CHAPTER 4

Chapter 4: "Why do you love me?"

"I want you to remember that you asked for this information, so don't go chewing my head off in the middle of it. Wait until I've finished talking to chew me out, okay?" Luke said semi-jokingly to the boy in front of him.

"Just tell the story," Nikolas told Luke.

"Tough crowd," Luke said as he looked at Laura. "All right, here is my side. When Stefan showed up that day at the cabin, I was ready to send you back to them. I didn't care if That you would've been raised by wolves, or witches, as long as you weren't raised by me," Luke said honestly, and saw the hurt in his son's eyes. "You said you wanted the truth, Nikolas," he told the boy, hurting as much by having to say it as it was hurting Nikolas to hear it. "The truth is, I didn't want to get attached to you. Because you are right, I always thought that the son of a bad man was just as bad than his old man, and that theory applied to you, too. I always thought that one day you would prove to be Stavros' son and be this family's downfall. But you proved me wrong. You proved to be Laura's son more than Stavros'."

Luke got up and went to the counter to get another cup of coffee and leaned against the counter top.

"What happened?" Nikolas asked. He had waited for his father to continue but Luke had gone deep in his thoughts. "Dad?" Nikolas asked again and Luke snapped out of it.

"Sorry. Anyway," Luke said, walking back to the table and sitting back down, "we came back here, and Laura was the one to take care of you, although you were following me around like a little puppy dog. I used to say jokingly to Laura That Stefan had placed you with us to spy on me and that was why you followed me around. But I think you just figured I was your father and you started to imitate me. Your name was changed to Spencer, and to everyone, I was your father. At Christmas, with my sister, Ruby, and everyone else, Laura had written "from Mommy and Daddy" on your gifts, although I didn't even know what was inside the box, and Ruby pointed out who That you really were my son, because you imitated everything I did. And my fun was to get you in trouble. I liked it when Laura used her big voice and yelled "Nikolas!" I know, I know, I'm sick," Luke said before Nikolas could whine to him.

"Anyway," Luke continued, "I started to care about you against my better judgment, so I was adamant about showing That I didn't even more. Until that fatal night in during the first summer That we spent together. Laura was pregnant with Lucky at that time, and she was always sick and in bed. So I was left watching you. I didn't have a choice, really. Laura had told me that either I watched you, or she would just plain kill me. Lucky made her really sick and she was just a tad bit cranky. Anyway, we were sitting in the living room, and you were next to me on the sofa looking at the sunset through the window because I didn't want to take you outside, and suddenly you sat down and looked at me, and you put your little finger on your mouth to tell me to be quiet. You were something like 18 months old, and you just sat there, telling me to be quiet. I opened my mouth to say something and you said 'shut, daddy'. Those were your exact words. All of a sudden I heard steps on the porch, and felt a presence. I would have recognized anywhere. It was Helena. She had finally tracked us down to get you. I told you to go with mommy real quick, and you didn't argue like you usually did when I sent you away. You slid down the couch and you ran to your mother's room. I finally looked up and saw Helena with two or three goons with guns. The rules of the game were clear. She took you, and we died."

"So what happened?" Lucky asked finally. Luke had forgotten about him. He was sitting all quiet, not saying a word the whole time his mother and father talked about how his brother was only his half brother, a member of the family's enemy.

"Well," Luke said, turning to his other son to answer his question, "I took the gun by the door and was fast enough to take Helena in a head lock long enough for her to order her goons to drop their weapons towards me. I tied them up and sat Helena on the couch, before I walked into Laura's room to get Nikolas. I took him back to Helena, and stood there, in front of her, with her beloved Stavros' son in my arms. I confronted her, by standing out of her reach with the Cassadine Prince, the key to the Cassadine Empire. And I told her that she would have to go to hell and back before I ever let her have my son. That was the first time I ever called Nikolas my son willingly, with no one to fool. Helena knew That he wasn't biologically mine, so the need to pretend wasn't there. But Nikolas was my son. He saved all of our lives that day, by trusting his Spencer heart instead of his Cassadine genes. If it hadn't been for his instinct, we wouldn't be here and he would have been raised by the devil's wife on some God forsaken Island."

"So what's so great about a kid playing hide and seek with someone outside? From what you said, you barely acknowledged him, and the way I see it, he was only looking for someone to play with because he was bored and he decided to play with Helena Cassadine." Said a very jealous Lucky. His father had never talked about him that way before. Which such pride in his eyes. And that was eating Lucky alive. After all, he was the full fledged Spencer, not Nikolas!

"Nikolas was an outgoing child." Laura told Lucky in a soft voice. "He would go to anyone and anything. His normal behavior would've been to knock on the window and wave at the person coming up the driveway. But instead, he sat on the couch, away from view and by doing so, alerted Luke that something was very wrong outside. Luke always said that Spencers had a special radar, telling them when they are in the presence of an enemy, and Nikolas had that radar, too. Even if the enemy was a blood relative."

Lucky still wasn't convinced. All it said was that Nikolas had proven himself Spencer, and he didn't. Lucky remembered the thing That his father had said earlier. That Laura was more Spencer than he was and she wasn't even a Spencer by blood. Lucky just realized that Nikolas was more Spencer than he was. "So what now?" Lucky asked, not wanting to think about the thoughts that were going through his head. Nikolas was his brother! They watched each other's backs! He couldn't go and think that because they had different fathers Nikolas was his enemy! He was still his big brother, the same one he grew up with and played with when they were on the run and couldn't risk making friends. Nikolas was his best friend, his confidant, his never ending source of information when Lucky didn't want to go to Luke about something. Nothing had changed from the guy That he rode home from school in Nikolas' old car to the guy that was sitting in front of him at this moment.

"Now, it seems like Helena recovered from a mystery illness that got her bed ridden for a couple of years now, and she wants the Cassadine Heir to take his rightful place as head of the family."

"But my place is with you guys!" Nikolas said, getting up. "I don't want to leave! Granted, you aren't my father biologically, and maybe you hated me on sight, but you learned to love me, didn't you? And you, mom, you love me and you want me here, don't you?"

"Nikolas, we have no intention of doing what she asks," Laura assured her first born. "You are a member of this family, just like your brother and sister are. I don't want to ever hear you say That Luke isn't your father! He is in every sense of the word that counts!"

"I know, I know," Nikolas said, looking at Luke. "I'm sorry. I'm still mad that you never thought it was important for me to know! Did you think that once I knew I would turn against you?"

"Nikolas, that's nonsense!" Laura answered, frowning.

"I'm waiting, dad," Nikolas answered, looking in Luke's eyes. "Or do I have to call you Luke now?"

"Dad's fine, if that's what you want to call me. I never forced you. Now, the reason why I didn't tell you is quite simple. I simply forgot, as the years went by, I never thought that you weren't biologically my son. To me, there is no difference between you and Lucky. So there you have it. There is no big plot to why we didn't tell you. The truth, plain and simple, is that you are my son. It doesn't matter how you became my son, now, does it?"

"No, it doesn't," Nikolas allowed. "Am I excused, now?"

"Yes, you are," Laura agreed. "Dinner will be ready soon, so don't go too far. You too Lucky,"

"I have homework to finish," Nikolas said and nearly ran out of the kitchen.

Lucky followed his brother soon after, leaving his parents alone with their thoughts. Luke knew That it was a big blow for Nikolas, as well as for Lucky. Both boys were proud to be Spencers, to be a part of this special family. Everyone told them that they should be happy to have parents who loved them -and each other- as much as Luke and Laura did. But now everything was in question. If their parents had the guts to lie about something as big as one of the boys' paternity, what else would they have the guts to lie about?