Once You Love Somebody

The storm winds died down as Lucy nestled against Kevin's chest listening to his heart beating rapidly as she let out an exaggerated breath as the feeling of contentment washed over her body. She closed her eyes and felt his strong arms wrap around her as they lay together in silence basking in the memory of their spontaneous lovemaking session that had just taken place in the storage building. In her mind she took in every image of him as he had been when they were together as one only moments earlier. Finally after escaping from the fantasy replaying in her mind, she looked up at Kevin eager to expand upon the sweet taste still lingering from what had taken place only moments earlier.

"Doc," Lucy began planting feathery kisses his chest as she listened to a long drawn out breath escape his lips. She looked up at him and noticed a far away look in his eyes as he held her in his arms. Slowly Lucy reached out to touch the side of his face as his eyes locked with hers. "Doc, what is it?"

"I was just thinking about this." Kevin replied tracing the curve of her spine with his index finger as tingling sensations ran throughout her body at feel of his touch.

"You......you don't regret this........do you Doc?" Lucy began catching her breath as she was suddenly struck with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. "You're not having second thoughts about us or the fact that we made love just now, are you?"

"Lucy making love to you and holding you like this is something I could never regret." Kevin began kissing her tenderly as he drew her in nearer to his body. "My only regret is that I didn't try to work things through with you sooner. When I think of all the precious time I've wasted....."

"All that matters now is that we're together again." Lucy replied raising her finger to his lips to silence him. Kevin kissed her delicate fingers as he pulled her lips to his in another heated kiss. After they had parted, she gazed into his deep brown eyes and explained. "Now that we've put the past behind us, we can spend our time concentrating on more important things...like building our future together."

"Lucy," Kevin started stopping her as she leaned in to give him another kiss.

"What?" she questioned in confusion as he took her hand in his.

"You're forgetting about something here." Kevin reminded her seriously as he brushed her hair from her eyes.

"What could I possibly be forgetting?" she questioned unsure of what Kevin was talking about.

"You forgot about Scott." he explained not wanting to think of the issue, but knowing that it had to be brought up sooner or later.

Scott took one last round around the party before deciding that Lucy must've taken off on him. He decided that wherever she went had to have been linked to Luke Spencer and he wasn't going to leave until he discovered what Lucy was up to. As he started off across the ballroom his eyes cast a glance over at Eve, who had just finished dancing with Victor Collins. He knew the he should be concentrating on finding Luke or Lucy, but at the moment something drew him into Eve.

"Hey long time no see," he called out moving to her side as he caught up to her.

"Scott, I didn't expect to see you again tonight." Eve replied wondering why they kept bumping into each other.

"Well, actually I'm looking for Lucy." Scott confessed noticing the look of hurt on her face as he mentioned Lucy's name.

"I haven't seen her. You of all people should know that I'm the last person Lucy would come talk to." Eve responded taking a step in the opposite direction.

"I know that." Scott began catching up to her and grabbing her arm. "Actually that's not why I came over to talk to you."

"So what did you want then Scott?" Eve questioned turning around to face him.

"How are you Eve?" Scott asked with a nervous grin.

"I thought we already covered this earlier." Eve replied coolly wondering why he kept pursuing her.

"Well, we did, but there's so much that you and I still need to talk about Eve." Scott began wishing there was some easy way to deal with the issue at hand.

"Look Scott, I appreciate the gesture and I do agree that we should talk sometime, but Chris is waiting for me out front, so I have to go." she answered coolly walking towards the exit as Scott remained motionless watching her leave.

"Looks like you've lost your way with the ladies Baldwin." A voice called out as Scott turned around to find Luke Spencer approaching him with a smile on his face. "Come to think of it, you never did have too much luck with your women did you? Of course tonight would be a record for you though wouldn't it? First Lucy, then the sexy Dr. Lambert."

"Stifle it Spencer! You know I've had about enough of you tonight." Scott snapped in anger as he swung his fist at Luke.

"Hey slugger slow down," Luke replied dodging Scott's punch.

"Where the hell is Lucy?" Scott asked in a rage.

"If you'll just calm down, then maybe we can talk about this like adults." Luke suggested with a chuckle realizing how much fun it was being able to get Scott worked up after all the time that had passed.

"Kevin, you have to try some of this. It's heavenly." Lucy exclaimed eating a spoonful of the chocolate moose that was there for them at the table as she glanced over at him sitting on the ground with the green tattered blanket across his lap.

"I'd rather sit here and watch you." Kevin admitted leaning back admiring every contour of her body as she took another bite.

"You know, I'm being serious here." Lucy insisted picking up the chocolate moose and a plate of fruit sitting next to it as she moved towards Kevin. "Victor and Luke went through all this trouble to make sure we had a nice time, so not letting all of this food go to waste is the least we can do to show our appreciation."

"Well, if you insist." Kevin smiled as she snuggled in underneath the blanket next to him.

"Oh I do Doc." she grinned reaching for a grape and bringing it to his mouth as he took a bite. "How's that?"

