Chapter Four
Day of Revelations
The next day
Nikoletta arrives outside the mental institution where her mother is being kept at near Port Charles, ready to tell her the truth she had discovered in the tests the day before. She hoped it would help her mother on the road to recovery.
She got out of the car and headed inside to the reception desk. "May I help you?" the receptionist asked her.
"I'm here to see Laura Spencer," Nikoletta said.
"Only family is being allowed to see Mrs. Spencer, by order of her son Nikolas," the receptionist told her.
"I am Nikoletta Cassadine, Laura's daughter. I have my ID with me if you need to see it," Nikoletta said.
"Of course. I do need to see proof that you are one of her children," the receptionist said.
Nikoletta showed the receptionist her ID and then was told her mother's room number. She headed down the hall and stopped outside her mother's room. A doctor was waiting for her there.
"Ms. Cassadine, correct?" the doctor asked.
"Nikoletta Cassadine, one of two Ms. Cassadines. The other one is my twin sister Nadia," she told him.
"Of course. Nikolas did give us a list of his siblings, Laura's children, that would be allowed to visit," the doctor told her.
"I should've come sooner, but my life has kept me pretty busy," Nikoletta said.
"I understand. Now, I'm sure you've been told about your mother's condition. She is totally catatonic. She won't respond to you. She won't even know that you're there," the doctor informed her.
"I understand. Maybe the news I have for her today will help her," Nikoletta said hopefully as she opened the door.
She closed the door behind her and gazed at the shell that was her mother. Her mother just stared as she laid on the bed, not moving, not doing anything.
She sighed as she approached the bed. She sat in a chair beside the bed and took Laura's hand. "Mama, it's Nikoletta. I'm sorry I haven't come sooner, but I've been busy with an important project."
She breathed deep, gaining strength from the action. "Well, mom, it all started a couple months ago, when my research partner asked me a question. He asked me how they prove donor compatibility. I told him they do it through HLA tests, like we did for Lulu. I told him that Nik ended up being a match for her. He looked at me and told me that a half-sibling coming that close to another half-sibling is a medical impossibility. He said that half-siblings can mostly pull no more than a 25% match at most times because of genetic differences. I checked out the tests with his help and saw nothing was falsified, so he said that in some way the tests told the truth about us."
She took another deep breath and continued. "Well, it took me a while to figure out what he meant by that, but then it came to me. The truth about us was that our genetics were so close to Lulu's because we were closer. We were not half-siblings, but full siblings. So with Mark's help, Mark Thomas, he's my boyfriend, we did a paternity test on Nikolas, Nadia, and myself. There was no match for paternity for either Stefan or Stavros. The match for paternity was Luke! Luke is our father, mom. We're not Cassadines, we are Spencers!" she exclaimed as she finished her explanation.
Laura just stared out into space. At least on the outside. But inside, it was as if a door had been unlocked and forcefully opened. Her awareness grew with every second after her darling daughter had revealed the truth about her and her fellow triplets.
Nikoletta sighed when she saw no outer reaction from her mother. She had hoped that it would help her mother, but she could see no change. She got up from Laura's side and kissed her mother's forehead.
"I'd better go, mom, and tell the rest of the family," Nikoletta said before moving toward the door.
She was about to open the door when a soft voice came to her ears. "Nikki, don't go."
Nikoletta turned and looked at her mother. A bright smile spread across her face as she saw the awareness in her mother's face and in her eyes.
"Mom, you're back!" Nikoletta exclaimed as she ran for her mother's bedside. She quickly embraced her mother.
Laura's arms stiffly and slowly came around her eldest daughter. Laura could feel her daughter sigh in happiness.
At that moment, the door to the room opens and Nikoletta turns to see whom it is. The first person she sees coming into the room is Lucky.
Laura smiles at the sight of her son. The son that has been through so much "Lucky," Laura whispered.
Lucky looked at his mother, having heard her say his name. "Mom! You're back!" He rushes to her side, quickly followed by Nikolas, Nadia, Leah, and Laurel. One at a time the siblings take turns embracing their mother.
After they all hug their mother, Laurel gets up the courage to ask, "How did this happen? Lucky told us that you were catatonic!"
"Thank Nikki. She's the one who helped me start to get better," Laura said.
Nadia and Nikolas turn and look at their twin sister. "How in the world did you accomplish that, Nikka?" Nadia asked, using her own nickname for her twin sister.
"I told mom the truth about the three of us," Nikoletta told them.
"What truth?" comes Alexa's voice from the doorway where she and Zander were waiting.
Laura turned and looked at Alexa and Zander, somewhat recognizing them. She remembered Zander from before she had gotten sick, but the young woman's looks told her whom Alexa was. Zander's twin sister.
"Hello, Zander. And this must be your sister," Laura said, her voice beginning to increase in volume.
Lucky speaks up. "She's his twin sister. Her full name is…"
"…Alexa Marie Spencer. And I am now known as Alexander Lucas Spencer," Zander told his stepmother.
A shocked look crosses Laura's face. "How can your last name be Spencer?" she asked.
"Because, they are our half-siblings. They are the children that dad and Holly thought they lost. Helena had stolen them and she gave them to Carolina Lewis so she could raise them," Leah explained.
Laura gasped. "That Helena had done too much to our family, including robbing five of you from being raised by your real family!" Laura exclaimed in her loudest voice.
"Five of us?" Nadia asked.
