Faithe heard the gunshot and then felt Luke grab onto her shoulder. She
looked at him and saw him stumble to the ground. She tried to steady him
but when she put her hand on his back she felt she felt the warm and sticky
substance that was quickly soaking his shirt. She heard someone scream "NO"
and then realized that it was her voice. She knelt next to Luke, who was
now lying on the ground quickly losing consciousness. Not taking her eyes
off Luke she screamed for help.
"Lucky, Nikolas!"
Her voice sounded very unsteady to her ears. She lifted her eyes to the
direction in which the gunshot came from and saw Chrystos standing there
looking very pleased with himself.
Lucky flew to Luke's side followed quickly by Nikolas, Liz, Jason, and
Sonny. Sonny took off his jacket and placed it on Luke's back over the
bullet wound. Another gunshot whizzed over their heads and they all looked
up to see Chrystos coming towards them.
"Jason," Lucky started, "get Liz and Nikolas out of here!"
"Lucky no!" Liz yelled
"I'll be there in a few minutes. I love you." Lucky said kissing her
softly.
"I love you too." Liz said quietly
As Liz turned away from him, Lucky turned to Nikolas and mouthed 'Take care
of her'
Nikolas nodded and followed Liz and Jason to the boat.
Lucky looked at Sonny and Faithe. He knew there would be no use in trying
to send them away. This was partly Faithe's fight and Sonny would never
leave Luke unprotected. Another gunshot was fired and Lucky could almost
feel the bullet as it flew by his head.
His anger grew as he stood to face Chrystos, who was now only 15 feet from
them.
Faithe stood up next to him, her anger flashing in her eyes.
"You didn't think you'd get off that easy, did you Faithe?" Chrystos said
menacingly.
"Chrystos why can't you just let us go?" Faithe said
"Pleading? Faithe that isn't like you." Chrystos said disapprovingly.
Chrystos looked down at Luke and looked to be disappointed. "Why is it
every time I try to kill you I end up hurting someone else." He paused and
smiled. "But then again, that hurts you more in the end, doesn't it?"
"You've hurt too many people I love." Faithe said, her voice cold. "My
mother, my father, and now Luke. You won't hurt anyone else."
Faithe slowly raised her gun so that it was pointed at Chrystos' head.
Lucky looked shocked, although he had wanted to kill Chrystos for shooting
Luke, he knew he probably wouldn't be able to bring himself to do it. He
didn't think Faithe had it in her either, but then again he hadn't known
her that long.
A slow smile spread on Chrystos' face. "You can't do it. Your father had
too much of a conscience and your mother had too much of a heart. You don't
have it in you. If you killed me you would be just another Cassadine."
Lucky raised his gun at Chrystos. "I don't know Chrystos, if you'd done to
me all that you've done to her I wouldn't hesitate to kill you. And if she
doesn't, I will." Lucky saw Faithe out of the corner of his eye. She was
still; her eyes were cold. She seemed to be consumed by anger and that
scared Lucky. He hoped his little bluff could get them all out of there
alive. "If you want to live to see tomorrow I suggest you drop your gun and
let us leave."
Lucky glanced behind him and saw that Sonny had Luke up and was trying to
get him down the path to the boat.
Chrystos looked nervous and then threw his gun down to the ground beside
him.
"Faithe, lets go." Lucky said to her.
Faithe seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in, and nodded and
followed Lucky down the path. Faithe shook her head as if to rid herself of
the anger and hate that clouded her mind.
Faithe heard something behind her and turned to see Chrystos pull a gun
from his sock and aim at her and Lucky. Almost without thinking she raised
her gun and fired, hitting Chrystos square in the chest. All she could hear
was the echo of the gunshot in her head. And all she could see was Ilias,
standing about 50 feet behind Chrystos, watching in horror as his father
sank to the ground, dead. Her mind froze at what she had done. She had just
done to Ilias what Chrystos had done to her. Later she would tell herself
that it was self-defense and that Chrystos deserved it, but right now
Chrystos' words were repeating in her head.
'...you would be just another Cassadine.'
Finally Lucky's yelling penetrated the fog in her mind and she allowed
herself to be dragged to the boat, with the parting image of Ilias falling
to his knees next to his father's body flashing through her mind.
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter 24
3 days later in Port Charles

