Where Will All Come Home?

Chapter 12
Luke whistled softly and looked speculatively at Nikolas, before he returned his attention to the stunned man seated before him.

"Was the death unexpected?" he asked.

"Not entirely," answered Stu cautiously. "But, I am most confused by this turn of events. How did you come by this information?"

"I accidentally overheard Stefan on the phone with Nik last Tuesday night. He was tryin' to calm the kid down. He told him that he meant the people he'd sent Nik to meet no harm. But his tone didn't convince me, and from the way their little chat went, I don't think Nik bought his line either."

"Why would Mr. Cassadine want to meet someone at that party? It was largely a family affair. I don't see a connection. We are wealthy by most people's standards, but certainly not on the grand scale that the Cassadines must be."

Luke started to respond, but stopped as Lucky joined him behind the counter.

Anxiously scanning the restaurant for Lulu, Luke asked, "Where's your sister?"

"With the Once and Future, our own Prince," said Lucky.

"Why?" demanded Luke. "And where did he take her?"

"Out for a walk. I called him last night, and asked him to drop in for a chat with Lulu."

The muscles in Luke's jaws tensed visibly. He turned away to wring out his cloth with unnecessary force. "Why, him?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Because she adores him. If he tells her not to pull another stunt like yesterday's again, she won't. He may also understand the part about strategy or retreats or whatever."

Lucky shrugged. "I don't quite get it, but then again, I wasn't brought up as a Cassadine."

He looked stricken when he saw his father's face. "I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean...." Lucky's voice trailed off.

Luke exhaled forcefully, and threw the cloth through the hatch into the kitchen. Then he laid a gentle hand on Lucky's shoulder. "I know, son. I appreciate your help. Why don't you and Liz go spend some time with Audrey before you leave? I've got things under control here."

Lucky met Liz coming out of the kitchen, and they returned together to say goodbye to Laura. On their way out they ran into a cook, and two waitresses coming in to work the afternoon shift.

Liz came behind the counter, gave Luke a quick hug and promised, "We'll call from Gran's before we leave." The pair exited the diner, completely absorbed in each other again before the door closed behind them.

Laura came out of the kitchen. She smiled and called, "Wenders will pick Lulu up about 2:00. I'm off!"

"A lovely woman," Stu remarked quietly.

Luke nodded, and watched her until she turned out of the courtyard in front of Kelly's. Then his gaze shifted back to Stu and he asked abruptly, "Who died at the party?"

"A woman. Frankly, I don't know how comfortable I am discussing this with you." Stu's gaze was level. "I don't know any of you people."

"I mean you no harm. But my kid's livin' in Cassadine's house. If he's involved in somethin' dangerous or illegal, somethin' that ends in unexpected death for innocent people, then his business becomes mine."

"Your point is well-taken," Stu sighed. "What do you want to know?"

"Was there an autopsy?"

"Yes, an autopsy is customary in an unexpected death. At least that's what the family was told last week."

"Can you get a copy of the report?"

"Yes." Stu meticulously folded his napkin into thirds. "Anything else?"

"That's what we need first. The Cassadines like poison. And they're not too shabby at using it either."

Luke stroked his chin, and looked at the shaken man across the counter. "Do you know the family well enough to ask the next of kin to request an exhumation, if necessary? For a second, more detailed autopsy?"

"That won't be possible. The autopsy was rushed. Strings were pulled to expedite the autopsy, and the cremation. There was no reason to drag the affair out. It was difficult enough for the family. "

"The cremation?"

Stu nodded. "Yes, it was what she wanted, and it was done on Wednesday night. The memorial service was held on Thursday morning in Cambridge."

"Tough luck for us." Luke scratched his head. "How will you manage to get the autopsy report? It could be dangerous to share our suspicions with anyone else at this point. I know you don't know me, but believe me, there's no way that meeting Helena, Stefan, and Nikolas in one week's time could be good for anyone's health."

Stu added a last precise fold to his napkin, then pushed it and his plate away. "You don't know me either, but I seldom promise something that I cannot deliver. I will arrange for the report to be examined by a third party, and return here with a copy for you."

"How can I reach you?" Luke asked.

"I know where to find you. Don't be concerned." Stu responded, as he pulled out his wallet and laid some money down on the counter.

"Be careful," Luke warned.

"I make it a practice to be careful," Stu answered quietly. "I'll see you in a few days." He nodded and briskly walked out of the diner.
__ __ __

Stefan Cassadine sat at the desk in his office and tried to work. He stopped for at least the fifth time in the last few minutes to look at Alexis, who was asleep on the couch. He pulled his glasses off, and leaned his head into his hands for a moment while he recalled their conversation.

