Chapter Ten

General Hospital

"Hey, Em," Elizabeth smiled her greeting to her friend as Emily paused by the nurse's station after morning rounds.

"Morning, Elizabeth," Emily returned the greeting but not the smile.

"Looks like someone had a rough night," Elizabeth's grin took on a teasing edge. "You and Nikolas went out last night, didn't you? Did someone stay out too late?"

"It's not that," Emily sighed as she leaned against the desk. "Nikolas and I had barely gotten to the restaurant before I was called back to the hospital. And, you know, I've pretty much gotten used to the late nights working here, but when I got home . . ." Emily sighed again and Elizabeth sobered seeing the worry in her friend's eyes. "I don't know, something's up with Nikolas and he won't talk to me about it."

"Surely he wasn't upset because you had to cancel your dinner plans?" Elizabeth asked with some surprise, managing the Cassadine estate took enough of Nikolas's time that he should understand Emily's demanding schedule.

"No," Emily shook her head. "I don't think that's it. It's . . ." She drew in a deep breath, telling anyone felt a bit like a betrayal but Liz was her friend and she had to talk to someone. "I'm actually really worried about him, he's acting a little . . . off. Kind of . . . paranoid." She shook her head meeting Elizabeth's worried gaze. "He fired Colleen."

"Spencer's nanny?" Elizabeth didn't even try to hide her surprise, Colleen had been with Nikolas and Spencer since shortly after Nikolas took custody of his son.

"Yeah, and he didn't just fire her, she's gone." Emily met Elizabeth's wide-eyed stare. "He says she was working for Helena, but . . . he won't explain anything. He just says that he confronted her about it and that she confessed . . . eventually."

"Eventually?"

"Yeah, I know, right?" Emily bit her lip. "I don't even want to think about what he might have done to convince her to 'confess' to such a thing. Whatever it was . . . Nikolas was drunk when I got home, and he was . . . he was just . . . he was sitting there on the floor in the nursery watching Spencer sleep. And then this morning . . . he insisted that no one be left alone with Spencer, not even Alfred."

"And he won't talk to me about any of it," Emily let out a frustrated groan. "I don't know what to do."

"Have you mentioned any of this to Lucky?"

Wyndemere

Nikolas was sitting behind the desk in his study studying an old photograph when his brother arrived. He had set up a Pack'n Play in the corner of the office, ostensibly so that he could watch his son while he took care of some business but no business had been accomplished in the last several hours. While Spencer was awake Nikolas had lavished him with attention and when he had laid the child down for his afternoon nap Nikolas had returned to his desk but had not even managed to turn on his computer or pick up his phone.

"Emily sent you?" Nikolas asked has he slipped the picture into a desk drawer and hoped his brother wouldn't ask about it. He shouldn't have even had it out – he'd known Emily would call someone to check on him, that it was Lucky didn't surprise him in the slightest.

"She's worried about you," Lucky acknowledged as he took a seat across the desk from his brother.

"She doesn't need to be," Nikolas's response was automatic, even though this time he wasn't sure of its truth. "I have things under control."

"Yeah?" Lucky's settled on the child sleeping in the Pack'n Play in the corner. "I can see that."

"Don't start, Lucky," Nikolas heard the unasked question. "Colleen was working for Helena."

"And you know this how, exactly?"

"She confessed."

"Right, of course. So last night after putting Spencer to bed she just came up to you and said 'by the way Mr. Cassadine, I think you should probably know that I'm working for your grandmother. Somehow, I don't see that happening."

"I found out first through an independent source." Stefan told me – if Nikolas gave him the truth, Lucky would think he really had lost his mind. In the light of day Nikolas even found himself wondering if the events of the last evening had been an alcohol induced hallucination, but he hadn't started drinking until after, had he?

"I confronted her about what I had learned and she confessed." Madame, she contacts me when she's here and she wishes to see Spencer . . . I just, I was afraid of her, I did what she told me to do.

"This independent source –"

"Drop it, Lucky," Nikolas interrupted.

Lucky raised his hands in a gesture of surrender when he heard the harsh tone in his brother's voice. "Alright, no prying into your sources – got it."

"I'm sorry," Nikolas rubbed a hand across his forehead, as if he could physically wipe away the building guilt. Lucky more than anyone deserved the truth, but his history with Stefan. . . No, the truth was definitely out, but he couldn't not warn Lucky that Helena was coming, not after everything that his brother had suffered at her hands.

"So what did you do about Colleen?" Lucky interrupted his thoughts, "after she confessed I mean."

"I sent her somewhere safe," Nikolas accepted the slight change in subject gratefully.

"Safe for you or safe for her?"

"Safe for Spencer. . . for both of them actually. Helena's never been particularly gentle with pawns who have outlived their usefulness and Colleen stopped being useful when I discovered her deception. If Helena can't find her, then she can't kill her."

Lucky acknowledged the point with a nod and almost missed Nikolas's muttered conclusion. "And if I don't have to look at her, maybe I won't be tempted to kill her either."

