Disclaimer: Nothing do I own, from my mind these characters have not grown.

Chapter 10: "A Four-Corner Square, pt. 1"

Laura was reluctant to leave her son's side, now that she had allowed herself to believe fully that he was really alive. However, Luke, being somewhat more observant to Lucky's state of mind, convinced her to leave the young couple alone for the rest of the night, especially after Elizabeth had been kind and tactful enough to back away for most of their joyful family reunion. Laura gave Lucky one last lingering hug before Luke finally dragged her out of the room, off to secure a bedroom of their own.

Lucky stood in the center of the room, watching his parents depart. Elizabeth stood right behind him, her arms wrapped around his waist, nuzzling her face against his shoulder. Though he desperately wanted to concentrate on her, Lucky could not forget the image that his retreating parents had created. He had seen immediately the unspoken distance between them when they arrived, but now only hours, later, things were different. It was almost as if the rift was heeling itself, without either Luke or Laura's notice. He could tell something had forged a divide between them, and he really didn't want to know what it was. He only hoped that his so called "miraculous" survival would cause another miracle in its wake, because that is what Luke and Laura needed: a miracle.

As if she were reading his mind (and Lucky wasn't altogether sure she wasn't) Elizabeth said, "They suffered so much when you disappeared...in more ways than you or I could understand." Lucky nodded but did not reply. Elizabeth continued. "I don't think they ever realized how important you were to their lives, you and LuLu. Even when you moved out and wouldn't speak to them, you were connected to them. You were keeping them whole." Though she couldn't see his face, she could feel the slight shifting in his body, betraying his uneasiness at being reminded of his break from his family. Elizabeth knew he was ashamed of how he had acted, but also knew that he wouldn't change that period of his life for anything. When he still didn't say anything, she continued again. "When you disappeared, it almost destroyed them; it destroyed a part of them. But now that you're back..."

"I can't fix my parents," Lucky interrupted. "I thought I could once, but I know better now."

Elizabeth turned him around to face her. "But you can fix them, Lucky, just be being here. By being alive when everyone in the world believed you dead. You've replaced something really important in both of them." Lucky opened his mouth to say something, but Elizabeth stopped him. "I'm not saying you can force them back to the way things were before, just that now that you're back, they may by able to find a way back together on their own."

Lucky ducked away from her, not wanting to give Elizabeth enough time to gage his reaction. He had come so accustomed to having to hide his emotions, he couldn't break the habit. Elizabeth knew him too well and followed him, continuing to talk. "That's what happened to me too, Lucky."

"What?"

"When I thought you had died, something inside of me died too. I didn't know how I managed to wake up every day, because it just broke me." To her credit, Elizabeth kept her voice from breaking, though it was very thin. "Every time, every morning I opened my eyes and for a few seconds I didn't know you were gone. Then I would remember and it was like losing you all over again."

Lucky turned slowly and sunk onto the edge of the bed. His eyes were wet with tears, but he remained silent. "I never realized just how much you had..." Elizabeth struggled to find the words to describe what she had felt. "At your...your funeral," she laughed a little at this, though it was forced, "your mother asked if I wanted to say anything, so I told everyone that you'd saved my life. That you'd literally picked me up out of the snow and fixed what was hurt and replaced it with something shining." She had not thought or spoken of her rape in what felt like months. Lucky's death had replaced it as the primary dark memory of her life, the one that had haunted her dreams and her waking life. "I know now how much of me you repaired and replaced, because know that it's been recovered, I feel whole again for the first time in a year."

She was crying too now, and Lucky rose to wipe the tears from her cheeks. Finally, he was ready to speak. "You say you woke up every morning with a few moments of blissful ignorance, forgetting what had happened?" Elizabeth nodded slowly. "I woke up every morning in fear, knowing that Helena could have had you killed during the night, just to spite me. You or Mom or Dad or LuLu or Emily or Nikolas, or anyone that I loved. Just as a warning. Every night brought the same fear, mixed with knowing that she could tire of the whole game and smother me in my sleep." Elizabeth's eyes were wide and she was struck dumb with horror. "Helena pretends to be this old-fashioned, dignified crime matron, but she is as low down as they come. She doesn't play by any rules and she doesn't look out for anyone but herself."

Elizabeth listened with a sympathetic horror, understanding a little of what Lucky had experienced. Jason once told her much the same fear; fear that his lifestyle would endanger Michael and others that he loved. But Jason had willingly signed on to a dangerous life. Lucky had been born into a dangerous family and had suffered because of it.

Lucky was shaking slightly and Elizabeth sat next to him and wrapped an arm around his waist. "At least it's over now," she said, trying to comfort him.

"But it's not over," Lucky argued. "It won't be over until Helena is...taken care of, and even then I doubt that would be the end of it." He rubbed his eyes, not sure if he was really tired or just tired of his life. "I shouldn't have even brought you," he finally said. "I should have taken you somewhere safe and come to find my parents alone. By bringing you here I've put you in the direct line of fire, and..."

Elizabeth stopped him immediately. "You didn't force me to do anything, Lucky. I came with you willingly. I know that your situation is dangerous, I always have. Was it or was it not you that took me to sleep under the docks when I couldn't stand being in Gram's home?"

"That was different, Elizabeth," Lucky told her.

"No it wasn't," she countered, "not really. You knew Helena was a threat, you knew things would be dangerous, but you also knew you could protect me. And I trusted you." She stressed her words, making sure Lucky heard her. "And I still trust you, Lucky, with my life and my heart, and anything else that comes along."

Lucky's head fell onto Elizabeth's and she could feel his tears on her skin. She lifted her head and held his to face her. For a long moment they only looked at each other, but Elizabeth broke the stillness and tilted her head to kiss him. She could taste the salt from their tears and felt Lucky's arms wrap around her body. Without thinking, as if on instinct, she started to lean back onto the bed, pulling Lucky down to her. She planted her hands on Lucky's chest, but she wouldn't have thought of pushing him away. She wanted nothing more in the world than to be there, in that moment, with Lucky's shadow over her body and his arms around her.

Suddenly Lucky sat up, catching his breath. Elizabeth pulled herself up after him, confused. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

"I don't know," he admitted. "The last year has been so terrible, I guess I just always feel like something is wrong."

Elizabeth crawled over in the bed, wrapped her arms around his body and tried to get as close to him as possible. "Well, things aren't perfect," she said with a smile, "but right here, right now, there's nothing wrong." She undid the first few buttons of his shirt and placed her hand directly over his heart. "There is nothing wrong with us."