Chapter Two

Lucky carefully put the sun block on Heaven's arms and legs before moving to her face. Gently, he smoothed the cream across her cheeks and nose. She smiled widely at him, causing Lucky to chuckle at the expression on her face. "You're such a happy girl," Lucky said to her, chucking her under the chin. He spread some cream over the tips of her ears and then slipped a hat on her head. "Alright, we're ready for the park, Heaven." Picking the child up, Lucky headed to the front door. Her diaper bag and stroller were already outside waiting.

When he reached the front door, Lucky swung it open and was surprised to see his sister standing her, her arm poised to knock. "Hi, Aunt Lulu," Lucky said, referring to her as aunt for the benefit of his daughter. "What a nice surprise."

Lesley Lu Spencer's face creased into a smile when she saw her brother and her niece. "Hi Daddy," she replied. Reaching her arms out, she took Heaven from him. "Where are you and this precious little girl off to?"

"The park," Lucky answered, dropping his arms to his side. His gaze was on his daughter. Ever since Elizabeth & Cameron's deaths, Lucky had rarely let the child out of his sight. He took her with him everywhere he went and had taken a leave of absence from work. "Want to come with us?"

"I came to talk to you, big brother," Lulu said, her eyes taking in his appearance. His clothes were clean, but not ironed and he looked like he was barely sleeping. He'd lost weight, and his face was scruffy. "You need a shave," she said critically. He needed more than that, but one step at a time. She, Nikolas & Nikolas' wife Emily had talked it over
and decided they'd do this one at a time.

"Gee, thanks," Lucky said wryly. "Just what my ego needs - a negative comment."

"Have you been sleeping at all?" Lulu asked, putting Heaven into her stroller and strapping her in. Once she was secure, Lulu checked the diaper bag to ensure everything necessary was packed and then turned the stroller around.

"Some," Lucky answered vaguely, falling into step beside his sister as they headed down the driveway.

Lulu was about to comment further when a car pulled over to the side of the road. She recognized Sonny & Jason's lawyer as she got out of the car and approached them. "Hi Diane," Lulu greeted her. She had no idea what the lawyer was doing here. As she considered the possibilities, fear entered her heart and she suddenly had an idea of what was about to happen. "What are you doing here?"

"Lulu," Diane nodded at her. "Lucky Spencer?" She'd seen him at the police station several times when bailing one of her clients out but had never really directly spoken to him. "I've been asked to deliver these papers to you." She held out an envelope to him.

Lucky too the envelope, looking confused. "What are they?"

Diane's eyes grew compassionate as she looked at him. She knew of the death of his wife and child, and was aware how much this was going to hurt. "Jason Morgan is suing you for custody of Heaven."

Lucky laughed humorlessly. "That's crazy! Why would he sue me for custody of my daughter? I mean, he & Elizabeth were close friends and all, but ... " he trailed off, his emotions overcoming him. He set the papers down on the stroller and lifted Heaven into his arms, holding her close. As if by doing so, Diane and the papers would disappear. "Tell him thank you for his concern, but my daughter and I are getting along just fine." Lucky's voice was firm.

As Diane opened her mouth to speak, Lulu picked up the envelope and shook her head at the lawyer. "I've got it from here, Diane. Thank you," she said quietly, her eyes serious.

Diane closed her mouth and nodded at Lulu. "I'll see you in court," Diane said softly. She had no doubt that Lucky was going to fight Jason every step of the way over custody. She turned and got back in her car, resting her eyes on Lucky and the baby before driving away.

Lulu faced Lucky. "Let's go back inside, Lucky. This isn't a conversation I want to have on your front lawn."

Lucky took a step back, his hold on his daughter tightening. "We don't need to have this conversation at all, Lulu. Jason has no claim over my daughter. I can't believe he'd even attempt to take her! Man, he really must've been obsessed with Elizabeth!"

"You're scaring Heaven," Lulu said softly. She reached up and loosened Lucky's hold on Heaven. She took the baby into her arms and tucked the papers into her pocket as she walked into the house. Heaven gazed at her, wide-eyed. "You're a pretty lucky little girl," she whispered to her niece, tears pricking her eyes. "You have so many people that love you and want you with them." Lulu sighed and set the baby in the swing. Turning the knob, she activated it and set the child gently swinging. Heaven grinned and leaned her head back, enjoying the motion. Hearing footsteps behind her, Lulu turned
and faced her brother.

"Tell me what it is you know," Lucky said, his voice grim as he set the stroller off to the side and going over to where his sister was standing. "Don't leave anything out, Lesley Lu."

Her full name - the name he called her when he was either disappointed in her or angry with her. Lulu wasn't sure Lucky knew what he was feeling, but she was equally sure it would be anger once she was done speaking. "Jason is Heaven's biological father. Back when you were with Maxie," she winced, not able to remind him right then of his drug addiction. "Jason and Elizabeth had a one-night stand. She got pregnant, and she had a DNA test done to see who the father was. When she found out it was Jason, she asked him to give up the baby to allow you both to raise her. She didn't want Heaven around the danger that Jason's life is." She paused, knowing the information she'd just given her brother was enough of a blow right now.

Lucky reeled, unconsciously stumbling back and sitting on the couch from the shock. His second shock in two weeks. "That's not possible," he choked out, not wanting to face the fear he was feeling. If what Lulu was saying was true, he'd likely lose his daughter right after losing his wife and son. He'd be alone - something that was inconceivable to
him. Three weeks ago, his life was perfect and he was happy and he had a wonderful family ... now, he was looking at being completely alone? "This is not fair," he whispered, tears filling his eyes.

