Lifelike

Chapters 51 - 60

Photogrpah of Sonny,
Chapter Fifty-Five

Chapter Fifty-One

"No, no, no, no. Not Luke. Oh God, no," Laura whispered as tears began streaming down her face. Ria snapped out of her reverie and flew over to the staircase as Elizabeth helped Nikolas up and a stricken Lucky kneeled next to his father. He caught Ria's eye, held it for a moment, and they both looked away. Ria took Lucky's cell phone and dialed a phone number.

"This is VG8275. Aus2317, please... Aus? We have one dead and one seriously injured inside the Cassadine compound... Yes, inside... I'm here with NI-K27, SF- K15, Hell-RK08, LVW-BS2, LL-S1, LL-SJ3, and an Elizabeth Webber... Oh, yeah, SV- K12, but he's dead now... AUS! Shut up and get me some help here! I think Luke's dying! ... Yes, that Luke! ... Thank you!" Ria shut the phone, and knelt down next to Lucky. "Help is on the way."

Laura couldn't move. She just sat there in the chair, whispering the word "no" over and over again. Stefan put a hand on her shoulder.

"Laura?" he asked softly. She flew out of the chair and turned to face him.

"Don't touch me! This is ALL your fault! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!" Laura screamed. "You STOLE my son and kept that BASTARD of a brother of yours ALIVE!! How DARE you! And NOW!" Laura hwas growing hysterical. "Now! Because of YOU! Luke might be dead." Laura's voice cracked. Her hand flew to her mouth as soon as the last word left her lips. She sank to the floor, her face in her hands, sobbing. She felt someone put their arms around her.

She glanced up and saw Nikolas.

Chapter Fifty-Two

"Yo! VG! Where is he?" a loud Australian voice yelled.

"It's about damn time!" Ria mumbled. "Aus! We're in here!" The man hurried in ansd stopped dead in his tracks.

"Good God! I thought you were exaggerating." He pulled out a transmitter and barked a few orders. Within a second, three paramedics were in the room. "Get him on a strecher and get him to a hospital NOW!" Aus commanded.

"Wait a second, man! Who the hell are you and where are you takin' Dad?" Lucky cried. Aus looked at Lucky and laughed. He glanced at Ria.

"God save us; it's another Luke!" Aus cried as Ria laughed.

"Lucky, don't worry, he's, um, a friend," Ria said.

"Is anyone else hurt? I mean, besides the dead-again Stavros over there?" Aus asked, gesturing towards Stavros' body, which was being taken away.

"Nikolas, are you hurt?" Ria called. Aus glanced over as a dark-haired boy glanced up. The boy's shirt was bloody, and it was getting on the woman's shirt.

"No, this- this isn't mine," Nikolas replied sadly.

Laura closed her eyes tightly in an attempt to block out her thoughts.

"Still, I'm going to make you go just in case, OK?" Nikolas glanced at Ria. She smiled sadly and gave him the "OK" sign. Nikolas whispered to Laura that he was going with Luke. Laura nodded silently.

"Now, VG, where's Hell-RK08?" Aus asked. Ria's eyes widened and she looked around the room in a panic.

"Oh my God! Aus, you better as hell have people on Luke and Nikolas! Because if Helena-"

"Helena won't try anything," Laura interrupted her daughter quietly.

"What?"

"Lucky, give me your phone," Laura asked wearily. She dialed a number. "This is Laura. Where is Helena?... Thank you." Laura hung up the phone and handed it back to Lucky. "She's on her private yacht on her way to Russia. We probably won't see her again for a while."

"Laura Spencer! I never knew you had it in you!" Aus commented. Everyone but Laura looked at Aus as if he was insane. Laura froze, her eyes widening. She stood up and stared at Aus, smiling slightly through her grief.

"Robert?"

Chapter Fifty-Three

"How do you know Aus?" Ria cried.

"He was Luke's best man at our wedding..." Laura's smile faded as her emotions swung back and forth; she swallowed her sadness.

"Hold on a minute here!" Lucky shouted suddenly, making Elizabeth, who was sitting next to him, jump.

"Thank you, Lucky," she said dryly, touching her ear.

"Sorry, Elizabeth. Mom, how-" Lucky caught sight of Stefan. "What are you doing here? This is Spencer family business which just happens to be happening on your island. Why are you here anyway?"

"I found out that Laura had returned to the island in the company of my brother and-"

"Oh, and I guess ya thought maybe by luck my parents had a other kid you could pass off as your own, huh?"

