Fanfic Challenge By: Dawn

Jerry bought another round and looked at Jax. ''And that's when she told me to leave. I don't get it.'' He was about to take another drink, a pair of legs walked by them. By the time she got past them, his eyes had worked their way up to her waist. As far as Jerry was concerned, the view got better as he went along. ''Wow.''

Watching his reaction, Jax laughed. ''Let me introduce you to the one and only Lucy Coe.''

''Her nickname wouldn't happen to be legs, would it?''

''Not to her face.'' He turned towards her. ''Lucy?''

She didn't answer.

''Lucy!''

Finally, she turned, and smiled when she saw him. ''Jax!'' Walking back towards them, she shook her head. ''I didn't even see you.''

''I wanted to introduce you to my brother, Jerry.'' Taking her hand gently, Jerry brought it to his lips and kissed it. ''A pleasure.''

Lucy knew a shameless flirt when she saw one. Her first instinct was to blow him off, but then she thought about it. It had been a long time since anyone had flirted with her so outrageously, and she was suprised to discover it amused her. ''I'd heard there were two of you, but I never dreamed that he would be as good looking as you are.'' Shameless flirting can go both ways, Lucy was more than happy to prove that.

Jax was amused by the interaction going on in front of him. Jerry needed a distraction from Bobbie, she'd thrown him out of the brownstone three days ago, and he hadn't taken a break from trying to figure it out. And, from the looks of Lucy, she could use a break herself. He'd known she'd moved back in to the hotel, and that meant she and Scott had called it quits. ''I hate to interrupt this mutual admiration society meeting, so I'll excuse myself from it. Lucy, pleasure as always.'' He nodded towards her, and then looked at his brother. ''Jerry, I'll catch up with you later.''

As soon as Jax was gone, Lucy sat next to Jerry.

''A drink?'' Jerry was already contemplating the possibilities.

''Something dark and strong.''

*****************

''I don't get it, Kevin. If you don't care what she's up to, why are you constantly checking up on her?''

''It's not that I care what she's up to, I care how she's doing. I know you don't like her, but you have no idea what losing Christina did to her. Especially since she and Scott were the ones who helped get Julie released. They helped Julie rebuild her life, rejoin society, only to have everything they did to help her thrown in their faces at the custody trial. And now she and Scott have split up, and she's alone. I'm worried about her, Eve. If that's a problem, it's your problem. I'm her friend. It doesn't mean I attracted to her, it doesn't mean I'm still in love with her. I'm not. But I do care about her.'' Sighing, Kevin stared at Eve. He'd had dinner with Lucy at the PC Hotel last night, and Eve was acting like he'd gone up to her room and slept with her.

''Think about how I felt, Kevin. Just for one minute, think about how I felt when I dialed your cell and she answered it!''

''I left it in my jacket when I went to get drinks at the bar. If I'd known you were going to act like a child about it, I would have never told her to answer it!''

''I'm acting like a child? Ever since Lucy and Scott split, it's like you've been dropping everything to run to her! I'm tired of it, Kevin! You know, Rachel threatened to accuse you of stalking her, she's wasting her time. You're too busy following Lucy around to keep tabs on Rachel.'' Eve couldn't begin to explain to him how she felt, so she just shook her head. ''Never mind. I've got to go. I'll talk to you later.''

Kevin watched the door shut behind her, wondering what was happening between them.

*****************

''How was dinner?'' Jerry smiled at Lucy.

''It was great. I really needed this.''

''Food? It's not hard to get that around here.''

''No.'' She laughed. ''THIS. Just to sit down, and laugh. Fun. You know?''

''Yeah, me, too.'' Leaning back in his chair, Jerry stared at her. ''So, you up for dessert?''

''No way. I'm stuffed.'' Her eyes met his. ''Thanks. I'd forgotten what it was like to just have a good time with someone.''

''I'm glad I was the one who reminded you.'' Standing, he gestured towards the door. ''Walk you upstairs?''

Lucy wondered if that was all he wanted to do, but she nodded. ''Okay.''

Watching her walk in front of him, he shook his head. He didn't know if she would be receptive if he made a pass at her, but he was suprised to find he wasn't going to even try. She was fun, gorgeous, and had enough energy to make a hyperactive two year old tired. But his heart was with Bobbie.

