Notes: This fic was based on a challenge on another board on how would you have broken up Lucky and Elizabeth when she found out he didn't love her, while at their wedding. A lot of the responses were quite violent (lol). Anyway I threw this one together and set it when she first returned from faking her death. I tried to keep the characters in character, something GH doesn't seem to care about. There's only 3 parts I hope you take the ride.

Disclaimer: I own only the power to abuse.

Distribution: Just ask first.

Feedback: Always a bonus.

Stephanie

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The Brush Off Grown Up Style

~Airport~

Lucky Spencer was uncomfortable. In fact he couldn't remember ever being so uncomfortable. Even his therapy sessions were easier than this. He shifted on the plastic seat and began tapping his foot. Maybe the difference was because while he wanted to go to therapy, wanted to get better. The last thing he wanted was to be here, and have the conversation that he had been dreading.

He was full of nervous energy and began to gnaw on his fingernails, as he glanced at the clock on the wall again. 11:54. He'd been at the airport for over 2 hours. He had wanted to be here early but her flight had been delayed, so it had been a long wait. But now the end was in sight, the last report was that it would be here at noon.

High noon to be specific. The time that most battles had commenced in the old west. The time that normally only one person walked away at 12:01, okay maybe they limped away, but you got the point. It was the time for confrontations.

By now he was rocking on the chair and the old plastic seat squeaked in protest but Lucky was oblivious to it. Between the tapping, the biting, and the rocking, he had his hands full. The other people and the nearby National Guardsman were not, however. In fact the Guardsman had already been on the radio alerting others to the wild-eyed, frazzled haired partially blonde boy, who was lost in an oversized coat.

Lucky was not aware of the attention he was attracting, he was too busy trying to think of the right words to end a relationship without breaking a heart. He had been thinking about this for weeks now, but he couldn't come up with anything that wouldn't break her heart. And because of that he felt extremely guilty.

He'd browsed the over priced bookshop in the airport, and he had seen all of these How-to books. How To Build Your Dream Home, How To Retire at 30, How To Be A Success, he glanced at the bag holding the book beside him, that one had looked interesting. But he hadn't found a book with the title of How To Break Up With a Girl Who Did Everything For You Including, Quitting Friends, Quitting School, and Dying. And he had spent a long time looking. He'd also looked for the Dummies books and unfortunately there was no Breaking Up for Dummies books either.

So he was on his own. At one time that wouldn't have bothered him, but that was before he'd had his brain re-wired. He wasn't, as some people seemed to think, stupid. But he also wasn't as smart as he once had been either. He was working on getting better, he had most of his memories back, thanks to Kevin Collins. But although he remembered what happened, he didn't have the feelings that went with the memories. More specifically he didn't have the feelings he'd once had for Elizabeth, anymore.

11:58. She was almost here, he shifted and looked at the plane that had rolled to a halt at the exit ramp. It wasn't that he didn't care about her, because he did. He was always going to be grateful for what she had done for him. He was always going to owe her. But gratitude and obligation weren't the foundation of a lasting relationship, were they? And if you didn't include their history from years ago, that was all that was left.

12:00. He'd run out of time and he still didn't know what he was supposed to say. His eyes searched the departing passengers looking for Elizabeth Webber. He was so filled with worry over what was going to happen that he almost missed her entirely. He got slowly to his feet when he heard his name. He closed his eyes briefly then opened them and looked at the boots that had stopped a few feet away from him.

Her brown-heeled boots went halfway up her calf and led into a pencil thin light brown skirt that began around her knees. She was wearing a waist length brown leather coat that was unbuttoned, exposing a soft off-white sweater that looked so soft that he longed to run his hands over it. Her hair was longer than he remembered and the soft brown curls fell to her shoulders. Her ivory skin had a faint flush at the moment that set off her peaches and cream complexion. Her wide mouth was dusted pink and curved into a slight smile. Her blue eyes were sparkling with a mixture of nervousness and curiosity. The soft angles of her face had never seemed lovelier to him.

"Lucky are you okay?"

The concern in her voice penetrated and he realized that he had been staring at her. Judging from the expression on her face, she'd obviously been trying to get his attention for awhile. "I'm fine Elizabeth." He reached for her and drew her into an awkward hug.

Her unique scent filtered into his system. It wasn't the same sweet scent that he remembered. It was musky, mysterious, almost sinful, and the power of it hit him like a punch to the gut.

Elizabeth stepped back and searched his face. "It's good to see you Lucky."

"You too." Shaking off his unexpected attraction he gestured to the chairs by the window. "Can you sit for a minute?"

Elizabeth nodded and moved gracefully over to perch on one of the black plastic seats. "I meant to…"

"I wanted to…"

They both spoke at the same time, and then laughed uneasily. "Go ahead." Elizabeth said.

"I wanted to thank you for everything you did for me." Lucky started slowly. "We didn't have much time to talk on the phone, before you caught the plane here. I know how much you risked in helping me, and I don't know how to thank you."

