After he picked Chase up from the day care center, Lucas Stevens took his son to their favorite place to eat, Eli's,a small rib place he had found by accident one day not long after arriving in town. He always ordered the same thing, ribs and a big plate of cheese fries. He always thought it strange that he seemed to know exactly what to order the first time he went there, even though he had never been there before. Chase loved to help him eat the big plate of cheese fries he ordered for him, usually with a hamburger since he hadn't developed his fathers taste for ribs yet. He was, after all, just little boy.During dinner something kept nagging at him, swirling around in his subconscious, causing him to be distracted to the point that Chase kept having to say, "Daddy, I talking to you" and Lucas would look at him, startled, coming back to the present, trying to grasp whatever it was that had made him go so far into his own head that he didn't even hear his precious little boy talking to him.
He reached over and touched him on the top of the head, messing up his hair a bit,' I'm sorry, Cowboy, I was just thinking about something. What do you say we go get some ice cream before we go home?" He smiled that beautiful smile that always melted his fathers heart.
Lucas didn't know what he would do without Chase. He was his whole life. Chase's mother was gone, someone he barely remembered now. When he tried to think of her his memory was fuzzy. He knew she had died, though not certain of the cause, just months after Chase was born. In fact he hadn't known about Chase before until he was contacted and told that the will found in her apartment had named him as his father and legal guardian.
In fact, so much of his memory was fuzzy; he found it hard to remember much of anything before the time Chase was first brought to him. He loved him instantly, knew instantly that he was his flesh and blood, and felt a bond with him that was so powerful it nearly brought him to his knees. From that day on he had devoted his life to Chase, vowing to keep him safe, and happy and loved always. For some reason he always felt that danger was always lurking just around the corner, that fate had some other plan for him and that just as mysteriously as Chase had entered his life, he would be snatched from him. For that reason he was a little over protective, but he simply did not know what he would do without him.
After they returned to the small furnished apartment he had rented over a small diner called Kelly's, Lucas played with Chase and let him watch his favorite movie before putting him to bed. Chase begged for one more story, but Lucas told him it was already late and he would read him another book in the morning before he took him to the day care. He tucked him into bed and leaned over to kiss him; "Daddy, I like Miss Emily and Miss Elizabeth. They were fun, but Miss Elizabeth was so sad."
"I know, Chase, I noticed that, too. I think she just wasn't feeling well. You'll just have to take special care of her tomorrow and try to make her laugh and feel better."
"Okay daddy. Night night, I love you."
"I love you, too Chase, sweet dreams." Lucas stayed with Chase until he had fallen asleep. It didn't take long, he was exhausted from his first day at the day care center. It was one of the first times Lucas had left him with people he didn't know, and he had been apprehensive, but when he had picked him up, he was relieved to find that Emily and Elizabeth seemed to really care about him and he knew it was safe to take him back the next day.
They had arrived in town a month or so before and Lucas had been able to spend everyday with Chase, but his money was running out and he knew it was time to find a job and make a little some more money before moving on. He was never sure where the would end up; he just knew they had to keep moving. But he liked it here in Port Charles, it was a friendly town and for the first time in several years he felt that he might like to stay and make a home for Chase. He took a can of beer from the refrigerator, took a long drink, and sat down on the couch in the small living room. He leaned his head against the back of the couch and ran his hands through his hair. There it was again, that feeling; what was it, why couldn't he shake it? It was a feeling of familiarity, a sense of something...but what?
His thoughts drifted to what Chase had said about Elizabeth Webber. She had looked so sad, so beautiful. It had been some time since he had even noticed a woman, but something about her had touched him, and he couldn't deny that when he had reached out to touch her shoulder he had felt an electrical charge go through him, that feeling of familiarity, that's what it was. But why?
He closed his eyes but sleep came slowly, fitfully. He was half awake, half asleep, in that strange netherland where a thousand thoughts and images came racing all at once. Finally he fell into a deep sleep and was dreaming. He was in the diner downstairs, music was playing, a sweet, slow love song. There was no one else there; only him and the girl he was dancing with. It was such a sweet dream, he was holding her so close, his face in her hair, not really dancing, just swaying to the music, feeling such love, such peace as he had not known in a long time. In the dream, they stayed this way for some time until finally he pulled away from her for a moment to look into her eyes. She was beautiful, with long dark hair that hung in waves past her shoulders, but her eyes looked sad, forlorn. Still, he couldn't quite get a clear picture of her face...just her eyes. He put his hand on the side of her face and leaned over to kiss her lips...suddenly he was wide awake, in that type of panic that wakes you from a sound sleep for no apparent reason. Chase, there was something wrong with Chase...
He ran to his room to check on him and after finding that he was still sleeping soundly, he leaned over to kiss his forhead and went back to the couch. It took him a few minutes for his heartbeat to get back to normal, partly from the panic thinking something was wrong with Chase and partly from the dream he had had. There it was again, that feeling. What was it? He was drifting back to sleep, thoughts of the girl at the day care center, Elizabeth, in his head. Why had he seemed so drawn to her, so touched by her sadness? He was just drifting off to sleep, seeing images of her in his head, her long dark hair hanging past her shoulders, and then he was dancing again in the diner with the same girl, the same dream. When he came to the part in the dream when he looked at her, he awoke with a start again, this time in a deep cold sweat. He sat up and put his head in his hands. He felt so close to her, like he had always known her. It was as if she were still in the room with him even though the dream was over and he was fully awake. There was that feeling again, and suddenly he saw her face clearly, felt that sudden shock of recognition again. He whispered to himself, "It's her, it's Elizabeth".