Chapters 8 & 9
GH2025.08 Lasting Impressions
Destiny sits at the bar in Lucky's tapping her foot in time to the beat of the loud music. "Hey Lucky! Can I get another tonic and lime?" The jukebox blast "My Girl" causing Destiny's foot to tap against the stool.
Lucky tosses her a grin. "Sure thing kiddo." He slides a tall glass to her. "So, where's your mystery man Mr. James?"
Checking her watch Destiny shakes her head. "I'm not sure, I called him and he said he would be here." She turns her speculative gaze on Lucky. "Why are you so interested in Rick?"
Lucky evades her question. "I'm just wondering what kind of guy gets you so worked up." He teases, causing Destiny to turn bright red.
She glares at him. "Do I look amused?"
Lucky leans over the bar and pretends to study her closely. "Hmm. . . amused? Not really, too thin, a little too much makeup for a kid, but no, upon close inspection, I don't think you look amused."
"Lucky Spencer, are you torturing my baby girl?" Lucy approaches the bar and shoots a mock glare at Lucky. "Why don't you do something constructive with your time like come and dance with me?"
In a heartbeat, Lucky is over the bar and twirling Lucy around the dance floor much to the delight of the assembled crowd. The music changes and the club bursts into laughter and applause as "Skills" comes on and Lucky breaks into moves unfit for a man his age, or any age actually.
Rick James walks into the club and takes in the scene before him. Seeing Destiny standing in a quiet corner of the club, he approaches her. "Hey, Destiny. Sorry I'm late."
The young woman turns to face him, a confused look on her face. "Excuse me?"
"You're not Destiny are you?" Rick asks realizing he'd approached the wrong woman.
"No, I'm Dominique." She offers her hand. "I take it you're a friend of my sister's?"
Rick takes Dom's hand. "Rick James."
"Ahh. The mysterious Mr. James who likes to pick up strange girls in airports. And I know my sister well enough to know just how strange she really is."
"A pleasure to meet you Dominique." Rick replies. "This is quite a party. Is Destiny here?"
Dominique cranes her head to one side. "She's here somewhere.
"Excuse me? Can I cut in?" A rude and quarrelsome voice interjects.
Dominique looks over Rick's shoulder. "Ian." She says flatly.
"Beat it pal. I need to talk to the lady."
"Rick James, this arrogant oaf is Ian Scorpio. Ian this is Rick James."
"Charmed I'm sure." Rick drawls. "Again, A pleasure to have met you, Dominique." Rick smiles and walks toward the bar. There, sitting on a tall stool, is Destiny. "Hey there Destiny!"
"Rick! You made it!" Destiny smiles radiantly at her new friend. "I thought you might have gotten lost."
"All I had to do was follow the noise." Rick jokes, taking a seat next to her at the bar.
"I guess it is a little rowdy in here tonight." Destiny hedges.
Rick looks out on the dance floor. "Who's that couple out there doing the Dirty Dancing?"
Des laughs. "The nubile sixty-something is my mother, and the hunka-hunka burnin' love is Lucky Spencer, owner of this establishment."
"So that's Lucky Spencer." Rick muses aloud.
"How do you know him?" Destiny asks curiously.
"Uh- I don't know him." Rick backpedals quickly. "I just wondered who the owner of this place was. The concierge of the hotel mentioned that his are the most popular chain of clubs since the Hardrock Cafe's."
"Yes they are. They're are all special, but this one, the first one that Lucky's father Luke started back in the 90's, is extra special to Lucky. To everyone I guess."
The music ends and Lucy joins an amused Kevin at their table. Lucky approaches Destiny and Rick. "See Des? I told you your mom can still cut one heck of a rug!"
"Gee Lucky! Mom almost outdid you!" Destiny teases.
"Bite your TONGUE brat!" Lucky hisses.
"Lucky Spencer, I would like you to meet Rick James. Rick, this is the one, the only, Lucky Spencer."
