes weird,"
Les rolled her eyes, emphasizing the word "weird" in the exact same way
Lucky did when he was young.

"Tell me, do you have a boyfriend?" Lucky questioned, dying to know
everything he could about his sister.

"No, for some reason dad and mom won't let us . . ."

"Wait, you call Felecia mom?" he asked, a bit taken back by Les calling her
that.

"Does it bother you? I know who my mother is, I still love her so much and
I miss her still. But I also love Felecia and she's been there for me, for
a long time. Even though she and dad are only married five years, she's
been a big part of my life, it's just easier . . ."

"Calm down Les, I think it's cool that you call her mom. I think our
mother, I'm sure she'd be happy about it," Lucky smiled. "Now come here and
give me another hug."

"Are you sure it doesn't hurt you?"

"Nah, Dr. Wexler's got me on some very good pain killers," Lucky joked as
brother and sister hugged.

"Got room for one more in there?" Nikolas asked, appearing in the doorway.
Lucky looked up to his brother, unsure of what to make of the visit.
 
 
 

Liz hurried into the hospital but was stopped by Carly. "What are you
doing? I have to go see Lucky," she laughed as Carly pulled her over to the
chairs. "Carly, what's wrong, you look . . . what happened, something with
Lucky?" she asked, panic in her voice.

"No, Lucky's fine, Les is with him now. It's Sonny, Liz I think he is going
to take the law into his hands. V and I begged Jason and Sonny to let the
cops handle it, we tried so hard, but they, Liz they want revenge on this
guy for what he did to Lucky," Carly explained, breaking down in tears.

"They are going to be fine Carly. I know they will, they are smart. Sonny
and Jason would never do anything to put you or V or Michael in danger."

"It's not me I'm worried about, I don't want to lose Sonny. I knew this day
would come, when they'd be sucked back in . . ." she shook her head, wiping
tears from her eyes.

"Hey stop it, everything is going to be fine. One of these days, you and
Sonny, V and Jason, me and Lucky, we'll have a big dinner and talk about
the old days. You remember when you were in love with Jason, when I was a
snot and a brat, when V followed Jax to tiger Key. We'll replay those tired
old stories a few more times, and we'll have a great time. So don't worry,
everything will work out, I promise you," Liz smiled, trying to return the
strength that Carly had given her the night before.

"What did I ever do to deserve a friend like you?"

"Probably the same thing I did," Liz laughed. The two women were actually
very much alike. They both had fierce tempers and yet loved very deeply.
They knew how to handle themselves in tough spots, and neither was adverse
to the occasional scheme. "Now, if you need to talk anymore I'm always
here. But right now I've got to see Lucky."

"Oh I'm sorry Liz, you've got to reunite with Lucky, go, get out of here.
I'll be fine, I'll go find V and we'll complain about our husbands
together," Carly said with a laugh.
 
 

"Nikolas, come in," Les motioned to her other brother. "I was just about to
go and I think Lucky could use another visitor, bye," she said hurriedly,
running out of the room leaving the two men alone.

"She's just like our mother," Lucky laughed.

"Lucky I'm sorry," Nikolas blurted out to a shocked Lucky.

"Sorry for what?"

"For saying you had another choice. I was just . . . I've missed having a
brother. You were taken away from right when we were getting to be brothers
and . . .can you forgive me?"

Lucky paused for a moment and glared up at his brother.

"Lucky really, I'm sorry, I know it must be awful to feel responsible for .
. ." before he could finish Lucky burst out laughing, so much so that he
winced in pain. "What? What's so funny?"

"You, you're still so damn stiff and uptight. You need to loosen up, once I
get out of this hospital, that's what I'm going to do," Lucky said
extending his hand to Nikolas. The brothers shook hands, looking to start
over again.

"Am I interrupting?" a woman's voice asked. Lucky looked to the door and
began to smile.

"No come in," he said waving her in.

"Hi Chloe," Nikolas smiled. "And this must be, JJ right?"

"Yes, little Jasper Jr. When I heard Lucky was in here . . ."

"Wait, how do you two know each other?" Nikolas asked.

"I met her the night of the party, I was wearing her clothes," Lucky joked,
getting the desired shocked look from Nikolas.

"He was wearing one of my designs. Anyway, Jax and I thought maybe you'd
like to meet JJ considering we've both talked your ear off about him."

"Sure, look at him, looks just like his mom," Lucky smiled. "Good thing.
Hey there JJ, don't be too much trouble for your folks, OK? Here you go,"
he said handing the baby back to Chloe.

"I've got to go, but it was nice seeing you again Lucky," Chloe nodded.
"Get well, Jax and I'd love to have you over for dinner."

"Thanks," Lucky noted, waving goodbye.

"I've got to head out too, I'll talk to you later little brother," Nikolas
joked, rushing out of the room.

Lucky leaned back on the bed, trying to ignore the shooting pain in his
abdomen when he heard someone walk in the room. He opened one of his eyes
and hoped it was just a nurse with more painkillers. It wasn't.

"I thought they'd never leave," Liz smiled.

"Elizabeth, I'm glad you're here."

"Good, I have to tell you something and . . ."

"Wait, I've got to tell you something too and it can't wait," Lucky
swallowed hard and motioned for her to sit down.

"Lucky, what is it? You look worried," she said nervously, looking into his
warm eyes.

"It's us. Elizabeth I don't know how to say this . . ." he closed his eyes
tightly, not wanting to look her in the eye when he did this.

"Lucky, you can tell me anything . . .what is it?" she asked softly, wiping
a strand of hair from his forehead.

Lucky took a deep breath, trying to gain the courage for what he thought
was right. "Elizabeth, I don't . . .this is so much harder . . . I'm
letting you go."

"Go, go where Lucky?" Liz laughed nervously.

"I've got to release you, I've got to let you live your life. I have no
right doing what I've done. Elizabeth, I need you to tell me you
understand," Lucky's voice cracked with emotion as he fought tears.

Liz looked him directly in the eye, trying to understand how he could be
doing this. "You are letting me go? So you are putting an end to us, Lucky
why? How, we are just getting our second chance. Explain this to me," Liz
pleaded, trying to grasp why he'd do something like this. "Tell me why
Lucky, tell me why I'm supposed to walk away from you now. Tell me!"
 
 
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