Forgiveness

Skye was silent for a few moments. "Huh." she sighed. "Well, what about it?"

"Luke and Alexis, they were....they were kissing." he repeated.

She slowly got up off the couch and walked over to the bar, pouring herself a glass of water. She took a long drink.

Ric got up and walked over to where she was. "Skye, did you just hear what I said?"

"Luke and Alexis were kissing. Big deal." she told him. "They're friends."

"Last time I checked, friends didn't kiss like that."

Skye sat down the glass of water. "That kind of kiss, huh?"

"Look." he said, turning her around to face him. "I didn't come all the way out here to upset you. I just thought that you should know." he told her. "I felt obligated."

"What you want me to say to you Ric?" she asked. "Thank you?"

"I'm sorry." he replied sarcastically. "I just thought that as your friend I should tell you. Or are we not friends?"

Skye looked at him for several long seconds. She wanted to doubt him and what he what he saw but the look on his face confirmed it. "When did you see this 'kiss' between the two of them?"

"A few days ago." he confessed. "After we had lunch at the Cellar."

"So the other night at dinner, all those things you said, they were just..."

"They were true." Ric assured her. "I meant every word of what I said."

"So, what it was your intention to charm me into bed to make yourself feel better about Alexis and Luke?"

"No, Skye, it wasn't like that." he told her honestly. "It wasn't like that at all."

"You could have told me sooner, Ric."

"If I would have told you, would you still have kissed me?" he asked.

Skye shrugged. "I don't know."

Ric placed his hands on her shoulders. "Skye, I wanted you to kiss me because you wanted to, not because Luke kissed Alexis."

"So I'm suppose to be what? Comforted?" she asked. "Even with Luke because I kissed you?"

"I don't know, that's for you to decide." he told her. "I just have one question for you. Why did you kiss me?" he asked.

"Maybe it was the moonlight." she replied, not being able to look him in the eye. "Maybe it was because you paid the utmost attention to me the entire evening."

"You kissed me because you wanted to." he told her. "It wasn't about getting back at Luke and Alexis, because you didn't know what had happened, it was about you and I being in the moment."

"In the moment?" she laughed, raising her eyes to meet his. "You're as bad as Dillon. Ric, this isn't some black and white movie. Do you really believe that 'moments' and 'love at first sight' exist?"

"I don't know, it's possible."

"I'd rather believe in fate." she told him. "I'd like to believe that sharing a kiss with you only made me realize how much I need Luke."

"No, Skye, you don't need Luke, you want him. There's a big difference."

"Want, need, it doesn't matter. Luke's it."

Ric nodded. "Today."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"That you might change your mind tomorrow and have a completely different outlook on life."

"Why don't you believe that I love Luke?" she asked. "What do I need to do to prove it to you."

"Is that what this is about? Proving to me that you love Luke?" he asked. "Because you don't need to prove anything to me, unless you're trying to convince yourself."

"I know what I feel."

"You do change your mind awful quick." he told her. "I mean it was just the other night when you were talking about walking out of Luke's life for good and now you're ready and willing to stick around?"

"Things are different now."

"Why, because Luke told you everything you wanted to hear, dancing you around the Haunted Star and charmed you right into bed?"

"What difference does it make?" she asked. "Luke makes me happy. Aren't I entitled to a little happiness?"

"Of course you are, but you've got to decide if the sacrifice is worth it." he told her. "Is Luke Spencer the man you believe he is? Is he faithful? Is he considerate of your needs? From now on when you look at him are you going to imagine him kissing Alexis?"

"I don't know." she answered honestly. "All I know is how I feel and maybe kissing Alexis didn't mean anything. We both know that sometimes emotions run high and we do things we can't explain. I'm not about to attack Luke for kissing her when I did the same thing with you."

"We shared a light kiss on the lips, a thank you kiss." he reminded her. "Their kiss was more than friendly."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me after you seen them."

"I didn't want to upset you." he replied honestly.

"Yeah?" she asked. "Too late now."

"Would it be better if you never found out?"

"Maybe. I don't know." she answered. "I can't believe this is happening."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to see Luke and ask him what's going on."

Skye walked into the Haunted Star, to find Luke sitting at the bar. "You're here early." he commented, looking up from his paperwork. He noticed the look on her face, he had seen that look before. Anger.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

"You and I need to talk." she told him, throwing her purse down on the table. "It's important."

