Alexis sat down on the bench, thankful that the ground was under her feet. She felt as if she had left her stomach on the roller coaster and she figured she should have Ned go get it.

Ned walked over just then, with a cheeseburger and fries platter. "You hungry?" He noticed that Alexis looked as if she were about to heave. He smiled at her as he handed her the ginger ale he was drinking. "Don't worry, it'll pass...it's called 'upside-down-itis', happens when you're turned upside down..."

"Thank you, Dr. Ashton." Alexis said sarcastically. "I'll be alright in a minute." She eyed his food. "How could you eat after coming off of that thing?"

Ned chomped down on his burger. "Well, I would eat 'on' the ride, but they don't allow it." He hands the burger to her again. "You sure you don't want any..."

"Uggh...get that thing away from me!" She sips on the ginger ale. "Okay, what next?"

Ned looked surprised. "You mean, you're not ready to leave this madness?"

Alexis lifted her chin. "I may be a 'punk' when it comes to roller coasters, but I can handle everything else around here." She looked around as she heard singing. She saw a stage and a group of people sitting around. "Hey, Ned - they're singing over there." She points in the direction of the music.

Ned looks over. "Hey, must be a karaoke thing or something."

Alexis looks at Ned, who is trying to ignore the music. "You wanna go over there and try it, don't you?"

Ned shrugs. "Nah, not really..."

"Ned..."

Ned looks at her. "You know me better than that, don't you?" He tosses the rest of his food in the trash. "Come on, let's go!" He grabs Alexis' hand and they race towards the crowd.

~~~~~~~~~

Just as Ned and Alexis got to the area, the mike was free. Ned motioned to the host and he gave him the go ahead. Ned jumped on stage and began to sing an old Elvis tune. The crowd cheered and Ned gleamed. Alexis noticed that Ned was happy on stage, performing for the crowd. She stood there and wondered if 'Eddie Maine' were a thing of the past after all...

Not too far, on the same side of the park...

She stands there, cleaning cotton candy off the bottom of her daughter's shoes. Also out of her hair, off her clothes, her face.

"Ugh, this stuff is so disgusting, I don't even know why I let you eat this junk!" She stopped as she heard the old familiar Elvis tune. She started bobbing her head to the music, noting that the singer was pretty good.

She stopped suddenly, in mid cotton candy crisis, as the singer went on in a melodious tune. Then she realized why the voice sounded so good...and so familiar.

"Nedly?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ned had the crowd cheering by the end of the song. The were chanting 'more, more!' when he handed the mike back to the host. He jumped down from the platform and Alexis wrapped her arms around him and planted a kiss on his lips, happy to let the crowd know that he was hers.

"You were great!" Alexis said, beaming.

Ned smiled down at her, all dimples. "Thanks...it felt great to..."

Ned stopped dead in mid-sentence as he looked past Alexis' shoulder. Alexis noticed that he was no longer looking in her eyes and she turned around to see what had caught his attention.

There she stood, Lois, with Brooke Lynn in her arms. She looked at Ned with, Ned wasn't sure what she was looking at him with. Disgust, contempt, love, anger..."

"So," Lois walks over to the two of them. "Came out to Brooklyn to get the first spring ride on the Cyclone?" She looked Alexis up and down. "I'm assuming if YOU involve yourself in those kind of primitive amusements?"

Alexis, not knowing what to say, replied. "Well, I did, as a matter of fact. I believe that's why they call this place an 'amusement park'? She hadn't realized that she sounded short.

Ned decided to speak up. "Lois, hi, how are you?" He looks at Brooke Lynn, who was looking more and more like him every time he saw her. "Hey, honey...how's Daddy's little girl?" Ned reached out and took her from Lois' arms.

Lois thought to fight him on it but figured what would be the point. She handed her daughter over to Ned, who took her and planted a deep kiss on her cheek. He then looked at Lois and leaned over to kiss her cheek. Lois stopped herself from withdrawing her face from his lips. She smiled weakly as she looked in Ned's eyes. She hated the way that she still loved him more than anything in the world. Apparently he wasn't letting her hold him back, she thought to her self as she looked at Alexis standing there, looking uncomfortable.

Alexis hoped that she didn't look as nervous as she felt. She looked from Lois to Ned, focusing on Ned. "Ah, Ned...I'll give you two some time alone." She looked at Lois but figured a smile wouldn't be appropriate. She walked off to leave the two of them alone.

Ned turned back to Lois as Alexis walked off. "Well, Brooke is definitely getting bigger every time..."

"So, Ned...she's allowed outside the Cassadine quarters now?" Lois was trying to keep her cool, but she was failing miserably.

"Lois..."

"Don't 'Lois' me, Ned!" Lois' fire blue eyes shot daggers in the direction of Alexis.

Ned looked at her sternly. "Not in front of Brooke Lynn"

Lois looked at her baby's face, so angelic...innocent. She hated that Brooke was in the middle of all this. "Okay, okay...but only for her sake."

Alexis watched from afar as Ned and Lois tried to have a civil conversation. She could see that there was ore to this marriage - ended or not - that Ned, and Lois for that matter, weren't letting on about.

