I sometimes wonder if the GH writers read fic. JJ Abrams admitted that they did for Alias. Or I'm just incredibly psychic. I was humored that on the actual show yesterday, Alexis went to Kelly's for pie. It was like she was on a manhunt for it.

Chapter 38

At the lake house, Ethan looked over at Kristina lying next to him on her bed tired and bundled up in her favorite blanket.

"I love the hell out of this book." He flipped through the pages of Spencer's favorite storybook. "Are you listening to me?"

Kristina moved her head not wanting to speak.

"What's your favorite book?"

She opened her eyes. "Uh, I enjoy Wuthering Heights."

"Withering who? Sounds creepy. I like creepy."

Kristina snatched the book from his hand. "Thank you for saving me."

"I didn't save you. Stavros left. He wasn't going to hurt you."

"How do you know? If he hurt me would you be sad?" Kristina leaned in to kiss Ethan.

Sam stood in Kristina's doorway. "What are you two doing?"

But Sam thwarted Kristina's plan.

Ethan held up the book. "Reading."

Kristina groaned. "Sam, sometimes I hate you."

"Our mother wants us all in living room. She's on the way home. You can make out with your boyfriend later."

Ethan hopped up from the bed. "We were reading not making out. You're gonna get me killed."

Alexis made it back to the lake house trying her best to get her story straight. When she walked through the door with Nikolas behind her, she saw something she hadn't seen in months—all of the children together.

Molly was relieved to have Alexis home. "Stavros attacked Kristina and Mikkos." She got up from entertaining Mikkos and wrapped her arms around her mother's waist.

"He didn't attack me Molly." Kristina yelled as she, Sam, and Ethan gathered in the living room.

Alexis looked at Nikolas. "What happened?"

"I'm just hearing about this." Nikolas said.

"Ethan and I went to Wyndemere to check on Kristina, Molly, and Mikkos. And she told us that Stavros was in Mikkos' nursery."

Alexis put down her briefcase. She could barely peel Molly from her body. "It's ok Dear."

Molly released her mother and went back to playing with Mikkos on the floor.

"I need to tell all of you something. And I hope you'll understand."

"Do I need to leave?" Ethan asked.

"No." Alexis wearily maneuvered her body until she gave in to joining Mikkos and Molly on the floor. "I will deal with the Stavros thing."

"You shouldn't have to Alexis." Nikolas said. "I'll deal with Stavros. I've already given you suggestions."

"I appreciate that Nikolas, but it's really not you that Stavros wants."

Kristina sat down on the floor next to Alexis. "If you know what he wants why don't you give it to him so he'll go away? My trunk is empty. Just put Mikkos in there and float him over to Spoon Island."

"Yea Mom. He already killed my Dad." Molly said with tears in her eyes.

Sam could tell that Alexis was overwhelmed. "Guys, there's only so much that can be done right now. We're not giving Mikkos away. Let's just be happy that we're all here together. What did you want to tell us?"

"Franco is being released on bail."

Sam was incredulous. "Whaaa? How?"

"See!" Kristina point to Sam. "Now you know how Molly and I feel right now."

"Sam, it'll be fine." Alexis tried her best to reassure.

"What about Mikkos and Alana? Don't you think he'll try to hurt them?" Sam asked. "What about Jason?"

"I don't know. I wish I could say with honesty that I know what Franco is capable of or isn't. What I do know is all of you have to continue to live your lives. We all do. I'm tired of being afraid of Helena and Stavros and Franco. It's really time that we start fighting back."

Lulu was beyond excited—Laura was finally coming home. And Lucky was certain he cleaned his apartment a million times. While Lulu went to airport to meet Laura, he made sure he framed all of his mother's favorite pictures of her children and displayed them on his coffee table.

"Dad." Lucky decided to take a chance and call Luke. "You know mom is on the way over right?"

Luke leaned on the counter of his bar smoking a cigar. "And?"

Lucky gave up the niceties. "What's with the attitude? You're not even gonna stop by to say hello? Can you not be a total jackass for one day?"

Luke was barely responsive. "Lucky, your mother and I aren't together anymore. While I'm happy she's recovering, I can't be involved. I've got Tracy. I've got Ethan. I've got another life." He hung up the phone and slammed it on the counter.

Skye walked down the stairs of the Haunted Star having overheard the conversation. "That was pretty mean."

"This is why he falls off the wagon. He gets all naive. We all fail to meet his lofty expectations and he drowns in his sorrows."

"Maybe you should be a little more supportive?" Skye fixated on Luke's stocked bar behind him. "I fell off."

Luke didn't seem surprised. "Celebratory drink?"

"It was at the meeting of the families."

"Well you know I don't believe in this so-called disease." He reached back and grabbed a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. "It's called self-control Skye." He poured both of them a drink. "Either you have it or you don't." He slid one over to her and lifted his glass. "Here's to self-control. You gotta have it in the business of men."

