Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading and for the reviews. They really make a difference. I am glad to know that others are enjoying my version of events for this wonderful couple who are not on our screens nearly enough. Unfortunately, life and work are conspiring to keep me from writing more often but I will do my best to add a chapter every 1-2 weeks. At least this is a longer one. GH and the characters belong to ABC and Disney. Please, others consider writing some KevLaur fanfic too as I would love to read some.

The Letter

Chapter 3

"Ms. Margolis reported increased episodes of panic attacks in the last week. These have included increased heart rate and shortness of breath as well as spells of dizziness. She indicated still taking her Lexapro as prescribed and denied any side effects from the medication. Consider adding additional medication..."

I switched the digital recorder into OFF mode when I heard the knock on my office door. Usually, Mrs. Martin knows better than to interrupt me when I am in the middle of dictating my notes after a long day of seeing multiple patients.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Dr. Collins, but this envelope just came for you by messenger and the delivery man said it was very important and time sensitive. He not only made me sign for it but is waiting in the other room while I bring it to you. He would not take no for an answer."

Mrs. Martin seemed visibly upset and worried and this turn of events explained her interruption. I took the large Manila envelope from her hand and reassured her that she had done the right thing. I set it on my desk and walked her back to the door, to look out into the waiting room to find it conspicuously empty. Now her anxiety reached a new level as she clearly wanted me to believe her.

"He told me he would wait right here while I brought the envelope to you. I don't understand why he left?"

"Its okay, Peggy. I'm sure he realized he didn't need to stay any longer since you were doing what he asked. Maybe he was late and needed to make more deliveries before 5:00 o'clock. I'm sure it is nothing as important as he made it seem. Now, while I'm at a stopping point, can we review the list of things you need to know for the next week? You will still be able to reach me in case of an emergency but you know that Dr. Maddox will be covering all of my cases."

She still seemed more flustered than I have seen her in a while but Peggy has been a great assistant over the years. She can stay calm in the best crisis and is very good about fending calls for appointments and making sure clients show up when they are scheduled. To say I was eager to finish my notes and get back to my hotel room to finish packing was a big understatement. I couldn't believe that in less than 24 hours I was going to be in London and with Laura. I had last seen her 16 days ago but it felt like a lifetime.

I quickly reviewed the list of essentials for Mrs. Martin and made sure she again had my contact information at the hotel near Lesley's apartment at Battersea Place in London. My flight was in the morning and I still had to finish packing and put the finishing touches on a few gifts for Laura and her family. Despite his initial reticent in talking to me, I had grown fond of Spencer if nothing else than for his sense of wonder and precociousness. In fact, he reminded me of myself at that age. He was eager to be overly involved in adult activities, wise to the mannerisms of the world, and anxious to seek out adventure and mischief. Laura had modified her plans slightly due to my need to be back at work in a week and Lucky was scheduled to collect Spencer from his new boarding school and accompany him to London so the family could be all together for a few days in London. Then Lucky would see that Spencer returned safely to Le Chesnay allowing Laura and I to return together to Port Charles.

I returned to my desk and activated my out of office voice mail and email and returned immediately to my dictation. When I had finished the last of my notes, my eye caught the corner of a picture I had just recently placed on my desk of Laura with Spencer in the park. She would no doubt be surprised I had framed it as she had merely laughed it off that day when I told her I wanted a picture of her to set for my contacts in my phone. The day had been beautiful-a perfect early summer morning without a cloud in the sky. But the real beauty was her. But even now, I could see the sadness and fear in her eyes as she did not know at the time of the picture whether her eldest son was alive or not. My gaze stayed focused on Laura's smile as I thought back to the events of the last week.