"Nice to meet you Rick." Lucky extends his hand, carefully studying the young man in front of him. "Hey Des, Em has got some brand new pictures of Leia and she is DYING to show them to you."
"New pictures of Leia?" Des' eyes open wide. "You know Lucky, Mom was thinking about a line of play makeup for little girls. . ." Her voice trails off.
"Think again, brat!" Lucky warns. "You ain't about to use my little girl like a guinea pig!"
"Fine!" Destiny huffs impatiently. "Rick? Will you excuse me? I need to go and see these pictures. It'll just take a few minutes."
"Go on. Rick and I can play a game of pool." He pauses. "That is if you want?" He asks sociably.
"Sure." Rick agrees. And he follows Lucky into the back room where the pool table is set up. "You've got a nice club here Mr. Spencer."
Lucky picks up his cue and chalks it. "Thanks. Call me Lucky, why don't ya'?"
"Okay Lucky." Rick amends. "I take it you know Destiny well?"
Lucky lines up his shot and sinks two balls at once. "Her mom and my parents were friends for a long time." He shoots again and misses. "My dad opened this club for blues you know." He says resting his chin on top of his hands observing Rick closely.
"But he liked all sorts of music. Especially funk." He walks over to the jukebox in the corner and punches a button and the funky sound of "Super Freak" fills the back room. "You know Richard, next time you choose an alias, try not to pick one so close to your name, and identical to a long dead rock star."
Rick misses his shot and the cue tears the felt. "Excuse me?" He tries to cover. "I don't understand."
Lucky sets down his pool cue and looks carefully at the young man before him. "It's been a long time, little brother." He walks toward Rick. "I think it's time we met. No aliases, nothing but one brother to another. I'm Lucky Spencer, and you are Richard Stefanovich Cassadine."
"How. . . how did you know?" Rick asks sinking onto the sofa.
"Well, when Destiny told me about catching a ride from a stranger in Paris, I thought it was just a little too coincidental that some stranger would just HAPPEN to be at the airport, and just HAPPEN to be going to Port Charles, and just HAPPEN to have enough money to rent their own plane." Lucky sits next to his younger brother. "Then I followed the money. You used your ATM card to withdraw a large amount of cash in Athens. Then you wrote yourself a big fat check in Paris. Renting each plane under a different name in a different city was a nice touch, but when I saw you, I knew who you were."
At Rick's confused look Lucky smiles. "Listen kid. You're talking to someone who spent most of his life inventing fake I.D's and giving people the slip. You're no match for me."
"I did some research in the library before coming here." Rick admits. "I found a little information about Stefan and Laura Cassadine. Nikolas and his wife. A picture of Lesley-Lu, but nothing really about you."
Lucky modestly buffs his nails on his shirt. "I'm the shy retiring type. If it's any consolation the family has agreed to give you a couple of weeks before declaring open season on you."
Rick stands. "That's no consolation. I don't want to be hunted. I came here for my own edification. To satisfy MY curiosity not YOURS. I'm out of here."
Lucky waits until he gets to the door. "You could do that." He says slowly. "But if you walk out that door, I will follow you, announce to all and sundry who you are and why you're here, and let the shit hit the fan and the chips fall where they may." He gestures to the door. "Go ahead. But I guarantee that you won't get past the bar before our family swarms all over you including the bully that is Nikolas. And if you think our mother or your father would be willing to let you go again, then you aren't as smart as I've given you credit for." Lucky pulls out an expensive cigar and lights it reverently. "There is another way though if you're interested."
Rick crosses his arms. "Go on."
"I'll give you a week. One week to get all nice and settled in Port Charles. Get a place to live, get a job, AND get a life. You'll need one when the Cassadine Clan comes knocking."
"Why should I stay here?" Rick challenges.
"Because it's part of the deal. You stay here in Port Charles, you give the family a couple of months, then you can decide whether to split or not."
"What do I get out of this?"
