Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Six:
On Edge

The Cliff, The Cassadine Compound.

Nikolas, still dripping from an early morning swim, walks along the edge of the cliff, towards a specific destination. He had waken early that morning, and immediately left his quarters in search of something -- anything -- that would alleviate this heavy feeling he could feel on him. He'd started with a run, and when that hadn't worked, had gone down to the beach to do his Tai Chi. After that, swimming -- and still. He was unsettled. It was a feeling he was not fond of. Whenever he was stuck in an emotion that nagged at him and refused to depart, he would beat it off with physical activity. This morning it wasn't working. He was pulling himself out of the surf and trying to remember the name of the horses that were still housed on the island when his eyes had scanned the horizon and caught sight of something entirely unexpected. And suddenly Nikolas had his answer.

Rounding the turn in the path, Nikolas stops. He's reached his destination and feels relieved to see that Lucky is still sitting right where he spotted him earlier -- staring out at the sea from a stone bench identical to the one on the cliff at Wyndemere. Not that Lucky would have the slightest clue about that... Though he knew it was best to assume that Spencers knew all until it was proven otherwise. Nikolas clears his throat. Lucky starts and looks back over his shoulder. Nikolas notices his brother relax visibly when he sees who it is. Lucky takes him in a moment, then turns and looks back out at the water. Nikolas walks over to the bench.

Nik: I saw you up here from the beach. (There's a long silence, broken by Lucky's heavy sigh)

Lucky: Problem with that?

Nik: No. I just thought I'd let you know before you asked. I'm here on purpose. (Nikolas sits down on the far end of the bench and joins Lucky in horizon gazing) How did you find this place?

Lucky: I like to know my surroundings.

Nik: Yeah, I guessed that yesterday. When you were in the garden.

Lucky: Am I supposed to stay in my room 24/7?

Nik: You know... You are incredibly touchy.

Lucky: And you ask a lot of questions. Did you want anything? (Nikolas seems to think about this for an impressive amount of time. He finally shakes his head, the very slightest traces of a smile on his lips)

Nik: No. (Lucky frowns at him, noticing the strangeness of his demeanor. He looks back out at the water, hunching his shoulders. After a moment he looks back at Nikolas, but nothing has changed. The silence starts to make him uncomfortable. He coughs)

Lucky: I talked to Emily. (Nikolas's eyes pop at the statement, though he is still looking out at the water. The reaction immediately vanishes behind a very Cassadine look of ambiguity.)

Nik: Good.

Lucky: You... Weren't wrong. (Nikolas's smile becomes more apparent)

Nik: Is that Spencer speak for "you were right"? (Lucky rolls his head over in a dramatically sarcastic gesture and looks at Nikolas pointedly)

Lucky: You weren't WRONG. (He looks down at the bench) She's been though a lot, you know?

Nik: Yeah. (he glances at Lucky, pointedly) She's not alone.

Lucky: (missing Nikolas's inference) I know. (Nikolas flinches slightly. He's feeling... anxious? Confused. Like he wants something but has no idea what.)

Nik: How are you doing?

Lucky: (he doth protest too much) Me? I'm fine. I'm used to this stuff.

Nik: I meant your head.

Lucky: (shooting him a look) Why?

Nik: Why do you think?

Lucky: I told you -- Spencers can hold their liquor. (Lucky runs a hand through his hair) Actually, I don't even have a headache today. Which is almost novel. (Nikolas nods, apparently satisfied. Lucky shifts his weight, and studies the stone surface of the bench. He'd come up here for God knows what reason... Emily had opted to catch up on her sleep and Lucky had actually lain with her a little while, before obsessing reviewing of the previous evening's events had begun to threaten his sanity. He had been trying to shrug it off, tell himself that the only thing that really mattered was that things with Emily were beginning to look like they were back on track. Ok, at the very least, he had some clue where the track was located. And... So Nikolas had some outside involvement in that. So what? It didn't change anything...

Except.

Except -- What was that? That word kept popping into his head and it wouldn't leave him alone. Except NOTHING. Nikolas was Nikolas, he was Lucky, there was something there that would never go away. Some kind of inversion, or corruption that resulted in chaos. He'd been burned on this before. And nothing had really changed. They'd had conversations, they'd been forced into corners where they had no other choice on earth but to trust each other... But that was all circumstance, surrounding this one common goal. And the second he allowed that line to blur, he was in trouble.