"Have a seat." he offered. "Tell me what's on your mind."

"Alexis." she said.

"Alexis?" he repeated, confused. "What does Alexis have to do with anything?"

Skye sat down on the stool beside him. "The other afternoon when I had lunch with Ric and we came back here, he saw you kissing Alexis in your office." she answered bluntly.

Luke looked down at the floor, he didn't know what to say or how to even go about explaining things. How could he tell her that he felt drawn to Alexis? He didn't even know why he did it. How was he going to explain his actions to someone else?

"Is that the problem between the two of us?" she asked. "Is it Alexis?"

"Skye, I'm not going to lie to you." he told her. "Alexis and I did kiss. More than once."

"More than once?" she asked.

"I went to her for advice on you. I was trying to prove something to her and things they got a little out of hand." he explained. "I never meant to hurt you."

"You never meant to hurt me?" she asked, offended. "How can you sit there and say that to me? After everything we've been through, after everything that I've put up with all you can say is that you didn't mean to hurt me?"

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry doesn't cut it Luke!" Skye yelled. "You know I've been waiting for the past year for you to open up and when you finally do it's not to me it's to Alexis. I deserve better than this Luke."

"I know you do." he agreed. "And I know that there's nothing I can say or do to fix things because if there were then I'd do it no questions asked."

"The truth is Luke, you could fix it. You really could, but I know that you can't say those words to me and that's fine. If you wanna give up on the joke we call a relationship then go ahead. I won't stop you."

"I don't want to end things with you. I would never intentionally hurt you." he told her softly. "Don't you know that? What happened with Alexis was just a whim."

Skye couldn't bare to look at him any longer, she turned her head forward eyeing the bar. Thinking somehow that if she didn't look at him it would somehow make things easier, that maybe she wouldn't shed those tears she could feel forming in her eyes. "I knew that you and Alexis had a history, but I never knew you were intimately involved."

"We were never intimately involved." he told her, thinking it would somehow comfort her.

"Is Alexis the one you want to be with?" she asked. "Because if she is then I won't stand in your way."

Luke reached over gently brushing his fingertips against her alabaster skin. "Look at me." he demanded. "Skye, you're the one I want. You're the one I've been trying to get into bed for the past year, not Alexis."

"Is that suppose to comfort me? I'm suppose to jump up and down because you wanna have sex with me?" she asked, pushing his hand away from her face. "I don't know what to do Luke. Don't you understand that? I'm so confused that I don't know up from down. One minute you're telling me your falling in love with me and the next you disappear when I need you most. Then when you do reappear you're making out with Alexis."

"What do you want me to say?" he asked. "I told you that you were the one that I wanted. I said that I was sorry. I know that things have been chaotic the last few months, but I thought that we were working on putting them back together. Just tell me what you want from me."

She felt a tear slide down her right cheek and she quickly wiped it away, hoping that he wouldn't notice. "I want you to admit that you have pent up feelings for her."

"I don't!" he yelled, knowing that it only made him sound guilty.

"You obviously do." she wept. "Or else this wouldn't be an issue."

"I can't talk to you when you're like this." he said.

Skye sniffled. "Like what?"

"All emotional." he replied. "When you've calmed down and you're ready to talk about this we will, but not until."

"Luke!" she called. "Don't leave!"

After Luke walked out of the Haunted Star and out on Skye, he went directly to the exact place he knew he shouldn't be. Alexis' office.. He didn't know what to do about anything anymore. Alexis was his friend and they could work through this. Whatever 'this' was.

"So, Ric seen the two of us kissing?" she questioned, handing him a glass of scotch.

He emptied the contents of the glass. "Oh, it gets better."

Alexis curled up in the chair across from him. "How?"

"He told Skye. We had this huge fight over the entire thing." he explained. "And she seems to think that I have all these unrequited feelings for you."

"Do you?" she asked, point blank.

"I'm not sure." he told her. "I thought you and I were always pretty good friends, despite the fact that you're a Cassadine. But these things that have been happening, they're a little uncomfortable and awkward."

"I know." she admitted. "When I seen Ric and Skye the other day the only thing I could think of is how I would feel if the situation was reversed. And I don't want to be that person, the one who steals her sister's...whatever you and she are to each other."