~~~~~~~~

Ned and Alexis got back to the Hotel in Manhattan. Alexis was extremely quiet and Ned knew immediately what it was about.

"Alexis, I'm sorry...I had no idea you would have to go through this." Ned explained as he walked up behind her.

Alexis stared out the window, trying to figure out how she was going to say what she had to say. "Ned...I have an idea." She walks away and goes over to her suitcase. She starts packing all of her belongings.

Ned walked over to her. "What are you doing?"

Alexis looked up at him. "I'm going home, Ned. Back to Port Charles...if I can call that home, that is." She reached for something on the nightstand table, Ned grabbed her wrist.

"Alexis, why? Why are you..."

"Because, Ned, there are issues that you and Lois need to clear up, and I mean right now." She looked down at his grip on her wrist. "Do you mind?" He let go of her, she rubbed her wrist where his hand had been. "I'm sorry, Ned, but there is more to this situation than just 'let's go our separate ways'..."

"What?" Ned asks.

Alexis looked at him incredulously. "What? What...Ned, you have a daughter that you must see on the average of twice a year. Your wife, believe it or not, is still in love with you..."

"Oh, that's nonsense!" Ned said.

Alexis raised her eyebrows. "Oh really? Ned, I'm a woman, I saw the way she still looks at you. She is as in love with you as she probably was the first day she laid eyes on you...and the scary part about this all is, you may still be in love with her too for all I know." She closed her suitcase and locked it. "Nonetheless, I will be returning to Port Charles. I suggest you stay for the remainder of our stay here, call Lois and you two straighten things out between you." She walks over to the door, turning back to Ned to see a look of total despair on his face.

Alexis put down her suitcase and walked back over to Ned. She took his face in her hands and kissed him lightly on the lips. "You can't run away...not from this. Remember when I told you there were some things you just couldn't handle...well, this isn't one of them." She turns and, grabbing her suitcase, walks out the door, closing it gently behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

lucky visits Carly and Michael at the Penthouse. This time he decided to come without Emily. There was something he wanted to discuss with Carly.

Carly runs to the door at Reynaldo's knock. She swings open the door to see Lucky standing there.

"Hey, Lucky!" Her face was beaming at the sight of her cousin. She steps aside to let him in.

Lucky walks in, nervously. "Hey, Carly." He still felt a little uncomfortable, being here with Carly, but it was a little easier than the first time.

Carly swings the door closed and walks over to Lucky. "Um, Emily's not here right now."

"I know, I came to see you...and Michael." Lucky says. He noticed the look on Carly's face, he says apologetically. "If it's a bad time, I could..."

"Oh no, no..." Carly insisted. The last thing she wanted him to do would be to leave. "I was just a little shocked that...you came to see me." She looked down at her shoes.

Lucky felt just as nervous as she did. "I wanted to." He said quietly. He looked at Carly, who seemed like she was having a hard time believing that. "Look, Carly...I'm not here to pick up where my Dad left off or finish what my Aunt Bobbie started. I'm just here because I wanna be. I want to get to know my two cousins. Is that so bad, huh?"

He walked over to Carly, who had yet to meet his gaze. He takes her hand in his and she looks up at him, tears in her eyes. He squeezed her hand tightly and smiled.

Carly smiled back at him, squeezing his hand. "Thanks, Lucky." She turns and leads him to the couch, they both take a seat. "So...what can I do for you?"

"Well, how's Michael?" Lucky asked.

Carly looked at him suspiciously. "He's fine...why do you ask? Lucky, what's going on..."

"Why are you keeping him from his family?" Lucky figured he may as well blurt it right out.

Carly shifted nervously. "How did you know about that...never mind, Emily?" Lucky shook his head yes. Carly continued. "I'm keeping him away from them because they want to OWN him, you understand? They will take my baby from me, Lucky. I can't let that happen..."

"Why, or better yet, how...could they take your baby from you? Carly, he's your son, right?"

Carly smiled. "Yeah, you're right, he is." She didn't want to tell him the AJ being his father part. She figured why bring that to the front burner. "I don't know, I guess I'm...I don't know."

