by LouCassadine
"Lasha!"
Stefan froze as he ascended the bluff, believing she was an apparition appearing before him. There was no way she could be real.
"I thought I was Laura now?" Her eyebrow cocked and her lips curved slightly as she turned to face him, her outward confidence belying the nervous tremble in her body. "And I thought you were dead? Wrong on both counts, I see."
Stefan, someone who rarely lost his composure or his ability to speak, promptly misplaced both. All he could do was sink to the stone bench, gazing at her with equal parts fascination, disbelief, and horror. How had she found him? And more importantly, why?
"Stefan Cassadine, at a loss for words. I can't say I've ever had the privilege. Do you mind?" She motioned to the empty seat beside him, asking permission to seat herself in a place that was once reserved exclusively for her.
"By all means." He had recovered his composure in a remarkably short period of time, Laura noticed. And she also noticed how he stood just as she sat next to him. This wasn't going to be easy...
"I cannot say this is a pleasure, Laura," he reverted to her given name, for reasons unclear to both, "but it is a surprise. May I ask why you are here?"
"I could ask you the same thing." At his hard gaze, Laura decided to change tactics . . . the truth would be an excellent place to start. "I came here to see you."
"Details would be greatly appreciated."
"I knew you weren't dead," Laura blurted. "I-after our talk that night on the docks, I thought maybe there was a beginning again . . . of sorts. I came back later that evening, wanting to go to you at Wyndemere, but instead I sat and talked with Nikolas on the docks. I could tell something wasn't right, even then. I think that was why the news of your death wasn't really a shock to me. Contrary to what you believe, I never wished you dead. Far from it."
"Spare me, Laura, and continue." His voice was cool, yet his eyes were flashing with temper and . . . something else.
"After your supposed death, even though I never really believed it was true, I kind of . . . bottomed out, if you will. I wasn't a very good mother to Nikolas, Lucky, or Lu. In fact, I wasn't a very good human being at all. I did some things I'm not proud of, then I decided to leave town for a little while, to get my bearings, I guess."
"You LEFT? When?"
"A couple of months ago."
"Damn you, Laura. I thought you would be there for our . . . your son, even though I couldn't be." He stepped to within inches of her, fists balled at his sides. "How could you leave him to deal with my death alone?"
"Don't you DARE lay this at my feet, Stefan. I haven't been the world's best mother, but where do you get off? You are Nikolas' father - you and I know it, as does Nikolas, no matter what a blood test may say - and you saw firsthand what MY betrayal did to him. HOW could you do this to your son?"
He paused before spitting out, "There were reasons."
"Reasons? I assume you mean Helena?"
When he refused to continue, Laura picked up where she had left off. "Okay, you had your 'reasons,' and I had mine. I was a mess Stefan, emotionally and psychologically. I had never realized how much I had come to rely on you, your strength, your . . . love, to get me through the hard times. I know I used you as an emotional crutch, but it was always so much more. After I found out about Lucky, something in me just snapped. I-I lost you, my compass, and I just didn't know what to do."
"You didn't lose me, Laura," Stefan's voice was nearly a whisper. "You threw me away."
She winced at the pain in his soft, raspy voice, but continued. "I was so confused. And I know that's the lamest excuse in the book, but it's true. I had Luke feeding me all of these half-lies and half-truths, I had Lucky ALIVE, I had you lying to me again . . . I'm sorry, but I made some horrible decisions. I can't tell you how much I regret what I did, and how I treated you." She reached out tentatively to touch his hand, wanting to reestablish that connection that had seen them through so much together. He didn't draw back immediately, which Laura took as a positive sign.
"So, to make a long story short, I knew deep inside that you weren't dead - that letter was beautiful, but I know a work of fiction when I see it, especially one penned by you - and I set about searching for you. With some invaluable assistance from Helena's towel boy." At Stefan's raised eyebrow, Laura smiled. "It's amazing what a person will do when you use the right inducements. Let's just say Helena would have no use for Andreas if I had carried out what I promised."
Stefan laughed in spite of himself. "I am sure you were a formidable opponent. I have seen you in action enough times to know." He hadn't said it to hurt her, but he could see it had. "So you found me here? Was I that predictable?"
"Not at all," she smiled tentatively, still lightly grasping his hands in hers. "I'm actually embarrassed that it too me this long to figure it out. Andreas told me to go back to the beginning . . . and so I did. Do you want to tell me what all of this is about?"
"No." He tempered the terseness of his reply as he gently disengaged his hands from hers and turned to gaze out at the sparkling blue water. "I think it would be best for me not to divulge too many secrets, Laura."
She walked up behind him, sliding her arms about his waist, linking her hands over the tautness of his flat stomach. She stood on tiptoe, grazing her lips across the sensitive area at the base of his neck, feeling the slight shudders rippling through his beautiful body as the tip of her tongue bathed his skin. For a moment she reveled in that delicious sensation, loving his warm, male scent. How she had missed this closeness.
"Laura," she felt more than heard his protestation as he wrapped his hands around hers only to pull them away. "I can't." He stated a bit more emphatically as he stepped away, unable to meet her eyes, and walked slowly and methodically down to the main house.
Laura gazed after him, knowing they had so far to go, but surer than she had ever been before that the wrongs could be righted. "I can earn your trust again, Stefan. And I will." All they needed was time, love, and patience. She steeled herself and trailed Stefan to the house, eager to confront old memories . . . and to begin new ones with the man she loved.