Lucky started walking towards the only place he knew he could be
absolutely alone... the catacombs. As he walked inside, he started
remembering some of the other times he had been here. When he first
arrived to Port Charles, he had hidden here until his parents came to town.
He remembered telling Sly that his parents would find him no matter what.
He had no doubt they would always be there for him. Always protect
him. He also came with Sly after that, trying to get past seeing
the death of Bill Eckert. And they did find peace here in this solitude.
And then there was the time he hid from the cops with Foster, the fugitive
dog. He somehow knew that if he came here, someone would bail him
out of the jam, and that person had been his father, like it had always
been. Now who was going to bail him out of this one?
As Lucky walked further through the tunnels, he heard someone crying. He ran towards the crying, hoping someone wasn't seriously hurt. When he got there, he wasn't prepared for who he would find.
Nikolas didn't know where to go, who to run to anymore. How could his uncle be dead? How could he suddenly be without the only person who was there for him his entire life? Why was he doomed to be abandoned constantly, whether intentional or not?
Nikolas knew that Alexis would do everything in her power to take custody of him so Helena wouldn't be able to. But with Stefan gone, Helena had the best chance she ever did in getting control of the Cassadine power, a power that Nikolas had never wanted. All he wanted was a family, a real family, and with Stefan gone, the last of that real family left with him. All he had left was Alexis and his mother and sister. But to actually have a relationship with his mother and sister, he would have to see Luke, and he wasn't prepared to fight a battle just to see them. At one point he was, but Stefan had given him the strength he needed, and now it also died.
Nikolas fought to hold back his tears, but it was useless. He remembered once when he was a kid, asking Stefan how he was able to keep his emotions hidden at will. The only answer he got was that he had to learn in order to survive as a Cassadine. It wasn't that Stefan wanted to appear emotionless. It was that in order to survive a life with Helena, he had to appear to be as to not give her the satisfaction of knowing his pain. Nikolas had wanted to learn how too, knowing that emotions were the secret to your thoughts. He never wanted to give anyone the advantage of knowing his thoughts, but every time Nikolas would try, Stefan would just laugh, saying that he had his mother's heart. Laura was never able to hide her feelings well, and it seemed to be something that she passed on to her oldest son. He could almost hear Stefan laughing now at his attempt to hide his tears.
As the tears started to slow down a little, Nikolas looked up to see a figure standing before him. When his eyes focused, he couldn't believe that the figure had been Lucky. "Go on, Spencer. Tell me how pathetic a man I am to allow myself to cry."
Lucky came in a little further and sat down, leaning against the wall. For once, he was seeing Nikolas as a person instead of an evil Cassadine. 'Does it only take tears for me to realize that he has feelings too,' Lucky thought, but all he said was, "I have been known to shed a tear or two myself. Recently even."
"What, did mommy forget to make your bed this morning?"
"You know, I came here for solitude, but it looks like I won't find that here." Lucky got up to leave, angry for leaving himself open to a Cassadine. The same Cassadine that had turned his world completely upside down.
Nikolas swore to himself, knowing exactly why Lucky was here searching for solitude. But he had a father still, whether if that father was a pitiful excuse for a man. Nikolas didn't have anyone to confide in. Did he really want to confide in his brother? "My brother," Nikolas whispered, allowing himself to say those words for the first time. If there was ever a chance to reconcile their differences, ever a chance that either one of them could get past the circumstances that led to their meeting each other and the incidents that had brought them both pain at this moment, then this was the time. Nikolas had no idea why he suddenly felt this bond to his brother, but in his heart, he knew that Lucky would be able to help. So he ran after him, hoping that it wasn't too late.
Luke drove around for a while before finding himself at the catacombs also. This is where his life in Port Charles with his family had started. This is where Lucky was hiding out and where they finally reunited after being driven out of another home. What kind of father was he to allow his family to live in danger all of those years? What kind of man was he to hurt the only woman he had ever loved? What kind of human being was he to bring constant pain to those who crossed his path?
Luke got out of his car and noticed Lucky running away from the catacombs. He should have known his son would have come here, but his radar was completely off lately when it came to him. It was as if the son he raised, the boy he called 'cowboy', was a total stranger to him now. Or was it that he, himself, who was the stranger now. There was an overwhelming urge to follow Lucky, but he fought off that urge knowing full well what he would be facing if he did follow. Instead he headed towards the catacombs, only to be knocked down by someone running out.
Nikolas picked himself off the ground and saw the person he ran into. "Not you."
Luke grinned slightly and said, "Yeah, it's your worst nightmare."
'It sure is,' Nikolas thought. He brushed off the dirt on his pants, and looked up at Luke, not allowing any fear showing in his face. "If you're looking for your son, he ran off just a minute ago."
"I know. I saw him running. What, are you trying to destroy his life even more?"
"On the contrary, it was you that destroyed his life. If you hadn't taught him hatred, then he wouldn't have shot off his mouth every time he saw me, and I wouldn't have had to tell him the secret that you had kept from him his whole life."
"A secret that should have been kept hidden," Luke whispered. He knew that Nikolas just spoke the truth, and he hated hearing it. Then he finally took a good look at Nikolas, noticing that he no longer looked like the demon child, his wife's mistake. For some reason, Luke was seeing Laura in him now, and finally noticed that the kid had been crying.
Nikolas tried to get away, but Luke blocked his way, grabbing his shoulder. "You've been crying. What, do you regret telling Lucky that bit of news?"
"What, telling Lucky the truth? No, I don't. It's better than him being told a lie his whole life," Nikolas said, but he didn't really believe it. The minute he told Lucky that it had been Luke that raped Laura, he had regretted it. Even though he didn't like Lucky, he didn't want Lucky to lose his family also, like he had. He didn't want to take that away from him, but he had.
Nikolas tried breaking away from Luke's grip, but every attempt he made was futile. Luke refused to let him go. 'Why am I not letting the demon spawn go? Why do I care that he looks like he is in pain?' Luke thought. He couldn't understand why he was feeling concerned about Nikolas.
"Let me go!" Nikolas screamed.
"Not till you tell me what's bothering you."
"Why do you care? You've tried to hurt me ever since I came to town." Nikolas was still trying to get away, but Luke's grip got tighter.
'I don't know,' Luke said to himself, but aloud he said, "Because my wife would be concerned."
Nikolas wanted to laugh, but didn't. "Yeah, like that's ever stopped you from being cruel to me before. All you've ever thought when you looked at me was that another man had Laura instead of me actually being a part of her."
"Yeah, you're right. You remind me of what the Cassadines took away from me right after Laura and I got married. That ain't a secret, but if you recall, I've also saved your butt a couple of times. Despite the fact that I hate the circumstances under which you were conceived, you are still my wife's son. She would be concerned that you've been crying, so since she isn't here to do the asking, I'm going to do it for her."
"What, you suddenly feel this bond towards me after all of this time?" Nikolas stood there in disbelief that Luke actually looked like he meant what he had said.
"Hell, if that's what you want to call it. Either way, you ain't leaving till I get the answer I'm looking for." 'Have I been drinking without knowing it,' Luke thought. 'Why do I give a damn about this kid?'
"You really want the answer, then you've got it. The only reason you're even alive today is because my uncle died in your place. Aren't you glad you asked?"
