Devolution TOC

Chapter Sixty-Four

Emily was up and dressed by 7:00AM, but she had spent the last twenty minutes fixing her eyes, trying to disguise the puffy redness that betrayed her crying fit the night before. First, she smoothed some foundation over the red-rimmed lids, but it just emphasized their puffiness. Then, she smoothed on some dark brown eyeshadow to the result that she looked like one of the undead with her pale skin tone accentuating the ghoulish aspect of her heavily made up eyes. Finally, she gave up with a loud, exasperated sigh and ran down the back stairs straight to the kitchen. Cook took one look at her and prepared several cucumber slices for Emily to take back to her room.

Now, Emily was lying on her back on her bed with the cucumber slices carefully arranged over her messed up eyes. After about ten minutes, there was a soft knock at the door. That better not be Monica, she thought crossly as she jerked up off of the bed and threw the cucumber slices into the trashcan. She flung open the door with a scowl, and was surprised to see her grandfather standing there with a smile.

"Good, you're ready," he said with satisfaction. "Let's skip the family breakfast this morning and head on over to the buffet at the Port Charles Grill. I'll drop you off at school after we're done." Edward held out his arm, and Emily laughed and grabbed it with her left hand as her other hand reached for her purse. "Oh,Grandfather, you're a lifesaver," she said, smiling. She had been dreading the Alan and Monica style inquisition at the breakfast table this morning.

~*~*~*~

Emily munched happily on a big piece of bacon while Edward slathered lots of maple syrup onto his butter-encrusted pancakes. Edward set the aluminum pourer back onto the linen tablecloth and sighed happily. "It's nice to eat a big unhealthy breakfast with no doctors or food police at the table," he said. Edward took a big slice out of his pancake stack and waved his fork at Emily. "Eat all the pork you want while you can," he tittered. "It goes straight to the waistline after age twenty-five," he grimaced, patting himself on the stomach.

"I loooove bacon," said Emily as she rolled her eyes dreamily. "Cook never fixes it. Too plebian for the Quartermaines I suppose."

Edward snorted and nodded as he stuffed more pancakes into his mouth. His face turned serious, and he looked at Emily with caring eyes. "Emily, I wanted us to have a private breakfast so we could talk about Lucky," he said. Emily's face tightened, and her mouth scrunched up, ready to attack. "And, don't get yourself into an upset, my dear. This is to be a pleasant conversation," he ordered.

Edward took a large sip of his coffee before continuing. "Emily, you know that Lila has been disabled for quite some time," he said matter-of-factly. Emily's eyes softened, and she nodded slightly. "Some people in this world have mistaken notions," he said plainly. "Not to shock you, my dear, but at one time, some of my country club cronies had opinions about my private life." Edward's face pulled into a disgusted expression. "They felt that it was time for me to abandon the wife of my heart, and find myself a chippy, a trophy wife. They thought I should be just like them. Marriage is forever," said Edward. "Oh yes, there are the ups and downs and problems, but you stay loyal," he declared. "Loyalty is an important quality in life." He stared at his reflection in a silver spoon. "When everything else comes and goes, loyalty - and love - stay."

Edward reached over the table to gently take Emily's hand. "Honey, what I'm trying to say to you is that I admire your loyalty to Lucky Spencer. He is having problems right now, but you've been very loyal to him. If you want to obtain your college education at PCU, then you have MY blessing," he said. "I'll pay for your schooling wherever you want to go. Just keep up those straight A's," he admonished sternly, waving the spoon in her direction as he frowned. "And if you decide you want to go to a wonderful graduate school, later on, I'm sure your PCU degree will be adequate."

Edward squeezed Emily's hand. "I love you, Emily. I want you to be happy. And for now, Lucky makes you happy. You know your mind and your heart. I trust you to make good decisions for yourself. And, you have your old grandfather in your corner." Edward released Emily's hand and smiled at her.

Emily looked at Edward with her mouth slightly parted in shock. All of a sudden, she recovered, rose from her chair and bent over to hug and kiss her grandfather on the cheek. "Thank you," she said with a huge smile and an appreciative heart.

~*~*~*~

9:16AM

"Hi, Tony," said Kevin cordially as Tony joined him outside of Lucky's hospital room.

"Thanks for calling me last night," said Tony. "I appreciate it. How's he doing this morning?" he asked, pointing at the closed wooden door.

"Much better," replied Kevin. He chuckled. "Lucky picked the wrong physician to mess with. Ian Thornhart won't put up with escaping patients. Throws them over his shoulder and hauls them back in."

"I can't believe that," said Tony with a wide smile. "But, hey, we'll take our breakthroughs where we can get them. What's going on with him physically?"

"Apparently he did have a negative reaction to the neuroleptic he was on. We've removed that from his meds and are watching him carefully to make sure his psychotic symptoms don't return. So far, so good. I think Lucky's little extracurricular excursion did him some good. He does much better when he feels he has control and freedom - although I wouldn't necessarily recommend that course of action for all of my patients," said Kevin dryly. "He is still hooked up to a cardiac monitor and needs to be in the step-down unit for a day or two until we're sure he's out of the woods. He came close to sustaining permanent heart damage and is still weak from the exposure he suffered outside."

