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Sleeping lightly in the chair next to her, Lucky woke
with a start.
Hearing Liz's moans, he rose quickly from his chair,
his body
protesting against the unnatural position he had slept
in. Ignoring
the discomfort, he rushed to his fiancee.
"Baby," he said softly. "Baby, are you all right?"
"Lucky?" she whispered in a hoarse voice, dry sobs racking
her body.
"Lucky! I'm so sorry! I never should have run--I should
have called..."
"Shhh. Hush, you're safe now. Everything's okay." Gently,
trying not
to disturb her too much, he sat on the edge of the bed
and brushed
back her hair.
"I know you're tired, Elizabeth, but can you tell me what
happened?"
he asked worriedly.
Liz let out a laugh, short and bitter. She half-smiled,
half-grimaced
at Lucky.
"I was hoping you could tell me."
Tears filled her eyes, spilling over and cascading down
her pale
cheeks. The remembrance of the horror consumed her. Leaning
over,
Lucky took her in his arms.
"Just hold me, Lucky. Please, just hold me," she desperately whispered.
She buried her head deep in his shoulder, and cried until
her eyes
ached. Then, they just clung to one another.
General Hospital--front lobby***********
Nikolas hurried into the main room of GH, not really sure
what to
think. He had received a call from Laura barely half
an hour ago,
saying that Liz had been hurt. Other than that, both
she and he were
clueless. Spotting his mother standing by the elevators,
Nikolas
rushed to her.
"Mother!" he called.
At such an unguarded moment, the years of estrangement
vanished.
He embraced Laura tightly, she returning the gesture.
"What happened to Liz?" he demanded.
"I don't know," Laura relied. "I got a call from Lucky
about an hour
ago. He said that Liz had been in some kind of accident,
but he
wouldn't give me any details. I arranged for Ruby to
watch your
sister, and then I called you. Luke and I only arrived
about five
minutes ago. He went to find out what room she's in."
Right then, Luke jogged up to them, obvious worry etched
in every
plane of his face. So distracted was he, that no insult
came from his
lips upon seeing Nikolas.
Breathlessly, he said, "Eighth floor. ICU room 809."
"ICU?" Laura asked, shocked.
"I don't know what happened to the little filly, darlin'.
We'll just
have to see."
Somberly, the threesome stepped onto the elevator, each
thinking
the worst.
General Hospital--Liz's room**********
Eventually, Liz's sobs died to small hiccups, and then
she was
morosely silent. Leaning back from Lucky's embrace, she
pulled her
blankets tightly around her, resembling a tiny, lost
child.
Helplessly, Lucky stood and ran his fingers through his
hair. 'God,
how could this have happened?' What was supposed
to be the
happiest time of their lives was turning into a self-perpetuating
nightmare.
"Hey, uh, do you want something to eat? A little toast,
maybe? Or
at least some milk?" he asked, for lack of anything better
to say.
Liz just shook her head, not saying a word. She stared
into space,
locked in her world, much too frightened and shocked
to come out
yet.
Then, the door burst open, Luke, Laura, and Nik spilling
into the
room. Nikolas immediately went to Liz's bedside, and
he grabbed
her hand, squeezing gently.
"What happened?" he asked.
Lucky, however, took his half-brother's concern as an
affront.
Disgustedly, he walked to the other side of Liz's bed.
"What are you doing here, Cassadine?" he demanded rudely
and
loudly.
"I just want to see if Liz is all right. What are you
doing here?" Nik
returned.
"STOP!"
All eyes turned, riveted, to the small figure in the bed.
Liz
momentarily forgot her present situation, determined
that neither
brother would fight in that instant.
"Just stop!" she said. "You two will NOT act like the
pig-headed
mules you usually are!"
Lowering and softening her tone, she said, "Nikolas, I
will be fine. I
just ran into a little trouble last night, that's all.
Lucky was the one
who found me and brought me here."
Feeling she had done enough placating, she removed her
hand from
Nikolas' grasp and turned to Lucky.
Fiercely, she said, "No fighting! Not here. Promise me. NOW!"
Seeing the brightness in her eyes, Lucky grudgingly said,
"All
right."
At further lectures were stalled by Bobbie's entrance.
At seeing all
the people in Liz's room, she became livid.
"All right. What's going on? Elizabeth needs her rest."
Luke, letting go of the momentary hope of seeing his son
bash
Nikolas, attempted to soothe his baby sister's frayed
nerves.
"Now calm down, Barbara Jean. We only just got here. Liz
is
family, after all. How could we stay away?"
"Well, she just doesn't need to be exhausted, especially
with
Detectives Garcia and Taggert outside waiting to talk
to her,"
Bobbie said pointedly.
As if on cue, the two men sauntered into the room, thus
crowding
everyone around Lizzie.
Clearing his throat, Garcia said, "Look, Liz, all we want
to do is
ask you a few questions, get some issues straight, okay?"
