CHAPTER FIVE

Two days later…

Emily stares out at Wyndemere as she walks on to the docks. She stops and gasps when she sees Nikolas setting on the bench, his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking with each sob. Of course she thinks he’s grieving for his dead brother, but he’s actually sobbing from the guilt of the knowledge of what his grandmother had tried to do.

"Nikolas?" Emily places a hand on his shoulder and sets beside him. "It’s okay. I miss him too."

Nikolas looks up at her, his beautiful brown eyes tortured. "It’s all my fault Em! It’s all my fault! My grandmother did this! It’s all my fault!" He cried.

"What?" Emily furrows her brow confused by what Nikolas was saying. "You’ve lost me here."

"My grandmother Helena! She was behind the fire at Lucky’s apartment! She’s the reason my brother isn’t with us!" Nikolas cries, burying his head in his hands, horrified that he’s said so much to Emily.

"Nikolas…"

"I better go. I’ve said too much. I’ll see you around Emily," Nikolas gets up before he can say anything else and heads for his cottage where he can be alone to deal with his own guilty feelings.

"Nikolas! Nikolas!" Emily calls, but it’s of no use, Nikolas is gone. She sets back worried. She hopes that her friend didn’t do anything desperate in his state of mind.

"Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?" Laura asked Luke and they wait for Sonny’s car to drive up and take them to visit Lucky.

Luke shakes his head. "I’m positive. I already saw Lucky. It’s you and Lulu’s turn. Tell the kid I love him and will be up tomorrow."

Laura sighs. "Well, ok. We’ll see you tomorrow then," Laura and Lulu dunk into the car. Luke stands on the porch until the car disappears around the corner then goes back into the house to plan how he’s going to deal with Helena and Cesar Faison. They were going to regret going after his son.

Nikolas is setting at his cottage, just staring off into the darkness of the house when there’s a slight knock at the door. Sighing he gets up to answer the door. He’s surprised to see Lulu and Laura. "Laura…Lulu…what are you doing here?"

"Pack your things Nikolas. We’re going to take you to see Lucky," Laura’s face is filled with determination.

"What? But Luke said…"

"Forget what Luke says. You do want to see Lucky again don’t you?"

"Of course…"

"Well then get packed," Laura commands her eldest son. She sighs, remembering what the last couple of days have been like for Nikolas. She saw how his guilt for what happened has been tearing him apart. Seeing Lucky was what he needed and she wasn’t going to let Luke stand in the way.

"But it’s not safe Laura. Helena can be…"

"Sonny’s men have taken care of Helena’s men, plus they swept the house for bugs earlier and found nothing. So are you coming?"

Nikolas eagerly nods and runs upstairs to pack his things. Ten minutes later Laura and her two children are on the road, heading out of Port Charles.

Two hours later they pull up in front of the fancy chateau that Sonny has Lucky and Elizabeth set up in. The guard immediately stops them.

"I recognize you two but what about him?"

"Nikolas Cassadine. Lucky’s brother," Laura answers. "I’ve talked to Sonny days ago and had him put on that list."

"Yes, there he is. Ok, you may go," The guard steps aside.

"That was easy," Nikolas whispers to his mother then stops. "Laura…what if Lucky doesn’t want to see me? What if he blames me for this…"

Laura sighs and takes her son’s hand. "Nikolas listen to me. Lucky doesn’t blame you. He knows that this was Helena. That you had nothing to do with it. He’s not Luke. He wants to see you as much as you want to see him I’m sure."

Nikolas nods and follows Laura and Leslie Lu up to the front porch and into the foyer.

"Lucky! Liz!" Laura calls.

Nikolas takes a step back. "You know, on second thought I’ll just stay outside and wait."

"Nikolas…" Laura turns to her eldest son when she’s interrupted.

"Mom!" Lucky runs into the foyer and tightly hugs his mother; Liz stands in the doorway, watching the scene. By the expression on her face, Nikolas can tell she’s probably missing Audrey.

