Volume I, Issue v

January 1999

GH in Review by Amy McWilliams

View a section by clicking on the links below, or read the entire review by scrolling down. The review takes up 8 separate pages, but the navigation at the top and bottom of each remains consistent.

General Hospital

The Quartermaines

Carly/Jason/Robin

Mac and Felicia

The Spencers

Bobbie

Lucky and Elizabeth

Luke

The Cassadines

Jax

Sonny

Luke

• Alexis finds Luke at Kelly's. She asks what Stefan knows, and Luke says that Stefan knows that he loosened the railing but may not know about Alexis's part in the plan. Alexis threatens to tell Stefan everything, but it seems she's just in a panic. Alexis tells Luke that he should focus on his marriage because his bond to Laura is stronger than hers to Stefan but that he's throwing that away. (12/3)
• Luke goes to Alexis's hotel room to check up on her. He wants her to take control of her family, and she responds by telling him again to take control of his. (12/4)
• Luke confronts Nikolas, who's playing with Lulu in the park. Nikolas chides Luke with his neglect of his family, but Luke doesn't reveal what he knows about Nik's father. Later, Luke meets up with Stefan and lets Stefan know that he has just seen Stefan's son. (12/10)
• The two enemies discuss whether or not Luke will tell anybody the truth about Nikolas. Laura comes upon them and tells them she wants nothing more of their fighting. Luke tells her in no uncertain terms that she is their fight, and that she has to choose between them to end it. Laura is flabbergasted that he would blame her, but after he leaves Stefan says the same thing. When Laura returns home, Lucky is there. (12/11)
• Luke sees Katherine and Nikolas almost kiss on the docks, and later sees Nikolas enter Katherine's hotel suite. (12/16)
• Luke asks Katherine if anybody else knows that he was responsible for the parapet. She tells him that Jerry Jacks had been asking questions. When she left the Q mansion, he followed. When Nikolas arrived at her hotel room, he put on his best concierge voice and called Stefan, asking him to meet Nikolas. (12/18)
• After making sure Stefan took the bait, Luke went back to his office and toasted his success. (12/21)
• Luke comes home to tell Laura that he's leaving. She says that she loves him and begs him to stay, but when the subject turns to Nikolas, he makes it clear that he can't live with the lies anymore. When he says he'll tell the secret, she threatens him, but he says they've already crossed the line. He leaves, and she goes to Wyndemere for Christmas Eve. (12/23)
• Luke tells Alexis that Nikolas is Stefan's son. He then leaves town, stopping by the GH Christmas party to say good-bye to Bobbie and Lucky. He smiles as he sees Lucky and Liz together, happy. (12/24)

Luke: "Ru--"
Ruby: "Yeah?"
Luke: "What do you think of Jerry Jacks?"
Ruby: "I think Bobbie's old enough to make up her own mind."

I already mentioned that these were the last scenes with Luke and Ruby before Norma Connolly's death. It was good to see that Ruby still had her nephew's number after all these years.

Alexis: "I'm going to tell him everything."
Luke: "Are you--what? No, you're not."
Alexis: "Oh, yes, I am."
Luke: "Oh, no, you're--"
Alexis: "I am, too. And I should've done it right after it happened, after you framed Stefan--that little detail you neglected to mention to me. But did I listen to my own sound wisdom? No, I listened to you, my family's mortal enemy."
Luke: "Natasha, shut up. Shut up. Shut--"
Alexis: "Stefan has never done anything to me other than be my friend. And now my brother. Do you know that after my mother died, and they took me to that horrible island, and they housed me in this cottage on the grounds like a servant, he was the only soul on that rock that ever gave a damn what happened to me. And as soon as he was able to give orders and neutralize Helena, he got me a suite in the main house. And then he got me off the wretched island, and that's why I got to law school."
Luke: "Cue the violins, French horns, harps. I see halos. He's a saint. Tell me, why is every damned thing about Stefan?"

Alexis: "I'm really sorry. Truly, I am. Because the last thing on earth that I would ever want to do would be to set you off. Look, I am sure my brother has been the subject of many a marital dispute between you and Laura. But at the risk of sounding terribly selfish, if Stefan doesn't already know about my involvement in this and my duplicity while he faced this horror during the entire trial, I would rather that he not find out yet."
Luke: "I have never had a partner who had as many twitches as you have. What are you afraid of? That I'm going to run out on you? What kind of a co-conspirator do you take me for? Look, Boris thinks that he's got me in the crosshairs. And he thinks that his object of obsession is waiting in the trophy room. That's all that's important. You'll probably make the Christmas list."
Alexis: "If I were you, I wouldn't give up on your marriage. You and Laura are bound by a lifetime of experiences. And more importantly, you're bound by your children."
Luke: "What do you care about my kids? Natasha, the issue here is Nikolas. Nikolas Cassadine. I always said that kid was a bastard."

