If This Weren't That Way

By Morganperidot

1.

"Lucky!" Elizabeth said. She had opened the front the door to find him standing there – looking so amazingly good that for the moment all she could say was his name.

"Hey," Lucky said in his familiar soft tone.

"Hey," Elizabeth said, feeling somehow awkward and ridiculous around this man she had known and loved most of her life.

"Could I come in?" Lucky asked.

"Yes, of course," Elizabeth said, stepping aside to let him pass. "I'm just surprised to see you." She closed the door and turned to face him.

"I should have come back sooner," Lucky said.

Elizabeth forced herself not to say her first thought: I wish you had. "You look good," she said.

"I'm clean," Lucky said seriously, clearly referring to his past troubles with drugs and alcohol.

"I didn't mean…"

"It's OK if you did," Lucky said. "I'm always going to be an addict, whether or not I'm sober. But to put it out there, I've been sober since I left here."

"That's great," Elizabeth said. "I'm proud of you."

Lucky smiled. "Thanks," he said.

At that moment Jake Doe came down the stairs, and Elizabeth's awkwardness returned. He stopped at the bottom step with his gaze on Lucky. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," Lucky said.

"Jake this is Lucky Spencer. He's…"

"Aiden's father," Jake said. He held out his hand, and Lucky grasped it. "Nice to meet you," Jake said.

"Likewise," Lucky said. "Your name is Jake?"

"Yes…sort of," Jake said. "It's a long story."

"I've had a few of those," Lucky said. "Good to meet you."

Jake looked at Elizabeth. "I can pick up some food for dinner," he said. "I'll see you later."

"OK," Elizabeth said, and she watched as he walked to the door and left the house. When she looked back at Lucky he was looking at her, and she couldn't decipher what that look meant.

"You two are…"

"Yes," Elizabeth said. "I'm sorry…"

"Why?" Lucky said. "We've been apart a long time. I didn't expect you to be waiting for me to come back some day."

"I think I sort of did expect that for a while," Elizabeth said. "I used to think about you a lot."

"I thought about you, too," Lucky said, "and the boys. But it was always too hard for me to come back here. I should have, but I couldn't."

"It's OK…"

"It's not," Lucky said. "I should have been stronger, for the boys."

Elizabeth could feel the honesty of his pain. She walked closer to him, and then drew him into a tight embrace. After a moment he put his arms around her as well. "You had a lot to deal with," she said.

Lucky was silent for a moment, and then he whispered, "Thank you for not hating me."

Elizabeth pulled away and looked at him; she saw the moistness pooling in his eyes. "Lucky, I could never hate you," she said.

He wiped the tears that were threatening to spill. "Thank you," he said again.

Elizabeth gave him a moment to pull himself together, and then she said, "Do you want to see the boys?"

"Yeah," Lucky said. "I really do."

Later they were sitting talking at the table with a couple glasses of iced tea. "So, Jake," Lucky said. "Strange coincidence."

Elizabeth just looked at Lucky for a moment, trying to figure out if he knew something about Jason. How could he? Unless – would Nikolas tell him? She knew that was crazy. There was no reason for Nikolas to do that. "Yeah," she said. "He was in a car accident and brought into General Hospital. He didn't remember anything about who he was but…"

"He had amnesia?" Lucky said.

"Yeah…he still does," Elizabeth said. "He doesn't really remember anything about who he was before he came to Port Charles. He just remembered the name Jake, so he's been using that name."

"So you don't know who this guy really is?" Lucky said. "How do you know he isn't dangerous?"

"He's not," Elizabeth said. "I know he would never harm the kids."

"He…"

"Lucky, I'm sure," Elizabeth said with certainty.

Lucky was silent for a moment, and then he said, "Why?"

"Why what?" Elizabeth said.

"Why are you so sure?" Lucky said.

Elizabeth remembered when Lucky was cop; he was both intuitive and persistent, and she could see that in him now. "I know him," she said. "I know how he is and what he wouldn't do."

"Sometimes you can know someone a lifetime, and they still do things that surprise you," Lucky said.

