Chapter Two - An Ice Princess (Part Two)

"Now, let me get this straight," Laura said as she held her little daughter. "The Cassadines are the leaders of a powerful cartel. They are planning to build a secret weapon more powerful than the atomic bomb and then they'll sell it to third world countries. And WE'RE supposed to stop them? Well, I'm scared!"

"Don't worry, baby," Luke said as he patted Laura's nicely rounded pregnant stomach. "I'll take care of everything. You don't even have to get involved. Alexandria and I will handle all of it."

Laura's fears were not unfounded. Already two World Security Bureau agents had been killed. O'Rielly and her partner had been gunned down by Victor Cassadine's henchmen. Not long after, Laura discovered James Duvall in her apartment and he was dead! Alex had struck him in the head as they were struggling over the Ice Princess. Alex, hysterical over the fact that she had accidentally killed someone, was left clutching the diamond against her chest.

Almost immediately after, Alexandria took the diamond to Anthony Cassadine. She, he, and Victor Cassadine (Tony's older brother) planned to leave town on the Cassadine yacht. Anthony and Alex were now lovers- again. But the power did not belong to Anthony anymore - it belonged to Victor until the brothers were reunited with Mikkos, the oldest of the Cassadine brothers. Mikkos was the most sinister of all of the Cassadines. He couldn't wait until he ruled the world and he had a specific plan to do so.

Scorpio's back-up team was not going to make it to Port Charles on time to stop the Cassadine's yacht from sailing. He was forced, against his better judgement, to enlist the aid of Luke Spencer to help him retrieve the Ice Princess formula, the crucial element in creating the destructive laser weapon.

Luke conned a local fisherman into creating a distraction, so that he and Robert could have time to sneak onto the yacht without anyone spotting them. Once on the boat, the first closet door the opened held a surprise for them. Laura had found her own way of sneaking onto the deck. She had donned her curly dark wig that she had worn when she had pretended to be Lucy Johnson. She then walked on board with all of the servants. Thankfully, no one was the wiser. Luke and Scorpio both insisted she walk right back off.

"Baby, you can't stay here! You can't go with us!" Luke exclaimed.

"Think of the baby," Robert said with concern.

Laura just shook her head. "I'm going with you, Luke. We're in this... together," she insisted.

Luke and Robert were unable to budge her. Unfortunately it was too late to get Laura off the yacht. The engine had already started to propel the yacht to an unknown destination. Luke was horrified when he realized that his very pregnant girlfriend was on a dangerous mission, along with he and Robert.

He didn't have much time to chastise her. In order to avoid being seen, he, Robert, and Laura had no other choice but to hide in the cargo hold of The Titan, fearful as they were overcome with pangs of hunger. Luke suffered from an aversion to boating ever since he had been knocked off the yacht by Scott Baldwin during his almost-wedding to Jennifer Smith. He began to suffer from a horrific sea-sickness. He was certain that falling overboard and drowning would have been better. Laura comforted him as he felt nauseous, just as he had did for her in the beginning months of her pregnancy. At that point, their main concern was finding food and avoiding detection.

They were also aware that they couldn't get anything done if they had to hide in the cargo hold the entire trip. Finally, they got a break. A sea-plane had been sent out to retrieve Anthony Cassadine and Alexandria Quartermaine, the only two people on board who were able to recognize Luke and Laura. Once Tony and Alex were out of the picture, Luke put on a servant's uniform and became "Thor," a Scandinavian steward. Laura became "Lucy," the maid. They were then able to move around with relative freedom among the passengers.

Luke and Laura snuck into Victor's stateroom and retrieved the Ice Princess formula. Not long after, Victor realized it had been stolen. He thought that Maximillion, one of the other passengers had taken the formula. Victor announced that all passengers were to be searched before they got off the yacht and onto the island. If the formula was not found at that point, he insisted that all the luggage had to be searched.

Luckily, the trio heard of Victor's plan before it was too late. They scrapped their original plan to leave the yacht with the other passengers. They planned to jump overboard and swim to Cassadine Island instead.

When Laura heard of the plan, she was terrified. "You can't mean we are going to SWIM to the island?!" Laura asked, unable to keep the fearful tremor out of her voice. "What- what about sharks?!"

"Baby, this is no time to think about carnivorous fish!" Luke cautioned her. "It's the only way we are going to be able to make an escape. They're probably onto us right now... and we've got to be going."

She trembled and Luke pulled her close to comfort her. "We're going to be alright, angel," he reassured. "We'll make it through this."

The trio stood on the deck of The Titan for the last time with waterproof packs upon their backs. The packs held all the food and tools they would need for their stay on the island as well as the Ice Princess formula.

"Look at that island," Luke said. "There are no buildings, no roads, no nothin.' What ARE they doin' here?"

They'd soon find out all the secrets the island held. They plunged into the semi-cold water and were swimming for their lives - all the while knowing that great dangers lay ahead of them.

When they finally reached the shore, the three were completely exhausted. Laura said, "Everything aches. I think we should settle down for the night, so we have the strength to deal with the Cassadines in the morning." Her companions readily agreed.

"What are we supposed to do? Build a hut?" Luke said as he looked around at the tropical vegetation.

"I'm not going to build a hut, just so the two of you can disappear into it and-," Robert grumbled.

Laura blushed. "I don't even have the strength to..." she murmured.

"The strength to what, Laura?" Luke asked with as smirk.

"You two are so BAD," Laura chastised Robert and Luke. "Get your minds off sex... and let's think about food. I'm so hungry."

"Spencer, you need to feed your pregnant girlfriend. Go find some bananas," Robert ordered.

"Right away," Luke agreed. "Be right back, angel."

Luke disappeared into the vegetation. Laura tried not to worry as she settled down with Robert in a location he had picked to be their campsite. "So, what made you come on this adventure... considering you're... well, extremely pregnant?" Robert asked.

"Luke," she answered. "I would follow Luke anywhere. He and I are a team."

"But don't you have another baby at home in Port Charles?"

"My mother and my sister Amy are watching little Staci. She'll get the best of care," Laura told Robert.

"Well, I am hoping you don't go into labor right now... right here in the jungle. I've never delivered a baby before."

"Neither have I... but Luke has."

Just then Luke returned, carrying two coconuts and a bunch of bananas. "Dinner is served," he said as he set the food down in front of Laura.

Laura peeled a banana and began to eat it greedily. Robert and Luke were watching her every move. Both appeared to have stopped breathing as she was eating the banana.

"Stop that, you two!" Laura growled. "Is your mind on sex AGAIN?!"

"You know me, babe," Luke said. "I love sex."

"Should I cover my eyes?" Robert teased.

"Nahhhh. I'll build a hut tomorrow. Then you'll just have to cover your ears," said Luke as he gave Laura a sexy wink.