Alexis: "If you mean that Stefan is the only father Nikolas has ever known, and in that sense they share a son together, I guess that case could be argued. It certainly doesn't compare to what you and Laura have. You brought your own children into the world. You've nursed them through sickness. You've stood by their side in the face of death more than once. Stefan may have raised Laura's son, but he doesn't hold her heart. You do."
Luke: "Please don't tell me about my connection to my wife, Alexis. You know nothing about it."

Alexis is still undependable, as far as Luke is concerned, in that she's still skittish about Stefan finding out. I loved his irritation at her talking about Stefan and his repeated "shut up"s--and her refusal to do so. These two crack me up. And I think it's justice that Luke's first Cassadine partner in his ill-formed plan against Helena is now giving him such headaches. He still didn't spill the beans about Nikolas (not out of the goodness of his heart, I'm sure). And because of that, she can't see what's really bothering him.

Alexis: "This is so unacceptable."
Luke: "What, my feet on the coffee table? Oh, come on, it's hotel furniture."
Alexis: "You see, I'm a lawyer, so I know this--that I have a constitutional right of privacy that allows me to walk into my own place of residence and not find you helping yourself to my couch, to my files, or whatever else you've found to amuse yourself."
Luke: "All right, all right. I'm just here to check up on you. You seemed so shaky the last time we talked. Did you get over that urge to tell cousin stiff everything like a bad rash?"
Alexis: "Thanks for caring--but I know you don't. Cassadine family harmony is hardly a priority of yours."
Luke: "You know, you're one hell of a co-conspirator. You're too excitable. And your conscience pops up at all the wrong times. But I'd hate to see you dead."
Alexis: "Stefan is not going to kill me. He probably will never forgive me, either, which is why I'm going to keep my mouth shut and hope that he's too furious with you to even think about me. All right? You're reassured that I'm self-serving and amoral? Now, get out."
Luke: "No, why don't you get out. You know, Natasha, I can't figure out why you live in this hotel suite. Why don't you live out on the island with your beloved Stefan and the little prince? I mean, if you're so close. Could it be that you're not welcome there? Could it be that after all your love and devotion, you're no more a part of that family than Mrs. Lansbury or the dachshunds? Don't you ever get tired of being on the outside looking in?"
Alexis: "Don't you ever get tired of trying to turn me against Stefan? It's not going to happen. I love my brother, and god knows he is the only person who has ever loved and supported me."
Luke: "Yeah? And what did it get you, this hotel suite and a free trip to law school?"
Alexis: "Do you have a point?"
Luke: "Yeah--"
Alexis: "If you do, I'm thinking--"
Luke: "I've got the same point that I've been trying to make for months now. Wake up and smell the danger. Forget Stefan. Take care of yourself."
Alexis: "I'm fine. Look at me. I'm safe. I'm solvent. I've just come back from this very well deserved, wonderful trip in Monte Carlo, and you clearly are here just to torture me relentlessly. I say--I have an idea--that we call it a draw and not reschedule a rematch. What do you say?"
Luke: "You refuse to see it even when it's right in your face."
Alexis: "I'm going to give you a hint, Luke--instead of seeking revenge of Stefan, instead of loosening balcony railings or--or slitting his throat or whatever it is that you're contemplating at the moment, hold on to what you've got. Go home. I mean it. Stop looking around in everybody else's life and pay attention to your own. You want revenge on Stefan? Reclaiming your wife and your children--it'll get it for you in spades."
Luke: "Do you smell something bad in here?"
Alexis: "No."
Luke: "Cheap sentiment, maybe, or good intentions? Oh, that's it--too much perfume. Oh, that's all right. You can keep that one. I have a copy."
Alexis: "Oh, I'm sure you do."
Luke: "Is this interview over?"
Alexis: "It's over!"
Luke: "Ciao."
Alexis: "Get out."

