| Chapter 4: Lucky walked slowly up the long stairway leading to Wyndemere. He felt like he was being led to his doom or at least like he was trapped in one of those late night horror movies he used to say up late with his father watching. �His father�? Lucky felt torn and lost as he tried to figure out what had happened. It didn�t help that everyone bugged him all the time about it either. Lucky wished they would leave him alone and give him time to think about all of this. It wasn�t happening and Lucky felt frustrated about it all. As Bobbie and Lucky walked into the house, Lucky's feeling that this was a mistake got stronger. Standing waiting for them was Alexis, Stefan, Nikolas, and someone else. Lucky figured it was a maid of some kind but right now he was too tired to figure it out. He just wanted to go to his room or where ever they were going to place him to hide until Luke came and got him. �Welcome.� Stefan said trying to act as warmly as he could. He took the bag Bobbie was carrying and handed it to Mrs. Lansbury to take to Lucky�s room. �Yes, Welcome,� Alexis said walking toward Lucky to greet him but she noticed him step back as she got near. She decided to back off and let things be. Bobbie noticed Lucky�s tension and placed a warm gentle hand on his shoulder. �No one is going to hurt you,� Bobbie said. �Don�t bet on it,� Lucky thought to himself but he kept quiet. He looked around the room for a way to escape but so far there was none. �Why was he here? Why didn�t they leave him with Aunt Ruby?� �Hi, Lucky.� Nikolas said as he walked toward a scared half brother. �What me to show you to your room?� Nikolas held out a hand but Lucky ignored it. He walked around Nikolas and waited for him to show him. Nikolas sensed this and headed upstairs. He wanted to make up for the lost time, but it looked like Lucky wasn�t going to make things easy on him. After loosing his sister and Laura, Nikolas felt like he lost his world. He wanted to latch onto the only person that was left that had really known them. Lucky was it but the problem was how would they get past all they had said to each other. Bobbie watched them go and after they were gone she let out a sign of frustration. �He refuses to open up. I�m beginning to think that Ruby was right. Lucky would have been better off with her.� Bobbie said as she sat down in the chair beside the door. The strain of everything that had happened the last few days has finally caught up with her. She laid her head back and let out a deep breath. Stefan motioned for Alexis to leave them alone and he walked behind Bobbie and started to rub her temples. �Oh, that feels good. You have a cure of Lucky?� she asked. �Not a quick fix.� Stefan said. �Dr. Collins is coming over this afternoon. He may have some suggestions for us.� �I hope so. I�m out of ideas,� Bobbie said as Stefan rubbed. She wanted him to do this forever but that wasn�t going to happen. �Barbara,� Stefan said as she stopped rubbing and moved to the couch. �I have not said anything because Lucky is your nephew and I know how you feel about my family, but don�t you think that his tension is do to us?� �Partly, yes, but what was I suppose to do. The Social worker turned down Ruby and Amy. I was the only family Lucky had left that could take him in. I just couldn�t let him be sent to some foster home.� Bobbie said. �I understand that, but you must see that living here is going be tense for while,� Stefan said. �I know and I am very grateful that you haven�t done anything to get back and Luke. I know you are doing it for me but it does help. All of this is just hard enough to deal with without the fight between our families to make it worse,� Bobbie said getting up from the chair and gave him a kiss. Stefan smiled at her and Bobbie then went up to check up on Lucky. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A little while later, Stefan was in his office doing paper work. When Nikolas walked in and sat across from him. He had this quizzical look on his face and it got Stefan�s attention. Stefan put down his pen just as Nikolas asked, �Father, What are up to?� �Paperwork,� Stefan said not getting his son�s question. Stefan had told Nikolas the truth after Laura�s death. The boy was so torn up from loosing his mother that Stefan was left with no choice. The truth had helped bring Nikolas out of his depression. �No, you don�t understand.� Nikolas said trying to find away to rephrase his question. �Why not go after Luke now?