And So It Begins

Part 13

The next few hours seemed to drag on and on for Laura and the others. A few family friends had passed through the surgical waiting room as word began to spread that Lucky was alive. Lt. Marcus Taggert of the PCPD wanted to talk to Lucky, but had the decency to tell them he would wait until they felt more like talking. Before he left, Elizabeth hugged him and thanked him for caring, much to everyone's surprise.

Ian McPherson made a brief appearance, telling Laura about Stefan's meeting with Helena and their subsequent chase, especially his determination to go in alone so he would replace Lucky as her target. Lucky then filled in the blanks for them. After promising that everyone, including Lulu, would be safe from harm, Ian made a discreet exit.

Audrey Hardy, Elizabeth's grandmother, came by to check on them and to tell Laura she had rescheduled her appointments for the remainder of the day. She also brought antiseptic to treat the scratch on Lucky's neck, but Lucky would let only Elizabeth administer it.

Laura would have dozed from a lack of sleep the night before if she had been willing to take her eyes off of Lucky for more than a few seconds at a time. Her mind was utterly racing with joy and worry. Here, smiling at her when he wasn't completely focused on Elizabeth, was her beloved son and she wanted to dance and shout a thank you to the heavens. Nearby, however, the man who had brought him back to her was fighting for his life and the fear of losing him now kept her almost paralyzed. It was only Nikolas' arm around her shoulders that kept her from losing control.

When she thought she could take no more, the door opened and the surgeon, followed by Bobbie, joined them. While Bobbie hugged Lucky, the surgeon sat next to Laura and Nikolas. "He came through the surgery just fine. His lung didn’t collapse, which helped tremendously We've repaired the damage caused by the bullet, and we’ll help him breathe for a while. He's also lost a great deal of blood and he's still pretty weak. We'll keep him in PACU for a while, then move him to ICU. You can see him then."

Laura thanked the surgeon and waited for him to leave, then stood and turned to Bobbie. "Be honest with us. Is he going to be all right?"

"Laura, I won't lie to you. The bullet passed through his lung and lodged in his shoulder blade. He also has an additional entry from the side where they had to insert chest tube to drain fluids from his lung. Three holes in one lung are not good, but since it didn’t collapse the damage was minimized. The bone stopped the bullet, so there was no exit wound to deal with — which is good. They just had to make a small incision in his shoulder to remove the bullet."

"So he will recover," Laura insisted and leaned against Nikolas for support when he slipped both arms around her from behind.

"Yes, and quickly if I know him. We’re replacing the blood he lost. He's AB negative, which isn't common, but it's in his favor because it will make it easier to find compatible blood for him. I haven't checked the supply, but if we need donors?"

"Any of us," Laura said, studying their faces for agreement and finding it.

"Okay." Bobbie offered a look of sympathy to her sister-in-law. "They'll let you know when you can see him. Why don't all of you get something to eat and try to rest?"

"That would be good," Lucky said. "I haven't eaten in a while, Mom."

"Of course. We'll be in the cafeteria," Laura said.

"Good." Bobbie opened the door for them. "It won't be too long."

"I probably should call Alexis," Nikolas said. "Not that she'll care about Father, but she has a right to know Grandmother's out of control."

Bobbie walked them to the elevator and pressed the button for them. After hugging Lucky one last time, she went back to work.


*****

Helena emerged from her cabin on the yacht her usual regal self, but the lack of sleep had left her feeling drained. "Darling," she asked her young assistant, "have you located Luke Spencer?"

"Yes, but the hotel clerk said he had just checked out."

"No doubt he's already heard and is on his way home. I expect everyone to be ready for his arrival. Where are the others?"

"At General Hospital. Mr. Cassadine just came out of surgery."

"Stefan? Damn! I should have emptied my pistol in him. Why is it, there's never enough time to do the things we really enjoy?"


*****

Laura barely picked at her food, though she was enjoying the sight of Lucky eating from his plate and Elizabeth's.