So he kept it there, clear and defined around them, he was as knee-jerkingly obnoxious as he'd ever been in his life with Nikolas. Which was a safe, well explored, and predictable domain. Nikolas took even the slightest step towards him, he could shut that down with a look. That failing, he always knew he could trust himself to come up with a half a dozen vicious things to say to get the guy to back off.

Funny, it made sense when he thought about it. What he couldn't explain was this creeping feeling that had been invading him lately. He wasn't even sure how to describe it, but it hits him whenever he pushes Nikolas away and leads him to say things that are just... Wrong. It's like he's feeling guilty or something. And that urge is there again. He knows he's being prickly, he has every reason to be. But still. He has this urge to say something, to make some kind of... What? Concession? Gesture? Lucky shakes his head hard. God, he hates this. He takes a deep breath, deciding that maybe pushing something out of him will help this stupid mood go away).

Lucky: How... (He stops, sucking in his breath. Why he feels the need to do this, he doesn't know...) How are you?

Nik: (blinking) Excuse me? (Lucky bristles)

Lucky: It was a question, Nikolas. Don't make a big deal out of it. (Nikolas shakes his head, his expression blank)

Nik: Uh... No. (He furrows his brow.) I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention, Lucky. I didn't hear you. (Lucky, still wearing an expression of deep defensiveness, doesn't know how to react to that. He turns away)

Lucky: Oh.

Nik: What was it? (Lucky exhales, a shuddering breath. He knows what this is, he thinks bitterly. This is because he actually SAID some stuff to Nikolas last night. God knows WHY, but now he can't seem to shake this feeling like the line got burred, and no matter how hard he tries, he can't figure out where to redraw it.)

Lucky: (muttering) It's nothing important. (Nikolas looks at him, then sighs heavily)

Nik: This is... Is it just me, or is this weird? (Lucky looks at him a long moment, before bowing his head and cracking a smile)

Lucky: This is weird.

Nik: Very weird. (Lucky shakes his head and stands up, walking to the edge of the cliff. Nikolas watches, wincing slightly at his brother's fearless proximity to the edge. He wouldn't think twice of standing there himself, he just doesn't like to watch other people do it)

Lucky: Well, what else is new? (Nikolas looks down, noting that his medallion, hanging around his neck as always, has caught the light. He picks it up, staring at it, unmoved.)

Nik: (clearing his throat) Do you... (He stops. He knows he shouldn't say this. If there was a handbook to dealing with Lucky, then this would be right up in the top five "never try this" laws of conduct. It won't stay put) Do you regret last night? (Lucky stops his contemplations, still looking at the horizon. He chest seizes)

Lucky: (after a moment) What's to regret? (he looks back at him) I didn't tell you anything you didn't already know I was capable of. (Nikolas's head jerks back slightly at that statement. He has no idea how to respond to it)

Nik: You just... (he stops) You said a lot. I know that was... It was the situation and not who you were talking to, but -- I... (he stops, out of words. This is a feeble attempt at best. There are just so many things he's realizing he doesn't know. So much stuff that must be going on in his brother that he can only guess at. But the wall has always been there. He knows better than to try to work around it. But this feeling in the pit of his stomach has a hold on him he can't explain. It wants more. He knows what's going on, deep down, he's known since the parking lot. So why does he need to hear it? Pain laid out for him with clear labels and markers. Like some sort of science experiment. He spent so much time not giving a damn what Lucky felt. But right now it feels incredibly important) I'm just tired. That's it. I'm tired. (Lucky nods, as he lets his eyes scan along the horizon, the endless sea that eventually collides with the island... Looking for a distraction. Nothing for miles. Absolutely nothing. He turns back to Nikolas)

Lucky: How the hell did you grow up here without going totally stir crazy, man? (Nikolas blinks)

Nik: Well. There used to be a lot more activity here. Tutors, and... Such.

Lucky: Yeah -- but you were always HERE, right? You didn't leave.

Nik: Several times a year I would have to go on visits to dignitaries. Or we would have business. (Lucky narrows his eyes)

Lucky: That's it?

Nik: That's not enough?

Lucky: I would have gone nuts.

Nik: If you'd been born here it would have been the only thing you knew about -- (He stops, realizing what he's just said) We really have to stop talking about this stuff. (Lucky shakes that off, still focused on the concept of staying one place and one place only throughout one's childhood)

Lucky: I never would have been able to take it. No way.