Lucky leans in to her. "Do you want him to grow up like you, Carly?" Carly shot him a glance. "I'm sorry, I mean no disrespect, but you grew up alone...and miserable, right? That's what you told me, Carly. Why would you want Michael to not know any of his family? I mean, look at us. I'm 16 years old and I'm just meeting my cousin...my 1st cousin...not some stranger 5th cousin on my grandmother's side. You're my only Aunt's only child. I was robbed for sixteen years, Carly. Why are you going to let Michael be robbed of...Uncles, cousins, great-grandparents..."

"Okay, okay...I get your point already." Carly jumped up from the sofa, looking down at Lucky. "And what gives you the right to come in here and make ME the guilty one, huh? I'm just trying to protect my baby..."

"Protect him from what, Carly?" Lucky stands now, looking Carly in the eye.

Carly keeps forgetting that Lucky doesn't know about AJ. She decided she should stop being so defensive. When she really thought about it, there would be no harm in the Q's knowing Michael. They believe he's Jason's son, so they would never hurt him. Maybe try to kidnap him, but never hurt him. She remembered Monica the last time she looked at Michael - she loved him so. Carly felt bad at the time but decided to brush it off and just go with whatever Jason said. She realized that Michael, without the Quartermaines and the Spencers, would end up just like she did...with no one.

She looked at Lucky, a worried look crossing her face. "I...I don't want him to be like me, Lucky. I don't want him to grow up alone and afraid..."

"Well then, do something about it, Carly." Lucky pleaded with her. "Don't make history repeat itself, okay?"

Carly , visibly shaking, turned away from Lucky and stared at the wall above the fireplace. She stood there for what seemed like forever. "Will you come with me?" She muttered, barely audible.

Lucky walked over to her, talking to her back. "Go where, Carly?"

Carly turned to face him. "To the Quartermaines...I don't...I can't let Michael hate me when he grows up. I can't deny him his family. Will you go with me, Lucky?" Carly had tears in her eyes.

Lucky reached out and hugged Carly. "Of course I will...whenever you're ready, okay?" He whispered against her hair. "You're doing the right thing, Carly. I'll help you any way I can."

Carly leans against Lucky, grateful that she had someone who she could...trust? She wasn't sure they had gotten to that stage yet, but she was happy to have him here nonetheless.

Carly pulls back and looks at Lucky through teary eyes. "Can you believe this? Here I am being told by a sixteen year-old how to be a better Mommy...and I'm actually listening. There is a God!" She smiles as she leans up and kisses Lucky on the cheek. "Hey, you wanna come upstairs? He should be waking up from his nap any minute now..." Carly was fishing for excuses to keep Lucky here. She didn't realize, until she actually had company, how lonely this Penthouse was.

"Sure...I guess I could use the practice." Lucky says.

Carly raised her eyebrows at him. "Is there something I should know..."

It took a minute before Lucky could figure out what she was talking about. Then he finally caught on. "Oh, please...no way!" Carly raised her eyebrows at him again. Lucky sighed. "I mean it, Carly...no way!"

Carly reached up and tousled his hair. She had wanted to do that since the first day she met him. "Okay, good...keep it that way, alright?

Come on, let's go." They head upstairs to Michael's room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taggart sits in the interrogation room, 2:00am. He's rubbing his hand across his face, tired after dealing with yet another robbery case. Garcia enters.

"Hey, you still here?" Garcia asks Taggart. He takes a seat across from Taggart.

Taggart looks up, tired. "Yeah, rough night." He looks like he's a thousand miles away.

"Hey...what's up?" Garcia asks him. Taggart looks up at him, Garcia notices that look. "Uh oh, woman troubles?

Taggart laughs. "No...not really. Well, it could be a problem. Not for me, but for her."

Garcia's interest is peaked. "Oh? So, who is this lucky lady?" Taggart looks away. Garcia gets suspicious. "Hey...anyone I know?"

Taggart snaps at him. "No, it's no one at all, not really..."

"Hey, hey...whoa! Didn't mean to pry, buddy!"

Taggart sighs. "I'm sorry, man." He looks at Garcia, grinning. "It's Dara."

Garcia chokes on the coffee he's drinking. "W.what!?!"

"I know, I know..." Taggart said, getting up from his seat to pour himself a cup of caffeine. "I'm not saying anything is going on...yet. But I sure would love to try."

Garcia shakes his head as in a daze. "Well...good luck. I give you an 'A' for effort!" He furrows his brow. "Hey, wait a minute. Isn't she head over heels with that lawyer of Morgan's? You know, Justus?"

"I think Justus messed up...and I wanna be there to pick up the pieces." Taggart turns to Garcia. "If there's a chance that I can get that 'Ward' off her mind..."

Garcia smiles. "Well...again I say, good luck. Personally, I'm through with the whole relationship thing for quite a while." He shudders as he remembers the facade that Lizzy pulled over his eyes.

Taggart stands there, daydreaming. "Well, I think I'm about to make my move..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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