Where Will All Come Home?

Chapter 5

Stefan Cassadine was awakened early Saturday morning by a manicured fingernail inserted between his ribs.

“Is there any particular reason you were skulking about, hiding an extra nursery monitor from me last night?” Laura inquired.

“Good morning, I think,” replied her husband. He opened his eyes, simultaneously moving the offending finger to his lips.

Laura pulled her right hand back and indignantly rolled onto her left side, propping herself  on her elbow.

“Skulking,” she muttered. “Not answering. Finger-kissing.” She raised an eyebrow.  “You are up to something. And trying to hide it.”

“If anyone had told me that marriage would be so damaging to my aura of mystery, my mystique as a manipulator, I should surely have given the enterprise second thought.”

Stefan rolled sideways to face his wife. “You wound me,” he sniffed disdainfully.  “Reduced to ‘skulking’. And with nursery monitors, no less.” Laura dissolved in laughter
at his look of injured pride.

His icy voice and air of hauteur were unfortunately undermined by his eyes. He looked steadily into her eyes, stroked her hair with his left hand, then began a tactile inventory of her face. Laura sighed with pleasure as he traced the arch of her eyebrows, the line of her nose and finally, her lips before pulling her to him for a deep, satisfying kiss. He slipped his right arm beneath her and pulled her body to him while his left hand moved from her face to trace the outline of an ear, trailed down her neck and across her shoulder. He pushed an offending gown strap down her arm to bare her shoulder.

“And the point of this seduction is?” Laura murmured distractedly. Maintaining her indignant pose was becoming somewhat more difficult as his lips travelled slowly downward. From her neck to her collarbone, out to the point of her shoulder.

“It is Saturday morning and we, an old married couple. I am merely fulfilling my conjugal duty,” he whispered into her ear as the gown slipped farther down her body.

“This conversation is not over yet!” Laura felt obliged to protest.

“But it is definitely postponed.” Stefan smiled as he suddenly rolled to the left, pulling his wife on top of him.

Laura settled herself on the floor to play with Sergei. He was seated securely on the floor in a pillow fortress, so that there would be no harm from a sudden tumble. She loved watching his precarious balance as he worked at staying upright while reaching for toys and transferring them from one hand to another. She scattered several bright rattles within his reach. When she picked up the receiving blanket to play peep-eye with him, he began bouncing and waving his hands in anticipation of their fun.

Stefan stopped and smiled at Sergei’s excitement as he emerged from his dressing room attired for riding.

“Another postponement?” asked Laura, looking and sounding none too pleased. Her mild curiosity had begun to be replaced by genuine concern.

“I have arranged for Amy to meet Wenders, Sergei, and Lesley Lu at the park this afternoon for a picnic. You and I will be traveling an hour or so out into the countryside for a private picnic of our own, if that is agreeable. We will be able to speak privately then of any concerns, and together enjoy what promises to be a beautiful afternoon. It never occurred to me,” he added sheepishly, “that once married, we would still have difficulty finding time to be alone.”

“It sounds lovely.” Laura’s smile lit up the room.

Sergei bounced on the floor, making importunate baby noises. His big eyes beseeched his mother’s attention. Laura smiled down at him and touched his face.

“Let’s play!” She held the blanket up in front of him, and then slowly peeked around the side. “Peep-eye!”

Sergei’s crows of delight followed Stefan as he moved briskly down the hall. The first part of his plan was proceeding satisfactorily. With his usual self-discipline, he put aside his concern for Laura. This morning he needed to assure himself that Lesley Lu’s new saddle was acceptable, and that her riding skills were progressing adequately. If not, a better instructor would have to be secured. There were also minor family business matters requiring his attention, and a hospital financial statement to review. He had much to accomplish before afternoon.


__ __ __

It was, as her husband had promised, a beautiful fall afternoon. Laura watched his competent hands on the steering wheel of the car as they followed winding, narrow roads deeper into the countryside. The sun shone brightly. Fall had come slowly this year, and the spectacular scenery around them made it easy to forget how soon winter would be upon them. They passed occasional road-side stands with remnants of the past week’s Halloween excess: unclaimed pumpkins, Jack-o-lanterns that never were, and a few weary scarecrows.

The leaves blazed on either side of them as they came to a stretch of road so narrow that the branches of the trees from either side met in the middle forming an arbor. Any sudden gust of wind caused a shower of flaming leaves to batter against the windshield. Laura gasped with delight as another shower of leaves gently pelted their vehicle.