"It's good." Kevin replied watching her dip her finger in the bowl of chocolate moose and bring it to his lips. He took her finger in his mouth savoring the sweetness as she lowered herself to remove the remaining chocolate off of his lips with her mouth.

"How was that?" Lucy questioned in a whisper as she crawled into Kevin's lap.

"Even better." he smiled looking into her bright eyes as he reached out to brush her hair from her face. "You know, you're very good at what you do Lucy Coe."

"That's good to hear because I've got plenty more where that came from." she announced leaning forward to kiss him once more.

"That's not what I was referring to." Kevin replied struggling to keep his mind focused.

"Oh?" Lucy questioned with a frown. "So just what were you referring to Doctor Collins?"

"I was referring to your incredible ability to ignore topics of conversation that you don't feel particularly comfortable talking about." Kevin explained with a sigh. "Although I must admit that I'm enjoying this little distraction very much, you never did answer my question about Scott."

"You never asked me a question about Scott." Lucy reminded him innocently fluttering her eyelashes as she looked at him.

"Lucy," he began in a warning tone.

"Oh alright, I remember you possibly maybe for a brief second mentioning his name earlier." she shrugged shaking her head as she thought about it. "Oh Doc, why'd you have to mention him right now?"

"Because it was bound to come up sooner or later Lucy." Kevin explained realizing that the timing wasn't exactly the best as he noticed Lucy frown. "We couldn't keep sweeping that important issue under the rug all night."

"Why not?" Lucy questioned picking up another piece of fruit and feeding it to him. "You and I could indulge in each other's fantasies until the morning light, then worry about the real world later."

"As much as I'd like to do that Lucy," Kevin began in between bites, "I just can't."

"Kevin Collins, why do you always have to have such a one tracked mind?" Lucy muttered in frustration as she plopped down onto the floor next to him. "I was trying to block out everything that happened in the past now that we're here together."

"I understand that Lucy, but the fact remains that Scott thinks you two have a future together." Kevin continued feeling a stab in his chest as he remembered walking in on Lucy and Scott making love. "You made love to the man and you're living with him."

"Kevin, I already told you." Lucy began staring at him. "Making love to Scott was a stupid mistake and I know that now. I love you and I only want to be with you. Why can't you see that?"

"Lucy, I believe you." Kevin whispered touching her face realizing how upset she was getting. "It's just that I think Scott has a right to know what you've decided."

"I'll tell him everything tomorrow." Lucy replied with tears in her eyes thinking of how she was going to break the news to Scott that she and Kevin were back together again. "I promise."

"Lucy, don't cry." Kevin began seeing the tears in her eyes. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, it's not you." she sniffled as Kevin wiped her face. "It's me. I was just thinking about what a mess I've made things for everyone. I've hurt you and Serena, and now Scott. I'm such a horrible person and it's just so amazing that I'm still lucky enough to have you by my side after all I've done."

"Lucy, we've all made mistakes and sooner or later we have to deal with them, but they don't make us bad." Kevin insisted pulling her into his arms. "I'll be the first one to admit that I'd change what happened if I could."

"You know Doc, I'd like to say the same, but........" Lucy trailed off looking up at him with a half smile. "........if things hadn't happened like they did, then you and I wouldn't be here right now making up like this."

"Well, we did need this." Kevin agreed with a smile. "It was long overdue."

"You're telling me." Lucy laughed suddenly realizing that she and Kevin were still alone in the middle of the storage building as she reached for another grape. "Here have another one honey."

"It's good," Kevin began tasting the fruit as he drew her nearer to him, "but there's something much sweeter that I'm craving right now."

"Oh, well maybe I can help you with that problem." Lucy chuckled as she slid underneath Kevin.

"I'll bet you can." he replied in a whisper as he lowered himself to kiss her again. "I love you."

"I love you too Doc. In fact, let me show you just how much." Lucy whispered wrapping her arms around his neck as she suddenly felt something sharp jab into her leg. "Ouch!"

"What's wrong?" Kevin asked in a panic sitting up quickly. "Why do I suddenly have this feeling of deja vu like maybe a crate is going to be dropped on my head or something?"

"Something just poked me." Lucy replied reaching underneath the blanket and pulling out the plastic sword from Kevin's costume.

"As I was saying," Kevin began reaching for the sword with one hand while rubbing her leg with the other, "maybe we should get rid of this thing before it hurts someone."

"I must admit that's a mighty sword you have there Dr. Collins." Lucy laughed watching him toss it across the room towards the fireplace.

"You haven't seen anything yet Ms. Coe." he replied mischievously as he pulled her into his arms.

Chapter 9
Close Calls

The morning light slipped in through the cracks around the wooden panels hinged to the windows as Lucy rolled over to her side. She slowly opened her eyes and let out a yawn as she stretched out feeling her toes escape from under the blanket. She curled her feet back under the blanket as she spoke.

"Oh, I had the most wonderful dream last night." she breathed stretching once more as her eyes slowly focused on her surroundings and she noticed the crates next to her. She rolled onto her side and realized Kevin was laying next to her sleeping.