"Nik?"

"I wouldn't actually kill her." I don't have much experience with murder, I don't know how tight I can make my hold before I crush your trachea, or how long I can deprive you of oxygen before your brain is irreversibly damaged. Nikolas knew that it was what his brother needed to hear, "but when I found out what she'd done – that she'd let Helena visit Spencer, yes, I wanted to kill her."

"Just as long as you resisted temptation."

The Haunted Star

"Your brother's visit has left you unsettled," Stefan observed, Courtney had been unusually quiet after Sonny's departure the evening before and had yet to speak of it this morning. "Did he say something to upset you further after I left?"

"No, he was actually pretty decent after you left. He said he wants to try to be a better brother this time around." Courtney sighed, "It was a nice sentiment; I just wish that I believed he would be able to live up to it."

"Maybe he will; this kind of second chance doesn't happen very often – maybe he's realized how important you are to his life."

"Stefan Cassadine, the voice of optimism?"

"I want you to be happy," Stefan ignored the teasing that he knew was an attempt to deflect his attention. Courtney didn't want to hope that her brother would change because if she didn't hope for it she wouldn't be disappointed when it didn't happen. "I think your brother wants the same, maybe he has learned-"

Stefan broke off mid-sentence, turning toward the door as he heard the barely perceptible sound of the door handle turning – it was still morning, they didn't expect to see either Luke or Robert for several hours yet.

Tracy knew her husband better than most people realized, and she always knew when he was hiding something. Of course, Luke was always hiding something, but this time – this time he was putting effort into it. If Luke was letting someone stay at the Star he was getting something out of it one way or another – her money was on a woman – and Tracy wasn't going to let that go unpunished.

"Alright you little strumpet, I don't know what my husband may have told you but he doesn't . . ." Tracy had started her rant before opening the door but she trailed off as she caught sight of a man standing in front of the bed in the stateroom.

"Strumpet," Stefan repeated the word, some of the tension leaching from his body as he turned to face Tracy Quartermaine. "I don't believe anyone's ever called me a strumpet before," he observed dryly. "I do not believe that the appellation suits me."

"Stefan Cassadine?" Tracy's shock was palpable. "You're the one Luke's been hiding here!"

"Ms. Quartermaine," Stefan acknowledged. "No, I understand you have recently married; my condolences, Mrs. Spencer."

"But Luke hates you," still caught up in her shock, Tracy ignored the barb. Anyone less familiar with the Spencers and Cassadines might have mentioned that Stefan was supposed to be dead first, but Tracy knew the parties involved better than that. Stefan's apparent resurrection was less surprising than Luke's apparent willingness to help the man.

"The feeling is mutual, but we are both willing to set that aside while dealing with a common enemy."

Wyndemere

"I'm a good father."

Lucky looked up in surprise, not at the statement itself, but at the fact that Nikolas seemed to think it needed to be made – and at the tinge of desperation in the voice that delivered it.

"Yes, you are," he agreed after a moment.

"I love my son and I want what's best for him," Nikolas continued as if he hadn't heard Lucky's affirmation.

"No one doubts that," Lucky assured him, trying to get Nikolas to look at him.

"And I would never do anything that I thought would hurt him."

"Alright who are you trying to convince here, Nik?" Lucky's voice rose as he tried to get his brother's attention. "Yeah, you've got us a little freaked with this Colleen situation, but no one is suggesting that you aren't a good father or that you'd hurt Spencer."

"What if someone was?" Nikolas snapped into focus, finally meeting Lucky's gaze. "What if someone said that I had done something terrible, something – something Cassadine; would you believe them?" Nikolas seldom alluded to his family history, but for Lucky that better than any other would summarize the impact of what Nikolas was going to be accused of."

"What's going on, Nikolas?" this sudden change in subject was beginning to worry Lucky – had Nikolas done something to Colleen?

"You didn't answer the question," Nikolas reminded him in a flat tone – afraid that the failure to answer was an answer itself – after all this time, his brother still didn't trust him.

"Of course I wouldn't believe it," Lucky answered this time without hesitation. "Now do you want to tell me the hell is going on?"

"I can't, not yet, but you'll find out soon."

"Alright, Nik you're really starting to scare me here. You need to tell me what this is all about."

"I would if I could, Lucky," Nikolas's gaze was haunted, "but it's not; I can't – I can't say anything."

He shook his head, "Things are about to get bad, Lucky, this thing with Colleen is the least of it. Helena's on her way to Port Charles. Hell, she's probably already here. I can't tell you yet, but it's going to be bad, it's going to be really bad."

"Have you talked to my dad about any of this?" Lucky asked. "He'd help you against Helena – he knows her better than anyone."

"No!" Nikolas's denial was immediate – and automatic. He and Luke may have made peace over the years, but with Stefan involved he wouldn't bring in Luke. "Promise me you won't say anything to Luke, not yet."

