Gia stopped short just before she ran into Stefan and Nikolas exiting The Port Charles Grille. She closed her eyes and mentally cursed her bad luck. She'd managed to avoid Nikolas for two weeks straight so it would only make sense for her to almost run right into him and Stefan of all people. God, every time she saw Stefan she felt like he was seeing that tape of her in his mind.
"Miss Campbell." Stefan said politely.
She pointedly avoided making eye contact with Stefan. She murmured. "Sorry, excuse me."
Nikolas grabbed her arm as she tried to brush past them. "Gia, wait. Are you about to have dinner? Mind if I join you? It's time you stop avoiding me. We need to sit down and talk. We deserved another chance."
Feeling as if Stefan's eyes were boring into her, Gia kept her eyes on Nikolas only as she pulled her arm free. "I'm sorry but I can't. I'm late meeting someone."
"Oh? Business? I can wait until you're done." Nikolas suggested. He was slightly amazed that she was even bothering to fill him in. Usually she was either ignoring him or having Lucky tell him to leave. Nikolas frowned. She and Lucky were together a lot lately, he'd noticed. Nikolas pushed that thought of his head and slid his hands into his pockets to control his urge to touch her again.
Gia glanced into the restaurant where she knew Lucky was waiting for her. She tossed her head and said, "No, it's pleasure. Pure pleasure."
She smiled coyly. "Lucky and I…well, it's probably not a good idea for me to discuss this with you. You know, you two being brothers and all. But Lucky did say…never mind, forget it."
"Lucky?" Nikolas repeated. "What, what do you mean Lucky?"
Gia shrugged. "Is it that shocking that Lucky and I could grow closer? We're both single, we spend a lot of time together because of work, we discovered we have a lot in common, including people we thought we loved lying to us for our 'own good'. Really, it's not that surprising. Now if you excuse me, I'm already late as it is. I really hate to keep Lucky waiting."
Leaving Nikolas speechless, Gia strode into the restaurant and walked straight to the table where Lucky waited. Knowing that Nikolas was watching, she leant down and kissed Lucky on the cheek. Her hair swung forward shielding them from Nikolas's eyes and making the kiss look like more than it was.
"Go with it." She whispered into Lucky's ear. "Please, I'll explain later."
"Ok." He murmured.
When Gia finally straightened up, Lucky stood up and pulled out her chair for her. Once she was settled into it, he pushed aside her hair and kissed her neck softly. He trailed his fingers across her bare shoulder and down her arm. She smiled up at him and watched him as he came back around the table and took his seat. He sat back in it lazily, staring at her as if she was only person in the room. She felt a shiver go down her spine from the intensity of his look. He nodded with a slight smile.
Gia held his gaze and murmured, "You're facing the door. Is Nikolas and Stefan still there?"
Lucky barely glanced over Gia's shoulder before returning his attention back to her. "He was there, looking very pissed. Stefan just pulled him away. So this was a big show for Nikolas then?"
"Yes." Gia sighed. "I had no idea he was going to be here with his uncle and then I almost walked right into them."
"That's because you've been walking around in a fog for the past week or so. You want to explain what's up?" Lucky placed his elbows on the table and leaned in.
Gia took her time. She'd been trying for the past week to figure out the best way to ask Lucky for help with the pregnancy. He was the only person she felt she could turn to. Her mother would be horrified and her brother would be so disappointed, she knew she couldn't go to either one.
"Lucky, I'm in trouble and I need your help." She finally said.
"Fine."
"Just like that?" She frowned. "You don't even know what I did or what I need help with."
Lucky shrugged. "When it comes to friends in trouble, I don't really need all the details. You're my friend and I'll help."
Remembering how he foolishly packed away a dead cop in a freezer for Emily, Gia knew that he was someone she could count on. She laid her hands on the table and leaned in. She glanced around before whispering, "I'm pregnant."
Lucky waited a beat. "Let's go upstairs to your room."
~*~*~
Gia threw her purse on the bed as they entered her suite. She dropped down on it while Lucky took a seat on the couch. He folded his hands together and said, "Okay, start at the beginning. Is it Nikolas's?"
Gia shook her head silently. Lucky took a deep breath. "Okay, you're really going to have to start at the beginning then."
Gia filled him in about her and Lucien Cane. She started from the first day they met and went all the way up to her receiving his letter. She didn't make any mention of the video. In her opinion, the less people who knew about it, the better. She finished with her visit to Mercy Hospital, "And that's why I'm been so sick lately."
Lucky stood up and started to pace the room. "So you're pregnant with…does Nikolas know about this?"
"God, no. He doesn't even know that Stavros and I even knew each other." Gia said. "You didn't tell him, did you?"
Lucky shook his head. "No, I figured that was something you would tell him yourself."
"Can you help me?" She pleaded.