"Are you going to tell us what Father wanted when he called for you in the ER?" Nikolas asked as his plate also became the victim of Lucky's appetite.

"He wants all of us to stay at Wyndemere until he deals with Helena."

"That could take weeks," Nikolas argued. "He won't be up to taking on a flight of stairs much less my grandmother."

"I guess he feels his security staff can better protect us if we're on the island than scattered all over Port Charles," Laura explained. "Elizabeth, I imagine he's including you and Audrey in all of this."

"I don't think Gram would do that," Elizabeth said. "And I don't want to leave her home alone."

"I can stay with Elizabeth and Audrey," Lucky offered.

"No!" Laura realized she had almost shouted and looked around sheepishly. "Lucky, I've spent the last two months feeling that I didn't do enough to protect you. While Stefan is here, fighting for his life, I am not going to be made sick worrying about your safety. Yours either, Nikolas. You can both stay at Wyndemere until Helena is no longer a threat," Her voice was demanding while her eyes were pleading. "I've been through enough lately, boys. Please, if not for my sake, then Stefan's."

"Will you and Lulu be there?" Nikolas asked.

"Yes, as soon as I see for myself that Stefan is all right."

"Okay, then," Nikolas agreed. "I can move back home for a few days, as long as I get to my place to feed Sheba. If Father isn't up to taking care of Helena by then, I'll do it for him. Lucky?"

Lucky looked at Elizabeth, then back at his mom and brother. "Yeah, count me in. I just want all of this to be over. Dad should be here to help us."

"I'll see if my Father's men can locate him," Nikolas said.

Laura smiled and shook her head. "Knowing your father, Nikolas, he's probably had someone keeping tabs on Luke since he left." She pressed Nikolas' arm and nodded toward the door as Alexis entered.

"I came as soon as I got your message," she said to Nikolas but acknowledged the others with a nod.

"Lucky, I'm glad to see you're not dead after all. How's Stefan?"

"Recovering from surgery," Nikolas answered, motioning for her get a chair from another table and sit with them. They explained everything, from Stefan's obtaining the medical file, to his following Helena and his current medical condition.

"How in the world did he get the file?" Alexis asked, then held up her hand to ward off an answer. "Don't answer that. The same way he does everything else."

"What could be in that file that's so important to Helena?" Laura asked.

Nikolas knew Laura would be angry with him at some point during this conversation. May as well get it over with. "Alexis wanted my medical files to prove Helena and Father were defrauding the rest of the family. That still doesn't explain why she'd kill someone over it."

"I have no idea why she went ballistic," Alexis said. "The one I saw just had a copy of Nikolas' bloodwork and of the copy of Lulu's history to determine preliminary compatibility. I don't recall seeing any special medical conditions for either. Nikolas's bloodtype is AB negative, same as mine, and Lulu is B negative, right?"

"Yes," Laura said. "That's why we had hopes that Nikolas would be a compatible donor."

Lucky reached for his mother's barely touched glass of iced tea. "So, what, all of you Cassadines have AB negative blood?" he asked.

Alexis shrugged. "I've never thought about it, but I suppose it's possible. What's Stefan's?"

"The same," Nikolas said.

"Then maybe Helena is upset by something that's missing from the file," Laura offered.

"Stavros!" Alexis said, grabbing Nikolas' arm.

"What about him?" Laura could have gone all day without hearing that name and the disgust was evident to anyone who glanced at her.

Alexis began talking with her hands as well as a rapid-fire voice. "I remember once when Stavros was chasing Stefan along the beach. I, I think he wanted to beat him up for listening to one of records. Anyway, Stavros tripped and fell against a piece of an old ship's hull that had washed onto the sand. He cut his leg and was bleeding everywhere. Helena was screaming at Stefan that Stavros was going to bleed to death and it would be all his fault. And here's Stefan, this little kid, offering to let Stavros have some of his blood if it would save him, even through Stavros beat him senseless whenever the mood struck him." Alexis began shaking Nikolas' arm. "She told Stefan his blood would be worthless! Those were her exact words, 'Your blood would be as worthless as you are'!"

