He left," Lucy told Luke, fighting tears as she stood before him at his club. "Kevin left me."

Dragging her into his office to avoid his all too interested clientele, Luke turned to his friend and said, "I told you that this was a bad idea."

"No, you see, he was probably going to leave me anyhow. He thinks that we need time to reevaluate our relationship. He thinks that I’m scared to marry him and that’s why I keep finding reasons not to get married."

"The man could have a point."

Lucy looked shocked. "Not you, too?"

"Me, too, Lucy," Luke nodded. "All this time you and the Doc could have been married, starting a family, and both of you keep dancing around it. Oh, know that there are always good reasons to wait, but it’s not like there’s a shortage of ministers, or justices of the peace around. What it boils down to is this: you’re uncertain about it. Maybe both of you."

"I’m not a bit uncertain," Lucy told him. "I just want to get my business rebuilt and help you. Then, I’ll marry him."

"Let’s see, Lucy. That means that Kevin isn’t coming first or second at the moment. He’s also come behind Serena, and had to stand around and watch while you married that Stanton guy. This sort of being relegated to the end of the line does lousy things to a man’s ego."

"I told him that I love him. I do love him. He knows that. Damnit, Luke, I’ve stood between that man and a bullet. I was there when nobody else believed in him."

"Maybe this is his idea of how to pay you back. Maybe he’s trying to give you time to rethink this to make certain that you aren’t making a bigger mistake."

"Don’t go getting logical on me, Luke. I hate that."

"Fine. Get on the next plane and go to your Doc. Just be sure to pack your bridal gown."

Lucy scowled. "And leave you here?"

"I’m a big boy, Luce. I can take care of myself."

"That’s what Kevin said."

"He was right." Luke looked at his friend and asked, "Are you sure, Lucy? Are you completely sure that you want to marry Kevin? I’ve told you that I don’t want to hide behind your skirts, but are you sure that you aren’t offering to help me as a means of avoiding the issue? Do you think that maybe, just maybe this could be a subconscious tactic for delaying something about which you are unsure?"

"Now you even sound like him." Lucy was disgusted. "Look, Luke. I’ve got to think about this, and while I’m thinking about it, I’ll do it here."

"So, what do we have? A you use me, and I’ll use you sort of thing?"

"Whatever works."

"Okay. Just remember—any time you want to bail out and chase down your boyfriend, say the word." Luke pulled Lucy into his arms and gave her a hug. "It’ll be okay, Lucy. I promise. Things will work out."

"Okay. And, any time you want to level with Laura..."

"Level with me about what?" came an icy voice from the doorway.

Luke and Lucy pulled out of the embrace and turned to see Laura standing there, fire in her eyes.

"Oh, hi, Laura," Luke smiled, reaching over to give Lucy’s derriere a quick pat. "Later babe. I think that the little woman wants to ream me a new one."

Sweeping past Lucy with regal disdain, Laura entered the office. "I didn’t believe it when I heard it. I had to see for myself."

"See what? Miss Lucy and I are old friends."

"Very good friends," Lucy supplied with a knowing smile, lingering behind to get in a few good digs. "Intimate friends, you might say."

"How could you?" Laura asked, the tears welling up in her eyes. "I thought you loved me."

Luke laughed out loud, though the sound was hardly cheerful. "This coming from the woman who spent the other afternoon getting it on with Stiffen?" He grinned at Lucy who was enjoying the scene in spite of herself. She knew that she should leave, but couldn’t quite bring herself to do it.

"But our son..."

"According to you, I don’t have a son," Luke said, suddenly grim, his voice laced with venom. "Or did you conveniently forget what you said? That Lucky was Stefan’s?"

Lucy managed to conceal her surprise about Luke’s revelation. Lucky wasn’t his son? He hadn’t told her that part yet, but she felt the deep anguish radiating from him.