Nik: Well -- look at Emily! She's lived in Port Charles most of her life --

Lucky: (firmly) No. I've been in Port Charles longer than Emily has. Emily's from Arizona. And you're missing my point.

Nik: Oh. Then please illuminate me.

Lucky: It's just... This place is big, but -- two days, I've seen what there is to see. Places, people things -- cities aren't like that. (Nikolas nods, conceding)

Nik: It's like I come from a small town. A very small town.

Lucky: That you have complete control over.

Nik: Yes... (Nikolas looks at Lucky expectantly as if he must have some further point. Lucky shakes his head, irritated by Nikolas's "how could I be anything but God" expression)

Lucky: So you think most people in Hicktown, USA are living this life? Face it, Nik. You're a freak. (Nikolas bursts out laughing)

Nik: I'M a freak? Lucky. How many people have you met outside of the pages of a novel who's childhoods are ANYTHING like yours. (There's a pause and Nikolas catches the beginnings of a smile playing on Lucky's lips.) Probably LESS than I have! Face it. You're just as much of a prince as I am. (Lucky starts)

Lucky: What? (he laughs) Great. Can I get that in writing?

Nik: For who's benefit? (Lucky turns away, focusing his attention on a rock jutting out of the dusty earth. He kicks at it, a list of various people assaulting him. Bobbie, Sarah Webber, this Josef guy... Anyone who had ever looked at Lucky with pity and patronizingly explained why Nikolas's status as royalty made him that much more respectable, more refined, more important.... Nikolas is not watching Lucky and doesn't note the dark cloud settling over his brother's mood) I'm just saying that... (He frowns, this becoming clear to him for the first time) If you look at it that way -- about having responsibilities and a certain degree of control over your life... Having the sort of life other people don't have -- I guess the way we grew up isn't all that different. (He exhales) We both... We both had a name to live up to. (Lucky looks up sharply)

Lucky: Did Hannah say that to you?

Nik: What?

Lucky: Hannah. Did she tell you about that? Because I just SAID that, Ok? I said a lot of things to her. (Nikolas stares at him)

Nik: Hannah never said anything like that. I was just... (he stops, taking this in) You told Hannah that --

Lucky: Never mind. (Nikolas looks down at the ground, feeling that same unsteady confusion start to take hold of him -- just like it always does whenever Lucky starts acting like this. That pit-bull defensiveness that always makes him want to push just that little bit harder.)

Nik: (steadily) You were the one who brought that up. I'd never thought of it that way. But yeah, I guess if you look at it that way, it's entirely possible that we have something in common.

Lucky: The only thing we've ever had in common was the fact that we both thought we had NOTHING in common. Don't go changing that on me now.

Nik: But it... There is a similarity, Lucky --

Lucky: No, there's not. (He looks back at him) You're still a prince. You're always going to be a prince. You'll spend the rest of your life being a Cassadine. I've watched you, you're getting more Cassadine by the day. (Lucky smiles bitterly and takes a step back) You being here is 100% Cassadine. Isn't it? (Nikolas takes a breath, eying the proximity of Lucky and the cliff's edge. He bites down on an urge to reach out and grab Lucky like an errant child and pull him back to the bench)

Nik: And you being here... What is that?

Lucky: It's what I decided to do.

Nik: And it's not living up to Lucas Lorenzo Spencer Jr.... (Lucky turns away, though Nikolas is certain he saw tears spring immediately to his eyes)

Lucky: Nah... (His mouth twist bitterly and he shakes his head, staring hard off into the distance until he finds the ability to speak without his voice betraying the fact that he feels like something has a vice grip on his throat) I'm done with that game. I lost it a long time ago. (He turns back to Nikolas, his eyes bright.... Nikolas recognizes it as the look Lucky had just after the pool game the night before) I guess that's the difference. I had a choice.

Nik: (quietly) I have a choice. (Lucky shakes his head, not commenting, though the idea of that hits him right in the solar plexus) We always had more in common than just not having anything in common, you know.

Lucky: (voice raw) Are you going to enlighten me?