Lucky laughs. "Now you sound like one of us!" He walks to where Richard stands and the two men square off toe to toe. "What you get out of it is this. My own brand of intervention. When they start smothering you, I can usually get 'em to back down. But if you run, all bets are off. I'll hunt you down like a dog. This way you can have a little breathing room. But I mean it about the house and the job. If you don't have a place to live they'll move you into Wyndemere so fast you'll get whiplash. And a job gives you an excuse to get out of those oh-so lovely family broo-ha-ha's." Lucky holds out a hand. "Deal?"
"I don't see that I have any choice." Rick complains unhappily.
"Take it like a man, kid." Lucky laughs to soften the blow. "Come on, deal?"
"Deal." Rick shakes his brothers' hand, still unsure about what he's gotten himself into.
At the bar, Ian and Dominique are discussing some of the modifications Ian's made to Dom's security system. "I'll give you a list of the new access codes in the morning." Ian informs her imperiously.
"Why thank you so very much kind sir." Dom rolls her eyes at him. "Now I can come and go in my own home."
"No." Ian takes a long pull off the beer in his hand.
"What do you mean, no?" Dom asks sharply.
"You don't come and go without letting me or Grandpa know."
"How-" Dom carefully bites her tongue and reaches for her glass of iced tea.
"Feeling the heat princess?" Ian snipes. "And here I thought you were more frigid than those ice cubes."
Dominique glares at him and looks at her glass. She finishes the tea and in one swift move she pulls at the waistband of his jeans and dumps the remaining ice down the front of his pants. "Just call me the Ice Princess." She smiles sweetly before turning and walking away, leaving Ian to hop around trying to shake the ice cubes down his pant leg.
"OH MY GOSH! DID YOU SEE THAT?" Lucy's eyes go wide.
"What?" Felicia and Laura ask in unison.
"My sweet, darling, even tempered, loving daughter Dominique just dumped a glass of ice down Ian's pants."
"You've got to be kidding me!!" Laura cranes her neck to look. "He looks like he just got hit with a 2x4."
"What on earth possessed her?" Felicia wonders aloud.
"I don't know. But you can bet your sweet bippee that I'll find out." Lucy says determinedly.
Dominique strolls over to where Destiny, Serena and Evan stand mouths agape. "I'm tired. I'm gonna head out now." Dominique gives each of her sisters a kiss on the cheek.
"Uh-uh sweetheart." Serena grabs Dom by the arm. "You can't pull something like that and just waltz out of here." She says firmly.
Dom looks guiltily at Evan. "I am sorry, Evan. Ian and I just had words, and through no real fault of his own, he pushed some of the wrong buttons. It was immature and childish. Forgiven?"
Evan gives her hand a quick squeeze. "Of course, Dom. I know my son and if he's offended you then I'm the one that should apologize."
"Don't apologize for me, Dad." Ian says from behind the group. "I think Ms. Collins and I have a very good idea about where we stand now." He shoots daggers at her. "Goodnight."
"What do you think that was all about?" Kevin asks Lucy as the two watch from the sidelines.
"I don't know." Lucy responds. "But something's going on with all of our kids. Serena looks tired."
"Destiny is nervous and unhappy." Kevin adds.
"Simon seems so lonely. I'm worried about him." Lucy confesses.
"And I think we both agree that what just happened was not characteristic of Dominique." Kevin looks consideringly at them.
"Right. So Doc, whatta we do about it?"
"I'll talk to Serena, and Destiny." Kevin responds. "Des and I are supposed to have lunch tomorrow."
"Which means I talk to Dominique and Simon." Lucy muses. "I'll drop by Simon's early tomorrow morning."
Kevin smiles at his wife. "Poor kids will never know what hit them."
Lucy laughs and kisses Kevin. "They never do!"
GH 2025.09 The Morning After
The next morning at the Spencer home, Lucky walks out of the kitchen, a bowl of fresh popped popcorn in one hand and two glasses of juice in the other. "Hey Short stack, come on down or I'm starting without you."
"DADDY!" A small voice protests from upstairs. "Don't start yet!"