"That's Helena," Laura said, her eyes widening suddenly as she began to understand what Alexis was saying. "Meaning Stavros' blood wasn't compatible with Stefan's?"

"Exactly! And, if you, Stefan and I are all AB negative, and we know we're Cassadines —"

"Then my Uncle Stavros may not have been." Nikolas finished for her.

Alexis took Nikolas by the ears and pulled his head downward to kiss the top of it. "Do you know what that means?"

"Stefan is the prince," Laura said, surprised by the depth of hatred she was feeling for Helena.

Lucky started laughing at the mixed expressions on their faces, even at the venom he saw in his mother's eyes.

At first, Nikolas looked startled by his response, then joined him. "Let me get this straight," he said, still laughing. "Helena pawned off my uncle — her bastard son — as the prince, then let my father do the same with me — his bastard son — no offense, Mom."

"None taken," Laura assured him, though she frowned at the comparison. "Not at that, anyway."

"But why would Helena kill over that now?" Nikolas asked. "I've never thought either of my grandparents' affairs were a secret, so she couldn't have been trying to cover up that fact."

"Yes, she could," Laura said. "She had to let everyone think Stavros was Mikkos' son because she wanted Stavros to be the prince. To her, Stefan was a threat because he could take everything away from Stavros if he learned the truth," Laura said. "No wonder she tried to kill him when he was even younger than Lulu."

"His mom tried to kill him?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief.

"More than once," Laura answered, wondering just how much Nikolas knew about Helena's attempts on Stefan's life.

"But after Stavros died, why would it matter to Helena if Stefan became the prince? Why keep up the ruse that Nikolas was the heir?" Lucky asked.

"She would have done anything to keep Stefan out of the picture," Laura said, the slightest hint of tears in her eyes.  "She gave Stavros total dominance over Stefan and made certain no one on the island interfered. Lucky, you can't imagine the verbal and physical abuse he took from those two, especially from Stavros, but always with Helena's blessing."

"Maybe she believed Nikolas really was Stavros' son at first," Alexis said, putting things together as she went along. "Then, even if she found out a little while later, she thought she would control Nikolas and, thereby, the fortune," Alexis added. "After Stefan wrestled control away from her, she had no choice but to continue the lie or be accused of defrauding every other Cassadine. That's what Jax and I were hoping to prove when we got mixed up in this crazy mess. Only we assumed she was only hiding her knowledge that Stefan was Nikolas' father."

"Do you think Father knows the truth?" Nikolas asked Laura and Alexis. "If he ordered a paternity test to prove he was my father, wouldn't the doctor have known that the blood sample he sent wasn't Stavros' since they were so different?"

"Probably," Alexis said. "But that doesn't necessarily mean he told Stefan everything. Jax and I discovered that Helena had sent Doctor Lastiras large sums of money. When Jax and I were on our way to see him, she had him killed. She may have been paying him off so Stefan would never learn the truth."

"I don't think Stefan knows," Laura said. "When I was on the island, it was obvious to me that, no matter how Helena praised Mikkos in public, deep down she despised him. For Helena, the fact that Stefan was Mikkos' son would have been reason enough to deprive him of everything he had coming. No. As long as the world thought Nikolas was Stavros' son, her precious Stavros would still be lording over Stefan in the eyes of the world."

"That's really sad," Elizabeth said.

"Besides, the way Helena treated Stefan, she had to have known that he would have cut her off once and for all if he found out she had denied him everything for so long," Alexis said. "Laura knows a lot about what happened, but don't forget I watched him live through the worst years."

"What did they do to him?" Elizabeth asked.