"Will he be going back to the locked unit when he recovers?" asked Tony. "It seems like that's the source of his latest problems."

"We'll see how he does these next few days without the neuroleptic," stated Kevin. "If he maintains well, I'd consider allowing him to go to an acute psychiatric unit with fewer restrictions. That would be my preference."

Tony stroked his chin. "Kevin," he said. "Would it be okay if Lucky's brother Nikolas visits him? He's been anxious to see his brother and was asking about him. He seems responsible. Actually, he's the new CEO of GH, our boss," he laughed.

"Are the two brothers on good terms?" asked Kevin with concern. "I recall that Lucky's visit with Nikolas a few months ago resulted in a relapse of his drinking."

Tony nodded. "The two worked it out later. They had a long talk and even exchanged Christmas gifts. Lucky seemed happy about visiting with him."

Kevin nodded. "Then it might be helpful for him to see a new face since he's been so cooped up this past month. He needs to know that he has multiple people pulling for his recovery."

"I have one item I'm starting to worry about," said Tony resolutely. "Insurance."

"Oh, don't remind me," said Kevin in a disgusted tone of voice, shaking his head. "My secretary is great at dealing with these insurance companies, but it becomes more difficult every year. Lot's of red tape."

"Tell me about it," Tony commiserated. "I have acute head trauma patients that the HMO's try to have treated by a primary physician. We have to fight hard sometimes. Lucky has the standard GH health insurance from his job. He's on disability now, but his psychiatric benefits for the year should start running out soon - within the next month I think."

"Well, there are several options," stated Kevin. "I'll have my secretary start researching them."

Tony nodded. "Thanks, Kevin."

"He will need to be hospitalized when we start delving into his trauma issues. He's not likely to be able to handle himself well during that period. It's for his safety and the safety of others around him." Kevin grew excited and changed the subject. "Did you know that statistically PTSD is the most expensive psychiatric illness to treat?" he asked.

"You're such a geek, Kevin," said Tony with a snort. "Okay, I'll bite."

"There are usually substance abuse, physical or psychosomatic illnesses like Lucky's ulcer, and a host of other mental illnesses all wrapped up into one," stated Kevin. "They make challenging cases."

"Yes, your favorite, I'm sure, Dr. Geek," teased Tony.

Kevin grinned and nodded his head. "You're right," he said sheepishly.

~*~*~*~

Nikolas walked through the GH hallways, looking with a confused frown at the signs on the wall. He was trying to find Lucky's room. He had just left Kevin's office after a ten-minute discussion with him regarding the shoulds and shouldn'ts of his conversation with his brother. He repeated those instructions to himself as he roamed the halls. Now, I shouldn't bring up Lulu or Emily unless he does, and then I keep the conversation general. Okay. And same goes for Laura. Um…his dad, I don't remember, did Kevin say anything about him? Nikolas stopped outside of Lucky 's door with a worried look on his face. What if he won't talk to me, what do I do then. Oh, damn.

Nikolas pushed open the door and smiled when he saw that Lucky appeared to be asleep with his bed raised high at a 45-degree angle. But, he felt worried about the monitor connected to his brother and the pale, sunken look that his face had. Maybe he isn't as well as they led me to believe, he wondered. Nikolas took a seat and placed Lucky's guitar on his lap. He sat there for a minute and drummed his fingers lightly on top of the guitar.

"I'm not asleep," said Lucky, startling Nikolas out of his daydream. Lucky grimaced with discomfort and tried to adjust his position on the hospital bed. "I can't sleep with the bed this way."

"Why do they have it raised up?" asked Nikolas curiously.

"To prevent me from getting pneumonia," replied Lucky. "You brought my guitar," he said with a small smile.

Nikolas looked down at the guitar in his lap, and rose to hand it to Lucky. "I thought you might enjoy playing it," he said.

"Yeah, that'd be nice," agreed Lucky. "They won't let me watch TV, but I can't keep any personal items here, either. Someone might steal them. I get bored." Lucky looked sad and frowned as his fingers stroked the guitar longingly.

"I'd be happy to bring it with me every time I visit," offered Nikolas. "You can play it, then I'll take it with me and keep it for you in my office."

Lucky nodded and looked over at Nikolas gratefully. "It's a plan."

"How are you feeling?" asked Nikolas.

A dark cloud passed over Lucky's face. "Not well," he admitted. He turned his face away from his brother in shame. How do you tell your brother that you are totally confused and hear voices in your head? "I decided I'd try to cooperate and get better, so maybe that will help some," he said softly.

Nikolas felt uncomfortable and looked down at his hands. "Will you play me a song, Lucky?" he asked. "I like to hear you play."

"Only if you sing," Lucky teased. Nikolas laughed lightly. "I'm serious," said Lucky. "What do you want to sing?"