“It’s so beautiful!” She glanced at her husband to assure herself that he shared her delight, and was rewarded with the look of complete, unfeigned pleasure which his often-secretive face had learned to allow itself.

Whatever it was that they needed to discuss was not so serious that he couldn’t take pleasure in the day. Laura relaxed a little, and settled back to enjoy the drive.

Soon afterward Stefan spoke. “In about another mile we should be at our destination. I know how much you love mountain streams, and there is one accessible with only a short walk. If you like we could take our picnic basket there.”

“That sounds great. You should have seen Mrs. Lansbary this morning. She was so embarassed to admit that she had found a recipe for Greek potato salad in the local paper!” Laura laughed at her husband’s expression of dismay. “I shouldn’t have told you until after you ate it!”

Stefan gave an exaggerated shudder of horror at the very thought of Mrs. Lansbary taking cooking advice from the Port Charles newspaper, and smiled at his wife’s peals of laughter. He made an abrupt left turn onto an unpaved road, and concentrated on avoiding potholes. He drove slowly, locating a spot where they could safely leave the car and walk the short distance to the stream.

__ __ __



After consuming a luncheon that included what Stefan agreed was an undeniably delicious “quasi-Greek something”, Laura sat while he lay with his head in her lap, looking up at the sky through the arched branches of the trees overhead. The feeling of harmony in his personal life and with the world around him was almost overwhelming. He wanted nothing to damage or alter what he and Laura had begun building together. He was not afraid, but wary of the challenges which lay ahead.

Reluctantly, he began to speak. “I was monitoring Lesley Lu’s room last night, because I thought that she might sleep more comfortably if she were aware that I could hear any sound of distress. She has been having a recurrent dream. Not a nightmare, but a dream which disturbs her somewhat. I believe that she will tell you about it soon, and that you should wait for her to do so. I am sorry if you were alarmed. On the other hand, perhaps I should be alarmed too if you have come to read me so easily. How will I ever be able to keep a secret again?”

He sat up and grinned at her, but his face became grave as he looked at Laura’s shuttered face.

“Why did she tell you about the dream and not me?”

“She was afraid that her dream would make you sad. She told me, because I asked her why she has not been sleeping well. She has come into my study and slept on my couch twice this week.” Stefan carefully took her hands in his, as if physical contact could somehow ease the impact of the information.

He read the unspoken question on her face. “I believe that seeing Luke is distressing to her, and that their visitations are not going well. You know that I love her, and I do...”  he paused, and sighed. “Have a solution to propose. I am very much afraid that it will anger you, but nevertheless, I think that we should consider asking Luke to relinquish parental rights to Lesley Lu, and let me adopt her. It would, ultimately, I believe, save our child from a heartache that she in no way deserves.”

Laura, dry-eyed, watched the stream tumble over the small rocks, diverge and move around the larger ones, somehow continue its course over, past, around the obstacles in its path. She loved the sounds of rushing water. Long ago, on the island, the steady ebb and flow of the tide had been a constant reminder of the undiminished power of nature, and the inconsequence of her own small sufferings.

For a moment, she did not speak, only held his hands tighter as if seeking reassurance in the same way he had. Finally, she spoke. “In our lives, you and I have experienced betrayal, love, grief, great pain and devastating cruelty. I have been reminded many times by others, that by all odds, we should never have been able to overcome that past.” Laura paused, and watched the play of the sunlight on the stream’s surface for a moment.

“But we did. We did get past it. How could I ever be angry with you for loving Lulu so much that you want to shield her from hurt, make her your own?” The clear blue eyes looked into his at last. “Thank you. For Nikolas. For waiting for me. For loving Lesley Lu.”

Tears glinted in both their eyes as he pulled her into his arms. She kissed him, then pulled back and said, “I have to think about this for a while, okay? The thing is, I keep wondering about this quotation I remember. I don’t know where it’s from. ‘A friend is worth all the hazards you can run.’ ”

But what about a father, Stefan? Shouldn’t a real relationship with a father be more important? But how many hazards? How much pain should a child be asked to tolerate if another person can’t or won’t love them? ”

“I do not know,” he replied simply. Laura looked back out at the water and the woods beyond.

Wrapping his arms around his wife, he settled down to wait. A bird called in the distance. The woman he loved most rested in his arms. A sudden gust of wind and a change in the angle of the sunlight slanting down on their blanket reminded him that it was indeed late autumn. He reached behind him for an extra blanket and gently wrapped it around Laura. Lost in thought, she gazed at the tumbling stream, but he didn’t mind. Stefan Cassadine was a patient man.

