At breakfast, when Spencer had announced that Claudia "made animals" and maybe she'd make Daddy an animal too if he wanted one, Claudia had smiled wickedly at Nikolas and said, "Oh, I'm pretty much going to give your Daddy anything he wants for the rest of his life."
Laura had been amused until she glanced at Nikolas and saw him actually blushing.
They were in for an interesting ride.
*******************************************************
Diane Miller found that her "fancy lawyer talk" did not go down well in Beecher's Corners.
Sonny's history of prior arrests meant there was no bail. No matter how much Diane argued that he'd never been convicted.
Sonny was going crazy stuck in a cell.
So far, Ms. Spencer, Mr. Cassadine and Mrs. Corinthos were refusing to drop the charges.
Diane decided to play a little hardball.
*****************************************************
Laura's Garden.
Laura had taken Spencer out for a trip into town.
Claudia and Nikolas sat in the garden, Jonah in Claudia's arms, the empty cradle beside her.
And Nikolas realized that he didn't need to find a perfect moment, he needed to make one.
He slipped down from the bench onto his knee.
At first, Claudia thought he was going to tie a shoelace or something, but then he reached into his pocket and drew out a box.
"Nikolas..." she said.
"I know you hate when I orchestrate everything, but we're not going to argue about this."
"I don't hate --"
"Claudia."
"What?"
He stared at her. She realized she was supposed to be quiet until it was her turn to speak. She closed her mouth.
He smiled at her. "A long time ago, you asked me if I wanted someone to bowl me over. You asked if it wouldn't be better if I were not the architect of that moment. Do you remember?"
"Yes."
"I don't think either one of us expected you to be the one to give me the answer to your questions. But you were. I'm asking you to take a huge leap of faith. I'm taking one too. That we can do this without any good examples to follow. I'm not asking you to change who you are for what you may think I need. I'm not asking for a business arrangement. But I'm hoping you'll also be my partner there. As long as you don't freeze the world."
That was the second "freeze the world" comment Nikolas had made to her. Claudia made a mental note to find out about that later.
"I don't want you with me because you think you owe me. And if Greece is another exile for you, we'll go wherever you want to go. I just..." Nikolas paused and he looked incredibly vulnerable. "I just want to be with you. Forever."
He opened up the box. There was an unusual engagement ring inside. White gold, but the stone in the center was a --
She leaned in for a closer look. It was.
"Nikolas. Are you crazy? Those stones are --"
"You like wearing red, don't you?"
"Yes, but -- "
"Then it's worth it."
Two colorless diamonds surrounded a red one. A red diamond.
Nikolas took the ring from its box. He looked up at Claudia.
"Claudia. Will you marry me?"
"Yes," she said. He went to slip the ring on her finger. "Wait," she said.
***************************************************
Beecher's Corners. Town Square.
Luke had been in every store (all five of them) without any luck. No one wanted to give out Laura's location. They'd all been well-trained.
He was a little sore from driving Diane Miller all the way out here, but he wasn't going to let that stop him.
He was about to head over to the library when he saw them. Spencer and Laura.
Laura was setting Spencer down at the little jungle gym near the center of the square. The boy ran straight for the smaller domed climber.
Laura was about to sit on a bench when she -- well, there was no other word for it. She sensed him.
She turned around and looked straight at him. She seemed to be frozen. So he went over to her.
As he got close, he opened his arms, preparing for a hug. She sat down on the bench.
He stopped in his tracks. And then sat down next to her.
"Not a happy homecoming, huh, angel?," he said.
"Since when do you have a home?," she said.
He ignored the dig. "Tricky, tricky, you hiding Mrs. Corinthos in Beecher's Corners. You can pretend to hate me all you want, but that has to mean something. You were waiting for me."
"I don't hate you, Luke," she said. "But I chose Beecher's Corners because Claudia needed someplace safe. And you and I know that the only time this town has had even a whiff of danger was when we brought it here."
"'Claudia'?," Luke said, raising his eyebrow. "You got a new buddy?"
Laura just met Luke's gaze evenly.
"Miss Zacchara is a dangerous lady," Luke said. "She's a trainwreck. You need to watch out for Nikky. She uses people, and then she goes in for the kill."
Laura shook her head. "Why are you here, Luke?"
"I'm here for you," Luke said sincerely.
***************************************************
Laura's Garden.
Claudia put Jonah in his cradle.
"Back up," she said.
Nikolas paused, and then backed up, looking at her quizically.
Claudia lowered herself down so that she was kneeling in front of Nikolas, and they were face-to-face. She caressed his cheek. "For me, exile means being kept away from the people I know and love. As long as I'm with you, I'm not in exile. Okay?"
Nikolas nodded.
"Last night -- I scared myself. You saw how easy it was for me to become the woman I once was. I'm afraid of the future, of a moment where I snap and you're not around to bring me back to myself. Promise me... promise me that if I ever fall completely into darkness, you won't fall down after me. Please, Nikolas. If that happens, let me go."
"Never."
"I don't want to hurt you. Or Spencer. Or Jonah."
"You won't."
"You can't say that. You don't know what will happen because I don't know what will happen."
"Marriage means always."
"Not if one person in the marriage destroys the other one. I came from my father, and he --"
"Claudia, look at my father."
"You don't have any of him in you. I've seen my father in myself. I've done things. Promise me, promise me if it ever reaches the point where I've hurt you so badly that -- "
"That's not going to happen."
