P.S.-The working title is "Miracle", but it'll be
replaced as soon as
I think of a better one.
Chapter 1
Elizabeth Webber was curled up on her couch late one clear night in
April when
the doorbell rang. She smiled and got up to answer it.
At this hour she knew
there was only one person it could be, and she was right. Lucky
Spencer
appeared before her in the moonlight, grinning from ear to ear.
"A flower for the lady?", he asked in his best French
accent, pulling
a single white rose from behind his back.
"Ohh...", Elizabeth melted. "Thank
you, Lucky, that's so
sweet.", she said softly. She opened the door further
to let him in, then
stood on tiptoe and kissed him gently.
"Mmm..." Lucky mumbled. "If that's
what I get in return, I wish
I had more roses."
Elizabeth giggled and sat down on the couch, motioning for him to join
her. She
knew that it was almost midnight, and that Audrey was going to kill
her if she
found out, but that was a risk she was willing to take. Lucky
shook his head.
"We've got no time to sit down. There are places
to go and people to
see, come on, let's go." He reached for her hand, nodding
towards the
door.
Elizabeth's face scrunched up and she looked at him in confusion.
"Lucky,
what are you talking about? It's too late to go anywhere, Gram would
have my
head!"
As if on cue, Audrey Hardy walked through the kitchen door and into
the room.
Unbeknownst to Liz, she gave Lucky a quick wink before speaking.
"Hello, dear, I trust that Lucky's informed you of your little
trip?"
Paying no attention to Liz's answer, she continued. "Well,
good, then you
had better be going or you'll be late. I packed your suitcases
for you, they're
upstairs in the hall. Have a lovely time!" With that,
Audrey winked again
at Lucky and quickly retreated to her room.
Utterly lost, Elizabeth looked at Lucky, who stood looking rather proud
of
himself.
"Lucky? Where are we going?" Liz could feel excitement
welling up
inside her, even though she had no clue what was going on.
He wiggled one eyebrow at her and chuckled mischieviously. "That's
for me
to know and you to find out, now hurry up and grab your stuff."
Elizabeth grinned and stood up. Before running upstairs, she kissed
him
quickly. "I love you. I'll be right back."
Five minutes later, with her luggage and a light jacket, Liz followed
Lucky out
the front door. Audrey watched them leave from a second floor
window and
sighed. That Spencer boy sure was a charmer. Smiling, she
climbed into bed and
turned off the light, knowing that Elizabeth was in good hands.
Chapter 2
Meanwhile, across town at the Quartermaine mansion, Nikolas Cassidine
pulled a
small, silver key out of his pocket and quietly let himself in.
Emily
Quartermaine was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs in her
nightgown.
"Hey! Are you alright? What's the big emergency?",
she asked, standing
up and embracing him.
Nikolas pulled back and kissed her gently on the cheek. "Nothing's
wrong,
I'm fine. What made you think there was some kind of problem?"
"Well," she sighed in relief, "when you called
and told me to
meet you down here in ten minutes, I didn't really know what to think."
"Oh," he chuckled softly. "Sorry about
that. How would you feel
about taking a little trip with me?" he asked.
"A trip? When? Now? It's after midnight..." she trailed off, confused.
" I know, but trust me. Your suitcases are in the back
of the Jag, Leticia
packed them. I checked with your parents, it's ok with them.
So, what do you
say? Liz and Lucky will be there." he added.
Although her mind was reeling with so much information at once, Emily
knew that
to refuse was to miss out on what was sure to be a great adventure.
She looked
at Nikolas, hesitation still on her face.
"Gosh, I mean, I'm not even dressed, you must think I look
awful." She
raised a hand to her rumpled hair, blushing.
"Be quiet. You're beautiful. We're leaving now."
Before Emily could protest, Nikolas wrapped one arm around her waist,
put the
other one under her knees, and scooped her into the air. Laughing,
he carried
her out to the waiting Jaguar, as the door shut resoundly behind them.
So far
the plan was a success.
Chapter 3
As he drove, Lucky kept sneaking little glances at the angel sitting
in the
passenger seat. She looked so cute, he couldn't help himself.
Her cheeks were
flushed with anticipation, her eyes were shining, and she was biting
her lower
lip again. He loved it when she did that.
"Lucky, watch out for that cat!", Elizabeth suddenly yelled.
"Huh? Wh-" Lucky looked back at the road just in time
to see a large
yellow feline staring into the car's headlights. Yanking the
wheel sharply
right, he managed to swerve out of the animal's path at the last possible
second.
"Whoops! That was close!", he commented lightly, hoping
that she
wouldn't flip out on him.
Elizabeth let out a long breath and looked at him like he was crazy.
"Lucky Spencer, you almost killed that poor cat! Who taught
you to drive
with your eyes closed, anyway?"
"They weren't closed, they were just...preoccupied. Can
you blame me for
wanting to stare at a beautiful woman?", he asked, knowing
full well what
her answer would be.