"Oh my God, it wasn't a dream." she thought to herself as she felt Kevin's arm around her and watched his chest rise and fall with each breath he took. With a smile, she leaned over his sleeping figure and gently kissed his sweet lips causing him to awaken.

"Mmmm," Kevin moaned wrapping his arms around her torso as she playfully nibbled on his lower lip. He opened his eyes and smiled at her as the feeling of sheer bliss washed over him. "Good morning."

"Hi Doc," she replied snuggling against him while softly rubbing his chest, "did you sleep well?"

"Better than I have in a couple of months." Kevin confessed with a sigh as he closed his eyes enjoying the feel of her in his arms for a moment before speaking up again. "I must admit though that I like being awake much better."

"Is that so?" Lucy questioned raising an eyebrow as she noticed the mischievous grin on Kevin's face. "Uh-oh, you're up to something aren't you?"

"Who me?" Kevin asked innocently as his hand slipped underneath the blanket.

"Doc?" Lucy questioned feeling his fingers trail along her lower abdomen until suddenly she burst into laughter. "Doc, stop that! That tickles."

"I know." Kevin chuckled turning her over as he rolled on top of her.

"Doc," she squealed as Kevin continued to torture her. She squirmed around until she felt the position of Kevin's hand shift slightly and she looked up at him with wide eyes before kissing him once more. "Oh Doc."

"I thought we could use a morning pick me up." Kevin explained planting feathery kisses along her neckline.

"Good thinking," Lucy whispered breathlessly holding onto Kevin when she suddenly heard a clicking sound from across the room. "Doc, what is that?"

"Lucy, I think you know what this is." Kevin replied moving to kiss her once more as she abruptly sat up causing him to land face down on the floor.

"No, not that." Lucy insisted as Kevin regained his composure. "I heard something."

"Lucy, you're paranoid." Kevin began sitting up and reaching out to her once again when the clicking noise grew louder.

"See, I told you I wasn't making this up." Lucy pointed out realizing that the noise was coming from outside the doorway as she locked eyes with Kevin in a panic. "Oh God, someone's coming in here."

"This early in the morning?" Kevin questioned as he noticed the door knob slowly turning.

"Oh God, what are we going to do?" Lucy asked in a panic scanning the room for her clothing. "Doc, we can't let anyone find us in here like this. Where are my clothes?"

"I think I threw them over by the fireplace by mine." Kevin admitted hearing muffled voices from behind the door.

"I'll just go get them before......." Lucy began as the door swung open and her jaw dropped in horror. She turned to Kevin feeling her heart pounding as she realized they'd soon be getting company. "Too late."

"Lucy," Kevin began to protest as Lucy yanked him down underneath the tattered green blanket with her. "What do you think we're doing?"

"Hiding, now shh!" she insisted covering his mouth with her hand as she listened to the sounds inside of the room.

"I still can't believe we got stuck with clean-up Felicia." Mac announced as he followed Felicia into the storage building. "I mean it wasn't even our idea to throw this party."

"Mac, we were doing it for a good cause." Felicia reminded him as she carried the boxes of left over decorations inside.

"Yeah, well maybe next year, someone else will offer to do all the clean-up." Mac grumbled placing down the heavy box on one of the crates. "I still don't see why Luke wouldn't come out here himself and take care of things."

"Honey, who's to question what Luke Spencer does?" Felicia began setting her box down and moving towards Mac. "The only thing that matters is that enough money was raised for a the new pediatric wing in the hospital."

"You're right." Mac agreed wrapping his arms around her as he looked into her bright eyes. "Have I ever told you lately how much I love the sparkle in your eyes when you feel passionately about something?"

"Not lately, but if you want you can tell me again." Felicia replied as Mac kissed her.

"I love so much Felicia." Mac whispered when he suddenly felt something squishy underneath his feet. "What the...?"

"What's wrong?" Felicia asked watching Mac take a step back as she noticed the green mush underneath his foot. "What is that?"

"It looks like they were grapes." Mac decided glancing over the room. "You know, is it just me or does it look like someone was here recently?"

"Who would want to spend time in here?" Felicia questioned wrinkling her nose as she looked at the dusty crates surrounding them.

"Look at this." Mac pointed out moving towards the other side of the room. "There's a table set up with champagne glasses and geez, would you look at this? The fireplace looks like it's been used recently."

"Well maybe one of the workers came out here last night on their break." Felicia suggested as Mac held up the crystal glass in hand.

"To drink champagne?" Mac questioned skeptically. "I don't think so."

"Well, whoever it was obviously left and we should do the same since Maxie gets out of her dance lesson in a half an hour." Felicia reminded him checking the time. "What do you say we put these boxes in the back room then take off?"

"It sounds like a plan Mrs. Scorpio." Mac agreed as the two disappeared into the back room.

"Did you hear that?" Lucy questioned popping out from underneath the blanket. "Mac and Felicia are here."

"Yes I noticed." Kevin replied rubbing his side as he noticed the look on Lucy's face. "In fact, how could I not notice when everytime you thought they were approaching us, you jabbed me in my ribs?"