"I don't want to hurt her either." he confessed. "She's the best thing that's happened to me in a long time, she makes me happy and I'd like to think that I make her happy too. I don't want to fight with her and I don't want to lose her."

"Have you told her any of this?"

"How could I?" Luke asked. "I walked out on her while she was crying a while ago."

"Why did you walk out on her when she probably needed you the most?"

"Because the truth hurts." he answered. "Because I'm a coward. Skye told me that once before you know, she called me a coward in the middle of the PCPD and then walked out knowing that I couldn't follow her because I had been arrested."

"You need to make things right." she told him. "We both do. Why don't you go and find Skye before she does something destructive. She's very vulnerable right now."

"And let's not forget that Ric seen our kiss, told Skye about it and is probably waiting to console her as we speak."

"Ric is a good man, he really is. He felt obligated to tell her because he doesn't want to see her hurt. I should have told Ric right after it happened and you should have told Skye."

"Why didn't you tell Ric?"

"I thought what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him." Alexis told him. "I was wrong. I kept a secret from him and knew better. How can I blame him if he never wants to speak to me again?"

"Don't worry darlin' I'll fix things." Luke said, softly. "For the both of us."

Skye was sitting in the corner booth all alone. She didn't know how long she had been crying and at the moment she really didn't care. Footsteps sounded in the distance. She knew they weren't Luke's because she was at a moment of weakness and there was no way he was going to waltz back in and make everything okay again. And she prayed that it wasn't Faith, ready to make a play on her vulnerability.

He could hear the sobbing from down the hall and when he reached the main room he spotted Skye crying, her hands covering her face.

"Skye?" he said softly approaching her. "What's wrong?"

His words brought a brief smile to her face. He didn't ask if anything was wrong because he knew there was, he simply cut to the chase and asked what.

"Oh, Dillon." she sighed. "It's complicated."

"Come one." he said softly, wrapping his arm around her. "You can tell me anything. It'll stay just between the two of us. I promise. I already know that it's about Luke."

Skye wiped a few fallen tears and turned her attention toward Dillon. "Ric caught Luke and Alexis together."

"Luke slept with Alexis?" he asked.

"No, it never quite got that far."

"So you talked to Luke about this?" Dillon asked.

"Yeah." Skye sniffled. "He confessed to entire thing and more. I knew that there was something amiss I just didn't know what. And now I do. Luke has these unresolved feelings for Alexis."

He wiped a fallen tear from her cheek. "Did he say that?"

"He didn't have to it was written all over his face, Dillon." she told him. "I think he's confused, he doesn't know what he wants."

"Well I'd say give him some time, but he's had over a year now."

"Don't remind me."

"I don't think you have anything to worry about. Luke thinks your great." he assured her.

"You know Dillon, Georgie's one lucky girl." she told him. "I hope she realizes what a rare find you are."

"I'm the lucky one."

"Dillon you have to hang on to these moments because they're few and far between. Just make sure that you don't take her for granted." she told him. "And I don't mean rushing out and having sex or running wild. I mean taking walks through the park in Autumn or sharing a milkshake at Kelly's."

"I try." he told her. "I'm a little old fashioned, I guess it's from watching one too many old movies."

"I've seen the way she looks at you, like you're the only guy in the world. Just don't let her forget that she's the only girl in your world."

"Besides you." he said. "You've shown more interest in me than any other of the Quartermaine's since I came to town. I always help you out any way I can."

"Thank you, Dillon." she said softly. "You truly are one of a kind. And I hope you know that goes double. If there is ever anything that you need or for that matter I want you can come to me. You can always come to, for anything. I'll never judge you or your decisions."

"Thanks." he smiled. "And don't worry, everything will work out with Luke."

Luke was standing on the pier when Ric arrived. "What took you so long?" he asked.

"I'm the district attorney. I have a job, an obligation to the people of this town."

"Blah, blah, blah." Luke sighed. "I could really care less about your position as District Attorney of Port Chuckles."

"Since you don't need my professional services I'm guessing you called me out here to discuss a person matter?"

"Right you are." he assured him.

Ric shoved his hands in his pockets. "And what personal matter might that be Luke?"

"Alexis."

"Alexis?" he questioned. "You must have talked to your girlfriend. Or is she not your girlfriend anymore?"

