Chapter Twenty Six 

Luke looked down and then up. He glared at Alexis, who had her eyes closed and 
was breathing hard. 

“Alexis, are you trying to kill us?” Luke asked, keeping his voice low, so as to 
keep them from falling off the edge completely. But his face told the story. He 
was almost to his limit with her and if he could move his arms without making 
them fall, he would have wrung her neck at that very moment. 

“Me!” Alexis said in a loud voice and kept on going and ignoring Luke, who was 
trying to get her attention. The more she yelled, the more the glider slid off 
the ledge. He was trying to hold on to the edge and shut her up at the same 
time. 

“YOU…” 

“Alexis.” 

“WERE THE ONE…” 

“Alexis” 

“THAT WASN'T WATCHING WHERE…” 

“ALEXIS SHUT UP!” Luke yelled and the second he did the glider started to fall. 
Alexis screamed and wrapped her arms around Luke's neck. Luke spent the next few 
moments trying to get them both unhooked from the glider and fighting to take a 
breath. Alexis' hands were wrapped too tightly around his throat and it was 
getting hard for him to breathe. At that moment, the glider pulled free from the 
ledge it was resting on. Luke got them free and struggled to pull them up onto 
the ledge. He finally got them both to safety. As soon as they were both lying 
safely on firm ground, Luke not so gently pulled her hands free from his neck. 

“Woman, you are beginning to get on my nerves. You could have killed both of us 
with that mouth of yours and to top it all off, you almost choked me to death. 
Until we get out of this mess, I want you to sit there and shut up and don't 
move one muscle or sweetheart, I will throw you off the ledge and see if you can 
turn into a vampire bat,” Luke yelled, glaring at Alexis with hate filled eyes. 
He was at his limit with her for the moment and she knew it. Something from the 
look she got from him made her realized he wasn't joking. So she just sat there 
and did nothing for the next few moments. 

Lucky and Nikolas were leaning over the ledge watching the two of them. If it 
weren’t so dangerous the boys would have been laughing. Alexis and Luke made a 
great comedy team and they didn't even know it. Lucky had waited until they were 
both safely on the ledge before speaking, “Dad? Alexis? Are you both alright?” 
Lucky asked finally. He decided it was time to break them up before he did kill 
her. 

“For now, Cowboy,” Luke snapped, still glaring at Alexis but he slowly turned 
his head toward Lucky's voice. “Get the climbing gear ready. We have no choice 
but to climb out of here.” 

“Give us a few moments and we will be ready.” Lucky said and went to get the 
gear ready. Nikolas had to do most of the work because it was hard for Lucky to 
make the right kinds of knots using one hand. Lucky had to keep Lu involved in 
this because it kept her from sitting down and crying. She was afraid that Luke 
wasn't going to make it off the ledge. 

Luke, meanwhile, tried to stretch the kink he felt in his leg and then attempted 
to stand up. It wasn't a kink. Luke had either broke his leg or strained it 
really badly, because when he stood up, he lost his balance from the pain that 
shot threw his leg, as he put pressure on it. He fell backward and slipped off 
the ledge. He was barely holding on and Alexis started to help him up but she 
suddenly stopped and just sat there. 

“Alexis, Don't just sit there help me up,” Luke snapped at her. Alexis just 
shook her head no and refused to move. “What do you mean, no? Why aren't you 
talking?” Luke demanded trying to get a better grip and ignore the pain he was 
in because of his leg. 

“You ordered me to sit here and shut up. That is what I am doing,” Alexis said 
finally and put her arms across her chest and just sat there. 

“Alexis. Please, I'm going to fall here. Pull me up,” Luke asked, losing a lot 
of his anger. And he really began to panic. He was about to lose his grip all 
together and if she didn't do something fast, he was a dead man. “Are you going 
to stop yelling at me and talk to me as an adult?” Alexis asked liking having 
him in this position for the time being. 

“Alexis?” Luke pleaded. 

“No. I want to hear you say I am sorry and promise to never do it again or you 
are on your own buster,” Alexis said, getting right in his face. If Luke could 
have risked it, he would have grabbed for her and pulled himself up but he 
couldn't take the chance at the moment. Luke just stayed there for few moments. 
It wasn't until he almost fell for the second time in a few minutes that got him 
to make a decision. “All right. I am sorry for yelling at you and it will not 
happen again. Now, please pull me up!” Luke begged. This had gone too far for 
him. He was about ready to fall to his death and she was worried about her 
pride. Maybe the best thing he could do was kill all the Cassadines and 
hopefully Nikolas wouldn't be upset with him if he told him the truth about his 
parentage. 