When Alexis entered the stables, she had been incapable of explaining her state. Sergei had been of more help than he had, Stefan thought wryly. The baby had crowed with delight as Alexis leaned her head against his father's shoulder. His aunt's long hair substituted nicely for the much-desired horses' manes and he grabbed two hands full before Stefan could stop him. Alexis was reduced to helpless laughter by one glimpse of Sergei's gleeful face. She and Stefan had disentangled her hair from the baby's clutches with considerable difficulty. Then, Alexis had lifted the baby out of his backpack, and walked back to the house with the infant in her arms.

Sergei, thankfully, had not noticed how overwrought she was. That had been a blessing, because the baby was remarkably sensitive to his mother's emotional states. When Laura was upset, Sergei was invariably distressed also. Mrs. Lansbary, however, had taken one quick look at Alexis, and immediately sent the two of them to Stefan's study to rest in front of the fire, while she bustled away to the kitchen carrying Sergei. Tea had arrived soon after.

Alexis lifted her cup to her lips with a shaky hand, and took a sip before she spoke. "I haven't thought about your fall for years."

Stefan shrugged dismissively. "It was a long time ago. You were what? Four or five at the most."

"Last night I dreamed about it. You and Bella on the rocks."

She tried unsuccessfully to still the tremor in her hand as she replaced her teacup on its saucer. "There was blood on your face and on the ground around you. Your arm was twisted so oddly. I remember that much...I think I remember that."

"My arm was badly broken, and my head cut. Head wounds bleed profusely, so seeing me in that condition was probably very frightening for you. I remember how badly my head hurt."

Alexis stared into her teacup, and lifted it to her lips, took another sip, and went on, "The sun was going down, but it was not yet dark. The rocks... were streaked with crimson. The sky glowed. Orange and red. It was so vivid in my dream. The scenes. The colors."

"Perhaps because I reproached you last night. I apologize for that, Alexis." He reached out and covered her hand with his. "Believe me. I regret it. Lesley Lu's brief disappearance was a nightmare in and of itself."

"You were right to reproach me." Alexis's eyes brimmed again. "We were careless. Lulu could have paid with her life. As you almost did."

"You need not worry any more," he said, and cupped her cheek with his hand. "Both incidents are past. I recovered from my injuries long ago, and Lesley Lu is unharmed."

"She left a note. She told Luke 'no hard feelings, she had a good life.' I never thought about it before. That she felt unwelcome in her father's home."

"Lesley Lu has the security of another home. You did not, Alexis."

"I know. But still, when I saw that note.... I would never deliberately make a child feel unwanted."

"I always wanted you." He grimaced suddenly and crossed his arms over his chest. "Small comfort, I know."

Alexis gripped his hands with sudden force. "You almost died for me. Going down the cliff for my doll."

He smiled ruefully. "You trusted me. She and I were all you had. What else could I have done?"

"I have such gaps in my memory." She pressed the heels of her hands against the sides of her head as if trying to impose order on her unruly thought processes. "Did the guards come for us? I remember men, I think."

He looked thoughtful "No, some people sailing past the island saw me fall. We had no guards then."

"I remember. Men came, and I hid. They took you, and I followed them, but far back. I couldn't let them take you.... I think." She leaned forward, and pressed her face into her hands. " I don't know. Did that happen?"

"Yes, I was conscious by the time they came after me. What else do you recall?"

"You were in a very big bed. I hid behind the drapes, and watched. It was very dark before the doctor left. I came out because I couldn't leave you alone. I couldn't..." Alexis's voice frayed and became higher pitched.

She rocked herself back and forth. " Why? Why couldn't I leave you?"

Stefan wrapped his arms around her and pulled her head against his shoulder. He whispered softly, his own eyes filled with tears. "Perhaps you remembered something else. Perhaps one night your mother tucked you into your bed, before she went to her own." He kissed the top of her head. "Perhaps you never saw her again."

"I can't remember," Alexis whispered. " Not her face. Nothing." She shook her head in frustration, and her body began to shake uncontrollably. " I can't remember my mother at all."

He held her silently until she regained a semblance of self-control, and sat upright again.

She began again. "I couldn't leave you. I hid Bella under the bed. She had to be safe. I climbed up. The bed was so high. I tried to climb up the side, but I kept slipping back down to the floor. I tried over and over before I finally succeeded."