It had been the middle of the night when I stumbled to the bathroom, awake again at 3 AM and unable to sleep due to my racing thoughts and fears of how my letter would be received when delivered to its intended target. Since I knew that sleep would not come easily-if at all-I decided I might as well check email and do some reading. My stomach lurched when I saw the email from Laura in my Inbox. The little blue dot seemed to taunt me more than tell me that it was an unread message. Since the subject of her email indicated that she indeed had received my letter, I realized that my plan had truly worked. She had to reach out to me after taking time to hear my explanation and offer my apology. I'm sure I had sat there in the middle of the bed, which did nothing but remind me of her warmth and sensual touch, for the next twenty minutes too stunned to react. Finally, movement became possible again and I stood and began to pace. This time I read her email out loud just to make sure I had read it correctly the first time. I desperately wanted to write her back immediately but was cognizant of the time and how sending email at this hour might be deemed unconventional. Instead, I checked the world clock I had set on my phone after she left me to remind myself of her time in Paris and then London so I could calculate how soon I could actually call her. Her email had given me permission to call her! As it turned out, I managed to make myself wait to send the email I wrote-and rewrote-later in the morning thanking her for reaching out to me and attempting to secure a time convenient to call after she had checked in with her mother following her train ride from Paris to London.

Even now it was hard to believe that had been nine days ago and what followed was truly indescribable. We talked. Each time a little more relaxed than the day before. The first call had been hesitant and stilted in the beginning and I repeated even more apologies for my actions. But she must have heard the sincerity in my voice, because somehow Laura Vining Webber Baldwin Spencer found it in her heart to forgive me. On day three we tried Skype at my insistence but the timing of audio and visual was delayed and out of sync and we both mutually agreed to return to phone calls so that we could just focus on the words and connection. At first, I blocked out my 4 PM session time as she found that 9 PM was the best time to be uninterrupted by activities with her mom or phone calls to check on Spencer. It was her time to herself in the spare room of Lesley's apartment to unwind for the day and relax before sleep. At first we were mindful of the cost associated with international phone calls and reluctantly ended our discussions after 15-20 minutes. By day four, I had been alarmed when I realized that an hour had almost passed and my five o'clock would be arriving. Perhaps sensing the urgency, Laura asked in those final minutes if I would consider coming to visit in London. I answered before the words had even registered and I impulsively had decided I would find a way to make it work despite the demands of my client schedule. By day five, I had blocked out two client hours and instead took on unprecedented evening client hours, to the shock, and dismay of Mrs. Martin.

Planning my trip to London, hearing Laura laughing as she shared Spencer's recent apology to me as he described himself the "noble patriarch" of his family, sensing the sleepiness in her voice when she called a second time later close to midnight her time on day six-all of this was priceless. We shared thoughts and secrets and our intimacy deepened, likely even more than if we had been in the same city together.

By day seven, all of my plans had been solidified and all that was left was to count down the hours. Laura was in a reflective mood-and bitter-about all she and her family had endured at the hands of the Cassadines. For some reason, she and Lesley had argued that day about the events of her faked car accident and very real abduction by Stavros and Helena. As Laura shared more of her life with me, my admiration of her only expanded. She had survived so much. What had started during that night's phone call as light and playful flirting suddenly turned serious and I could hear the tears in her voice. I had spoken without first censoring my feelings.

"Laura, I wish I was there to hold you right now. You will let me touch you and hold you when I get there?"

Silence at first was my reply. Then I heard her intake of breath and the soft timbre of her voice say "Don't ever let me go."

And now on day nine my reverie was broken by the ringing of my desk phone. We had discussed not calling tonight but in the back of my mind and heart I knew it was her before I even answered.

"Kevin?"

"I thought you said you weren't going to call tonight."

"I tried not to...I waited because I know your last session ended at 4 and I'm sure you are trying to get work done to leave for the day. But, I just couldn't...I couldn't..."

I could hear the hesitation in her voice. Even now, after all that we had been through and all that we had shared she still seemed nervous to admit her feelings to me. Even after day eight allowed us both to admit to the ache that came from not being together and an eagerness to connect again physically. Our longest call yet and Laura left me breathless, very hard, and definitely wanting more.

"You couldn't what, Laura?" I was determined to make her realize that she could say anything to me. She could trust me. I knew I still had a ways to go towards rebuilding the trust but I was just glad she was giving me another chance.

"It sounds silly but I just couldn't go to sleep without hearing your voice."

"That's not silly, that's really nice. Although I think I'm going to sleep like a baby tonight because the sooner I wake up the sooner I get to see you again."

"You'll call once you get to JFK? I told my mother she was on her own for Bridge with her friends tomorrow as I want to be available for you to check in as you make your way here. Are you sure you are okay with dinner plans tomorrow night?"