"Before we discuss Skye, we're going to discuss Alexis." Luke told him. "Alexis is my friend. I would do anything in the world for her and not ask questions. That what friends do for one another. So, about what you saw the other afternoon..."

"You mean you and Alexis kissing in your office?" Ric interjected.

"Yes." he answered. "Things got a little out of hand and Alexis and I ended up kissing. It wasn't a big deal then and it shouldn't be now. The kiss was purely out of friendship and nothing more. I'm telling you this because I value Alexis' friendship and I'd hate to lose it because of something that was just a impulse. I know how you feel about her. I don't want to jeopardize anything I have with Skye or anything you and Alexis have over a misunderstanding."

"I understand that." Ric told him. "What I don't understand is why you couldn't tell Skye or why Alexis couldn't tell me about all of this after it happened. Why couldn't you just come right out and admit it?"

"Maybe it wasn't worth mentioning."

"Did you think it was worthy of a mention or didn't you want Skye to find out?" he asked. "You know the truth always comes out eventually."

"How do you that I wasn't going to discuss this with Skye? Why did you automatically jump to the conclusion that she was never going to find out?"

"Because that's just the way you are Luke. You come first and to hell with everybody else. You don't take time to consider other people's feelings. Not your children's, not Skye's or Alexis' for that matter." Ric told him.

"I'm capable of handling my own life!" Luke yelled. "I don't need you to point things out to me. And I don't need you hanging around Skye."

"You don't have anything to worry about where she's concerned." he shouted. "Skye loves you and only you."

Luke was silent.

"Don't you see the way she looks at you?" he asked. "Men would kill for her to look at them like that. Out of everyone in the world you have her heart, but you don't even know it. If you have any intentions of breaking her heart and handing it back to her in tiny little piece you should do it now. Because now she might be able to get over it quicker and still have some of her dignity left. If you wait and her feelings only grow deeper you're just going to be another Jax."

"I never had any intention to hurt her." Luke confessed.

"I guess it's a little late for that now." he replied. "Did you ever think that you were hurting Alexis too? That you were leading her on to something you had no intentions of following through on? I care about Alexis and I don't want to see her hurting the way Skye already is."

"Why didn't you ask Alexis about what happened between the two of us?"

"Because I thought she was going to tell me herself." Ric told him. "I waited for her to say something and she never did."

"What does that tell you about the way Alexis feels about you?"

"I don't know." he breathed. "But I'm gonna find out. As soon as she's ready to talk to me about it I'll listen. I don't want to lose what little relationship we have left."

"Do you think that makes you such a great man?" Luke asked.

"Almost anything makes me a better man than you, Luke. At least I'm not stringing Alexis along because she's convenient to have around." Ric told him, bitterly. "And I won't walk out on her when she needs me the most. Now if you'll excuse me I have to get back to the station."

"I think you and I need to talk." Alexis told Ric as she entered his office, closing the door behind him. "I already know that you know."

"What are you referring to?" Ric asked, wanting to hear her say the words and explain the situation to him so that it made since.

"The kissing Luke." she answered. "Things got crazy the other day and it just happened. I don't know why I did it, but I am sorry."

"I know." he said softly. "I just don't understand why you couldn't be honest with me when it happened. It's not like you have to answer to me. You could've just been honest."

"I was afraid."

Ric got up from behind his desk and walked over to where she was standing. "Afraid of what?"

"That you'd hate me." she confessed. "That you'd never want to see me again. I just thought that by not saying anything it wouldn't cause any tension between you and me or hurt Skye."

"That's very noble of you." Ric replied. "And I could never hate you."

"No." she breathed out. "It's not noble. I kept a secret and that's never good, it almost always causes problems and sometimes even destroys lives."

"It's noble that you didn't want to hurt Skye's feelings. Six months ago you wouldn't have cared one way or another what happened to her."

"Things change." she whispered. Her mind traveled back to the place where she knew Skye was her sister and to the guilt she had tried to push away in keeping the secret that could very well destroy them both.

"Alexis." he said, snapping her out of her daze. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." she nodded. "Can we get past this?"

"I think so." he told her. "I wanted to talk to you about something though."

Alexis smiled, feeling that she had a second chance. That they had a second chance and that this relationship was somehow going to work out. "Anything."

"I kissed Skye."

