Kelly's-

It was his retreat, he realized that. No matter what he was going through, Kelly's would always be there, would always offer him something that he needed, regardless of if it was just a simple cup of tea, the music from the jukebox, the advice of his grandfather or his newly crowned Aunt Elizabeth, or even the silence and solitude of the room upstairs. Kelly's was important to him, and even though there were times that it was the last place that he wanted to be he knew he could always turn to it when he needed it, he even had a key to get in after hours, perks from still checking out an apartment above the restaurant.

The young man walked in, looking around. He knew some of the regular customers by name, having helped out as much as he could when he was needed, but none of the regulars were in, and there was no way Elizabeth was going to be working on her wedding night. He and Lucky had left the two newlyweds to do their own thing, parting ways a few moments later. The whole time that Damian was there he was looking at Lucky, hoping that the man wouldn't object to the wedding, or even give off intensely negative vibes. To Lucky's credit, he had managed to keep himself contained, but Damian could see that it was hard on him. Not that anyone could blame him. Damian had tried to see it through Lucky's point of view, using the example of how he would feel if Maxie was marrying someone else. It would require them breaking up, but even if that did happen to them he hoped that they would always be friends. In his vision he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold back some regret, especially if he wasn't in love himself. He understood the plight that Lucky was going through, probably better than Lucky would think, but that didn't mean that anything that Lucky might have tried was okay. Ric and Elizabeth deserved to be happy, and if their first hour of marriage was any indication, it looked like they could make it work this time.

"Hey, kid…"

Mike was standing behind the counter, as he most frequently was. He had found his calling in running Kelly's for Bobbie. Given what his calling used to be, Damian was happy for his grandfather, and knew that everyone else, even his own father, also shared the sentiment. "Busy day?"

"Well I can't get by without my favorite waitress, that's for sure." Elizabeth was more than just a waitress to Mike, she was a dear friend, someone who he could talk to when the place was dead. She understood what it was like to be rejected by people that she cared about, to not accept their lives. She even understood what Sonny went through. Mike had come to depend on Elizabeth in some ways, but he knew that she had a life all her own.

"I'm sure you'll manage…"

"Are you offering to help me out for a few days?"

Damian grinned as he walked over, leaning against the counter, "Would if I could, but I start my internship soon… which means that I probably won't even have enough time to breathe. I'll be doing that and taking classes… not exactly all that fun. If I come here it'll be for a quick second, unless I fall unconscious on the ground, completely exhausted."

"You're being given a great opportunity…"

"I know." He was getting tired of hearing people say it. He knew that he was lucky, that he didn't truly deserve the chances that he had been given, but each time someone reminded him of it the doubt just came stronger and lasted even longer.

"But I don't want you to push yourself," Mike continued. "I know that I'm one of the people that wanted you to do this, and I think you can handle it, but if you can't… then I'll understand, and so will your father. You're too important to both of us, Damian, we don't want you to get hurt."

"You're the first person who has told me that it's okay to fail…"

"Everyone fails at some point in life," it was sagely advice, but Mike was good at it. "Look at me… look at how many times I've failed. How many times I've needed people to get me out of whatever mess I've gotten myself into…"

"You're human…"

"So are you."

He lowered his eyes, "Sometimes people expect doctors to be more than human, they expect doctors to be miracle workers, super-humans… I did. And look what happened because of it."

"You were young and you were scared. You didn't want your mother to die, nobody would want that to happen…"

"What if I screw up then? Is it okay for me to screw up and cost someone their life? I don't think it is…"

"You won't fail, you know what's at stake…"

"You see? That's what I'm talking about. People are putting so much faith in me and I don't think I can handle it. I can't do everything that you people want…"

"I can't speak for everyone, but I just want you to be happy."

"I don't even know what makes me happy anymore," he admitted. Everything had been so skewered since he shot Lorenzo. He was just rolling with the motions. Everything that he was seemed to be gone now.

"Your girlfriend makes you happy…"

"Yes, she does."

"And she would hate to see you like this." Mike poured Damian some tea, knowing that it would help ease his nerves. Penny brought up an order. Mike groaned, placing the container of tea back on the heater. "I need to take care of this… you going to be all right?"

"I'll manage… and thanks for not saying anything about my attire."

