Happy Friday everyone! I do hope you're enjoying your day and that we can make it a little better.
All Lucky wanted was to crawl into a corner, close his eyes, and pretend this whole day never happened. That his son hadn't almost shared the same nightmare he had experienced. That his sister wasn't currently experiencing a version of hell he would never wish on his worst enemy, let alone his little sister. But he couldn't do any of that. Elizabeth was depending on him to be strong. Robin was clearly expecting him to step up and take over some of the worries from Elizabeth. His parents were counting on him to not lose his sanity so they could concentrate on finding Lulu. Cameron was counting on him to keep the "bad man" away.
The pounding in his head was only getting louder. His emotions swirled uncontrollably, swinging from rage and anger to terror. He wanted to run away from the hospital and never return. Pack up the few possessions he cherished, grab Cameron and Elizabeth, leave town and not look back. As tempting as the plan sounded, he couldn't leave. Not before he knew Cruz was ok. Or Aunt Bobbie and his newest cousin were fine. And Audrey. And judging by the look Steven Webber was shooting him at this very moment, not before Steven kicked his ass for the pregnancy.
Steven didn't try to understand what Lucky was going through because that would have been a great disservice to the man. What he wanted to know most of all was how he was supposed to trust his baby sister to a man who hadn't even been able to keep his immediate family safe? If his sister and friend hadn't acted when they had, the way they had, Cameron would be in the kidnapper's possession right now and the sister would probably be in the same condition as the friend, if not worse off. Steven could look no further than the young man's eyes and see how guilty he was, but that didn't mean he was willing to leave his sister's life and his future niece or nephew's life in the hands of a man he barely knew.
The silence echoed off the walls of the ever-shrinking room. What exactly was the protocol for small talk with a man you had only ever met twice in your life when the only thing you had in common was a petite currently pregnant brunette, Lucky wondered. Did you start off talking about how the weather was, or the way the local team was playing? Did you bring up the obvious topic of conversation right away or did you avoid it at all costs?
From what he had learned of Lucky Spencer before he ever met him, the man was a player. He had set up Elizabeth to believe that he was seeing a woman behind her back and made her feel like an idiot once she realized it was all a joke. He made her question every decision she had ever had. She had lost her common sense in the last seven months; she had lost herself. She was no longer the mess of a woman whose ex-boyfriend had cheated on her and left her with a broken heart. He knew this was a good thing and wanted to be happy for her. He hadn't been joking when they had made up at Christmas; he just wished he could have some kind of guarantee before accepting the relationship completely. He had met Max on occasion and his sister had been head over heels in love with him too. Yes, the baby complicated things, but it was not a good enough reason for him to suddenly trust Lucky Spencer.
"How long are you planning on making my sister wait to get married?" Steven held up a hand when he assumed Lucky would interrupt him. "I'm just wondering how old my niece or nephew would be."
"That's up to your sister." Lucky shrugged, not surprised that once again everyone assumed it was his reluctance that led to their decision. "The second thing she told me after she said she was pregnant was that we weren't getting married."
"So I'm supposed to assume that my sister, my young, pregnant, vulnerable, crazy sister is completely against marrying a man she 'loves?'" Steven didn't try to hold back his sarcasm.
"When she's convinced herself it would only be about the baby and not about love. You have seen her when she convinces herself of something right?"
"Yeah, and that's the only reason I never took a shot at you." Steven laughed without humor.
"There you go." It was way past time for them to have this conversation, Lucky realized. The timing sucked but it was what it was. If he had learned anything from the mess he was always in with Tony Grimes it was he had to work with Elizabeth's family for the best situation for everyone. Two families constantly watching him to pounce on any mistake was not a good thing. "Look I know you don't like me very much."
Steven laughed again. "Who's been lying to you? I don't like you at all." He managed a smile.
"But I do love your sister. I don't think we need to be friends, but it would be better if we got along or could at least pretend. For her sake."
"I think my sister would see through it." Steven reasoned.
"True. Which is why we should probably at least attempt it."
Steven thought for a moment. "We could just avoid each other."
Lucky paused to consider that option. "It wouldn't be that hard to pull off. Except at holidays."