"I'm sorry about that Doc, but we have to get out of here before they find us like this." Lucy explained making a mad dash for their costumes.

"Lucy, we could always wait for them to leave before me make our secret exit out of here." Kevin suggested as his black shirt hit him in the face.

"Not a chance. I don't want to spend another minute locked up in this place." Lucy insisted slipping into her catsuit as she glanced over at Kevin. "Not that spending the night here with you wasn't absolutely heaven in every sense of the word, but....."

"I know Lucy. Say no more." Kevin replied slipping into his pants as she finished getting dressed.

"How do I look?" she questioned straightening out her hair.

"Well, other than not having any new makeup on and maybe this," Kevin began walking over to her and zipping up the top of her costume, "you look perfect in every way."

"Gee Doc, you always say the nicest things." Lucy smiled touching the side of his face as she heard footsteps in the distance. "Now let's go."

"After you." Kevin replied as she took his hand and made a beeline towards the door.

"I still can't believe how close that was." Lucy began letting out a relieved sigh as Kevin drove down the road. "Could you have imagined what it would've been like if Mac and Felicia would've seen us there like that?"

"Well, it certainly would've been more than they bargained for." Kevin agreed thinking about the encounter.

"You're telling me. I mean Felica and I have shared just about everything together, but that's one thing I don't think she'd have appreciated bearing witness to especially under those conditions. I mean, she and I've seen each other through some crazy times. Like the time when we had way too many margaritas and somehow I got Mac's name tattooed on my butt, when I was trying to surprise you." Lucy rambled on.

"I was surprised." Kevin reminded her with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but that wasn't the effect I was searching for." Lucy insisted remembering Kevin's amusement when she had showed it to him. "Of course, I was completely mortified, but not you. You said that you loved it."

"Well, having another man's name on your behind was a shock to me, but then again most everything about you has that kind of effect on me." Kevin admitted with a smile. "Plus, anything on you looks good on you, even if it's a Mac tattoo."

"Oh Doc, you're just the sweetest man." Lucy began tilting her head to look at him. "I just love you so much."

"I love you too Lucy." he replied squeezing her hand as he drove down the road. "So now what's on the agenda?"

"Um, gee, you know I didn't really think about it." Lucy confessed with a frown as she thought things over. "I suppose I should make a trip over to Scott's place later on."

"That sounds like a good idea." Kevin began checking the time. "Actually, I have to be at the hospital in about an hour and a half."

"Can't you take the day off?" Lucy questioned brightly. "We could spend the day together catching up on everything."

"I thought we covered that last night." Kevin teased with a smile.

"Well, last night was just the beginning," Lucy insisted swatting him lightly, "but seriously you know what I mean. Sigmund is just dying to play in the pond by the lighthouse with all of his little friends and I can't wait to see Victor again. There's so much I want to say to him."

"You and me both. Actually, I really have to work on some of the files stacked up on my desk, but I promise you that tonight we could pick up where we left off over dinner perhaps." Kevin suggested thinking it over.

"That sounds good." Lucy agreed leaning back in her seat as she listened to the music on the radio.

"Great, then dinner it is." Kevin replied turning at the intersection as he thought about the future in store for him and Lucy. His thoughts drifted to Scott and he shifted in his seat uneasily as he cleared his throat. "So should I take you over to Scott's place?"

"Actually," Lucy began clenching onto her stomach, "I'm hungry since we were rushed out so early this morning. What do you say we get a bite to eat?"

"Breakfast does sound good." Kevin agreed pulling into the parking lot and shutting off the car.

Kevin and Lucy entered the half empty restaurant and took a corner booth in the back of the place as they began to glance over their menus. Suddenly from out behind their menus, they heard a person clearing their throat as they looked up to see Mac standing before them.

"Hello Mac. How are you this morning?" Kevin greeted him brightly as he tossed his menu onto the table top.

"Pretty good." Mac smiled turning to look at Lucy. "Hey I'm surprised to see you two out and about together this early in the morning."

"Oh well, Kevin and I just decided to get a jump start early this morning." Lucy explained forcing a smile.

"It looks like you didn't make it to bed at all last night." Mac replied noticing that they were wearing their costumes still. "You're really into the Halloween festivities, aren't you?"

"Well, you know, it only comes around once a year and you've got to make the most of it, right Kevin?" Lucy questioned with a smile as she nodded in Kevin's direction.

"Oh absolutely," Kevin agreed catching on. "It gives you a chance to express your inner selves freely for a while. It's kind of a way to relieve the stress of everyday living from time to time when you put yourself into another character."

"Huh? I never knew that." Mac shrugged looking back at Felicia and the girls sitting at the table as the waitress took their orders. "Well, I just wanted to say good morning to the two of you and say that it's good to see you together like this."

"It feels good to be together like this." Lucy added giving Kevin's knee a squeeze underneath the table.

"Well, I'll let you two get back to ordering." Mac decided taking a step away from the table.

