"Are you going to answer me with the truth this time or with more lies?"
Emily asked when he just stared at her silently.

"Emily—" Nikolas tried to start but Emily held her hand up stopping him.

"I'm not sure if I want to hear it. I don't think I will ever believe a
word you say again."

Nikolas gritted his teeth in desperation. He couldn't just let her slip
away like this. "If you would just let me explain..."

"Why should I—" Emily stopped herself. The reason she came was to hear what
he had to say. Whether she would believe it was another matter entirely.
Emily bit her lip and nodded. "Go ahead."

Nikolas started towards her. He stopped when she began to back up. "I know
you saw the press conference. Everything that was said was true. I am
Nikolas Cassadine."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "Right. However according to Luke Spencer, Nikolas
Cassadine is dead."

Nikolas narrowed his eyes. "You've been talking to Luke Spencer."

"Luke knows that this is a set-up. That this is Helena's work. You've been
playing us all from the start, me especially." Emily said accusingly.

Nikolas shook his head. "That's not the way it was, really." He swore.

"Stop lying to me!" Emily cried out. "The first time we met...you already
knew who I was, didn't you?"

When Nikolas couldn't look her in the eye and had to instead focus on the
floor, she knew it was true. She clenched her hands into fists. "This
explains everything. You were using me."

"Emily—"

"What did you think I was going to be able to do for you? Was I supposed to
be your way into the Spencer family? I guess you know about my relationship
with Carly also. Was I suppose to give you information about the Cassadines
also?" Emily laughed without humor. "Like I would ever turn against either
family for *you*."

Nikolas couldn't stand this. He couldn't stand seeing what his lies had
done to her, to them. In the short time that they'd known each other she'd
become important to him. More than important, he needed her. He reached out
for her but she immediately moved away, going around him and heading for
the door.

"Don't touch me! To think I've lied to Lucky, to Laura for you. I almost
betrayed the people who have been nothing but good to me. I almost betrayed
the man I love the most in this world for whoever the hell you really are."

"I never told you to lie to them, Emily," He began to speak but she
interrupted him again.

"Everything you've ever said to me was lies." She spat out. "Did you ever
tell me the truth?"

"If you would just stop and listen to me for once, you'd hear the truth."
Nikolas said desperately. She deserved to know the whole story now that the
truth was out.

Emily folded her arms stubbornly. "Talk."

"I came to Port Charles to find my mother."

"And that's why you hid from her and lurked around town." Emily raised an
eyebrow. "Get real, Nikolas. You were here for weeks and you didn't
approach her. If you really wanted to find your mother, the first thing you
would have done was show up on the Spencers' doorstep. But no, you were too
busy plotting to take over the Cassadine Empire with Helena. That's why the
first time Laura even had a hint that her dead son might be alive was
through a news conference."

"I did try to talk to her, several times but there were always an
interference." He told her. "But I laid low for a while because I wasn't
sure of what to do. I came to America only knowing snippets of the truth.
It wasn't until I got to New York that I met up with Helena and even then I
didn't know everything. She slowly revealed everything to me, first who my
mother was, second that I was a Cassadine, The Cassadine, and finally after
I was told by Luke Spencer first, that she was my grandmother. I admit that
I was intrigued by the idea of being The Cassadine and I wanted it. But I
wanted to know my mother more. I tried to go to her first but when that
proved impossible I went to Carly. I had to go to Carly. Helena was pushing
me to it. And then suddenly I had all these people telling me I was a
phony. Carly, Luke, Stefan. It was all too much."

"Is there where I'm supposed to feel sorry for you? Because you were all
confused and overwhelmed? I'm not buying your story."

"It's the truth! What more do you want?" Nikolas demanded to know.

"If you were so conflicted, why did you call a conference and announce who
you 'are'?"

"I decided to give up on being The Cassadine and focus on trying to meet my
mother when I had a run in with Stefan." Nikolas clenched his jaw thinking
of how the older man had thrown money at him. "It was the end of the line
for me. I had enough. I wanted my mother *and* the Cassadine inheritance.
Working with Helena seemed to be the only way for me to achieve my goals."

Emily narrowed her eyes. "Do you know you're destroying a family because
you want revenge? Not that I believe this story though. Helena must have
drilled it into you well. You don't even look like you're reciting it from
memory."

"It's obvious that nothing I say will make you believe me."

"That's right. You lost all your rights to me believing in you the moment I
saw you on TV. Do you know what that did to me? I thought you were...I
don't know what I thought you were to me but you turned out to be a
stranger." Her voice broke and she had to look away.

