Lucas really wanted to get out of bed - he felt as though he had been there forever - so they decided that he could join the rest of them at the table for breakfast.

As usual, there seemed to be a mountain of food, but as well as the usual fare, which included his favorite cinnamon rolls, he noticed bowls of fresh fruit - strawberries, blackberries and blueberries, and slices of fresh cantaloupe.

Apparently, this was unusual, because Eddie leaned over and grabbed one of the bowls.

"Wow, strawberries, great!"

Gina grabbed the bowl from him, and handed it to Lucas.

"They're for our guest!" She smiled sweetly, and handed him the bowl. "Here! We got these for you!"

Lucas blushed, confused and embarrassed. "Er...thank you?"

"But before you start, here!" She handed him an envelope. "Happy Birthday!"

He stared at her in shock. He opened the envelope and pulled out a folded piece of card with a hand drawn picture of a dolphin on it. He opened it slowly, and confetti fell everywhere, to everyone's amusement. Inside, it read "Happy Birthday Lucas", and everyone had signed it.

He felt a lump in his throat, and the look in his eyes expressed everything he was feeling.

Tony broke the emotion of the moment.

"Hey, we gonna eat or what? Come on, Birthday Boy, hand over them strawberries."

He ate more than he could have believed, even Angie seemed satisfied. By the end of breakfast, he was yawning again and was sent back to bed. Tony helped get him settled, and then sat on the bed.

"Hey, Luke?"

He didn't even have the energy to correct him, but forced his eyes to stay open.

"Listen, we're gonna have a nice dinner for you this afternoon, but...well, Mom and Nick are gonna be there, okay? He's really sorry, Mom gave him a good talking to, and he wants to apologize."

Lucas looked at him nervously.

"Look, you're gonna see him again while you're here, he's always around. And he's my Dad an' all, so I'd like it if the two of you could be in the same room. He's really sorry. That's the great thing about Nick, he's always really sorry afterwards. We won't leave you alone together, we'll make sure someone's always with you, alright? Is that okay?"

Lucas honestly never wanted to see Nick again in his life, but for Tony, he would do this. He was, after all, the one who told Tony that he needed to have a better relationship with his father.

He nodded, and gave an insincere smile.

"Sure Tony, that's fine."

Tony could see that the smile was as fake as a nine dollar bill, but he was grateful to get even that. He wasn't so sure that he could be so forgiving.

"Thanks Lucas. Now get some rest. It's going to be a loud afternoon!"

Because of the short notice, no-one had the opportunity to buy a gift for him, except for Gina, who presented him with a beautiful blue scarf - exactly the color of his eyes, her mother noticed.

He wore it for the rest of the day.

Angie made a dinner with all his favorite foods, and again, he was surprised by how much he ate.

Marie, trying to atone for her husband's insensitivity, had made him a beautiful cake.

They brought it in with the candles lit, and she explained shyly, "I wasn't sure how many candles to put on, I'm sorry."

He couldn't help but laugh a little. "That's the problem, nobody knows! I've decided to go with nineteen. It seems more believable."

Nick joined in. "Good choice, you certainly don't look twenty nine!"

Lucas smile faltered a little, but remained in place, although those who knew him well saw that it was an effort.

He had accepted Nick's apology, and even shaken his hand, but he watched him as though the man was a snake about to strike.

By the end of dinner, Lucas was exhausted again. He didn't want to appear ungrateful by leaving, but his head was aching and the party seemed to be getting louder.

Once again, it was Angie that rescued him.

Quietly walking over to him, she said, "Why don't you go to bed? You look tired."

He nodded, "I am. Angie, do you have a minute?"

'Of course, Lucas."

She followed him into his room. "What's wrong, Honey? Do you need some help?"

"I want to give you the money."

Her eyes flashed. "No! No, absolutely not, we are not taking your money! Nick had no right to ask you!"

Tony had seen them leave, and came into the room.

"Hey, what's up? You okay?"

"I want to give your father the money he needs, so Angie can keep the house."

Tony was as vehement as Angie.

"Oh, hell, no! You shouldn't be giving us anything. We're taking care of you because we want to, not because we want your damned money."

"I know that." He grinned, wryly. "If you just wanted money, there are damn easier ways to get it than what you've been doing."

"Lucas..."

"Look, I know you're not helping me because you want any money, okay? I also know that you never would have asked me for it. But you're the one that keeps telling me that I need to accept help when I need it, so how is this different?"

"I dunno. It just is. It doesn't feel right, it feels like we're taking advantage."