"Tell Felicia that I said hello and that I'll call her later." Lucy called out waving in the direction of Felicia and the girls.

"It was nice seeing you again Mac." Kevin said as Mac walked away from them. "See, it wasn't so bad. You looked almost mortified for a second there."

"Well, I just thought that maybe......." Lucy began with a sigh. "Oh nevermind, I guess I was just jumping to conclusions again about....."

"Oh, I almost forgot," Mac called out approaching the two of them again. "Lucy you left your tail in the storage building and oh, here Kevin, here's your sword."

"Thanks Mac." Kevin replied quickly watching Mac walk away as Lucy's face turned a bright shade of red.

Chapter 10
Moving Forward

Chris Ramsey stepped into the living room to find his roommate Eve Lambert sitting in her chair staring out blankly into the morning. He walked into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of coffee and grabbed a bagel off of the counter as he approached Eve.

"Good morning Roomy." Chris began cheerfully taking a seat in the chair across from Eve, noticing how tired she looked. "You know, if I didn't know better I'd say you had a rough night last night."

"Well, a lot of things didn't go as planned for me." Eve confessed thinking about how Kevin had mysteriously disappeared to talk with Garcia.

"I believe it, but hey look on the bright side, fate did pull us together, didn't it? I mean who would've thought that Neil would've ended up getting sick and that Courtney would have to leave like that? Plus even when Kevin left you like that, the evening wasn't a total loss considering that we both had each other to spend the evening with." Chris added brightly noticing the crease in Eve's forehead as she remained silent obviously not listening to a word he had to say. "Eve, what is it?"

"I'm worried about Kevin." Eve confessed as she glanced over at Chris. "It isn't like him to just take off like that without saying good-bye and Victor was rather vague as to his whereabouts. All Victor mentioned is that Kevin rushed off to talk to Garcia."

"Hey babe, don't sweat it." Chris began walking over to the couch and taking a seat beside her. "I'm sure that Dr. Collins can take care of himself. He is a big boy afterall."

"I know Chris, but it's just odd that he left to investigate like that without telling me about it considering that I'm the prime suspect in this stupid General Homicide case ever since Julie was acquitted." Eve frowned again as she took a sip of her lukewarm coffee. "I just thought that Kevin and I were going to work together to prove my innocence."

"Eve, no one in their right mind would convict you of the crimes because you're obviously innocent." Chris reminded her as he placed his arm around her shoulders and she leaned against him. "You just have to keep cool and wait for this all to pass."

"I know what you're saying Chris, but Victor said that Garcia needed to talk to Kevin about a big lead in the case and it just doesn't make sense that he wouldn't at least tell me about it before taking off like that." Eve insisted dwelling on the issue as Chris lifted her chin to look in his eyes.

"Eve, right now the only thing that you and I need to worry about is making sure that our alibis stick now that Baldwin sold us out like that in the courtroom." Chris explained seriously. "That's going to cause a wrinkle in the path to our freedom."

"Chris, Scott did what he had to do." she explained sitting up and gazing out the window for a moment before speaking again. "He did what he had to do for his daughter's sake. Serena needed him and he couldn't let her down."

"Eve, he sold you out. When are you going to see that?" Chris insisted trying not to let his irritation show.

"You don't understand Chris." Eve began standing up and pacing around the room. "Scott had no other choice. He couldn't perjure himself like that on the stand. There was just too much at stake."

"And our lives weren't at stake?" Chris questioned in disbelief raising his voice a bit as he spoke the words. "Eve, when are you going to realize that Baldwin's never coming back? He's sleeping with Lucy now and he wants nothing to do with you."

"Chris, I don't want to be hearing this right now." Eve insisted looking out the window as she thought of her encounter with Scott the previous evening.

"Eve, Baldwin doesn't deserve your love." Chris began standing behind her and reaching out to her. "He left you and in his eyes you're nothing but something he may feel guilty about from time to time. You need someone who's going to love you like you need to be loved Eve, and it's not Baldwin. Face it, the only reason that Scott was trying to talk to you last night was because he was trying to rid himself of the negative feelings that he was having about himself at the time."

"Of course it couldn't have been because he wanted to talk to me." Eve snapped turning around to face Chris with tears in her eyes. "It's not like I might actually mean anything to him, right Ramsey? He couldn't care about such a meaningless little soul like mine, huh?"

"Eve, all I'm saying is why do you want to allow yourself to be a doormat for a man who could care less about you?" Chris questioned in concern as he decided to give it to her straight. "Eve, Scott doesn't love you anymore and I have doubts as to if he ever did, so when are you going to get over it?"

"I don't believe this." Eve muttered trying to fight back tears as she pushed her way past Chris. "You really know how to make a girl feel bad don't you Ramsey?"

"Where are you going?" Chris questioned watching her retreat towards her bedroom.

"I'm getting ready for work now because I think I've had enough of the pep talk for the day Chris." Eve replied slamming to door behind her as Chris took his seat back on the couch.

"What did I say?" he questioned to himself as he took a sip of her coffee.

