I am not now nor have I ever been associated, in any form or fashion, with ABC/Disney/General Hospital… the writers or actors.

That being said and done… these characters just won't get out of my head until their story is told. Now, since I have a life and can't run around "hearing" voices you're being given another chapter. I must write for them or they turn ugly.

Some of my other stories are sitting on the shelf, I know, but as soon as their characters come knocking again I'll be all over them.

I had to get the Alexis/Sonny part of the story moving, but not to worry Lucky/Sam will show up in force this time around.

Read, review, enjoy….

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She hadn't slept most of the night. Every time she closed her eyes and drifted into slumber she felt herself being pulled into this dark place. It was a void really. Not being able to see anyone in the dream or even distinguish where she was the fear the dream generated didn't make any sense. The problem was whether it made sense or not the feeling made her blood run cold and ripped her out of sleep repeatedly. Putting music in her ears, turning on the television, reading, a hundred trips to the bathroom and six pages of journal writing later and Samantha finally gave up on getting any rest.

It was so late that she knew, while toying with her charging cell phone, calling Emily or Lucky was out of the question. She figured just because she wasn't sleeping didn't mean her friends shouldn't. Putting the phone back in its cradle Sam stepped out of bed and grabbed her sweatshirt. It didn't matter what her parents spent on heat or what season it was the old estate never seemed to be warm enough for the 102 pound 5'2" girl. Creeping down the hall in the sleepers her mom called a disgusting disgrace the oldest Corinthos child peeked in on her siblings. Everyone was doing better at sleeping than she was. Alexis and Sonny had decided that telling the twins wasn't a great idea after all and went with the business trip story. Michael had completely withdrawn after hearing the news and on two occasions had kicked his sister out of his room when she went to talk to him about what he was feeling. Whatever, she thought as she closed his door, let him sleep. Then she thought… it sucks being the oldest.

Taking the back stairs straight into the kitchen Sam figured maybe some herbal tea and a little snack would warm her up and settle her nerves. The light filtered up the stairs the closer she got to the bottom. No voices came up to meet her ears and she was curious as to which one of the guards was having a midnight snack on the job. Well, as long as it wasn't Danny she wouldn't snitch to Sonny.

So much for snitching she mumbled when she saw the figure in front of the stove. "Daddy, what are you doing home?"

"I think a better question is what are you doing up? Sammie it's after two in the morning."

Sam came down the steps fully and crossed to her father who was still wearing the clothes he'd left in to take her mother to the hospital. They were more wrinkled and disheveled, but he still looked too put together for the middle of the night.

"I couldn't sleep and I was freezing so I came to make some tea." Sam reached around her dad's waist and pulled him into the hug. He could feel her slight tremors as he returned the embrace. Walking her to sit on one of the stools at the counter the father of four perched on the edge of the stool across from her and just looked in her eyes as he held her hand.

"What?" She asked.

"Sammie this house isn't that drafty. I know why you can't sleep. It's the same reason I'm in here making sauce in the middle of the night." Sonny leaned in and kissed her cheek, saying, "I'll put some water on for your tea."

"You're not gonna make me talk about what's really bothering me?"

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Am I going to tell you the truth or anything at all?" Sam wasn't being obtuse on purpose, but she didn't understand what about the dream scared her so much and she definitely didn't know how to put it into words.

The water was on the stove on a medium heat, because Sonny wanted to give his daughter the chance to talk out what was going without interruption. Besides he knew the tea was only a tactic to avoid sleep a little while longer.

"Samantha I always expect the truth." Sonny rubbed both hands across the scruff that was already dotting his chin and cheeks. It brought a smile to his face as he remembered his wife's last words to him before he left her hospital room.

"I kept having this dream that I just don't understand. I'm in this dark emptiness and no one else is there, I'm not being chased and I don't really feel like I'm in danger, but I still get super scared. Then I wake up. Every time I try to go back to sleep I'm in the same place again."

