CHAPTER 3

Chapter 3: Heartbreak

"Cowboy, can I come in?" Luke asked his son from the doorway.

Lucky was halfway to his desk, writing frantically on a piece of paper. From the way That he was concentrating on his school work, it seemed to Luke that his son had finally found the secret to such things as how to time travel, the cure for cancer, or some other important thing. But his head snapped up when he heard his father's voice. "Sure, dad," Lucky said with a smile, throwing his pencil far on his desk and relaxing on his chair. "What's up? Did you finally decide to tell me why you said told us we were late?"

"Well, in a way," Luke admitted before he sat on his son's bed. "But there is something that I have to talk to you about. Here, alone, first. After that, we have to go downstairs and talk to your mother"

"You are leaving again, aren't you?" Lucky asked seriously and didn't even let his father answer as he continued, "Why? I mean, things were going so well!" The boy's voice was rising fast and Luke sat in front of Lucky and took his son's shoulders in his hands.

"Look, Pal, I am not leaving! So don't worry about that. But what we have to talk about is something important, and I want to make sure that whatever is said downstairs, you won't go off on your mother. This is not her fault, and she is just as scared as I am, as you and Nikolas will be. But going off on her like you went off on me will only make things worse. Do you understand?"

"What's going on, dad?" Lucky asked as he passed a nervous hand through his hair.

"I will tell you and your brother at the same time. All I'm warning you about is that things will heat up. Now, as you know, Nikolas isn't as quick as you are in the face of danger, and I will need you to always, and I do mean always, watch your brother's back. If I'm not here, or your mother, you don't leave him alone," Luke said, a serious set to his face.

"Dad, I'm not his baby-sitter," Lucky snorted but was alarmed by his father's glare.

"I'm serious, Lucky. Something's about to go down, and your brother will be the target. I don't want your mother, nor Nikolas, to know that we are having this conversation. You don't let him go anywhere alone, at all cost."

"Just answer me this. It has to do with when mom was kidnapped, right?" Lucky asked a very surprised Luke.

"I didn't know that you remembered that," Luke said, not hiding his admiration for his son's memory. "Last time we talked about it, you were maybe, what, 5 years old?"

"I remember you saying that Nikolas would never receive anything from them. Why would they want send Nikolas something?"

"Let's go downstairs, Cowboy, I'm sure that your brother would like to hear the answer to that question as well," Luke said, taking his son by the shoulders and leading him out of the room.

"Why such mystery, dad?" Lucky asked as they ran down the stairs. "I mean, what's going on, really?"

"That's what I would like to know, too, but mom won't say anything," Nikolas answered his brother from the kitchen doorway.

"Sit down, both of you. Everything will be answered. Every single question." Luke told both of his sons, taking the seat between Nikolas and Laura. "Now, you will more than likely want to blame Laura for the situation. However, you have to understand that I'm as much to blame for this as she is," Luke said, looking from one son to the other, making sure that they understood that he was serious.

"Will you cut to the chase and stop buying time, dad?" Nikolas snapped nervously.

"All right, all right, geez!" Luke answered and looked at Laura. "Your story or mine, Angel?"

"It's the same story, really," Laura said nervously. "But I think I better tell my version of it, and if they want, then they can hear what you have to add to it, how's that?"

"Works for me. Now, we all agree that your mother and I love you more than anything else, right?" Luke asked, and saw Nikolas and Lucky nod slowly, not sure that they wanted to know where the story was going to go. "And everyone agrees that we always did what was best for you, not matter what it cost us, right?" Again, both boys nodded in agreement. "I have one request. And that is that no one leaves this table until Laura and I have said all that we have to say. No matter how mad you become, please remember what we just agreed to. And also remember that all we did, we did because we love you," Luke said, and looked especially at Nikolas. "Both of you. No matter what"

"Dad, the story??" Lucky asked impatiently.

"Be patient, Cowboy," Luke sighed and looked at Laura. "Are you ready, Angel?"

"I have no choice, do I?" Laura sighed and looked at Nikolas, before she reached for his hands. "Nikolas, there are some things that you need to know about the circumstances of your birth," Laura started and felt the boy stiffen right away. "Luke and I fought a family named Cassadine in the 1980's. They tried to freeze the world, starting with Port Charles. We defeated them, and Mikkos, the head of the family, and his brother Tony , died in the ice chamber, while Mikkos' other brother Victor was sent to jail. I married Luke in 1981, but one day I was on the docks and I was kidnapped. I won't give you all the details, but they told me that Luke had died, and that I was never coming back to Port Charles. I was on a Greek Island, with a man named Stavros Cassadine, Mikkos' first son, the Cassadine Prince. He presented me with a choice. Either I married him and I was free to go anywhere around the island as I pleased, or I didn't marry him and I was going to remain a prisoner and treated as such. Some people said that I acted like a prostitute when I accepted his deal, selling my body to him in exchange for some freedom, but I knew Stavros. I didn't sell my body to have the right to parade on the Island. I sold myself to have the right to stay alive. It was that simple."