As soon as Luke was stable Laura had him moved to GH to be closer to
family. After leaving the island Luke had lost conciseness and had yet to
wake up.  The doctors were optimistic, but the longer he stayed unconscious
the more they worried. Laura had never left her husband's side since she
got there.  Liz called her parents and confirmed a fact that she knew, in
her heart, was true. She was adopted. Sonny had left a while ago to bring
Alexis to the hospital.

Alexis' Hotel suite
Alexis was putting the final touches on the romantic lunch she and Ned were
going to have, when there was a knock on her door.
"You're late..." she started to say but stooped abruptly and frowned when
she saw who was actually at the door.
"Mr. Corinthos, why are you here?" She said frowning.
Sonny walked past her and into the suite. His face was drawn in slight
worry and he almost looked like he didn't know what to say. This scared
Alexis; she had never seen Sonny at a loss for words.
The truth was Sonny actually didn't know what to say. He knew he supposed
to find out if Alexis had had a child 16 years ago and if that was true he
was supposed to get her to GH.
"Sonny, do you need a lawyer? Cause I keep telling you that I am Jason's
lawyer not yours." She said sternly, hoping he would believe it this time.
"No, actually Lucky sent me." Sonny said.
"Luke's son? He needs a lawyer?" Alexis said, completely confused.
"No, they...uh... they need conformation on some information that they
received." Sonny said absently scratching the back of his head.
"Information about the Cassadines?" Alexis said skeptically, thinking that
Luke usually liked to get information out of her himself.
"Well, not exactly. Information about you." Sonny said slowly.
"Me? What could Lucky need to know about me?" Alexis said, more to herself
than Sonny.
"Alexis, I just need to ask you one question, and I need a truthful
answer." Sonny said, knowing that this was sure to upset her.
Alexis only nodded. Sonny's behavior was really starting to scare her.
Sonny took a deep breath, let his eyes drift to the floor, and scolded
himself for stalling.
"Did you give birth to a baby about 16 years ago?" He said bluntly, never
taking his eyes off the floor.
Alexis sank to the couch behind her and her eyes were focused on something
straight in front of her that only she could see. Anger flashed in her
eyes.
"How did you know that?" Her voice was steely, "How did LUCKY know that?"
Sonny sat beside her on the couch, "Then it's true? You gave birth to a
baby girl about 16 years ago?" He needed to be sure.
" My baby died, Sonny!  Helena killed her! Why do Luke and Lucky feel the
need to make me remember that?" Her voice raised with every word.
"As if I could ever forget." She added wearily, as she closed her eyes to
the pain that flooded her.
"You need to come to the hospital with me Alexis." Sonny said quietly,
helping her to her feet.
"Why?" She said skeptically.
"We need you to confirm some information..."
"No! No Sonny. No more cryptic explanations. Tell me why?" Her voice was
fierce with determination, anger, and pain.
Sonny gave a long sigh. "I don't want to give you false hope?"
"Hope?" She said wearily.
"Lucky, Nikolas, Elizabeth, and a friend of theirs, Faithe were kidnapped
by Chrystos and Ilias Cassadine." Sonny explained.
"Are they all right?!" Alexis interrupted.
"Yes everyone is fine. Luke was shot when we were rescuing them, and
Chrystos is dead."
Alexis nodded in recognition, not really caring about Chrystos. She only
felt sorry for Ilias to have lost his father, even if his father was a
demon.
Sonny paused, and took a deep breath. He knew he was about to drop a bomb
on her, he could only hope that it was true. "While they were captured
Chrystos told Lucky and the others that your baby wasn't killed. Supposedly
Kostas saved the baby from Helena, and put it in an American adoption
agency, but they tabs on the little girl..."
As soon as Sonny said the words 'you baby wasn't killed' Alexis had tuned
out everything else and that phrase was repeating itself in her head. She
slowly sank back down to the couch. She was shaking terribly.
"Lex, you all right?" Sonny said worriedly.
"My baby's alive?" She whispered.
"Chrystos didn't have proof. So we don't know if it was a lie or not." He
paused, "But there's more."
She gave him a look that said 'How much more can there be.'
"Chrystos also told Elizabeth that she was adopted. And that she is your
child."
Alexis could barely breathe. "She's my baby? My little girl?"
"We don't know if it's true. You need to go to GH and get a blood test."
Alexis nodded and allowed herself to be led out the door, still very much
in a daze.
 