"Lucky…"

"What I'm saying is, how can you be so sure this guy you just met isn't going to bring trouble to the boys?" Lucky said. "How do you know there aren't things about him that he's been hiding from you?"

Because I'm the one hiding things from him, Elizabeth thought. And when she looked into Lucky's eyes, it almost seemed like he knew what she was thinking. And then he said, "Do you know who this guy is?"

"How…" Elizabeth started to say, but then Jake walked in with a bag of groceries. Lucky had been leaning toward her, and he shifted back in his chair and looked at Jake.

"Should I come back later?" Jake asked.

"No, I should be going," Lucky said. He stood up.

"Do you have dinner plans?" Jake asked. "Because I make some of the best burgers in the world. Doesn't matter where you've been, these are going to knock you out." He looked at Elizabeth. "Right?" he asked.

"Right," Elizabeth said. She looked at Lucky. "Stay for dinner," she said.

Lucky sat down again. "OK," he said. "You talked me into it."

So they had dinner together.

"Elizabeth told me about your accident," Lucky said. "That's really terrible, man."

"Yeah," Jake said. "But she was my angel of mercy in the hospital."

"Yeah," Lucky said. "She's a great nurse."

"And more," Jake said, smiling at Elizabeth.

"Yeah, a lot more," Lucky said. Elizabeth looked at him, and he met her gaze.

"Are you staying in town?" Elizabeth asked.

Lucky didn't respond for a moment. Then he said, "I got a room at the Metro Court."

"So you're sticking around a while?" Elizabeth said.

"Yes," Lucky said. He looked at Jake. "These burgers really are great," he said.

"Thanks," Jake said. "So are you still a cop or…"

"No, that turned out to not be the greatest fit for me," Lucky said. He looked at Elizabeth. "I started playing guitar again," he said.

Elizabeth was surprised. "You did?" she said.

"Yeah," Lucky said. He looked back at Jake. "I used to play a long time ago when Liz and I were kids," he said. Elizabeth didn't miss his use of the name Liz, and she didn't think Jake did either. "At one point she gave me a guitar," Lucky said. He looked at Elizabeth. "Do you remember that?" he asked.

"Yes, of course," Elizabeth said. And she remembered how she had felt about him, too.

"So, Jake," Lucky said. "Have you gotten any leads on your background?"

"Not really," Jake said. "There was a woman who showed up claiming to be my wife, but that turned out not to be true."

"Strange," Lucky said. "It would seem like someone would be looking for you."

"Guess I was a loner," Jake said.

"Must have been," Lucky said. "You know I have some connections…"

"Are there any more burgers?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah, a couple," Jake said. He got up and went to get them.

Elizabeth looked at Lucky and silently mouthed "Stop" to him. Lucky glanced at Jake and then back at her, but he didn't respond to her command or seem surprised by it. "So, I've been playing in a band," he said instead. "Actually, it's a trio, me and a guy and a girl."

"Really?" Elizabeth said.

"Yeah," Lucky said. "We've been touring. It's actually been pretty fun."

"That sounds great," Jake said, setting down a plate with the remaining burgers. "Is that why you're in town?"

"Yeah, we had a gig nearby," Lucky said, "and a few days off. I figured it was a good time to mend some fences."

"You're always welcome here," Elizabeth said.

"Thank you," Lucky said. He set his napkin on the table and stood up. "Thanks for the great dinner, Jake. I should get going."

"I'll walk you to the door," Elizabeth said. She went with him to the door and then opened it and went outside with him, closing it behind her. "Whatever you think…"

"What I think doesn't matter," Lucky said. "If there is something important you aren't telling this guy, you should tell him. Because it will come out, and it will be worse when it does."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I can't," she said.

"Just my advice," Lucky said. "Good night, Liz." He turned to leave but Elizabeth put her hand on his arm, and he turned back.

"Are you really playing guitar?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah," Lucky said.

"Do you have a guitar with you – at the hotel?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah, why?" Lucky asked.

"I would just…"

"Yes," Lucky said. He moved closer to her and gently kissed her cheek. Elizabeth closed her eyes; his nearness made her whole body tingle. "Good night," he said quietly.

"Good night," Elizabeth said as she watched him walk away.