“Are you going to admit that we are in this situation because you weren't 
watching what you were doing?” Alexis asked. 

“Alexis?????????? I am going to fall. Please pull me up,” Luke begged again. 

She was about ready to say something else but the look on his face told her he 
wasn't joking and she decided to help him up. She grabbed his wrists and pulled 
Luke back to safety. She got him on the ledge and noticed that he was bleeding 
profusely. He leg might not have been broken before but it was now and to make 
things worse, it was a compound fracture, the bone having broken through the 
skin. Luke was in too much pain to do anything but lay there. He wanted to kill 
her but he didn't have the energy. Alexis took over and started administering 
first aid. She had to stop the bleeding first and worry about his fracture 
later. She reached for his belt and started to undo it. Luke popped his head up 
and grimacing from the pain asked, “What are you doing?” 

“Saving your rotten life,” Alexis said, as she pulled the belt free. She hooked 
it right above his knee and pulled it tight. He handed him the other end and 
said, “Don't let go. I don't care how much it hurts. You are bleeding too much 
and if you don't get help soon, you are in trouble,” Alexis ordered and went to 
gather some sticks. She found what she was looking for and finished the 
tourniquet and made a splint for his leg. Luke didn't say anything but instead 
groaned every time she touched his leg. Lucky and Nikolas finally got the ropes 
ready and threw the harness down with the. 

“Lucky? Nikolas? We have a problem. Luke broke his leg. You two are going to 
have to pull us up. If you don't think you can do it, go for help. He needs 
medical attention right away,” Alexis yelled. 

“Dad are you all right?” Lucky asked, wondering how that happened. 

“I'm fine. Do what she says. If you can't pull us up go for help,” Luke said, 
finding the strength to hide the pain he was in order to talk to his son. 

“We can do it,” Lucky said, “Get hooked up. Alexis, hook him up first and then 
yourself. We can't pull the both of you and you can help yourself. So, you 
first,” Lucky said and then ordered Nikolas to get the ropes ready. 

Lu was staring at Lucky with wide eyes and asked, “Daddy going to be ok?” 

“Daddy is fine. He just broke his leg. We will get him to the hospital and they 
will mend him just as good as new,” Lucky said, kissing his sister on the 
forehead, and then went to help Nikolas. 

Alexis had just finished hooking them both up and asked Luke, “Can you keep 
yourself from hitting the wall?” 

“I'll be fine. You just be careful. If you die, the information about the kids' 
paternity you have will be sent to that family of yours. I don't want to lose my 
children, as well,” Luke said. 

“So you came to a decision?” Alexis asked. 

“I have and nothing changes. I just hope I'm not making a big mistake for doing 
his,” Luke said. “Lucky, We are hooked up. Pull her up.” Luke yelled and Alexis 
started to raise up. She had made a slight tug on the rope to tell the boys 
which set she was hooked to. Lucky had the rope wrapped around behind him and he 
was holding on with one hand. Nikolas and Lu were in front of him and they were 
slowly pulling her up. Lucky slowly backed up and only stopped when she told him 
to. It took them a few moments but they finally got her to the top. Alexis 
quickly unhooked and they got ready to pull Luke up. As they slowly pulled Luke 
up. Alexis ordered Lu to lay on the edge and tell them if he got hooked or 
slammed into the wall too much. Luke had one hand on the wall and one on his 
leg. He was letting them do all the work. He looked up and saw his little girl 
looking down at him with this scared look on her face. Luke smiled at her and 
she brightened up just a little bit. When he was finally up to the surface, Lu 
reached for his hand and tried to pull him up. As soon as Luke was on the 
ground, he grabbed Lu and pulled her close, kissing her all over her face. 

“Are you ok?” Lu asked her father. 

“I'm fine now baby,” Luke said. The rest of them came over and helped him to the 
jeep and they drove off. They left everything as it was for the moment, the only 
thing that worried them was getting Luke to the hospital. Alexis drove down the 
mountain with Nikolas in the front seat and Lucky and Lu in the back with their 
father. Luke grimaced every time they hit a bump and snapped at Alexis after the 
third one. “You're hitting them on purpose,” Luke snapped. 