Nikolas reached out for her again. This time she allowed him to put his
hands on her shoulders and pull her to him. He mouthed a silent thank you
when she didn't stop him. He murmured against her hair. "I'm sorry, Emily.
I didn't want you hurt like this."

Emily couldn't understand why she was so hurt and why she felt so betrayed.
She hated the tears that were threatening to spill. "Just tell me if you
were going to use me."

Nikolas couldn't do it. "Emily..."

Emily took a deep breath. "Just...tell me."

Knowing what it would do, Nikolas dropped his arms from around her and
stepped back. "I had a plan..."

He swallowed hard when he saw the look in her eyes. "A plan?"

"At first...it was a stupid plan." He said quickly. He wanted to get it
over with. "I was jealous of Lucky Spencer from the first moment I saw him.
He had my mother; he had my family. I was going to take it all away."

"Starting with me." Emily guessed correctly.

He nodded then hurried to explain. "But after I met you I realized I
couldn't go through with it."

"Yet you still kept coming to me." She said quietly.

"I couldn't stop myself. I didn't want to put you in the middle of it all
but..." Nikolas trailed away.

"I didn't even like you," She began. "At least that's what I told myself. I
barely knew you but I had decided that I didn't like you. It was safer that
way."

Nikolas looked at her, hoping that she was about to admit that she felt the
same thing he did. There was something between the two of them. Something
that couldn't be denied.

"And then the other day in the park when you didn't accost me and you
seemed normal I started thinking, maybe this guy's not that bad. Thank God
you had that press conference," Emily said with a rueful smile, "or I would
have done something really stupid somewhere down the line."

"I messed up, I know that, Emily, but you and I...we could be something."
Nikolas said earnestly. He felt as if this was his last chance. He was
going to lay it all out on the line if he had to. "Do you know how
important you are to me? Do you know how much I've grown to need you? You
are the only one I can talk to, the only one who will understand."

Emily hadn't been listening. "I could have betrayed Lucky for you..." Emily
said in disbelief, shaking her head slightly. The admission had clearly
rocked her. "I would have lied to him. Actually…I did lie to him, over and
over. And I betrayed him in the worst way, in a way that I know he would
never forgive me for. All because of you."

"Don't do this, Emily." He said urgently. He could see he was losing her.

She backed up until she hit the door and she slowly opened it. He stretched
out his hand to her. "Take my hand. Stay here, we can fix this. I promise
you..."

"I don't want any promises from you." Emily said slowly. "The only thing I
want is for you to stay away from me."

"You don't mean that, Emily. Don't leave me here. I need someone on my
side." Nikolas didn't care how weak he sounded, he *needed* her. He wasn't
just going to let her walk out that door. Things were getting crazy and she
was the only sane thing left in his world. "I need *you*."

Emily shook her head. "I can't. You know I can't. You do understand that
everyone knows that you aren't the real Nikolas Cassadine and when this all
blows up the person who will need me the most is Lucky. I'm sorry Nikolas."

Nikolas dropped his hand. She didn't believe him. Out of everyone, she was
the one he was sure would believe him. And now she was leaving him to go to
Lucky's side.

"Don't ever come near me again." She said softly.

He stood there, alone, destroyed, unable to do anything but watch as she
closed the door and walked out of his life.

~*~*~
Laura opened the door to Carly later that day. After her fight with Luke
the two had chosen to stay in separate rooms of the house. Luke was holed
up in the kitchen and Laura stayed in the living room trying to come to
terms with her son being alive.

"Laura, hi." Carly said hesitantly.

Laura stared at her suspiciously. "Carly."

"Luke's not here is he?" Carly wanted to know immediately. She knew that
Luke would be against Laura taking a blood test so she hoped he was gone.
If he was gone then Carly was sure she could get Laura to agree without
much of a fight.

"He's in the kitchen. Do you want me to get him?" Laura asked frostily.

Carly frowned at how coolly Laura was treating her. "No, I wanted to talk
to you and hopefully alone but...Laura, I need a favor from you."

Laura folded her arms. "Does this have to do with my son Nikolas? You know
the one that everyone seemed to know about but me?"

Carly arched an eyebrow. That explains the attitude. "You saw the
conference."

Laura nodded. "And Luke told me that you also knew about Nikolas. How long
have you known?"

"For awhile." Carly admitted.

"And how long were you and Luke going to keep this from me? I'm lucky that
television was on at the right time or I would have never found out."

"Look, we were just trying to protect you until we could get rid of the
guy." Too bad that never happened, Carly thought.

"You sound just like Luke! I'm not some delicate wallflower. I don't 'round
the clock protection. And who are any of you to decide that I can't know my
son is alive?"

"Come on, Laura, you don't actually believe this guy, do you?"

