It was early morning when he came upon his house. Ahead of him, the
sun began to rise and all around the birds trotted about the grass, searching
for their breakfast. Turning up the path, he hurried to the front door and
into the house. And he stopped.
    "Mom, dad. What are you doing here?"
The two looked up from the couch. He could see evidence of tears on his
mother's cheeks.
"Lucky, come sit down."   
He remained standing.
"Cowboy, I think you need to sit down for this." His father said gently.
Walking over to a chair opposite them, he collapsed into it. "What's this
about?"
    Laura glanced at Luke helplessly, so he spoke up. "It's about this
family, Lucky. About what has been going on these last few months."
Lucky straightened in the chair.
"We're no longer a family, Cowboy. You and I are still on rocky ground, I
understand that, but-"
"You don't have to say it, dad." Lucky's expression was hard, his gaze fixed
on both of them. "I get it. I know what's been going on with mom and
Stefan. Nikolas told me"
    His parents exchanged looks. Laura cleared her throat and spoke
softly.
"We've been talking all night and we've decided, Lucky, that it would be best
if we didn't see each other anymore."
    Lucky stood. "But you can't, I mean, you have to get back together.
Everyone knows you guys go together-you've been together forever." Tears were
springing into his eyes, but he tried to hide it through anger. "You're like
this amazing couple, you're Luke and Laura, you're my mom and dad."
"Lucky-" Laura started to stay, but her son shook his head.
"I'm not ready to talk yet, mom." Grabbing his jacket, he hurried out the
door.


    He walked around town for perhaps an hour. Through the park, by the
diner, down to the docks...Nothing his parents had said had really hit him
yet. He known about his mother and Stefan for awhile now, but he always
imagined that his parents would get back together.
    Now, staring at the water, he could feel the anger finally begin to
subside. That feeling lasted about a moment.
    Whistling and the sound of a heavy foot falling on the stairs caused
him to turn around. The whistling stopped abruptly as he saw whom the other
occupant of the docks was.
    "Lucky, what are you doing here?"
Lucky nodded at his brother in greeting. "I came here to think."
    Nikolas walked down the last few steps and towards Lucky. He peered
at his brother closely. He was being honest with him without any snide
remarks or comments. Something was wrong. There was something bothering
him.
    Clearing his throat, he stuffed his hands into the pocket of his
slacks and gestured towards the launch. "I was just going back home. Did
you want something to eat or drink? I know it's late, but it's the least I
can offer."
    Lucky looked up in surprise, about to make a remark, but decided
against it and shrugged. "Sure."
    They took the launch to Spoon Island, Nikolas leading the way inside.
    "It is late." Lucky finally said as they made their way towards the
kitchen. "Isn't Stefan worried?"
Nikolas shook his head. "Uncle knew that I'd be out late."
"Where were you?" his brother inquired.
He kept his response brief. "With Emily."
    Lucky raised an eyebrow and Nikolas sighed.
"Nothing happened, Lucky."
"Your whistling told otherwise." Lucky murmured, taking a seat. Nikolas
turned around, catching the grin on Lucky's face.
"Her family came." Nikolas explained, grabbing colas out of the refrigerator
for the two of them. "She's spending the night at Jason's." He set a can on
the table in front of Lucky. "She's fortunate that she has someone like
Jason to run to. Her family life isn't so great right now."
    Lucky avoided Nikolas' eyes, but Nikolas knew that there was
something wrong.
He leaned back in his chair and took a swig of his cola. "We're not the best
of friends, Lucky, but its not too hard to figure out that there's something
wrong."
"I don't want to talk about it."
Nikolas shrugged. "Fine."
"My family is falling apart."
    If it was any other issue, Nikolas would have laughed at his sudden
change of mind, but Nikolas knew how hard the subject of family was and he
leaned forward in his chair. "What?" He asked.
"My mom and dad, they're splitting up."
"I'm sorry."
Lucky looked up suddenly, his eyes glistened with anger. "No you're not." He
said subtly. "You're going to have it all now. While my mom and dad are
getting a divorce, you're going to be sitting here in your castle. And
you're going to have mom now, all to yourself. I bet that makes you real
happy."
    The can made a disturbing bang on the table as Nikolas straightened
in his chair. "She's a mother to both of us, Lucky, I thought we got past
all of that. But since we're being honest with each other, then yes. I am
happy that she'll be spending more time here."
    Lucky's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to speak, but Nikolas
rushed on. "You've known her your whole life, Lucky, and I'm just beginning
to. How can I help being happy that I have the two people I love most
together."
Lucky's laugh was dry. "Funny how one family has to split up to get another
together."
    Nikolas sighed, the fury in his voice gone. "I'm sorry about your
parents, Lucky, I truly am."
"Yeah," Lucky said, as he stood up and headed towards the door. "So am I."



    The woman's fingernails tapped on the desk in rhythmic pattern. Rap,
tap, tap. The oak desk was an antique, as all of the furnishings in the
house were. But this, this desk was precious. It held valuable information.
Rap, tap, tap. She smiled smugly to herself as she re-read the contents of
the file. Shadows cast by the dim light made the formal-looking typed
paragraphs hard to read, but two single lines were legible.

    Stefan Cassadine
Heirs: Nikolas Cassadine, son

Yes, the woman thought. It was valuable information indeed.

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