Nikolas shrugged and cleared his throat. "Oh, Lucky, I don't know," he hedged. "I'm no singer."

"There must be something you know how to sing," Lucky insisted.

"I never listened to pop or American music on the island growing up," protested Nikolas. "And I never really got into it after living here."

"Didn't you say you used to go to Catholic school for a year when you were a kid," said Lucky with an amused expression on his face.

"Yes," Nikolas laughed. "Until I got beat up by a nun, ran home bawling to Stefan, and he pulled me out the next day. I was a big baby, but then that nun was pretty mean. She smacked the hell out of my hands with her ruler. She said I talked too much and studied too little." Nikolas shook his head and unconsciously rubbed his hands.

"I can play Ave Maria," Lucky suggested. "Why don't you sing along?"

Nikolas gave a small smile. "I think I can do that," he said, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was near enough to hear him.

Lucky started strumming the guitar strings, warming up his fingers. "Okay, here goes," he said as he played the opening chords. Nikolas closed his eyes, and began singing a beautiful baritone rendition of the song. Lucky's eyes opened widely at the sound of his brother's voice. After he finished the song, he clapped his hands, and Nikolas opened his eyes with an embarrassed laugh.

"Where did you learn how to do THAT?" asked Lucky incredulously. "It was like this classical opera voice coming out of your mouth."

"Singing lessons," said Nikolas. "You know, Stefan, Cassadine honor and tradition, that whole mess."

"Okay…." said Lucky. "Next we need to teach you to sing rock and roll," he grinned.

"Never," sniffed Nikolas.

~*~*~*~

Tony bit into his Big Mac sandwich and promptly reached for a wad of napkins to clean the squishing condiment mess off of his hands. He looked into the play land nearby and smiled as he watched Lucas and Lulu playing.

"Those two act like they've always been together," he said to Bobbie.

Bobbie reached for a French fry and nodded in agreement. "Lucas has always been lonely for a playmate," she said. "He has a lot of energy. Not too much fun playing by himself."

"Lulu seems to be well adjusted despite the ordeal with her mother," remarked Tony.

"She was examined by a doctor and a psychiatrist before she came here," stated Bobbie. "She didn't suffer any physical abuse except for Laura smacking her around too much. And, she told the psychiatrist that Mommy gave her medicine to sleep every night. So, she wasn't aware of her mother's business," said Bobbie with a frown. "She slept through the night because Laura drugged her. But, it wouldn't have been too long before she'd have been molested, I'm sure. We did the right thing in pursuing custody when we did."

Tony continued watching Lucas and Lulu and rose quickly from his seat when he noticed Lucas playing roughly with Lulu. "Looks like it's time for Dad to get on Lucas," he groaned. As he walked for the door, he broke out into delighted laughter. "Look at that," he directed to Bobbie. Lulu reached out and pushed Lucas onto his butt and stood there glaring at him with her little hands on her hips. "I forgot we'd adopted a Spencer," he said, shaking his head.

"Lucas, Lulu, come here, now," he ordered. The two children stopped their fight and walked slowly over to a stern looking Tony. "What?" asked Lucas in a soft, petulant voice.

"Do you two want to continue playing here?" asked Tony.

Both kids nodded wordlessly.

"Then I expect you to find a way to get along, and no pushing, shoving or name calling," he said, boring his eyes into the kid's and holding the gaze for emphasis. "If you don't behave, then we're going home, and no more McDonald's for a LONG time. Do you understand?"

Lucas and Lulu's heads bobbed yes.

"Then go have fun and play," said Tony as he closed the door and returned to the table.

"You'd better listen to my dad," said Lucas seriously. "He means what he says." Lulu looked at Lucas and smiled. "Let's go play on the slide," she suggested, running full force to the blue plastic playground.

~*~*~*~

Lucky sat on his bed, peeling off the wrapper of the candy bar that Nikolas had brought him. He bit into the peanut brittle with satisfaction. He wasn't allowed to have chocolate because of the caffeine, but this was great. He munched contentedly as his mind wandered. He felt happy as he recalled his visit with Nikolas. It was so good to see him, and he loved playing his new guitar.

Lucky kept hearing quiet whispering, and he frowned as he looked around the room and even under his bed in fear and confusion. He placed his hands over his ears, but that didn't stop the persistent sound. Gradually the sound grew louder and more distinct. Lucky could make out the words. He trembled in terror and wanted to jump out of his bed and flee the room. He instinctively moved his legs over the side of his bed but stopped. He recalled his promise to Ian and Kevin. He would stay and work on his problems. He wouldn't run.

Lucky tucked his legs back under the blanket and made a decision. He pushed the call button for the nurse. When the nurse walked up to his bedside, Lucky said in a tense voice. "I'm upset and I need to talk to Dr. Kevin Collins." He gripped his hands tightly around the edge of his blankets and didn't look directly at the nurse. He started sweating and shaking. The nurse noticed his emotional state and replied, "Okay, hon. I'll page your doctor. You hold on. He'll be here in a minute."

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