Daybreak, a general hospital fanfic

Prologue

He was one of the last ones to leave the rave. Emily Quartermaine had long been forgotten. Juan Santiago had no time for girls that led him on. Emily was just a tease. He had given her back some of her medicine, partying up with Allison Barrington and Lark Scanlon. She would come back to him; after all she was his girlfriend. He hadn't exactly wanted to hurt Emily, but he had been hurt too.

Juan cut through the park at a steady pace. He had to get back to the apartment before Taggert's shift ended at 7 AM but until then, his time was his own. Juan felt more exhilarated then he had at any time in his life, and gratefully stripped off his clothes when he saw the fountain in the middle of the park. He had always wanted to be so carefree. With a childlike laugh, he splashed around enthusiastically before running to the swings and monkey bars.

He couldn't remember how long he played in the park reliving his childhood, but suddenly he wasn't alone. Thankfully he had redressed shortly before the visitor had arrived. His expression turning sober, he greeted his companion. "I guess I owe you some explanation about my behavior tonight."

Hours later…

Juan gasped for air as a hot wet feeling attacked his lungs. He had been napping after having spoken to his visitor, but the sharp pain spreading through his body had awoken him with a start. He touched his chest in shock, then looked up at the visitor. "Why?" He gasped before his world went dark permanently.

"Because you're a scum sucking pig who doesn't deserve to repopulate this earth. Now you can never hurt anyone again." The cold statement hung in the trees for a moment before it too disappeared into the night.

Chapter 1

Lucky Spencer squinted up at the sunlight and winced. He'd been out all night and exhaustion weighed on every muscle. The rave had been a disaster, with Juan crawling all over the debutante. What was wrong with him? Lucky balled a fist slowly; the anger that he had felt when confronting the little punk some hours ago was still coursing through his veins. Now, Emily was missing and it was all Juan's fault.

Lucky tried to breathe deeply in and out as he bought a bottled water from a vendor at the edge of the park. The smoky atmosphere and the force of his shouting the night before had made his voice raspy. Lucky took a few slow swallows and wondered where Emily was? After she had run out of the rave, no one had seen her. He Nikolas and Liz had been searching for hours. Now, the sun was up and no sign of Emily. Lucky had been to her house three times so far, had checked the catacombs and the docks in the seven hours since they had split from the rave. He ran his hand over the slight light brown stubble on his chin and sighed. "Come on Em where are you?" Could she be at the fountain in the middle of the park?

Lucky took another deep drag on the water and strode into the park fast. As he surveyed the morning calm, he noticed a few joggers taking advantage of the glory of as summer's morning in Port Charles. There were a couple of vagrants stretched out on the park benches as well. Lucky reflexively turned to the bench. It didn't need any other name to Lucky. For a moment, he recalled the fateful night two years ago, When Elizabeth had been brutalized and battered and his life had turned upside down. "Was it really two years ago?" Lucky asked himself, before his vision cleared and he saw a man sleeping there. Man? That was no man, it was the little punk Juan! Lucky made his way over to him, intent on making sure Juan got exactly what he deserved.

~*~

Dr. Tony Jones cherished his early morning walks in the park. After he and Carly had split up, he hated the sunlight and avoided it much as a vampire would. But slowly, after a lot of healing he had not only begun to enjoy the feel of the sun on his face, but he got up early to enjoy it. Whenever Lucas wasn't with him, Tony's routine took him on a walk through the park. Even though Port Charles was in the throes of Forth of July fever, the park looked pristine. Undoubtedly, it would be a mess with the picnic and holiday fireworks. Tony smiled at a couple of the early morning joggers then walked at a leisurely pace toward the fountain. He had a new medical thriller in hand and loved to read there, the sound of water seeming to wash away his worries.

In all honestly, Tony knew his life was a lot better off then he could have imagined a year ago. After his morning in the park, he'd be going to his clinic, to see patients and then his evening would be spent on duty at the hospital. He knew that he hadn't fully been forgiven for his past crimes, but his solid reputation was building toward that. The first step in his recovery had been the truce between he and Bobbie. After that, he started seeing his son more often. Gradually, his former friends had stopped treating him like a pariah. It had made a big difference. He felt that he live in harmony with the residents of the town without finger pointing and whispered words about the doctor gone mad reaching his ears.

He moved past the fountain, towards the bench that he normally used. He liked to watch the children make their wishes in the fountain. Life seemed so much easier then, as if a piece of copper had magical properties. It always brought a smile to his face, and gave him time to remember when he was able to do that with his own children. No longer did the happy memories of his little girl who had died so tragically to save his niece, haunt him. He was lost in one of those thoughts when he realized that his bench was already occupied, and that his former nephew was standing in front of it, pushing whoever was laying there.

"Lucky? What's going on?" Tony asked, picking his pace up and clearing the space between him and the young Spencer. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong Tony, I can handle this," Lucky said harshly, not looking up at his former uncle. Unfortunately he knew that probably wasn't the case. Spencer honor had prevented him from kicking the sleeping form awake. However, when Lucky had reached around to pull Juan off of the bench and wake him up, he had encountered something cold and wet. He wasn't sure what the substance was exactly, but the metallic scent was heavy in the air, confirming his guess was that it was blood. He wiped his hands on the back of his jeans, hoping Tony wouldn't notice. "Just keep on going where ever you were going, and I'll handle it from here."

"This is where I was going. I come here in the mornings to enjoy a cup of coffee and a little peace time before I head off for the daily grind of the hospital." Tony looked between Lucky and the man who was sleeping on his bench. "You sure that everything is OK? Has he been asleep there long?" When Lucky shrugged, Tony reached out and gave the sleeping for a shake. There was no resistance stopping him from the gentle nudge, so he rolled the body over, to find a prominent red stain on the front of his shirt. With expert hands, he searched for a pulse and found none. "Is this how you handle things now Lucky? Is that why your friend is dead?"

~*~

Nikolas Cassadine had never been so exhausted in his life. He had been searching for Emily with the others for much of the night. He still could not imagine how Juan had been arrogant enough to find pleasure in the blonde's arms. She was pretty, but she was hardly as unforgettable as Emily was. Nikolas sighed, his thoughts on his oldest friend in Port Charles. Emily had been equal parts best friend and little sister to him for so long that he had learned to take her for granted. Now, he was faced with the fact that his friend could be in likely danger and the feeling of impotence aroused his fury.

"Where are you?" Nikolas asked in a hoarse tone. He had checked the Quartermaine house multiple times, the docks, the park, L&B, The Port Charles Hotel and Ned's gatehouse. Between all of their efforts, someone should have found her by now. With a resolute look at his cell phone, Nik decided to call home for his messages. The plan had been if anyone found Em, they would leave him a message on his home phone. They all seemed to want to bypass the sometime streakiness of cell phone service. As Nik waited for the call to go through he shifted his weight from foot to foot.

One ring…two…three…. didn't I put the answering machine on? Nikolas considered this question as he mentally paged through the last few hours. He had called his machine a few hours ago and it had picked up on the first ring. Had he misdialed? He hung up and dialed the phone again. This time, a busy signal met his ears. "What is going on here?" Nikolas asked as he hurried to his Jaguar. He needed to go home now.