"You look great…"

"I thought I just said…"

Mike winked at the boy, grinning, "I can't say you look good when you're wearing a suit that probably costs more than I make in a month? I might be old, but I'm not fashion incompetent."

"Thanks," Damian gripped the handle of the teacup in his hand, "for everything."

"I have a job to do as a grandfather, and it's to make sure that you don't ever go through life without some help."

Damian grabbed the sugar and began to pour it inside of the tea. He liked his tea sweet, maybe it was going to lead him to becoming a diabetic, but he would certainly enjoy the time he had with his sugar before that happened.

Brook walked into Kelly's, looking for a place that she could get away from everything. Her parents would never even think about going inside of Kelly's, and her grandmother… her grandmother probably didn't even know the place existed. It only worked in Kelly's favor. If Tracy Quartermaine knew about the place she would probably attempt to get it shut down for not meeting her rigid standards.

She was half-expecting someone that she knew to be inside. They always seemed to be there. It was like the teenage hangout on television shows, which normally would mean that it would be the last place that she ever wanted to be, but since there weren't that many people around that she knew Brook realized how important it was to get some friends. Dillon was great, so was Georgie… and then there was Damian, but they probably wouldn't be enough.

Not seeing the need for a table, Brook took a seat on one of the stools. She looked around for Mike, but didn't see him. He made good fries, and she was in the mood for something greasy and salty.

"Trouble in paradise?"

Brook looked over, noticing the voice, but taking a moment to register that it was the person who it sounded like. "Damian? What are you doing dressed like that?"

"You don't like it…"

She blushed slightly, "I didn't say that… I think it looks really good, but I mean it just isn't you… it's like me getting all dressed up in some gown for a formal dance…"

"I think you would look great in a formal dress, Brook, most people do."

The blush grew across her face. "Thanks… but that doesn't mean that I'm going to do it, not even for you…"

"I wouldn't ask you to dress in something like that, I know how much you would hate it."

"So why are you dressed like this anyway?"

"My uncle got married today… I was at the wedding."

"The district attorney, right?"

Damian nodded. "I'm sure that you've heard plenty of stories about him, and I'm not even going to try and tell you that what you heard wasn't true, but I'm asking you not to think of him like that. He's not that person anymore…"

"Hey, I believe that people can change… I really do."

"Spend a few months here, and you probably won't. I'm starting to forget that people can be redeemed."

"Are you okay?"

"Just going through some stuff right now…"

"Anything I can do?"

He shook his head, "I don't think that you can help me, but thanks for the offer."

"Why isn't your girlfriend helping you out?"

"She's done everything that she can and then some. This is one of those things that I need to deal with on my own, Brook, I can't get help from anyone, not my girlfriend, not my father, not even my friends… sorry."

"If you need me…"

"I'll know that I can go to you."

"There you are!" Maxie walked in, seeing Damian with Brook. The moment she saw the two of them alone together she knew that she needed to do something that would break them apart. "I should have known that you'd be here, it's like the only place that you're ever at…"

"I would be other places if there were other places around here…"

"You look great."

"You're just saying that."

"I've seen you in this suit before, remember? I mean, if you forgot then that's really grounds for the two of us to break up…"

"I would never forget my first date with the woman that I love…"

Brook rolled her eyes. Maxie was such a ditz, she didn't deserve Damian. She was the type of person who would worry about the color of her nails before a big dance, a shallow and fickle creature. Brook hated people like that. "You know what, I just remembered that I need to go and pick up something at the hospital…"

"Is everything all right?" Damian asked.

"Yeah, my ma just has some headaches and she got some pills that will make her feel better…" Brook lied through her teeth, but what else was she going to do? Tell them that she felt uncomfortable because they were gushing over each other like two dogs in heat? That didn't seem right. Besides, she didn't mind Damian being there, she just didn't want Maxie to be there with her. "So, I'll see you later…"

"Bye, Brook," Maxie said coldly, watching her leave. "I can't believe that she's so shameless that she would hit on you right where I can see it…"

"Maxie… she wasn't hitting on me."

"Yes she was," Maxie replied. "You just don't know it. I'm a girl, I know these things. Believe me." The young girl knew that her alternative rock counterpart was looking to steal her boyfriend, but Maxie wasn't going to just let it happen. If Brook wanted a fight, Maxie was ready to bring it and she knew that she would win.