He's not willing to tell her the truth about Nikolas, but until he does, she won't take the action he suggests. I wondered, at this point, if she would even then, or if she'd play Gatekeeper-with-a-vengeance to protect Nikolas. I suspected something in between, and was not to be disappointed. This has always been Luke's purpose with her, I think. It wasn't the particular plan he needed her for; he simply wanted to capitalize on her vulnerability and willingness so as to put her in his debt, or at least somewhat under his control. It worked, from what I can see, but I suspect that he shouldn't take his eye off of her.

Luke: "If you're the baby sitter, you're fired."
Nikolas: "No, I'm the brother. Son of the father that you killed on this day years ago."

Luke: "Maybe you'd like to hear an accurate eyewitness account of how Stavros died. I was there. But out of the blackness of my heart, I don't think I'll tell you."

Nikolas: "That was your new neighbor. If you still had a home or any connection to the people who lived in it, she and her husband would live two doors down from you. She knows me, she knows Lucky, and they really seem to like Laura, too. But they never mention anything about Lesley Lu's father. Probably because when there's something ugly or unhappy in a family, people tend to sense it and step away from it. They don't want to cause pain, you know. I'd be surprised if Laura ever hears your name anymore."
Luke: "Good. Well, don't stop there. Tell me everything. Let's hear the state of life and parenthood according to the littlest Cassadine."

Nikolas: "Some things have changed since you been gone. You left your family to manage without you, and guess what--they did. Laura decided not to be alone, and Lucky decided not to hate everyone. If it wasn't a mistake for you to leave, it was a mistake for you to come back because you destroyed everything that you had here. And all the Cassadines had to do was watch. Damn it, why didn't we think of that before?"
Luke: "Well, you're a pretty slow crowd. But this is nice, this bright, rosy picture that you paint of the inhabitants of spoon island spa and resort. There's the Cassadines and the Spencers, all in little hand-knitted sweaters, riding Shetland ponies sidesaddle into the sunset. There's my daughter, tied to some big-butted, tight-lipped nanny. There's my son, sharing your tutor and the dirty translations from ancient Greece. And there's all these pictures of my wife hanging around everywhere while she snuggles up to the man you call uncle, who raised you like a father. Gee, it's pretty. You're pathetic. You never question Stefan. Let's start with that. Who is the man you call Uncle Stefan?"

Nikolas: "Go ahead. You want to break my heart? Is that your goal in life? Then take your best shot. I mean, what, does my uncle have some dark, deep secret or something? What did he do, sleep with a chorus girl? Forget to return some library books to the world's most prominent universities? What? I mean, I'm sure there's no end to his villainy. Come on, Luke, tell me all about it."
Luke: "What? Sorry, I wasn't listening. I was thinking of something important. The eggs are not quite an omelet yet. You see, the wine needs to stand and breathe. No, the temptation to fire on you is really great, considering the fact that you've become more arrogant and irritating than ever, but I think I should wait. I think it would be like squirrel hunting with a scud missile--you know, noisy, messy, not much of a pelt left. I can get bigger bang for my buck."
Nikolas: "Man, it's just like you. Just like you. It doesn't--it doesn't matter that you'll end up hurting the people that you're supposed to care about. Laura, Lesley Lu--even Lucky--are becoming a part of us now."
Woman: "Oh, Nikolas, I'm so sorry. She lost it--that little stuffed dog she had? I was so busy watching them, that I--I didn't see where she dropped it."
Nikolas: "No, it's not a big deal. If you're on your way home, I'll walk with you. Sweetheart, I don't know if you're cold yet, but I sure am."
Luke: "Well, my baby, don't worry about that. Daddy'll stay here and find your doggy, ok? Ok? I'll see you later. You better get Nikky out of the cold before his nose starts running. Bye, sweetheart. Bye-bye. Bye, Peggy. So long, neighbor lady. Ciao, Nik."

Perhaps Nikolas hit just a little too close to home. I did indeed think Luke would spill the beans, especially given the nice parallel of their location. Nikolas, after all, gave Lucky the truth about his father in the park. Luke was still holding that one in reserve, however. The sequence with the stuffed dog for Lulu that Luke brought her and Nikolas's dismissal of it was a nice touch, and Luke's adoration of his child and his realization that part of what Nikolas was saying was absolutely true was written all over his face. Great scenes, especially since Nikolas was ever so close to the truth in his mocking of Luke. I'd like to think Luke held back in part because of Laura, though I suspect it was primarily a matter of timing.

Stefan: "What a coincidence. I was just chatting with your wife."
Luke: "What a coincidence. I was just chatting with your son."