~*~

Emily Bowen Quartermaine awoke with one humdinger of a headache. She looked around blearily, trying to orient herself. Where was she? How could she have no knowledge of where she was or how she had gotten there? She sat up in the bed, wiping the slumber from her eyes tiredly and looked around the room, not recognizing it. She knew she hadn't stumbled home, which was probably a good thing considering her condition at the rave. Home, she had to call home, and try and explain why she didn't show up there last night. She'd just tell the family she decided last minute to stay at Liz's house, that ploy would buy enough time for her to try and remember what had happened the night before.

She checked around the room again, making sure no one was there with her, before picking up the bedside phone. "My parents are going to kill me for this, I just know it," she said to herself as she dialed the familiar number. That's when she noticed it, the blood on her palms. She dropped the phone in shock, vaguely hearing it clatter to the floor. Emily barely noticed the sound; all she could see was blood, and she had no idea how it had gotten there.

"Think Emily, what happened last night," She said to the walls of the room, turning her hands over, to see if she had somehow gotten a scratch of some sort that would bleed profusely but leave no pain. Her palms appeared smooth under the layer of blood, and there was not a scratch on the other surface. Perfect skin that's what she'd been told since her modeling career took off, but the blotches of blood were marring that perfection.

Nikolas drove the short distance from town to his cottage in a state of nervous panic. Had something happened to his cottage? Was someone there? He pulled into the drive and got out, closing his car door carefully so as to not make any sound. He approached his door slowly, and opened it cautiously. However, as soon as he stepped into the foyer, he slipped on some wet clothes and fell to the floor with a bang.

Emily heard a door open, and couldn't fight the first gut wrenching reaction to scream for help. Under more normal circumstances, she would have been able to keep her calm, but this was more then she could handle. "Is someone there? Help me!"

"Emily?" Nikolas scrambled to his feet and dashed up the stairs. He burst into his bedroom and saw her standing by his phone. She looked so shocked and alone. "What happened? Are you all right?" Nikolas pulled her into his arms. Only then, did he realize she was unclothed. He didn't know of a delicate way to point out her state of undress so he just held her close.

"I don't know. Did you bring me here last night?" Emily was so relieved that she appeared to be in good hands with Nikolas. "Where am I even? I don't remember much after getting to the party last night."

Nikolas gently led her to his bed, taking note of the rusty stains on the blankets and sheets. "Em you're at my cottage. Lucky, Liz and I have been looking for you all night." He swallowed hard, trying to avoid looking at her body. "You left the rave alone. There were problem with Juan."

"I left by myself?" She closed her eyes and tried to place the events of the night. "Juan was with someone else, and I got mad." Emily said after a minute of silence. "Right?" She asked, wondering if it hadn't all been a dream instead of reality. "But that doesn't explain how I got here."

"Juan was with Allison Barrington." Nikolas admitted with a nod. "You came together I think but there was an altercation when you saw him with that girl. You got upset and mad and left before any of us could find you. We've been looking for you since." Nikolas looked into her eyes, judging her clarity of thoughts. "Did you drink anything that was in a glass there Emily? Remember we said we'd only drink canned drinks and never leave them alone."

"I might have. Liz and I saw someone we knew from school, and they offered us some water." She was remembering more things, but they were still a little fuzzy. "These were girls we knew Nikolas, they wouldn't have given us anything bad. Hold on, I think I had some water when I got here too. I'd been running, someone had followed me, and I was soaked and so thirsty when I got here."

"Someone followed you?" Nikolas asked. "Did they come in or try to force an entry? Is that why your clothes are all downstairs?"

"My clothes?" She hadn't realized she was naked before but that wasn't that much of a surprise. She was often unclothed in front of make up artists and the people who dressed her for her shoots. She grabbed a sheet and pulled it around her, blushing slightly at the thought of Nikolas seeing her nakedness. A photographer or makeup artist seeing her nudity were considerably different then the boy she'd had a crush on most of her teenage years. "I think I lost whoever it was, I wouldn't have come here if they were still following me Nikolas."

"Tell me everything you remember about last night Em." Nikolas was very concerned. "Actually you know what? I think I'd like to take you to the hospital. Make sure you weren't given anything dangerous." Nikolas said offhandedly. He wondered if he could get her to consent to a rape test as well.

"No, I'm not going to the hospital." She insisted, knowing her parents would find out. Emily could never allow that to happen. "Which means we deal with what I can remember about last night. I left and was cutting across the docks. I thought I could get home without any problems, I didn't want to call Reginald and get lectured on the way home. But someone saw me, and started to chase me." Emily started to shake, and pulled the sheet closer around her, relishing the feel of Nikolas arms around her shoulders. "It was rainy, which is how I got wet. When I finally got here, I was soaked, and took off my clothes, because I didn't want to drip all over your stuff. I got something to drink and came up here to borrow a shirt, but I guess I never did. That's all I know."

"You don't know who was chasing you?" Nik asked carefully. "You don't remember lying down?" He paused a moment wondering how to ask his next question. "How did you get the blood on your hands?"

Emily shook her head, feeling totally overwhelmed and ready to cry. "I don't know. It's all kind of fuzzy and unreal." She looked at her hands again, as if they could tell the story of what happened to her. "I must have laid down, or fallen into bed. Maybe that's how the blood got there." Wishful thinking on her part, but she didn't have a more plausible explanation.

"You're unhurt?" Nikolas asked, checking her over carefully. "No pain at all? No drugged feeling?" He asked, awkwardly, motioning over her body. "No cuts anywhere?" When she shook her head, he sighed. "Looks like we have a mystery on our hands."

~*~

"Mommy mommy is Lucky still an angel?" Lulu Spencer ran as fast as her little legs would carry her and hurtled herself onto her mother's bed. Laura opened one sleepy eye and stroked her daughter's hair.

"Why do you ask that sweetheart?" She asked, her voice rusty from sleep.

"I dreamed that he was all goned again. Can we go see him, please?" She turned a pitiful gaze to Laura.

"Oh honey I don't know if Lucky wants to see mommy." She admitted with a sigh. When Lulu's lower lip trembled and tears ran down the little girl's face, Laura sighed. "OK honey, we'll go to see Lucky then have breakfast at Kelly's so you can see 'lizabeth too."

"Lucky and 'Lizabeth?" Lulu's eyes widened and she clapped her hands, scampering off to grab her favorite stuffed animals. She would bring her big brother and her special friend a present each.

"Laura got out of bed slowly, feeling every one of her years for a few short moments. She stretched slowly then began pinning her hair up. The last thing she wanted to do was to antagonize her son, but she had to reassure Lulu. In a world that was constantly changing, the little girl needed to feel some security. "Where do I find you Lucky?" Laura asked. Suddenly, the answer came to her. He had to be staying at the boxcar. She'd take Lulu there and if Lucky didn't want her to stay, he could supervise his sister for a short while.

Laura bathed and dressed her daughter in short order, glad for a moment that her mother was in North Carolina. Lesley would protest and suggest that she give Lucky space but Laura wouldn't be dissuaded even if Lucky were to react badly again. She would never give up on her children again, for in giving up she was admitting her defeat as a mother.

Laura hoisted her daughter up into her arms as she traversed the short distance from her car to the boxcar. Perhaps in taking her son off guard, he would be relaxed and open to talking with both of them. When Laura was a few feet away she called out. "Lucky? Your sister had a nightmare and wanted to see you. Are you here?"