"I'll just distract myself with the baby." Steven suggested.
Lucky chuckled softly. "You've not met my family. You're not getting near the baby if my mother or aunt is around."
"Your aunt's having a baby tonight, yeah?" Steven asked, trying his best to make some sort of pleasant conversation.
"Yeah. A little girl."
"I heard about your friend." Steven murmured. "I'm sorry."
"Thanks." Lucky didn't want too think to long about Cruz and his fight to just breathe a few floors below them. It was his fault his friend was there. His fault. He could never make it up to Cruz, especially not when it included missing the birth of his first child. Cruz had been the one to drive him to Cameron's birth and he had made it impossible for Cruz to have the same experience.
"How long has this been going on?" Steven had a rough idea from Georgie, but he had a funny inclination that they hadn't been completely honest with her about the timing. Maybe, but something had definitely been stirring long before now. "The kidnappings I mean."
"Two days." Checking the clock hung on the wall, Lucky corrected himself. "Almost three." Had time really been so short when it felt so long?
"And the police have no leads?" Steven asked carefully.
"Nothing concrete. There are theories about the involvement of Sonny Corinthos but as far as I know, those are nothing but talk."
"Does this Sonny Corinthos have anything to do with your son?"
"No. This is why the theories don't hold up right now."
"Why did they think it had to do with him before?"
"He's Kristina and Morgan's father. And he may be in jail but he still has enemies and friends who aren't."
"Elizabeth's friend and Sonny share Morgan?" Steven inquired, confused.
"No." Lucky shook his head. He kept forgetting Elizabeth and Steven didn't grow up in Port Charles. It made the interwoven relationships of the town almost impossible to decipher at times. "Robin and Sonny are old friends. When Morgan's mother was killed due to Sonny's mob ties, Sonny was already in jail for life. Obviously he couldn't take care of him so he asked Robin to take care of Morgan. I'm sure no one was as surprised as Robin was."
"But it was his decision to sign his son over to Robin?"
"It was."
"Then why would he try and take back his children now?" Steven scratched his head. "Unless I'm just an idiot, I was under the impression that if a man goes away for life that means no bail."
"Not when your name is Sonny Corinthos and you have half the lawyers and judges in the state in your back pocket."
"But, unless he's confused, Cameron isn't his child."
Lucky shot Steven a dark glare. He remembered well all the paternity drama the various lackeys of Sonny found themselves in over the years. "That's not even funny to joke about. But he's not and that's why tonight blows the whole 'Sonny is behind it all' theory out of the water."
"So why are we wasting our time with it? If he's not getting out, his enemies wouldn't need to go after his kids. Cameron changes the playing field, if you'll excuse me for saying so. The attempt alone proves that this has to do with something else the three children have in common." Steven told him.
"I agree. And I don't think it was ever more than just a theory that Sonny was involved."
"So now all we have to figure out is what else the kids share." Steven got to his feet and headed down the hall, only Lucky's voice causing him to pause.
"How do you know so much about solving mysteries?" Lucky wondered.
Steven laughed, this time a real laugh, "Elizabeth was into Nancy Drew when we were kids. We used to solve crimes during the summer."
Luke glanced longingly at the door. How did he get himself roped into things like this? It was all of the goodness that rested in the brilliant blue eyes of his wife, he decided. He had never been able to tell her no. The last time he had been in a delivery room had been when Lulu had been born, so he was a little rusty on what he should be doing. Laura had been a screamer, he recalled. She had begged for drugs, but Lulu had been in too big of a hurry, both her and Lucky, so Laura was never given any kind of drug. Currently, his baby sister was trying to break his right hand.
The first two hours had been wonderful. Despite Bobbie's water breaking so fast, his niece seemed in no hurry. He could hear the doctor mumbling about every half hour that Bobbie was at this centimeter or that. Luke decided he didn't want to know the details and had told Dr. Ric on several occasions only to have the guy chuckle at him. At first, she had been worried, damn near hysterical. From that, she moved to a semi-calm state that he attributed to the vodka the nurse must have slipped in her ice chips. God, his hand was almost purple. "Barbara, it's alright." He tried to assure her.
