*Lucky is now 20 and Nikolas 21.
~* It seems it's always the crazy times You find you'll wake up and realize It takes more than your saline eyes To make things right *~
Texas 1984
"Come on darlin'" Luke Spencer urged as he watched his wife. "You can do it. I know it's hard but angel the worst is over. You've done this before, now do it again." Luke clutched his wife hand as her scream drowned out the angry wail of the newborn. "How's my boy?" Luke asked one of the doctors as he watched the squirming pink form even as his wife struggled to birth another. Twins. He and Laura could never have imagined they were having twins. Sure she was big as a house, but that was just how some women carried babies.
"Luke I can't do it." Laura panted. After twenty-eight hours of labor she was just exhausted. Even though her heart soared at the sight of a beautiful little son, the exhaustion had sapped everything.
"No angel that's where you're wrong. You can and will do it Laura. You will do it. We're gonna have another baby." Luke grinned and squeezed his wife's hand. "Use my strength, you'll get your second wind." He assured, emboldened by the way she squeezed his hand.
"I hate you Luke Spencer." Laura groaned as she began pushing.
Hours later…
"The first baby should be named after you." Laura told her husband gently. "I want our child to carry on your name."
"What about the other boy?" Luke's eyes had stayed moist for hours after the birth of his sons. Sons! Two fine, beautiful, squealing pink bundles that were all Spencer. He'd be the best father he could, much better then the pathetic example that he'd had.
"I don't know. What about Lance, Lawrence, Landon?" Laura's eyes dropped. Feeding the children had relaxed her and the adrenaline had worn off, leaving her into close to a dreamlike state. "We can wait until tomorrow to name them Luke." Laura's lips barely moved. "We have forever with them."
~*~
WSB Headquarters
"Here are your papers DiLucca" The WSB director thrust some papers into the man's waiting hands. "Welcome to the WSB" He added as he watched the agent in front of him. DiLucca had such attitude that no one really wanted this, least of all the WSB. A deal was a deal though. After five years in the most secure of lockups the FBI and WSB had brokered a deal where DiLucca would give twenty years of work to the WSB in exchange for his freedom.
"You're now Mark Jennings WSB agent. If you value your life, Roy DiLucca died on a stretch of pavement five years ago. Roy nodded in understanding. This was how it would have to be until Smith was dead, but he'd never forget who he was and all he had. He'd never give that up. There had to be something he could go back to someday and for that reason he'd find a way to keep Roy alive.
~*~
"Are you ready?" Damian Smith adjusted his surgical scrubs and looked at his accomplice. She was not happy to be along on this job but he needed her. "Katherine it'll be okay. All we have to do is sneak in and kidnap the baby. Nobody will recognize you under all of that makeup and that wig. Twenty year old Damian Smith felt like he was dressing for Halloween in the wig and mustache he wore, but he didn't look nearly as ridiculous as Katherine who was adorned in a black wig with thick makeup caked on her delicate features.
"Why do we have to do this Damian?" Katherine inquired. This had long since passed the fun stage and while she and Damian had casual sex and were good friends, she had never signed on to do his father's dirty work.
"Payback." Damian responded coolly. "We take the one kid and they mourn it. The other one we let them bond with then snatch in a couple years. Then they suffer. They'll known my father has an endless reach and they'll never have another moment of peace until we finally do kill them."
Katherine turned serious before nodding. This wasn't worth the money she was getting. "My price goes up after this one Damian." She replied. "And see what your father can do about getting me all A's this semester as well."
~*~
"Dead?" Luke's voice trembled as he tried to comprehend the fact that one of his perfect sons had died unexpectedly. The doctor had come in and asked to speak to him a few moments ago. From the pain behind the kindly man's eyes, Luke knew before any words were uttered. "What happened?" He whispered as he tried to keep his tears at bay. It was so incomprehensible to him that a strong wailing baby could be fine one moment, dead a few hours later. How was he going to tell Laura? "Can I see him?"
The doctor shook his head, unwilling and legally unable to admit that the baby had died in violent circumstances. "You have a living son, You need to focus on that." He said in a quiet tone. After the baby's broken body had been discovered the hospital board had called the doctor into a conference. He had been told what he could and couldn't tell the grieving family and much as he hated it, this was his job. "I'm so sorry for your loss. " He said quietly.
Luke just looked away as tears poured down his cheeks. He'd been given the greatest gift in his life, only to have part of it snatched back. He turned his eyes to the sky, whispering a quiet prayer to the mother he had loved so much, the mother that had been taken from him far too young. "Take care of him for me, show him the ropes." Luke had never believed in heaven before, but now seemed as good a time as any to have hope.