Nik: We had Lulu. (He takes a breath) And Laura. (Lucky nods silent agreement, still feeling like someone has him by the throat and won't stop squeezing. He turns and paces the clearing along the cliff. Nikolas stares down at the back of his hands. He had sworn he wasn't going to say this... When he'd come up here, he'd said over and over again, 'don't do it, just don't do it --' but he can feel the words coming out of him anyway) Do you know what this place is? (Lucky stops his pacing and gives Nikolas a wary look)

Lucky: No... (They look at each other, filled with silent communication that neither one of them is really acknowledging is happening)

Nik: Stefan used to tell me that my father met my mother here. (Lucky flinches. Nikolas looks away, spilling the rest without acknowledging Lucky) He used to say things to romanticize them for me. So that I didn't think I was... (he exhales) He made it sound like they cared for each other. After I found out the truth, I realized, he wasn't talking about Stavros. He was talking about himself.

Lucky: (quietly) Do you know how hard I've been trying NOT to think about that?

Nik: Probably as hard as I have. (that strikes Lucky as strange. He cocks his head at Nikolas)

Lucky: Why would YOU? (Nikolas shakes his head)

Nik: Because I don't know what to think about it. (He looks over at Lucky) I never have. (There is an unmistakable edge to Nikolas's voice that catches Lucky off guard. Nikolas has been so god damned stoic... he's almost relieved to hear it)

Lucky: (mumbling) Neither have I. (he looks up) That's why I don't.

Nik: Have you seen the portraits of her? (Lucky turns his back on Nikolas, clenching his fists. What is this? What is Nikolas DOING? He should get out of here. Right this second, he should leave)

Lucky: No.

Nik: She's smiling. There are a few photographs too. She's always smiling. (Lucky feels himself flush hot)

Lucky: (through clenched teeth) You think she was happy here?

Nik: No. I think she was miserable. You're the one who said it Lucky -- that something broke in her and it happened here. You probably understand that better than I do.

Lucky: I wouldn't bet on it.

Nik: That's why I can't understand those pictures. They made sense when I was a kid, because I was always told that she was flighty and that she never really cared about anyone. So why wouldn't she smile and be happy while she was here? And why wouldn't she leave the minute something better came along. Something that was more exciting, someone she liked more... (Lucky turns back, startled)

Lucky: You thought that was why she left?

Nik: I was told that she left because the man who murdered my father was more important than I was. You know that. (Lucky opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. He did know that. Sort of. He knew the story -- he just never thought about the words that were used or how Nikolas saw it. He hadn't WANTED to think about it. He didn't care.)

Lucky: I... (he blinks) You didn't remember her, though. (Nikolas tenses)

Nik: I was an infant when she left. I was only a few weeks old. (Nikolas's voice is tinged with more than a little bitter defensiveness) But you... You know, this place might be sheltered, but... There were children here besides me. Children of the servants. And I saw them, I saw them play in the late afternoon when I was returning from riding, and I saw their mothers collect them for diner, or to do some chore. I saw what they had and I knew I didn't have that. I don't know HOW I first understood that I didn't have a mother, but I don't remember not knowing that. I knew something was missing for as long as I've known anything.

Lucky: But you didn't know who you were missing. You didn't know who she was.

Nik: I still don't. (Lucky feels his guts twist. He's not supposed to care. He doesn't have room to care about this. He starts to pace the clearing again)

Lucky: Uh huh.

Nik: (distantly) You said yourself -- she's not the person you knew. Whoever I met... It's not the same person you grew up with, is it?

Lucky: (voice low) You don't want to know about this.

Nik: Yes. I do.

Lucky: Why? What... What do you want to know? You want to know what you were missing? Why DO that to yourself?

Nik: I just... (He closes his eyes. What IS he doing?) Forget it, Lucky. This isn't me, it's an aberration. (He stands up) Sometimes I get maudlin, I want answers to questions that have been kicking around my head too long.

Lucky: (uncomfortable) How long has that one been around?

Nik: I told you. It's always been there. (Lucky exhales)

Lucky: Sit down.

Nik: Lucky --

Lucky: JUST -- (he stops and takes a breath) Sit down, Ok? (Nikolas looks at his brother oddly, then sits down on the bench again) I... I can... (He stops his pacing and looks over at Nikolas carefully) I can tell you who I thought she was. But I was a kid.

Nik: I would have been too. (Lucky winces.)

Lucky: You've talked to her, Nikolas. You've seen her with Lulu -- you know what kind of mother she is.