Lucy's thoughts were on the same track as Jerry's. As good looking as he was, as much fun as she'd had, she wasn't ready to get into anything with anyone. Part of what had torn her and Scott apart had been her unresolved feelings for Kevin. She also had something for Scott running around in her heart. As far as Lucy was concerned at the moment, she was finished with men.

When they exited the elevator, Lucy was suprised to find Kevin standing outside her door. ''Doc! Hi!'' She turned to Jerry. ''I take it you haven't met Kevin Collins. Kevin, Jerry Jax.''

The men shook hands. Kevin began to feel like he'd interrupted something. And it suprised him to realize he didn't like it. ''I just came by to see how you were. I'll get out of here.''

''No, actually, I was leaving.'' Jerry hadn't gotten the whole story out of Lucy, but from the little bit she'd said he knew this guy was part of what she'd been trying to forget at dinner. ''I actually had fun, tonight. I hope we can do it again.''

''I'd love it. And don't give up on Bobbie. She's a hot head, but from what I've seen, she really cares about you.'' As Jerry walked away, she turned to Kevin. ''Spill it.''

''What?''

As she unlocked the door, she smiled at him. ''I know you, Doc. Something's wrong.''

''I'm that obvious?''

''Only to me.'' She shrugged, and sat down. ''What's wrong?''

''Well, Rachel found out I've been checking into her past, so she decided to threaten to go to the police and file a stalking complaint against me.''

''Kevin! She can't do that!''

''Sure she can, Lucy. She can't prove anything, but with my record, the police would have to look in to it.'' Kevin sighed. ''That's not exactly comforting, but the real kicker is that Eve's decided that I wouldn't have time to stalk Rachel if I wanted to because I'm too busy chasing you.''

Lucy stared at him. ''Chasing me?''

''Yeah. You believe it?''

''I believe she believes it. She's no more secure about me than I ever was about her. Face it, Doc, when I was with Scott, she knew where you stood with me. Now that Scott and I aren't together anymore, all bets are off as far as she's concerned. Now she's afraid I'll see you as fair game.''

Kevin almost asked her if she did. But he managed to bite his tongue. Being with her, he found himself more relaxed then he had been in a long time. He wasn't going to rock the boat.

''The problem is, what are you going to do about Rachel?''

''I don't know. I guess I'll have to back off for a while. I'm not giving up, but I need to stay clear of her for a while.''

''I could nose around. Make her wonder. Maybe take the heat off you.''

''No, Lucy. Stay away from Rachel. I don't know what she's up to, and I don't know what she'd be willing to do to protect whatever it is she's trying to protect.'' He shook his head. ''I know she played a big part in what happened between you and Scott. But I don't trust her.''

''I don't trust her, either, Doc. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to stand back and let her keep going after the people I care about! And you know me better than to think I'm going to let what she did to me slide. I'm going to nail her, and I think you're on to something with this Livvy thing.''

''Lucy, stop! Until we have a better idea what we're up against, stay away from her. And you know I'm still not sure of what Julie's capable of. Rachel seems to have a pretty good grip over her.'' Standing, he moved to sit on the sofa next to her. ''I don't want you to get hurt.''

It was all Lucy could do to not reach up and touch his face. ''I know how to take care of myself. You know that. And she's trying to hurt you.'' Her eyes traveled around the room, and Kevin could almost see the wheels spinning. ''I'll come up with something. I just need a little time.''

Kevin knew it was pointless to try to stop her. So he grabbed her hand. ''Just promise me that you'll be careful.''

Her eyes met his. That feeling of butterflies in her stomach when he looked at her didn't fail her. But she smiled and nodded. ''I promise. I won't turn my back on her, okay?''

''No. It's not okay. But I guess it will have to do.'' With a struggle, he tore his eyes away from hers. ''I need to get out of here. I'll call you tomorrow.'' Standing, he left.

In the elevator, Kevin thought about everything that was happening. Eve was furious with him because of his friendship with Lucy. Lucy was going off on another vendetta against Rachel, and he was afraid she was going to get in trouble. Rachel was quite able to at least get him questioned by the police, and raise a few questions in town concerning his past and present condition. And then there was the way he'd felt when he's seen Lucy with Jerry. He sighed. It was time for a mental break.

Lucy sat where she was for almost twenty minutes, thinking about what Rachel Locke had done to so many people in Port Charles. Suddenly a thought occurred to her. Smiling, she picked up the phone. ''Jerry? Lucy. Are you as bad as your reputation says you are?''


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