"Lulu hi!" Lucky scoops up his little sister and hugs her tightly. "I’ve missed you guys so much."

"Your father told us what happened. Oh Lucky I’m so sorry," Laura wipes away a few stray tears.

"There’s nothing to be sorry about mom. This isn’t your fault."

Nikolas bows his head. He knew whose fault it was.

"And you, it’s definitely good to see you," Lucky takes Nikolas by surprise and embraces him. "I didn’t know if dad would let you come out or not."

"Well actually he didn’t. We kind of had to go behind your father’s back to get Nikolas here," Laura smiled sheepishly. "I knew you would want to see him."

"Well I’m glad," Lucky smiled. His smile fades when he sees the tears in Nikolas’s eyes. "Nikolas? What’s wrong? Why are you so upset?"

"I’m sorry Lucky…all of this…it’s my fault. I know my family was behind this some how…I’m so sorry," Nikolas bows his head.

Lucky smiles and shakes his head. "Nikolas, is your name Helena or Cesar Faison?"

Nikolas looks at Lucky strangely and shakes his head. "No."

"Well then how can this possibly be your fault? I’m not following ya here."

"Cassadine is my last name Lucky. It was my grandmother who paid Faison to have you kidnapped…"

"Number one, for right now that’s just speculation on my dad’s part and number two, even if she is behind this, it’s not your fault. You didn’t go in on it with her, you don’t tell her what to do and you’re not responsible for her actions. Therefore, the blame goes on her. Not you. Nikolas, please, don’t blame yourself for something you’re not a part of."

"But doesn’t it matter that I’m even related to her?"
Lucky laughed. "Well big brother I’d hate to tell you this but you’re related to me too. So if you’re responsible for this…so am I. Ok? We’ll be responsible together."

Nikolas smiles half heartily. "You are crazy. You know that? Fine. I’ll stop blaming myself. Since you’re going to be so insistent about it."

"Good. Now go over there and give Elizabeth a hug," Lucky laughed.

"Hey Liz," Nikolas smiles, going over to hug his friend.

"How’s Em holding up?" Liz asked.

"Fine. But I think she’s worried about me though. I kind of had a breakdown on the docks when she came up this morning. I kind of left her wondering."

"Hopefully this will all be over soon and she won’t have to wonder for long," Lucky sighed. He really hated putting his best friend through this. The last time he did something like this, he had lost her friendship. He hoped this wouldn’t be the case when they did return to Port Charles.

Elizabeth stands in the doorway watching Lucky with his family. They’ve been there for five hours now and Elizabeth can’t help but feel a little jealous. She missed her grams tremendously. She sighed. She didn’t even get to tell Gram good-bye really. What if she never got to see her again, or Sarah again? How about her mom and dad? All of this just wasn’t fair.

"Are you ok?" Laura comes up to Elizabeth. She was worried about the girl since her arrival. Elizabeth has been so quiet sometimes she forgot she was in the room.

"I’m fine. I just guess I’m missing my family. How’s Gram?"

"She’s sad that you went to Bosnia to live with your parents, but she’s understanding," Laura sighs and wraps a reassuring arm around the girl she thought of as a daughter. "I can’t tell you how sorry I am for this Liz. You seem to be paying for Luke and my mistakes. Taking on Helena Cassadine being one of them…or rather, the thing with Nikolas’s father."

"I’m glad you brought Nikolas. Lucky was really worried about him. He thought he was blaming himself and that Luke would make it worse for him."

"I’m glad I brought Nikolas too. I think they needed to see each other," Laura smiles. "You know Elizabeth…my sons wouldn’t be so close if it wasn’t for you and Emily. I don’t know how you two did it…but thank you."

"Hello! Anyone home!" Luke’s voice floats up the stairs.

"Oh no it’s Luke. If he catches Nikolas here…," Laura sighs. "He said he wasn’t coming today."

