"The Course of True Love..." Part Twelve
"The course of true love never did run smooth." William Shakespeare
It is the next day. Amy and Bobbie are at the nurses' station. Amy spots Stefan,
pretends not to, and starts talking loudly to Bobbie. He slows his approach as
he overhears their conversation.
A: …Did you hear she's pregnant? AND I have a friend, who works at the airport,
he said they were flying to Vegas to get married.
B: (eyes widening) I don't know, I can't picture her letting Elvis give her
away.
A: (smiling wickedly at Bobbie) Probably, even as we speak, Katherine Bell is
now Mrs. Jerry Jax. (Big sigh) How romantic!
S: (abruptly) Nurse Vining… How many times must I remind you of appropriate work
place conversations? This will go down in your file.
Amy's smile fades and she leaves the nurses' station quickly.
B: (annoyed) Oh, lighten up Stefan. You're just mad 'cause Katherine, like every
other woman you become intimate with, slipped out of your clutches.
S: (seething) And being a Head Nurse I expect you to discourage the employees
from these conversations. Maybe I need to look into *your* file, also. Or
possibly the cabinet where the narcotics are kept.
Bobbie glowers at him, then walks away. Stefan goes to his office and starts
making phone calls.
Meanwhile, on Helena's yacht, Alexis is sitting in the living room. She is
dreading whatever task Helena will make her do next. She hates that Helena has
such a hold over her. Alexis and Ned are continuing their secret affair. So far,
no one seems to suspect anything, not even AJ. Alexis wants to be with Ned, but
is afraid that Helena will use him against her somehow. So she is still cautious
about falling too hard for him, keeping a part of herself from him.
H: My dear, I am sorry about keeping you waiting.
A: (slightly irritated) Yes, well I do have work to do.
H: (smugly) But ELQ work won't keep you alive, will it? Besides, this is rather
a simple task.
A: (resigned) What do you want me to do this time?
H: Find out where Katherine Bell and Jerry Jax went to, and what they did.
A: Don't you have "people" who do that for you?
H: I promised her I would stop following her if she stopped seeing Nikolas. And
she has kept her part of our bargain.
A: So if I find out and tell you; your conscience will be clear? (With disdain)
I don't understand your sudden need to be honorable, especially to Katherine
Bell. (Snidely) Let's face it, deceit is your middle name, isn't it?
H: (coldly) I'd suggest you mind your tongue, or you could lose it. Just like
your mother lost hers, but I guess that was more her voice than her tongue. It's
amazing what a knife can do to the human body. Would you like me to describe it
for you?
A: (quietly) No.
H: I didn't think so. I'll expect a full report as soon as possible. Good day.
Alexis walks quickly out of the room, and to the launch. She wishes there were
some way to go back in time and undo the things she did to Stefan. They would
still be close, he would still protect her the way he always had, and she
wouldn't have to deal with Helena.
Later that evening, Luke, Laura, Lucky, Lizzie, and LuLu are all standing in the
Spencer family living room. Tonight is the last dance of the school year.
Laura: You look beautiful Liz. That dress is perfect!
LuLu: You pwetty. Mommy, I wanna go wif dem.
Laura: Sorry sweetie, not this time.
LuLu starts to pout, and runs to Luke.
LuLu: (whining) Daddy, I wanna go!
Luke: (sympathetically) Sorry, baby not this time. (Encouragingly) But you and I
can dance later.
LuLu, not liking that answer, runs to Lucky and pulls on his arm, still pouting.
LuLu: I wanna go! I wanna go!
Lucky: Sorry LuLu, this is just for big kids.
LuLu: (crying) I A BIG GIRL! I WANNA GO!
Laura: (firmly) Now LuLu, that's enough.
LuLu looks around the room, realizes she is not about to get her way, and runs
upstairs crying.
Liz: I kinda feel bad for her.
Laura: Don't. She'll be over it before morning. Now you two had better get
going.
They all walk to the door, and outside. As Liz and Lucky walk away Luke and
Laura stand on the porch with their arms around each other.
Luke: Son, you be careful tonight… Don't have her home too late.
Lucky: (over his shoulder) Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Katherine and Jerry are sitting in their hotel suite at Caesar's Palace. Jerry
is on the phone at the dinning table, and Katherine is sitting on the sofa, with
her legs pulled up to her chest, her chin resting on her knees. She is looking
at their wedding picture, and mindlessly playing with her wedding band and four-
karat diamond engagement ring. When Jerry is done, he walks over and sees the
melancholy look on her face. He sits right next to her, leans over, so that his
chin is resting on her shoulder.
J: You make a beautiful bride, Lois.
K: (quietly) Thanks.
J: Not the groom you wanted to see in that picture, is it?
Suddenly aware of her mood, she feels guilty for not being at least a little
happy she married Jerry. She turns to look at him.
K: Jerry, I'm sorry. You've been soo wonderful about all of this…
J: No, no, no. (rubbing her arm) I understand. We do need to decide what we're
going to do when we get back to Port Charles.
K: What do you mean?
J: Well, if we are to convince Helena and the rest of the town, that you're
carrying my baby not Stefan's… We'll have to put on a show for them.
K: (nodding) I see your point, but how?
J: Well, the first thing we need to do is formally announce our marriage and our
upcoming blessed event.
Katherine thinks for a moment.
K: Everyone knows I like a party. I throw a fabulous party. (Wrinkling her nose)
They never seem to end quite right though.
She has a flash of her birthday party and Lois Ashton popping out of the cake.
