Lucky followed Jason into the interrogation room, shutting the door securely behind him. Drawing the blinds, he turned back to the stoic mobster and looked at him questioningly. He was leaning against the edge of the table opposite Lucky, hands palm down on the Formica surface.
"Before we start talking about this, I want to make one thing clear," Jason said. "I know that you are in love with my sister, so I want to keep her out of this as much as possible. Emily has been through a lot over the past couple of years, and the last thing she needs is to fight with me again. I know it's going to be hard, but I don't want my decisions to make her life any more difficult."
"Other than Cam, Emily is my first priority in the world," Lucky assured him. "I would never put her in the middle of anything, especially something that concerned her family or friends. Ask her yourself, I've encouraged her to talk to Elizabeth and Nikolas whenever she feels ready. I could never ask her to stay away from anyone she loves, especially you."
Jason nodded, fully confident that Lucky was being honest. "Thank you, I appreciate that you are looking out for her. She needs someone like you to help take care of her." Pinching the bridge of his nose, he decided that he should probably take a seat as the conversation was bound to take awhile. Lucky was already seated, on guard almost as though he was about to start a round of questioning. "As I've said before, I have made my decision. Since you are Cameron's father and whatever happens with my child will affect him, I wanted to come and talk to you first. I figure I owe you as much."
"Jason, believe it or not, I don't blame you for what happened with Elizabeth. I don't have any right to be upset with her about you two sleeping together. It's my fault she ended up in bed with you. That's never been my point of contention."
"I know, you don't have to remind me. She lied to both of us for months, and that's a hard thing to forget," Jason commiserated. "Still, despite that, I don't want to be vengeful toward Liz. I love my child, and I am determined to do right by him or her. I know that she wants to raise the child alone, or with Nikolas, but I can't stay away from my baby. I have every intention of being a father."
Lucky folded his hands in his lap, wringing them anxiously. "I knew you would do the right thing. Once you have told Elizabeth, she and I will sit down with Cameron to explain everything."
"That's probably a good idea," Jason agreed. "As you know, I am with Carly. I know that Elizabeth isn't going to like it, but this is about the only point I'm not willing to negotiate on. She is going to be in my life, and it's likely that we'll get married some day."
"You're a braver man than I," Lucky grinned momentarily, thinking about how difficult it would be to be married to his scheming cousin. It'd be like being married to his father. "I really appreciate you coming here to tell me this, Jason. I know that this couldn't be easy on you either, but you've managed to stay calm. I'm not sure how you did it considering I lost my cool when she told me."
"Believe it or not, Carly helped with that. She reminded me of the Michael situation, and after a long talk, I could see why she wanted to lie. It may have never come out if Craig hadn't held up the hotel. In a weird way, I guess something good came out of it. Well, for me anyhow."
"It's better that we all know the truth now instead of years later. I would never begrudge a father's right to raise his own child," Lucky said. "I won't deny I wish that the baby was mine, but it's not. I still have Cam, and now I have Em. I have a different family than the one I expected to have, but I wouldn't change a thing."
As Jason was about to respond, his cell phone sounded from his coat pocket. Pulling the tiny silver device from the black leather jacket, he half smiled at the caller I.D. "Carly, I told you I would be home in twenty minutes. Stop calling me." Lucky could hear her high pitch squeal of protest followed by a fit of laughter. Studying his companion, even Lucky could see how happy Carly made him. Jason seemed different than he had with anyone in the past – Robin, Courtney, Sam. It was almost as if he was lighter, definitely more joyful. "I love you, too. I'll see you and the boys at home."
Lucky waited until he ended the call before standing up. "I don't think we need to say anything else, and it sounds like you have a family to get home to."
"I do," Jason announced. "Speaking of which, how is Em? I didn't want to call her until I had made up my mind in case she had any questions. I've been on edge and likely to snap at any minute. I didn't want to take that out on her."
"She's doing okay," he promised. "She went to a spa with Monica this afternoon. We're supposed to have dinner with Nikolas and Elizabeth at Wyndamere tonight. I don't want to go, of course, but she asked me to do it for her. She has hopes that we're going to be the great friends we once were, but I think it's still too soon."
Both of them exchanged a glance, realizing all at once how confessional their conversation had become. They had never really been friends as they lived on opposite sides of the law. However, their lives were inextricably intertwined, and they shared an unspoken bond no one else could match. "Well," Jason drawled, "I'm going to go now. I plan on telling Elizabeth tomorrow, so if you could keep it to yourself until then, it would be for the best."
"Not a word," Lucky avowed. "And I want you to be the one to tell Emily. I think it's important that she hear the explanation coming from you. She thinks the world of you, Jason, and I can pretty much guarantee that she won't be disappointed in the choices you've made."
"Lesley Lu Spencer, get your butt down here!" Tracey yelled up the stairs, her hand planted firmly on her waist. She tapped her toe rapidly, mentally counting the seconds it took the young blonde to make it to the Quartermaine foyer. Lulu came jogging down the hallway, pausing at the top of the staircase to look down at her stepmother. Her hair was a mess and her pale blue cardigan sweater was misbuttoned. Something clearly had been going on in Dillon's room. "Listen, we need to have a little chat."