� Nikolas asked him finally. �Oh, I see your question. Why sit back and do nothing when Luke is finally within my grasp to destroy him?� �Yes. We have him. Why not go after him?� Nikolas asked. He blamed Luke for the loss of his mother and sister. He figured he was the reason she left town. �Nikolas, Luke has done himself in. We can turn his son on your side with the right words and actions. It would send Spencer over even more and if we play it right. He will do himself in. We would have spent little time or energy. But we must be careful. Barbara still has strong feeling for her brother and she would not understand our actions.� Stefan warned his son. �I see. So, we get Lucky to our side and hope it shoves Luke even further to drinking? What if doesn�t?� Nikolas asked. �I have another plan. I will convince Barbara that Lucky would be better off with us and have Alexis revoke all of Luke�s rights as parent.� Stefan told him. �I see no problem from the courts reply to our request.� Stefan said coldly. �You have it all figured out and I was worried that you had gone soft on me,� Nikolas said as he got up to check up on his brother. �No, I haven�t. I just have been careful not showing my hand just yet,� Stefan said and he went back to work. Nikolas smiled at his father as he walked out and felt more relaxed about the whole ordeal now that this was cleared up. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kevin Collins looked up at the house that loomed over them and shuddered. When he took Lucky�s case and Luke�s as well, he had one major concern and that was Lucky living with the Cassadines. He talked to Lucy about this and they agreed. If there was the smallest sign that Stefan could use this to get at Luke or hurt Lucky in any way, they would go to the courts and get custody of Lucky themselves. Kevin's view on this might be against a lot of other's in town but he wanted Lucky and Luke to be reunited. He thought this separation was temporary and was going to do everything within his power to make it happen. Kevin walked up to the door and rang the bell. The boom went on for moments afterwards and it made Kevin shudder. �How could anyone live in this place?� he wondered to himself. Mrs. Lansbury opened the door. She smiled a tight smile at him but it never got near her eyes. Kevin wondered if it was a quality of all Cassadine help to be uptight and unwelcoming to guests. Kevin shook this off and spoke up, �I�m here to talk to Lucky Spencer. I�m Doctor Collins.� �Yes, We have been expecting you. The young man is at rest right now. Would you want to talk to the family?� Mrs. Lansbury said in her uptight and professional voice. Kevin feeling that Lucky living here was a mistake grew stronger. He tried to smile at the maid and hid his feelings for now. �No, I want to see Lucky. I�ll talk to the �family� later,� Kevin said. He was having trouble addressing the Cassadines as Lucky�s family. He knew that Bobbie was married to Stefan but because of the Spencer/ Cassadine history. He had a feeling Family would be the last thing either Luke or Lucky would call them. Mrs. Lansbury looked displeased with his choice but didn�t say anything to Kevin about it. She led the doctor into the house and up the main stairway. Kevin looked around as he walked taking in the decor of the house. �His paintings were dark and glumly before his break down but none of them ever got close to this place.� He thought as he walked. Kevin was surprised to find Lucky�s room located near the top back of the house. He also noticed that there was one way into and out the floor he was on. This bothered Kevin and pictures of Lucky being held captive were running through his mind but he brushed it off. He chalked this up to Lucy�s rambling about how wrong it was for Luke�s son be living with the Cassadines. Lucy might be the only real friend Luke had left in town or one that he knew about. She was very vocal about it and as soon Luke was able to have visitors. She was planning to visit. Kevin hoped Luke would be ready for it. He hadn�t see the man yet but Lucy was hard to take normally. If you were coming off a binge she could be almost impossible. Mrs. Lansbury opened Lucky�s door and stepped aside. �I�ll leave you to your work. I�ll inform Mr. Cassadine that you have arrived,� She said and then left without waiting for a reply. �Do that,� Kevin said and watched her go. He then walked into Lucky�s room and was surprised to find how the place changed from dark and glumly to almost a true teenagers room. Foster was lying on the floor on the rug watching his young master standing by the window looking out. Kevin noticed the tension in Lucky and made a mental note of it. He cleared his voice before speaking, �Lucky? It�s Doctor Collins. I�m here for our talk. How you feel?