Alexis seemed to shiver. "Helena and Stavros were hideous when Mikkos wasn't around. It isn't that Mikkos was especially good to Stefan. In fact, he was indifferent at best, and he encouraged Stavros to belittle and humiliate his younger brother. But the others seemed to be afraid of Mikkos and kept to themselves when he was home, so his presence benefited Stefan."

"I can relate to indifferent parents," Elizabeth said, "but not to cruel ones."

"I know Father won't like it, but will you tell us what Helena did to him?" Nikolas asked. "He's always said I didn't need to know, but I think it would help us fight her now if we understood why he hates her so much."

Alexis looked to Laura for guidance. At first she seemed hesitant, then she nodded. "I think it's time for the truth, within reason." Her emphases on the last two words were not to be ignored.

Nodding, Alexis lowered her head and chewed on her lip for a moment, as though hoping someone would change the subject. All eyes and ears were on her, however, so she continued, "How I hated the days Mikkos was away. When Stavros wasn't taunting Stefan, he was using him for a punching bag. Helena's public abuse was verbal, but in private…? I do know she…she took him upstairs sometimes and insisted no one bother them. When she'd finally let him go, he would run outside and stay there for hours. I found him at the cliffs once, when he was 14. He was just sitting there with tears in his eyes and blood on his lips. It looked as though he'd been bitten, but he wouldn't tell me anything. When I asked for the umpteenth time if he was all right, he — God, I'll never forget. He said, 'Jean Paul Satre writes that in hell we will have to forever endure the things we hated most on this Earth. What he doesn't tell us is that, for some of us, hell begins the moment we're born and just continues into eternity. If I were to jump from this cliff, right now, would I really have to come back to this, or would death provide an exit?' How could a 14-year-old come up with that? I couldn't answer. All I could do was hold him while he tried not to sob on my shoulder. To this day, he's never told me what Helena did to him then or any other time, but I think I know."

Laura wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Helena recognized early that there was good in Stefan and she couldn't stand it. For her, the corruption had to be complete, so she sought to humiliate him in every way. I think her failure to turn him into a monster still angers her."

Lucky was a little surprised by his mother's obvious pain at hearing that Stefan had suffered. He knew they were dating, but he'd seldom seen her this upset. "But if she loved Stavros so much, why didn't Stefan just tell her he was Nikolas' father and strike back at her?"

"Striking back wouldn't have been enough. He had to keep her in check, and I'm sure he believed his only means of doing that was to keep up the lie and see to it that everything went to Nikolas, even if it meant not telling anyone, including me, that he was Nikolas' father," Laura explained. "Not knowing he was the prince, he thought Nikolas was his only means of maintaining control. Alexis, Stavros was brought here after he fell, so wouldn't his medical records be in the archives?" Laura asked.

"The building that housed them was burned," Alexis said, lowering her eyes.

"Stefan?" Laura asked.

"You'd have to ask him."

"Maybe they're in a computer database," Nikolas said, nodding toward Lucky. "Father said getting all of the hospital's records converted to electronic data was his first act as CEO. He may have deleted Stavros', but it's worth a look."

"Wouldn't be difficult to find out," Lucky said, eyeing his mother. As tired as he was — and as much as he really just wanted to be alone with Elizabeth — he welcomed the idea of doing something constructive other than just sitting around and waiting. And, like it or not, he owed Stefan that much.

"I imagine Stefan altered them appropriately," Alexis said.

"Maybe I can restore them," Lucky offered.

Laura sighed. "All right. I'm sure Nikolas can get you into Stefan's office. But be careful, okay?"

Lucky, Nikolas and Elizabeth left, though not before Nikolas made Laura promise to call him as soon as they could see Stefan. Left alone, Laura exchanged weary glances with Alexis.

Alexis was obviously uncomfortable under Laura's gaze. "You saw Stefan in the ER? Is he going to live?"

"He's going to be fine," Laura said, wishing she could convince herself.

"I guess you know Stefan and I are on the outs."