Lulu's heart ached for her brother. She went to him, wrapping her arms around him and trying to comfort him. "Maybe it's not possible. Maybe Elizabeth was wrong," Lulu said encouragingly, hoping that she was wrong - for Lucky's sake. She'd known this was going to happen if the truth came out, and she wanted to take away Lucky's pain. It killed her to know that she couldn't. "You can have your lawyer request another DNA test before the case goes any further."

Lucky nodded. He pulled away from her suddenly, standing up and walking away from her. When he faced her again, she gasped from the anger she saw there. "How long have you known about this?"

This was the part Lulu had dreaded. "Since Elizabeth was six months pregnant," she admitted, her eyes sad. While she understood and expected his anger, it didn't make this moment any easier.

Lucky's eyes narrowed as his breath exhaled in a hiss. "Leave, Lesley Lu. Leave this house right now." His voice was as hard as steel.

Lulu stood up and walked towards him. "Lucky, I know you're upset. Angry, even. But you can't mean that. You need your family around right now."

"I need loyal family around," Lucky spit out, his eyes flashing fire. "Not someone who betrayed me to keep such a secret from me. A secret that may now cost me my daughter. Get out."

Lulu opened her mouth to argue, but then closed it in defeat. Now was not the time to try and convince Lucky of her loyalty to him. He was far too angry to even try and understand. She would give him the space he was asking for and hope he'd eventually come around.

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Sam was down on the docks, trying hard to make sense of everything Jason had told her. Elizabeth had given him a child? A child that she would never be able to give him. Could Sam accept this child into her home and raise her without envy? Without jealousy? She'd always wanted a child, sure. But she'd wanted one of her own, not an illegitimate child of Jason's. She sighed as she paced, wishing the answer was easy and that her heart didn't hurt as much as it did at that exact moment. Hearing footsteps behind her, Sam turned around to see her mother approaching. "Hi, Alexis."

"Gee, that was a wonderfully enthusiastic greeting, my darling daughter," Alexis joked teasingly, looking her daughter over closely. Noticing the puffy eyes and how red they were, she frowned, "What's wrong, Sam?"

Sam let out a hollow laugh. "Wrong? Now what would make you think anything's wrong, Alexis? I mean, people often find out that the person they love has an illegitimate child, right?" The words were barely out of Sam's mouth before she realized … "Sorry. I don't mean that at you."

Alexis slipped an arm around Sam's shoulder, steering her to the nearby bench and easing her down onto it. "I'm made of much tougher skin than that, Sam. Don't forget, I'm a cancer survivor. I know what my life is and the realities that I've faced. I was an illegitimate child. You were an illegitimate child." As Sam winced, Alexis touched her daughter's chin, forcing her to look into her eyes. "That doesn't make you any less important, Sam. A child needs love and happiness, no matter what the circumstances surrounding their birth. Look at Kristina. She was illegitimate. But Sonny and I love her and try to make her life as normal as possible. Well, considering her father's a mob boss and her mother's a hyperactive lawyer."

Sam managed a smile, even though by now tears were streaming down her cheeks at her mother's words. Alexis wiped her cheeks gently and continued, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I can listen. Does Jason have an illegitimate child?" While it was a question, Alexis assumed she was right or they wouldn't even be having this conversation.

"That night last summer?" Sam didn't dwell too much on that night, considering it was the same night Alexis had discovered her sleeping with Ric. "The night that Jason & Elizabeth were together? When Elizabeth got pregnant shortly after, she told everyone the baby was Lucky's. Yet she knew all along the baby was Jason's. Jason found out shortly before Heaven's birth. He's Heaven's biological father. Jason filed papers that Lucky will receive today fighting for sole custody."

Alexis winced. "That situation never seems to go away entirely, does it?" she murmured. As much as they all tried keeping last summer in the past, circumstances dictated otherwise. "You're wondering if you want to be a part of that? Of raising Jason's daughter?"

Sam nodded. "It's not that I don't want a baby. I want a child more than I've wanted anything else. I want mine and Jason's baby, not his baby with Elizabeth. I don't want to bring that little girl into a situation where I might resent her or not love her enough."

Alexis hugged Sam gently. "Sam, you're talking about a baby. Jason's baby. She may not be your daughter biologically, but that doesn't mean you couldn't love her as if she were her own. Heaven just lost her mother and her big brother. She will need a mother as she grows up, and you can be that to her. And every time you look at her, you can think of the fact that she's Jason's blood. That will get you past any resentment you might have. Not only that, you didn't have any personal hate towards Elizabeth, did you?"

Sam sighed. "I may not have forgiven her completely for sleeping with Jason," she admitted. "But no, I didn't hate her."

"Then give yourself a chance," Alexis advised. "Give Heaven a chance. Because while this is frustrating and scary for you, there's an innocent baby out there who is about to be put in the middle of one of the biggest wars. She's going to need someone who is on her side, and who can get past her paternity."

Sam suddenly felt a level of protectiveness swell over her as she thought of Heaven. The beautiful little doe-eyed girl with soft brown hair who looked so much like her mother. Now that Sam considered it, she also had some of Jason's features too. Sam had just never connected the two before. "I need to see the baby," Sam said suddenly.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far right now," Alexis objected, holding up her hand. "Especially if Lucky was just served with custody papers. I'm not sure how fondly he'd look to you trying to see the baby while he's trying to hold onto the child he considers his."

"Then I will just have to make him see things my way," Sam said determinedly. "Thanks, Alexis." She hugged her mother quickly and rushed away.