� Kevin waited for some sign that Lucky heard him but beside the little jump Lucky made when he cleared his throat, he got no sign that the boy knew he was there. Kevin walked closer and stood a few feet way. He did note that Foster was more on alert and watched every move he made. Kevin wasn�t planning on becoming the dog's lunch so he took it slow. �I know this must hard on you. Being brought here and being told you can�t be near Luke. I don�t like much myself and to tell you the truth it gives me the creeps.� �It sucks,� Lucky said for the first time but he still hadn�t looked at Kevin. �The place or the situation?� Kevin asked him. Taking Lucky�s remark as a small hint of progress. �Both.� Lucky said. �I understand that. You want to know something. I know how you feel,� Kevin said. �No you don�t,� Lucky said. �You would be surprised. I never lost my parents at a young age or my brother, but I was hurt by someone I love. I wasn�t hit but what happened to me was a little more confusing,� Kevin said. �Tell me about it,� Lucky said turning to Kevin and taking a seat in the chair beside him. Kevin sat down in the other chair and told Lucky his story. He didn�t go into much detail but he did convey to Lucky that he did know something about being hurt by a parent. Lucky listened and took in everything that Kevin said. �Maybe he would understand? Maybe he wouldn�t make rash judgments about all of this.� Lucky thought as Kevin talked. �You still love her?� Lucky asked Kevin after he was done talking. �Her yes. What she did to me and Ryan. NO,� Kevin said. �People don�t understand that do they?� Lucky said as he petted Foster. The dog had moved closer and placed his head on his master�s lap. �No, They think we should hate them. You don�t hate Luke do you,� Kevin said more as a statement then a question. He looked at Lucky and noticed that the kid still hadn�t really looked him right in the face. �No. I still love him. I hate what he did and the person he turned into but not him. I still want my father back. Can you help me find him?� Lucky asked looking at Kevin with tears filling his blue eyes. Lucky�s eyes were the key to his soul and right now all Kevin saw was pain and confusion. �I will help you both. I took on Luke�s case as much as yours. Lucky, I have one goal and that is to bring you and your father together. I will not advise anything else. Unless, Your life would be in danger.� Kevin said trying to get this idea across to Lucky. �You're the first. Everyone that has talked to me before keeps saying that Dad should be locked away for life. He only hit me that one time and I�m not defending him. I just don�t think once was bad enough to be taken from me,� Lucky said as the tears started to fall. �No, especially if Luke gets help,� Kevin said as he looked around for a box of tissues. He found them on the nightstand and got up to give them to Lucky. Kevin handed them over asking, �What happened?� �You mean that night or all of it?� Lucky asked. �Start at the beginning,� Kevin said pulling out a small recorder and pressed play. �I am taping this for me. I am bad at notes. No one will hear it but me.� Kevin explained as she saw Lucky�s eyes look at the recorder with a worried look on his face. �Okay,� Lucky said still not sure about the recorder. He did start to ignore it and slowly told Kevin everything. �We were in the car when we hard about mom and Lu. Neither one of us talked at all. Dad just whipped the car around and head to the airport. The place was a mad house and it took awhile to get someone to talk to us. They didn�t know much about what happened but they said they were pulling out surveyors now. We waited there for hours for some news. Family and friends started to arrive to wait with us. I remember looking a dad and saw this lost look on his face. I know I felt just as lost.� �Did you go with Luke to ID the bodies?� Kevin asked. �No, he wouldn't let me go. I stayed at home. Amy stayed with me. Dad when by himself,� Lucky said. �I thought someone went with him?