"He's told me some of it. I know he's been angry with you since you announced to the world that he's Nikolas' father. Anyone who places Nikolas in jeopardy loses ground with Stefan."

"It goes deeper than that. I've tried to patch things up, but he wants no part of me. Which is fine, really. I don't need to be a Cassadine anymore." Alexis wondered how much she knew about her involvement with Luke in the events leading up to Stefan's murder trial.

"But, in your heart, he'll always be your brother." Laura was surprised by the tears in Alexis' eyes, and reached out to cover Alexis' hand with hers.

"He took care of me when no one else did," Alexis said, her voice barely above a whisper. "He didn't even know I was his sister when we were growing up, but he treated me like one."

"I know how good he is at taking care of people he loves," Laura said. "I'll keep you apprised of how he's doing. And of whatever Lucky and Nikolas find out."

"Thanks." Alexis stood quickly. "I'm truly glad Lucky is alive, Laura. I know how devastated you and Luke were by the loss."

"Stefan helped me through it."

"He can be incredibly kind when he wants to be. If anything, I miss seeing that side of him. Take care of him, Laura, but remember how ruthless he can be when it suits his needs. Helena did manage to teach him that." With that, she left.

Laura wasn't sure how to take Alexis' warning about Stefan. It certainly wasn't anything she didn't already know. She'd seen Stefan at his vicious best. But that was behind them now, of that she had no doubt. She had finally come to understand that Stefan was a strong man with a fragile heart where she was concerned. What Alexis didn't need to know was that Laura was falling in love again.

For a moment, her mind traveled back to the night he took her to the opera for their first date. She closed her eyes, recalling those moments on the porch after he brought her home. His hesitation when she invited him in for a drink had terrified her because she thought he was trying to think of a way to let her down easily. She had been immediately convinced that her giggling at opera had embarrassed him so much that he never wanted to be seen in public with her again. Instead, with his voice breaking and his eyes misting over, he told her was trying to decide if that was the happiest moment of his life. Standing there on her porch with snow around them that they were both too warm to notice, this man, who'd had the power to control a financial empire with a single word, was moved to tears by the realization that, for one evening, she had belonged entirely to him.

Laura wiped at her own tears, suddenly feeling exhausted by the weight of the emotions she was feeling. Her son was back. For weeks, she had been consumed by grief. Now, that long-dominating emotion was gone in an instant only to be replaced by an incredible sadness that the man she desperately needed to hold and express her love to was in pain.   And that, coupled with the fear that she still might lose him, was more than she could endure right now.

She was about to head for PACU and demand that they let her seem him when she was paged by the ICU unit nurses' station. She smiled, hoping for that nurse's sake that Stefan hadn't heard Laura's name called out on the hospital-wide paging system. So much for keeping a low profile while Helena was sharpening her claws.


*****

Bobbie was waiting for Laura outside of Stefan's room. “We’re helping him breathe and he has a lot of IVs hooked up to him so he may look a little frightening. We have to prevent any blood clots from forming in his lungs and help him rebuild his strength by replenishing things his body lost during the trauma and surgery. But he's doing well, okay? It may be a while, though, before he's aware of very much."

"Will you let Nikolas know? I think he's in Stefan's office."

"I'll call him."

Laura nodded, thanking her and heading into Stefan's room. She immediately saw that Bobbie was right. All of his vital signs were being constantly monitored, he was on numerous IV fluids, including blood, and a ventilator was helping him breathe. What struck Laura the most was the lack of color in his face and hands.

Still, she pulled a chair over to his bed, took his free hand in hers, and rested her forehead against his arm.

And So It Begins

Part 14

Lucky looked up from the keyboard after trying several possible passwords. "We're in."

"I don't know how you do that," Nikolas said, shaking his head. "Find anything?"

"S-T-A-V-R-O-S, right?"

"Yeah."