"As long as I get some time alone with you after Lesley has gone to bed."

"Dr. Collins, you are forgetting the toll of plane travel, different time zones, and jet lag. Not to mention pure adrenaline and excitement. I bet you will be lucky to stay awake for dinner. Besides, we will have the entire next day to ourselves before Lucky arrives with Spencer on the weekend."

"Good, but my stamina may still surprise you. Sleep is overrated at times like this."

The knock on my office door kept me from adding a few things I wanted to say to her as a follow-up from our conversation the night before. It was just enough to know that Laura had been thinking about me and looking forward to future intimacies.

"Come in."

Expecting Mrs. Martin to be the one so rudely interrupting, I was surprised to see both Lulu and Mrs. Martin at the door to my office.

"Is that my mother on the phone?"

"Laura, someone here would like to talk to you so I will say goodnight and what I have been waiting days to say and can finally say now, see you soon!"

While Lulu and her mother spoke on the phone, Mrs. Martin assured me she had everything under control and wished me safe travels, as she departed for the evening.

I finished tidying my desk and tried not to listen in to their mother-daughter discussion. Lulu apologized again for not traveling to London to be a part of the family gathering, having instead decided that she and Dante would travel to Paris to accompany Spencer home to Port Charles for his winter break in a few months. She said her goodbyes and I noticed she whispered something to her mother that she clearly didn't want me to hear. But then she ended the call with an eager, "Have fun mother. See you in a week."

I took the phone from Lulu and noticed that her expression turned serious when I was expecting her to tease me about my relationship with her mother and my second cross-Atlantic trip to be with her in just a few months.

"Kevin, I don't think you should talk to my mom about our conversation last week. I decided I would not make any other plans or try to find out more about Daphne, that address, or my missing embryo until I can talk to her in person when you guys return in a week. I think it is too hard for her to process anything related to Stavros and I don't want her to just focus on him and what he did to me."

"Your mother is stronger than you think, Lulu. But, I will respect your wishes and tell her that you need to talk to her when she returns home."

"Thank you." Lulu stood to leave and I walked her out to the waiting room door. "I'm glad you could talk to your mom for a few minutes."

She turned and gave me a big and lingering hug before I could even react.

"What's that for?"

"For my mother...and you."

Laura's daughter parted from my embrace and gave me a slight smirk before explaining further.

"I'm so glad that you two are back together. You are good for each other."

"Now, I don't know that I'm out of the woods just yet. I hurt your mother and it will take us some time to rebuild our relationship."

"Whatever you say, Doc."

Lulu, so like her mother in so many ways, leaned up and kissed my cheek before hugging me once again, making me promise to share that hug with all her family members, and suddenly she was gone too.

Now time was of the essence. I needed to finish a few final things in my office and truly get going. My heart beat faster just knowing that this trip would soon be a reality. After Laura acknowledged that it would be okay for me to hold her, I admitted that I would likely not be able to keep my hands off of her.

It was only then, as I was lost in thoughts of being with her again in the most intimate and trusting of ways, that I moved my papers off my desk and saw that envelope that had mysteriously arrived hours ago.

I was half-tempted to just put it in my locked desk drawer and deal with it upon my return in a week but decided I should at least see what it was and what was of such importance to frighten Mrs. Martin earlier. I could tell that it was a file of some kind and rather heavy. It was probably from a colleague asking me to consult on a difficult case.

As I turned the envelope over to read the return address, my breath caught in my throat and I instinctively recoiled from the package and dropped it on the desk as if it burned my hands. My eyes took in the names typed on a label in the corner. Lloyd and Lucy Johnson. Underneath was the same P.O. Box that I had traced myself when I found out that a real couple with those names were owners of the holding company that owned the Campus Disco. My digging had ended there, and yet here was something purposely sent to me, by the thirty year old aliases of Luke and Laura.

Cautiously, I opened the clasp and dumped the contents on my desk. The unmistakable familiar sight of a clinical record, complete in its customary blue multi-tabbed file folder stared back at me. I think on some level I knew whose file it was going to be before the typed label confirmed it for me.

Someone-Lloyd and Lucy Johnson-or the people they truly are-provided me the complete mental health record of one Laura Spencer.

TO BE CONTINUED