"Carly, if you had lost a child and suddenly discovered there was a chance
he didn't die after all, wouldn't you jump at the chance to believe it
too?" Laura said softly. "Can't you understand where I'm coming from?"

Carly shook her head in disbelief. "No, Laura, I've never lost a child so
no I don't understand this. And I don't understand you would choose to
believe someone who's under Helena's protection."

"It always comes down to Helena with all of you. I hate the woman and I
certainly don't trust her either but...Nikolas feels right. Deep inside, I
recognize him as one of mine."

"Laura, listen to yourself! You've already fallen into her trap. You're
doing exactly what *she* wants."

Laura held up her hands. "I've already had this conversation with Luke. I'm
not having it with you too."

"You want to hold onto the belief that your son is not dead? Fine." Carly
snapped. "But this isn't just about you. He is threatening to take away
what I've worked my whole life for. Do you understand what he's going to do
my world?"

"I understand that you're being selfish. Carly, think about someone other
than yourself."

"I don't have that luxury, Laura." Carly said annoyed. She wanted to be
understanding but she couldn't. Not now, not when everything she had was at
risk. "I have to look out for myself and protect myself. Right now, there
are Cassadines aligning themselves with Helena. Not because they think he
is the heir but because he's *male*. And they'd rather a man in charge
instead of me."

"I'm sorry about that Carly but it's not going to change how I feel about
this." Laura said. In the background she could hear the telephone ringing.
It stopped soon after.

"I need you on my side. If we have you, the woman who gave birth to the
real Nikolas, siding against this man then Helena doesn't stand a chance."

"I can't deny him. As soon as I can find him, I'm declaring him my son. To
hell with everybody else."

"You want to claim him? Go right ahead." Carly told her. "But you better
get proof first and that's why I'm here."

"I don't need proof. I told you, I just can tell."

"Don't give me that psychic mumbo jumbo crap." Carly sneered. She had had
it. "I'm not going to let you mess with my future and my life because of a
'feeling' you have. You're taking a blood test, Laura. Whatever happens
after that happens but we're going to get legal that he is not the real
deal."

"Ladies..." Luke said softly from the kitchen door. There was something
about his tone that made them turn and look at him.

Laura immediately knew something was wrong. She grabbed her jacket and
started putting it on. She demanded harshly. "What happened? Is it the
kids?"

"We gotta get to GH. Lucky and Lulu were in an accident." Luke told her.

"Oh God." Carly said.

"Not my babies." Laura closed her eyes and took a moment to compose
herself. "Are they okay?"

Luke nodded. "According to Amy they are."

"We have to get down there." Laura jerked open the door and rushed out.

~*~*~
"Where are they?" Laura demanded as soon as she, Luke, and Carly got off
the elevator at the hospital. She ran over to the nurses' station where Amy
was. "Lucky and Lulu, where are they?"

"We're right here, Mom." Lucky called out to her.

Laura turned around and saw them being led over by a nurse. Lesley was with
them. She dashed over to them and hugged them to her. "Are you okay? Were
you hurt? Where?"

"Mom, I can't breathe." Lucky managed to squeeze out. He eased away from
her as soon as she loosened her hold. She ran her eyes over his face,
searching for injury. She sucked in a breath when she found one, high up on
his forehead. Lucky shrugged. "It's not bad. I bumped my head. It's just a
few stitches."

"What about you, princess?" Luke drawled. He stooped to pick up Lulu. She
threw herself at her father.

"I hurt my finger, Daddy." She pouted and held up her finger for Luke's
inspection. He gently kissed the Band-Aid that was wrapped around it. She
smiled. "It's all better now."

Laura kissed her on the forehead and rubbed her back. "Are you sure you're
alright, sweetie?"

Lulu nodded. "I was scared cause Lucky was sleeping but then he got up and
he got us out."

"That's my brave girl." Luke smiled at her but still looked at Lucky for an
answer. "Lucky?"

He shrugged again. "I was out of it for a few minutes. You might think
about getting some decent some airbags in that car of yours."

"Don't downplay this." Lesely said. She said to Laura. "I think I lost ten
years off my life when I came outside and saw them. They had crashed into
my neighbors yard."

"I was aiming for the hedge around it." Lucky said simply. "I didn't know
there was a stone wall behind it."

"You crashed into a wall?" Laura repeated. She pulled Lucky to her again.
"You could have been killed."

"Laura, darlin'. Let him go. You're going to smother the boy to death."
Luke joked. Now that he knew the kids were safe and not badly hurt he was
able to relax.

"Luke." Laura snapped. She was clearly not in the mood for jokes.