Where Will All Come Home?

Chapter 6

Luke had just finished re-checking his calculations when he heard a knock at his office door. He glanced at his watch, then back down at the payroll forms on his desk. With a broad smile, he called out “Come on in, sweetie. Daddy’s almost finished here, and we....”

The door swung open, and Laura Cassadine marched into the room. She placed her hands on the back of the visitor’s chair in front of his desk, and stared at her ex-husband in a decidedly unfriendly manner.

Luke leaned forward, pulling a cigar out of his coat pocket. “I lived with you too long not to recognize that look on your face. Before things get ugly here, why don’t you just spit it out? What are you so mad about?”

“Don’t even think about lighting that nasty thing!” she snapped.

Luke bit off the end of the cigar, spit it into the trash, and leaned back in his chair. “I was expecting my daughter here, and had planned on a pleasant evening. Why don’t you calm down, sit down, and tell me what’s got your feathers so ruffled.”

“Lulu” said Laura “is at home in bed. She told me that she felt too ill to come here this afternoon. She asked me to take her temperature, and I did. It was 106 degrees.”

Luke leapt up from his chair. “Well, good God, why are you standing here? Is your mother with her? Why isn’t she at the hospital? The child’s brain could be fried! Don’t you know how dangerous a fever that high can be?”

Laura moved around the chair. “Yes, it was dangerous. But not now. She could’ve been hurt though. It’s a miracle the thermometer didn’t explode from being held against a light bulb that long. I don’t even like to think about it.” She collapsed into the chair without warning.

“She was faking?” Luke’s expression indicated that he knew the answer to his own question.

“Yeah. And being a Spencer, a little temperature wasn’t enough. There must be a gene for drama.” Laura shook her head wearily.

“I should’ve seen it coming” Luke muttered to himself, and sat back down in his chair. “What a spud I’ve been. What did you say to her?”

“I agreed that she was really sick, told her to get back in bed, and gave orders that the staff should watch her to make sure she didn’t get up. Then I came here.”

“You gotta give her credit for the old Spencer flair. A hundred and six, huh?” He managed a little smile, then scratched his head and leaned forward again, propping his chin on his hand.

“You’re not off the hook, mister. Not by any means.” Laura glowered at him.

“What are you gonna do?” he retorted. Drag her here by her heels? I already lost one popularity contest to the Count. I should’ve realized this one was a lost cause from the get-go.” Luke put a hand up and ruffled his hair. “A stupid spud.” He stuck the abandoned cigar back between his lips and looked away.

“No self-pity tonight, please”, said Laura firmly. “I’m gonna do what I should’ve done a long time ago.”

“Which is?” Luke asked sarcastically.

“Nothing. Nothing until you and I decide what to do.”

Laura took a deep breath. Our marriage may be over, but we’re both still her parents. We’re gonna find a way to parent her. Together. I let you walk out on me, but I never should’ve made it so easy for you to walk out on her.”

“Odd. I could’ve sworn that you left me when the Count swooped by on his black charger, and that you took my kid along for the ride.” Luke was relieved to find himself losing his temper. He wanted to yell at Laura, make this mess her fault. He didn’t want to think about screwing things up with his little girl. Probably by now Cassadine was sitting on the side of her bed promising to make that nasty Daddy disappear. Luke thought hard about getting up and getting a drink, but didn’t. Laura wouldn’t stop talking.

“Now, I feel like an idiot here, because you’ve been seeing more of her lately. I had convinced myself that the two of you were getting somewhere. She seemed happy enough when she came home, and I was so pleased.”

It was Laura’s turn to look away to hide her unhappiness. She turned back to him, and masked her despair with anger. “Now, you tell me what’s been going on and you tell me now. What have you done to my baby?”

“Listen,” Luke said, gesturing in the direction of the kitchen. “You wanna go in there and borrow a knife, or you just wanna rip my guts out with your bare hands? You don’t seem to be in a mood to listen to anything I’ve got to say.”

“Spare me your meager wit, and just tell me what’s been going on between the two of you.” Laura gripped the arms of the chair.

“Well, I thought things were going okay, myself.” Luke scratched his head in puzzlement. "A couple of weekends back she came, and the club flooded. You remember?”

Laura nodded thoughtfully.

“I didn’t even see her until Saturday night, late. I got in bone-tired.”

“And went to bed?” asked Laura.