Elizabeth just rolled her eyes and punched him lightly in the arm.
"Well,
I guess not, but I want to make it there in one piece, ok?"
Lucky nodded. The rest of the drive passed in comfortable silence, and
a few
moments later they pulled into a parking spot at the Port Charles International
Airport. Lucky smiled to himself as they climbed out and began retrieving
the
luggage. So far, so good he thought.
Chapter 4
Lucky and Elizabeth finally managed to unload all of the suitcases from
the
trunk, and began walking towards the terminal. Just then, Elizabeth
heard a
female voice behind them call out her name. Turning, she squinted
in the
darkness and was able to make out Emily's form walking towards them,
with
Nikolas at her side. Nikolas was struggling with Emily's black leather
Louis
Vuitton suitcases.
"Em, Nik! Don't tell me you guys are in on Lucky's secret trip,
too?"
The four continued walking as Lucky and Nikolas shared a glance.
"Actually, Liz, I think it's just these two goofballs here.
By any chance
were you dragged out of your house in your pajamas, like I was?"
Emily
gestured to her nightgown as Elizabeth laughed.
"Not quite, I was still dressed, but you get the idea."
The two friends continued chatting excitedly as they entered the terminal
and
went straight to the check-in counter to drop off their luggage.
There was no
need for the customary ticket check or identity check, since, Nikolas
explained,
they would be traveling in his private Concorde jet.
"Oooh!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "That
sounds so
sophisticated!" Emily giggled.
Lucky and Nikolas excused themselves to use the facilities, so Emily
and
Elizabeth decided to take a little stroll around the terminal.
They had about
fifteen minutes to kill before they could board the plane, anyway.
So they
purchased some Snookies Cookies and the latest issue of People Magazine
before
meeting back up with Nikolas and Lucky.
Boarding went smoothly, and when the seatbelt sign went off, they all
got up to
rearrange their seats. Elizabeth ended up on Lucky's lap. Lucky
didn't seem to
mind.
"Thank you.", Elizabeth whispered into his ear, nibbling
lightly on
his earlobe.
"For what?", he whispered back.
"For all of this."
"Awwww," he smiled, "you ain't seen nothin' yet."
Chapter 5
Eleven hours later, Nikolas' Concorde touched down on a small air base
somewhere
in Europe. The flight had been a bit long, but otherwise uneventful.
Emily and
Liz had slept most of the way, while Nikolas and Lucky discussed the
plan in
hushed whispers. Of course, now that they had landed, the girls
were wide awake
and eager to see where exactly they were.
"OK, ladies, here's the deal. We're going to take these
lovely
bandannas," Nikolas held up two black cloth strips, "and
tie them over
your eyes."
Elizabeth and Emily exchanged slightly worried glances.
"Then," Lucky piped up, "we're all going
to go outside and take a
nice, refreshing walk."
"Blindfolded?!?", both girls exclaimed.
"Yep!" replied both brothers simultaneously, and Emily
laughed at
Nikolas' use of the word 'yep'. Lucky saw the look Elizabeth
was giving him and
plastered a smile onto his face.
"Don't worry, you'll be safe with us. Are you guys ready?"
Emily and Elizabeth looked at each other and shrugged. What did
they have to
lose? That was how, a few minutes later, the two girls found
themselves being
led out of the plane, bandannas firmly in place. The four teenagers
set off at
a slow but steady pace, and within five minutes had come to a stop.
Nikolas
glanced at Lucky, who nodded. Time to remove the blindfolds.
Elizabeth and Emily opened their eyes. Emily gasped, and
Lucky smiled as
Elizabeth's jaw dropped open.
"Ohhhh....my.......gosh....", she breathed in awe.
"Ditto...", was all Emily could say.
The two brothers laughed softly. Em and Liz just stood and stared,
dumbstruck.
They were standing in the center of a grassy meadow of sorts.
All around them,
in a semi-circle, was an humongous marble rock formation, covered in
what seemed
like miles of lilac vines and honeysuckle. The air seemed sweet
enough to
taste, and near one end of the formation Emily saw a small, natural
waterfall
trickling gently to the ground. The colors were brilliant and
abundant. Slate
gray, with flashes of white and silver, overlapped with the hunter
green,
violet, and pale yellow of the vines. Bright red patches of wildflowers
dotted
the ground, and the sky was pure blue.
Finally, after a few moments of amazed silence, Em and Elizabeth turned
around
and looked at Nikolas and Lucky. Both girls' faces were streaked
with tears.
"Lucky...", Elizabeth managed.
Ever the drama king, Lucky raised his eyebrows. "What?",
he asked
innocently.
"What- what is this place?"
Emily broke in. "I think it's Heaven."
Everybody laughed quietly, and Lucky and Nikolas looked at each other.
Here
goes nothing, they thought.
Stepping back from the girls, Nikolas and Lucky extended their arms.
"Ladies,", they said in unison, "welcome
to Paris."