“You shut up and let me drive,” Alexis said and she tried to avoid the other 
potholes. She knew every time they hit one it only caused Luke more pain and she 
felt guilty as it was. She didn't want Luke to get hurt any more because of her 
driving. 

Nikolas turned in his seat and watched the three of them from the front seat. Lu 
had her head on her father's stomach and Luke was petting her hair. Lu was 
crying and he was trying to calm her down. Lucky placed a gentle hand on hers 
and squeezed it tight. “Lu, it is going to be ok. I have seen daddy hurt worse 
than this,” Lucky said. 

“Hey, kiddo. I'm fine,” Luke said, raising the little girl's chin so he could 
look at her. 

“I thought you were going to leave me like mommy did,” Lu cried. 

“I would never leave you and that is a promise. You are stuck with me for a long 
time to come,” Luke said and pulled her closer to him. Lucky had to help make 
sure she didn't hit Luke's leg and they sat there, holding the little girl and 
trying to help calm her down. While Luke's mind was on his daughter and not his 
leg, the pain was hardly noticeable. It had taken about an hour to get to the 
small local hospital. 

Everyone sat in the waiting area for news on Luke. Alexis had Lu on her lap and 
the little girl was fast asleep. “Miss Davis?” The doctor said as she walked 
toward them. “Mr. Spencer is fine, but I want him to stay here over night, just 
to be on the safe side.” 

“Can we see him?” Alexis asked. 

“You can. He is in room 125, but he might not be up to talking. We gave him 
really strong painkillers to help him rest. We will need some more to take home, 
as well as some antibiotics. If he stays put for the next few days and does not 
move around too much, he should be able to use crutches after that until the 
cast comes off in about eight weeks,” the doctor said and went to check on the 
other patients. 

Alexis and the kids walked into Luke's room and found him lying in the bed with 
his eyes closed. Lu and Lucky stood beside their father's side and Lucky asked, 
“you awake?” 

“I'm awake. Get me out of here?” Luke ordered in a tired voice. 

“Sorry, they want you here for the night but you can leave after that,” Alexis 
said. 

“I don't care what they want. I want out of here now,” Luke said trying to get 
up. 

“No. You told me to stay put for one more day and now it is my turn,” Lucky 
said, placing his left arm on Luke's chest. 

“Kid, that isn't fair. You're not supposed to turn the tables on your old man,” 
Luke said. 

“You do it to me all the time. Besides, you are half asleep already. Let the 
drugs take affect and when you wake up we will go back the beach house. I 
promise,” Lucky said and Luke just gave up. He knew the kid was right. He really 
was tired and it didn't take long for him to fall asleep. 

Lucky looked at Nikolas and Alexis. “I'm going to say here with him. You two go 
back and get the stuff we left behind and come back in the morning. Take Lu with 
you.” 

“We will go get the stuff but we are coming right back here. I'm not leaving you 
in the hospital alone. We will bring you back something to eat,” Alexis ordered 
and she and Nikolas left. Lu refused to leave her father's side and the little 
girl climbed up on his bed and went to sleep next to her father. Lucky sat in 
the chair beside his father and wondered if the chair at GH was as hard as this 
one. If it was, then Luke loved him more than he thought. The chair was as hard 
as a rock and not very comfortable at all. He couldn't think about sleeping in a 
chair like this for more than a day. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Alexis let Nikolas drive back to the picnic sight. She figured it would give him 
something to do as she talked. “Nikolas, we need to talk,” Alexis said, as the 
town disappeared behind them. 

“What about?” Nikolas asked. He was wondering what had brought Alexis to the 
island and it was more than she said when she first showed up at the beach 
house. 

“It is about being the heir and before you say anything, I want you to hear me 
out. I know how you feel but your feelings are not the only ones in involved 
here,” Alexis began. 

“But mine should be the only ones that matter,” Nikolas said in his defense. 

“Yes, they should and I would normally agree with you if it wasn't for 
Alexander. You know his reputation among the family and he is ready to destroy 
all of us for the empire. I talked the others into joining up against him but it 
took a few conditions. One, they get a share of the money from now on and you 
take over as planned when you turn twenty-five. The Empire is dead. All you will 
run is a big company. Stefan can stay on as advisor and I will always be your 
lawyer. Please Nikolas I know this will be hard for you to understand but all 
our lives depend on it,” Alexis begged. 

