This story and it's companion, Arriving, are kidna prequels to a story
that is still being worked on.

Leaving (1/2)

Lucky Spencer sat in the tree, looking in through his best friend's
bedroom window, watching her sleep.

*All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go
There's so many times I've let you down
Now the time has come to leave you*

He knew he should knock on the window, wake Emily up and tell her he
was leaving. But he couldn't. It would hurt to much to say good bye to
her.

*I'm standing here outside your door
So many times I've played around
One more time, let me kiss you*

It had been a month since Lucky had caught his girlfriend, Liz, and
Emily's older brother, Jason, together in Liz's studio. But the time
hadn't dulled the pain.

*I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
I tell you now, they don't mean a thing
Then close your eyes, I'll be on my way*

Emily had done her best to comfort him, to help him have fun, but it
hadn't worked. Especially since they were always bickering about
Lucky's refusal to forgive Jason.

*But the dawn is breakin' it's early morn
Every place I go, I'll think of you
Dream about the days to come*

Lucky sighed. He needed to leave soon, so he and his dad, Luke, would
make their flight. They were leaving in just a little over an hour.
And Lucky didn't know when, or if, they'd come back. All he knew was
he had to get out of Port Charles for a while.

*The taxi's waitin' he's blowin' his horn
Every song I sing, I'll sing for you
When I won't have to leave alone*

Just as he was about to leave, Emily's alarm went off, and she sat up,
rubbing her eyes. Lucky smiled slightly and raised his hand to tap on
the window, but then he dropped it and shook his head. Lucky climbed
down out of the tree and walked to the street, where his dad was
waiting for him.

"You talk to her?" Luke asked when Lucky climbed in the car.

Lucky shook his head. "No. I couldn't do it."

Luke nodded. "Well, maybe it's for the best. She probably just would
have gotten all emotional on you."

"Yeah," Lucky said absently. "Probably."

~*~*~

Emily Bowen-Quartermaine woke up bright and early Saturday morning.
She had big plans for the day. But first, she had to go convince her
best friend, Lucky Spencer, to come with her.

An hour later, Emily ran up the steps of the Spencer family home on
Charles street. She knocked on the door, but received no answer. After
several minutes, she decided to try Lucky's aunt Bobbie's house.

~*~*~

"Now boarding, flight 6734 to Seattle, Washington, Gate 4," the
airport speakers blared.

Luke stood up. "That's us, Cowboy."

"I know."

"You ready?"

"Yeah," Lucky said as he, too, stood.

The father and son walked towards the gate.

~*~*~

10 minutes later, Emily smiled as the door to Bobbie's home, the
Brownstone, opened. "Hi, Bobbie!"

"Hi Emily. What can I do for you?"

"I was hoping you knew where I could find Lucky."

Bobbie frowned. "Emily, I thought Lucky was going to tell you. He and
Luke left this morning."

"Left? Well, when will they be back?"

Bobbie shook her head. "I don't know. I really don't know."

Emily nodded. "Okay, thanks Bobbie." She turned around and started
back towards her car. She managed to hold back her tears until she was
inside, then she started sobbing. "I should have told him," she
whispered, "I should have told him I loved him."


~*~*~

Lucky sat in the seat near the window, watching the runway zip by. The
plane lowly lifted off, and Lucky kept staring out the window.

*Already I'm so lonesome I could die
When I come back I'll bring your wedding ring
About the times I won't have to say*

He watched as Port Charles became smaller and smaller. Finally, the
plane passed into clouds, and the town disappeared.

*So kiss me and smile for me; tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
'Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Oh, babe, I hate to go*

Lucky touched the window lightly, and let his tears finally roll down
his cheeks. "Good bye, Emily."

The End

Seattle, Washington

Sly Eckert was waiting at the airport when the plane touched down. He
hadn't seen his cousin Lucky in almost 6 years, not since they were
12, but the two had kept in touch via letters and e-mail.

Sly had been devastated when Lucky had 'died' a year and a half ago,
but had been unable to make it to the funeral. When, nine months
later, Sly had learned that Lucky was alive, he had started up their
correspondence again.

When Sly had gotten the e-mail telling him to be at the Airport that
evening, he had been surprised, and curious. So of course he had gone.
Now, as he stood watching the departing passengers he wondered why
Lucky was coming to Seattle. He wasn't even sure what Lucky looked
like now.

But somehow Lucky knew what he looked like. "Hey Cuz!"

Sly looked at the person who had spoken, and his jaw dropped in shock.
He knew his cousin had gone through a lot, and had changed. But Lucky
was barely recognizable. The teenager was very thin, and had dark
shadows under his eyes. But, when Sly looked into those blue eyes, he
saw the cousin he remembered. "Lucky?"

"Yeah, it's me. And, I know, I look like hell," Lucky replied.

"He looks better than he did when he first came home, though," Lucky's
dad, Luke, said as he joined the two.

"If he looked worse then, I'm glad I didn't see it," Sly commented.

"Believe me, the fewer people who saw me like I was, the better,"
Lucky commented. "You're probably wondering why we're here."

"Yeah, I am. But that doesn't matter. You're here, and I'm glad you're
here."

Lucky smiled slightly. "My girlfriend cheated on me with Jason
Morgan..."

"Emily's brother?" Sly asked.

