The Spencers lived in a beautiful neighborhood. Every house seemed to look exactly alike so he had to check the address again. He tapped the pen against the file and climbed out of the car. A car passed and then he crossed the street and jogged up to the door. He hadn't thought he would be visiting Laura Spencer under these circumstances.

"Evan Cassidy." Laura declared as she opened her door. "Would you like to come in?"

Evan grinned. "Wonderful to see you again Mrs. Spencer."

"Mrs. Spencer? Call me Laura please."

"Habit." Evan explained following her into the house. "How was Robin's party?"

"It was wonderful. It would have been better if my daughter had managed to attend, but I assume you are here to explain that." Laura said calmly, smiling inwardly as the young man flinched at her blunt observation.

"I see where your daughter gets it." He praised her. "Would you like to sit down?"

"Isn't that my line?" Laura teased as she sat down anyway.

"I guess it is." Evan admitted.

"Sit down Evan. I'm not nearly as dangerous as my daughter makes me out to be."

"She doesn't...it's not..." Evan stumbled over his words.

"Why don't we start with where my daughter has been hiding these days? I assume you know why she's been scarce lately?"

"Let's start with what you already know." Evan suggested.

"I know that despite her protests to the contrary, clearly you and my daughter are involved." Laura stated clearly, leaning forward in her chair. "I also know that you are a smart young man since you are approaching me and not my husband or son."

"They are a little overprotective." Laura nodded. "So why don't you tell me what I don't know."

Evan nodded, an earlier memory causing his focus to splinter. He pushed open the door and turned around to disengage the beeping alarm. A sound caught his attention and he moved toward the bedroom. There he found Lulu on the floor, her hand lost in her purse.

"What are you doing?" Evan asked, closing the space between them.

"Stay where you are." She warned, holding up her free hand.

"Lulu, what's in the purse?" Evan wanted to know. He thought he had taken everything out before he relinquished the purse into her possession.

"You don't understand," she argued.

"Explain it to me then." Evan demanded lightly, crossing the room in two strides.

"I thought I could do it." Lulu whispered, shaking her head in despair.

"Do what?" If he wasn't careful, he would scare her even more. This was what he had missed, he realized. It was one thing to study the process; it was quite another to live through it.

"I understand why you made the rule, but I can't, Evan. I just can't." Lulu whimpered.

"Sure you can." Evan countered in a soothing voice. "You're so strong."

"No. I'm not."

"You're a Spencer."

"Don't tell me that. I know that." At least she sounded mad instead of just devastated.

Evan shook his head. "Mrs.—Laura, the reason Lulu didn't come to your party yesterday…"

"Yes?"

"She's in a bit of trouble."

"Trouble?" Laura stood up immediately and started to walk towards the front door. "Where is she? Take me to my baby."

Evan grabbed her wrist. "Laura, please. Your reaction is expected, but I need you to stay calm. Please."

"Calm? You tell me Lulu is in trouble and you expect me to stay calm?"

"No. Let me explain. Please sit down."

Reluctantly, Laura heeded his plea. Right now Evan was her only link to whatever trouble her headstrong daughter had got herself into and if she didn't at least play along with his requests, she might have no way of reaching her daughter at all. "I'm listening, but barely."

"She's dropped out of school and took on a...a job that's less than legal."

"Less than legal?"

"Listen, I have no right to judge your daughter. I don't know her and I haven't been here since the beginning. I only know what I see now and I'm trying to help her through this."

"Help her through what exactly Evan? And I'd like to point out that nothing you've said so far is exactly calming me down."

"Lulu's gotten into drugs."

If she hadn't been sitting, she would have fallen to the ground in a dead faint. Even now, the room began to sway in front of her eyes. Drugs? Her precious, darling, beautiful brilliant baby girl had turned to drugs? Even though Luke had laughed at every worst-case scenario, this possibility had never entered her mind. Lulu was too smart for drugs. Too involved with life. How had this happened? Why didn't she know before know, before this stranger made this announcement? "I need to see her. I need to see my daughter."

"I'm sorry." Evan shook his head. "I'm afraid that would hinder more than help."

"Hinder? I'm her mother. She needs me."

"If she saw you...if you saw her that way, she would never recover from it. She's got to understand that she's strong enough to beat this and she can't do that if she's worried about disappointing her family."