Liz yawned and rolled over, reaching for her pillow. When only hardness rested under her cheek, she opened one eye. Why was there a voice her room? When had her bed become wooden? Curiosity compelled Liz to open both eyes and sit up. She instantly recognized the boxcar, but had no recollection of getting there? "Lucky's not here, but I am." She called out to the voice she finally recognized as Laura Spencers.

"Liz?" Laura poked her head inside. "What are you doing here? Did Lucky just leave? I brought Lulu by to see him." Laura had been under the impression that her son and Liz weren't back together but if she was in his boxcar something must have happened.

"No, Lucky isn't staying here right now. I must have come here last night after I left the party last night." Liz had no recollection of leaving the rave or coming to the boxcar, but how else would she have gotten there. "Last I saw Lucky he and Nikolas were going to look for Emily, she was pretty upset last night."

"What happened?" Laura asked, concern lacing her voice. Lulu was wiggling every which way in her efforts to hug Liz, so Laura gingerly put her down, watching her daughter scamper over to a dazed Liz. "That must have been some party.' She remarked as she watched her almost daughter in law holding her head.

"Lizabeth!" Lulu cried out excitedly as she ran over. "Hi hi!"

Liz didn't have time to do anything but grab the little girl as she was jumped upon. "Hello there princess, how are you?" She hoped that giving Lucky's little sister a hug, she'd quiet down a little. Her head was killing her, and she wasn't feeling very well. "You know Lulu, if you keep yelling like that, you're gonna wake all the birds up, and you don't want to do that do you?"

"It's morning the birdies are all awake!" Lu said in a happy voice. "Birdies go tweet tweet tweet" she sang gaily.

"Lulu." Laura said in a gentle voice. Liz has a headache I think. "Can we tone it down a little bit?"

"Oh you sickie Lizzie?" When Lliz nodded slowly, Lulu handed her a stuffed bumble bee. "This is stinger. He is one of my friends. But now he is yours. It's pwesent day."

"That is very nice of you Lulu, I'll keep stinger with me always." She took the little stuffed animal from her young friend and gave it a swift hug. "Even if I'm not feeling to good, I don't think I've been given a nicer present ever." She stroked Lulu's cheek, and forced a smile for the thoughtful girl.

Lulu smiled widely. "We wanta see Lucky too 'Lizabeth." She shared. She

leaned in close and sniffed. "You smell funny."

Laura winced. "Lulu that's enough." She said in a gentle voice.

"I don't know where Lucky is sweetheart, I'm sorry. I haven't seen him since last night." Liz took a deep breath and realized that she did smell pretty funky, like smoke and every day dirt and grime. "I'll have to go home and take a shower or maybe a nice long bubble bath. And next time, I won't sleep outside in the rain. That will probably make me smell better."

"Liz would you care for a ride home?" Laura asked gently. The young woman seemed out of sorts and she wasn't sure she should impose her daughter upon Elizabeth, yet she didn't want to leave her son's former girlfriend alone either. "Come on honey we'll go to Kellys. You'll feel so much better."

"If it wouldn't be much bother, I'd appreciate it." Liz pushed herself up, and noticed that she could barely put any weight on her right wrist. "I must be coming down with something, because I just don't feel very well."

Laura helped the young woman out of the boxcar noting with some concern the slow way

she moved. "You do seem stiff honey. Did you excercize too much?"

"No, just must have danced to much, that's all." Liz didn't recall dancing any, but there wasn't another explination that would sound logical. "Thanks so much for helping me

out. This will teach me to party to much the night before. Work isn't going to be fun at all today."

Laura gave the young woman a sad smile. "There is usually a severe payback

for a night of fun."

~*~

Sonny could see them clearly. He often dreamed of Lily but he never had a dream about Juan before. Juan was approaching his mother and embracing her..... He focused on Lily's face seeing her lips moving. Was she saying Why Sonny? He saw Juan turn, waving goodbye to him. Goodbye? The kid was only seventeen! Sonny bolted upright in bed. The tropical breeze that

swirled around him seemed cloying and he kicked the covers off. The dream still resounded in his head. He looked over to the wet bar then shook his head, pouring an ice water instead.

"Sonny?" Carly called out in a sleepy tone. "What's wrong baby, did Michael wake you up or something? You flew out of bed like someone possessed."

"Bad dream." Sonny said shortly. His heart was still racing. "Go back to

sleep Carly."

"I've slept a lot the past week, I'll wait up with you." She didn't want to argue, but he looked to rattled for it to be just a bad dream. "Want to talk about it? It might help, you never know."

"No I don't." Sony replied with a shake of his head. "It was just a nightmare that's all I get em all the time. That was true but they usually focused on his childhood, on his abuse from Deke. He'd never had a bad dream about Juan before. And in truth, the dream wasn't so bad. It was what it represented that had Sonny rattled.

Carly sighed and sat up, crossing her legs Indian style and watched him, waiting to see if he was planning on coming back to bed. "Just because you get them all the time, doesn't mean that you can brush them off, like they didn't effect you. But you don't have to talk about it. We can just lay here and hold one another if that would be better."

"Thanks but no." Sonny shook his head. This dream was clinging to him. "We need to go home." he suddenly announced.

"Right now, this second?" That shocked Carly more then anything he'd said recently. They had been happy here, and going home, so suddenly could throw off the balance of their whole relationship again. But his serious look made her think about arguing. "Ok, I'll get Michael, you arrange transportation."

~*~

Lucky stood by numbly, watching as Tony attempted to revive Juan. He was obviously dead. With a shake of his head, Lucky stepped off a pace to call Nikolas. This went way beyond Emily just being missing. He pulled out his cell phone, dialing Nikolas' cell phone. All the while, Lucky was very aware that Tony had his eye on him. "I'm not going anywhere Tony ok?" he snapped.

Nikolas heard his cell phone ringing, and was torn. He wanted to continue to hold Emily offering support and a shoulder to lean on, but he knew that it could be Lucky or Liz, and they would need to know what was going on. "Em, let me get that, it could be Lucky or Liz, and they need to know that I found you." He gave her one last squeeze and took his cell phone out of his pocked. "Cassadine." He curtly answered.

"Nik it's Lucky. We have big problems. I haven't found Emily yet but I did find Juan. Dead. In the park." He paused a beat to let Nikolas absorb the news. "And Emily's nowhere to be found."

Dead, Juan was dead and he had one very upset Emily with blood all over her hands and his bed. "I've got Emily here. I think we might have a problem Lucky. Can you get over here?" Nikolas got up and headed for the door. This wasn't a conversation to have with Emily in the room. "I'll be right back Em," He said, covering the mouthpiece of the phone, and pulling the door shut behind me. "How did it happen?"

"Chest wound." Lucky replied feeling relief coursing through him. "Could be a bullet but looks like he was knifed. I'll get over there soon. Tony Jones found me with the body and if I run I bet he cries murder. Is she ok?"

"She is right now. But I don't know how long she will be." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I found her in my bedroom, naked and with blood on her hands. Lucky, she doesn't remember what happened last night, and she doesn't know how she got into my bed."

"She's in your bed?" Lucky asked in shock. "With blood on her hands? My Emily Quartermaine has grown up. Let's just hope she skipped the class on how to conduct a murder offered from the Q college of dysfunction."