"Yeah. I'm pissed at Lizzie, I'm pissed and Jason, and I'm kinda
annoyed with Em for being mad that I won't forgive Jason. Not to
mention the fact that my mother wanted to commit me when I came home,
and her new husband tried to bribe doctors into saying I needed to be
committed," Lucky said in a rush. "So, Dad suggested we split. He's
gonna stay with me until I'm 18, doing better, or I tel him to leave,
which ever comes first, and Then I'll decide whether I want to go back
to PC, or go somewhere else."

"Well, I've got room in my apartment for you guys, if you want to stay
with me," Sly said. "I mean, there's a fold-out couch."

"Fine with me. Sounds better than the sleazy hotel we'd go to
otherwise," Lucky joked.

~*~*~*~

That night, Sly told Luke to take the bedroom, saying he wanted to
hangout with Lucky. Actually he wanted to find out more details about
what had happened.

"What happened? I mean, where were you when everyone though you were
dead?" Sly asked.

"I was in Canada the last couple of months, before that, who knows? I
was in an underground room at first, then one night I had dinner, felt
really tired and went to sleep. When I woke up, I was in a room with a
view. It was snowing outside," Lucky replied.

"Why the move?"

"No clue. Maybe I was getting too sick. You know me Sly, I'm always
doing stuff, running around, talking, laughing. A couple of months of
doing nothing was..."

"Killing you."

"Exactly. Anyway, one day an alarm went off in my room. The guard
rushes in, and both of us see a shadow outside the window. The guard
runs back out, closing the door behind him. Only the door bounced back
open. I walked over and peeked out. The hall was completely empty! The
dumb asses had just taken off to find the intruder and left me free to
escape! So I grabbed a pair of shoes and a flannel shirt, and ran out
of there. I got out of the house, and off the grounds, walked about 10
miles to the nearest town and collapsed. Next thing I know I'm waking
up in the hospital with dad sitting next to me. It seems Monica
Quartermaine had been in this little town, Hampton, on a doctor's
exchange program. She recognized and called Dad." Lucky paused and
took a deep breath. "And that's that. I went home."

"But what about Laura?"

Lucky sighed and fiddled with a loose string on the arm of the couch.
"I was...I don't know. I guess I was a little crazy when I went home.
I wouldn't touch the windows, or go outside unless someone went with
me. I asked permission about everything. And the nightmares... I
really scared Lulu a couple of times with my yelling." He sighed
again. "Mom and Dad had gotten divorced while I was 'dead' and she
married Stefan Cassadine not long after I came back. They arranged
that I had to live with them every weekend, and I hated it.
Wyndmere... it was so much like the decorating in the place in Canada.
Gothic, dark, depressing. I got worse every weekend. That's when Mom
first suggested committing me."

"Somehow I don't see Luke taking that suggestion well," Sly joked.

"No, Dad freaked. He's a couple of inches taller than Stefan, and way
taller than mom. SO when he found out, Dad went and stood up at his
full height and told them, and I quote, 'No way in hell are you
putting my son in the loony bin!' It was actually pretty funny. He
started fighting, and social worker saw how much better I was when I
was with Dad, so things changed so Mom just got visitation rights
every Sunday. And I decided where went. Basically I made sure I didn't
have to deal with them much."

"How?" Sly asked, knowing it was something sneaky.

"I made Mom go to church with me. And Stefan figured I was dangerous,
so he insisted on coming, too. In church they couldn't really talk to
me, and I felt safe there. Especially since Sonny started going to
services at my church, too, so he could keep an eye on me."

"Sonny Corinthos? Isn't he Catholic?"

"Yeah, he is. He went to Catholic services in the evening. He and our
cousin Carly got married."

"I remember you telling me about her. All right, on to what the slut
did."

Lucky couldn't help laughing at Sly's nickname for Lucky's
ex-girlfriend, Elizabeth Webber. "Lizzie's an artist, so she has a
studio she paints in. Well, I knew she and Jason had gotten close
while I was dead, but I didn't know they were REALLY close. Until I
walked into Lizzie's studio a month ago. I caught them together."

"Together?"

"Sex, Sly. I was suppose to be Lizzie's true love, but she had told me
that she wasn't ready. But apparently she was ready for him. Anyway, I
got pissed, slugged Jason, walked out and went to the catacombs. Em
found me there a couple hours later. Dad had called her and told her I
was missing, so she decided to check a few places out. I told her what
happened, and she comforted me. A few days later she started her
crusade to try and get me to forgive Jason."

"What?! The guy majorly betrayed you!"

"I know, but he is her brother. I refused, and she dropped it. She's
mentioned it a few times since then. Mom kept up her commit Lucky
crusade, with Stefan's help, and Dad suggested we spilt town. SO, here
we are."

"Well, I'm glad you came."

"So am I. I was wondering, how come you're not living with your Aunt
Jenny anymore?"

"She was way too strict. I'm doing okay, and she checks in on me
occasionally, makes sure I'm going to school." Sly paused. "You and
Luke gonna stick around?"

"Maybe, if we can find somewhere to live."

"You guys can stay here for a while. If you do stay, make sure you're
in this district and got to Lincoln High, that's the school I'm at."

"You're a senior?"

"Yup."

"Cause of the year of hell I'm a year behind."

"So you're a junior?"

"Yup."

"Still, if you stay in town, go to Lincoln. It's a good school."

"I'll think about it. Depends on what Dad wants to do," Lucky said,
yawning as he finished.

"How about we hit the sack? It'd be almost midnight back in PC," Sly
suggested.

"Sounds good to me."

THE END