Liz nodded her head, "If I have to do it..."
"Okay. Is that all right with you, Nurse Spencer?" he asked Bobbie.
Reluctantly, Bobbie consented, adding, "Fifteen minutes,
max. She
needs her rest."
"Thanks. Now, if everyone can get out, we'd like to talk
to Liz
alone."
Heads began nodding, but Liz said, "I want Lucky to stay.
I won't
answer your questions until you say he can."
Taggert said, "Sure, little lady. Wanted to ask him some
questions,
too."
Nikolas looked as if he wanted to protest, but a gentle
nudge from
Laura and a pointed glare from both detectives made him
shut his
mouth and move out.
Once the room cleared, Garcia dragged a nearby chair to
Liz's
bedside, with Taggert leaning against the wall. Lucky
resumed his
original seat on the seat next to Liz. Garcia pulled
out a pen and
pad, and then looked at Elizabeth.
Gently, he said, "I know you've been through a lot, but
the sooner
we can get a clear picture of what happened, the better
the chances
are of nailing the perp. Okay?"
Liz nodded meekly, "I understand."
"Good. Now, about what time were you attacked?"
Taking a deep breath, Liz began her story.
"It was about midnight. I had just gotten home from dinner
at
Luke's club with Lucky. We were celebrating our engagement
with
his parents. Lucky dropped me off, and I went inside.
But then I
remembered I had to let Gatsby in, so I opened the door--"
"Wait," Taggert interrupted, "Who's Gatsby?"
"Our cat. He has to be let in every night, or he gets
scared.
Anyway, I went out onto the front porch, calling for
him. Anyway,
after about five minutes, he still wasn't responding,
so I decided to
go back in. However, when I tried opening the door, it
was locked.
Funny, I don't even remember shutting it. Anyway, at
that point, I
thought Sarah, my sister, was just playing a joke. I
pounded on the
door for a few minutes, but she wouldn't answer. I backtracked
around to the back door, but it was locked, too. I was
starting to
come around back to the front when I saw him..."
She paused as panic rose in her throat. Lucky moved closer
to her,
and Garcia handed her a cup of water. However, her hands
trembled so much that she wasn't able to hold it. Lucky
gently put
the cup to her lips, and she drank a few tiny swallows
before
continuing.
"He just stood there, all in black with a mask on, just
staring at me.
I don't know how long I just shook in fear and shock,
unable to
move.....he just kept watching me. Then I ran, blindly
into the
woods.....I didn't know where I was going, only that
I had to get
away.....away so that he couldn't hurt me again. I could
hear his
heavy breathing, and I knew he was catching up....I ran
faster and
faster...but the I fell. My head hit something,
a rock, perhaps, and I
looked up....He was there, bending over me, and he just
laughed....and he laughed. He wouldn't stop...."
By this time, tears coursed down her face, so much that
she didn't
even attempt to wipe them away. Garcia kept a cool eye,
but both
Taggert and Lucky were becoming visibly angry. She continued.
"Then, he tore at my clothes, and he hit me...Laughing
all the
while....I went numb inside....I knew what he was going
to do....He
ripped off my shirt and tore at my jeans....I thought
then he was
going to rape me.....like the night in the park.....but
then, then he
held up something metal....a knife....and then I felt
myself opening
up, something hot and sticky flowing out of me....Then
he got up,
and he left....He just left...."
Liz now spoke in a monotone, the emotion drained from her.
"I think I lost consciousness a few times....I could still
feel the
blood rushing from me...And I could feel the rain beating
down on
me, causing me to sink into the mud. I got up, I don't
know how...I
just got up...and limped to the edge of the forest...and
then I
screamed...."
Quietly, she added, "I don't remember anything after that,
until
Lucky brought me here."
Garcia quietly leaned his head down. Taggert's face settled
into a
permanent glare. Lucky barely could conceal his seething
rage.
"Okay, Miss Webber, thanks. We'll let you rest now. But
if you
recall anything else, let us know immediately. All right?"
Liz agreed.
Garcia turned to Lucky and said, "We want to get the rest
of the
preliminary story from you now. Out in the hall."
"Okay," replied Lucky.
At that point, Bobbie came in, stating, "All right, detectives.
Time's
up."
Impatiently, she gestured for everyone to leave. However,
at the
door, Taggert abruptly tuned back to Liz.
"Miss Webber, where's your grandmother?" he queried.
Caught of guard, Liz had to think a moment. "Gram? She's
at some
nurse's convention. She'll be gone a few weeks."
However, this information startled Bobbie.
"Wait, Liz, that can't be right. If there was some sort
of conference,
I'd know about it. There's no conference this month,
or the next for
that matter."
Alarm bells went off inside Lucky's head. "If there's
no
conference,then where is Audrey?"
At a loss, Liz, Lucky, the detectives, and Bobbie just
stared at one
another, each digesting the only plausible conclusion
remaining: what
happened to Audrey?
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