Skye picked up the glass. "You're right. It's already a mess." She took a sip of the whiskey. "Lorenzo is back in. It makes everything very complicated."

Kristina and Sam rummaged through Alexis' fridge.

"Lorenzo has an interesting palate." Kristina said handing off food to Sam.

"Any scones in there?" Sam joked. "He's obsessed with them." She took the platter into the living room and sat it on the dining room table.

Alexis searched through her collection of wines. "Everyone but Molly, Mikkos, and Kristina gets wine."

"Do you have one from the Wyndemere cellar in there?" Nikolas asked as he set the table.

"Why can't have I have wine?" Kristina placed a wine glass at her setting.

Alexis chose a bottle and sat it down on the table. "Just one."

"Mixed signals Alexis." Nikolas warned.

Alexis gave him a gaze that showed that she'd given up the battle on that issue. She noticed Mikkos peaceful in his highchair. "Since Mikkos gave up the caffeine, he's been the most perfect of all of you."

Ethan walked in with a pie in his hands. "Since he gave up the caffeine? You make him sound like a chain-smoking, whiskey-slinging addict."

"And thy name is Luke Spencer." Alexis took the pie from Ethan.

"That's hot from the oven by the way." Ethan pointed out.

"Where's Jason? !" Sam shouted from the kitchen.

"TMI Sam!" Alexis said.

Molly sat at the table bewildered. "How is that TMI?"

"It's a sexual reference Molly." Kristina snipped.

Alexis sat down. "You're such a bundle of joy today."

"I was almost killed Mom." Kristina said with condescension.

Sam sat next to Kristina. "How long are you going to milk your almost-death?"

"For the rest of your life."

"Girls!" Alexis drummed the table with her silverware.

"Don't you wish you had all boys?" Nikolas asked. "This is why boys are invaluable."

Alexis stuck her fork in Nikolas' arm. "Don't. Start."

When Laura got off the plane from Paris, she greeted Lulu with a different outlook. Part of her was excited to be back and surrounded by her children no longer small and dependent and the other part of her didn't know what to expect. Lulu told her some stories, but she could tell when her daughter was holding back. All Laura wanted to be was herself, but she never quite knew what that meant. She didn't really know her life without Luke, Scotty, Stavros, and Stefan in it.

Most of her old friends were either dead or no longer near. And on the car ride to Lucky's apartment she found herself trying to piece together her past by all the sights, but she was lost in translation.

"Knock knock." Lulu grasped Laura's hand and pulled her into Lucky's apartment.

Lucky was beside himself when he saw her. He fell into Laura's arms and cried. Things had completely changed. Laura barely knew his family. So much time had been lost and he prayed every night for her return. He pulled from her and wiped his eyes self-conscious about crying in front of his mother. He couldn't explain whether he was happy to see her or sad for the time they had lost. "I bet you had a long trip?"

Laura was tense with him. He wasn't the same Cowboy since Helena and Faison snatched him away. "It was. But I'm here and so happy to be." She touched his face. "Is it just you here? No children?"

Lulu tried to remember exactly what her mother was capable of remembering. "Well Aiden and Cam stay with Elizabeth."

"Ok. What about Jake?" Laura asked.

Lucky sniffled. "We can talk about that later."

"Yea. Later sounds great." Lulu said.

"Oh my God." Laura grabbed her head. "My memory gets a little fuzzy sometimes. I know what happened to Jake. How are you handling it?"

"One day at a time." For the first time Lucky wanted to talk about it. He wanted to tell her how angry he was and how there were days that he did blame Elizabeth for not being more careful. And then there were days when he felt like he failed Jason. But he knew all of the blame wouldn't bring Jake back.

"That's all we can do." Laura said. "And you two have a new brother?"

"Ethan." Lulu said. "You'll meet him. He's a good guy."

"I have dinner brewing in the kitchen for us." Lucky went into the kitchen.

"I feel bad about the Jake thing. Sometimes I feel delusion where I'm not sure if what I'm thinking is real or fake."

"It's ok Mom. We're just beyond happy that you're here."

"I have to ask while Lucky's in the kitchen. Where is Nikolas? Are he and Lucky ok?"

Lulu pulled out her phone. "He should be here. I'll call him now."

Alexis was the happiest she had ever been. There was finally peace at her dinner table. There were jokes and good memories. For Alexis, it almost felt like the Franco problem could wash away in their laughter.

Nikolas' phone rang. He tried to ignore it, but Lulu was persistent. He tossed his napkin on the table. "I have to take this Alexis." He got up from the table. "Yes Lulu."

"What's going on? Why aren't you at Lucky's?" Lulu asked.

"I'm having family dinner. Can this wait?"

"Mom is here at Lucky's apartment. You should be here."

Nikolas sighed. "Can it wait? I'd rather not leave. Alexis and Kristina had a rough day today."

"You can not be serious. Your mom who you haven't seen in ages is home." Lulu stomped her foot. "Get over here." She hung up the call.

