Back To Life

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

Sitting up on Lucky's bed, she smiles slightly, knowing that he would soon return to her. No matter what else may change in her life, the one thing she can always rely on is that Lucky will always return to her.

After all it has taken to get them to where they are, Elizabeth couldn't be happier with where they've ended up, so far in love with each other that nothing and no one else mattered. Hugging her legs to her chest, she admires the beautiful candles she had bought for him, touched that he cared enough to put them out, regardless of how his brother, Nikolas, teased him about it.

"Stay awake." she demands of herself, feeling the fatigue starting to win her over. "Lucky will be back soon...just stay awa..."

Slowly sliding down beneath the covers, she lets out one final yawn as the world around her turns dark, silently promising herself that she will only rest for as long as it takes Lucky to return. Five minutes tops, she swears as she slips deeper and deeper into the world of unconsciousness, no longer than that. Just five minutes.

~ . ~

Lucky had been gone longer than he had anticipated, longer than he wanted to be, but it couldn't be helped. Lulu somehow found her way to his side and he couldn't deny her anything. Regardless of how he feels about his parents, he loves his sister to no end and he didn't have the heart to tell her that he couldn't sing her to sleep.

Tucking his sister into bed, he began to sing to her, treasuring every moment that he was granted for as long as he has it. He was so wrapped up in his baby sister that he nearly fell off the bed at the sight of the time, needing to get back to Elizabeth before she starts to worry. Knowing her, she's probably on the verge of sending out a search party for him or, even worse, on her way out to search for him herself.

Placing a soft kiss upon Lulu's forehead, he quietly makes his way out of her room, leaving the door open just a bit, before walking out the front door without a single word to his parents. He had been halfway to his apartment when he remembered the whole reason he was out of the apartment in the first place. Shaking his head, he places a call to a few of his friends, hoping one of them has Elizabeth's favorite ice-cream in their fridge.

"Thanks, man." he thanks his friend, securing the bag of ice-cream in his grip. "You're a real life saver, for real. Thanks."

"No sweat." his friend replies with a shrug of his shoulder. "Its just ice-cream."

"Yeah. I dare you to tell Liz that."

They share a laugh at that, both knowing how dangerous it is to tell Elizabeth than anything dealing with her cravings is just anything. With his task handled, Lucky starts to make his way back to his apartment, thankful that he didn't have to find a way into the closed convenience store to get the ice-cream she wanted.

He was back at the mid-point when he started to hear the escalation of sirens in the air, cop cars speeding off down the road at top speed. The closer he got to his apartment, the more his heart sank to his stomach, giving him a queasy feeling deep down. It couldn't be, he forces himself to believe, he was just there, it couldn't be his apartment. It couldn't be.

~ . ~

Everyone was on the scene, every able body man from the fire station to the police station, fighting their damnedest to get the fire under control. Their efforts didn't stem from the owner of the establishment, not in the least, not a single fire fighter or police officer really caring on that it with the owner being none other than Jason Morgan. It was the thought of a young man possibly being trapped within the confines of that building that had every single person working their damnedest to save him.

The police commissioner could only stare helplessly at the burning building as he prayed with all his might that the youngest Spencer wasn't trapped up in that building burning to death. It wasn't until he caught a glimpse of Lucky from the side of his eye that he breathed a breath of relief, quickly rushing over to the young man that looked like his whole world was crumbling down around him or, quite literally, burning down around him. Mac tried his best to console him on his lost items, insisting that it could have been much worse, until the words fell from Lucky's lips, tearing a whole through the commissioner's heart.

"Elizabeth's in there!" Lucky had shouted, trying to get past Mac to search for her himself.

"Lucky, I need to calm down and listen to me carefully!" Mac snapped at the younger man. "Are you sure she's in there? Lucky, are you sure?!"

"Yes, yes, Mac, I'm sure!" Lucky pleaded with the man. "You've got to get her out of there, man, you just gotta!"

Mac quickly orders the police lieutenant to keep Lucky back as he updates the firefighters and officers on the situation at hand. It was bad enough when he thought Lucky was in there, but knowing Elizabeth's trapped inside, something a woman in distress just never sits well with him.

Call it old style upbringing or whatever, but he just couldn't let that girl die without knowing they did everything they could to save her. The more they fought to put the fire out, the more it seemed to grow, making many of them start to lose hope in ever getting the flames under control much less save the innocent girl trapped within.

