"You do that a lot, you know," she smiled.
Sly was confused. "What do I do?"
"You're always, I don't know, tapping rhythmically. It's like you've always got a song on your mind."
Sly chuckled. "True. I can't help it, I guess. Maybe I should have become a drummer."
Emily looked at the walls of the room, which were painted a sedate sky blue. There was a border on the walls with a vague southwestern pattern, which made her remember her old home in Arizona. Was it only six years ago when she had arrived in Port Charles? It seemed like two lifetimes ago.
She closed her eyes for a moment as she remembered her mother, Page. Oh Mom, she thought silently, it wasn't supposed to be this way. I was going to have children when I was ready. I would be married, have a career, a life… She sighed. What would you and dad think? I'm so sorry I let you down. I let everyone down.
She opened her eyes again, and looked at Sly. As much as she hated to admit it, some of the things that Edward was saying earlier made sense. She tried to think of how she and Sly were possibly going to raise this child with no money. Sure, they both had large trust funds coming to them, but they weren't accessible until they were older. She didn't want to have to take money from her parents. It was time to really take responsibility for her actions.
Emily's thoughts were interrupted when the radiologist entered the room. "Are you ready to begin?" she asked.
Both Emily and Sly nodded silently.
"Would you please lift up your shirt, please, Emily?" Emily obliged. The radiologist spread a kind of gel over her stomach. "This gel helps the sound waves show up better on the ultrasound machine."
"It feels weird," Emily said. Then she felt Sly take her hand. She looked over and saw him giving his best concerned yet reassuring smile. She squeezed his hand to show him she appreciated his support.
A few moments later, a picture appeared on the ultrasound machine. "Here we go," the radiologist said.
Emily squinted as she tried to make sense of the picture. "I'm not sure I'm seeing anything," she said.
The radiologist pointed to the screen. "This is the head. If you look closely, you'll see the outline of the body. Here's the spine."
Emily gasped as she saw her child for the first time. While it still seemed fuzzy to her, she could see the baby that she and Sly created. It was so tiny, but so beautiful. A wave of emotions hit her and she wiped a tear from her cheek. She turned to look at Sly.
She had never seen the look on Sly's face before. It was positively unabashed awe. Emily's eyes locked with Sly's, and she could see that they were shining with tears. "That's our baby," he finally whispered.
"Yeah," she replied, as choked up as he was.
"Do you want to know the sex of the child?" the radiologist asked.
Sly and Emily looked at each other, and they both knew the answer. "No, thank you," Emily said. "We'll wait."
The radiologist studied the ultrasound and did a few more tests. "Ok, now we're going to listen to the heartbeat."
Soon, a fast whooshing sound was heard. "There it is," the radiologist said.
Emily was concerned. "Why is it so fast?"
"The fetus' heartbeat is much faster in utero as it develops. Don't worry, it's quite normal."
Emily saw Sly close his eyes for a moment. "Are you ok, Sly?" she asked.
He nodded. "It's so incredible," he sighed.
Soon, the radiologist was done. "Well, everything checks out. Mother and baby are doing very well."
"That's great," Sly said. He sounded quite relieved.
"I'll be back in a few minutes," the radiologist said.
"Are you feeling alright?" Sly asked.
"I'm fine, Sly. You heard what she said. We're fine," she said as she put Sly's hand to her rounded stomach. "We're all fine."
*-*-*-*-*-*
Nikolas sighed as he placed his bookmark in The Grapes of Wrath. While his tutors on the island were excellent, they tended to overlook American literature.
He looked at a picture of himself and Livvie. They had grown closer than ever during the last few weeks. Livvie had done everything she could to win back Nikolas' trust. He in turn tried to help her deal with her intense family situation, and getting along with her new father, Kevin.
Suddenly, Nikolas heard a noise coming from the kitchen. He grabbed his cane and quickly got up from his chair. He picked up the phone and stood outside the door. "Do not come any closer. I have the authorities on the telephone," he said with as much authority as he could muster.
"Nikolas! It's your uncle."
Stefan came out of the kitchen, followed by Luke.
Nikolas sighed. "Don't scare me like that, uncle." He put down the phone.
"I'm sorry, Nikolas. I didn't mean to upset you. We just needed to enter inconspicuously."
"Luke," Nikolas said to acknowledge his presence.
"Prince Nikolas! It's so nice to see you," Luke said cheerfully, but with just enough edge in his voice to reveal his sarcasm.
"Where have you been, Uncle?" Nikolas said slowly. "Why are you just dropping in now?"
Stefan looked at his nephew soberly. He expected the icy reception. He knew his plan to fake his death would alienate Nikolas, but it had to be done. "We've been finalizing the plans to bring down Helena once and for all."
"How many times have you said that before?" Nikolas questioned bitterly.