Chapter 2

Marcus Taggert walked slowly into the Brownstone. He hoped his near silent footsteps would not wake anyone up. As was his routine, he checked to make certain that the house was quiet before going to his apartment. His apartment seemed too silent, the heavy air threatening to smother him. As a fissure of panic started deep in his gut, Taggert raced to Juan's room and opened the door. As he'd suspected, the bed was unmade. "Ok kid, where are you?"

Bobbie Spencer was reluctantly leaving her bedroom, having a morning shift at the hospital. But all she could think of was the trip that she and Roy were planning on taking. It would be so nice to just get away for a little while. She walked through the hall, hearing before seeing that her newest tenet was home. "Is there a problem Marcus?"

"Have you seen Juan?" The Lieutenant asked in a rushed voice. "He isn't home and that's very unlike him." Marcus could not explain his panic, but he just knew Juan was facing some danger. "The kid knows he has to be home." he added, his fear evident in his voice.

"Not since last night I haven't, but I wasn't watching for him to come in either." Bobbie tried as much as possible to stay out of her renters lives, although she did have a soft spot for the motherless Juan. "He left here saying he was picking Emily up for some sort of party. I assumed that he cleared it with you first."

"I knew about the party." Marcus admitted. "But he promised me he would be home by midnight. Even if he were feeling wild that would have brought him home at 2 AM at the latest. He scratched his head slowly. "You haven't any idea where he is at all?" He was mentally planning his next steps. First, he would check all the places Juan was likely to visit, and then he'd visit Miss. Quartermaine.

"None at all, he just stopped by to say goodnight. You should check with Emily. I'm sure she's seen him, since he was meeting her." She could understand the panic that Taggert was going through being a parent, and this was apparently the first time Juan had not shown up for a curfew. "I'm sure he just lost track of time. Teenagers tend to do that, but he's a good kid, he'll show up eventually."

"I plan on doing that as I leave here." Marcus assured with a small smile. "If he comes here first, tell him to call my cell phone. Now." he said in a serious tone.

"Of course I will. And I'll leave a note before I leave for work, in case he comes in a little later." Bobbie assured with a smile. "I dread Lucas getting that old, there are so many scary things out there for kids to get into that you can't protect them from. Right now, I can shelter him, but when kids get to be Juan's age, well there isn't that much you can do but hope that you raised them well enough to make the right decisions."

Taggert sighed loudly as her words reached her ears. "Yeah I know that well. Thanks Bobbie." With that, he rushed off to find his charge. Juan wouldn't be far, but why hadn't the boy called?

~*~

Lucky glanced at Juan's body as he spoke to Nikolas, taking the time to study his former uncle's body language. Tony seemed defensive toward Lucky, a sure sign that he was considering Lucky suspect number one in the murder of Juan Santiago. "Nik how is her mental state? And why the heck didn't you call me sooner man? I've been running all over town looking for Emily."

"She's disoriented, but she's starting to come out of it." Nikolas said cautiously, not sure if that was truly the case. "And why would I have called you sooner Lucky? I just found her."

"Then where were you all night?'' Lucky's voice suddenly turned accusatory. "I was looking for her all night and I never saw you Nikolas. Not once, How likely was that?"

"You thought that I was with Emily all night?" As much as he wanted to be angry, the humor of the situation was too much even for him. "If we had been together, there would be no disorientation, just pleasure Lucky. I was out looking for my friend of course. I've been many places tonight, including the Quartermaine Estate and the warehouse district. Just what exactly are you accusing me of?"

"When were you at the Q mansion Nik? I was there three four maybe a half dozen times. How did you get in there? I went in the window. Heck, I waited there for an hour and I saw no one, heard nothing." Lucky sighed. "I'm not accusing you Nik, I just find it very hard to believe that you and I covered the same ground and never once saw each other."

"It's not that small of a town, I'm not surprised at all. I was at the mansion about forty-five minutes ago. I checked around the gatehouse and at the stable. I thought maybe if she was upset she wouldn't go back to the main house." It had never crossed his mind when his brother told him that he had found a dead body to accuse him or the murder, but apparently he had become a suspect. "I was on the far end of the park when I called to see if you or Liz had left a message on my machine, and the phone was off the hook. I came back to the cottage to see why that was."

"I just find it strange." Lucky admitted. "I was at this park many times and I didn't see anyone, not you not him no one. Then I get back here and Juan's a stiff." Lucky sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Juan's corpse is the least of our worries right now Lucky. We have to protect Emily, and try and cover ourselves, Liz also. We very well could fall under suspicion for this. We have motive, and there are many people who saw us in an altercation with him just hours ago." There had been a small fight at the Rave, just before he, Lucky and Liz had left to try and find Emily, and he knew it had been witnessed by nearly everyone there. "Have you been in contact with Liz since we split up?"

"Nikolas I know you haven't been in America forever but listen to me here. I am at the scene were a young guy DIED." Lucky said emphasizing the last word. "It looks like murder Nik and I'm the prime suspect. I was the one standing over the body. As soon as I get rid of these people and get free I will be there and we can work on the Emily situation. And no, I haven't spoken to or seen her since we left the rave. She hasn't called you?"

"Yes, I know the routine Lucky, you aren't the only family member of mine to go through this process." Helena and Stefan as well as his mother had been so accused since his move to Port Charles. "I will call my aunt, they can't hold you without just cause Lucky, and all they know is you found him. Doesn't seem very just to me. And no, I have not spoken to Liz since we went our separate ways. Nor have I run into her."

"So three of us were all over town all night and none of us saw each other? The town is a ghost town late at night. Liz and I were on foot and you with that fancy Jag, and none of us saw anything? It sounds suspicious to me Nik." Lucky was surprised that the police haven't yet arrived but he knew they'd be there soon enough. "I may take you up on that offer." He said slowly, "but the police aren't even here yet. Let's see how they deal."

"I saw nothing, but I wasn't looking for Juan to be honest. I was more concerned about Emily's well being then about finding the scum that did this to her." There had been no love lost between himself and Juan, and he only put up with him for Emily's sake. "Do not say a word until someone is there to represent you Lucky. Nothing at all, not until you call me. Alexis, she will make sure that this is taken care of before it even starts."

"What do you mean by that. Nothing is starting. I didn't do this." Lucky said in a rush. "I don't need Alexis. Retain her for a our friend there." Lucky groaned as he caught Tony gazing deeply at him. "Look I have to cut this short. Tony Jones won't give me any privacy now. I'll get in touch with you when I can Nik"

"I'll be waiting for your call Lucky. Please just be careful though." Nikolas' mind was already whirring, trying to figure out the easiest way to find Alexis this early in the morning. There was to much at stake to leave this to chance. "I'll take care of things on this end. Just worry about getting yourself out of there as soon as possible. We need to regroup."

"I will. I'll call you when I'm done. Don't tell Em, okay?"

"I won't tell Emily anything until you get here. I'll talk to you soon Lucky," Nikolas said ending the conversation by closing his phone. This was going to be one of those mornings, he knew it before the call from his brother, but now, he had to face Emily and pretend that everything was fine.

"Don't tell Emily what?" The woman in question was standing just behind him, having snuck into the room when he hadn't returned right away. "What do you two think you aren't going to tell me?"