“Is he as bad as everyone says?” Nikolas asked. 

“Worse. Alexander frightened Stavros as well as the rest of us. He is never to 
be forgotten or dealt with lightly. He is a very strong adversary and if I had 
my choice between making Luke mad and Alexander. I would chose Luke any day,” 
Alexis said. 

“Can I think about it?” Nikolas asked. 

“You have all summer. I bought you that much time with a little help from cousin 
Jerry Jax, but after that, the family wants an answer,” Alexis said. 

“I will tell you before we leave the island and Alexis, if I chose not to, can 
you live with it?” Nikolas asked. 

“I hope we can,” Alexis said, wondering what Alexander would do if Nikolas 
didn't take over when he was twenty-five. She hated to think about it. Alexis 
and Nikolas drove in silence for the rest of the trip. Nikolas was thinking 
about all the stories he had heard about Alexander and didn't like the sound of 
the man. Stefan had done his best in making sure they never crossed paths. 
Nikolas was thankful for that. The pictures of Alexander made him look like some 
kind of mad man in the late movies he stayed up watching when Stefan thought he 
was in bed back in Greece. What was he going to do? Walk away from the family 
and leave everything up the Alexander? He knew what he would do to the money and 
power that came along with it and that bothered Nikolas. He wasn't ready to take 
over as heir again but he was thinking strongly about deciding to say yes. 
Alexis' mind was running through all of this and more. She hoped Luke would keep 
quiet about Nikolas' parentage and then things would become normal again. At 
least as normal as things got in the Cassadine family. She was also thinking 
about what she did to Luke back on the cliff. She would have never done that if 
she had known his leg was broken. After all the teasing and taunting Luke had 
done to her over these few years, she had known him and it was kind of fun 
turning the tables on him. His face was priceless as he was begging for her 
help. She liked him that way and maybe this trip would be a little more 
enjoyable than she thought it was going to be. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Lucky and Lu had gone out to get something to drink, as Luke laid in bed 
ignoring the pain in his leg and thinking about Alexis. She was going to pay for 
making him beg for her help. He had all summer to get even and one way or 
another, he was going to do it. Luke also was thinking about what Alexis had 
said and decided to keep things quiet. She was right. Nikolas would never see 
him as his father and the thought of losing Lucky or Lu to anyone frightened 
him. Luke was going to have to check up on this Cassadine named Alexander. He 
might be better off just being offed all together. But for now it was best that 
he got as much information on this Alexander as possible. Luke was going to have 
to make some calls to Sonny and soon. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Across the ocean, in Port Charles the day after Bobbie and Stefan had dinner. 

Bobbie had just received some flowers and the card read, “Barbara, I enjoyed our 
dinner and hope to see you again soon. Your friend, Stefan Cassadine.” 

Bobbie smiled a small smile and went to place the flowers in water. Amy dropped 
in, as she was putting the flowers on the table. “Who did you get the flowers 
from? Jerry?” Amy asked with a sly smile on her face and picked up the card and 
read it. She put it down and looked at Bobbie with a scowl on her face. “How can 
you even talk to that man? After what he did to Laura and her family?” Amy 
asked, putting down the card as if it were a deadly virus. 

“Stefan did nothing to Laura. He was as much a victim as the rest of us. You 
have no right in saying other wise,” Bobbie said, roughly arranging the flowers. 

“I have no right? My sister is in a mental institution because of that family 
and you tell me I have no right? Bobbie, how dare you?” Amy snapped at her. 

“Amy, Stefan isn't the enemy. He helped put his mother into an institution 
because of her crimes against Laura,” Bobbie snapped at her. 

“He did that just to keep her out of prison and save face among the rest of the 
world. While Laura's good name is being run through the mud for their crimes,” 
Amy said. 

“Her good name? Laura, has been nothing but trouble to my brother ever since 
they met. If it wasn't for her, then Luke might not have to be in hiding right 
now because of all of this. The only good thing that came from their meeting was 
Lucky and Lu. The rest was just a big heart ache,” Bobbie said coldly. She was 
sick of hearing about pure Laura from Amy and Leslie. 

“Luke is as much as fault as the Cassadines. If he wouldn't have raped her or 
taken her all around the world then maybe we could have found out about this 
sooner,” Amy said getting right into Bobbie's face. 