� Kevin said sicken at the idea Luke did all that by himself. He should have had someone with him to lend moral support. �No, I think Ruby offered but she is so sick lately that he didn�t want to bother her,� Lucky said. �What happened next,� Kevin asked him as a picture of what when wrong started to take shape. �Dad came home. He didn�t talk or even look at anyone. He just went into his bedroom and stayed there. I know he made some calls and got things started for the funeral. I don�t remember much of that because I wasn�t really thinking. Amy stayed with us for few days afterwards but Dad finally talked her into going home. We packed up most of mom's and Lu�s clothes. We even talked about the good times we had,� Lucky said as he wiped tears off his face. �When did he start drinking?� Kevin asked. �The day I went back to school. He was fine when I left and I was only gone part of the day. I couldn�t take school just yet so I skipped half a day. I came home and the place was trashed. Dad was sitting on the floor with a bottle in one hand and a gun in the other,� Lucky said wincing at the memory. �A gun? What did you do?� Kevin asked as he started to wonder about Luke�s mental state more and more. �I talked to him. He waved it around and threatened to end it. He passed out not long afterwards and I took it from him. I think that is what he was looking for the day he hit me. I took all the guns and hid them. I was afraid of what he would do,� Lucky said looking at Kevin, waiting for him to make some kind of judgment. Kevin did nothing of the kind. He just kept his face the same and asked, �Why didn�t you go to someone for help?� �Who? Bobbie was living with the bat. Sonny couldn�t help. I don�t know Jason that much and Ruby was sick. I also don�t see Amy helping too much. I was afraid that if people knew they would lock him up. I thought I would lose him,� Lucky said as tears started to fall all over again. Kevin got up and kneeled right in front of Lucky. �You're not alone any more. I will not let them take him from you. I will help your father and you. All I want you to know is the truth. Okay?,� Kevin said looking Lucky right in the eye. �Okay,� Lucky said as he fought the tears. �Can you tell Dad that I love him?� Lucky asked. �I�ll tell him and I'll say that he has a great son and that he is worth fighting for,� Kevin said as he stood up and turned off the recorder. �I think you talked enough today. I�ll be back tomorrow and we will pick up from where we left off,� Kevin said as he walked toward the door. �Kevin,� Lucky said before he got to far away. �Yeah, Lucky,� Kevin asked as he turned around. �Thanks for not judging. You are the first person that just listened. Everyone else has opinion. I liked it,� Lucky said. �I have an opinion but it's mine. You want it, ask me but if you don�t ask, I will not give it. Now, go take your dog outside and get some air. I think he might need it,� Kevin said as he noted Foster sniffing around the room. Lucky smiled at this and the three of them headed down stairs. Kevin went looking for Bobbie to talk to her before he left and Lucky went outside with Foster. Kevin found Bobbie with Stefan in the den talking. �How is he? You get him to talk? What did my brother do to him?� Bobbie rattled off quickly as Kevin walked into the room. �Easy Bobbie,� Kevin said holding up a hand to her. �One, I will not tell you what me and Lucky talked about.� �Why are you around then?� Stefan snapped at him. �I am here to help Lucky and Luke. My job is to bring them together,� Kevin snapped at Stefan. �That man has no right being near that boy. He is a menace to society.� Stefan said coldly. He didn�t like Dr. Collins' tone of voice. �You will not say those words to Lucky.� Kevin said his eyes flashing with anger �I am warning all of you now. No one will say anything against Luke. If you have opinion of him, you keep it to yourself. Lucky doesn't need to hear it. He loves his father and he needs him. As for what he did, your weren't there. You have no right judging him.� �Kevin, we won�t.� Bobbie said glaring at Stefan then asked. �How is Luke?� �Bobbie, I haven�t talked to Luke but I don�t think he did this out of spite. I think he is hurting as much as Lucky and maybe more but Lucky is your main concern right not.� Kevin said. �So what we do?