Lucky, Liz, Nikolas, and Faithe were sitting in the waiting room outside of
Luke's room. None of them had slept much in three days and had talked even
less. Liz and Nikolas were mostly being quiet comfort for Lucky and Faithe.
Lucky had rarely left his father's side.
Lucky had been there for Liz when she called her parents. She hadn't seemed
too surprised when her parents confirmed what they had been told. She had
never felt like she fit in with the Webbers.
Faithe had become completely silent after leaving the island.
 

Faithe slowly got up and walked down the corridor. After a moment Nikolas
followed her.
Faithe stopped walking when she reached an empty waiting room. She sat down
in a chair and buried her head in her hands, but when she closed her eyes
all she saw was Ilias' face right after she killed his father. She
immediately picked her head up and opened her eyes. She saw Nikolas
standing in front of her. He sat down next to her and took her hand.
"Want to talk about it?" He knew exactly what was bothering her.
"I keep seeing his face. And Ilias'." Her voice was so quiet Nikolas had to
strain to hear her.
"I'm going to tell something that a very smart person once told me. You had
no choice. He would have killed you, Luke, Lucky, and the rest of us. It
was self-defense, you did what you had to do to protect us."
Faithe smiled a little. "Well that's not exactly what I said."
"Yeah, but it's close enough. The point is that Chrystos had already shot
Luke and he was intent on killing you and the rest of us. You did what you
did to protect yourself and us." He said softly.
Faithe took a deep breath and looked at Nikolas, "Thank you."
Nikolas just smiled at her.
Out of the corner of her eye Faithe saw two people pass by the door to the
waiting room.
"Sonny and Alexis are here." She said quickly and stood up. Nikolas rose
too and they both followed Sonny and Alexis.

After seeing Faithe and Nikolas leave Lucky turned towards Liz. They hadn't
been alone since she had talked to her parents and he wanted to make sure
she was all right.
"How are you?" He asked quietly.
"I'm fine." She said staring at the wall opposite her.
"We're alone. You can tell me how you're really feeling." He knew she
wasn't fine.
She looked at him and gave him a half smile. "I don't really know, you
know. I mean I should be shocked, but I'm not. I never fit in with my
family, you know that."
Lucky only nodded in response.
"I think, if Alexis isn't my mother, I want to find out who is."
"I'll be behind you, whatever you decide. You know that right."
Liz nodded.
"Is your mom still in with your dad?"  She asked quietly. She was just as
worried about Lucky as he was about her.
"Yeah, he still hasn't woken up yet." Lucky said, the worry crossing his
face.
"He will." She assured him.
"He'll be all right." He said almost to reassure himself. Then added
quietly, "He has to be."
Liz gathered him in her arms and softly kissed his head as it rested on her
shoulder.
 