"But you're forgetting, this is a one time unholy alliance between the Spencers and the Cassadines. Who knows what could happen with all of that negative energy directed at one person instead of each other?" Luke quipped.
Nikolas slowly walked away and he leaned on his cane for support. "Indeed, who knows?"
"How are you feeling, Nikolas?" Stefan asked, his parental instincts taking over.
"I'm fine. I'm almost recovered," Nikolas said crossly.
"And Lucky?" Luke asked. He had been managing to sneak notes to his son, but that was the extent of their contact.
Nikolas turned to face Luke. "He's doing a lot better, no thanks to you."
Luke smiled. He could take Nikolas' misplaced anger. Just hearing that Lucky was doing better raised his hopes a bit.
"Again, why are you here?" Nikolas asked.
Stefan nodded. "We need your help, Nikolas."
"With Helena?"
"Yes," Stefan said, hoping he would be able to convince him to cooperate.
"Why should I do anything to help you?"
Stefan opened his mouth to respond, but Luke cut him off. "Look, you're right. You owe us nothing. But please listen. Then think about what Helena did to Lucky. Help us get rid of her once and for all. Do it for him, and do it for yourself."
It was hard to ignore Luke's logic. Nikolas sat down. "Fine," he said, opening his arms. "Convince me."
*-*-*-*-*-*
Helena walked around her bedroom on the yacht. She observed her surroundings suspiciously. She had to get to the bottom of her problems.
The past few months had not been particularly kind to Helena. Lucky Spencer was rapidly overcoming his programming. Her plan to isolate him from his family was in shambles. To make matters worse, someone was siphoning money from her supposedly hidden offshore accounts. It was getting harder to afford the lifestyle she was accustomed to. She would have to wrest the Cassadine trusteeship from Alexis.
Then there was Stefan. Her youngest son was dead, but he was still a thorn in her side. Or rather, her mind.
It seemed like everywhere she looked, there was another reminder of Stefan: the childhood photograph she found in a drawer, the bottle of his favorite wine delivered to the yacht.
Sometimes she even swore she heard his voice. "Mother," was the constant call. She was sure that it was just her subconscious playing tricks on her. It couldn't possibly be guilt. It must be hyper vigilance. She turned to walk to the door.
"Are you happy now, Mother?" The voice sent chills down Helena's spine, even if she remained convinced it was only a figment of her imagination. It was always over-active.
"You've sent me to my eternal judgement. But remember this: The last shall be first, and the first shall be last."
Helena waited a moment to see if the episode would last any longer, but she did not hear Stefan's voice again. "Andreas!" she called.
Andreas came running into the room. "Yes, Madam?"
Helena shocked Andreas by pulling him into a forceful kiss. "Undress quickly, Andreas," she said as she pulled him towards the bed. "I need a distraction, and I need it now!"
*-*-*-*-*-*
Carly thumbed through a copy of Family Circle for the fifth time as she waited for Lucky. She looked at the articles with amusement. Baking racecar cakes really wasn't her style.
"Picking up some housekeeping tips?"
Carly looked up at her cousin. It was nice to see him smiling again. She stood up. "Come on, Lucky. Don't you know I'm a domestic goddess?"
"Sure," Lucky joked.
"Well, are you ready to have dinner with the Corinthos family?" she said as they walked towards the elevators.
"I'm sure I'll be fine. After all, I've known Sonny longer than you have. Remind me to ask him about the time he went camping with my dad and me."
Carly laughed. "Sonny, camping? This I've got to hear about!"
Lucky suddenly heard doors closing. He hadn't realized it, but he had let Carly usher him into an elevator. He always took the stairs at the hospital. Just do it, Spencer, Lucky thought. It's just a short ride.
Emily and Sly walked to the elevators. "I still can't get over it, Sly. We saw our baby," Emily smiled.
Sly pushed the elevator button quickly. "I am going to do everything I can to be the best parent to our baby. I promise you, Emily, I will do whatever it takes." The elevator arrived, and they walked on without looking at its occupants. He leaned over and gently kissed Emily.
A person in the corner coughed loudly, bringing Emily and Sly out of their reverie. Emily turned around. "Carly."
Sly was focused on the person next to her. "Lucky," he said slowly, as he fought the fear that was rising in his throat.
Emily looked to see a clearly shocked Lucky. "Em- you're, you're…" Lucky stammered.
Carly looked at the young man with Emily. "You must be Sly."
Suddenly, everyone felt the elevator shake, and then it came to an abrupt stop.
"Are you ok?" Lucky and Sly asked in unison to Emily and Carly.
Emily nodded as Carly approached
the panel of buttons. She tried pushing a bunch of them, but nothing worked.
Then she turned around. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, I don't know how to
break it to you, but it appears that we're stuck."