J: Alright, a big party. Let's plan on having it the night we get back. We can
arrive right from the airport. And I'll make the big announcements the minute we
walk in the door.
K: I think we should break it to them gently. If we tell them *all* the news at
once, they won't have a reason to stay. I figure Amy has the rumor mill going
full force, so they'll want to wait around for us to confirm the baby rumor.
J: (raising an eyebrow) You’re good at this. All right, I think we should invite
everyone.
K: NOT Helena. Or Alexis. Or Stefan. And sadly… not Nikolas.
J: Fine. Now, where to live… "Your place or mine"?
K: Yours. It seems appropriate.
J: O.K. Right or left side.
K: Of what?
J: (wryly) Politics. (Smiling)*The bed* of course.
K: (raising her eyebrows) Ex-scuse me?
J: Stefan and Helena will have us watched. Especially Stefan. He'll look for
anything that can be used to get you back before you're ready. So we will have
to share a bed for appearances.
She looks at him suspiciously, but detects no hint of any ulterior motives.
K: Oh… Yeah, I guess you're right. I hadn't thought of that… Left. (Clicking her
tongue and whining) But you *snore*. I could hear you from my room last night,
and it's waaaay across the suite.
J: (laughing) I'll buy you ear plugs.
K: Anything else?
J: Not that I can think of right now. How's that morning sickness?
K: It's more like morning, noon, and night sickness.
J: Are you taking the vitamins the doctor gave you?
K: Yeah. They aren't helping the matter any. Maybe when we get back and I see
Dr. Newman, he can do something about it.
J: Oh, I have a feeling that problem will clear itself up in… Oh… (Counting on
his fingers) seven or eight months.
K: (sarcastically) Ha, ha, ha.
J: So Lois, do you feeling up to going downstairs and gambling away some of your
husband's money?
K: (smiling) I'm *always* up for that.
That night Luke and Laura are asleep in bed. Luke begins to have strange dreams.
He sees Helena stuck in quicksand. He begins to walk away.
H: LUKE! HELP ME!
He turns to look at her.
L: Why should I help you? You've done nothing but cause me misery.
H: (sweetly) I know, but I promise I'll never, ever torment you or your family
again.
L: Really?
H: Of course, really. Now be a dear and help me.
Luke doesn't know why, but he helps her out of the quicksand, then she quickly
disappears. ** Suddenly, it is night, and Luke sees Helena sitting on the steps
of a porch wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt, holding a mug of coffee and reading
an issue of Cosmo. There is a baby monitor sitting next to her. She looks up and
peers into the darkness, smiling.
H: Spencer? Luke? Is that you? (Motioning for him) Come on over here, neighbor.
L: Hi, Helena. I'm not disturbing you, am I?
H: Oh, No. I'll be up for hours. Please sit down.
As he sits, fussing noises come from the baby monitor. Helena leans in and
listens closely.
H: Shhh. That's Ari… Sometimes he's a little fussy when I first put him down.
(The fussing Ari quiets again) So, what brings you by?
L: (hesitantly) I was just wondering… How come you're so evil?
Helena ponders the question seriously for a moment.
H: I'm filled with hate… I don't know if that helps…
L: (nodding) Well, yeah, actually it does…
Helena gets an almost hurt look on her face.
H: (distressed) You know Luke, people can be awfully judgmental about evil.
Luke and Helena both look up suddenly as they hear footsteps approaching them
quickly. It is Lucas, and he is quite upset.
Lucas: Uncle Luke! Uncle Luke!
L: What's wrong, Lucas?
Lucas: (half-whining) Well, LuLu and I had the TV on something we all wanted to
watch, then Lucky changed the channel and won't change it back.
L: (soothingly) All right. If you can sit quietly, you can stay here with Helena
and I.
Lucas: O.K… Hi, Mrs. Cassadine.
H: Hey, kid. How's it going?
Lucas: Fine.
They all sit quietly, not sure of what to say or do next.
H: Well…
L: Yeah…
H: (resigned) I guess I'd better get back to tormenting your family.
L: (adamantly) Now, Helena, you said… if I helped you out, you weren't going to
do that anymore.
H: (shaking her head, bewildered) You know Luke… sometimes I think I lie,
because I'm evil.
L: (inquisitively) Sooo, you are going to torment us more?
H: Yeah. (Apologetically) It's going to be pretty bad, too. I hope you don't
mind?
L: No, that's O.K… Lucas, why don't you run on home.
Lucas: O.K. (as he runs home) Bye, Mrs. Cassadine!
H: (waving and smiling) Bye, kid! Take care.
L: Well, I'd better be running along, too.
H: (warmly) Thanks for stopping by. And don't be such a stranger around here.
Luke stands up and walks away. Helena begins to take a sip of her coffee, stops,
and quickly looks up.
H: Oh, Luke!
L: (over his shoulder) Yeah?
H: (matter of factly) I despise you and everything you stand for (begins
laughing as she says this) I'll never stop… (They both are laughing and she
waves her hand) You know the rest…
L: (laughing) Yeah, I sure do. Good night, Helena.
Helena goes back to her coffee and her Cosmo.
Luke startles awake, and wakes up Laura.
Laura: What's wrong?
Luke: (shaking his head) Nothing. Just a weird dream.
She holds him, and they fall back asleep.
** I must thank MST3K for the dream idea. This was one of their skits, and the
minute I saw it I thought Luke and Helena would be perfect for it. I hope it
reads as funny as it was acted on TV.
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