"Mom, honestly, I'm fine." Lucky tried to reassure her.

"What did the doctor say?" Laura asked her mother.

"They're fine. They want them to stay overnight for observation but I don't
think they need too." Lesley smiled gently. "And that's my opinion as a
doctor *and* their grandmother."

"Good. You're coming with us tonight, Lucky." Laura's tone made it clear
that subject would not be up for discussion.

Lucky nodded in agreement. When Laura turned to fuss over Lulu Carly took
Lucky by the elbow and pulled him over to talk privately. "You sure you're
alright?"

"I'm going to have a hell of a headache but that's it." Lucky said.

"What happened? The truth, Lucky." Carly stared into his eyes. She knew
something was up.

Lucky looked around to make sure Laura wasn't listening. He rubbed the back
of his neck and said. "The brakes failed."

"The brakes?" Carly repeated.

"Yeah. Something was wrong with them. Somebody messed with them."

"Lucky? Lucky!" He turned around in time to see Emily running towards him.
She threw herself at him. "What happened?"

"Who called you?"

"My mother saw you and she called me. Thank God. Are you hurt?" Emily ran
her hands all over his body.

"A little cut. I won't even have a decent scar." He smiled.

Satisfied that he wasn't badly hurt, Emily smacked his shoulder. "Don't
joke. You could have been killed."

Lucky suddenly realized that Emily was trembling. He said softly and gently
caressed her cheek, "Hey, Em, it's okay."

She shook her head. "It's not okay. When my mother called and said you had
been in an accident all I could do was assume the worst. I thought I would
get here too late. I thought..."

Suddenly everything came crashing down. The guilt from keeping Nikolas a
secret from Lucky, the confrontation with Nikolas that afternoon and now
the fear that Lucky could have died all overwhelmed her. She buried her
head in his chest and started to cry.

Lucky stood there helplessly. He wrapped his arms around her. "Emily, baby,
it's okay. I'm not hurt."

Emily raised her head to stare into his eyes. She whispered, "If I ever
lost you..."

He wiped away her tears and said softly. "You're not going to lose me. I'm
not going anywhere. I promise."

Emily took a calming breath. "I know, I just got so scared."

Lesley gently cleared her throat, interrupting them. "I think it's time we
all left."

"Good idea, Mom." Laura said. "We're all going to go back to our place."

Lucky looked at Carly, his arm still around Emily. "You coming?"

Carly shook her head. "I have to get back to the office. I'll share an
elevator with you guys though."

"Okay, let's go home." Laura said as they started walking towards the
elevators. "And I'm not going to let either of you out of my sight."

"Can I have ice cream for dinner?" Lulu asked hopeful.

Luke grinned. "I think we can swing that right, Laura?"

At that moment Laura would have promised her daughter the moon if she
wanted it. She laughed. "Of course honey."

"And a new puppy too?" Lulu said with a mischievous smile.

"Don't push it." Luke warned her.

The elevator arrived and everyone started to troop in. Someone called out.
"Carly."

She looked around and sighed when she saw that it was Barbara. "Every where
I go, you're there."

"Carly, can we please talk?"

Carly shook her head wearily. She was too tired for this.

"I can't do this right now, Mother." She said dismissively before boarding
the elevator with the rest of the Spencers.

~*~*~
"Jason." Carly said softly in surprise. A smile slowly came to her lips at
the sight that welcomed her. He was sprawled out on her bed, asleep.
Obviously he came straight from the hospital to be with her but had fallen
asleep while waiting. He was still fully clothed.

Carly padded around her bedroom barefoot. She had discarded her shoes in
the living room as soon as she came in and now she took her time taking off
her jewelry. Every now and then she would glance at Jason. He always looked
so restful and so peaceful when he was asleep. What she wouldn't give for
some peace herself. Carly sighed. After leaving the hospital, she'd
returned to the office only to be bombarded by phone calls, emails, and
faxes regarding the "Lost Prince" as one reporter referred to him.

She quickly undressed herself, leaving only her bra and slip. She crawled
across the bed and lay next to Jason. Her jostling on the bed must have
woken him because he murmured, "Carly?"

"Yeah, it's me." She murmured back.

He opened his eyes and stared at her, searchingly. Carly tipped her head up
and softly brushed her lips across his then settled back against him. He
asked. "Where have you been?"

"I was at the office. Things were crazy."

Jason nodded and gently stroked her hair. "Are you okay?"

"Well, let's see..." She laid her head on his chest and was happy to feel
his arms come around her in a loose embrace. "No."

"I wasn't sure if you'd want me here but..."

"I'm glad you came." She said truthfully. "I didn't want to be alone
tonight."