 
 
 

Chapter 25

Sonny and Alexis came into the waiting area to see Liz and Lucky curled up
in each other's arms. Faithe and Nikolas were close on their heals.
Lucky felt Liz stiffen and he raised his head.
"Are all of you all right?" Alexis asked looking worriedly from Lucky and
Liz to Faithe and Nikolas. Lucky, Liz, and Faithe only nodded, but Nikolas
went to his aunt and hugged her.
"Are YOU all right?" He whispered in her ear.
Alexis stepped back and nodded, smiling weakly.
"Why don't we go get a cup of coffee and give Alexis and Liz some time."
Nikolas suggested. Sonny and Faithe began to follow him out of the room,
but Lucky wanted to stay if Liz needed him.
"Go, it's all right." She said softly, reading his thoughts.
"You sure?"
"Yeah I'll be fine." She said giving a small smile.
Lucky kissed her on her cheek; "I love you." He whispered.
Liz's smile grew. "I love you too."

"Alexis, do want coffee?" Sonny asked.
"Please." She said, "Thank you."
Sonny smiled and walked out with the others.

Alexis walked over and sat next to Liz. Neither knew what to say. Alexis
opened and closed her mouth several times trying to decide what to say.
"So..." They both said at once.
They both let out a nervous laugh.
"I already got the blood test and I told them to put a rush on it so we
should have the results soon." Alexis said.
Liz just nodded and looked uncomfortable.
"This is awkward isn't it?" Alexis noted.
"Just a little."
"What do you say to the young woman who might be daughter?" Alexis winced
slightly, "That didn't really come out right."
"No, I know what you mean. It's not exactly a situation you prepare for."
Liz said
"No, but in a way it's something I always dreamed about." Alexis said
sadly.
"How so?"
"Well sitting around talking with my baby girl. Seeing how she turned out.
I've always dreamed about who she would be if she wasn't killed..." Alexis
stopped short, she was still trying to let it all sink in. Elizabeth might
be her baby girl. And even if she wasn't her baby girl was out there
somewhere. But for some reason Alexis had a feeling that Liz was that
little girl. Alexis composed herself and took a deep breath.
"Did you know... that you were adopted?" Alexis asked tentatively.
Liz shook her head. "No, but I guess it doesn't really surprise me. I never
really fit in with my family. They're all blonde, smart, and polite.  My
parents... and Steven Lars, they're all doctors, and Sarah, well she's
probably headed that way, or something else scientific. I want to be an
artist."
"You do?" Alexis asked in a weak voice.
"Yeah." Liz nodded her head.
"Your fath... The father of my baby was an artist. A painter actually. He
was so talented." Her voice broke, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Really?" Liz sounded more like she was five than 16.
"Yeah, he was so kind. He had the biggest heart. And his eyes, they were so
beautiful. Hazel with little gold flecks, they were..." Alexis turned her
head and looked into Liz's eyes. She swallowed back a sob. "...like yours."
Instantly Liz's eyes filled with tears, and the two women looked at each
other on the verge of weeping.
 

In the cafeteria

Lucky, Sonny, Faithe, and Nikolas were all sitting at a table sipping
coffee.
"How did Alexis take it, when you told her?" Lucky asked Sonny.
"She was mostly numb, she didn't really talk on the way here."
Suddenly Nikolas let out a short laugh, and all three of them looked at him
like he was crazy.
"What exactly is funny about this?" Lucky asked confused.
"It just occurred to me that, if all this is true, my brother is dating my
cousin." Nikolas explained, barely holding his laughter back.
All of them erupted with laughter at that statement.
Stefan walked up to the group. He was confused by the laughter, but decided
not to comment on it.
Nikolas glanced up and smiled. "Father. Alexis is here, she already took a
blood test..."
"I know." Stefan interrupted. "I had the lab put a rush on it. We should
know by the end of the day."
Sonny shook his head; "Alexis already put a rush on it..."
"I have a little more authority." Stefan said glaring at Sonny.
Stefan was not happy, not only did Nikolas insist on staying at the
hospital, he was with this young girl, Faithe and not to mention Sonny
Corinthos. Faithe had been the one to get Nikolas in so much danger. Her
and Lucky were a combination that Stefan saw as trouble.

The hospital PA blared its message in the cafeteria.
"Dr. Scanlon to room 375 stat!"
One thought ran through the minds of all five of them.
'That's Luke's room.'

Chapter 26
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