Laura just stood there, tears running down her cheeks. "How could I tell you, Luke? How could I? You were so pleased that you were going to be a father, and then you were so pleased that you had a son. How could I break your heart like that? And you were Lucky’s father in every way that mattered. You brought him up to be like you."

"Laura, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll go home right now. I’m feeling a little violent at the moment." Luke’s tone was low, menacing.

"Uh, Laura," Lucy injected. "I think that’s a good idea."

"This isn’t any of your business," Laura told her. "He’s my husband."

"Legally," Lucy agreed, with the generosity of a woman quite certain of her man. "For the time being." She smiled. "Face it, Laura. You made a few very serious mistakes for which I shall be eternally grateful. Now, run along."

"I’ll never forgive you for this, Luke Spencer," Laura said in a threatening tone that was completely new to Luke. Was this the woman he’d loved for so many years? He watched as she turned and left.

"Lucky’s not your son?" Lucy asked gently. She was treading very carefully.

"That’s what Laura said." He tossed back a scotch and grimaced as it burned its way down. "And Lucky knows all about it. Nikolas told him. Of course, the laugh’s on that little spawn of Satan—he found out that he wasn’t Stavros’ son, but the really good part came when he heard Laura tell Stefan that Nik wasn’t his son. She’s deceived us all, Lucy. With that sweet, angelic face, that ***** has deceived us all."

Lucy rocked back on her feet, absorbing all the information. "Holy ****! No wonder you were drunk when I found you. What about Lulu?"

Their eyes met and she read complete heartbreak. "She’s not yours, either?"

"I don’t know, Luce," Luke confessed. "You know, I’ve been wracking my brain to remember where she was when she conceived..."

"And?"

"And I don’t know. Given what I’ve learned, it’s entirely possible that Lulu isn’t mine and that I have no children." The words were torn from him in a painful admission. "But they’re still mine in here." He tapped his chest, and shook his head. "They’re still mine, even if they aren’t? Can you understand that?"

"You’re talking with the woman who married Rex Stanton to save Serena," Lucy smiled back through the tears she was fighting. She sniffled. "God, I hate crying! Luke, we’ll find a way around this, somehow. Lucky can’t hate you forever."

"But what if he finds that he’s really a Cassadine? The very bloodline that I’ve taught him to hate?"

"Cassadines? Are you two talking about Cassadines?" Felicia asked, walking into the office with Mac. "You’re just the man we need to see."

Dashing away all moisture from his eyes, Luke looked up. "Felicia. Mac. Good to see you. Yeah, we were talking about the family from hell. How can I help you?"

"We need to know what you know about Helena Cassadine."

Luke’s expression changed instantly to very guarded. "She’s evil clear through. Forget all that nice matronly veneer she’s carefully cultivated—that woman could give Satan lessons. Why?"

"I met her in the park this afternoon, and she was asking about my daughters."

"She contaminates everything she breathes on," Luke told them, flatly. "She was asking about them? Helena seldom does anything without a purpose. She’s not the sort that chats about children in the park without an ulterior motive."

"That’s what I thought," Felicia told him. "Now all we have to do is find out what that motive could be. As far as I know, we’ve had nothing to do with the Cassadines."

"How about Frisco? Has he ever run afoul of them?"

"I don’t know. In fact, the only people that I know who have had anything to do with them on a personal level is your family. I mean, I know that Stefan runs GH, and that he has his fingers in a variety of businesses, but on a personal level, we have nothing in common."

"For which you should be grateful. Look, Felicia, I can’t imagine what interest that witch could have in your children, but whatever it is, even if it’s only to make herself look more grandmotherly to Nikolas, it isn’t to be trusted. I wonder if Garcia and Taggert have thought to question that woman in regards to Kat’s killing? I’m sure that Kat wasn’t good enough for her precious Stefan."

"You don’t think that she’s a murderer, do you?" Felicia was horrified. "I mean, she’s creepy, but a killer?"

"That and a whole lot more, Felicia." Luke was grim. "Murder is probably one of her lesser crimes."