"I heard about Lucky and Lulu. I tried to come see you but—"

"I understand." She said.

"By the time I was able to, I was told you had left and that they had been
discharged."

"I think they will be fine. Lulu was actually pretty okay about it." Carly
told him.

Jason frowned. "What happened actually? I heard that Lucky somehow lost
control of the car...?"

"It wasn't an accident." Carly declared. "Lucky thinks that something was
wrong with the brakes."

"Maybe something was wrong. You know Lucky and that old car of his." Jason
muttered. "I hate it when Emily rides in that thing."

"He took Luke's car." Carly said. "Luke treats that car like a third child.
If something was wrong with the brakes, it was done on purpose."

"Are you saying someone was trying to kill Lucky and Lulu?" Jason said in
disbelief.

Carly shook her head. "No, not them. It was obvious it was for Luke. And I
know exactly who. I don't know what Luke did or said to piss off Helena but
she was trying to get rid of him."

"Are you sure?"

"I know my grandmother. For years she and Luke have played a cat-and-mouse
game. I think she was going to end the game permanently."

"Have you shared your suspicions with Luke?"

"No, he'll come to the same conclusion I have eventually. He might have
already figured it out."

"He's going to retaliate." Jason stated. He knew that Luke wouldn't let
something like this slide.

"Of course he will. And I won't try to stop him either. The woman is
messing with *my* family." She said fiercely. "First she tries to take away
my identity and now she almost kills my cousins."

Jason toyed with a strand of her hair. "Speaking of family, do you want to
talk about this Nikolas guy?"

"What's to talk about?" Carly said. "This is just another one of Helena's
plans. One that I guarantee won't work."

"What are you going to do?"

"Well, what I want to do is just pretend this is not happening. All I want
to do is ignore this guy and hope that he and Helena will just go away.
Unfortunately, we live in the real world and it's not as simple as that. My
father and I are going to treat this as if there is a possibility he is
Stravos's son. We're going to get blood tests done. I have to get Laura to
agree and if we can get around Helena, I'm sure we can get this guy to
agree to one also."

"And if he is the real thing?" Jason softly asked the one question she
wouldn't ask herself.

"There is absolutely no way." Carly said stubbornly. "Laura said her baby
died at birth. Stefan was at the funeral. He is dead."

"But what if he is?" Jason pushed her.

"Jason, don't do this..." Carly warned him.

"Carly, come on." She had to face the possibility and he wasn't going to
let her just sweep it under the rug.

She sighed. "If he is then he and Helena will have a huge fight on their
hands. I'm not going to give up all that my father and I have worked so
hard for to him. It's mine and it will stay mine."

Jason smiled proudly. "He won't know what hit him."

"We may have a problem though." Carly admitted.

"What?"

"Laura believes in him."

~*~*~
"You incompetent little fool." Helena hissed into her phone.

In the background Andreas watched as Madam ranted into the phone. He knew
that today had been a trying one for Helena. The press conference had gone
well and produced the desired effect. Calls from Cassadine relatives came
flooding in all night. The newspapers loved the story of a long lost heir
so by morning it would be splashed all over the front page. Cable news
stations had picked up the story also and you couldn't turn on a television
without seeing the clip of Nikolas stepping up to the podium and declaring
himself, Nikolas Cassadine.

However two things overshadowed the triumphs of the day. First, there was
the disappearance of the Prince. He'd left the Cosmopolitan Hotel with his
guards but somehow managed to lose them. It was several hours before he was
found again, in the little apartment he'd formerly rented on Cortland
Street. Madam had not been pleased to say the least. And now a severe
mix-up had occurred.

"I asked you to do one simple thing. To kill Luke Spencer and yet you
couldn't do that. Instead Lucky and Lesley Lu Spencer were almost the
victims." Helena paused thoughtfully. "Though it would have cause Luke and
Laura almost as much pain as they have caused me, I wanted Luke Spencer out
of my hair for good."

Andreas walked over to the bar and poured her a glass of wine. He carried
it over to her. She smiled gratefully at him and accepted the wine.

She took a delicate sip then said, "I suppose I should forgive you for this
little slip up. You've done excellent work for me in the past. Today was
the first time you've ever made a mistake. Make sure it's the last. You
have one more chance. Forget Spencer for right now. I'll tell you when and
who."

Helena hung up and leaned back in her chair, sipping her wine. Andreas
moved behind her and began to knead her shoulders. She sighed, "Sometimes
it so hard to find competent help. I'm so lucky I have you, darling."

Andreas leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Shall I draw you a bath?"

"Ah, Andreas, you always treat me so well. Yes, please do. It has been such
a difficult day." She said wearily.