"How dare you!" Stefan raged.

"Me? I'm just telling the truth!"

"Cassadine, I suggest you make yourself scarce while my associates come in to clean up this mess, all right?" Robert interrupted.

"Fine." Stefan replied, turning on his heel and stalking away.

"Your associates? What are you, in the Organization, or something?" Lucky asked. Robert laughed.

"No."

"Ria, how do you know this guy anyway?" Ria glanced at Robert in a panic.

"Uh..."

"Lucky, you and um, Elizabeth, is it? You and Elizabeth should probably go to the hospital just to get checked up." Lucky sighed.

"Okay, Mom." He grabbed Ria's elbow. "Keep an eye on her for me and Nik, okay?" he whispered. Ria nodded.

"Straight down that hall and out the front door. There's another emergency vehicle there." Robert called. Lucky nodded as he and Elizabeth walked of their sight.

Laura watched them walk away. She turned to Robert and Ria.

"Robert, why the hell is my daughter a WSB agent?" Laura asked, trying to keep herself from yelling.

Chapter Fifty-Four

Ria and Robert stared at each other. They nodded simultamneously.

"How did you find out?" Ria asked.

"It's not that difficult. You know how to use a gun; you wear disguises regularly; as soon as Luke was shot, you called Robert, who you called by a code name, as well as us and the Cassadines; do I need to go on?" Ria winced a bit. Then she realized something and turned to Robert.

"You told Luke, didn't you!" It was more of a statement than a question.

"He asked me to get as much information on you as possible, so I did;" Robert replied sheepishly.

"Luke knows you're alive?" Laura said.

"Yeah. He's been keeping an eye on Robin and Mac for me. But, uh, speaking of Luke, do you guys want to leave for the hospital?" Ria glanced at Laura, who had closed her eyes as everything came back to her again. Ria nodded to Robert and they helped Laura through the door.

Chapter Fifty-Five About twelve hours later, back in Port Charles......

A tall, young girl with straight, silky, black as night hair and midnight blue eyes sauntered into Luke's Club. She walked straight up to Mike Corbin, who was watching the place while Luke was gone. She flashed him a brilliant smile.

"Excuse me, but can you tell me where I can find Michael Corinthos? I hear he's called Sonny." The girl handed him a recent candid photograph of Sonny. Mike looked the girl up and down. He handed back her the photograph.

"He left town a while ago. Sorry." The girl raised one eyebrow and gave Mike a skeptical look.

"Uh-huh. Well, in that case, can you tell me who's running this territory?"

"Sure. Jason Morgan. Everybody knows that."

"And where does he live?" Mike sighed. "Look, if you don't want to tell me, arrange a meeting since you obviously know them."

"Excuse me?" a gruff male voice interrupted. Mike and the girl turned in unison to see Sonny.

"Sonny?!" Mike cried in shock. The girl looked at Sonny.

"Sonny Corinthos, I presume?" she said.

"Yeah, who wants to know?" The girl pulled herself up to her full height and looked Sonny dead in the eye.

Without warning, she pulled her right arm back and punched Sonny across the face.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Laura."

"Why, hello, Helena. I expect Russia is lovely this time of year."

"It is, my dear, I can assure you of that. Now, Laura, we have a small matter to discuss-"

"I assume you're reffering to the Cassadine lineage."

"Yes. Since your secret is out in the open. Are you going to put mine there? If you recall, I kept my end of the bargain."

"Yes, but, I tire of our bargain. Perhaps I should just tell everyone," Laura mused.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wouldn't I? Listen, Lena, I've got a new bargain for you. You testify that Stavros drew first at my daughter's trial, and I let you off the hook."

"For how long, Lasha?"

"Two months after the trial ends. Do we have a deal?"

"Do I have any choice?"

"If you want the entire world to know that the Cassadine heirESS is -"

"Fine. You have a deal." Laura smiled.

"Lovely talking to you, Lena."

"Lasha, how is Luke?"

"As if you don't know, honey."

"Fine, Laura. If that's how you want it to be."

"That's how I want it to be. Goodbye, Lena."

"Goodbye, Lasha."

Chapter Fifty-Six

The girl caught Sonny completely off-guard. He nearly fell onto Nikolas and Lucky, who had just walked in. Nikolas helped him up.

"Are you okay?" Nikolas asked. Lucky caught a glimpse of the man.