Nik: I thought I did. I thought I had a clue at least. (Lucky shakes his head, feeling his insides swirl. He's not sure why he told Nikolas not to leave. This conversation is doing nothing but making him uneasy. He turns and resumes walking along the edge of the cliff, looking down at the water below)

Lucky: And now you don't?

Nik: I have conflicting information.

Lucky: (snorting) Like what?

Nik: Like what she did to you. (Lucky turns around quickly and Nikolas sucks his breath in) Don't.

Lucky: Don't WHAT?

Nik: Either sit down or get away from the cliff -- but knock that off, you're making me queasy. (Lucky raises his eyebrows)

Lucky: You don't like heights?

Nik: I don't like YOU and heights. What -- do you think you can fly too? Just... (he stands up, then realizing how many kinds of trouble he'd get in if he did what he wanted to and removed Lucky bodily from the edge of the cliff, freezes.) You don't get less reckless, do you? (Lucky puts his arms out and smirks)

Lucky: Well, I got us here, didn't I?

Nik: Yeah. (He frowns) Did I thank you for that? (Lucky's smile fades)

Lucky: I don't remember. (He drops his arms) But there is no reason to, because I didn't do it for you.

Nik: (heavily) No, you never do. (He sits down) So you're going to stay there?

Lucky: I would. (Lucky moves away from the cliff's edge) but you look like you're losing color. I'll give you a break.

Nik: (derisively) I appreciate it. (Lucky walks back to the bench, looking anywhere but at Nikolas. He stops at the bench and puts one foot up on it. He leans over and brushes the slight scuff mark he's gained from kicking at that rock. Nikolas watches)

Lucky: (with practiced disinterest) So what do you think Mom "did" to me?

Nik: I don't "think" she did it to you -- I know.

Lucky: Kept you a secret.

Nik: No. I know why she did that. (Nikolas takes a deep breath) What I don't get is why she let you keep me a secret. The real truth about me. (Lucky stops messing with the toe of his shoe and just stares at the bench) That I don't understand at all.

Lucky: (quietly) And why's that?

Nik: Because. Because I know what it did to you. (Lucky tenses, his immediate reaction to tell Nikolas he doesn't have a clue what he's talking about burning out on the realization that Nikolas DOES know what he's talking about. Because he told him)

Lucky: She didn't know about that.

Nik: Which part?

Lucky: (straightening up) Any of it.

Nik: (shaking his head) I don't buy that. I don't. She knows what she asked you to do.

Lucky: (irritated) She didn't ASK me to do anything. I told her what I was going to do, she never asked me a damn thing. (There's a long pause while Nikolas digests this)

Nik: She still let you...

Lucky: Why not? (Lucky exhales). Look. You don't know what things were like with me and Mom. (Nikolas looks up at him pointedly)

Nik: Yeah. I know. I wasn't there. (Lucky looks at him)

Lucky: (quietly threatening) You want to be there? I can take you there. If that's what you really want.

Nik: I think I can take it.

Lucky: She was a good mother. Is that what you were expecting me to say? (Nikolas shakes his head)

Nik: I wasn't expecting.

Lucky: She was a great mother. (He waits for Nikolas to react. He doesn't blink. Lucky continues) She was exactly what mothers were supposed to be. She was always there when I needed her to be -- she was fun. She taught me to dance, from waltzes to the jitterbug. She could fix almost anything in a second. She didn't freak out at me if I was ten minutes late coming home. She never yelled at me in front of my friends. She didn't get uptight just because I wanted to do things differently than other people. And she was the only person who knew what I knew about my Dad -- that he could do anything. (The corners of Lucky's mouth twitch slightly, like he's fighting an urge to smile) She was a sucker too. No matter how mad she was, I could give her this look -- total puppy dog eyes. She'd cave. (He can't help it, he laughs suddenly) She'd act like she was still mad, but wouldn't be in her eyes anymore. (He looks up at Nikolas, like something has just occurred to him) She could be ferocious, too. Really -- I think she would have killed for me. (His forehead wrinkles) Actually, she was put on trial because people thought she killed for me. (he exhales) She was a lioness... That's what she was. And all that time... (Lucky stops, tears suddenly stinging his eyes. He turns and sinks down onto the bench, leaning forward with his head in his hands. Nikolas, feeling like he's only barely there, watches Lucky and waits in silence for the end of the sentence. After nearly a minute, Lucky takes a shuddering breath) I didn't know how much fear she had in her.

Nik: Because of us.