Lucky sets the popcorn and the juice down on the table in front of the television. Seconds later the thunder of small feet comes down the stairs. A small bundle of blonde energy flies into Lucky's arms.
"I'm here Daddy!"
"Okay Leia, so what's on this morning?" Lucky asks, settling his five year old next to him.
"First the new Barney movie." She says happily. "It's Barney Meets Elmo Part Ninety-Eight."
Lucky rolls his eyes. "Oh goody."
"Don't worry Daddy, after that is King Kong. I know it's one of your very favorites."
"You're a pretty good kid to let your old man have his way sometimes." Lucky kisses her forehead.
"And you're a good Daddy, cause you let me have my way all the time." Leia bats her long lashes at her father.
"So you're a good kid, I'm a good dad, and Mom is. . . "
"The Task-Master!" Leia and Lucky chortle delightfully.
"Hey! No fair!" Emily protests joining them. "I am NOT a taskmaster! And you two behave today!" She puts on her jacket and kisses Leia. "Watch Daddy carefully honey, he tends to get in trouble."
"Yes Mommy." Lucky and Leia respond meekly, then spoil the effect by laughing.
"I'll be back in time for our hot date." Em promises Lucky. "So Destiny promised to stay with Leia?"
"Yep." Lucky nudges his daughter. "And you know what that means. . . ."
"DRESS UP!" Leia's face lights up.
"Bye!" Emily shuts the door behind her.
"Let's get to it Shorty!" Lucky hits the play button on the VCR, and father and daughter snuggle close together.
The Firehouse. Dominique Collins rolls out of bed moving slowly. She stretches and goes into the bathroom. Turning on the hot water in the shower she selects her favorite shower gel from the shelves on the other side of the room, inhaling the lemony scent and feeling herself waken more. Slipping out of her nightgown she steps under the hot hard spray. Sighing, Dominique lathers her hair and rinses it clean. She takes a few moments to enjoy the warm, safe environment of the shower then reluctantly gets out and dries herself with a big fluffy bath sheet; wrapping it around her she pads into her bedroom and selects an outfit suitable for a day at the computer.
Downstairs Ian makes himself a cup of hot coffee and seats himself in front of the television. With the press of a button the television shows every room of the house. He
flips through the stations, checking each of the well hidden security cameras. A small smile tugs at the corners of his mouth, he rewinds the VCR tape and finds what he is looking for.
"Is that coffee I smell?" Dominique asks, torn between a throbbing need for caffeine, and irritation at Ian invading her kitchen. She chooses coffee before battle, making a mental note to lock up her cappuccino machine before she goes to bed.
"Yes." Ian hits the play button on the VCR, and waits silently for Dom's reaction.
Dominique spits out her coffee when she sees what's on the big screen T.V. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" She screams in mortification as images of her in the shower play.
Ian blinks innocently at her. "What? You mean I didn't tell you about all the new security cameras I added last night?" He glances towards the screen, "I was thinking about sending the tape into America's Funniest Home Videos. What do you think?"
Dominique grinds her teeth, a habit she thought she had overcome years ago. "I think you are the most revolting human being God ever dropped on this earth. And if it weren't for the fact that Uncle Mac would never forgive me, I would kill you." She spins on her heel and stalks out of the room, but not before Ian glimpses a dull flush creep over her features. Unable to hold back any longer, Ian doubles over in a fit of
laughter.
At the Spencer's, in the middle of King Kong, the doorbell rings. Leia jumps down from the couch and races to the door. "I'll get it, Daddy!"
"Ask who it is first!" Lucky warns.
"Who is it?" She demands.
"Rick." Comes a bewildered voice.
"DADDY! IT'S RICK!"
Lucky winces at the sheer decibels his daughter is capable of. "Let him in."
Leia struggles with the knob and opens the door. "Hi! I'm Leia!"
"Hello. I'm Rick." Rick looks down at the tiny blonde imp in front of him and can't help but smile. "I'm here to see Lucky."
