Part X

It was nearly dawn when Spencer Cassadine walked into the PCPD Station. His appearance in a rumpled tuxedo didn't raise many eyebrows, in Port Charles if there was a fancy party it was generally accepted that someone was going to end up in lock-up.

What got the men on their feet was the woman who walked in behind the young man.

Any officer in the PCPD knew Helena Cassadine on sight. And, they knew enough to be on their guard.

"Who," she inquired with a crisp and haughty tone, "is in charge that this hour?"

A man in a crisp suit stepped forward, his clean cut good looks made little impression on the matriarch. "I am. I'm the Police Commissioner."

She looked him over from head to toe and back again. "Hmmm… that will do." She turned to Spencer and waited.

The younger man looked up and licked his lips to ease the sting from the cold air off of the harbor. "I need to turn myself in." When no one made a move, he continued. "I tried to kill someone."

The Commissioner nodded, watching the younger man's expression carefully. Dealing with Helena Cassadine meant you had to be careful… very very careful. "We haven't had a report of-"

"I pushed Elizabeth Webber down a flight of stairs before her wedding to my father."

The words were quiet, but the station had gone silent and all of the men turned to look at the Commissioner waiting for his reaction.

"You pushed her... " the Commissioner leaned against the doorframe of his office, "and she's dead?"

Spencer shook his head. "She's at General Hospital, things…" he explained, "look pretty bad. Stefan got a call from his wife and he went down to-"

"Put him in lock up," the Commissioner grabbed his coat from the rack and darted for the side door, heading for the parking lot.

Looking up at his great-grandmother, Spencer waited for an officer to come forward to escort him to the temporary cells in the back of the station.

Helena looked down at him and read the confusion in his eyes. "The Commissioner," she explained, "is Ric Lansing. He always did… care for Elizabeth."

A police officer took Spencer away, holding on to the boy's arm, just above the elbow. Spencer followed without any issue.

Nikolas was nearly asleep at Elizabeth's bedside when he heard the commotion outside. The demanding tone of voice and words filled with fear and desperation could only come from one person. Slowly, the prince stood, finding his legs still willing to work, and walked to the door of her private room in ICU.

The movement caught Ric's attention from his vantage point at the desk. He saw Nikolas standing in the doorway, his face a hard mask of worry. "How is she?"

Ric shouldered past the nurses and two security guards to make his way to Elizabeth's door. "Tell me, Nikolas, or let someone else fill me in!"

"She's alive." The two words were difficult for Nikolas to say, he was almost afraid of tipping the balance against her chances. "She was in surgery most of the night and now they are waiting… for her to wake up."

Ric grabbed a fistful of Nikolas' shirt. "You mean 'if,'" he ground out the words between his teeth, "you mean if she wakes up."

"She will. She has to." Nikolas made no effort to pull free of Ric's grasp. Somewhere in his head he felt as though he deserved the rough treatment. "The baby is-"

Nik's head snapped back when Ric punched him, sending the two of them sprawling to the ground with Ric's hand still holding his shirt.

"So that's what this is about, isn't it?" Ric threw another punch and Nikolas didn't turn away, taking it square on his jaw. "You and your family's legacy!"

The security guards pulled Ric away, letting go when she held up his hands in surrender.

One of the nurses helped Nikolas to his feet, looking at his face to assess his injuries. He shrugged off their concern.

"This isn't about the Cassadine family," he answered Ric, lifting his eyes to meet the blazing fire of the Police Commissioner, "it's about me making a life with Elizabeth and a child. And how I let Katherine poison my son's mind. If Elizabeth dies-"

"She's not going to." Chloe put herself between the two men, and wrapped her arm around Nikolas' middle. "She'll wake up and she'll be waiting to see your handsome face smiling down at her.. so let's go back inside."

She nearly had to push him backwards into the room as Stefan stepped in front of Ric. "What are you doing here, Mr. Lansing?"

"Spencer Cassadine walked into the PCPD a few minutes ago and turned himself in."

Stefan let the words sink in for a moment before he trusted himself to speak. "He just walked into the Police Station?"

Ric glowered at Stefan, crossing his arms as he looked at the older man. "It wasn't just Spencer. Helena was the one who walked him in."

"My mother? She dragged him in?"

"No," Ric's anger was slowly dissipating, "I believe he did it voluntarily. I left him to my men to process him. Once I heard what he had done to Elizabeth-" Ric's voice lodged in his throat. "I had to see her for myself."

He looked at the closed hospital door.

"I think I pretty much ruined any chance of that by attacking Nikolas."

Stefan regarded the other man. "I think he'll let you see her, as long as you keep your voice down, and-"

"And not attack him… I can do that."

Nikolas did let Ric into the room. He watched as the other man, who had from time to time dated Elizabeth when she and Nikolas hadn't seen eye to eye, and saw the gentle look on his face. Ric smoothed his hand over her own at her side. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss on her forehead. Before he turned away he looked at the monitors on the other side of the bed.

"She will be an amazing mother." He turned to meet Nikolas' troubled gaze. "You're lucky to have her."

Nodding, Nikolas agreed. "You're right. Without her… I'd be lost."

Ric listened to his words and slowly lowered his chin in a nod. "Just remember that… and treat her like gold when she wakes up." He moved toward the door, stopping just before he stepped out into the hall. "Please let me know when she can receive guests… I would like to bring her some flowers."

Nikolas held out his hand. Shaking Ric's firmly before the other man left.

Once they were alone again, Stefan met Nikolas' curious gaze. "What did you say to him?"

Stefan looked at Chloe, who drew closer to listen in. "He explained why he came down to the hospital. Spencer turned himself into the PCPD this morning."

Nikolas was stunned. He struggled to understand what Stefan was saying to him. "Spencer? How did Katherine let him-"

"He said that Helena brought him to the station." Stefan looked at Nikolas, reaching out to touch his nephew's shoulder. "Remember what I told you … before I left Spoon Island-"

"Yes,... that Helena was explaining the truth to Spencer."

"This was the first time he heard some of those truths." Stefan sighed. "I'm pretty sure Katherine has been poisoning his mind for years. He was stunned and shocked when I left."

"And now," Chloe added in as she stepped into Stefan's comforting embrace, "he's begun to understand what he should have been told years ago."

Nikolas' expression was haunted. "I should have fought harder when he was baby. I should have found a way-"

"You didn't stand a chance." Chloe reached out and took Nikolas' hand. "You were concerned about his happiness… Katherine wanted to use him as a pawn. You couldn't have seen what she was planning to do."

Stefan agreed. "You're not like Katherine, Nikolas. In her mind, how she deals with things, Katherine is more of a Cassadine than any of us. But in her heart-"

"If she has one," interjected Chloe.

"Yes, well… if she had one, she would have seen the pain she was putting him through."

Nikolas looked back at Elizabeth and sighed. "I should go and see him."

"Yes," Stefan agreed, "you should. We can stay here and-"

"I want to be here for her," Nikolas moved toward the bed. "I need to be here and tell her-"

"Nikolas." Chloe moved a few steps forward but she didn't touch him. "Nikolas, look at me."

He complied. Turning back to look at her, Nikolas waited for Chloe to speak.

"If Elizabeth were awake right now… and you asked her what you should do… what would she say?"

Nikolas glowered at her. "That's not fair."

Stefan shrugged. "It's true. You know what she would say."

"She would tell me to go and talk to him. That he's my son and he needs me."

Chloe wrapped her arms around Nikolas and gave him a hug. "We'll be here… so you go and do what you need to."