Nikolas slipped his phone into his pocket and went back to the table. "Alexis, I have to go. Laura is back in town."

"That's awesome." Sam said. "You don't seem happy about it."

"It's complicated."

Ethan finished his last bite. "Does Luke know?"

"Whenever Luke gets involved with my mother, I get pushed aside."

"I know that feeling." Kristina mumbled.

"You should go Nikolas. She is your mother and I know her recovery has been difficult." Alexis said.

"I sometimes feel like I'm choosing one of you over the other." Nikolas said. "But I will go."

Jason peered his head into Monica's office and found her at her desk dealing with paperwork. Monica lifted her eyes to him and waved him inside.

"Why do you work so many hours? You're like the boss of everyone." He took a seat.

"I think after Alan died, I just got into a mode."

"Just wanted to stop by and say that Sam and I will finally be at the Howard Estate tomorrow. We moved the last of everything in."

Monica tried to hide her disappointment. The house was practically empty since both Alan and AJ were gone. She was even relieved to have Tracy, Ned, and Skye around. Brenda was always welcome. And Edward raised enough hell with everyone else to give Monica hope that he'd hang on for a couple more years. "We'll miss you. Alana is my ray of sunshine."

"We'll just be down the street."

"Carly is down the street and I never see her."

"You really want to see Carly?" Jason grinned.

"Noted." Monica observed Jason. She noticed he was edgy. "Something wrong?"

"I don't know who I am anymore. I thought being home with Alana today would help me figure that out, but I realized that it's not fair to use our kids to define us. It's the thing I always accused all of you of doing to me."

"Difficult meeting?"

"I left for this meeting just happy to know that I'm Alana's father and nothing could possibly get me down. What everyone has to understand is that the guys at the meeting were all I, Jason Morgan, have ever known. It's like being reborn. When Alana opens her eyes tomorrow, she's going to be some place different then where she was before and it's my responsibility to reassure her. I don't have that same reassurance."

"Well that's what mothers and fathers are for. I'm guessing that's why you're here now. I think you have to tap into what you love and stop focusing so much on the time that you've lost. Unfortunately we can't bring Alan or AJ back, but we can work with the people that we have left behind."

Anna couldn't figure out why she decided to volunteer. She opted to take a squad car to Pentonville to pick up Franco shortly after he was released on bail to make it seem as if it was merely procedure. She waited outside for him ready to drive off in case her second-guessing got the best of her.

She was asked to park in a covert pick up location which made it all seem even shadier. It felt like she waited for hours. She even had to get out of the car to take a brisk walk within eye-shot of the door.

Franco finally emerged surrounded by guards. She hurried back to her car. His ill-fitting clothing from weight loss made him seem small and harmless. He wore his paint-splattered jeans and what seemed like his favorite grey, dingy hooded sweatshirt. Anna immediately remembered the young man on the docks pretending to be someone else just to have a chance to see his parents that he'd never met.

Franco waited by the passenger side of the car for Anna give him the ok to open the door. "Do you want me in the front or the back?"

Anna didn't know how to answer his question. Any fear that she had of him fell away. Before he walked out to her, she knew she was going to shove him in the back like a criminal and drive him to the PCPD to have him sit in a cell until his next hearing. But looking at his calm unassuming manner softened her desire for punishment. "Sure. The front is fine." She got into the car and recoiled when he opened the door to sit next to her. She didn't have a clue what to say to him. We'll talk about the weather…the whole 30 mile drive.

Franco sat down, put his hands in his lap, and rested his long legs against the dashboard.

"You can push the seat back if you're uncomfortable."

"No. It's quite cozy this way." He looked out the window and noticed another marked car following them.

"That's Agent Bates." Anna remarked. "He just wants to make sure there's no trouble. Word hasn't travelled of your release. Do you know who put up your bail?"

"I don't." He continued to look out the window not caring. He was free. "Is this your usual ride?"

"The car you mean?"

"Yea. You strike me as a Corvette lover."

"No. Don't laugh but I do own an Aston Martin. I'm British. Gotta support my people always."

"And the slick leather getup to go with it?" Franco's smile filled his face.

"Of course." Anna eased her grip on the steering wheel feeling more relaxed with him. "I guess I don't need to tell you that this won't be an easy transition. Robert is not taking my calls and I haven't told Robin and Patrick about this."

"Why are you doing it?"

"Well. In all honesty, I want to confirm that you are in fact my son. I feel like you are, but I need to know for sure. So don't be offended."

"I've been offended by worse. But that doesn't explain."

"Well I'm your mother and I'm responsible for you. If you murder someone, the world looks at me and says well you brought him here so it's your fault. I can't escape your influence on my life."

"I'll try not to disappoint."

Anna looked at him. "Too late. We're just going to have to try to make the best of a difficult situation here. I just pray that Robert and Robin understand that this is what motherhood is all about."