"Think it has something to do with mom? I mean it would make sense. You've never had this dream before have you?"

Sam pulled her legs up onto the stool and started spinning the spice rack on the counter.

"Sam…"

"Okay, probably… sure it's about mom, but it's dumb and I know it. Mamas going to be fine, right, I mean I looked the procedure up on the internet and it's pretty straight forward. I just… what's gonna happen if…" Running her hands over her eyes Sam attempted to shove the tears back into their ducts.

"No ifs baby, your mama is going to come through this with flying colors. She's not worried at all. I mean that's why she sent me home." Sonny patted her knee hoping he was conveying more conviction then he felt.

"She sent you home because you were driving her nuts, huh? How many times did you fluff her pillows?"

"Okay, maybe I hovered… a little, but she honestly was relaxed and calm when I left and she would not want you up in the middle of the night worry yourself sick."

"My water's ready." Sam listened to the whistle of the kettle and watched the steam seep from the hole in the spout.

She had so many qualities of his beautiful wife, most of which he adored, but she also had some of her less than pleasing ones too. They both had the ability to shift out of a conversation they didn't want to have and make you feel like a jerk for pushing the subject. Normally with his daughter Sonny wasn't as easy to dismiss, but the time to force her to open up more didn't seem to be now.

Filling her cup and handing it to her he said, "I'll make you a deal. You can stay down here while I do some paperwork, but you have to promise to close your eyes and try to sleep. If the dreams come, I'll be right there."

"I'm not Krissy dad, I don't need you to chase off the monsters." Sam was starting to get irritated and a slight pout took over her mouth.

"A daughter is never too old to have her daddy chase away monsters." He kissed her on the forehead and walked out of the room with Sam's bunny clad feet dragging behind him.

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When Sam woke up, she didn't even remember falling asleep, her tea mug was still mostly filled and she was wrapped in her mom's favorite throw. Sonny was gone and the house was quiet. Getting up she sprinted up the stairs two at a time to get Michael up before he was late. He was worse than her any day of the week when it came to getting up for school and leaving on time. It took at least three trips to his door and one threat of bodily harm before he started to move with any real purpose.

Knocking on his door and getting no response Sam figured he had his head under the pillow. So she cracked the door and then she heard the shower. Closing it again Sam thought this surgery had everyone acting out of character.

Leticia was up and told Sam she had things with the twins under control, so Sam went to make a quick breakfast for everyone. Alexis arranged for Krissy and Morgan to go to the children's museum with some friends before afternoon preschool so that they'd be out of the house all day and not preoccupied with the fact that she wasn't home.

Michael didn't know about Sam getting the day off, which was good, because he never would have gone either without a hell of a fight. He had called Carly in Puerto Rico the night before to tell her about Alexis' surgery and the pregnancy, but Carly was Carly and could only muster a few maternal ministrations of concern before rushing him off the phone.

Once everyone was gone Sam went to shower and put some clothes on. She had promised to get some school work done even though she was staying home. As the clock moved closer to eight concentrating became impossible. At 8:30 Sonny called and told her that Alexis had just been wheeled in and that he'd call again as soon as she was in recovery. The moment she hung up the phone it was as if time stood still.

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Sam went out onto the patio and stood watching the lake. Hearing footsteps moving up the path toward the gate she turned to see the one person who she knew would get her through the next few hours.

"Lucky Spencer, what are you doing here?" She ran to hug him.

"When I got to school Emily told me about your mom. I'm sorry I didn't know sooner. The meet ran long and then we got a campus tour and hung out with some of the guys from the college team and things just went late. I did not want to risk calling and having your dad blow a gasket."

"It doesn't matter. I mean I'm glad everything went so well, but I just care that you're here now." Sam wrapped his arms around her waist pressing her back against his chest and turned to watch the lake again.

"Speaking of being here now… is my being here going to get me dropped into that lake and never heard from again." He could hear her giggles and she pressed even closer to him.