"Piece of cake." Lucky concentrated on the screen for a moment, though it wasn't easy to do with Elizabeth's hand on his shoulder. He had missed her touch more than anything else. "Shows his blood type as AB negative. No surprise there. Now, let's see if we can restore this to its original form. Gotta be a way to undo changes." A few keystrokes later, he grinned up at them. "How does O positive sound?"

"Like something way other than a Cassadine," Nikolas said.

Lucky sent that file to the printer, then called up Nikolas' file, last updated after his final checkup for treatment of the neck wound he'd gotten outside of Luke's nightclub. "Yours is shown as AB negative."

"I still don't understand all of this," Elizabeth said. "Do you think your father knew Stavros was illegitimate?"

"I don't believe so," Nikolas said. "If anything, with the way the family treated Father, he probably suspected he wasn't a Cassadine. Both of my grandparents were known for their infidelity, so he may have thought he was the result of someone's affair. If that's the case, he would have thought that our blood type was the deviation from the norm. I mean, let's face it. If you put my father's photo next to any of the known Cassadine men, he doesn't look anything like them."

"Maybe he takes after your grandmother's side," Elizabeth said.

"Too bad he never asked Alexis what her blood type was."

"He didn't know they were brother and sister until a couple of years ago," Nikolas said, "and they've been at odds off and on ever since."

"Typical Cassadine siblings," Lucky said, laughing.

The sound of Nikolas' cell phone startled them all. "Hello? Thanks. We'll be right there. That was Bobbie. Father's been moved to ICU."

*****

The nurse allowed the three to see Stefan as long as they promised not to disturb him, then Laura sent them on their way to Wyndemere — after they filled her in on what they had learned through Lucky's skills at computer hacking. They agreed to pick up Lulu and take her with them, though Laura was worried about the confusion Lulu would feel over seeing her brother back from Heaven. She promised Lucky she would have new clothing sent to him, since Luke had thrown away anything that hadn't been lost in the fire, in exchange for his promise that he wouldn't leave Wyndemere without a bodyguard. As they left, she called the number Ian McPherson had given her and placed her children in his care.

For the next several hours, she dozed in the chair, paced the room, sat close enough to comb Stefan's hair with her fingers, and told Mac Scorpio, the police commissioner, what little she knew about everything. She also had to beg and threaten to keep him from approaching Helena until they had enough evidence to arrest her. Mac wanted to question her, but Laura fully believed it was better to wait until they could keep her in jail for a while. He agreed that Stefan's account, added to what he would find out from Lucky, would probably be enough to do that, so he promised he'd have his men keep an eye on her until it was time to move. However, if she tried to leave town, he'd have no choice but to bring her in for questioning. He also assured her there would be a police officer outside of Stefan's room as long as was necessary.

Nurses and respiratory therapists came in and out of the room, eventually replacing the mask of the ventilator with a tube under Stefan's nose. Each time, they reminded her of the limited visiting times for ICU patients and, each time, Laura ignored or reminded them who their patient was.

Laura was asleep, her head on folded arms next to Stefan's right side, when she was awakened by the pressure of a hand on the back of her head. She raised up quickly, expecting to see a nurse behind her, then was thrilled by the realization that the hand belonged to a groggy but smiling Stefan.

"Hi," Laura said, standing so she could see his face. She leaned over and kissed him gently on the cheek, just above his beard and the wide breathing tube.

"Lucky?" Stefan tried to whisper, gagging slightly on the tube.

"He's with Nikolas and Lulu at Wyndemere. Amy agreed to go shopping for him since he doesn't have anything left. I can't imagine he'll appreciate her taste in men's clothing, but it will have to do for now." Laura was stroking his face, his hair, and his right shoulder as she talked — almost as though she was afraid to stop touching him.

"Helena?"

"According to Mac, she's on her yacht and being watched by the police. He's going to interview Lucky and he wants to talk to you as soon as you're up to it."