"Daddy and I are watching movies right now." Leia informs him. "He can't play. But if you promise to be real quiet, and don't hog the popcorn, you can watch with us." She leads him to an empty seat on the couch. Putting a finger to her lips she whispers. "But Daddy gets cranky if you talk during the good parts."
Rick looks at Lucky then takes his seat. Leia climbs onto her father's lap and settles in comfortably.
The Port Charles marina. Lucy's heels click on the weathered dock. She approaches a large houseboat docked in the end slip. She grabs ahold of one of the ropes and pulls herself onto the deck of the boat where several pots of brightly colored flowers line the path to the door of the boat. Lucy rings the large brass bell.
Taking just the briefest glance through the glass, Simon opens the door. "Mom! What are you doing here so early?" Wearing only a pair of jeans and a sleepy expression Simon invites her in.
"Too early for cappuccino, beignets with extra powdered sugar?" Lucy tempts. "Fine, I'll just find a more appreciative guy and bring HIM breakfast." She turns teasingly.
"Mom? Oh MOM? Is that YOU?" Simon shakes his head. "I'm sorry, I must have been sleep walking." He holds out his arm. "Come in! Please. . . ", He turns his grey eyes on her pleadingly.
"Good thing I've always been a sucker for a handsome guy." Lucy follows him to the glass table by the kitchen. Setting down the paper bag and coffee cups she admires the lovely home her son had made for himself. With a little help from her of course. The floor is light teak, and the main sitting room is covered in hanging plants and bright pillows. Working with Simon's own sense of style, Lucy had helped him create a bright space with brass fixtures, whites and blues.
"That was some party last night, Mom." Simon says casually placing the beignets on a plate. "What was that scene between Dom and Ian last night all about?" He asked taking a bite out of a sugary sweet.
"Good question." Lucy responds opening her cappuccino, blowing on it to cool it. "But I have another question on my mind right now." She reaches over and takes one of his hands in her own.
"What's that, Mom?" Simon asks, picking up on her concern.
"What's wrong with you, Si?" She holds his hand tighter. "Don't deny it. You seem so unhappy lately, I just can't figure out why."
Simon runs his fingers through his dark hair in exasperation. "Nothing's wrong Mom. Not really." He gets up from the table and stands by the window.
"Come on honey. Whatever it is, you know you can tell me." Lucy coaxes softly. "You can tell me anything."
"But Mom, the problem is, I don't know what the problem is. I have this great house, I have good friends, all of my family nearby and my career is exactly where I want it to be." He shakes his head. "But lately I've been feeling at a loss."
"Honey, why haven't you said anything before?"
"Because I don't know what's wrong. Working is fulfilling enough, but when I get home I still feel. . . ." He searches for the right words. "Restless. I feel restless Mom, and I don't know what in the hell to do about it." He adds in frustration.
Lucy tries valiantly to control herself, but the gales of laughter overtake her.
"Oh Mom. I'm so glad that my middle aged angst brings you so much joy." Simon snaps. "Thanks for the support."
Lucy takes a deep breath. "Oh baby. I'm so sorry." She hugs him close. "But you're not suffering from a mid-life crisis. You're not old enough. You're just lonely."
"Lonely? Lonely?" Simon repeats as though he's never heard the word before. "What do you mean?"
"Simon how long has it been since you've been involved with someone?" Lucy asks pointedly. When Simon is still considering the question, Lucy goes on. "Precisely. Look honey. I love you. Your father loves you too. And Dom, Des, Serena, you know you're the light of our lives, but family and friends isn't all there is. You need a woman. Someone you loves you, who makes coming home after work a joy, not a punishment." She caresses his cheek fondly. "I won't say anything more about it if you don't want me to."
Simon arches an eyebrow at his mother in disbelief.
"All I'll say is this, you have to leave yourself open to love." She cups his face in her hands. "Promise me you won't close yourself off to the possibility."
Thinking about his mother's words. Simon agrees. "I promise, Mom."