~*~

Sonny watched the tropical sky for a moment. "Carly wait. Don't get Michael yet. I think I'm overreacting. I'll just call home and have them check on Juan." Sonny felt foolish for being so upset when there was no cause for his panic. As he walked out onto the veranda he sank into a chair. "Go back to bed Carly"

Carly considered his request, but thought better of going back to bed. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she knew that the possibility that he would need her was strong. She picked her robe up from the floor where she'd discarded it earlier, and wrapped it tight around her, walking out to stand behind Sonny. "Why don't I wait just in case. That way you won't have to wake me up if we do have

"Well if you want to." Sonny said in an offhand way. He had to mask his concern with lighthearted words and actions. "But I'm, sure it was just a bad dream." He suddenly felt foolish and shrugged. "I'm just gonna call Johnny and have him check up on Juan."

"On Juan?" Sonny hadn't mentioned the boy since he had been over a couple of months ago, but now all of a sudden he's worried? "If anyone can find out anything, it's Johnny." Carly wasn't sure what to make of it, but she didn't want to push at all. She put her hands on his shoulders, noting just how tense he was, and started rubbing softly.

Sonny tensed up further as her hands found their way to his shoulders "Yeah Juan, I can't explain it ok?" He leaned into her touch, realizing for a moment that her touch was the best comfort he could imagine at the moment. "Thank you." he whispered in a soft voice before pulling away slowly. "I want you to continue this when I'm off the phone."

Her instinct was to reach out, but he made it clear that he didn't need that now. "Of course I will, this or anything else you need," she said just as softly as he had spoken, but the underlying meaning was clear, at least she hoped it was.

Sonny shook his head, cupping her cheek gently as he reached for the phone. "Nothing right

now."

"Just keep it in mind for later, you never know." Carly stepped away, and moved back a few feet, giving him privacy to make his call, but staying close enough to be there if he needed her.

Sonny nodded, dialing Johnny. After a few moments he had the young guard ready to check for Juan. "He'll call us back as soon as he had word that Juan's all right." Sonny shared with the beautiful blond. "My neck is still tense."

"I think I can take care of that," She closed the gap between them, smiling softly. "But you're going to have to help out some. Just relax Sonny. I'm sure everything is ok, you said yourself, it was only a bad dream."

Sonny stretched out on the chaise lounge face down and pillowed his head on his arms. "I just don't know Carly." he admitted softly. "But I'll willing to forget if you can help me."

"Let me see what I can do, these fingers have been known to work miracles before," Carly leaned over, whispering in his ear. "If not a miracle, I can at least offer a distraction."

"Mmmm." Sonny said with a low groan as her hands started kneading his muscles. "This is great babe. With you here I can just about forget anything."

~*~

Alexis Davis looked hurriedly at her clock. She was meting her ex for an early breakfast at the Grille. It was amazing that he'd agreed to this, as his mornings usually consisted of some green sludge he called a protein shake. It smelled like raw earth and tasted even worse. "Ugh Jax why do you drink that stuff?" Alexis asked, trying not to roll her eyes. With one final look at her suite she made her way down to the Grille's dining room.

Jax was waiting impatiently for Alexis in the lobby of the Port Charles Hotel. He had been up for a couple hours already, having just come back in from his morning run. If anyone else had wanted to meet for breakfast without guaranteeing a large takeover, he never would have agreed, but for his favorite ex wife, he would suffer through what she called breakfast. "Where in bloody hell is she? If she's going to make an appointment, the least she could do is be on time." He grumbled aloud.

"I am two minutes early Jasper." Alexis said as she came up behind him. "Check your watch again." She said tapping him on the arm. "Good morning, by the way."

He did as she suggested, and as usual, she was right. "I was just practicing for when you were late, because on time has never been something you're good at." Jax leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "So what do I owe the pleasure of this invite to?"

"Well that's one of the things Cassadines don't do best." Alexis said as she tapped his arm gently again. As his lips brushed her cheek, Alexis tried not to sigh. He was so sweet tender and handsome and much as her feelings for Ned were slowly eroding over time, her feelings for her one time husband were growing day by day. Even though Alexis knew how futile it was, her heart was involved with the blond Australian. "So how is Chloe?" She asked mildly.

Alexis and Chloe had been friends at one point but now Alexis was merely being polite. The blond had been treating her with increased callousness since Stefan's disappearance. So many times, Alexis had rushed over to play nursemaid and be a best friend as Chloe excitedly regaled her with details of the dreams of Stefan's last moments with Helena. Didn't she care that Alexis had lost her long time protector and brother? Many days it seemed she didn't even think of Alexis as an equal.

"She's Chloe," How else could Jax put it, without sounding heartless. He cared for the blonde beauty, but she no longer turned his head in the way that she had when they had first me. But with her illness, there was little he could do without upsetting everyone. "But we didn't come her to discuss her did we? I'd much rather talk right now about how you're doing. I know things are difficult for you. Let's go sit down, and you can tell old Jax how you're hanging in.

"Old Jax?" Alexis said with small smile. "You still look young and virile." Alexis immediately felt at ease with him,. As he tucked her protectively under her arm, the independent lawyer almost sighed. He had the ability to make her feel protected and cared for without impacting her independence.

"Running and the rest of my routine keep the physical part young, but Lady Jane always said I was an old soul, what ever that means." He said pulling her a little closer. "Now come on, I've already ordered breakfast for us, they'll have our shakes waiting for us when we sit down." Jax knew how little Alexis cared for his high protein diet, and loved to tease her about it. "I made sure that yours was going to be orange, because I know how you feel about drinking something green."

"Jasper you have clearly lost your mind." Alexis shook her head in amusement. "I am a bacon and eggs woman and it would do you well to remember that."

"No, I'm sure that I'm correct in remembering that you love any of my shakes as long as they aren't green." Jax lead her back to the private dining room where the waiter was setting up a small buffet of fresh baked pastries, fluffy scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon, as well as both french toast and pancakes. "I wasn't sure what you'd want, so I asked for a bit of everything. What ever you don't finish, I'll eat, since you can't live on protein shakes alone. Just don't quote me on that, because I will deny it until I die."

"Jasper Jacks and saturated fat, it's a match made in heaven." Alexis teased. He made her feel so at ease, more so then Ned did lately even. Alexis couldn't reconcile herself with Eddie Maine much as she tried. Sure, he excited her but there was something very elemental that was missing in their relationship. The lawyer and the rock star story didn't do much for Alexis. She loved Ned, but she was no longer in love with him.

"I told you, I'll deny it to the end, so just forget you ever saw this Alexis." How could she keep changing the subject, when it was obvious there was more to this breakfast then she was letting on. "Now stop trying to get out of it. I've asked you a couple of times how you're doing, and I want an answer Ms. Davis, since I was kind enough to get all of your favorites for breakfast, it's the least you can do.

"How am I?" Alexis asked blankly. She shrugged slowly and sighed. "I'm surviving Jax. That's what I do." She said as she searched for answers. "I have to fight Helena off. She cannot become the Trustee of the Cassadine holdings. And I need.... answers about Stefan."

"Tell me what I can do Alexis. You know that I'll help out however I can. I might not have any use for your brother, but you helped me out so much with mine, that it's only fair I return the favor." The prospect of facing down Helena Cassadine again was worth helping, even if it wasn't to help Alexis. He had a score to settle with the old crone.