"Tracey, not now," Lulu muttered, reaching up to smooth her hair. "I'm busy working on a project with Dillon."
"The last project you worked on with Dillon resulted in a trip to a clinic and a press conference outside the front door," Tracey reminded her. "Therefore, I have one simple request. If you two are going to sleep together, please do not do it in my house."
"This is Monica's house."
"Lulu!" Tracey snapped. "We have given you everything. We paid for a college that you don't go for, we keep you clothed and fed, you have a beautiful bedroom upstairs. The only thing I ask is that you not sleep with your stepbrother in your family's house."
"Fine," Lulu relented willingly. "It shouldn't be any problem. I don't plan on living here much longer, so you won't have to worry about me doing anything in your house, let alone sleeping with my boyfriend."
Tracey looked at her, taken aback by her brazen audacity. "You don't have any money, you can't afford to move out."
"Your son, my lover," Lulu emphasized just to spite Tracey, "has a housing stipend in his trust fund. We are going to use that to pay the rent. We'll get jobs to cover the rest of the expenses. In fact, Edward has already rehired Dillon to work in the offices at ELQ, and Bobbie got me a job filing at GH. Dillon will still have plenty of time for school, and I will still have plenty of time to avoid it."
"Well, you think you just have it all figure out."
Lulu tapped her finger against her temple mockingly. "Actually, Tracey, I do have it all figured out, which is why you are so angry. You know that when Dillon and I move out, you lose all the control you have over his life. You can't even hold school over his head anymore because your brother, in his infinite wisdom, left Dillon money for his college education."
"What is all the noise down here?" Dillon asked as he came out of his bedroom. He had been listening at the door for the past five minutes, thoroughly enjoying the game Lulu was playing with his mother. They hadn't been doing anything but watching a movie, but when Tracey had bellowed, they'd quickly hatched a plan just to get a rise out of her. Since Alan's death, she had been in a funk. They knew getting her riled up would bring some since of normalcy back to the otherwise vivacious woman.
Tracey looked up to find her son standing next to Lulu, shirtless with the button of his faded jeans undone. "Nice touch," Lulu murmured under her breath.
"I've had enough of this. You are still living under my roof for the time being, so I still reign supreme. I am telling you that you two cannot sleep together in this house."
"It's Monica's roof," Dillon reminded her, echoing Lulu's earlier sentiment. "And I'm an adult. And I'm with Lulu, so if we want to have sex, we're going to do it. If you don't want to know about it, I recommend that you knock before coming into my bedroom. As for living under this roof, the time is very limited, I promise you. We should be into the apartment next week. I'll make sure to leave a forwarding address with Alice when I go."
"Oh!" Tracey huffed, turning on her heal before stalking out of the room. Lulu immediately erupted into laughter, her happy giggles floating up toward the rafters. Dillon grinned proudly at her, amazed at their little game of improvisation. It was amazing what they could come up with on the fly.
"My poor father is going to have to hear about this one," Lulu managed through her incessant chuckling. "As soon as she even mentions us sleeping together, he is going to freak out. I can't believe you used the word sex in there."
"I knew the raw quality of my tirade would set her off for good. Maybe it's a little mean to poke the bear, but I think she needs to get that she cannot control my life anymore. I've lived a lifetime by her rules, and it hasn't gotten me anywhere. Two weeks of living by my own agenda has gotten me the love of my life and a new home with her. I kind of think I'll stick with it."
"Hmm, do I actually make you happy?"
Dillon quickly shortened the distance between them, drawing her into his arms. "I think that question has become rhetorical at this point. You make me the happiest I have ever been, which is quite a feat by most calculations. I mean, I am giving up living in a mansion to share a tiny apartment with you. It must be love."
As Lulu was about to respond, a loud sound shook the entire house. She dropped to her knees immediately, covering her head. It sounded too much like a gunshot for it not to shake her to her core. Dillon was next to her within seconds, wrapping his arms around her so tightly that she could barely breathe. She could faintly hear him murmuring something into her hair, but the sound echoed over and over in her mind. Finally, as he started to shout, he was able to get to her.
"Lulu, no," he insisted firmly. "We're not doing this again. You are going to stay here with me. Look at me."
She obeyed, slowly shifting her eyes from the tiled floor to his reassuring gaze. "I just remembered that night all over again. I hadn't slipped in so long."
"Are you okay?" he asked carefully, still not letting her go. She nodded timidly and then a bit more confidently. "Okay, I want you to stay right here. I'm going to go outside and see what that was. I'll be right back."
When he returned, Dillon explained that one of the chauffeurs had accidentally back into the row trashcans behind the gatehouse. It did little to make Lulu feel better. If something as simple as a minor accident could get to her so easily, how would she handle something bigger? "Dillon, I have to go."
"I know," he replied, standing up and slipping his hand into hers. "Let me just go grab my keys, and I'll drive you over. You can call Lainey on the way."
"This is more serious than either of us want to acknowledge."
"I know."
"Dillon, I'm really scared."
"So am I, Lu, so am I."