Luke: "Nikolas was just here. You missed him. Don't kids do the cutest things? He was trying to make a snowman out of this slush. So cute. He rolled up a big, round, slushy head that sort of looked like yours, you know. Then he punched the snowman in the side of the head, and the snowman said, "uncle." Then he punched the snowman in the other side of his head, and the snowman said, "father." "Uncle." "Father." "Uncle." "Father." "Uncle." "Father." "Uncle." "Father." "Uncle." "Father." Ah, come on, that's a great bit. You didn't see that movie, huh? God, you have no sense of humor whatsoever, do you? Nikolas was here. I have no idea what drove him off."
Stefan: "What did you say to my nephew?"
Luke: "The poker face won't work anymore, Stefan. The cows are out of the barn. The cat's out of the bag, the steam is off the clams. And ain't it a shame? You were so close you could almost taste it, couldn't you? Just a couple of more years, and the pretender--your son--would be handed an empire that wasn't his and certainly isn't yours. And the others, Helena and Alexis--all the other inbreds--ooh, the joke would be on them, wouldn't it? It's good, Stefan. It's good. And it should've worked, and it could've worked. But you blew it because you could not stay away from the boy's mother, could you?"

Stefan: "Nothing you say can you prove."
Luke: "That's the best you can do?"
Stefan: "DNA testing was not available at the time of my brother's death. But the results of his blood- and gene-typing tests on record at general hospital will certainly be found compatible with my nephew's."
Luke: "That doesn't prove anything. That only shows that you've been diddling around again in the GH mainframe. And besides, people are not going to need scientific proof. People who are interested, when they hear this, they'll be just like me--they'll think about it, and they'll know it's true."
Stefan: "Perhaps if they heard it from someone other than Luke Spencer. But coming from you, the malice intended will be obvious. Your grand announcement will be dismissed as a lie--a paranoid, historical fantasy."
Luke: "Man, you've got it all figured out. Your mind is like quicksilver. Whoa. So let's go find Nikky and test your theory."
Stefan: "Does it never embarrass you? The public crowing and braying you do? You don't mind it makes you seem clownish and impotent? You'll say nothing to Nikolas, and we both know it. You would no more tell him that I slept with Laura than you would tell him you sleep with a bottle of bourbon. Your pride won't allow it. Now, I see nothing to stop Nikolas from claiming the family legacy."
Luke: "Well, maybe you're right. You know, people have told me before that I should really try to assuage my clownish, impotent pride and embrace humility."
Luke: "But the hell with that. It'd be too much of a pleasure to see you lose the keys of the kingdom and to watch your son spit in your face. You see, I know how kids react when they walk into the closet and see the skeletons in there that belong to their father."
Stefan: "Then again, there is quite a difference between a young man learning his father is alive, at his side, and always has been, and learning that his father is a rapist."

Luke: "You worship me, don't you? You filled every nook and cranny of your miserable, lonely brain with graven images of me. And in a way it's flattering, really, to know that I'm the concept, I'm the icon, that keeps you going. And hating me must have been a relief from hating yourself. And trying to do better than Luke Spencer came in handy after your big brother went to his reward. Didn't it? And ever since you found out about that night between me and Laura 20 years ago, you've been like a man holding on to a life raft. You've taken that knowledge out and looked at it, and let its splendor fill the room. You've hoarded it like money. And then you made your move, and you thought that to have my son call me a rapist was going to destroy me. Well, I'm only partially bruised. Let's see what happens when your son calls you "father," a name that would make most men proud. But in your case, it's a curse, isn't it? It's a curse because as soon as he calls you father, the whole house of unsent father's day cards comes falling down, and you lose everything. You lose the power, the prestige, the title, the properties, and the son in question."
Stefan: "Nikolas will not turn against me."
Luke: "Really? You think my son felt betrayed? How do you think Nikolas is going to feel? My son felt betrayed because of one hour that was none of his business. Nikolas is going to have to deal with a whole lifetime of you spoon-feeding him fantasy, of you filling his veins with fake blood and making him celebrate bogus, high holy days like this one. Of course he'll hate your guts, but you can take comfort in the fact of knowing that his life expectancy will go way down as soon as Helena finds out that the kid she's been kowtowing to all these years is not her precious Stavros' son, but he's your spawn."
Stefan: "Do you really think you've caught me unaware or unprepared?"
Luke: "How do you prepare for the end of your world as you know it?"
Stefan: "Have you never played chess, Luke? No. Why would it interest you--a game without tackling and noisemakers? Perhaps that's why you don't realize I have you in checkmate and have had for some time. Either way you move, you lose. You remain silent, and Nikolas will get his empire. And he will keep this day every year in remembrance of my brother. Or tell the secret, and the woman you love will leave you and come to me."