Seeing that Stefan was awake, a critical care nurse came in to talk to him and to double check all of the tubing, fluid bags and monitor connections. Laura waited outside as she'd been asked to do, but watched through the windows as the nurse listened to his lung with a stethoscope. A respiratory therapist came in and removed the large breathing tube, reducing Stefan’s dependency on the ventilator. When they left, the nurse instructed Laura to make certain he rested or told her she would have to leave.

Stefan tried to raise his shoulders as Laura returned, wincing at the effort. "I need to get out of here." It was easier to talk with the smaller tube under his nose, though his voice was raspy.

"Oh no you don't." Laura hurried over to him and pressed the palm of her hand firmly against his right shoulder until he lay back down. "You're in intensive care, Stefan. You have three patched holes in your left lung and they removed the bullet from the underside of your shoulder blade. You aren't going anywhere."

"Helena's waited a long…a long time to bring us down. She won't…she won't waste it now," he argued, each word becoming more difficult to say with his labored breath.

"Stefan, listen to me. You've got to relax and let the equipment help you breathe. If you don't, I'll have to leave and they'll sedate you again and shove the tube back into your mouth." While her words were commanding, the circular motion in which she was caressing the right side of his chest was soothing and steady.

He started to protest, but relaxed in response to her ministrations. "Have you talked to Ian?"

"He was here. I called him when the children were ready to leave."

"Good."

"You'll have to tell me about him. Mrs. Lansbury says he's trouble."

Stefan smiled. "Trust him."

Laura wrapped her hands around his free one and kissed both sides of it. "I need to ask you something, but I'm not sure you're up to it right now."

"Well," he said as he closed his eyes, "I'm not going anywhere. What is it?"

"Did you alter Stavros' records in the computer here so his blood type matched Nikolas?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"To protect our son. They weren't remotely similar."

"But yours is the same as Alexis'."

"Is it?"

"Think about it, Stefan."

"Hmh?"

"You, Alexis and Nikolas are all AB negative. Stavros was O positive. What if Stavros' blood type was different because he wasn't really a Cassadine?"

Stefan peered at Laura through half-open eyes. "Stavros a bastard?"

"Surely you thought it was possible. Helena cheated on your father more than once."

"But not Stavros. I thought I was." Stefan blinked, determined to stay lucid enough to talk to her.

"You aren't."

"I know. Helena told me last night. Father forced her to have me. She hates me…I'm his son"

"Of course she does. She hated your father. No wonder she tried to kill you again. She knew the truth was about to come out and, with you as the prince, she loses everything." Laura again kissed the back of his hand. "Thank God she failed."

"Always a poor shot."

"Poor shot, poor sport, poor parent. The list goes on and on where she's concerned."

He shook his head. "It ends now. Whether I walk away with everything or nothing."

"Well, you can't fight her from here." She leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips. "Rest while you can."

"I'm sorry she hurt you again. I failed you. I should have listened to you about Lucky."

"Shh, it's over now. You kept me safe and almost sane while I grieved and now you've saved Lucky's life and brought him home to me. I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am."

"Gratitude. No. Family honor. What little is left," he said, beginning to fade again.

"That's the only reason you saved him, huh?" she teased. "To preserve your family honor."

"I —"

"You didn't give me a thought?"

"Always." His eyelids were fluttering as he fought to stay awake. "I love you."

"I'm glad."

"I owed."

"Owed what?"

"Luke."

"Luke? You don't owe Luke anything."

"Hmh. I still owe you."

"What do you owe me?"

"Crepes."

"Oh. You still owe me a trip to Paris."

"Paris." Stefan nodded and tried to smile but he was beginning to drift in and out of sleep. "I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles."

Laura laughed softly at the way this man's mind worked when his guard was down. "I'll love Paris anytime at all. As long as you're with me."

"Me?"

"Who better to see it with again than the man I love?" She would have said more, but Stefan had fallen asleep.

Parts 11-12

Parts 15-16

And So It Begins
Index