~ . ~

Lucky could feel his whole world literally crashing down around him as he watched the flames burn high into the night sky. His legs no longer able to hold him upright, Lucky dropped down onto the sidewalk, barely noticing his Aunt Bobbie lowering herself beside him, delicately wrapping her arms around him as he stares blankly at the burning building. All he could think of in that moment was that he should have been there. He should have been with her to protect her. To save her.

They had gotten the fire out by the time Jason Morgan and Sonny Corinthos stepped to the scene, their presence barely noticed by Lucky, who could do nothing more than stare at the cop standing in front of him holding Elizabeth's favorite necklace in his clutches, the necklace he had personally put around her neck before leaving her to buy her favorite ice-cream. Gingerly taking the tainted necklace into his grasp, Lucky shuts his eyes tightly as he closes his grip around the pendant.

"Kid, I know this is difficult, but I need to ask you a few questions." Lieutenant Taggert voices as he squats down in front of him.

"Does it have to be now?" Bobbie questions, gesturing to Lucky's pained expression. "Hasn't he been through enough tonight?"

"I understand the circumstances are painful, ma'am, but the more information I can gather on what conspired tonight..."

"Its fine." Lucky states plainly, his sole focus on the necklace when he finally opens his eyes. "Ask your questions."

"If you could just go over your night, tell me everything that happened, no detail is too small." Lieutenant Taggert says firmly. "Did you guys go anywhere different? Any unusual characters hanging about that were paying too much attention to you?"

"No, nothing like that." Lucky shakes his head. "We had dinner at Kelly's and Elizabeth decided she wanted to stay the night with me. We were having...we were having a great time...she just didn't want it to end."

"So you came back here right after Kelly's? No stops in between?" Lieutenant Taggert questions further. "Did you notice anyone hanging about when you got home?"

"We came straight back." Lucky states. "No stops. No one hanging around. The shop was already closed. There was no one around."

"Okay. So, you got back, then what?" Lieutenant Taggert questions. "What made you leave?"

"I should have been here." he mutters, gently fiddling with the pendant with his fingers. "It should be me...I should have been the one..."

"Lucky, no." Bobbie rubs his back soothingly. "You can't talk like that. You couldn't have known this would happen."

"I don't care." Lucky looks her dead in the eye. "It should have been me."

"Lucky, what happened next?" Lieutenant Taggert questions again.

"She wanted ice-cream, that's what happened next." he snaps, turning a glare on the cop. "For a stupid pint of ice-cream, I left her alone in my apartment and now...and now she's dead!"

"Is that enough?" Bobbie looks at Taggert. "Can I take him home now?"

"Yeah...that's enough, for now." Lieutenant Taggert rises from his position, tucking the notepad in his back pocket. "Before you go, I just need the necklace back. I'll personally give it back to you when we're done with it."

"Fine." Lucky drops the necklace into Taggert's hand. "I want it back."

"He'll get it back to you." Bobbie assures as she wraps her arm around him to help him back to her car. "Come on. Lets get you home."

"Take me to Audrey's." Lucky says plainly, avoiding looking at the building for a moment longer. "I need to see her."

"Okay." Bobbie says, keeping him close to her side. "Okay."

While Bobbie takes Lucky to her house, Sonny and Jason are left to figure out what happened and find the people responsible for setting Jason's bike shop on fire. Elizabeth may not have been on their short list of important people in their life, but she means something to Jason's sister and, for that, they will stop at nothing to make sure the person responsible pays with their life. Following the detectives, the two head down to the station to give their statements before they officially start looking into the shop fire.

~ . ~

The memorial was beautiful for what it was, Lucky being allowed to sit with Audrey and the family in the front of the church. Sonny and Jason made a brief appearance, not wanting to cause the mourners anymore stress than their presence already caused by walking through the door. Though they were cleared of any guilt in regard to the fire, Audrey still can't stand being around them and neither can any of the other Webbers.

To think that a couple of candles by the window had caused all of this, Lucky just couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he didn't have to lose Elizabeth. The days of countless little moments, tons of hours listening to her beautifully addictive laughter, all of it gone forever and there's nothing he can do to change that. Sitting alone in his new apartment in Kelly's, Lucky does nothing more than stare at the blank wall, forsaking the entire world for as long as it takes to come to terms with the love of his life. Which, to him at this moment, seems like eternity.

A/N: A little twist on the bike shop fire...yeah...I went there.