Nikolas squared his jaw when he handed me the phone. I drew my eyebrows together to question who it was, from his harsh and clipped words, I knew it couldn't be Emily. He just rolled his eyes and thrust the receiver toward me."Hello?"
"Elizabeth, it's Sonny." He was always doing that, identifying himself as if I wouldn't recognise his voice.
"Sonny?" I said, but my tone was asking what he wanted, why he would call me at Nikolas' house. I looked up at Nikolas for a half-second and shrugged, then went into the other room for privacy.
"Elizabeth, I met Stevens. He told me his kid is at the day care."
I closed my eyes. "Chase. Oh God, Sonny..."
"Shhh, Sweetie. I know. I know what you're thinking."
"He's Lucky," I whispered, my voice shaking.
"I know, Sweetie, I know," Sonny's words were soft and sweet, and if he'd been in the room with me, he would have wrapped his arms around me, and he would have held me until I felt safe and strong enough to keep living without Lucky.
'Where? Where did you see him?" I closed my eyes and pressed my hand against my forehead.
"On the...on the docks."
"What did he say? I want to know every word."
"Meet me for lunch? At the club?" The club Sonny co-owned with Lucky's father.
I nodded. "I'll ask Nikolas to keep Loren." Nikolas resisted, only because he didn't want me to see Sonny. Nikolas had never trusted Sonny, even when Lucky was alive, and to this day he believed Sonny had something to do with Lucky's disappearance.
Loren clung to me when I kissed her goodbye, forcing Nikolas to pull her away and drag her from the room. I could hear her screaming all the way to the car, and when I slammed the door, the sudden silence in which I found myself made me cry.
I fought tears all the way to the club, and when I saw the huge red neon "LUKE'S" sign, I lost it. I just parked the car right in front of the building and slumped over the steering wheel. "Lucky! Damn you, Lucky Spencer!" I screamed, sitting back to pound my fists on the dash before sagging forward again.
A tap on the window beside me made me jump out of my skin.
I lifted my head from the steering wheel and saw Sonny standing there. He gave me a half-hearted smile as he opened my car door. "Come on, honey, let's go inside and talk." He led me inside to a small table away from the crowd. I saw the food that he had already ordered for me sitting on the table. Sonny was always taking care of me that way. As we sat down, he waved his hand toward the food. "I took the liberty of ordering you some food, cause I knew you wouldn't want anything. But you have to eat, and I'm not letting you leave until you've eaten all of it."
I managed a weak smile, "Thanks." Then I looked up at him, searching his face for answers to the questions I needed answered, knowing that he no more had them than I did. "Sonny, you know it's Lucky, don't you? I mean you know for sure that it's him?"
"Of course, Sweetheart, I knew it the minute I saw him sitting on that bench. I think I saw a spark of recognition in his eyes when he saw me, fleeting, but a spark just the same."
"God, I just want him to remember me, to remember all of us. I want him to know his little girl. What could have happened to him? Why doesn't he know me? I can barely stand it, Sonny."
"I know, but Elizabeth, you have to give him time. You don't want to scare him off by freaking out every time you see him. I'm already working on trying to find out where he's been and what happened to him." He saw that I was crying as I nodded, knowing he was right, and he reached over and covered my hand with his. "Elizabeth, I think we should be thankful that he found his way back here, even though he can't quite remember us. Something made him come back to Port Charles, and I think that something was you; he just hasn't figured that out yet. But your love for him is so strong, and his for you, he'll find his way. You just gotta be patient for a little while."
I nodded again, feeling myself calming finally, for the first time since I had first seen Lucky. "It's just that I want so badly to hold him and take away whatever pain he's been in all these years."
"You know I'm right though? You have to stay cool."
"Yes, I know you're right. I do feel better now. How is it that you always know how to do that?"
"I love Lucky, you know, he's family. And so are you. Listen, I wanted to tell you something else, too. I'm seeing him today and I'm going to send him out of town over night tonight to make a delivery. He'll probably think he has to take Chase with him, and I don't think that's such a good idea."
"Is it going to be dangerous?"
"Baby, danger is everywhere, you know that. I know Lucky can take care of himself. I'd just feel better if his kid was somewhere safe, like your house, while he's gone."
"Are you going to tell him that?"
He smiled, "No, I thought you could do that, just say you ran into me and I mentioned he was working for me and does he need anyone to watch Chase after the day care closes."
"I don't know if he'll go for it."
"Just try, okay. Your kids can be a common ground for you two to work from. I really believe he'll remember everything in time."
"Sonny, what about Luke and Laura?"
He thought for a minute. "I don't know. I go back and forth with that. I think we should just leave it alone for now. We don't want to overwhelm him with too many people freaking out over the sight of him. I'll let you know the minute I hear something, I promise." He stood up from the table and said, "I have to get going; he's meeting me at my place soon. I don't want to miss him."