~*~
"How do we get it to shut up?" Damian asked in a cranky voice as he glanced over to Katherine and the newborn.
"I don't know. Maybe it's hungry or something?" Katherine snapped back. "I don't know anything about babies! What are we doing with it?"
"We're dropping it off at a church somewhere. By now they think he's dead and no one will ever know he's a Spencer. We did our job well."
December 1999
"Agent Jennings?" A young man materialized at Roy's side almost soundlessly. He hated working with rookies but he'd heard great things about this kid. "Locklan Price. I'm your new partner."
Roy turned to size up his new partner and almost gasped as he looked into eyes identical to Luke Spencer's
Lyric courtesy of Jars of Clay "Crazy Times" found on their last release Much Afraid ©1997
Chapter 1
"Locklan Price my ass." Roy shot back, as he looked the kid up and down. "Who are you really?" How dare this kid storm into his life and into a partnership with him, when he was obviously a Spencer. It went far behind the eyes; the kid's mannerisms and look as well as his body language were Spencer to the soul. "So who are you, Luke's or Bobbie's?"
"Excuse me?" This meeting was not going as expected. Jennings was known as a fly by the seat of his pants agent, but he was known as a fair and calm head in a crisis. Lock hadn't expected this from him at all. The guy was not only clearly unbalanced, there was just something weird about him.
Roy watched the kid for a few moments. After serving an eternity in the WSB he was an expert on the subtle nuances of body language, and while he was picking up the signals reminiscent of Luke Spencer, he wasn't able to discern any attempted Mystery on the boy's part. "Sorry." He allowed gruffly. "Tell me about you." He sank onto a standard hotel issued couch and motioned to a chair across the hotel room.
"Not much to tell." Lock replied as he watched Jennings carefully. The guy's mood changes would be a challenge for sure, but that could be said about all the WSB's legendary agents. "I'm a rookie. Joined up last year and just finished six months of psych studies at the WSB academy. You're my first partner and this is my first assignment." He looked up to see Jennings flipping through a file. "Anything else you want to know, sir?"
"Everything else is here." Roy replied as he scanned the kid's file. "Make yourself at home kid. Have a beer." He gestured to the mini fridge. "I want to look over our material."
"And my dossier." Lock answered with a very Luke Spencer smirk. Roy shook his head in a thoroughly amused manner as he scrutinized the file. His new partner was a 20 year old Texas, raised by Mark and Rachel Price. No siblings and he'd been adopted after having been abandoned at a church doorstep. The odds were easily even that he was a Spencer, especially in view of their mission.
"Hey Price." Roy motioned the kid onto the couch. "Anyone briefed you on the mission?"
~*~
Luke Spencer sighed as he looked at his soon to be ex-wife's door. His mind was heavy with the realization that the house they had shared was now an alien environment to him. Luke knew that Laura would be best off with a divorce, but the thought of being legally severed from his lifeline and his daughter was too much to bear.
Luke sighed and ran his hand over his head. His life was a shambles and even the constant attention of Felicia couldn't drag him out of his depression. He'd lost his second perfect child, Lucky, over six months ago, then Bobbie had married Jerry Jacks, against his every wish. The fatal blow though, had happened even more recently. Lulu had been at the park making a snowman of all things with Laura.
Then HE had walked up. Luke tried to quell the hot anger he felt when his enemy had pulled his wife into a tender kiss. He had barely reigned in control, but when his little Lulu ran to Cassadine and called him father...Luke's mind had simply shut down. Felicia found him at the club the next morning and it had simply been the last straw. Luke knew he had to change things in his life, for his living child if not for himself. Burying the rotting carcass of a marriage was a first step. If it didn't kill him, some day he would be strong. As Luke tried the door, he wasn't at all surprised to find that it was locked. Deciding to avoid any potential conflict, Luke sank onto the top step and stared out into the distance.
~*~
Chloe Morgan smiled as she sat in the Quartermaine estate gazebo. This was as good a place as any to connect with her contact. Only the gardener and cook ever took advantage of this remote area of the grounds, and since the first snowfall, even they had shied away. Chloe dialed her lover's daughter and waited for an answer. Why he had insisted that she go through the bimbo was beyond Chloe, but Anthony Moreno was far from a wise man on a good day. He had no idea that she, Chloe Morgan would be taking over his territory someday soon. By the time he realized it, both had and his daughter would be powerless.
Hannah Scott lunged for her strongbox as her cell phone rang. She had been getting ready for a date with Sonny Corinthos when this call came in. She pushed her FBI issued cellular aside and reached for the phone her father had issued her. "Yes?" She said into it.