“No. No, I went to check on her. She was awake, and I could tell she’d pretty much had it with me and the rest of the Spencers in general. I think she and Lucas had a disagreement, and the older kids dumped Michael on her for the whole day. Laura, she’s eight. A backed up sewer meant nothing to her. All she got out of it was that I wanted out, that I didn’t want to see her.”

“She told you that ?”

“Pretty much. She had worked out this plan. She’s really smart.” He smiled with wistful pride. “Anyway, she thought I would help her with this hare-brained project to convince you to let her stop seeing me. I mean it was a creative plan, but I would’t ever really go there.”

“Do I want to know the details of this plan?” Laura finally smiled at him, and for a moment he couldn’t understand how he’d ever let her go.

“No. Trust me on this. You don’t want to know. I told her that I hadn’t worked with a partner in a long time, and that she and I had to spend time together, you know, get to know each other - build a partnership - before we could start the project. And she agreed.”

Laura smiled at him again. “And your real project was to charm her into wanting to spend time with you.”

“Yeah. I mean I thought I could do it. There was a lot of lost time, but I really thought I could do it. I’ve gotten out of plenty of tight spots before.” He smiled sadly, and shrugged.

“Can you think of anything that would make her have bad dreams? Any scary experiences or anything?” Laura’s steady gaze disconcerted him.

“No. What are you talking about?”

“Something’s going on. Stefan knows whatever it is, because Lulu told him about it. She hasn’t been sleeping well. He says it’s some sort of recurring dream, to give her time and she’ll tell me about it. He’s found her asleep in his study twice this week. On his couch.”

“In the bat cave? At night? I can’t believe that any child would deliberately go there in the dark!”

“I’m not trying to rub your nose in it, but she feels safe in that room.” Luke cringed away from the sympathy in her eyes.

“What do you suggest we do now?” He waited for her answer.

Laura stood up to go. “I think that we both need to go see her. Maybe Lulu doesn’t need to tell me about the dream. Maybe she needs to tell you. Or both of us. Perhaps she can’t tell either of us yet, and just needs to know that you’ll come. She has been talking about you a lot lately, not to Stefan, but to me. It could be that she’s remembered something that upset her. She didn’t have many good times with us.” Laura paused. “Not with both of us.”

Luke sprang up from his chair, and grabbed his coat. On the way to the door, he asked “Laura, did you really come here tonight to try to force me into helping you with Lulu? I mean I’m glad, but I saw your face when you came into the room tonight. And it had goodbye and good riddance written on it in mile-high letters.”

Laura spun around, and looked at him directly. “Until I saw the look on your face when you found out she was faking, I was here for something else. I was so angry with you.... Well, you know how I get. I act from emotion, and think later.”

She stopped and swallowed hard. “I really came to ask you to let Stefan adopt Lulu. But the thing is, I know your face too. And your heart.” She looked up at him, and reached for his hand instinctively. “I’m sure now that you and Lulu giving up on each other would be wrong for both of you.”

“Me too.” Luke’s mobile face reflected his relief and his agreement. “But Laura, if you and Sonny hadn’t helped her give me that kick in the butt.”

He shook his head. “I feel so damn lucky. If you’d asked me that question - the one you aren’t ever, ever, gonna ask me now. If you’d asked me that question even six weeks ago....”

“Don’t think about it,” said Laura, and tears welled in her eyes. She blinked, turned, and reached for the door knob. “Let’s go. We’ve got business at Wyndemere.”

__ __ __

Lesley Lu sat cross-legged on the bed in her room, wondering how she could have gotten herself into this predicament. All she had wanted to accomplish was to avoid going to see her daddy. Instead, she was trapped in bed, with Mrs. Lansbary checking on her every five minutes or so.

Mrs. Lansbary bustled in the door with a tray. Lesley Lu heard her give instructions to the kitchen maid, Maria, to make sure the roast beef and potatoes were kept warm for the master and mistresses’ dinner. That didn’t sound too bad. Lesley Lu realized her stomach was growling. At least it was dinnertime.

“Here you are.” Mrs. Lansbary beamed at her in a motherly way, and reached out to touch her forehead. “Well, I think you’re doing much better, so a little supper is in order.” She pulled one of the bedside tables over, and laid the tray out with a self-satisfied flourish. “Now, doesn’t that look nice?”

Lesley Lu looked at her dinner in horror. Instead of Mrs. Lansbary’s delicious roast beef, potatoes and gravy, she saw a small cup of clear broth, a glass of ice water, and some unappetizing jello cubes of a flavor she couldn’t identify from the color.