"Sonny!" Sonny glanced at Nikolas and Lucky strangely. Nikolas in Luke's Club alone was weird, but Lucky was with him?!

"Hey, Lucky." Sonny turned to the girl. "What the hell was that for?"

"Don't you recognize me, Michael? Oh yeah, that's right, I'm supposed to be dead." Sonny looked even more confused.

"Who are you?" The girl just shook her head at him. She reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope.

"Maybe this'll jog your memory." She replied, handing him the envelope before walking out the door.

Sonny stared at the envelope. Lucky and Mike exchanged a look. Nikolas watched as the girl left.

Ria drove up to the Hardy house in Nikolas' black jag convertible. She honked the horn once and the door opened. It was Sarah.

Ria raised an eyebrow as Sarah walked swiftly towards the car.

"Hello Ria."

"Uh, yeah, hi. Sarah, isn't it?" Ria asked.

"Where's your French accent? Or was that just a ploy to steal Nikolas?"

"Excuse me?"

"I know your type, Ria Dubois. You came to town just to steal MY boyfriend! I'll have you know that I won't stand for it!" Ria bit her lip so she wouldn't burst out laughing.

"Let me get this straight. I flew all the way from France to this town just so I could steal Nikolas away from you and date him."

"That's right. I'm on to you!"

"Uh huh." Ria replied, seeing Elizabeth racing out of the house.

"Sorry I'm late, Ria. Sarah, what are you doing out here?" Elizabeth asked, hopping into the passenger seat. Ria started the car.

"Oh, and Sarah?" Ria began. "It might just be this way in France, but where I come from, you don't date your brother." Ria smiled and sped off, leaving Sarah standing there in the street.

Sonny stared at the envelope for a long time. Slowly, he opened it and pulled out a single photograph.

It was of a teenage boy with black hair and eyes staring sullenly at the camera next to him was an adorable six-year old with black pigtails and big, dark blue eyes and a huge toothless grin on her face. Sonny's eyes widened.

"Nina!" he gasped.

Chapter Fifty-Seven

"Who was that?" Mike asked. Sonny just kept staring at the photo as if he were in a trance.

"Hey, Sonny!" Lucky snapped his fingers in front of Sonny's face.

"Huh? Sorry. Anybody see where she went?" Sonny asked.

"She turned right as soon as she left the club," Nikolas offered. Sonny looked at Nikolas strangely again.

"Thanks." Without another word, Sonny ran out of the building.

Nikolas and Lucky looked at each other.

"I have a feeling that I'm going to be getting a lot of those looks," Nikolas sighed.

"What are you doing in here anyway?" Mike asked.

"Long story, Mike." Lucky glanced at Nikolas. "Do you think Dad would tell him?"

"How would I know? It's going to get out soon anyway."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"What are you talking about?" Mike asked. Lucky glanced around the empty club.

"Okay, condensed version," Lucky said. "Mom had twins when she was on the island. The girl was supposedly dead, but it turned out that she's been living in France. She came to town. We found out that Stefan had had a paternity test done on Nikolas, but we decided to have one done anyway. Nikolas and Ria, that's his twin, are actually Dad's kids and Stefan knew and lied to Mom."

Mike's jaw dropped.

"And then Stavros, who Helena kept alive, kidnapped Laura and Ria, but Luke, Lucky, Elizabeth, and I went after them. Ria pulled a gun on Stavros after he slapped Laura, he pulled one. He turned and shot towards where the rest of us were standing and Ria shot and killed him," Nikolas continued.

"Stavros' bullet hit Dad," Lucky finished.

"Nina!" Sonny cried, grabbing her arm.

"Wow, your logical skills astound me," Nina replied drily.

"What are you doing here?" Sonny demanded. Nina laughed, seeing the rapidly appearing bruise on Sonny's face.

"I nailed you, boy," she remarked touching his face before begining to walk away.

"Eponine Maura Corin, I asked you a question!" Sonny cried.

"What am I doing here? Just wanted to let you know that, sorry, I'm not dead. Your little scheme failed!" Nina cried.

"I never tried to kill you, Nina," Sonny replied.

"Oh, come on, Michael. You had my father killed. You KNEW I was with him! You KNEW!" Nina cried.

"No, I didn't!"

"I was six years old! My mother was dead. Who else would I be with?!?!" Nina sighed. "You really need to think once in a while, Michael. Stupidity doesn't work well with you."