Chloe rolled her eyes as she picked at a cuticle. This girl sounded as boring as her father was. Where was the pizzazz in the Moreno family? Where was the drama? They were all cardboard cutouts masquerading as humanity. They were even more boring than Jax and Ned and that was saying a lot. "Hannah it's Chloe. Meet me on the docks at eleven tonight. Slip lovesick Sonny a mickey. He'll never notice."
Hannah rolled her eyes as she heard the saccharine sweet tones of her father's bimbo. The girl's brains couldn't fill the toe of one of her ugly shoes. "Fine eleven tonight." She said with a slight snicker. "And don't worry. Corinthos will be sound asleep and very satisfied, unlike daddy."
"Why you little…." Chloe lowered her voice to a deadly growl. When she saw Jax approaching she wanted to scream. How much longer could she be Chloe Morgan, designer and society wife by day, mobster's moll by night. She'd take all of them down, and the sooner the better. As she disconnected the phone with Hannah, Chloe slapped a sugary sweet smirk onto her face. "Hi Jaxie pooh."
~*~
"Laura I need to speak to you immediately." Stefan Cassadine said as he arrested Laura's progress toward the door. After a leisurely luncheon, she had been hoping to get home soon, as the weather was worsening and the lake was getting icy.
"Lulu has a playdate with her father." She tried but Stefan would not be dissuaded. With a quick glance at her watch, Laura sank to the plush couch. "Lulu go see if Mrs. Landsbury will give you just a little more hot chocolate. We won't be long."
"I understand Laura." Stefan said seriously. He became aware of his compulsion to do what he had planned this day in particular, but his heart told him it was now or never. As champagne splashed into two antique glasses, Stefan allowed a smile to appear on his features. He had listened to his heart so infrequently in his years, that he was tempted to ignore the nudge from it. Laura was a special woman though and if his heart was imploring him to take this next step, then what was the problem. She loved him and he her, it was as simple as that.
"Stefan what is this?" Laura asked carefully as he handed her a glass of champagne. She wasn't decadent enough to enjoy indulging in the bubbly drink under normal circumstances. She tried to swallow her panic as Stefan sank to one knee and reached for her hand.
"Laura will you marry me?"
~*~
"How is she darling?" Damian Smith looked over the machinery that whirred and beeped at regular intervals. Katherine looked so angelic lying under a simple white sheet. Only the presence of all the equipment and the fact that Katherine wasn't moving reminded Damian that Katherine's eyes hadn't opened in months.
Damian shivered as he remembered rushing Katherine to Helena's yacht. She had been as near death as a human could be. Even though Ari had administered the Romeo and Juliet drug in plenty of time, nobody knew for sure what long term effects a second dose of the drug would have on Katherine's system. Then, there had been the stress of getting Helena out and secreted away, while duping Stefan into thinking she was still paralyzed. The journey hadn't been an easy one for any of them.
Helena Cassadine turned to look at her long time lover. "She improves every day, Damian. Don't you see an improvement?" When he didn't immediately answer, she urged him down onto the bed. "Damian my love, I promise that she will be fine, It will just take time. Soon we will be sharing your affections and it will be like old times all over again." Helena stroked Damian's cheek possessively.
"And we'll get back to taking down the Spencers." Damian reminded as he leaned in to her touch.
"As soon as Katherine is back on her feet we will, my darling." Helena assured. "Young master Spencer is most uncooperative with Cesar. Perhaps you can go to the compound and show him how we deal with attitude."
"Understood." Damian smirked. "The whips this time?" As Helena nodded, he smirked coldly.
"I do have a special surprise for he, and you Damian. If he misbehaves too much you may use him as a slave for a day."
Damian's eyes lit up and he smiled just slightly. "The possibilities there." He whispered as he looked over at Katherine.
~*~
The man looked over the Port Charles Harbor and smiled. Once he had been a major player in all of this. When had it all faded? He inhaled and exhaled deeply a few times, deeply conscious of the cold air biting into his lungs. It was numbing at first. But soon the pain dissipated and his heart sang with the realization that he could breathe. Life hadn't always been so easy.
Many years had passed. He was older now, and wiser he hoped. He intended to fix this mob situation before more innocent lives were claimed. The persistent ringing of the telephone was the only thing that wrenched the man out of his thoughts. "Hello?" His voice was equal parts rough and tender. "The mission begins tonight then." He finally repeated. Clicking the phone shut, the man fixed his dark green eyes upon the inky blackness of the water. "I'm back Port Charles. I hope you're prepared for me."