Lucky: (harshly, lifting his head) Because of your GRANDMOTHER. (He looks at Nikolas) You know, she's tried to do it to us -- what she did to her? She keeps trying to take everything away --

Nik: Only with Laura she did it. She really did it. She took HER away.

Lucky: And then she wouldn't let her come back. (Nikolas shakes his head hard, trying to bring himself back, to feel like he's really here)

Nik: (sucking in a breath) She... She sounds like she was a great mother. She sounds like she was easy to love. (Lucky exhales, shaking slightly)

Lucky: Yeah, but... (He looks around) This place... She wouldn't have been the same here. I... I can't make sense of it.

Nik: It doesn't make sense. People don't do things like that. They don't take women hostage and force them to raise children they don't want --

Lucky: She didn't -- (Lucky stops. Nikolas turns to look at him, his eyes glassy. Lucky shakes his head) She must have wanted you.

Nik: Why do you say that?

Lucky: Because she wouldn't have thrown our family away over someone she didn't want. (Nikolas sits back, reeling)

Nik: (In a burst) I never would have asked you to do that. I didn't even know --

Lucky: I KNOW! (Lucky stops, trying to get a grip. He squeezes his eyes shut and swears under this breath) I know that, Nik. It was MY choice. I did it because I wanted to. Not because anyone asked me. (Nikolas turns his eyes back to the sea. But WHY, a part of him screams. He has hypothesized, Emily has pushed him in the direction of what he really wanted to believe... But still. He's never heard it out of Lucky's mouth. He's never known for certain. And he still can't make himself ask. He closes his eyes. It doesn't matter. He's known for a while what it is he has to do. And nothing Lucky says will change it either way. In fact, not knowing is probably for the best. He stands up, feeling the world shift and bob around him. He feels an uncontrollable urge to just stop this, stop it all right now. She shakes his head like he's looking for the part that rattles)

Nik: (in announcement) I'm going to the cove. (Lucky blinks a few times, adjusting to the conversation shift)

Lucky: The cove?

Nik: Yeah. (He turns and looks at Lucky, his expression unreadable but clearly off center. He seems to consider something for a long time.) That might be one place you haven't seen.

* * * *

Stefan stands on the porch of Katija's home, watching the rain fall, in a state of disrepair. He hasn't return to the small town an hour's drive from here, where he had obtained a room. Instead he had stayed in the car, an action he was certain would floor most anyone acquainted with him. But. He was determined in his assertion that Laura not pursue her insane plan to confront Helena on her own, and he doesn't trust her to stay put on a simple request.

Besides, in the years when the name Stefan Cassadine had merely raised eyebrows and struck fear in the heart of no man, he had made do with less than a Rolls Royce in a remote cottage's drive. He'd lived in Buddhist monasteries, in shacks at the edge of the red sea with Bedouins as neighbors. He'd always had a place to go next in those days, a responsibility to duck or an expectation to out run. He'd never foreseen the slightest glimmer of this place he'd arrived at now.

He was stopped in his tracks. No clear step lay ahead of him. He had no plan, no long-range objective. At this moment he wanted one thing only -- his son. There was no further objective. He would have protested the implication that he'd bore one here, but now, in the light of the previous night's events, he had to admit to himself -- there had always been a secondary objective where Laura was concerned.

If there was one thing in his life he regretted -- and he rarely made time for such thoughts -- it was allowing Nikolas to harbor so much venom and bile towards his mother. That he'd never truly explained Laura's actions to him.... Even led him to conclusions that his mother did not care for him, did not hold him in the same light as her other children. Nikolas had been abandoned, there was no silver lining to be hung around that. But he had never tried, either. And if there was any truth to Laura's conviction that Lucky and Nikolas were TOGETHER while leaving everyone else in the dark to worry and chase after flocks of geese... Well, the message his son was sending was clear.

A creak of a floorboard gives away the presence of someone behind him and Stefan turns to see Katija standing behind the screen door, holding a cup and saucer in her hand. She is already prepared for the day, her skin looking scrubbed, and her hair already up in a tight and efficient bun. She has a towel draped over her shoulder.

Katija: I brought you some tea. (She pushes open the door and stops out onto the porch) And a towel.

Stefan: The rain is not heavy.

Katija: I meant if you wanted to wash up. (She lets the door swing shut behind her) You don't have to say on the porch. (Stefan turns and gives her a kind but unconvincing smile.