"Do you think it feels right to me when you have to help me get out of the shower, or put me to bed? Do you think it doesn't feel like I'm taking advantage when your whole family is woken up in the middle of the night, and is now looking after me?"

"That's different."

"Really? How?"

Tony searched for a reason. He knew it felt wrong, it was different than helping him, it was...

"It's like you're paying me! I'm doing this because you're my friend, not because you're giving me money!"

"So, why can't I help you like you're helping me?"

Angie intervened. " Lucas, we know you want to help. But we're not going to take your money."

"Angie, with the money that you have left from the sale, what kind of place will you be able to afford?"

"Honey, it's not your problem."

"Maybe not. But I'm the one with the solution. Which would be better, taking money from me, or raising Gina in a rat infested tower block somewhere? Having Ricky and Eddie walk past drug dealers every time they come home?"

She bit her lip. She knew very well that this was the most likely outcome with her financial situation.

"I love this house. I've never really stayed in a real home before, with a real family. I want to you to stay here, I want to think about you all being here. Maybe one day I can come back and stay with you again?"

"Oh, Lucas, baby, you can always stay with us, anytime you want, you know that, you don't need to give us money."

"Really? You think the next place you buy will have wheelchair accessible accommodations?"

He could see that he was winning.

"Just take the money. I have it, you need it." He smiled at Tony. "And if you let me help you when you need it, I promise to always ask you for help when I need it, how's that?"

Seeing that Tony was wavering, he added, "Would you really feel better if your aunt and cousins were living in a slum? Because you know that's what they're facing."

Tony rubbed his face with his hands and then nodded. "Yeah, I know." And then, defeated at last, 'Okay. You win. Thanks Lucas."

Angie looked aghast. "Tony!"

"You know he's right, Aunt Angie. It's the only way you get to keep the house. Take the money."

"Tony..."

"Take it, Aunt Angie. Take it for Ricky and Eddie and Gina. What else are you gonna do?"

Lucas saw the resignation in her eyes. She nodded, defeated. He turned to Tony.

"Tony, will you go and get Nick?"

When Tony came back with Nick, he saw that Lucas had some papers and a pen. Nick looked around, curiously.

"I'm giving you the money, Nick."

"Hey, you are? That's great, thanks Kid!"

"But there are a couple of things I want to clear up first." He handed the papers and pen to Nick. "This contract states that you hereby renounce all future claims to this house. From this point on, the house belongs only to Angie, and it's hers in it's entirety."

Nick looked trapped. "Well, sure, no problem, but I don't need to sign anything, do I, Ang?"

"It's not up to her, it's up to me. And I'm not going to give you a penny until I have your signature. Tony can be our witness, is that okay, Tony?"

Tony grinned. "That's no problem Lucas! Then the next time he gets into trouble, it won't affect anybody else. I think it's a great idea, Aunt Angie!"

Reluctantly, but with no other choice, Nick signed the papers, and Tony signed as witness.

Lucas handed one set to Angie, and kept a set for himself. "That way they'll always be a copy on record. Now, just one more thing."

"Geez, what now?"

He spoke to Nick, but his eyes drifted to Tony. Tony couldn't read the look on his face.

"This is all the money that you or Tony will ever get from me, understand?"

Tony looked about to say something, but Lucas interrupted.

"No, let me finish, please. Tony, I know that you didn't want to take the money, I didn't want it to sound like that. But I'm making it very clear, right now, for your father."

Tony nodded.

"I will never give you any more money, and I will never give Tony any money, is that understood?"

"Yes, yes, no problem, anything you say."

Without another word, Lucas handed him a check. "There you go, $50,000. If I were you, I'd cash it quickly before these two change their minds."

Nick grabbed the check and stared at it in glee.

"Thanks Kid! Really, thanks!" He went outside to tell Marie.

The room was silent for a moment.

Angie walked over and hugged him, and kissed his cheek. He saw that she was crying.

"Thank you. There will always be a place for you here, anytime you want it. You'll be as welcome as the sunshine!" And then she, too, left.

Lucas rubbed his temples.

"Headache?"

"Yeah."

"You look tired as well. Why d'ya do it tonight, it could have waited..."

"I didn't want them all to be worrying over Christmas. I wanted it to be finished."

"Thank you."

Lucas looked like he wanted to say something, then stopped himself.

"What is it? Spit it out!"

"What I said...about never giving you any money..." He trailed off, embarrassed.

"Go on."

"Is that really okay? Would it really not make a difference?"

Tony looked angry. "No, course not! What kind of person do you think I am?"

Lucas took a deep breath and looked his friend in the eye.

"Because I don't have any."

"You don't have any what?"

"I don't have any money."