"Thank God." Lucky Spencer sighed with relief as he stood from his chair. He looked down the hallway as Zander approached and shook his head. "I thought you'd never show up. Jason's as bad as my old man."

Somehow, Alexis had found a judge that allowed the guard that stood outside of Jason's hospital room. More than likely, it was one of the many on the Alcazar pad; a judge that would easily take the line that Jason's life was in danger and he needed protection. The fact that Lucky didn't exactly hold a bodyguard's license didn't seem to be a big deal, mostly because he was just a fill-in for a few hours.

The three and some odd hours that he'd spent travelling in and out of the room were enough to cause relief that his time was nearly over. He had no personal issues with Jason. Before his accident, he'd been the only true-born Quartermaine that wasn't always working an angle. He was dependable and loyal, but he was also a guy so nice that it was impossible to like him. After the accident, his dependability and loyalty had increased tenfold. He wasn't as nice of a guy as before in that he wasn't overly nice to everyone he met, but neither was he an asshole. He was still a decent person who happened to have an illegal job under his coffee importer cover.

As a patient, he was absolute hell. The second he sent Sam away, he'd become more insistent that he could get out of the hospital. The faith that Lorenzo had in Lucky and Zander didn't seem to transfer as easily to Jason. He felt that he was the only one fully capable of keeping his friend safe. As though he were the only one who could take a bullet or figure out what was going on. More than once, Lucky had been forced to hold his tongue, else he'd have said something that neither man would forget.

"Have you seen the traffic outside?" Zander groaned as he stopped in front of Lucky, the replacement guard at his side. "The snow's really coming down, and plus, Em and I had this thing…"

"Yeah, yeah." Lucky waved it off. Not that he didn't care about Emily. Almost since the moment she came to town, adopted by the Quartermaines, he had looked after her like she was his little sister. At the moment, though, he had more things to worry about than Emily's fears. "In case you hadn't noticed, man, I've been stuck here. Passing along Lorenzo's threats to have Jason strapped to the bed if he didn't stay put."

Zander groaned. He was grateful that he wasn't the one who had to play guard at the door. His relationship with Jason was tentative at best. He thought that the tension between the two had to be directly related to the start of his relationship with Emily. Even Zander would admit that kidnapping her wasn't the best way to start a romance, but he hadn't expected it to blossom into anything. He hadn't expected to fall in love with her, and the shock of all shocks was that she loved him in return.

"Better you than me," Zander muttered.

"No. Better Joe than either of us." Lucky looked at the new guard and smirked. "Keep an eye on him, man. He'll get outta bed and before ya know it, he's got his jacket on thinkin' he's gonna leave the hospital in his gown or something. If he tries to get out of bed, tell him that Lorenzo'll have Monica tie him down. That usually works." He ducked his head in the room to find Jason sitting up and groaned.

Jason looked up at him. "What?"

"Lay down before you're strapped down." He rolled his eyes. "Joe's gonna be outside the door. I'm going off with Zander. We'll check in on Sam over at Dad's club, then we've got business."

Jason groaned as he laid back slowly, his hand touching his stomach. "Fine."

Lucky shook his head and closed the door. He turned back to Zander and said, "The guy's insane, but at least he'll go to the hospital. Last time Dad got shot, we had to take care of him at home."

"Yeah, well, be glad you've never been there." Zander turned. He and Lucky started down the corridor, heading for the exit. They passed the nurse's station and waited at the elevator for the doors to open. "I've been shot, and believe me, you don't wanna have them digging bullets out of you."

"What can I say?" Lucky winked. "I'm a lucky sorta guy." He laughed shortly, then leaned against the wall. "I tend to get down before the bullets start firing. You guys should give it a try some time. It's an easier way to protect whoever you're with."

"Thanks for the information that I already had." Zander rolled his eyes. "You're extremely full of shit." When Lucky only laughed at him, Zander sighed. He stood from the wall he'd been leaning against and turned towards the elevator doors. A few more seconds and the doors opened. He stepped through, waited for Lucky, then hit the button for the garage.

Standing inside of the elevator, Lucky leaned against the back wall. He ran a hand through his chocolate hair. The ends hung to his chin, moving shakily around his face. "Think we should have told Jason that Luis was on his way back to town?"

Zander turned quickly to him and shook his head violently. "Not a chance in hell." Neither man thought Jason would be upset over it. He wasn't as close with Luis as he was with Lorenzo, but he respected him all the same. However, considering the conditions under which Luis first left Port Charles, Jason would have been even harder to keep in bed. He would have insisted that he be the one to pick him up at the airport. "It's bad enough as it is."

"True. But, he's gonna be pissed as hell that nobody told him ahead of time." Lucky shrugged. "Then again, it's not our job to tell Jason everything. Lorenzo will tell him when he wants him to know."

"And until then, we just get the joy of babysitting."

"And fact-finding, my friend. Don't forget the fact-finding." He threw an arm around Zander's shoulder and smirked. "Remember, we're the ones about to get the name, and by the time Luis lands in Port Charles, we'll be able to tell the Alcazars just who the guy is that's trying to horn in on their territory."