Lucy Coe entered the firehouse after having a wonderful breakfast with Kevin. She thought of the magical evening that they had spent together and realized how desperately she had longed to have it last forever. She closed her eyes and remembered the feel of his strong arms around her as she nestled into him and she knew in her heart what she must do.

Lucy closed the door behind her and took a deep breath realizing that she had no idea how she was going to break the news to Scott considering that he was under the impression that the two of them could have some kind of future together. She set her cat tail on the back of the couch and realized that the last thing she wanted to do was hurt the man who had been one of the best friend's she had ever had in her life, but in her heart she knew that Kevin was the man that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, and Scott needed to know that.

"He just has to understand." Lucy whispered to herself as she looked around the living room. "Scott? Serena? Is anyone home?"

Lucy walked into the kitchen expecting Scott to be standing in front of the stove making tall piles of pancakes for Serena, but instead she was greeted with the emptiness of kitchen with the cool morning air blowing inside from the window. She glanced over at the table and noticed a white envelope sitting in the middle of it. She noticed her name on it and realized that it was a letter from Scott. She tore open the envelope containing a note and read it to herself outloud.

"Hey Luce, sorry that I missed you this morning, but I had to take Serena over to the hospital for one of her routine checkups. We should be back later this afternoon and I can't wait to talk to you considering that you disappeared like that without any warning, but I'm sure you've got a good reason for taking off like you did. I just wanted to let you know that I missed you when you didn't return." Lucy paused as she thought of how she had abandoned him in her attempt to help Luke, which ultimately brought her back to Kevin, "When I came home last night, I spent a lot of time alone just thinking about things and I've realized that we really need to talk about us. You see I started thinking............well, it's probably best if we discuss this over dinner tonight. I'll see you soon. Love ya, your pal. Scott."

"Oh how am I going to do this to him?" she questioned setting down the piece of paper as she looked around the kitchen. She shook her head and stepped into the living room determined not to work herself into a tizzy over this until she had to.

"You'll just have to find a way to distract yourself until Scott gets home." she began looking around the living room. She noticed one of Serena's handheld video games on the coffee table in front of her and she picked it up determined to keep her mind occupied when it dawned on her that the batteries were missing.

"Well, I guess this blows that idea. Now what?" she thought to herself as she tossed the game across the room. The more she sat still, the more she realized that she was going to stress herself out. She drew in a deep breath when an idea suddenly popped into her head.

"I'll go tell Ellen about what happened last night. I'm sure that she'll be working and I just know that she'd love to hear that Kevin and I made up like we did, of course I won't give her every little detail, but the highlights would be just as exciting." she decided feeling the excitement returning to her as she raced to the door only to stop herself realizing that she was still wearing her costume. With a laugh she walked towards the stairs and thought outloud. "I guess I should probably get out of this thing before I go see her. I don't know how I'd explain this one."

Kevin entered the lighthouse thinking about his evening spent holding Lucy close to him and he realized what a fool he had been to believe that he could go on living a normal, happy life without her by his side. The more he pondered it, the more he realized going through the motions of day to day wouldn't be considered a life at all without Lucy in it.

"Victor, are you home?" Kevin called out thinking about his father's deviousness as he set his jacket down on the couch. He realized that he wanted to have a word with Victor and with a smile he searched the house only to discover that Victor was nowhere to be found. After a few minutes Kevin returned to the living room only to discover the answering machine light indicating that there was a message.

"Hi Monk," Victor's voice rang out as Kevin began thumbing through some mail from the previous day before getting ready for work, "I'll bet you've got a few choice words to say to me about last night....."

"You can say that again." Kevin muttered unbuttoning the top of his shirt as the message continued.

"........but before you get angry about me deceiving you, just think about how much you and Lucy needed that time together....."

"Well actually," Kevin began with a smile remembering the feel of Lucy's body pressed to his.

"No need to thank me now," Victor's voice rang out happily, "because seeing you and Lucy together again and happy is good enough for me. All I've ever wanted is for you to be happy son and I just knew that you wouldn't find happiness until Lucy was back in your life again."

"You have no idea how right you were." Kevin sighed checking the time and realizing that he could hop in a quick shower before work if he hurried.

"I know you well." Victor added as if he had heard Kevin's remark. "Since I'm assuming that you and Lucy will have some serious, oh how should I put it, catching up to do, I figured that I'd take this opportunity to spend the day at the cineplex since they're having a James Bond film festival. Oh and I also made a point of running out to that market down the road and I brought back some of that cheesecake that Lucy enjoys so much. She might appreciate it after a long day of.......well, you get the idea. Anyways, you two just enjoy yourselves and we'll talk later."

"Thanks Victor." Kevin laughed as he made his way down the hall towards his bedroom and gazed at his reflection in the mirror before taking off his costume. "I guess that Lucy and I needed that more than we knew."

Eve sat at the nurse's station in between seeing patients as Chris's words circulated in her mind. She closed her eyes trying to dismiss the thought that Scott didn't care about her at all. She thought of the way he had approached her so many times at the Halloween party eager to talk to her about things.