“That's it. I have had it with you and Leslie shoving the ‘poor Laura' routine 
down my throat. Laura was the one that made a bomb that killed eight kids just 
to get at Lucky. She was the one that dumped him at an orphanage when he was 
only five years old and then, when he did get back to his family, she treated 
him like dirt every time Luke's back was turned. So, don't feed me that poor me 
act any more. Laura Spencer is most probably faking it just to stay out of 
prison. Now get out of my house and go back to your own place. You are no longer 
welcome here,” Bobbie snapped and opened the door, jumping back a little because 
Stefan was on the other side and he had his hand up to knock. 

“I don't want to be around here anyway. The type of rift raft you allow in your 
home gives me the creeps,” Amy said and walked past Stefan and headed up to 
Leslie's place to tell her what had just happened. 

Stefan walked in and Bobbie shut the door behind him. “Did I interrupt 
something?” Stefan asked, looking over his shoulder at the closed door. 

“No. You walked into the end of something. Amy was upset about your flowers and 
we had words,” Bobbie said and she sat down on the couch suddenly very tired. 

“I didn't mean to cause you any trouble. Are you all right?” Stefan asked, 
sitting down beside her. 

“I am fine but do me a favor and don't bring up Laura's name. I'm sick of 
hearing it,” Bobbie said, looking at him and tried to smile but failed. 

“The stress is getting to you. Here, lay back and relax and let me find a way to 
make you feel better,” Stefan said and got up from the couch and stood behind 
her and rubbed her shoulders. Bobbie just closed her eyes and enjoyed what he 
was doing and the stress slowly went out of her at least until Leslie stormed 
into the apartment. 

“How dare you?” Leslie snapped and confronted both of them. 

“Who? Him or me?” Bobbie asked. 

“Both of you. You for upsetting Amy, who has had enough heartache the way it is, 
to deal with HIM showing his face anywhere around this town,” Leslie said. Her 
eyes were flashing red and she looked ready for a fight. 

Bobbie snapped and let her have it with both barrels of her temper. “I gave Amy 
exactly what she asked for. She had the gall in pushing this all on Luke and 
Stefan and they didn't have anything to do with it. If you want to be mad at 
somebody other than Laura, put the blame on Helena and leave the rest of us in 
peace. Plus, have you forgotten how to knock? If you did, here's how: you raise 
your fist and lightly tap the door. You don't burst into someone's home 
uninvited,” Bobbie said, her temper getting the best of her at the moment. 

“Laura is sick. I heard what you said to Amy about her. She did not do those 
things to her son. It was Lasha and she wouldn't be around if it wasn't for his 
family,” Leslie said pointing her finger right at Stefan. 

“She didn't do it? She didn't know what she was doing? That is all I have heard 
from the both of you for weeks now and I have had it up to here,” Bobbie said, 
raising her hand way above her head. 

Lesley didn't back down. “I have just gotten started. I am putting you on 
notice, Mr. Cassadine. I am suing you for 100 million dollars for false 
imprisonment of Laura and me. I might not be able to make you pay with prison 
time for what you did to me and my daughter but I promise it will be very public 
and costly for you,” Leslie snapped. 

“No. Leslie don't do this. You are just making things worse. Luke took those 
kids to get away from the publicity and the longer this is in the public's mind, 
the longer he will be away. For God sakes, for Laura's children, drop this suit 
and let things die down,” Bobbie begged. 

“No. He will pay for what he did and that is final,” Leslie said and stormed out 
of the apartment without another word. 

Bobbie let out a blood-curdling scream of frustration and Stefan put his arms 
around her to confront her. “I am very sorry Barbara. I will do my best to give 
Leslie what she wants just to keep it out of the press,” Stefan said. 

“That is what she wants. She wants the Cassadine name run through the mud just 
as the press has been doing to Laura all these weeks. She doesn't care about the 
money, only to make you suffer. But the problem is her suit will just make 
things worse for the children,” Bobbie said. Stefan agreed and knew Bobbie was 
right. As long as the press went after Laura and all of them, Luke would stay in 
hiding just to keep the kids safe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Luke sat in his hospital room waiting for Alexis to arrive with the doctor so he 
could get out of there. Lucky stood in the corner smiling and Luke glared at 
him. “You remember you have to get your arm worked on eventually and I promise 
the day you go home, I will take forever to fill out the papers,” Luke warned. 