The scene started out wonderful and only got better. Neither of them is giving any more than necessary away, but they both know at least some of the weaknesses in the other's armor. Stefan is right. Luke can't tell the secret or he'll drive Laura away. Luke is right, on the other hand, that this has the potential to drive Nikolas away from Stefan. He's reading his own situation into Stefan's, however, and choosing the differences he wants to highlight for effect. Things were not to turn out the way he described, but Stefan had no way of knowing that. He feared that what Luke said would indeed be the way Nikolas reacted. The irony was lost on neither of them. We were left wondering what Luke would do, but I still suspected that he wouldn't do what Laura and Stefan seemed to expect him to do.

Laura: "I am not responsible for the relentless, grinding warfare between the two of you. I've begged and pleaded with both of you. I've done everything in my power to end it."
Luke: "Except the one thing that might work."
Laura: "Which is what, Luke?"
Luke: "Make a choice, Laura. Is that an ability you've lost or conveniently misplaced? Look, you had two sons with two men, and you kept one of them in the dark about it. That was your choice. But you want it both ways. You want to step in and out of these lives like they're a change of clothes, and I'm sure that's very fulfilling for you. And then you could just weep at the injustice when somebody dares to say, "Laura, you're only half here!"
Laura: "My god. What did I do to deserve that?"
Stefan: "Is he wrong?"
Laura: "Yes."
Stefan: "If you had gone with him just now, it would have made an end."
Laura: "How could he do that? He made it impossible. I didn't want to go with him."
Stefan: "If you go with me now, it'll also make an end."
Stefan: "Is he wrong?"

This, however, was the scene I've been waiting for for ever so long. This was incredible. Luke told Laura--in front of Stefan--the plain and simple truth. Once more he didn't let her call this something else or make it out to be something slightly different. He looked her square in the eye and asked her to choose. That's a major step. Earlier, he was too afraid that she wouldn't choose him to even ask the question. He's at the end of his patience, and I think he's just about decided he has nothing left to lose. Her reaction was incredible to me. She actually turned to Stefan and asked him where Luke had come up with such an accusation. And Stefan quietly put it back on her shoulders. She won't choose. That's the bottom line. Stefan, however, is willing to woo her into choosing him, while Luke is not. And that may make all the difference, at least in the short run.

Katherine: "I didn't hear you announced."
Luke: "I don't usually like to wake the help from their slumber when I make a personal call. So, Katie, you fine, sweet, resilient lass, who else knows 'twas me who killed you?"

Katherine: "What difference does it make who I told you tried to kill me? I already told you that I wasn't going to press charges."
Luke: "Well, I'm eternally grateful for that, but I'm a freak for information. Why do you think Stefan is so convinced I framed him?"
Katherine: "I don't have the slightest idea--or interest, for that matter."
Luke: "Did anybody talk to you recently about your unfortunate header into the parking lot?"
Katherine: "I don't want to play 20 questions with you, either."
Luke: "Stubborn little wench, aren't you, lass? I don't get it, Katherine. We both want to see Stefan ground into powder. I don't know if you've got any methods, but I do. So if we work together, maybe we can make it happen."
Katherine: "The only people that questioned me about my so-called accident were Mac and the police."
Luke: "Hmm. No, that doesn't work. There's nobody there that's on Cassadine payroll. So are you sure they were the only ones?"
Katherine: "You know, a couple of weeks ago, Jerry Jacks did ask me about my forged will."
Luke: "Jerry Jacks. What was he looking for?"
Katherine: "Something about he thought that he had been framed and he wanted to know exactly how."
Luke: "I'll look into that."
Katherine: "Is that it? Because I have an appointment to get to."
Luke: "An appointment? At this hour? You know, once was a time when ladies of breeding and culture were tucked in bed by this hour with their hot-water bottles."
Katherine: "Guess you don't know me as well as you thought. I'm sure you'll find your way out."
Luke: "Ciao."

Luke: "Ah--to romance. Long may she wave."