Lucky stopped pacing and took a seat next to her. He took her hand in his. "What do you need me to do?"
"All those stories you told me about you and your parents on the run, were true right? You know how to hide and pretty much stay hidden from the people looking for you."
"Yes." Lucky said slowly. "You want to go on the run? Why?"
"I just need some place that no one can find me so I can think about what to do about this baby." Gia said. "I'm going to go ahead with the pregnancy, I just don't know if I'm going to keep the baby or give it up for adoption."
"You can do that here." Lucky reasoned.
"I can't. Not with my mother and Marcus here. They'll try to push me into making a decision that's right for them and not for me. And what if the Cassadines decide they want this baby. I'm not about to let them get a hold an innocent child." Gia swore.
"How would any of them know that it's Stavros's baby?" Lucky frowned. "The only people who know about this is you and me, right? And well Stavros, but he doesn't count."
"Well," Gia bit her lip. God, she was hoping she wouldn't have to tell him this. "Stefan might be able to guess if he found out I was pregnant."
Lucky narrowed his eyes. "How would Stefan be able to figure it out?"
"Stavros made a tape of me and him that night and it somehow got to Stefan who gave it to me." Gia winced.
"Oh great." Lucky groaned. "Ok, we have to get you out of town for a few months so you can get your head together."
"Yes. I have enough put away to take some time off. Thank God, I didn't foolishly spend all my modeling money on Chloe Morgan dresses." She muttered under her breath. She hit her forehead. "Oh my God, I forgot about Deception. What am I going to tell your mother? I can't disappear on her for months but who wants a pregnant model?"
Lucky rubbed her back. "Don't worry about it. Let me think about it. I can explain it all to my mother, she'll understand."
"But the campaigns—"
"We're still in the middle of the old one, the new pictures I took of you and the commercials you just filmed don't start for another month and that'll run for a awhile. I'll think of something."
Gia nodded, thankful to put all her worries on someone else's shoulders for just a little while. She sighed, "Where can I go?"
Lucky was silent as he mentally scanned all the places that he and his family stayed during their years on the run. He needed someplace he could get her quickly and easy without too much fuss. He snapped his fingers as it came to him. He stood up. "Start packing and getting your things in order. We'll leave in a few days."
Gia stood also. "Just like that?"
"I have a few things I have to make sure of but yeah, I know where you can go."
"But, but…" This was suddenly moving way too fast for her. A few days? She thought she had maybe a week or two before things would be ready.
Lucky took her by the shoulders and said, "You want to be out of town before you start to show and people start getting suspicious. And before Stefan starts counting back. Don't worry about the plans. I'll take care of everything. I'm pretty good at this sort of thing."
"Dashing out of town in the middle of the night is your specialty?"
Lucky smiled crookedly. "Pretty much, yeah. You need to think about what you'll tell your family."
"I already have that planned out." Gia assured him. "I'll them I'm going on a long vacation and then I'll come up with something later when that excuse runs out."
Lucky raised his eyebrow and smirked. "You used to be able to come up with better stories than that. I guess I'm going to have to help you with that also."
"Now don't get too used to the white knight role, okay? This is only temporary." Gia smirked back. "I don't need any man taking care of me."
"Naw, you just need me." Lucky grinned. "I want you to get some sleep. You're not getting enough."
"And how can you tell?"
"You've got bags under your eyes."
"What?" Gia gasped. She started to run for the mirror but Lucky caught her.
"I was kidding." He told her. "Seriously though, I want you to get more rest. You need to take care of yourself. That's my half brother's half sibling in there."
"Oh god," Gia groaned, "my life is turning into a really twisted episode of Jerry Springer."
"Port Charles does that to people. I know from experience." Lucky said with a wry grin.
"Thanks by the way."
Lucky shook his head. "It's not necessary."
"Of course it is. I'm about to have you lie to people for me and I'm laying all my problems on you and—"
"Gia, it's not a problem. I do just about anything for my friends and if you haven't noticed, I count you as one of them."
"Still, I'm pretty lucky to have you." Gia hugged him and kissed on the cheek. "Thank you anyway."
~*~*~
"Is Lucky seeing Gia?" was the first thing out of Nikolas's mouth after he stormed into Laura's office where she was still working late. Laura dropped the reports she'd been staring at to stare at her eldest son.
"Excuse me?" Laura laughed. "I don't think so. Lucky is still in love with Elizabeth. I know they're not really together right now but he still loves her very much. And he knows how you feel about Gia. He wouldn't do anything like that to either of you."
"Well, when I saw the two of them together just now at the Grille, it looked like he could barely remember who Elizabeth was much less remember that he loved her." Nikolas gritted out.
"What?" Laura had a feeling Nikolas really believed this.
"Have they been spending a lot of time together?" Nikolas asked.