“I can't help it. You are worse than I am,” Lucky said, his laughter getting the 
best of him. Luke picked up the pillow and flung it at his son. Lucky ducked and 
just started to laugh even more. Luke shook his head and grabbed the crutches 
the hospital gave him and decided to leave right then. He dared anyone to try 
and stop him. Lucky stopped laughing and went after his father. He moved really 
well on those crutches for a person who just learned how to use them. 

“Dad, Stop.” Lucky said and caught up with his father, “Where do you think you 
are going?” 

“Out of this place. I'm tired of sitting around and waiting for them to let me 
go,” Luke said not stopping a second. He just kept on going. Alexis and his 
doctor came around the corner and she wasn't surprised to find Luke coming 
toward them. 

“Luke, where do you think you're going?” she asked. 

“Where do you think I'm going?” Luke snapped. 

“Mr. Spencer. I think you should slow it down. I just finished telling Ms. Davis 
this and now I'm telling you. I want you off your feet for at least a few weeks 
and then come back and we will see how your leg is healing,” The doctor said. 

“That all?” Luke asked. 

“Yes.” the doctor said. 

“Good, lets go,” Luke ordered and walked on. Lucky walked after him shaking his 
head at the nurse with the wheel chair, who couldn't get him to stop long enough 
to get him in it. Luke wanted out and nothing was getting in his way. Lucky had 
to remind him of this when he was ready to go home after he got his arm worked 
on, not that he thought he was going to get anywhere with it. 

Alexis drove back to the beach house. Luke was in the back seat with his bad leg 
across the seat and Lucky was in the front seat. Alexis looked in the rear-view 
mirror and said, “You sure make a rotten patient. I heard you snapped at 
everyone that tried to help you all night. Those nurses were glad to get rid of 
you.” 

“I didn't ask to stay there over night. They are the ones that wanted to put up 
with me,” Luke said. 

“You should see him when he has a cold and mom talked him into staying home for 
a few days. By the time he is better, she was ready to ship him somewhere and 
fast,” Lucky said still giggling. He stopped when he remembered what Laura had 
done to him. Lucky tried to focus on Luke instead. He was used to his father 
acting like this. Luke hated to admit he wasn't superhuman, when he was sick or 
hurt. He was a bear to deal with during the entire time. You had to either let 
it get to you or ignore the temper and help him out anyway. Lucky wondered if 
Alexis and the others were ready to deal with him this way. The only person who 
would not get snapped at would be Lu. She had a way of wrapping her daddy around 
her little finger and getting away with murder. After they got Luke on the deck 
and seated comfortably in one of the chairs, Lucky and Nikolas took Lu into town 
to get some supplies. Alexis was left alone to take care of the big grouch. 
Alexis went to get Luke some water so he could take his pills. From the look on 
his face, that leg was causing him pain but he wasn't complaining about it yet. 
Alexis came back a few moments later and handed him the glass and shoved the 
pills in his hand. Luke reluctantly took them and after awhile the pain did go 
away. 

“Thanks, Lexie. Can I have some privacy? I want to make a call back to the 
states and you looking over my shoulder bothers me,” Luke asked, trying to be 
nice but it came off like an order. Alexis gave him a cold smile and decided to 
go for a walk. She hoped the kids wouldn't take all day or Luke might not live 
very long. 

Luke watched her go and then picked up the cell phone and called Sonny. After a 
few rings, Sonny answered the phone. “Luke's, Sonny speaking.” 

“Sonny? It's me, partner. How are things going back in old PC?” Luke asked, 
lighting a cigar and relaxing for the first time since Miss Davis arrived. 

“The Press is still hot on your story and it is worse now that Laura's hearing 
started. Scotty has pleaded guilty for reasons of insanity and the court is 
listening to experts of DID and tapes of Laura that her doctor sent over. Lasha 
is in most of them and from my sources at the court, they are rough to listen 
to. You did a good thing taking the kids out of here the way you did. We do have 
another problem that you should know about,” Sonny said. 

Luke looked up at the sky wondering when life was going to go back to normal for 
awhile. “What is it?” He asked. 

“Leslie is suing Stefan Cassadine and his family for false imprisonment and the 
after affects it has caused her and Laura,” Sonny said, flatly know full well 
what was coming next. 