The Haunted Star

"A common enemy," Tracy repeated the Stefan's pronouncement with a sigh, Luke's earlier assurance suddenly making sense. Just the pure pleasure of screwing over an old enemy. "Your mother's back in town," she concluded. "So Helena's back and you're apparently not dead and you've decided to drag my husband into yet another of your interminable wars. Why am I not surprised?"

"You give me far too much credit, Mrs. Spencer," Stefan assured her, "if you imagine I could influence your husband to do anything against his will. I asked only for a hiding place for a few days; any involvement he has beyond that is his own idea, no dragging necessary."

"Alright, first, cut it out with the Mrs. Spencer crap," Tracy cut in, "it's Quartermaine, and second I know very well Luke's always ready for a fight with your mother, but you must need him for something or else you wouldn't have come here to hide out – you would have gone straight to Wyndemere."

"I assure you, I asked for nothing from Luke save a place to stay and access to a trustworthy physician."

"And Nikolas couldn't get you those things?" Tracy countered.

"I didn't want to see Nikolas." From the moment she saw Stefan Tracy had been so focused on him that she had failed to notice the other figure in the room until Courtney spoke.

"Who – I thought you were dead!" Seeing Stefan Cassadine had been a surprise, but Tracy was honestly shocked to see Courtney Matthews.

"You thought I was dead, too, but you don't seem that surprised to see me," Stefan observed.

"Oh please, you've faked your death before and you were facing murder charges – so really, I'm not that surprised to find out that was a con. But this one, she died in a hospital, and she had no reason to skip town."

Tracy turned to the younger woman who hadn't stirred from the bed and for the first time really noticed her condition. "What the hell happened to you?"

Courtney raised a self-conscious hand to her face, reminded once again of the bruises that gave testament to her ordeal. "Does it really look that bad?" she asked.

"My mother's hospitality leaves something to be desired and her guards were loath to let us leave," Stefan answered Tracy's question first and then directed his attention to Courtney. "The bruises will fade," he assured her, "and you shouldn't have any scars." Not physical ones, anyway.

Kelly's

"Hey Liz, Em," Lucky wasn't surprised to find the two of them waiting for him together. He'd called Emily as soon as he'd left Wyndemere, and, knowing that her shift was almost over, he'd asked her to meet him at Kelly's.

"Lucky," Emily managed a tentative smile as she met her best friend's gaze. "Did he tell you what's going on?"

"No," Lucky shook his head. "He said that Helena's coming back, but that's all I could get out of him and he wouldn't even tell me how he knew that." Lucky sighed, "Whatever's going down has him seriously freaked. I've never seen him like this – never."

"If it's Helena, why wouldn't he tell you?" Liz asked. "I mean given everything that's happened I think he'd at least owe you a head's up."

"I don't know," Lucky had been seriously frustrated by his meeting with Nikolas, but Nikolas's fear had been palpable and that made Lucky hesitant to push too hard.

"He told me that things were going to get bad and that Helena was coming back – so I guess that was a head's up, but then he just clammed up, insisted that he couldn't say anything else."

"The weirdest part is – he made me promise not to tell Dad. That's weird right? I mean Helena's on her way back to town – why wouldn't he want Dad to know that?"

The girls shared a troubled glance before looking back at Lucky. "It doesn't make sense. He knows that as far as Helena goes, Luke's on his side," Emily acknowledged. "I mean they've teamed up against her before."

"I'm sorry that I couldn't help more," Lucky offered Emily a half smile. "Whatever it is, he's just not ready to share."

The Haunted Star

"So what's the plan now, Tracy?"

Surprisingly the question came from Courtney, not Stefan. Or perhaps it wasn't surprising, while Stefan had taken the lead in the conversation, that particular question too direct to be his style.

"What plan?"

"You wanted to know what Luke was hiding and now you do. And now you have a choice to make. What are you going to do about his secret – about us?"

"I could call the police," Tracy suggested, looking towards Stefan. "If you're not dead you can still be charged with murder after all. And you were trying to kill my beloved niece."

"You don't even like Emily," Courtney pointed out.

"The individual who committed that crime may have been masquerading as me, but he is dead and I will not be held answerable for his sins," Stefan denied.

"Really?" Tracy's voice held more than a touch of disbelief.

"Really," Stefan asserted confidently.

"Calling the police would be counter-productive anyway," Tracy acknowledged after a pause. "They'd probably arrest Luke right along with you for harboring a fugitive and I've got no desire to bail him out of jail again."

Tracy paused again as she weighed her options. "I assume there's a reason that you two are hiding out here instead of just going home."

"There is," Stefan affirmed simply – he had no intention of offering details that had not been requested.

"And how long do you intend to stay?"

"Another day – two at most, just until Courtney's doctor says it's safe to move her."

"Alright then," Tracy nodded. "Enjoy your stay and tell Luke I'll see him at home."

"That's it?" Courtney turned to Stefan after watching Tracy sail out of the door.

"Tracy gains nothing by exposing us, and by keeping his secrets without his asking she gains something in this game she and Luke are playing."

"Game? I thought they were married."

"I don't think they know the difference."