Turning around she led him into the living room. "There isn't anyone home who would do that to you. A few guards are on the grounds, but basically anyone who would know that you shouldn't be here with me, alone… isn't here."

"So it would be okay for me to do this…" Lucky pulled her into his arms and kissed her relieved when she opened her mouth to his tongue.

"Now that's the way to take my mind off of things," Sam said as she came up for air.

They went to sit on the sofa and Sam curled in close to his chest. She filled him in on her mom's surgery and the fact that she hadn't slept all night and about her dream. Lucky told her all about his meet and the fact that he placed in two different meters. Sam was relieved to hear how much he enjoyed the time at PCU because she knew it meant he'd consider staying in town for college instead of fleeing to parts unknown.

After awhile Lucky noticed Sam's responses becoming less and less. When her breathing got shallow and even he knew she had drifted off to sleep. Holding her he put his own head back and closed his eyes. Neither of them stirred until the phone rang and jarred them back to reality.

Sam snatched it up. "Corinthos residence… hi daddy…I must have fallen asleep… no, no nightmares…how's mom, is she awake…oh, alright… I'll be ready… give her a kiss for me… I love you too."

"So, what's the verdict?"

"My dad says she's still out of it, but that the Dr. Meadows said everything went fine. He's sending Max to pick me up at 2:30 before he gets Michael from school and then he'll bring us to see my mom."

"Sam that's great! Well, I guess I better get out of here then." Lucky spoke the words but didn't make any actual moves to leave.

"You don't have to go you know. We have three hours and I thought I could make us some lunch, unless you have to get back." Sam looked up at him.

Lucky had taken his shoes off when he propped his feet up on the coffee table earlier and Sam had never put any on. So they walked in their sock covered feet into the kitchen to raid the best stocked fridge in town. Sam took out all the makings for her special grilled cheese and lucky had all sorts of fruit and vegetables on the table. When he noticed the juicer on the counter he volunteered to whip up a health blend. The idea made Sam's stomach turn, but she agreed to at least try it.

Samantha was starting to understand the pure joy of just being in someone else's company. Lucky had completely filled the empty feeling she'd been haunted by all night and now with her mom on the mend she didn't feel so guilty about enjoying her time with him. The music was on and they danced around the counter. Every once in awhile one of them would try to throw a grape in the other's mouth, which just resulted in there being a lot of grapes on the floor. Truly being her mother's child Sam told Lucky the only way she'd drink the odd colored liquid was if he indulged in her potato chip blend. She ran in the back of the pantry where the snack stash was hidden and put a mix of sour-cream & onion, barbeque, and salt-n-vinegar chips in a bowl and tossed it to mix the flavors. She and Emily had come up with the mélange when they didn't have enough of anyone flavor at a sleepover one night.

"I'm so glad you came here today. I would have driven myself insane here all alone. Hey, how are you going to explain being here all day?"

"My folks are a little less involved in my life then Alexis and Sonny. I just called the office and said there was a family emergency and that I wouldn't be back today."

"I didn't know students could just do that." Sam looked at him quizzically.

"We can't, but I sound an awful lot like my dad on the phone." Lucky laughed. They had been munching and drinking, at least he was, for while and even though they were finished neither made a move from the table.

Sam kept popping in chips one after the other while she spoke. "Wow, you're risking suspension in your senior year for me."

"It's only a risk if there's actually a chance you could get caught. Besides I had to let you know you I was here for you." He leaned and kissed her over their plates the sweetness of his lips mixing with the saltiness of hers.

He slid his hand up and down her back feeling the thin strap of her bra through her shirt. Dragging her up slightly he maneuvered her onto his lap. Sitting side saddle Sam threw her arms around him and played with the hair at the nape of his neck. Lucky finally pulled his mouth from hers and he could hear her disappointed sigh.

Leaning against her forehead he breathed out, "If we don't stop right now we are going to have a serious problem."

"Lucky, I'm not afraid to go further."