"She's not a disappointment to us. And she clearly needs us now more than ever." Laura argued stubbornly.

"I think this may have happened because of the kidnappings. She said that she's had trouble sleeping ever since and it's even possible that that's why she turned to drugs. She knows her family would have supported her, but I think she feels like it'd mean burdening you."

"That is ridiculous. And I intend to tell her so myself."

"I came to you because I needed to speak to the levelheaded member of your family. If Lulu found out, she would never forgive me and that wouldn't help her recover any faster."

"Recover faster? Is she trying to get clean by herself?"

"Yes and no."

"What exactly does that mean Mr. Cassidy?" Laura asked sternly, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Yes she's trying to get herself clean."

"The no?"

"She's not doing it by herself."

"Who is she doing it with then?"

"Me."

"You?" Laura shook her head. "And just what is your interest in this and my daughter?"

"I'm not going to lie to you. I care about your daughter."

"That's good but it still doesn't explain why I can't be with my daughter when she clearly needs me."

"I came to you because I thought you needed to know."

"And you expected me to do what? Accept your decision about what is best for my daughter?"

"I need your help."

"You need my help with what?"

"Were you serious when you said you wanted to help her through this?"

"Of course I was."

"What I'm asking isn't going to be an easy thing, but it will help your daughter tremendously."

"It would help me tremendously if you quit beating around the bush."

"I've been working with Lulu for the better part of the week. She's been doing very well and she'll keep doing well as long as she stays in a comfortable environment."

"Her home is a comfortable environment." Laura pointed out.

"Under normal circumstances."

"What is it you want exactly?"

"I need you to keep your husband, your son, and the commissioner out of it."

"And why exactly would I do that? They love Lulu. They would want to help her."

"They can't be objective."

"And you're saying you can be?"

"Yes."

"I'm curious as to why you think I would agree to this. Why would I keep my daughter from her family, the very people who love her and could help her through this?"

"Because if you don't, she might never recover."

Laura sucked in her breath. "Why exactly do you think she wouldn't recover? And be honest with me."

"She wants to be the perfect daughter, the perfect sister. If she thinks she has to be that for everyone, she'll never help herself. She's like a ticking clock as long as she's on these drugs and I...it would be terrible if we lost her, wouldn't it?"

"It would, but wouldn't it help her recovery if she knew we don't expect that at all? We just expect her to be Lulu."

"You didn't set the bar for perfection. She's done it herself."

That much Laura knew to be true. She and Luke had never set down any dreams for their children beyond being happy. And both had turned into perfectionists in their own ways. Lucky in his career, and Lulu through school in an effort to separate herself from her popular brother and cousin. She had lost count of the number of times she had counseled her daughter to slow down and relax. "Where is she? Where is she right now?"

"She's in a safe place."

"But how do I know that? No offense but we don't know each other well enough for me to trust your judgment blindly."

"That's understandable. She's staying in an apartment on the edge of town. I check in on her from time to time."

"Define from time to time."

"When I'm not at the station."

"And when you are at the station?"

"I'm on the phone with your daughter. Would it help if you could talk to her?"

Laura tilted her head in surprise. "I thought contact with her family would do her more harm than good."

"Direct contact, yes."

"And I suppose you would want me to not let on that I know what she is going through?"

"What if you wrote her a letter? And then, on the days she's feeling good, she could write back to you? It's not much of a concession, but it's something isn't it?"

It was more than he had offered before. While she was still confused as to what exactly the relationship between Evan and her daughter was, it was clear to her he did care for Lulu a great deal. And unless she missed her guess, if she didn't agree, he and Lulu might disappear from her altogether. Her daughter couldn't have listened so attentively to her father's stories and not learned something. She didn't like the idea, in fact she downright hated it, but Laura could feel it was the best offer this man was going to make. "If I agree to this I want another concession from you."

"Anything."

"You keep in contact with me as much as you are keeping in contact with Lulu."

"Agreed."

Laura let out a defeated sigh. "I want you to know I do not like this plan and am only agreeing to this because I do not want to lose contact with my daughter entirely. However if she starts to take a turn for the worst, I expect this plan will be abandoned immediately. Do I make myself clear?"

"If I could just have a little bit," Lulu tried to bargain, showing him the secret compartment in her purse where she had hidden the last of her stash. "It would be easier. You understand that, don't you?"

"Crystal."