"Quit thinking about this or else you'll drive yourself crazy." Eve ordered herself as she looked at the patient's chart in front of her. "You don't have time to dwell on it. Duty calls."

"Hey Eve," a voice called out to her as she turned around to see Scott approaching her.

"Scott," she replied stopping dead in her tracks as he stood before her, "what are you doing here?"

"Serena had her follow up appointment today." Scott explained with a smile. "She's in the lab right now and they should return her to me any minute now."

"How did everything go?" Eve questioned with concern as she tried to ignore the pounding in her heart as she looked at Scott.

"Everything seems to be progressing nicely." Scott replied noticing how beautiful she looked standing before him. "So how are you?"

"Oh busy, you know the usual doctor stuff." she explained holding up the chart in her hand.

"Yeah, I'll bet." Scott replied uneasily as the stood in silence for a moment. "Listen Eve, about last night....."

"Scott, there's no need to explain." Eve interrupted not wanting to relive the experience over again. "I understand that you're happy with Lucy now and it's none of my business."

"No, Eve, you don't understand. That's not what I wanted......" Scott trailed off thinking of how to put it. "You see I started thinking last night and........"

"Eve!" Serena's voice shouted as she rushed over to her. "Boy am I glad to see you!"

"Hey girlfriend." Eve replied giving her a hug. "Oh it's so good to see you again. It's incredible to see you running around like this."

"Well, the doctor says that I should take it easy, but soon I'll be able to do everything like before the accident." Serena explained smiling brightly. "In fact, I've even been working on a few new dance moves."

"Oh I'd love to see them sometime." Eve replied watching Serena strike a pose before her.

"Well darling I'd love to show you, but an artist doesn't perform just anywhere." Serena explained in her best snobbish voice.

"Hey Madonna, what did you do with my little girl you?" Scott questioned taking her up in his arms and tickling her.

"I'm just teasing." she chuckled looking back at Eve. "Actually, I'd like it if maybe the two of us could work on some new moves together before I put on a show for everyone."

"I'd love that Serena." Eve replied with a smile realizing how much she missed the little girl.

"Great, then it's settled, you can come over for dinner tonight and we can work on the dance moves, then Lucy can help with our costumes and make up." Serena suggested brightly as she clapped her hands together. "When we're ready to put on the show, daddy and Kevin can be our audience. Wouldn't it be great since it's been so long since we've all gotten together like that? What do you say?"

"Well, I think that you should probably ask your father before you start planning a big party like that." Eve replied forcing a smile wishing things were that simple.

"Can we daddy?" Serena questioned with wide eyes as she turned to Scott. "I promise I'll even help straighten up the house."

"Well, Serena I just don't think that it's a good idea right now." Scott began uneasily not knowing how to explain it to his daughter.

"How about we go out to lunch to talk it over?" Serena suggested brightly as she turned to Eve and whispered. "I know that you can convince him if anyone can."

"Honey, I don't think that Eve is free for lunch right now because she's working." Scott explained clearing his throat.

"We can wait for Eve." Serena informed him as she turned to Eve. "You'd like going to lunch with us wouldn't you?"

"Serena, I'd love to go with you, but........" Eve trailed off not knowing what to say.

"We have to go see your grandmother little lady." Scott added quickly. "Remember we promised her that we'd go tell her how your check up went when we were finished?"

"Aw dad, do we have to?" Serena questioned wrinkling her nose. "I'd rather spend some time with Eve right now."

"Do you know how hurt your grandmother would be to hear that you didn't want to come visit her?" Scott questioned nudging Serena. "It would break her heart."

"Oh alright daddy," she sighed reluctantly as she thought it over, "but does this mean that you'll consider us all having dinner together tonight."

"Serena, I just don't think that it's a good night for that." Scott began uneasily.

"Why not?" Serena asked in confusion. "I thought that everyone was getting along again."

"Well, we are but......." Scott trailed off locking gazes with Eve for a brief second.

"Actually Serena, I have a lot of work to do tonight, but I promise you that you and I can go out to lunch later this week if you'd like. We could go out for ice cream and you could show me your dance moves then if you'd like."

"Well," Serena paused thinking it over for a moment before a smile crossed her lips, "alright it's a deal."

"Great." Eve smiled as Serena leaned forward to give her a hug as Eve and Scott locked gazes once more being only inches from one another as he held onto Serena. She closed her eyes for a moment and felt his warm breath upon her before pulling back. "Well, I'd better go check on my patients, but I promise you that I'll call you this week Serena."

"You'd better." Serena replied placing her finger in the air for Eve to pinkie swear.

"I will girlfriend and then maybe we'll even go shopping." Eve suggested with a smile.

"It's a deal." Serena agreed cheerfully as Eve glanced over at Scott.

"Good-bye." Eve said lowering her voice a bit as she turned down the hall and slipped into a patient's room.

"Daddy, you still like Eve a lot don't you?" Serena questioned noticing how her father's gaze followed Eve as she walked away. "You two aren't fighting because Lucy lives with us now are you?"