� Bobbie asked. �Get his life as normal as possible. Get him back to school or help him get caught up. Also, keep him involved with life. Don�t let Lucky hide away but don�t push him either. Do it slowly and gently. Also, after this calmness goes away Lucky is going to be angry and he will take it on the people around him. Watch how you discipline him and talk to him. One wrong word will set him off,� Kevin said. �Okay, He used to work at Ruby�s? You think he should go back?� Bobbie asked �Yes, a few days a week to start. How about telling him it's for Ruby? Helping others might help get his mind off of things,� Kevin said. �And one more thing. IF Lucky tells you anything. Listen. Don�t judge it just listen.� �It�s hard, but I won�t. I am still mixed up about this myself. Part of me wants to hug Luke and the other part wants to kill him.� Bobbie said. �I know it is but try to keep that one half hidden. You could get Lucky to shut down again. The more Lucky opens up the more he will deal with what happened.� Kevin said. �and besides. I don't� think it is all Luke�s fault. We all let them down.� �How?� Stefan said coldly. �By thinking that they were fine. How often were Luke and Lucky seen in town? When was the last time they were seen out? We went on with our lives and they didn�t have a clue how. This wouldn�t have happened if we were not so wrapped up in our own problems.� Kevin said and he walked out but before he got too far. He stopped and turned. �I am going to say this now to be on the record. I don�t think this place is the best for Lucky. I am leery of it. I hope that I am wrong. If see any clue that Lucky will be used for revenge or to get back at Luke, I will go the judge and have his placement re-evaluated. It is on the record at the courts and now you know about it.� Kevin said looking right at Stefan. �You think I would hurt Lucky to get back at Luke?� Stefan said coldly. �Cassadine, I don�t know but I know your family history with the Spencers. I will not risk Lucky or Luke's life to see who is right. You hate Luke but Luke is the only one holding that boy together. He lost his mother, sister, and grandmother. I know he will not survive losing his father,� Kevin told them and left them alone. �I don�t believe that man,� Stefan snapped. �Maybe Lucky should have a new doctor". �No, he is right. I know you promised me that you will not do anything but if you playing me for a fool, be careful, Stefan. I am not a person to be taken lightly. I might mad at Luke but I love him. You take down my brother now and you will be sorry,� Bobbie said getting up and walking out. She cared for Stefan but there was still a part of her that knew that no matter what happened, he would do just about anything to bring down Luke. She hoped that he loved her enough not to do anything. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bobbie had gone looking for Lucky and found him outside as Foster ran around in the gardens chasing the butterflies and other insects flying about. �Hi, I�m glad you came out of that hole. How do you feel?� Bobbie asked warmly. �Fine,� Lucky said not looking up at his Aunt. �Lucky? Please talk to me. I want to help,� Bobbie begged him. �Yeah, like locking dad away for life,� Lucky said coldly. �What? I would never do that. Ruby would kill me if I even brought it up,� Bobbie said not knowing where this was coming from. �Then why am I here?� Lucky yelled at her turning around looking in her direction with tear filled eyes. �Because you need a place to say, while Luke gets better,� Bobbie said as she gently moved Lucky to a bench that wasn�t to far way. �No, you want him locked up like the rest,� Lucky snapped at her. �Lucky, no I don�t.� Bobbie said turning Lucky�s head toward her. �I love your father and want him better. I might wring his neck but I still love him. I have been in your shoes and so has he. That is the reason I�m mad. He knows better, but he also loves you. So, when he gets his act together, you go home.� �You mean it. You don�t want to take me from him?� Lucky asked her as the tears started to fall. �Why would you even think that?� She asked him. �The social worker and some other lady. They said what dad did was inexcusable and this was just the first step for you becoming my guardian.� Lucky said sadly. �Oh, baby. I am just looking after you until Luke can,� Bobbie said pulling him to her and holding him. Lucky cried in her arms and Bobbie cursed that social worker. She was going to have Alexis report her as soon as she could. All of this could have been avoided if some busy body would have kept their mouth shut. Chapter 5 Back to Monster Within |