"Don’t worry mom. I’ll tell him I asked you to bring Nikolas," Lucky shrugs.

"I didn’t think I’d be able to…" Luke comes bounding up the stairs and stops in the doorway when he spots Nikolas, his smile instantly fades. "What is he doing here?"

"Nice to see you too Luke," Nikolas crosses his arms.

"Laura, I told you…"

"I asked her to bring him dad ok," Lucky steps in. "I wanted to see my brother and tell him what you obviously forgot to."

"Luke please…don’t make a scene. Not now…not here," Laura pleaded. "If you want to get mad, get mad when we get home. Right now we’re spending time with our son."

"Helena’s men…" Luke began.

"Sonny’s men took care of Helena’s men before we came here. So don’t worry. Lucky is not in any danger. Please Luke, let Nikolas stay."

"You want the prince here cowboy?" Luke looks at his son.

"You already know the answer to that," Lucky nods.

"Fine. Nikky stays! Against my better judgement but I’m obviously overruled."

"Thanks dad," Lucky grins. "Come on Nikolas, I’ll show you the courtyard outside. I think it’s even bigger than the one at Wyndemere," Lucky laughs as he, Nikolas, Liz, and Lulu disappear out of the room, leaving Laura and Luke alone.

"I know you’re angry…" Laura began.

"Anger doesn’t describe what I’m feeling right now Laura. You put my son’s life in danger just so you can soothe your other son’s guilty conscious!"

"Lucky wanted to see him Luke!" Laura faces her husband dead on.

"Lucky wants a lot of things that aren’t necessarily good for him angel! We never gave in before! What makes this any different?!"

"Because my son was beating himself up over what Helena did…"

"Good! At least one Cassadine will take responsibility!"

"It’s not his fault Luke! I see that and so does Lucky! He doesn’t blame Nikolas one bit for this!"

"The sins of the grandmother always fall on the grandsons," Luke glares at his wife. "I really don’t appreciate you endangering our son just so you can baby Nikolas! I don’t care what Lucky wanted! If Helena finds out where Lucky is, I’m holding you and that demon spawn responsible! Do I make myself clear!"
"Perfectly," Laura glares at Luke. "Now if you don’t mind, I’m going outside to join my sons. You can stay in here and stew in your juices if that makes you happy."

"Fine! Let me tell you Laura I’ve very disappointed!" Luke yells at his wife. "Wait. In a matter of fact I’m not staying in here! I’m going to go outside too!"

Nikolas can feel Luke’s glare on him. Maybe it was a mistake coming. But looking at his brother, Nikolas knew it wasn’t. Let Luke glare all he wants. Lucky was his family too and he wasn’t going to let Luke Spencer keep him away from that.

"So what are you two planning to do once you’re allowed to leave?" Nikolas asked curiously.

"Eat three things of Eli’s ribs," Lucky laughed. "Dad and Sonny thinks it’s a bad idea to have Eli’s brought in because it’s my favorite food. If they’re watching dad or Sonny, that’ll be clue number one that I’m not dead."

Nikolas nods. "They’re right. It’s a known fact that you live off of Eli’s ribs and cheesefries. Maybe next time I come up, I can bring some to you. No one will suspect me."

"Cowboy! Liz! Everyone can you come here for a second!" Luke calls, an idea had accurred to him and he wanted to run it past everyone.

"Yes dad?" Lucky asked, coming up with Liz and Nikolas trailing along behind him.

"I was thinking. With Prince Nikky coming up here….there’ll be a greater chance of Helena discovering the truth. Knowing Nikki, he’s going to want to come back. SO I was thinking. Why don’t we just leave Nikolas here until this blows over. That way we can keep this under wraps longer."

"No way!" Laura angrily exclaims. "It’s bad enough that one of my sons are in hiding, but both of them!"