Luke was putting several things in motion, it seemed. He was getting the goods on Jerry and confronting him; he was setting up Alexis for the news about Nikolas. He couldn't tell the big secret yet, but in the meantime, Nikolas and Katherine handed him another one to tell. The sequence of Luke making sure Stefan found out about their affair was hysterical. Classic Luke, complete with an impression of a concierge-with-an-accent. I loved his impatient glance at his watch outside the lovers' door, as well as his toast when he returned to his office.

He was preparing to leave. He wasn't waiting to see if Laura would give him reason to stay, he was just preparing to leave:

Luke: "Well, I guess that isn't for me."
Laura: "Well, as a matter of fact, it is. I took lulu shopping yesterday, and she picked it out for daddy."
Luke: "She will always be my daughter."
Laura: "Of course she will. Luke, please tell me that you've come home."
Luke: "I came home to say good-bye."

Laura: "Are you going away again?"
Luke: "You have a better idea?"
Laura: "Yes. And stay here. Your daughter and I are waiting for you."
Luke: "Well, then you get the faithfulness award, and after that, what?"
Laura: "We figure out a way to go on."
Luke: "Go on? Go on the way we have, trying to pretend like it's ok, lying to each other, lying to our kids? We've already done that."
Laura: "I'm not asking you to lie to anybody."
Luke: "Well, give yourself 30 seconds. Look, I'm just following in my son's footsteps. It's come full circle now, Laura. Lucky's who I want to be when I grow up. I want his purity. I want his passion to spit in the eye of anything less than the unbeautiful truth."
Laura: "Well, that's all well and good when you're his age--"
Luke: "And I want to be like him and refuse to step over the rotting corpse of this marriage every time I go in and out of that door."
Laura: "We are not freaks. We are not liars or monsters. We are good people who are stuck with choices that we didn't make and consequences that we don't like, 20 years after the long-stemmed roses and the chocolate hearts. I can accept that. Can't you?"
Luke: "Oh, baby. Look at us. Look at us. Look at you and me. Would anybody in their right mind ever imagine we could be in the same universe, let alone the same house, the same marriage?"
Laura: "What the hell do I care about anybody else's lack of imagination?"
Luke: "Laura, do you remember how people used to look at us when we were new? Do you remember the whispers and the things they said? They always said that we were making a colossal mistake. And neither one of us thought about what--what 20 years would bring. But, sweetheart, if everybody keeps telling
Maybe you should just stop singing and get down off the table."
Laura: "What about love? I have always loved you. I still do. I know that you still love me. I know you do."
Luke: "Love is the one thing in this whole deal that was all it was cracked up to be. But it's soft in the head. And if it hits something hard, it cracks its skull."
Laura: "We are not a mistake. But if you've made up your mind to walk out on me, I guess there's nothing that I can do to stop you. But that is what you're doing. So if you want to look the truth in the eye, just skip all the rationalizations and the sour grapes and just go."
Laura: "Wait. I need to know what you're going to do."
Luke: "About what?"
Laura: "About everything."
Luke: "About Nikolas. Well, I guess your 30 seconds are up."
Laura: "It's better for everyone involved if he goes on believing that his father is dead."
Luke: "No, it's better for you and it's better for Stefan."
Laura: "Don't take out your anger at me on a child!"
Luke: "Hey, hold it, baby! You look at him again! That is no child! And he's also not a prince. And he should know that. In fact, I see no reason for the whole world not to know the truth. Sure, he won't get his billion-dollar inheritance, but, what, it's going to kill the kid to get a job?"
Laura: "What about what it's going to do to him psychologically? What about Helena?"
Luke: "Look, I tried to do my bit for everybody regarding Helena by pitching her off the roof. Unfortunately, 'almost' doesn't count, and nobody appreciated all the trouble I went to."
Laura: "Luke, if she finds out
Luke: "Oh, no, hold it right there now. You are barking up the wrong love interest, baby. It's up to a father to protect his son. So you go tell Count Vlad to pull out the saber and the shield from the crypt."
Laura: "This is Helena, Luke."
Luke: "Helena has been threatening to slash our throats and the throats of our children for how long now? I don't know about you, but I've got a real severe case of death threat fatigue from that woman. And it's true that her curse was the only wedding gift that stood the test of time. But it's been 20 years and we're still here, and I guarantee you in another 20 years, she won't be here."
Laura: "What about our children? For god's sake. My god, what about Lucky? Oh. You know how he's going to react to this."
Luke: "You don't have to worry about Lucky. He doesn't live here anymore."
Laura: "Lucky and Nikolas and Lesley Lu are finally learning how to live together. The war that has claimed so many casualties--and now, apparently, our marriage--is something that they are willing to end. So please let them. Don't let it take the toll on them that it's taken on us."