"What?" she yelled.

"When we had dinner at the Quartermaine's. It just happened." Ric confessed. "It wasn't a passionate kiss."

"What kind of kiss was it then?"

"A few soft kisses on the lips." he told her."Friendly."

"Why?"

"I told you, it just happened."

"So you kissed her to get back at me for kissing Luke?" she asked, outraged.

"No." he answered. "Look, we were out on the terrace, she had kinda been stressed out about Luke. She didn't even know that the two of you had kissed. We were talking and she kissed me."

"So Skye kissed you?" she asked.

"And I kissed her back." he told her. "We had a weak moment, that's all. It had nothing to do with you kissing Luke. It meant nothing more than friendship, you can ask her yourself."

"I can't believe this." Alexis sighed. "I didn't even see it coming."

"See what coming?" Ric asked, confused.

"That you could easily disregard my feelings like that."

"Alexis you and I are not committed in any way, you just said so yourself. If you're not accountable to me then how does that make me accountable to you?"

"I never said you were accountable to me...." she interjected.

"So what there's a double standard?"

"No!" Alexis shouted. "You know what I can't...I can't do this right now. I have to go." She stormed out of his office and slammed the door shut behind her. Making it only a few feet down the hallway, she stopped dead in her tracks and took a deep breath. She really had no reason to be upset when she had done the exact same thing. But the one thing that kept eating at her conscience was not telling Skye about her paternity.

Skye entered the lake house sometime after midnight. After switching on the lights she discovered Luke asleep on the couch. She laid her purse and coat in the chair. "Luke!" she yelled out, standing overtop of him.

"What?" he asked, still half asleep.

"Luke, wake up!" she yelled again.

Luke opened his eyes and looked up at her. "Hey Blaze."

"Don't 'Blaze' me." she warned. "How did you get in here?"

"Through the window in the kitchen." he told her, sitting up. "You should really lock all your doors and windows before you leave."

"I'll be sure to do that the next time."

He glanced up at the clock. "I can't believe I've been asleep since nine o'clock." he commented. "Where have you been?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I went out for some dinner." she told him. "And then caught a late movie."

"Oh." Luke sighed.

Skye moved some magazines out of the way and sat down on the coffee table in front of him. "I ran into Ric on the pier."

"You went out again with Ric!" he yelled. "Maybe Ric is the one causing all of our problems."

"Luke." she said softly.

Luke felt his blood begin to boil. An emotion washed over him. One that he hadn't felt in a long time. Jealousy. "Why would you go out with him again?" he asked, trying to keep his building anger in check, but knowing that he was failing miserably. "Was lunch and dinner the other night not enough?"

She didn't say anything for several long seconds, giving him time to calm down. "I didn't go out with Ric tonight."

"You didn't?" he asked, feeling somewhat relieve but knowing that he had no right to be mad after what had happened with Alexis.

"No." she said, softly. "Dillon and I got some dinner and went to the movies."

"You were with Dillon?"

"Is that a crime?" she asked. "Can I not spend some time with my own cousin?"

"Of course you can spend time with Dillon." he answered. "I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions."

"It's alright." Skye assured him. "So I've calmed down can we talk about this Alexis ordeal?"

"I don't know what happened, I don't know why I did what I did." Luke confessed. "But I do know that I'm really, really sorry. I never meant to hurt you or what we have going on."

"I know." she replied. "After you left I talked to Dillon and he helped me sort some things out. I came to the conclusion that maybe I overreacted a little. I just thought that we were close enough that you could tell me things."

"I should have told you." he agreed. "I'm sorry."

"The other night at the Quartermaine's I kissed Ric." she blurted out.

Ric opened his apartment door and to his surprise found Alexis standing on the other side. After she ran out of his office today after he made his confession he thought that he had truly lost her for good. "Alexis, what are you doing here?" he asked, not being able to help the smile that came across his lips.

"I felt really bad about the way I left things." she said, clutching her coat tightly against her. "I couldn't leave things the way they were." she told him, honestly.

"We both made mistakes." he admitted.

Alexis' hands slowly opened her coat. "That's why I'm here. To put all the piece's back where they belong." she whispered, opening the coat to revealing a very short, very low cut piece of charcoal colored silk. "It's kind of cold out here. Mind if I come in?"

TBC....

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