Her red head whipped around so fast, he felt like he was living The Exorcist. Her lips were curled in something that fell between anguish and pure hatred. It was only speculation, but Luke wondered if his sister realized that the man who had put her in this situation wasn't the one standing beside her. Her eyes glazed over and he visibly gulped. Maybe Dr. Ric should just inject him with something and he would wake up in a few hours when Miss Bobbie Jr. decided to grace them with her presence. It seemed plausible.
"Alright?" Bobbie repeated. "What would you know about it?" She challenged, clamping her teeth onto her bottom lip when a contraction rippled through her entire body. "Oh God. This is awful." She growled out, bowing her head and trying to catch her breath.
"You're doing wonderfully Bobbie." Ric told her reassuringly.
"I'm so glad the men in the room are confident that this is all dandy. I, however, am trying to—"
"Please Barbara Jean," Luke begged. "I beg of you."
"It won't be long now." Ric said.
"You said that two hours ago." Bobbie reminded him.
"I said you were progressing beautifully." Ric countered calmly.
"Don't argue with her, damn it." Luke snapped wincing as his sister brought him to his knees.
"Don't you swear in front of my daughter. I don't want the first thing she hears to be profanity." Bobbie whimpered.
Luke was about to retort, but Ric cut him off. "Well Bobbie it looks like this little girl is finally ready to grace us with her presence. Are you ready to push?"
Bobbie gave him a "get real" look, but reached for Luke's other hand. "I'm ready."
"Good. Luke I'm going to need you to keep her focused here ok?"
"What does that mean?" Luke asked cautiously.
"I thought you've been through this before?" Ric wondered. Certainly Luke had brushed off any conversation with him earlier in the evening with a quick, "Yeah. Yeah. I remember."
"A little out of practice." Luke admitted gruffly.
"Well when I say push, then you keep her pushing. Alright let's go people." Ric turned to direct the team of nurses behind him. "This little one obviously thinks she deserves a star entrance and I say we give it to her."
Bobbie thought she smiled at that. "I wish Cruz could see this."
Luke half-smiled. "Well if you'd let Dillon bring in the camera..." He mumbled.
Bobbie gave him a startled look. "Can you imagine how awkward that would be later on?"
"So that's how you know when you're having a contraction." Luke pointed to the spiking lines on the monitor next to the bed.
"Right. And it looks like right now it's time to push. So let's do it Bobbie. One big push for me, come on." Ric prompted.
"You heard the man. Push!" Luke ordered, giving Bobbie his hand and willing back the tears stinging the back of his eyes.
"I am pushing!" Bobbie screamed at them.
"Yes you are. Keep it up Bobbie. Keep it up." Ric chanted as he made his preparations to deliver the newest member of the Spencer-Rodriguez family.
"I can't." Bobbie shook her head.
"Barbara Jean, yes you can." Luke told her.
"No. I can't. I need Cruz here." Bobbie whined.
"Too bad. You're stuck with me. You can do this. You're a Spencer."
"And this little one refuses to wait. Come on I need another push." Ric announced.
Bobbie squeezed her eyes closed and pushed for all she was worth, falling backwards a moment later, praying that it had been enough. Her daughter's precious scream greeted her ears. I did it, Bobbie thought faintly. I did it. She watched Ric show the baby to Luke and was ready to accept the baby from the doctor when she realized Luke had passed out. "Luke! Wake up! No sleeping on the job." She teased him, waiting for one of the nurses to clean up the baby and wrap her in a soft pink blanket.
Ric smirked at her. "Would you like to meet your daughter?"
Bobbie nodded and he carefully placed the screaming newborn in her arms. "My God, she's so tiny." Bobbie breathed touching her daughter's left hand and tracing her knuckles.
"Does she have a name?" Ric wanted to know.
"Maria Alejandra."
Ric stared over Bobbie's shoulder. "Maria, you're lucky to have such a strong mommy."
"What happened?" Luke wanted to know as a few nurses helped him to his feet.
"You missed it." Bobbie shook her head in mock disappointment.
"Missed what? She's here, isn't she?"
"Yes she is. A little early." Bobbie shot Ric a nervous look.
"We'll take good care of this little angel." Ric promised her.