"You know Serena, sometimes grown-ups act strangely and there's no explanation for why they do what they......" Scott started thinking of a way to explain things to Serena.

"It's okay dad. You don't need to explain it to me. I know it's complicated." Serena sighed tossing her hair across her shoulder.

"Complicated? Where'd you learn a word like that?" Scott questioned in amazement at her vocabulary.

"Grandma taught it to me." Serena explained point blank. "I heard her talking to Grandpa the other day and she said, 'things between Scott and Eve are quite complicated right now with Lucy in the picture again'. I think that's how she put it, but I can't quite be sure."

"I see." Scott said thinking it over trying to find a way to respond. "Hey what did I teach you about eavesdropping?"

"Victor says that it makes you a great spy." Serena informed him with a smile.

"Yeah, well Victor's not always the sharpest knife in the drawer." Scott muttered noticing the confused expression on her face. "No matter, what do you say we go see Grandma now?"

Lucy slipped her cell phone back into her purse and walked down the halls of General Hospital eager to tell Ellen her good news. She felt as if she was walking on air as she made her way towards Ellen's office. She began humming a tune to herself as Ellen stepped into the hallway ready to leave her office.

"Ellen, oh boy am I glad that I caught you here." Lucy called out smiling at her friend.

"Lucy, I was just about to call you." Ellen explained turning to face her.

"Oh Ellen, I have so much to tell you." Lucy beamed as she noticed the serious expression on her friend's face. "What is it?"

"Why don't we go sit down in my office for a few minutes?" Ellen suggested reopening her door as Lucy followed her inside.

"Ellen, I was so excited this morning that I just had to rush over here and tell you my news. Last night at the Halloween party, the most incredibly amazing thing happened and I wish that I could've told you sooner, but as fate would have it I was a bit tied up, but now that I'm here I can't wait to tell you my news. Last night was one of those magical experiences that you think can only happen once in a lifetime if you're lucky and everything just became so clear to me. You see it all started when Luke Spencer came to visit me in my hotel room the other day......."

"Lucy I would love to hear your story," Ellen began interrupting her as she looked at the folder sitting on the top of her desk, "but right now there's something that I need to tell you and it's very important that you let me get this out. I was going to tell you at the Halloween party last night, but when Matt and I arrived you were no where to be found..."

"Well, that is what I'm trying to tell you." Lucy interrupted excitedly. "I wasn't at the party becase Luke arranged for me to run into......."

"Lucy, please let me finish." Ellen insisted with a hint of seriousness in her voice. "It's important."

"Ellen, what is it?" Lucy questioned disturbed by her friend's response.

"Lucy, the results came back from the tests I ran on you the other day when you passed out." Ellen began seriously. "As I was saying, I was going to talk to you last night at the party, but no one knew where to find you...."

"That's what I was trying to tell you." Lucy explained with a smile trying to reveal the details of her night once again as Ellen frowned. "You see I left the party because I....."

"Lucy please. I think that you'd better take a look at this and see what I've found." Ellen insisted watching Lucy's face as she handed her the test results.

Kevin walked out of his bedroom with his briefcase in hand ready to start another day at work as he thought of counting down the hours until he would see Lucy again. He decided that the night was going to be special and he would do all that he could to make everything perfect for her when she arrived back at the lighthouse again. He reached for his jacket and noticed the answering machine blinking once more indicating that there were three messages waiting for him, so he decided to check the messages before he left.

"Hey Doc, it's me Lucy. I know that you're probably on your way to work right now, but I just wanted to call you and remind you how much being with you last night meant to me. I love you Doc and I'm looking forward to being with you again tonight after I settle everything with Scott. I can't wait to finally bring Siggy home to his daddy again. I love you so much and I just thought that you should know." she finished making kissing noises before she hung up.

"I love you too Lucy." Kevin smiled thinking back to waking up to her beautiful face as the realization sunk in that after the day was through, he would be able to spend the rest of his life waking up to her by his side as the next message began to play.

"Kevin, hey it's Eve. I was just calling to see what happened to you last night when you disappeared from the party like you did. Victor was rather vague as to your whereabouts and I was starting to worry since I hadn't heard from you, so I just thought that I'd call to see if you were alright." she explained quickly into the machine. "Oh well, it looks like I missed you. I guess that I'll just catch you later at the hospital then."

Kevin checked the time realizing that he may be able to catch Eve at home before she left for her shift considering that she had been working some strange hours lately. He had picked up the phone and began dialing her number when the third and final message played on the answering machine.

"Lucy Coe, this is Ali Walker from General Hospital calling to give you your results from the lab the other day." an unfamiliar voice began as Kevin set down the phone headset and listened to the message.

"She hasn't moved in yet, and already the messages are beginning to pour in." Kevin chuckled as he scanned the coffee table looking for something to write down the message for Lucy as he heard the words that stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Ms. Coe, once again I just called to confirm that your pregnancy test results came back today as positive. Please call me back at 555-2589 if you have any questions..." the machine cut off as Kevin fell back into a chair as the words sank in.