"Well, yes but—"
"No, not at photo shoots but outside of them."
"Of course. Nikolas, they are friends, you know. I think you're just being paranoid." Laura said soothingly. "Things aren't going well between you and Gia and you're just looking for any excuse…"
"No, at the Grille, they kissed and then the way he was looking at her…" Nikolas grunted. "I can't believe this! Maybe that time I walked in on them at the cottage wasn't all that innocent. Maybe I wasn't…"
Laura walked over to him and laid her hand on his shoulder. "Sweetie, listen to yourself. You're not making any sense. Gia still loves you but she's still hurt and angry over what happened. Whatever you saw at the Grille was probably just a show to get you to back off."
Nikolas was past listening. He prowled around Laura's office. He knew what he saw. It had to be true. It would explain why she wouldn't talk to him. Why she always had Lucky be the one to send him away. It made so much sense.
"I can't believe he would do this to me. He knows I'm crazy about her and he still goes behind my back. This is all just to get back at me for what Elizabeth and I did. He's using her to hurt me." Nikolas gestured wildly.
Laura shook her head. "Nikolas, you know Lucky isn't like that at all."
Nikolas stared at her over his shoulder. "Why are you so willing to believe that your precious Lucky wouldn't have a vindictive bone in his body?"
Laura held up her hands. Enough was enough. "You're starting to get out of control, Nikolas. I suggest you think before you speak again."
Nikolas pointed at her. "I suggest you tell Lucky not to stand in my way." Nikolas stormed out of the office leaving Laura speechless. She recovered quickly enough to go over to the phone and call Lucky to find out what exactly was going on.
~*~*~
Three days later Gia sat on the docks saying goodbye to Port Charles. Lucky had called a few hours ago to tell her that everything was a go and that she was leaving on a five am flight. When he told her that he couldn't come with her on the trip because he had to stay to tie up some loose ends concerning the new campaign pictures, she'd been disappointed. But then she reasoned that she was going to have live out in the middle of wherever Lucky was sending her for months by herself. She was going to have to get used to depending on herself and not Lucky.
Once she knew about the plans, she quickly made a few stops by her mother and her brother places to let them know about the spur of the moment trip she was taking. Both understood that she needed time away from Port Charles to get herself together. That she wasn't fully recovered from her break up with Nikolas and that she needed time away from him. She hated lying to them but it was the only way.
Now she sat on the docks saying goodbye to her newly adopted hometown. She remembered when she used to think people were crazy for spending so much time on the docks but now it was part of her regular routine. She shook her head. She was being silly. It wasn't like she was leaving forever, just for a few months. She would be back. Things would be completely different when she returned but she would still be back.
Nikolas paused at the top of the stairs, taking the time to just look at her unobserved. She sat with her arms folded, just staring off into space. It was the first time he'd seen her since their encounter at the Grille. Both she and Lucky seemed to disappear so he couldn't ask either one what was going on with them. He did make sure he called Laura to apologize for his behavior. Luckily for him, she was very understanding.
When Nikolas finally started down the stairs his goal was to find out what was going on between her and Lucky but as he got closer and closer to her all he wanted to do was hold her. Maybe he was being crazy. Maybe that whole thing at the Grille was just a show. He was willing to be wrong.
He called out softly, "Gia."
Gia looked at him. "Nikolas."
He slowly approached her. "Don't run away from me this time, please."
Gia stood up. She hadn't planned on running. This was going to be last time she saw him for months. She had no idea how he would feel about her when the truth came out, if she decided to raise the baby.
"Hi Nikolas."
He paused and stared at her. "Okay, that was unusual. Usually it's 'I have to go, Nikolas. Leave me alone, Nikolas. You're getting all stalker-like, Nikolas.' What's going on?"
Gia looked down on the ground and shrugged. "I just…"
"Shh, I don't care." Nikolas came over to her and cupped her face in his hands. He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. "All that matters is that you're talking to me and you're not running off."
At his touch, Gia felt herself weakening. She desperately wanted to tell him the whole story about Stavros and the baby and everything. But she was also scared of what he would think of her and all the bad choices she'd made.
She placed her hands over his. "I should go."
"No." He said strongly. "I'm not letting you leave, Gia. Not until you listen to me."
"I've listened to you, Nikolas, and you say the same things over and over. How you're sorry and how you were only doing it for Lucky." Gia shook her head and tried to pull away. "I've heard it all before."
"I was an idiot. I thought I could take care of everyone and make sure that no one got hurt. I was stupid, I admit it. But when you were hurting, so was I. I missed you so much, I almost went out of my mind. I left the cottage because everything there reminded me of you. The sheets, the pillows, they all had your smell. I couldn't get you out of my mind. Half the nights I woke up reaching for you only to remember that you weren't there. And then when you keep throwing some new guy you were dating in my face, it only drove me more crazy."