Stefan's solemn face was lit by a sudden smile. "Stavros found us the next morning. You were curled up next to me, both of us sound asleep. It was a memorable day for many reasons, the best of which was that you spoke your first unprompted words in Greek."

"Did I? What did I say?

"You put your hand on me, glared at Stavros, and said, 'Mine. My boy.' Stavros said that you were so small and bedraggled that it was like being threatened by an enraged mouse."

"The concept of me claiming a right to anything must have seemed comical to Stavros," responded Alexis bitterly.

"I should imagine the fact that you thought of me as valuable might have been comical to a number of our relatives," Stefan added.

Alexis leaned back, her face drained of color except for the dull, red windburn on her cheeks.

"Do you think you could sleep now?" Stefan asked.

She glanced at him warily. "Will you stay?"

"I will." He stroked her face gently. " It is my turn to keep vigil."

Alexis lay back on the couch, and soon drifted off into a quiet sleep.

He glanced at his watch, as he quietly put his accounts away in a drawer. She had been asleep for about an hour, and clearly needed to sleep much longer. He put his glasses back on, stood up, and walked over to the chair nearest the couch. He settled there with a favorite translation of Virgil and began to read.
__ __ __

Lulu and Nikolas walked hand in hand through the snowy park in companionable silence. When they reached Lulu's favorite bench, Nikolas brushed the snow off and invited her to sit down.

"You scared Lucky, Luke and Alexis half to death yesterday," he commented quietly. "What was up?"

Lulu thought for a minute. "Can I explain it to you? It's kind of complicated."

Nikolas nodded.

Lulu embarked on her story of adjustments, partnering, and her plan to end visitation. Nikolas, an invaluable brother, held his tongue and let her tell the story in her own way and time. When she finished, he asked a few questions to make sure he understood.

"I didn't run away. I'm not a big chicken. You understand, don't you?" she entreated.

"Yes, I do," He pulled her close with his right arm. "I think that under the circumstances, I might have done the same thing. You weren't behaving in a cowardly fashion. You needed reinforcements to help you in a situation where you felt you couldn't win. If he didn't want to see you, you needed Luke to explain to Mother. You had already tried. Plus you didn't want to stay someplace where you felt unwanted any longer."

"Right." Lulu nodded emphatically.

"But, next time something like that happens, you should call me or Lucky, and not just strike out on your own. Promise. It wasn't really safe. And I will worry constantly if you can't give me your word."

Lulu nodded. "Lucas was helping me. I wasn't really alone. But, Nik, I couldn't tell Lucky everything. You won't tell him, will you? About how I left when Daddy left me to go to him, and the other private things I told you."

Nikolas smiled sadly into her anxious, blue eyes. "I won't tell him the part that might make him sad. I won't ever tell him about your dreams. He couldn't help what happened any more than you could."

"No," Lulu agreed. "He couldn't. But..."

"But what?" Nikolas asked.

"I wish Lucky hadn't been gone so long. When he finally came home, I didn't know him any more. I know he loves me, but it seems like he's always going away. He came back to Port Charles and stayed a while, then went off again – this time to school with Elizabeth."

Nikolas touched her face. "He didn't want to leave Lulu. First, he had some problems with your dad and Mother, then later, he was kidnapped."

"I know, but somehow it doesn't make it better. I'm not a good sister, am I, Nik?"

"No," he answered, "you're not a good little sister."

Lulu's face fell.

"You're pretty much the best little sister in the whole world!" he cried. He jumped up from the bench, snatched her up, and swung her around until she shrieked with delight.

Putting her down, he bent over and began to roll a snowball. " We have just enough time for one good fight before I have to get you back to Kelly's," he said. "You'd better get yourself some ammunition!" He grinned as she began to roll a snowball.

His first snowball landed on her shoulder. He ran away, and she followed. Soon the park echoed with their laughter.
__ __ __

About nine o'clock Sunday night, Helena Cassadine was enjoying an especially pleasant bubble bath. She thought placidly of the late evening snack and rather nice wine waiting on the small table pulled up in front of the fire in her bedroom. She sighed. After Ari's defection the previous year, she hadn't even bothered to acquire another young man to fill his unique position in her employment. After the fact, she realized that she had actually become quite fond of Ari. And it spoke well for her, she thought, that she had allowed him to both leave her service and remain alive. She was seldom so generous. But Ari had been a jewel. One of a kind.

Her contented contemplation of her kindly nature might have continued at length, but the door opened unexpectedly at that point, and a familiar voice interrupted her train of thought.

"Do you want me to wash your back first or do you just want me to hand you a towel?" Luke Spencer inquired. "We've got some business that can't wait."