"Nina, I didn't mean-"

"Save it, okay! I don't feel like hearing your excuses. But remember this, Michael. I survived a hit before. I can do it again. So don't try anything." Nina stalked away.

"Nina!" Sonny sighed at the retreating figure and walked back towards Luke's.

Elizabeth ran inside Luke's Club to get Lucky and Nikolas. She flung open the door and smiled at the sight of Lucky, talking excitedly with Mike and Nikolas.

Instinctively, Lucky turned his head, smiling as he caught sight of her. Elizabeth sat down next to them.

"Hey guys. Ria's waiting outside," Elizabeth announced. Mike glanced at Nikolas and Lucky.

"THE Ria?" Mike asked.

"Yeah..." Lucky trailed off as he caught sight of Ria rushing inside in a panic.

"What happened?" Nikolas asked. Ria froze a few feet from the table, her eyes going a mile a minute.

"Laura called." Her voice shook. "Stavros' bullet punctured Luke's kidneys." Her voice broke and a few stray tears meandered down her cheeks. "If he doesn't have a transplant soon, he's going to die." Ria's hand covered her mouth and she began to cry; a feeling that all of this was her fault began to seep into her soul.

Elizabeth and Nikolas stared at each other, frozen in place, unable to reach out to Ria.

Lucky stared in front of himself, frozen completely.

Sonny walked in the door. He saw the dark haired girl, not much older than Nina, not much younger than Robin, standing alone, crying. He saw Elizabeth, Lucky, and Nikolas frozen in horror.

Without thinking, he walked up to Ria and pulled her into a hug.

She collapsed against him, crying.

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Ria cried for about a minute before she regained her composure. She pulled away from Sonny and took a shaky breath.

"Are you okay?" Sonny asked. There was something about this girl that he was instantly drawn to. Ria glanced up at the complete stranger, almost taken aback by his handsome features.

"Yes. I- I'll be all right. Thank you."

'No problem." Sonny gave her one of his signature grins. Their eyes locked for a few brief moments before she looked away, towards her brothers, still in shock.

"Come on, you two. Nik? Lucky? We have to be tested for compatibility. Come on," Ria said softly, taking Nikolas by his arm and leading him out of his seat. She turned over her shoulder. "Liz, can you bring Lucky?" Elizabeth nodded mutely, staring intensely at Lucky. Something was not right with him. He didn't seem worried, he seemed thoughtful, trying to figure out what to do about something.

Sonny watched Ria and Nikolas leave, amazed by the wave of jealousy that came over him. What was he thinking? That girl was probably no more than twenty! And it was not like him to fall for someone so fast...

Laura collapsed into the armchair Bobbie had brought her. She held Luke's hand tightly. The doctors said he might wake up soon, and she wanted to be with him when he did. The door opened like a shot. Laura turned to see who was interrupting.

Helena stood there.

Luke's life was flashing before him in a blur. His parents' deaths... his strange childhood.... everything was like one large montage... then everything seemed to stand still, and Laura was there. He remembered meeting her; she wanted to work at the disco. His sudden feelings out of nowhere, the reason in his mind fading away: she was too young, she was married, she was nothing he could ever have... it was not like him to fall for someone so fast....

"Lucky?" Elizabeth touched his arm. Lucky suddenly saw her.

"Elizabeth."

"What's wrong? And don't tell me nothing's wrong, because I-" Lucky put his right index finger over her mouth.

"I don't know if I can go through with this," he said softly.

"With what?"

"Saving Luke. On one hand, it's my father. But then, it's the man who raped my mother. I- I just don't know."

"You might not even have to make that decision."

"Yes, I will. When we were tested for Lulu, the doctors said that Luke and I matched, but we didn't match Lulu. I can donate to him."

"Lucky-"

"I just don't know. I mean part of me is saying how can you give life to the man who violated your mother. But then, the other part is saying what's wrong with you? This is your father!" Elizabeth's eyes met his.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to have to find out which part is stronger."

"No." Lucky looked at her strangely. Elizabeth took his hand in hers. "You're going to have to decide if you can live with yourself if you just let him die. And I think you already know that answer, Lucky." Lucky stared into her eyes, his own filled with indecision. "Set aside your feelings of betrayal for a second. This is your father. He gave you life," she said gently, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "Now it's your turn."

Lucky squeezed her hand, tears springing to his eyes.

"Thank you." he said. Elizabeth smiled.