Luke believes that Laura has already chosen her other family. He knew that this would turn into something about Nikolas, and that she would ask of him something he couldn't give. I found two things intriguing in the scene above. First, Luke's admiration of Lucky's. This reminded me of Alan asking Emily if he could look up to her. I don't believe for a minute that Luke will stop lying. This string of lies, however, has to stop. It's not just the lies they've each spoken. It's the lies that have infiltrated their marriage. He can't let her make choices (or refuse to make choices)--that will aid her other family at the expense of his. He has always wanted to protect his family, and he's always put Laura at the center. Now, to protect his family and himself, he has to reject her. That's a point I never thought we'd see, and it's incredible. Luke has staked himself so much on Laura's love that for him to find the reason and strength to turn away from it--for him to believe that it's not there or not enough--is, as Guza himself would say, huge. Guza knows this couple inside and out. That he has chosen to focus on their weaknesses rather than their strengths pisses lots of people off. I believe more than ever, seeing this scene, that it's a story that has to be told. These two can never get back together if they don't face these things, if they don't choose to be back together. Love isn't enough, as it wasn't enough for Jason and Robin. Habit or tradition isn't enough. They have to choose each other in the here and now, and they simply can't do that right now. So yes, I want to see the story Guza will tell about these two making that choice, if indeed they do. And if they don't, it will be sad, but it will also make perfect sense to me in terms of these characters from well before Stefan entered the picture.

The things they're facing now have been there always, as the second thing I want to note shows. Luke has always talked about them being from different worlds. That refrain has gone back to before the rape; Luke has always believed that. He was able to put it aside for a long time, but he now sees that this fact has never changed. He's lost his faith in Laura, and that's the only thing that was making their relationship possible. And, as she did now, she's always put that aside instead of facing it. He won't let her now.

The thing I want to notice about Laura is that she couldn't put up much of a defense. She simply took his decision as a given, making this into his decision alone and accusing him of leaving her, rather than acknowledging that they have left each other. The only plea she made was for her children. And she pleaded for Nikolas first. Perhaps that's because she sees hope in that bond where she doesn't see hope in her Spencer family, but it was proof enough for Luke and proof enough for me where her priorities lie. She can't choose not to be with Luke, but she also proves over and over that she's unwilling to choose against Stefan too. She puts his son's well being ahead of Luke's, at least rhetorically.

This sounds like I'm coming down hard on Laura. Perhaps I am. She is in an impossible situation, and her reaction is in character. She is unwilling to let go of love, and the fact that Luke's love is being removed means that she will turn to Stefan. Period. I can't say that she's merely wrong, or that she's merely wronged. Her weaknesses and Luke's have brought them here though. He's come to the point where he can admit that--where he has to. She isn't there yet.

Luke: "This is new."
Laura: "All three of them gave it to me."
Luke: "And this?"
Laura: "Stefan."
Luke: "Well, I see no reason why the boy shouldn't know what devoted parents he has. Please don't beg mercy for the sake of the children because Lucky is obsessed with truth, and he will stand on my side this time."
Laura: "I'm begging you please, please, find another way to punish me."
Luke: "So Stefan gets to steal my wife and destroy my home and drive my son away from me, and I get to, what, turn the other cheek? What about what my son was supposed to inherit, Laura? Why didn't you fight for that? What about all the love that was thrown back in our faces and the lives that we planned? And what about all the good times we'll never have and the places we'll never see together? Did Stefan and your precious Nikolas think of that before they told my son that I was everything I taught him to despise? What, do you think that I have reached some kind of Zen state here where none of this matters to me? Who the hell do you think I am?"
Laura: "I'm sorry."
Laura: "All right. Tell it. Do it. I can't stop you. I can't come up with any more reasons to stop you. I just want you to know that if you cross that line with me, there isn't going to be any turning back."
Luke: "Sweetheart, we crossed that line. We were going so fast we didn't see it fly by."
Laura: "So you're leaving me? I just want to be clear."
Luke: "What do you need, Laura, some kind of permission to do something you need to do?"
Laura: "I need to know what to tell that little girl upstairs when she's old enough to ask."
Luke: "Tell her that her daddy loved her, but he was crazy. And he was--from the first moment he laid eyes on you. Really. There's nothing else to say."
Laura: "No. Oh, no."