"Yes. Five of us. Alexa, Zander, you, Nikolas, and I," Nikoletta said, explaining her mom's words.
"But we were raised by our family, Nikka," Nadia said.
"No we weren't. The Cassadines are not our family. They never were," Nikoletta said to her twin sister and brother.
"How can that be?" Nadia asked.
"One of my colleagues asked me one day how do they prove bone marrow donor capability and I told him through HLA tests like they did with us and I told him that Nik was the match. He said a half-sibling being a match is a medical impossibility, but we checked over the tests and they were correct, but it tipped me off. Those test results I was waiting for were paternity tests on us. They proved that neither Stefan nor Stavros was our father. The match for the three of us for paternity is Luke. Luke is our father. We are Spencers!" Nikoletta exclaimed as she finished her explanation to all her siblings.
All of them looked shocked except Laura whom Nikoletta had already told. Another gasp, a male one, came from the door. They all turned and saw Luke standing there, staring at his children, all of his children and his beloved wife.
"Do you here what Nikoletta just said?" Laurel asked her father.
"Loud and clear. I can't believe it. You all are my children. There is not a single person in this room with any Cassadine blood running through their veins," Luke said.
"That's true, Luke, but there is so much more," Laura said, her voice back at it's normal level.
Luke's eyes widened even further and filled with tears when he heard Laura's voice. "Angel?"
"Yes, Luke, I'm back," Laura said, prompting Luke to shoot directly to her side. They embraced tightly. Everything was as it should be for their family. The Spencer family was truly whole.
Take, me, make me
All You want me to be
That's all I'm asking, all I'm asking
Welcome to this heart of mine
I've buried under prideful vines
Grown to hide the mess I've made
Inside of me
Come decorate, Lord
Open up the creaking doorAnd walk upon the dusty floor
Scrape away the guilty stains
Until no sin or shame remain
Spread Your love upon the walls
And occupy the empty halls
Until the man I am has faded
No more doors are barricaded
Come inside this heart of mine
It's not my own
Make it homeCome and take this heart and make it
All Your own
Welcome home
Take a seat, pull up a chair
Forgive me for the disrepair
And the souvenirs from floor to ceiling
Gathered on my search for meaningEvery closet's filled with clutter
Messes yet to be discoveredI'm overwhelmed, I understand
I can't make this place all that You can
Come inside this heart of mineIt's not my own
Make it home
Come and take this heart and make it
All Your own
Welcome homeI took the space that You placed in me
Redecorated in shades of greed
And I made sure every door stayed locked
Every window blocked, and still You knocked
Come inside this heart of mine
It's not my own
Make it home
Come and take this heart and make it
All Your own
Welcome home
Take me, make me
All You want me to be
That's all I'm asking, all I'm asking
Hours later, the entire Spencer family had caught Laura up on what had been happening in their lives since she had been committed to the first psychiatric hospital. Laura was happy that their lives were going alright. She had taken advantage and had given Nikolas quite a lecture about how he had treated Gia, especially about how he had treated her when she had been visiting Zander in the hospital. Nikolas agreed that he had been wrong in treating her that way. Especially since, all along, the two had been brothers.
"Mom, don't worry. It won't happen again," Nikolas told her.
"It better not. You two are brothers and I want you two to start getting along, do you get me?" Laura says to him and Zander.
"No problem, mom. We'll do our best," Nikolas said.
"I get it too, Laura. I'll try my hardest to get along with Nik and all my siblings, I promise," Zander said with a smile.
"OK, now we have more to discuss. Like three of the people in this room changing their names ASAP," Laura said, referring to Nadia, Nikolas, and Nikoletta.
"Nadia Adrienne Spencer sounds fine to me."
"And Nicole Anastasia Spencer sounds pretty good to me."
"I'll keep Nikolas, just change the spelling and change my middle name to sound more Spencer-like. How does Nicholas Michael Spencer sound?"
"Sounds good," Laura says. Then she turns to Luke. "How soon can we get the paperwork to change their names done?"
"Pretty fast. Alexa and Alex just got their new birth certificates and ID's yesterday, fully becoming Spencers. Dara put a rush on it," Luke said. "We can have her put a rush on these as well."
"Good. One other thing," Laura said, giving them all the look. "Get me out of here!"
They all hear laughter from behind them. They all turn and see the doctor standing there. "Someone is really ready to get out of here."
"Yes, I am. I want out!" Laura exclaimed.
"Well, I want to do one more examination to make sure you are ready to go, and then we can sign you out," the doctor said.
"Well, make it quick," Laura said.
An hour later, the entire Spencer family walked out of the mental institution. Laura gazed around, reveling in all she had missed. She took a deep breath and smiled.
"God, it feels so good to be outside after being cooped up for so long," Laura said to Luke.
"It feels just as good to have you back with us, angel," Luke said, kissing her on the cheek.
Laura's look became determined. "I would've been out a lot sooner if it hadn't been for Scotty. He was the only person who didn't realize that it was Helena's plan to put me in an institution to get me away from Nikolas. You would have seen it," she told him.
"So, are we gonna go confront him?" Nadia asked her mother.
"For more than this. We need to confront him about the way he treated Zander and Luke. So as soon as we get back to Port Charles, the police station will be our first stop," Laura said determinedly.
They all agreed and headed for their cars. They headed back to Port Charles, ready to confront Scott about everything he had done to their family members.