“Thank you,” Lesley Lu answered, responded politely. “Umm. What flavor jello is this? Have we had it before?”

Mrs. Lansbary beamed with satisfaction. “No, it’s a little recipe of my own. I used unflavored gelatin and added some fever-reducing herbs from my kitchen garden. It’ll do you a world of good! Now you just enjoy it, Lesley Lu, and I’ll be back to check on you in a few minutes. I want to check the dessert for tonight. It’s Crema. Remember my home-made Greek pudding with fresh strawberries on top? What a shame that you got sick tonight! You always did love it so!”

Mrs. Lansbary left, and Lesley Lu fell backward in disgust. Watching her from just outside the door, Mrs. Lansbary suppressed a chuckle. The little stinker had it coming to her for scaring them all with her fake temperature.

With any luck, she wouldn’t try that trick again. Mrs. Lansbary hurried down the hall. She needed to check on little Sergei, whom she had left in the kitchen with one of the maids, and she still didn’t have the dinner table set properly. As she came to the end of the hallway, and hurried down the steps, Mrs. Lansbary was going so fast that she didn’t even notice Mrs. Cassadine and that dreadful Spencer man until she almost ran right into them.

What a night! After bringing Mrs. Spencer up to date on Lesley Lu, she watched in dismay as Luke and Laura climbed the stairs. Mr. Cassadine was not going to be pleased to come home to find this visitor!

Lulu did not hear Luke and Laura enter her room. Trying to stay technically in bed while getting a desirable book from across the room had proven difficult to manage. Just as Luke opened his mouth to speak, Lulu gave up, looked around as her foot touched the floor, oh so quietly, and... saw her parents.

“Hello, Princess,” Luke started. “I thought that if you were too sick to come see me, I’d have to come see you.” Laura pulled the rocking chair close to Lulu’s bed, and gestured for Luke to have a seat. She went around the bed, and sat on the far side, reaching over to touch Lulu’s forehead.

“It’s practically a miracle! Lulu, your fever seems to be all gone! I can’t believe it.”

“Well then” said Lulu, “I guess I’ll just get up now.”

“Oh, no. Bad idea,” offered Luke. “You probably ought to stay in bed for the rest of the night, at least. Maybe” he looked quizzically at Laura. “a couple of days more. Just to be sure.”

Laura nodded her head in solemn agreement. “Absolutely. After a scare like this, we can’t be too careful.”

“You haven’t eaten your dinner yet,” observed Luke. “That’s not a good sign either.”

Lulu looked from Luke’s solemn face to Laura’s. “Maybe I just need some sleep now” she suggested. “I think I’m well!”

“If it’s okay with you, Laura, I think I’ll just sit here with Lulu for a while. I’d hate to take a chance on that fever suddenly going haywire again.”

“Thanks” beamed Laura. “I’ll just go down and check on the baby and see if dinner is ready. Back later, sweetie.” She bent down, kissed her daughter’s forehead, and left the room.

Luke looked around the room with interest. Although he had,on occasion, been an uninvited guest at Wyndemere, he had never been into this room. It was apparent that someone had given considerable thought to designing a functional and pleasant child’s environment. There was a small loft in one corner, which apparently was designed both for play and as a reading nook, and carefully painted to resemble a tree house. Near the loft was a small desk with a built in hutch for a computer and shelves for books and other supplies. On the far side of the room, dolls were arranged on another set of low shelves, more sat at a small table engaged in an ongoing tea party, while others napped in their beds. The windows of her doll house twinkled with light. Taking a closer look, he realized that it was actually a detailed replica of Wyndemere.

“I spend lots of time here” Lulu offered, “ but there is another space downstairs near the wine cellars for my projects. Wenders or Papa helps me with bigger tools. I am not old enough to use them unsupervised.”

“This is a great room, Lulu” Luke told her. “ Is that an old picture of your Mom and me on your bedside table?”

“Yes.”

Lulu pointed to the old studio portrait. “After Mommy took this off the mantel at our other house, she put it in a drawer. I used to get it out a lot, so finally, she just hung it on the wall of my room for me. When we moved, I brought it here. Here’s a really good picture of Little Dimitri, my pony.”

She handed the picture of the horse to Luke. “Isn’t he beautiful? You should see him sometime. And did you know that he is the grandson of Nik’s wonderful Dimitri? Dimitri ate French Toast with Nikolas. That’s not made up, but real. Mrs. Lansbary remembers it also.”

She took the picture from her father’s outstretched hand, and carefully replaced it on the table.