"Just be my friend Jax. I'm not going to drag you into this especially not when you need Helena right now. How do you plan on getting the drugs for Chloe if you make an enemy out of her? Really, I just need your friendship." Alexis said. When he looked away, she muttered "And no more nocturnal calls where your girlfriend goes every every detail of my brother's death"

"You know I'm always your friend first and foremost. What are ex-husbands for after all." He said with a grin. "As for the drug for Chloe, maybe it would we could get it and still stop Helena from becoming trustee. I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine."

"So what is it you have in mind?" Alexis asked as she leaned in close.

"What did Helena want most, when we were dealing with her before?" Jax asked, knowing he was putting himself on the line here. "I've never been one for wanting to play games, but if the cause were right, I'd do it."

"She wanted total control Jax. She wanted to hold all the cards. That's what she always wanted." Alexis sighed and ran a weary hand over her face. "What do you have in mind?"

"Let's give her what she wants, or the illusion of it at least. If she thinks she's going to be in charge, she'll let her guard down, and then we have her where we want her." A plan was already formulating in Jax's head and he smiled at Alexis. "I'll distract her if you can get the goods on her."

"And just how do you plan on distracting her Jasper? I will not have you hurt." Alexis admitted, knowing that her feelings for him were being shown in the tenderness her voice expressed.

"Leave that to me Alexis, and I won't let myself get hurt." He wouldn't allow the old crone to get the best of him twice. "I'll just have to work on what's left of her heart. She won't know what hit her when we're done."

"Jax no that would be a disaster. Please don't do it." Alexis' voice was rising as panic assailed her.

"Alexis, I promise nothing will happen. I'll have you to make sure I don't go to far. I trust you with my life, and I know you won't let anything happen to me, just like I won't let anything happen to you." Jax grinned at Alexis, hoping to put her at ease. "Trust me, please. It's could well be our only hope to make sure we both get what we need right now."

She reached over to clutch his hand in her now icy one. "Please promise me that you will stay away from her. I need someone I love to be safe. Please Jax, it's bad enough that I can't have you, but I will not allow you to be sacrificed as well."

Chapter 3 Lucky looked up to Tony Jones as he was hanging up the phone. "Sorry, just had to catch up with someone." He didn't care for the suspicious look on Tony's face at all. "Did you call the cops yet? I know you have places to go so why not do it? Or." Lucky said dangling the phone out. "Do you want me to call them?"

"No need, I'll call them." Tony said taking the phone from Lucky. "If something happened here Lucky, now would be a good time to tell me. I can help you, but I need to know exactly what happened."

"Nothing happened. I walked in here and I found him. I was going to have a chat with him and I couldn't as you can see. Lucky flushed as he recalled the blood he'd wiped on his pants. He could be in trouble here.

"That's all? Then why the huge cover up, trying to get rid of me." Tony dialed 9-1-1, knowing this was going to look very bad. His nephew was in over his head. "When I'm done with the police, you should call your dad or mom. Someone else should be down here with you Lucky. I'm sure they're going to want to question you."

"Haven't you heard? I don't deal with the pair of liars anymore. Luke is wherever and he's a murder suspect in the death of Stefan Cassadine. I have no idea where Laura is. I wasn't trying to cover up. I didn't know he was a stiff when you got here Tony. I just wanted to talk to the guy."

"I'm not exactly tight with the Spencer's anymore Lucky. I only hear a little here and there, and most of it, I know better then to believe." Tony had heard about Luke's suspected involvement in Stefan's murder, and now a second Spencer was in similar circumstances. "Who can you get here then to help you out. I don't know what happened, just what I saw. And Lucky, that isn't something that's going to help you."

~*~

As they walked to the car with Lulu chattering merrily between them, Laura stared at Liz. The young woman was severely out of sorts. "So what was it you did last night that has you feeling so poorly." Laura asked gently.

"It wasn't that big of a deal, I was at a party with Emily, Lucky and Nikolas. Then we split up, to look for Emily. She wasn't having a very good night, and left early." Liz said thinking over her night, trying to pin down why she felt so awful. "I'm sure sleeping in the boxcar didn't help matters any. It's not the most comfortable place to be."

"No and I'm certain your grandmother is quite worried. Why don't you call her? What happened to Emily?" Laura's voice was gentle as she watched the young woman carefully

"Emily saw Juan with another girl, and was pretty upset. She ran off, before any of us could stop her." Liz said, knowing that in the end, it might be best for her friend that she found out now that Juan was someone she couldn't trust. None of them had ever really liked Juan to begin with, which should have been a big tip off. "I'll call Gram once I have some coffee in me. Maybe that will help me get things together."

"You seem to be as much of a morning person as I am, which isn't much of one at all." Laura shared. "But with my little one, I have to be active in the early mornings."

"I've gotten better, I work some weekend mornings, but not after being out all night." Lulu was active if her mom was paying attention or not, and was getting into the back of the car while having a conversation with her remaining stuffed animal. "I tend to prefer a nice comfy bed and blankets to the hard floor and the cold air."

Laura looked back at her daughter and smiled, before opening the drivers seat. "Of course. We all do. Are you out late many nights Elizabeth? And is Lucky ever with you?"

"No, not often at all. And you know, Lucky and I aren't really together anymore right?" Elizabeth's heart broke for the woman who she had always thought would be her mother-in-law, but she wasn't in a position in Lucky's life to be giving away any information. "I don't see him more then anyone else does."

Laura frowned and hugged the young girl close. "Liz I had no idea. No one tells me anything about Lucky's life these days."

"If I knew anything more then I did, I'd tell you." Liz said, moving closer into Laura's embrace. "I want to know more, I miss the us that used to be. But he's so distant."

"Oh honey." Laura smoothed Liz' hair back and rubbed her back. "He will find his way back to you. I'm sure of it."

"I wish I could be so sure. I'll just take what I can get from him now, and hopefully in the end you'll be right." She wasn't sure if there was going to anything but an end in sight for she and Lucky. They had somehow moved away from that perfect love and she couldn't get him to see it could still be there. "Hopefully he'll come home again too. He's got a lot to work out."

'I know and the hardest thing for us all is that we'd already worked through them with him. Do you remember the time just before the fire?" Laura asked gently. "He came home to me and we worked so much out in a small conversation. Now, were back to square one and Luke and I cannot even comfort our son or discover what monsters and demons he faced in that long year."

"I remember. But I also remember how long it took him to be able to get to a point where he could do that. It might just be a matter of time and letting him work out things in his head before he can come back and be a part of your family." Liz hoped that was the case. If he could go home again, he could come back to her, and they could run away to New York like they had planned. "We just have to make sure he knows we're here and we love him, no matter what he does."

Laura sighed and nodded, stuck by the wisdom of Liz' words. "Intellectually I know, but with Luke on the run, and we're not getting any younger..." She trailed off and sighed. "And I want him to see Lulu more."

"I'll see him soon I'm sure. I'm going to have to call him and see if he or Nikolas ever found Emily. If you want, I'll mention it to him." Liz offered, not knowing if she was overstepping her bounds as Lucky's onetime girlfriend. "If not, I'll talk to Nikolas, and he can say something."

Laura bit her lip for a moment then nodded. Any port in a storm would do. "That would be very kind of you Liz."

"It's the least I can do. You and Luke have done everything you could to help me through everything that's happened since the fire. If I can help just a little, I'd really like that." Liz said through a small smile. "And maybe you're right, and it will all be ok. I hope so. I miss the Lucky I knew and loved."