Gia wanted to cry as he reminded her of the way she used to talk about Lucien. Oh God, she'd had been the real idiot.
Nikolas continued, "But then Helena's plan was revealed and Lucky was safe and I thought that things would go back to the way they were. Gia, when I knew that things were safe for us, the first thing I did was go out and buy a ring."
Gia gasped. "Nikolas, no…"
"I was going to ask you to marry me. I wanted, no, I still want us, to be together forever. I'm not going to let you go. Do you understand me? You can keep on pushing me away and whatever you're doing with Lucky; it's not going to stop me. You still love me and we're supposed to be together."
Nikolas pulled her closer to him and kissed her softly on the lips. Her mouth opened slightly and he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. Gia cried as she kissed him back with all her heart. Nikolas tasted her tears on his lips.
He pulled back slightly and asked softly, "Gia?"
"I can't." She cried. She pushed away from him and ran up the stairs. Nikolas ran after her.
"Gia, wait!" He called out.
Gia ran all the way to Kelly's before running into Lucky. "Gia, are you okay? What happened?"
"Nikolas…he…" She could barely get the words out. Lucky took her into his arms and held her close. He rubbed his hands across her back.
"Shh, calm down, you're too upset."
Nikolas arrived a moment later. He narrowed his eyes when he saw how Gia clung to Lucky. "What is going on here?"
Lucky glared at him over Gia's head. "What did you do to her?"
"I didn't do anything. We're just talking and then…Look, Lucky this has nothing to do with you so why don't you just back off."
"I think I better take Gia somewhere for her to calm down." Lucky said.
Nikolas ignored Lucky and reached out to Gia, "Gia, please, talk to me. Gia…"
Gia sniffled and stepped away from Lucky. She wiped away her tears. "I'm gonna go with Lucky. I'll talk to you later."
"Gia…"
"I said I'll talk to you later, all right. I just need to…I just need some time."
Nikolas wasn't happy but at least she agreed to talk to him later. He sighed. "All right. I'll call you tomorrow then?"
Gia nodded. "Try me in the afternoon. I'm going to be busy all morning."
He nodded. He glanced in Lucky's direction. Lucky nodded and said. "I'll take care of her."
Nikolas looked once more at Gia before leaving them. Lucky took Gia's hand. "Do you want me to walk you back to the hotel or do you want to come up to my room to get cleaned up."
"Your place, please."
~*~*~
Gia returned from the bathroom and sat down next to Lucky on his bed. They sat in silence before Lucky finally asked. "What happened?"
"I ran into him on the docks and we started to talk." Gia hesitated. "He told me he brought me a ring."
"Wow. I didn't know about that."
"Yeah, he was going to propose months ago. But now even if I wanted to I can't marry him. Not after all this."
"Gia, maybe…"
She stopped him before he could start. "Lucky, nothing is going to make this have a happy ending so don't even bother with the Pollyanna bit."
Lucky changed the subject. "You should get back to the hotel and get some sleep. Don't forget, your flight's at five."
"And just where am I flying to again?" Gia quizzed him.
"Texas. You'll love it out there."
"Whatever you say." Gia picked at his comforter. "Do you mind if I just sleep here then go back to the hotel to pick up my stuff? It'll take too long to go over there now and I have a feeling that Nikolas is probably waiting for me."
Lucky shrugged. "No problem. You need your rest."
Gia kicked off her shoes and stretched out on the bed. Lucky grabbed a pillow and the extra blanket and carried them over to the chair where he was going to make his bed. She called out to him. "Hey, give me your hand."
Lucky walked over and allowed her to take his hand. She placed it over her stomach. She moved it down and said, "You feel that? You feel that hard lump right there?"
"Yeah?"
"Say hello to the newest Campbell."
Lucky smiled. "Hey there."
~*~*~
"Well little one, here we are." Gia announced as she walked into the old house in Texas that the Spencers used to live in. The cab driver, who was bringing in her bags, gave her an odd look. She dug into her purse and paid the fare and then a little extra for dragging in all her bags.
She waited until he was gone before smoothing her hand across her stomach. She chatted with the baby as she walked further into the house, inspecting it. "I'm going to have to watch that, I guess. I'm also going to have to get used to only having you to talk to. Looks like Lucky has us stranded in West Bumblefuck."
"Hey, now, I actually had a good time out here." Lucky retorted from the doorway.
Gia whirled around with a big smile on her face. "Lucky!"
He dropped his bags and took off his shades. He smiled broadly at her. "Yeah, it's me."
"What are you doing here?" She asked even as she crossed the room to hug him tightly.
"I'm here to keep you company." He said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "You didn't think I was about to leave you out here for months by yourself, did you? I know how you city girls are."