“Papa tells many stories about Nikolas and Dimitri. Some are true, like the French Toast story. Many are not, like the one about Nik and Dimitri flying across seven fiery oceans to save a beautiful Princess. That story is one of my favorites though.”

Laura carefully pushed the door open. She was carrying a tray piled high with roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, salad, and dessert. “Since you missed dinner, Luke, I brought you some food.” She checked Lesley Lu’s forehead again. “Is everything okay here? Lulu nodded, her eyes fixed hungrily on the tray.
.
“We’re fine,” said Luke.

Laura nodded, kissed Lulu again, and went out the door, closing it quietly behind her. “It looks like there is too much food on this tray for one person, and there seems to be a small plate I don’t need. Maybe, you could share some of my dinner?”

Lesley Lu agreed quickly. “I’m sure that I’ve recovered. It won’t hurt me to eat, really.”

Luke was already dividing the food between two plates. “While we eat,” he said genially, “we’ll catch up on our plans. You’re not the type to let grass grow under your feet, so I’m betting you’ve been working on our project independently.”

Lulu’s guilt-stricken face assured him he had hit home.

“Why don’t you just give me a report on what you found out while we eat, and then we’ll decide what to do next,” Luke tore his roll apart and handed her half.

Laura had finished feeding Sergei dinner, bathed him, and dressed him for bed without hearing a sound from Lesley Lu’s room. She paused near Lulu’s doorway with the sweet-smelling baby in her arms. She heard the low rumble of Luke’s voice and a giggle from Lesley Lu and smiled with satisfaction. Things seemed to be going smoothly enough.

As she carefully navigated the stairs to the first floor with Sergei, she reviewed how she would explain her decision regarding Luke to Stefan. She was sure that he, the most logical of men, could only agree with her. Although he and Luke would never be friends, if Lesley Lu’s interests were best served by encouraging this relationship with Luke, Stefan would agree to the arrangement.

Once downstairs, Laura placed Sergei in his swing, and sat down on the sofa to read the evening newspaper. The sound of footsteps approaching the front door caught Sergei’s attention. As Stefan opened the door, the delighted baby smiled and babbled a greeting.   Crossing the room to lift his son from the swing, Stefan kissed him and brought him to the sofa. He leaned down to kiss Laura tenderly, then settled himself next to her to play with their excited son.

Mrs. Lansbary entered the room. “A phone call for you, Mr. Cassadine. Business,” she added discreetly. “Perhaps, you would like to take it in your study?”

“Very well. Thank you, Mrs. Lansbary.” Stefan frowned slightly. He wasn’t expecting any calls.

“Laura, please take Sergei for a moment. I will return quickly.” He reassured the disappointed baby with another quick kiss to his cheek, and climbed the stairs as quickly as possible. He had endured a three hour board meeting that afternoon, and was in no mood to discuss business affairs before dinner. He impatiently picked up the phone in his office.

“Stefan Cassadine.”

“Father?”

“Nikolas. What’s wrong, son?”

“I did what you asked. People are far more impressed with our money and power than they should be. I am using my cell phone to let you know that things have not gone as you planned.”

“Why not?” Stefan was filled with foreboding.

“The gentleman’s wife died. Suddenly and inexplicably. Literally fell down dead. She couldn’t have been twelve feet from me. She had just finished telling me what a charming boy I was, said she wanted to introduce me to her husband. She strolled away to find him, laughing, and, and...”

“Be calm, son.” Stefan’s voice was soothing. “That was a dreadful thing to witness. No wonder you are distressed.”

“Are we responsible? Why did you have me make contact with these people?”

“I will explain everything to you very soon. I never intended harm to them. You must believe me. This unfortunate death is in no way your responsibility.”

“I have to go now. The others will be looking for me. I need to see you.”

“Soon, very soon. I will be in touch.” Stefan broke the phone connection. He looked down at his desk, considered his options, and immediately dialed another number. At the sound of footsteps, he replaced the phone in its cradle.  Expecting a playful Laura come to chide him for deserting her, his expression of welcome changed to one of unalloyed disbelief when he glanced up to see Luke stroll across the room, and make himself comfortable on the sofa.

“You never intend harm” commented Luke, as if continuing a conversation. He pulled the inevitable cigar from his jacket pocket, and rolled it between his fingers.

“Nevertheless, bodies are found on an alarmingly regular basis almost anywhere a Cassadine passes. I wonder what you and young Nik are up to now.”

Chapters 3-4

Chapters 7-8

Where Will All Come Home?
Index