He reached up and took her hands from around his neck and lifted her off of him before she clued in to the bulge steadily rising in his pants. "Well, then let's just say I'm afraid enough for both of us. That Max guy is supposed to be here in an hour and frankly I like my arms exactly where they are and I don't like the idea of you being in Switzerland for the next two years."

"You're right. We need to clean up the evidence of this little visit. Sonny's not that distracted that he still wouldn't have Max break you into a bunch of unidentifiable pieces. Plus I need to change my shirt because someone spilled juice on me."

"That's because someone closed her lips like a two-year-old instead of trying something new." He teased. Sam hadn't cared what he said it tasted like the fact that it was spinach green meant she wasn't putting it anywhere near her mouth.

They put the kitchen right-side up again. Probably not to her father's level of perfection, but definitely enough to remove the fact that anyone but her had lunch there today.

"Hey come upstairs with me while I change. It might be the only time you get to see my bedroom. When my dad's home if you even look at the stairs too long and he thinks you're thinking about my bedroom you're a dead man." Sam grabbed his hand and led him up the kitchen steps.

The house was a fortress and a maze, certainly much larger than his own, but smaller than Nikolas and the Quartermaines. The difference was that this house felt authentically lived in. Evidence of a family were all around and unlike his brother's or Emily's homes it didn't look like servant elves ran around making things perfect every minute of every day.

Sam pointed to doorways saying what was in each room, but Lucky barely listened. He was focused on the hand that held his and watching her bounce down the hall guiding him to her private space. When they entered she told him to have a seat at her desk. Grabbing a clean shirt Sam popped into her bathroom to put it on. When she came back out Lucky was standing over her bed holding her Joey.

"What the heck is this?" He asked.

"You be nice mister. It's my Joey. He's a kangaroo. Did we fail animal recognition in kindergarten?" She mocked.

"He looks like he's seen a better day."

"Joey and I have been through a lot over the years. And I like to snuggle with him." Sam moved closer to her new boyfriend and took the stuffed animal out of his hands and returned him to her bed. "But that was before I knew how good it felt to snuggle up with you."

Bending down to plant another kiss on her freshly glossed lips Lucky took note of how close they were to her bed. He kept trying to clear his head and keep those thoughts at bay, but she was aggressively pursuing his mouth and it started to feel real natural to run his hand underneath her shirt. Feeling his hands directly on her flesh gave Sam all sorts of warm tingly stirrings below the equator.

"Sam, let's go. Mr. C. said he called and that you'd be ready. Is everything alright?" From the sound of his voice Sam could tell that Max was mid-landing on the front steps.

Lucky's hands dropped and Sam ran to her door to answer the bodyguards call before he found cause to come to her room.

"I had to change my shirt Max, I'll be right down."

Panic was all over his face and Sam started to giggle. "Don't get scared now. Look, give me a head start, when I get down the front steps and you hear the door close you go down the kitchen steps and back across the patio."

"And you're sure no one's gonna take a shot at me?"

"No… I mean yes… no one's gonna take a shot at you."

"You don't seem that certain."

"I am. Oh, crap your shoes. Well, just move quickly and let's pray Max hasn't gone into the living room yet."

Lucky was doing more than praying. He did not want the burly guard using him for a punching bag. Sam grabbed her bag and went to the door. Then she ran back to place another kiss on Lucky's lips. Wow, she thought this day is finishing so much better than it started.

"Call me later tonight okay." He said as she slid out the door. Taking a chance that someone other than Sam would see it Lucky left her a note on her desk.

Sam,

Thanks for an amazing afternoon. Can't wait to hear your voice tonight and see you tomorrow.

Lucky.

Doing as he had been instructed Lucky listened for the front door to close and then jogged down the kitchen stairs into the great room grabbed his sneakers and crossed the patio. When he got off of the property he stopped by a tree to lace up. Taking off down the hill to the path his car was on relief they hadn't gotten caught washed over him, but he knew that if they had it would've been worth it.