"You don't have to thank me Lucky. I did it because I wanted too, not because I had too." She leaned back in the chair. "I meant to ask you. How much do you remember about me? About us?"

Lucky fidgeted again, here was his chance. He could take the opportunity she'd unwittingly given him and lie. He could tell her that his memories of their relationship hadn't come back, and that they would never come back. He was ashamed that the idea of doing that was so tempting to him. He obviously needed more therapy.

He felt her eyes on him and looked up, her eyes seemed to be dissecting him. He read the worry in them and realized he had been quiet too long again. He had to watch that. This habit of thinking things out before speaking made some people think that he was still brainwashed, because of the long silences. Speaking of silences. "I remember everything and yet I don't."

"What do you mean?"

He could see the confusion on her face and wondered why it looked so different on her face, as compared to when it was on his own. Shrugging the question away he went on. "I remember you and our past, but at the same time, I don't feel it. It's like watching a movie in my head. It's nothing but images for me."

"Oh." Some of the brightness left her eyes.

"I'm sorry Elizabeth." Lucky shifted causing the chair to squeak.

"It's not your fault Lucky, none of what happened has been your fault."

"It's not your fault either. We were both caught up in something that had nothing to do with us." He tugged at his jacket, it seemed to be fitting him tight across the shoulder. Maybe that was because he had borrowed it from Elton.

"So where does that leave things? How do you feel about that?"

Again she was thinking about him first and the guilt increased. He knew why he had her loyalty, it was because he had helped her so long ago. When he remembered his behavior towards her since he returned, he was amazed that she still felt it. Either she was still in love with him or she was the most loyal person he'd ever met. More loyal than even Foster was. He colored when he realized he was comparing her to a dog. Somehow he didn't think she would be pleased at that comparison.

"Lucky are you sure your okay? I mean should you be here alone?" Elizabeth's hand on his arm caught her attention.

"I'm fine." He patted her hand and felt another jolt of attraction when he did so. "I'm just trying to find the words to tell you something."

"You once told me that the easiest way to get something out was to just spit it out." Her smile was infectious. "It gets the bullcrap out of the way."

"Dad sure knows how to turn a phrase." Lucky smirked in recognition. "Of course he used different words."

"How is Luke?"

"He's doing good. It was touch and go for a while. But it seems that he's come out of everything with a new lease on life. He's acting at least 10 years younger then he normally does." His eyes met hers and they both burst out laughing. The laughter brought the first easy moment between the once inseparable pair.

"I don't know if that's a good thing." Elizabeth said when she regained her composure. "Luke acted like he was in his 20's anyway, that would mean that he's liking like a…"

"A teenager." Lucky finished for her with a nod of his head. "At least he seems to be directing all of it in mom's direction." He caught her questioning look. "He's determined to win her back."

"That's great. I hope they make it. I know they still love each other." She paused then went on. "When it is a love like that, there's nothing that can ever end it for good. A love like that is very hard to find and once you have it the last thing you want to do is lose it."

"But it's already been lost." Lucky blurted out.

"What? Your parents don't have that anymore?"

"Us. I'm talking about us. Our love has changed. I know this is totally unfair, especially after all that you've done for me. But I don't have the same feelings that I used to have for you." He sucked n a breath then decided to go for broke. "I care about you, I really do. But I don't know if I can love you the way you want to be loved. The way you deserve to be loved."

"We've both changed Lucky. I think we both knew that, long before we could ever admit it." She shifted a little closer and lowered her voice. "I think we didn't want to admit it, because that would mean that we had failed."

"Is it failure? Or is it that too much has happened?" He asked. "With both rounds of brainwashing, I know it was very hard to go back to what we once had."

"Lucky I think that was our main problem. We tried to go back to what we had before the fire, instead of starting new." She reached for her purse and began to dig inside of it. "We both changed in the year you were away, we just didn't want to admit it."

"I know the brain…"

"No it was more than that," her eyes searched his. "The people we were the night of the fire don't exist anymore, and we were too stubborn to admit that. The boy I fell in love with all those years ago, loved his family, computers, and wanted to sing for his supper."

"And the girl I fell in love with was so much stronger then she ever thought she was, smarter than she thought she was, and wanted to paint the world the way she wanted it to look." He smiled at the memory.

"They were also 2 kids so wrapped up in each other it was impossible to see where one ended and the other began. That means when I lost you, that girl who fell in love with you died too. The Elizabeth I grew into was born the night of the fire, much like the Elizabeth you fell in love with, was born on that awful Valentine's Day."

He could see the truth in her words and wondered why he hadn't seen it so much earlier, it would have been less painful for both of them, if he had. "I changed too, I love different things now."

"Like photography."

"Yes I still like that." Lucky shifted sheepishly. "I'm sorry I tried to force you into doing something you didn't want to do. Just because my dreams had changed I shouldn't have tried to change yours."