"Laura please, just think about it. Nikolas will be with his brother. He can write a letter to steffy saying that he’s in morning and wants to leave Port Charles for a while. No one will be the wiser."

"No!" Laura screams. "I can’t be without both my sons!"

"Laura you can come visit them when you want. Just give Sonny a call."
Laura shakes her head vigorously.

"I think it’s a good idea," Nikolas speaks up. "That way I’ll be here to call for help if anything does happen concerning my grandmother. She’d never harm me and would never think that I’d call Luke for help."

"But Nikolas..."

"Plus someone has to keep Lucky in line. It might as well be his big brother,"

"How about Em?" Elizabeth asked. "She’ll wonder what happened to you."

"I’ll make a call from my cell phone. She knows I’ve been depressed lately. I’ll just tell her I had to get away for a while. I’ll tell Stefan the same thing. Those would be the two people I’m closest too, and this way they won’t be suspicious," Nikolas smiles. "Please Laura. Don’t fight this."

Laura hangs her head in defeat. "Who’s next Luke? You want to put Lulu in hiding as well?"
"No darlin. Just The cowboy and the Prince will do. Nikolas, I think it’s best you make those calls now. I’ll go have the other room made up." Luke disappears into the house.

"Don’t worry mom. This won’t be for long," Lucky comforts his sobbing mother. "Nikolas and I will be home before you know it."
"I just hope this is the right thing we’re doing here. I hate the thought of both of my sons being in hiding."

"Everything’s set," Luke comes back. "Get Nikolas started on that letter. I want to mail it as soon as possible." Luke noticed how Laura was glaring at him and sighed. "Listen Angel, I know you don’t like this. But this is for Lucky’s own safety. Especially since you insist on Nikolas being a part of this."

"I know. I just wish…I wished things could be different. That my son’s didn’t have to hide. That Elizabeth could see her family again…It’s not fair Luke! It’s not fair!" Laura bursts into tears.

"I know darling," Luke wrapped his arms around her shivering frame. "I know. But this is only temporary. I promise. You’ll have both of your sons back in no time."

Laura only nodded and went back to her crying, hoping and praying that Luke was right. That soon her boys would be able to come home and not worry about any dangers from Helena again.

*

That night, Nikolas came downstairs to the living room to find Lucky staring listlessly out the window. It’s obvious that he’s deep in thought by the way he’s staring off into the distance.

"Hey, something on your mind you want to talk about?" Nikolas asked, walking up behind his brother.

Lucky shook his head. "Just about how this is going to affect Elizabeth. She hasn’t said anything but she’s really depressed. She wants everything to go back to normal. I wish I could do that for her Nikolas. I hate it that I drug her into this mess."

"I don’t know Lucky. I think she’d be worse off. Believing you were dead…it would destroy her. This way you’re both safe and she’s with you."

"Yeah. Running away from Helena. If this is Helena that is. It could be one of Frank Smith’s people."

Nikolas sighed. "No. This has my grandmother written all over it. But my question is why? What does she have up her sleeve?"

"It could be anything with that wacko grandmother of yours. She hates my parents more than I’ve ever seen anyone hate a person before."
Nikolas laid a hand on Lucky’s shoulder. "I swear to you Lucky, I’ll protect both you and Liz with everything I am…everything I’ve ever been. Even if I have to use my former title."

Lucky turned around and smiled at his brother. He found it hard to believe that just a couple of years ago they couldn’t stand one another and now here Nikolas was pledging his protection towards him. "That means a lot to both of us Nikolas. It really does. Thank you," Lucky hugged his brother tightly. Neither notices Luke standing off in a dark corner witnessing the scene. He shook his head, knowing full well that there was no way Nikolas would be able to protect his son from Helena. Only one person could do that, and that was Luke himself and that was what he’s determined to do. One way or another, Helena will regret the day she came up with the plan to kidnap his son.

HOME

CHAPTER INDEX

CONTINUE