“She what? Has the woman lost her mind? Doesn't she know all she is doing is 
making things worse? These kids don't need all of that brought up again. The 
longer Laura is in the press' mind, the longer I'm staying away. I'll call you 
later, Sonny. I have a ex-mother in-law to talk to,” Luke said and hung up the 
phone and quickly called Leslie's number. 

Leslie and Rick had just gotten in from shopping when the phone started to ring. 
She quickly picked it up and said, “Hello?” 

“Leslie, its Luke. I have a question for you,” Luke's voice came over the phone. 
Leslie was hoping he wanted her to come join them, because she missed her grand 
children terribly. 

“Go head,” Leslie said in her normally sweet voice. 

“What do you think you doing?” Luke snapped, his anger getting the best of him. 
Leslie looked at the phone and then Rick and wondered what she did that upset 
him so much. 

“I don't know you are talking about Luke,” Leslie admitted. 

“You don't? Well, let me enlighten you. You are suing Stefan Cassadine for 
things that should be dropped. First, I don't care about him, but he is Nikolas' 
father and what concerns Nikolas concerns Lucky and Lu. He will be very upset 
when he finds this out about this. But that isn't what gets me. I left town to 
let things die down. So my children didn't have to listen to all of it. A law 
suit like yours could take years and as long as Laura is in the public's mind, 
I'm not coming home and neither are these children,” Luke said, his voice was 
calm but that was all a front. He wanted to wring her neck for trying a stunt 
like this. 

“Luke, you're not here. They are dragging my daughter's good name through the 
mud and she isn't around to defend herself. Laura is sick and needs our love and 
support but she isn't getting that from her husband,” Leslie snapped at him, 
sick of people jumping down her throat because of this. 

“I'm her ex-husband. Laura and I are not married anymore and as for her 
breakdown and the trouble she has been having because of it, Lucky has more than 
paid for that than anyone. The only side I'm on is his side. Laura dumped our 
son at an orphanage when he was five years old, then she belittled him and 
slapped him around for the rest of his life with her. When we split up she acted 
as if he didn't exist and then she tired to kill him. If you ask me, Leslie, 
part of me thinks this is all a trick and Laura made this up to get away with 
murder. So, don't feed me the poor Laura act because it isn't going to work. She 
is not miss perfect and her name is mud in my books the way it is and a little 
more isn't going to do any harm. Drop the case, Leslie or these children will 
never come home and that is a promise,” Luke said cutting her off before she 
could say anything else. 

Leslie slammed the phone down hard and yelled, “How dare he? He isn't keeping me 
away from my grandchildren. I am beginning to think it was a mistake to let him 
leave with the kids.” 

“Stop it, Leslie. He didn't like the law suit and he told you what Bobbie told 
you he would, didn't he?” Rick asked, getting sick of keeping his mouth shut all 
this time. 

“Yes and he said that he could care a less about Laura,” Leslie said, wondering 
where this out burst was coming from. 

“I don't blame him. Right, Laura is a victim in this as much as all of us but we 
can't help her any more. Only her doctor can, but what we can do is make things 
better for her children and if that means letting this mess die down, then we 
should do it. They have been through enough because of this. Luke did a very 
smart thing in taking them away when he did. Here, let me show you something,” 
Rick said and laid a medical file in her hand. 

Leslie read it while Rick talked. “This is Lucky's file. He has lost about 
fifteen pounds since this mess started and all of it isn't because of the wreck. 
He isn't eating and that is dangerous for his health. Lucky is the one that you 
should be worried about. He needs this to be over with, so that he can get a 
chance to heal. You're not the only one that has lost a loved one. Sara is dead 
because of the acts that Lasha did and I can't undo it. Lasha tired to kill your 
grandchildren and ended up taking the lives of eight innocent kids. I know Laura 
is very sick but for those of us who need it to end, please Leslie let it die,” 
Rick pleaded with her. He had a small tear in one of his eyes and she could read 
the pain that was written all over his face. 

“But who will defend Laura?” Leslie begged. 

“Let Scotty do it. You can't do anything for her right now but when she starts 
getting better be with her and help her through this mess. Money isn't going to 
bring her back and money isn't going to wipe the pain away. Only time will do 
that. You can hate Stefan Cassadine and so can Luke but for the children's sake 
let it go,” Rick said pulling her close and for the first time in weeks Leslie 
Webber cried for the lost of her daughter and the pain she had felt for weeks.