"You're welcome." Lucky looked at her and wiped away his tears before reaching across the table to wipe away hers. Suddenly, a realization came over him

He loved her.

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Laura stood up calmly, trying to determine what Helena was doing there.
"Hello, Helena."
"Laura," Helena said. Laura glanced at the woman sharply. Her voice had wavered just the slightest bit. Something was very wrong.
"What happened?"
"What? Nothing, you silly-"
"Cut the crap, Helena. Something's wrong. What is it?"
"There is no Natasha."
"You killed Alexis?!" Laura cried. Helena sighed.
"No. I mean, Kristen and Mikkos never even had a child!"
"What! Then, then who is the heir?"
"There isn't one." Helena replied.

Ria sighed, throwing herself into the nearest armchair, closing her eyes.
"What are you doing here?" A slightly familiar male voice demanded. Ria didn't even flinch; she figured it was someone she knew.
"I'm sleeping. Leave me alone."
"Get up and tell me what you're doing here!" Ria groaned and opened her eyes.
"I don't know, maybe I live here, brainiac!" she replied, standing up and finding herself staring straight into the eyes of Sonny Corinthos.

Chapter Sixty

"Whoa, what are you doing here?" Ria and Sonny exclaimed at the same time.
"You better answer me first, sweetheart, 'cause I don't take kindly to strangers in the living room," Ria said , annoyed to be caught off-guard.
"Lucky asked me to watch the house."
"That's funny, he didn't mention it to me!" Ria replied, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind one ear. She reached over and grabbed the phone.

Elizabeth stared at Lucky's cell phone ringing beside her.
"Spencer."
"Uh, no?" Ria replied.
"Ria?"
"Liz?"
"Okay good. Lucky's in surgery. He's donating one of his kidneys to Luke."
"Thank God." Ria eyed Sonny. "Listen, maybe you've heard of this guy-" Ria turned to Sonny. "What's your name?"
"Sonny Corinthos."
"Liz, have you heard of Sonny Corinthos?" Elizabeth began to giggle.
"Yeah, I kinda tried to sneak into his wedding, but Lucky caught me. You've met him. He's the one who was in Luke's today."
"And if I said he was standing in my parents' living room...?"
"I thought Lucky told him to watch the house or something." Ria breathed a sigh of relief.
"Okay, good. Thanks, Liz."
"No problem, Ria."
"Call me AS SOON as Luke and Lucky get out of surgery, okay?"
"Sure thing. Later."
"Bye." Ria hung up the phone. "Well, your story seems to check-- What? What is it?"
"You're Luke's daughter?" Sonny said, confused. Ria grinned.
"There something wrong with that?" She laughed. "I'm sorry! I have, like, no manners!" Ria outstretched her right hand. "Ria Dubois."
Sonny took her hand and kissed it.
"Sonny Corinthos."

Alexis Davis reached over the counter to grab the bottle of aspirin. No word from Helena in two weeks was too weird. Someone knocked at the door. Alexis sighed.
"Great. Here we go again," she mumbled. She opened the door.
"Hello, Alexis. How have you been?"
"Nikolas! What are you doing here?" Alexis exclaimed.

Elizabeth sat with Lucky's phone in her hands, staring off into space for a few minutes. She found herself recalling his last moments before surgery. When the anesthesia was beginning to take effect...
Elizabeth sat next to Lucky's bed, holding his hand and looking at him with concern.
"What? What are you looking at me like that for?" Lucky asked.
"It's just-- I've heard that this type of surgery is really painful." Lucky laughed.
"Lizzie, I've been shot, I've been paralyzed, I've been just about everything you can think of. This is nothing!" Elizabeth laughed.
"I take it you can feel the anesthesia?"
"Anesthesia... wasn't that a movie? No wait, that was Anastasia!" Lucky laughed and Elizabeth found herself laughing at him.
A nurse stuck her head in.
"Mr. Spencer? It's time for you to be taken to surgery."
"Don't worry, the anesthesia's kicking in!" Elizabeth said. The nurse smiled and ducked out to get someone to wheel Lucky into the OR.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Elizabeth said.
"O-kay. Bye-bye, Elizabeth. I love you." Elizabeth froze. Just then a male nurse came in and wheeled Lucky out. Elizabeth walked, dazed, over to the waiting area where she had been sitting until now.

Chapters 41-50 | Return to Lifelike Main Page | Chapters 61 - 67

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