Ian sat down in one of the patio chairs and motioned to another chair for the agent. He sighed deeply, convinced in his heart that this was going to turn out badly. He and Lucy had been so happy—too happy—and the universe was not about to allow them happiness for long.

Agent Limm watched Ian and totally misinterpreted the expression on his face. He assumed Ian's look of concern to be guilt, and made up his mind before he ever asked a single question. He had met this type before, and it always made him feel good to deport them.

"What do you want to know about me? Or is it Lucy you want to ask about? I'll be happy to answer your questions," Ian said softly when the agent didn't say anything.

"Tell me about your wife," he answered.

"Lucy—what can I say to describe her? She's beautiful—you saw that. And she can be spirited! No man has ever had a truer companion. I've known her practically since my first day in Port Charles. She funded a clinic for the elderly that I started, and we became great friends. She helped me get over my wife's death, and took care of my son, Daniel. Somehow that friendship turned to love—and we've been together for a while now. We weren't in any hurry to marry—we've both been married before, and weren't too keen to do it again. But we finally decided to do it when we took a vacation to a place called Tirama Island last year. The wee lass was born the first part of September, and I've never known such complete happiness in my life."

Agent Limm was impressed with what he considered to be Ian's acting ability, but he also noticed the holes in Ian's story. Ian spoke of friendship and Lucy not wanting to marry him. Everything that the agent heard supported his opinion—even though the events that Ian spoke of were quite different than his interpretation.

"Why did you decide to apply for citizenship? You have your work visa, what has changed for you?"

"I have an American wife and two American children. I have no plans on leaving the country. It seemed the right and proper thing to do," Ian answered simply.

"Explain to me about the trust fund, and where you got the money," said George.

"What trust fund?" Ian replied. "I'm not a rich man—my wife has money, but it belongs to her. I don't know about any trust fund."

"You mean to tell me that you don't know anything about being the trustee to several million dollars! That seems a little bizarre, don't you think? Why don't you just explain what you plan to do with the money," George said snidely.

"I'm afraid that I don't know what you're talking about. Are you sure it isn't my wife's money? I truly don't know about a trust fund—and I've never had several million anything in my life!" Ian exclaimed.

"Alright, then, if you won't tell me about the money—then, tell me—do you know a Patrick Thornhart?" said the agent.

Ian was immediately wary, as he didn't know Patrick's status with the government. He didn't want to cause trouble for Patrick, but he couldn't afford trouble with the INS either. He decided to tell the truth, but only as much as he absolutely had to say. Unfortunately for Ian, Agent Limm misread the long pause before Ian replied.

"Patrick Thornhart—uh, that'd be my younger brother," said Ian.

"When was the last time you saw your bother?" asked George.

"A while back. Now that I think about it—maybe that money you were asking about belongs to my sister-in-law, Margaret Thornhart—Patrick's wife. She has her own money. She lives in Ireland, but she's a yank, just like my wife. Lucy and I stayed with them when we visited my family in Ireland a few months back." Ian was proud of himself for sidestepping the issue of Patrick without actually lying to the INS agent.

The remainder of Agent Limm's questions mirrored what Agent Heckart had been asking Lucy in the living room. Ian carefully answered the questions posed, but was very careful not to discuss issues of past lives, destiny or supernatural happenings, which left holes that made him uncomfortable. Unfortunately for Ian, the agent noted and misconstrued the cause of relief in Ian's voice as he finished his story, "…so we reconciled, and we were happy, until the car accident left the boy an orphan."

"I see," said Agent Limm who turned around as the door opened. Agent Heckart nodded at him and he nodded back. "Let's go back inside for a few minutes."

After going back into the living room, the agents seated themselves once again on the sofa. Caroline had started fussing, and Lucy was trying to keep her happy by bouncing her on her knees and giving her a pacifier—she was not about to nurse her in the presence of those agents. Ian stood behind her and caressed her shoulders.

"Thank you for answering our questions. This will be all for now, but we may have more questions later after we compare notes. Please understand that the investigation is not complete and we will be stopping by—unannounced—whenever we want. We'll see ourselves out," said Agent Limm as Agent Heckart nodded at Lucy. They both stood and left the house.

Lucy let out a long sigh, and Ian sat down on the floor at her feet. He looked up at her and said, "I'm so sorry, love. I can't imagine why this happened…and it's all my fault. I should have told you that I was applying to be a citizen…I didn't know there'd be trouble."

Lucy, who had started nursing Caroline when the agents had left, looked sadly at Ian, "You didn't do anything wrong. We haven't done anything wrong. They have to see how much we love each other…how committed we are to each other. I'm sure it will all be over soon. On Monday I'll find a good immigration lawyer…we'll be fine."

"Do you have any idea how much I love you?" Ian asked her. "I remember how frightened Arianna was when they tried their tough-guy routine on her. You…you were going to eat them alive, weren't you?"

"I'll do anything to protect my family, you know that. Now, I've got the car all packed up for our trip to the cabin. I know we're getting a late start, but let's go as soon as Caroline's finished, okay?"

"Okay, I can't wait to spend the weekend alone with you…by a roaring fire. I take it the appointment with Dr. Neuman went well?"

"Oh, yes! Green lights all the way. Hurry up, Caroline, mama and your da want to get to our cabin!" Lucy said with a joyful laugh.