"Why are you telling us that story again? We already knew all of that, mom!" Lucky whined and fidgeted on his chair.

"Patience, Lucky," Laura said, shooting him a warning glare. "Anyway," she sighed, "i not only married him, but I had no choice but to become his lover. I didn't want to, but then again, it was that or my life. During that time, I befriended Stavros' younger brother Stefan. He wasn't like the rest of them," Laura remembered someone tenderly. "He was kind, and really wanted to make sure that I was as happy as I could be on the island. He listened to me talk about Luke and how I wanted to be anywhere but there, and never, not once, repeated anything to his brother, or God forbid, his mother. He is the one I turned to when I found out I was pregnant," Laura finally said, looking down at the table, as she felt Nikolas' hands leave hers.

"Nikolas, please. You promised that you would let her finish," Luke said quietly as he saw the oldest boy start to get up. Slowly, Nikolas sat down again and stared at his mother.

"When the baby was 6 months old, I heard that Luke was still alive. Stefan offered me A chance to see him, to see with my own eyes that Luke was alive.. But I had to leave the boy on the island to make sure I would come back. That's all that I had wanted and intended to do. But Luke felt that I was there, and he saw me," Laura said, meeting her husband's eyes for the first time and he smiled at her, hoping to give some courage to go on. "I swear to God that I left the island with every intention of going back, but once I remembered what it was like to be in Luke's arms, I couldn't leave anymore. But Stavros didn't see it that way and, well, something happened and Luke killed him. I wasn't allowed to go near my baby anymore, and by choosing Luke, I was told never to go near my son again, or Luke and I would be killed. I didn't tell Luke about the baby I had abandoned for him, and tried to rebuild my life without my son."

"Am I that son?" Nikolas asked as tears fell down his cheeks.

"Please, Nikolas, let me finish," Laura begged and Nikolas just nodded. "In November of that year, Luke took me to a cabin to celebrate us finally being together, after all this time. All we wanted was some peace and quiet, but Stefan showed up. He had my son with him, and said that he couldn't raise him anymore. He was dying, and he needed me to raise my son as far away from the Cassadines as possible. That's what we did. 2 days later you went from Nikolas Cassadine to Nikolas Spencer, and Luke loved you as his own from the start."

"I bet he did," Nikolas said bitterly. "I know how he is, he hates everything associated with his enemies, and I'm a part of that. His enemies were the Cassadines, and that's what I am!"

"Nikolas, I know that you're angry," Luke started to say but was cut off.

"Angry? Why would I be angry?" Nikolas nearly yelled and made Lulu start to cry just as he started pacing the kitchen floor. "Tell me! Why would the fact that I've been lied to all my life about being a total part of this family make me mad? HUH? WHY?"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Luke said, slamming his hand on the table and Lulu started crying louder, not caring that her mother was trying to soothe her. "Now sit your royal butt back down and you will hear my side of this,"

"I'm not interested," Nikolas said but it was his turn to be cut off

"I SAID SIT DOWN!" Luke said louder, and Lulu, who was starting to calm down, started to cry loudly again. Luke and Nikolas were looking at each other, trying to test who would look down first, and, finally, Nikolas let himself sink down on the chair.

"Fine," the boy said, "you win. You get to tell your side of this lovely fairy tail about how my life is nothing but a great, big lie"

"That's not true, Nikolas," Luke said in a soft voice

"Isn't it?" Nikolas asked, his voice choked up as he fought back the tears. "Mom didn't trust Stavros because he was Mikkos' son and Mikkos was your enemy. You didn't trust Damian Smith because he was Frank's son and Frank was your enemy. I'm Stavros' son, right? The son of the enemy, so how could you trust me?" Nikolas asked, feeling the bitter tears fall on his arms. "I'm not a Spencer. I never was and I never will be."

"Not all Spencers are born Spencers, Nikolas," Luke started. "Your mother wasn't and she's more Spencer than I am! The Spencer Family isn't only tied by blood. The Spencer roots go straight to the heart. Know what I mean? Being a Spencer is more than just a last name, it's what you are willing to do to protect the ones you love! I can tell you how I knew that you were one, if you are willing to listen with your Spencer heart, instead of what you think is your Cassadine stubbornness. Will you listen?"

"Yeah, dad. I will. Tell me how I became a Spencer in your eyes"