"You weren't really yourself, and I didn't tell you no." She brushed a stray curl from her face. "There were 4 of us in this relationship. The Lucky and Elizabeth of old, and the Lucky and Elizabeth of today, who were trying to be like the ones of old."

He nodded slowly. "We should have started new, when I came back."

"Maybe." She held out a small ring that he had given her to replace the diamond he had once given her. "But there were no guarantees we would have worked."

Lucky took the ring and quickly stuffed it in his pocket. "Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?" He couldn't help but press her, he had figured that she would be angry or at least upset. He wondered why he was disappointed that she wasn't.

"I'm a little sad because we have been through so much together. But I'm fine." She smiled at him.

"I was afraid I would hurt you. You gave up so much for me, and all I'm saying is thanks and goodbye." Why was he bringing these things up? She'd accepted that they were over, in fact she'd seemed to expect it, so why was he pushing this? He'd made his decision and she obviously agreed with it, so why was he suddenly regretting his choice?

"Lucky you didn't ask me to do those things for you, the choices I made in the end were all mine." She sighed and then clarified her statement. "Yes there were times that you did make my decisions for me, but in the end, I decided to help you because I wanted to."

Lucky studied his hands. "You mean when I pushed you into the Face of Deception competition?"

"Yes and…" She crossed her legs and looked away.

"When I made you give up your friendship with Jason." It was hard to say the words, hard to mention his name. Although he was ashamed of his behavior both towards her and to Jason he still couldn't help the feelings of jealousy.

"You didn't make me," she corrected him. "In the end it was my choice. I could have stood up to you, and defended my friendship with Jason, but I didn't." She sighed softly. "I didn't and I can't lay that at your feet, because I made the ultimate decision not you."

"I wondered," he paused then forced himself to ask the question he didn't know if he wanted to know the answer to. "Did you see Jason while you were gone?"

Elizabeth sighed heavily and studied him through hooded eyes for a long time before she finally spoke. "If I said I did would that be your cue to get angry with me? To accuse me of not being upset, over our ending, because I had been with Jason? That I was cheating on you with Jason, even though we were over before I ever left?"

"No." He didn't think that, did he? "I just…just."

"Lucky you need to be clear on one thing. And for the sake of the friendship we once shared I really need you to hear me." She placed her hand on his and waited until he met her gaze.

"I'm listening."

"You and I are over because we're not the same people who fell in love over 4 years ago, not because of Jason. Would we still be together today if the fire hadn't happened?" She shrugged. "I don't know. I'd like to think so. I'd like to think that we would have grown and changed together instead of apart. But we'll never know, because, our first chance was taken from us by Faison and the Cassadines. And our second chance was taken from us, by us. Because of our refusal to see each other with new eyes. But it had nothing to do with other people, it had to do with you and me wanting different things."

The tears that stung the back of his eyes were unfamiliar and the lump of guilt vanished. "I know."

She got to her feet and rubbed a finger under her right eye to stem a tear before it fell. "I will always love you Lucky Spencer. And I don't regret helping you."

He stood as well and hugged her, this time there was no awkwardness only a sense of closure. The hug between the old friends went on for a long time, neither one wanted to be the first to end it. It was perhaps the first pure moment they'd had between them in years.

Lucky finally stepped back and rubbed at his eyes. "Come on lets get you home."

"Actually I'm meeting my Gram." Elizabeth rubbed at the mascara trail that had formed from the tears she hadn't been able to stem.

"I haven't even seen Mrs. Hardy." Lucky felt guilty again. It suddenly dawned on him that he'd only seen her once since he'd come home at all. A horrifying thought suddenly occurred to him. "Did she know that you weren't dead?"

"Of course. I would never hurt her like that." Elizabeth admonished him.

"Good." He picked up the bag with his book. "We're okay right? I mean we're still friends?"

Elizabeth nodded. "I hope we always will be."

"If I have anything to say about it we will." Lucky vowed taking a step away. He studied her and was again struck with how beautiful she was. The pretty 16 year old had blossomed into a graceful 21 year old. Regret rose up in him again and prompted him to speak. "Have you ever wondered if we could have a third chance?"

Her smile was more brilliant than he had seen as she shook her head. "Dreams of gold Spencer, dreams of gold." With that she turned around and walked away.

Lucky watched her go and was struck with a strong sense of loss as she disappeared into the crowd. With a sigh he turned and headed for the door. They were still friends that was more then he'd hoped for. A pretty girl with long straight red hair walked past him with a smile. His frown turned into an answering smile and he changed direction and trailed the girl with the Pippi Longstocking hair.

~Plane~

"You just made it." The flight attendant informed her and took her coat to hang it up, while Elizabeth headed for first class and her seat.

"Flight 392 now continues its flight to Ontario, Canada. If everyone will take their seat we'll get on our way."

Her companion waited until the belt was fastened before speaking. "How did it go with Lucky?"

Elizabeth met the curious blue eyes and smiled. "Better than I hoped."

"Are you ready for this?"

Elizabeth's eyes sparkled in anticipation. "I've never been more ready."