I wonder if Luke would actually have told if she had responded differently. He had already confronted her in the park about her refusal to choose. He could have simply left town, or could have simply told. It was as though he wanted to see her reaction as the deciding factor. I think that she has long since ceased to think about how this affects him; as I said elsewhere, she's focused almost solely on how things are making her feel. His line about letting Stefan win, in essence, was as powerful as his line about Lulu was sad. Laura thinks of them as her children, but Luke, with his talk of Lucky being on his side, reminds her that there are still two families here. The peace Lucky and Nikolas have found does not negate that, as much as she'd like for it to.

The fact that she actually all but asked him if she could go to Stefan now was the most pathetic of all, and I have to admit I lost a bit of sympathy in that line for her. She said it was about Lulu, but I think Luke was right, and she was again making her question and intent seems as though it was about something else. I adore Laura, but this refusal to choose--in fact, this insistence on making others choose for her--is quickly becoming old. This thread of the story needs to turn a corner soon too. I want to see the same development in Laura that I've seen in Luke. The same self-awareness, the same willingness to get to the bottom line and reevaluate. I understand her slowness, I think, but I'm getting anxious for the next chapter.

Luke: "Season's greetings, hot lips."
Alexis: "To what do I owe this dubious pleasure?"
Luke: "Christmas--that jolly season when ghouls and gnomes shed their scaly skins and grow big boughs of holly instead. Go on. It's something you've always wanted, like I said. It's not ticking--I'm not on a suicide mission."
Alexis: "What is it?"
Luke: "The key to the kingdom."

Alexis: "I do find you endlessly amusing. It's a flaw in my character. All right, I'll bite--what key to what kingdom?"
Luke: "The whole Cassadine nut, if you got the crackers to snap it open."
Alexis: "Oh, I got the crackers. So, I take it this gift isn't really just a rusty, old key."
Luke: "That rusty, old key happens to open a very big rusty, old war chest."
Alexis: "You're making my neck hurt. If you have something to say, just say it. If not, take your kingdom and go."
Luke: "Well, all right. You've forced me to be the bearer of bad news. But out of the goodness of my heart--Natasha, you've been worked over again by your protective brother. You've been cheated big time, babe. The little prince--the royal pain in the butt--is not the heir. He's not even a prince. It turns out that he's just the count's lowly bastard son--a mistake made with my wife. Which means he's entitled to nothing but his mother's tears."
Alexis: "Of all the ridiculous things you've said, this one really wins the blue ribbon. You been confabbing with Helena, or are you just conspiring?"
Luke: "Not yet."
Alexis: "You serious? How?"
Luke: ""how"? The usual way, I suppose. I prefer not to dwell on the grisly details. But that's it. You've been cheated. Nikolas is not entitled to anything. That means the whole Cassadine nut is up for grabs, and you're entitled. Feliz Navidad, Natasha. Don't forget who gave you your Christmas cha-chas."

So he told. He didn't tell Nikolas or the paper, as Laura assumed he would. He told Alexis, capitalizing on his groundwork. This ensured that the secret would remain in the family, in the hands of somebody who cared about Nikolas. But it also ensured that it would come out. I was truly intrigued to see what Alexis would do with the news.

Luke: "I just wanted to wish you a merry Christmas and tell you I love you. And I'd also like to wish you and Elizabeth all the best in the New Year."
Lucky: "Sounds like you're taking off again."
Luke: "Give yourself a cigar."
Lucky: "Well, can't say I'm surprised, the way things have been going lately. Coming back this time?"
Luke: "I don't know. Probably. You know me--I keep turning up like a bad penny."
Luke: "Keep an eye on your sister."
Lucky: "I will. And mom."

Before, Luke acted as if he didn't remember Laura's birthday, and perhaps he didn't. This time, Lucky reminded him that Laura still needed looking after. Those last two lines spoke volumes to both of them, I think, on just where they stand.

Luke: "Uh, it just seems like no matter how many times I try to slip away, I can never split without saying good-bye to my one true family member."
Bobbie: "Luke, you're not leaving again. Why?"
Luke: "Well, you know, Barbara, the world keeps turning. History is nothing more than the record of the migration of tribes."
Bobbie: "Oh, Luke."
Luke: "It's ok. You go on back in there. Have some--have some fun. Merry Christmas."
Bobbie: "Merry Christmas."

His one true family member. Not Lucky or Lulu, who are part Laura, or Laura, who is not blood. Only Barbara. That was an amazing line.