Stefan: I do not want to intrude. (Katija gives a wane smile, then thrusts the cup at him. He takes it, giving her a regal nod that contradicts his physical appearance. His hair is mussed, his suit missing the jacket, and his soft cotton shirt is open at the neck, the cuffs rolled up. HE looks younger -- more like the man she had lost her heart to when she was barely 17. But everything else... It took her a moment to put her finger on what it was about his mannerisms that made her stomach seize. They were so polished... Refined. They were so much more like Helena's than they had ever been when she had known him. She blinks, thinking back to Laura's angry words the previous evening. You don't know him, she thinks to herself sadly... He is so much more Cassadine than he ever was before. Katija realizes she is staring and coughs, turning away. Stefan, who had noticed the intensity of her study, takes a sip of his tea)

Katija: I assume you are leaving today. With Laura.

Stefan: You are good to tolerate this intrusion, Katija.

Katija: (Dismissive) I told you. I still feel I owe your family a debt. (She crosses her arms protectively, staring out at the rain with her shoulders hunched) The Prince, at least. Which extends to his mother and guardian.

Stefan: No matter what the Prince's feelings for either of us. (Katija frowns)

Katija: We discussed my reasons, Count. (Stefan sets the cup back on the saucer in his hand. He stares into the murky liquid)

Stefan: Please don't call me that. (Katija turns back to him.)

Katija: Excuse me. But in the given circumstances, it seems the most appropriate. (Stefan takes his in, then turns away)

Stefan: So Laura in preparing to leave, then?

Katija: She would have last night, had you not made your presence known. She is still in her room, I assume she plans to depart today.

Stefan: You were right, she intended to face Helena.

Katija: Intended?

Stefan: I have no intention of allowing her to continue on this quest. AS you said -- our first priority is the Prince. I doubt he would take kindly to my allowing his mother to put herself in jeopardy.

Katija: What will you do?

Stefan: (exhaling) I am tempted to have my sister contact Spencer and have him come collect his wife. (Katija pales)

Katija: Luke Spencer. (Stefan notes the expression on her face and gives her

Stefan: Tempted. His interference would only impede my search for Nikolas.

Katija: Where do you think he is? Do she -- ?

Stefan: She told me she believes he's with his brother. Where his brother is, she couldn't quite say.

Katija: (clearly confused) But...

Stefan: Lucky and Nikolas have an antagonistic relationship. In fact, last time I spoke to Nikolas he made that exceedingly clear. Though... (Stefan sighs) Due to the course of recent events, it is entirely possible that much of what he told me was hypocrisy. (He shakes his head) It's a sad state of affairs when your best hopes lead you to pray your child has lied to you.

Katija: Your child. (Stefan looks up sharply, staring at her) It's lovely you think of him that way. Andrea and I were raised by an aunt, and I don't think... (she stops and breaths) I am being familiar again. (She takes a step back) I apologize.

Stefan: There is no need for that. (Stefan puts the cup and saucer down on the wooden handrail that encircles the porch. He paces the short distance to the end, spooked that he let such a sentence slip so unguarded from his lips) Nikolas is the only child I have ever had a hand in raising. He is likely... Going to remain the only child I will ever have.

Katija: I... I can't believe anything bad has happened to him, Stefan. (Stefan turns back and smiles at her)

Stefan: You slipped. You used my name. (Katija looks away quickly)

Katija: So you plan to depart today? The most I can do is provide you with something to eat before you go --

Stefan: Katija. (he moves back toward her)

Katija: The hens are laying, I have eggs and I baked some bread yesterday. It's a merger offering, but --

Stefan: I wanted to talk to you about how you departed our conversation in the car.

Katija: Please. There is nothing to say.

Stefan: I do not wish to make you uncomfortable. (Katija shakes her head)

Katija: (quickly) No, of course not, it's just that -- (She stops, hearing a sound) What is that? (Stefan turns and looks out across the front of the farm with her.

Stefan: I do not hear -- (He stops, hearing the noise as well. A half a second later a car appears, chugging down the road and slowing at the house. He and Katija both watch as it stops, then makes a wide turn into the drive. The car halts again, engine still running, headlights beaming through the rain and illuminating Stefan and Katija. The Door of the car opens, drivers side, and Luke Spencer steps out. He takes in Stefan, then cracks a cocky smile)

Luke: Well, well. Looks like the owl came home to roost after all.