Nikolas sighed and led Emily back to the bedroom. As he sat her onto the bed he pulled her close. "Lucky called with some news. He and Liz have been out looking for you all night just like me and even though he didn't find you, he found something else instead."

"Is Liz ok?" Emily automatically thought the worst, hoping that neither Nikolas nor Lucky would have let her go off by herself, not after everything that had happened to her before. "Nothing bad happened to her right?"

"I haven't heard from her but that's not why Lucky called." Nikolas admitted quietly. "Lucky found someone else we know though, Juan."

Em winced, knowing that the boys had no love lost between them. "I hope that Lucky just left him alone. He's not worth fighting with, not even over what he did to me. I want him out of my life Nikolas, totally and completely."

"He is." Nikolas murmured. "Emily, I have something to tell you," he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear before pulled her close. "Lucky found Juan in the park...." He trailed off and swallowed hard. "Dead."

"Dead?" Emily repeated dumbly, not really believing it. "Nikolas, I think I like you better without a sense of humor, because that is the worst joke I've ever heard. Juan isn't dead; he's just a kid. A stupid idiot of a kid, but he can't help that. But he can't be dead."

Her gentle denial was almost his undoing. Nikolas tightened his arms around her, realizing how hard this was going to be for Emily to accept. "It's true Emily. Lucky and Tony Jones are down at the park now. Juan's gone."

"Did Lucky do this?" She asked, not wanting to believe her longtime friend could hurt someone in that way. She just couldn't believe that Juan was dead or that Lucky could have done it. It didn't make sense to her. "This can't be happening Nikolas. Maybe it's someone else other then Juan. Maybe the person just looks like him."

Nikolas shook his head firmly. "Emily Lucky would never do something like this." He tried to sound convinced, when in truth he was anything but. "Lucky and Tony Jones found him sleeping in the park. Only he wasn't sleeping, he had passed away during the night." Nikolas would make this as gentle as he could.

"If Lucky didn't do it, who did then Nikolas." Emily couldn't think of Juan dead, not yet. Later when she's had more time deal with that thought, and the emotions that came with it. "Who hated him enough to want to hurt him like that?"

Nikolas couldn't help the way his eyes drifted to Emily's hands. She was already presupposing his murder when Nikolas was couching his explanation to lead toward Juan dying of natural causes. This was not good at all. "I don't know Emily. All I know is that he passed away in his sleep. I don't know the cause."

"This just doesn't make any sense at all. This whole night hasn't made any," Emily said burying her head in Nikolas' shoulder. "I wish we had never gone to the party last night. Nothing has been right since."

"I know." Nikolas held her tighter and rocked her back and forth. He was disturbed by her reactions thus far. Could Emily have killed Juan and forgotten it?

~*~

Luke Spencer looked around Port Charles fondly for a moment before taking a drag on his early morning cigar. Sleep hadn't yet come to him after a nightlong flight. He had proof that Stefan Cassadine was alive now and with this proof, Mac would have to back down.

"I'm home Port Chuckles." Luke's ironic chuckle echoed across the water. "You try and try but you'll never get rid of me." With a decisive spin, he turned toward the brownstone. He wasn't yet ready for the mania of the club, and wanted to make sure Bobbie was well. Hey maybe he could get some rest there instead of his dinky over club apartment. Plus, she'd know best how the cowboy was doing. As Luke approached the brownstone he saw the door open and Bobbie step out. "Hey little sister!"

"LUKE!" Bobbie yelled, and smiled at her favorite person in the whole wide world. "When did you get back into town? I've missed you." She said waiting for him to reach her before grabbing him and hugging him tight.

Luke spun Bobbie around and chuckled at the excitement in her voice. It was good to have someone excited about his return. "I got back a couple hours ago."

"If you're hear, that means that you took care of the little problem that took you away from town?" She asked quietly. Although she knew that Taggert was gone, she still wanted to keep quiet, in case this was just a brief stopover. "Or are you heading out of town after you leave here?"

"I'm back darlin'." Luke handed Bobbie a packet of pictures. Look at the first one and see the date on the paper." He said as she broke the seal on the envelope. The Commish and his lieutenant should have a packet of these on their desks this morning."

The sight of Stefan, lying on a bed, looking quite healthy in his silk boxers was one of the most incredible sights Bobbie had seen in her whole life. "I never thought I'd say I was glad to see him alive, but under the circumstances, I think that it's appropriate."

"And check out the Laura look alike in the silk nightie." Luke said motioning to the blond woman. "He sure dates to type."

"Not always," Bobbie said with small laugh, remembering when she had been Mrs. Stefan Cassadine. "Although you're right, this little girl is much more his type then I ever was."

"Young blond and stupid." Luke replied with a nod." Even Laura lost her brain when she was with him," he said with a sardonic laugh. As his thoughts turned to Lucky, his expression and voice softened. "How's the cowboy?"

"I don't know Luke. I haven't seen him or talked to him much." She said, wishing she knew more. "My guess is stubborn as a Spencer, and he's not ready for forgive and forget what ever wrongs he thinks you've done."

Luke sighed and nodded. "I suppose you're right. How has everyone else been? Laura, Lulu, Lesley all doing ok? What about Liz?"

"Just what do I look like, the local gossip queen?" Bobbie asked, teasing her brother to try and get the serious look off of his face. "If you want to know how everyone is doing Luke, you're just going to have to keep out of trouble from now on. I can't keep track of everyone for you while you're off trying to save your neck from the latest murder charge. But I'm sure if you go over to see Laura, she'll tell you just how she and everyone else is doing."

"I plan on doing that." Luke assured with a smile. "Anyway I'm sure nothing has changed. What could be different in this sleepy little town anyway?"

Chapter 4

Johnny hung up the phone and sighed, running his hand through his hair as he looked wearily at the clock on his bed stand. Working for Sonny Corinthos had it's up and downs for sure and this was most assuredly one of the downs. He was never a morning person until starting work for Sonny. His role with his boss kept him up at all hours, but he enjoyed his work. Some day he would move up the ranks from mere bodyguard to full right hand man, especially with Jason gone. He enjoyed his work but could do without these interruptions. And some days he wondered why he had no social life!

Johnny turned on the police scanner as he walked toward the shower. Even though the boss was out of town, he wanted to look the part. The gray Armani suit would give the illusion of power and it suited him. He could blend into any atmosphere with his clean-cut good looks, unassuming way and tailored dress. He liked it that way.

As he showered Johnny noticed that there were no new calls on the scanner. The boy, Juan was the ward of Taggert so surely he must have noticed if anything was amiss. The boy was most likely fine and in his own bed. Johnny shook his head, he had a premonition that things were staring to happen and that he needed to be extra watchful. Could this feeling have anything to do with Juan Santiago and Sonny's sudden concern for the boy? Dismissing his thoughts, Johnny stepped under the cool spray of the shower.

~*~

''I'm not exactly tight with the Spencer's anymore Lucky. I only hear a little here and there, and most of it, I know better then to believe.'' Tony had heard about Luke's suspected involvement in Stefan's murder, and now a second Spencer was in similar circumstances. ''Who can you get here then to help you out. I don't know what happened, just what I saw. And Lucky, that isn't something that's going to help you.''

Lucky watched his former uncle as he made the pronouncement. He had hoped that Tony would be helping him, but that hope was fading by the moment. "You could tell the truth Tony." Lucky said in a quietly accusatory voice. "You could tell them that I found him here."

"I don't know that." Tony replied quietly as he stared down the younger man. Lucky definitely had something to hide. "I hope you didn't kill him Lucky, and not only because Mac is out for Spencer blood. If he doesn't get your father's he may settle for yours."

"He won't settle for anyone's" Lucky retorted." Because I didn't do anything man." His voice tense, Lucky began pacing. He looked everywhere but at the body. If he didn't look at it, he reasoned, maybe the whole mess would just disappear. "Maybe Juan fell on it man or maybe…. oh I don't know," he said, acutely aware that his fingerprints were on the body and that Juan's blood was on his hands.

"Or maybe you two were fighting and things got out of control." Tony supplied with a grim look. "Lucky I'm not the cops but I do know that you have some explaining to do to someone. And for that, you need someone on your side. Let me call Bobbie. She's never lied to you." Tony knew Lucky wasn't exactly reasonable now. He could perhaps talk to Laura at some point later on, but right now, the boy needed someone, a Spencer, who was all for him."

"Maybe." Lucky nodded slowly. "All right her I'll take but she better not tell Luke wherever he is. God forbid he should stop his life of lies." Though the younger man's voice was sarcastic Tony could sense the pain behind his words.

"I thought you two had made up." He said casually before depressing the off button on the cell phone. When Lucky had begun talking he had stealthily hung up, hoping to make the boy more comfortable. Juan wasn't going anywhere and a few minutes weren't going to matter, dead was dead now or five minutes down the line.

"We did." Lucky said shortly. "But then I got kidnapped by the madman trying to exact revenge on Luke. I was kept captive a year for things he did and I'm sick of it." He took a deep breath to steady his voice, then nodded. "Call the cops now. I'm done."

Tony sighed and hit redial on his phone. As he had a brief conversation with the authorities, he kept his eyes on Lucky. The boy looked unnaturally subdued and nervous, but not necessarily out of sorts for the trauma he'd experienced. He didn't exactly look guilty either. After a moment, Tony hung up the phone and looked to Lucky. "They'll be here soon. Neither of us can leave but you already know that."

"Yeah I know the drill. He isn't my first stiff." Lucky said with an ironic smirk. Go ahead. Call Aunt Bobbie. You know you want to." Weary of standing, the young man walked over to the opposite bench and sank down, watching the water fountain in silence.

~*~

Marcus Taggert was just walking to his car when the call came in. A death at the park? That was hardly ordinary for Port Charles. He got into his car and placed the siren on top. He needed the experience of potential murder cases, as they only happened once or twice a year in this small town. Plus, he didn't trust anyone but himself to be on the case. Mac was frighteningly obsessed about Stefan Cassadine's murder these days and needed to gain some perspective. He could easily turn an old man dying exposure into a calculated murder, the way he was acting recently.

" I wouldn't be surprised if he blamed Luke for this mess too." Marcus said in a sarcastic tone as he shook his head ruefully. He turned on his tape player and the soothing sounds of Tracy Chapman washed over him as he mentally planned out his strategy. The dispatcher had told him there were two witnesses at the scene, so he'd have to bring them in for questioning of course and he'd have to get the investigators on the scene. The park would make an interesting murder field, if it was indeed murder. He idly wondered if they would get any good evidence from such an open space, especially with the rain that had been falling the night before.

"Poor stiff." Taggert muttered at the thought of dying in the park. He didn't have much to go on, but found himself hoping the case held some excitement. He had been in such a rut that shaking things up a little had to be a good thing. As he drove, Marc banished the thoughts of Juan to a place in the back of his mind. The boy was a survivor and would be just fine. He knew it!

As Taggert entered the park and got out of his vehicle, he felt the vaguest sense of foreboding. Something just didn't feel right. Could it be a murder? Was that why his heart was racing at almost double speed? His steps lengthened as he walked over the bridge that would lead him to the open spaces in the courtyard.

Lucky stood up reluctantly as he saw Taggert arrive. With a flash, he realized that the man was far too close in relationship to have to do this. "Hi Taggert." Lucky said as he approached him and blocked the body from view. "Look, I don't think you should be here." Lucky started. He knew he sounded suspicious but he had to protect the man from the pain of this.

"Lucky please move." Marcus liked the kid; he admired Lucky's guts and street smarts but he had a job to do. "I have to check out something." When Lucky crossed his arms and stood more firmly in his path, Taggert placed his hands on the young man's shoulder and physically moved him. "You could be arrested for this Lucky so stay out of my way." His patience gone, Taggert strode over to the body. That hair, those clothes. It couldn't be…. He ran the last few steps and skidded to a halt. His police instincts told him not to move anything until the investigators got there but he had to know. Marcus put his hand on the corpse's shoulder and turned him over. "Not you Juan." He whispered brokenheartedly.

Tony stepped away, leaving the other man some private time with Juan. Lucky was unable to watch the heartbreaking scene of hardened man sobbing over Emily's boyfriend, so instead he jammed his hands in his pockets and stared at the muck beneath his feet. He moved a foot back and forth in the mud for a few moments, considering all his options.

Tony glanced over at Lucky, then picked up the phone to dial Bobbie. Taggert was in his own hell and wouldn't notice nor care about the breach of protocol.

~*~

Luke sighed and nodded. ''I suppose you're right. How has everyone else been? Laura, Lulu, Lesley all doing ok? What about Liz?''

''I plan on doing that.'' Luke assured with a smile. ''Anyway I'm sure nothing has changed. What could be different in this sleepy little town anyway?"

Bobbie was just about to answer her brother when her cell phone rang. "I bet it's the hospital." She said with a small smile, before answering with a Snappy "Barbara Jean Spencer." Luke smiled at the use of his sister's maiden name. No matter how many times she had been married, she was always a Spencer and she well knew it.

Tony sighed as he heard his ex-wife's voice. "Bobbie hi, It's Tony. I can't talk long so you have to listen. Juan's dead and Lucky is at the murder scene. I don't know if he's involved but I think he'll need some help from his family. You're it Bobbie. We're at the park, in front of the fountain. Can you get here immediately?"

"Oh God." Bobbie gasped, her stomach clenching at the thought. "Taggert was just here looking for him. Does he know? And Tony you said murder…are you sure?" Her every instinct was to rush over to the park right now, but she knew Luke would want answers and she needed information. "Is Lucky ok?"

"He's fine." Tony was quick to assure. "But Bobbie it looks bad. Get over here now. Lucky needs someone in his corner. It has to be murder." Tony sighed as he surveyed the scene again. "Just get here. Now. He needs you." He snapped his phone closed, hoping the detective hadn't seen him making that call.

Luke was shaking, as he looked his sister. Bobbie had said murder and Lucky in the same sentence. Was his son alive? "Lucky?" Luke asked, his voice trembling and close to tears.

Bobbie's eyes widened as she realized that Luke had misinterpreted her words. "No no Luke. No!" Bobbie said, drawing her brother in close for a hug. "Lucky is fine. Juan's dead, murdered, Tony said and Lucky is at the scene. It looks like he may be taken in as a suspect. I'm needed at the park."

"I'm coming." Luke said firmly, tucking the pictures that would exonerate him under one arm. "Let's go help the cowboy, baby sister."