"Then it should be an easy promise to make to let me go, right?"
Nikolas was quiet for a long while. And then he lied. "I promise."
"Good. I need to ask you for one more thing. I don't know if it's legal, or if you'll agree to it. It's not a deal breaker, but it's important to me. Jonah doesn't have a middle name. I didn't know whether I was going to make it this far, but I always wanted you to be his father no matter what. And if it's possible, I'd like him to have your patronym. If you can't, then --"
"It's legal. I want it. Done."
Claudia grabbed the back of his head and pulled him to her, kissing him.
He pulled back and put the ring on her finger.
*******************************************************
Beecher's Corners. Town Square.
Spencer had entered into a climbing contest with another little boy. Luckily, the other little boy seemed as overbearing as Spencer. It was all evening out.
Luke sat waiting for a response from Laura.
Finally, she turned to him. "When we were together, we had so many good times. No matter what went wrong, or how much trouble we got into, the good times made it worth it. I believed in 'For better and for worse.' And I understood why you went astray when you went astray. Not that I liked it, but I understood it. I followed you everywhere. Not only all over the country, but all over the world. And for me, that was huge, Luke."
"I know."
"I didn't find Lesley until I was in my teens. All I've ever wanted was a home. And I thought you were my home. So imagine how I feel now, knowing that the good times were a lie. There was no 'for better.' It's my fault. Any other woman would have taken off the blinders. But I loved you so much, I believed in you about everything. And you abused that."
"Darlin', if you'll just let me --"
"Nikolas and Claudia are at their beginning. And it's a gorgeous beginning. They not only speak the same language, they speak the same languages. And they make me wonder: where did we go wrong?"
"If you're looking to Claudia Zacchara as a role model --"
"Don't do that, Luke. I'm not naive. You treat me like I'm some innocent, devoid of experiences that are harsh and cruel. I was forced out of my child's life, Luke. That's something you've never experienced. And you'll never experience that kind of heartbreak. Because you're not responsible, to anyone or anything. When you are, it's just a temporary burst of heroism that breaks through and takes my breath away. But the rest of the time, you have charm. And I've known you too long not to see through the charm."
"You don't love me anymore."
Laura grabbed his hand. "I'll always love you, Luke."
His eyes were tinged with hope.
"But it's over," she said. "You're not my home anymore. Beecher's Corners is. So go home, to Tracy or to Mexico or to trouble. Let me start living again."
Luke stared at her a good long while, his eyes watery.
"Gramma, can we get candy?"
Luke let go of Laura's hand. He stood up and kissed Laura on the forehead. And walked away.
Laura swallowed hard, and turned to Spencer. "I think we should go home and ask Daddy about that. Claudia might be making something special for dinner."
"Okay," Spencer said, holding his hand out.
Laura stood and took his hand.
"That man looked like Grampa Luke," Spencer said.
"He sure did, didn't he?," Laura said.
*******************************************************
Beecher's Corner's. The Town Jail.
Sonny looked horrible. And her news was only partially good.
"This will be over soon," Diane said.
"When?," he asked.
"Claudia and Nikolas have already dropped their charges. We're just waiting for Laura Spencer to do the same."
"Maybe if I talked to her."
"She's waiting, Sonny."
"For what?"
Diane waited for Sonny's penny to drop.
It did. "She's letting them leave the country?," he shouted, enraged.
"Might I remind you that this is the sort of behavior which got you into this mess," Diane said. "I implore you. Find a way to get through the next few hours, go home, and build your business back up so you can afford me."
"Ms. Miller, maybe I should take it from here."
Luke towered over Diane's seat.
"Be my guest," she said, standing.
Diane left, and Luke slid into her empty seat.
"So you went after the Dark Prince," Luke said. "Sloppy move. Bad mistake."
Sonny eyed Luke with suspicion. "Why are you here?"
"Well, originally I was here to woo my lady. But she'd not having any of it, so I figured you could use the company. To distract you from the cage."
"I'm not going to make it, Luke."
"Sure you are. Close your eyes."
Sonny looked at Luke as if he were out of his mind.
"Seriously, Ponyboy, close your eyes."
Sonny reluctantly closed his eyes.
"Now you and me, we're on the shore of Lake Ontario. And we've just sent Marco Dane off in a boat to pick up Frank Smith. And we're --"
"We're bird-watching," Sonny said.
"That's right."
"I'm not doing a bird call, Luke."
Luke could keep this up for as long as his old friend needed him. "Give it time."
********************************************************
Claudia's Bedroom. Night.
The boys had both been put to bed. Nikolas had gone to say good-night to Laura, and when he returned, Claudia was lying on his side of the bed.
He raised his eyebrows.
"What?," she said.
"You're on my side of the bed. I thought you were going to give me whatever I wanted."
"If you want to aim low, Batman, far be it for me to complain."
She moved back onto her side of the bed. And then got up when Nikolas started to take off his shirt.
"Let me help you with that," she said, unbuttoning the rest of his buttons. "Your highness."
"This is dangerous, Claudia."
"Not as dangerous as it's going to be in about five minutes," she said, admiring his body and reaching for his belt buckle.
"You," he said, pulling her hands away from his buckle, "are not allowed to do anything for two weeks. That's what you told me."
"You think that lets you off the hook? I didn't hear your doctor prohibit anything. Let me tell you a little Italian proverb. Per essere l'uomo di una donna di nome Zacchara..." To be the man of a woman named Zacchara...
"Oddly enough, this proverb sounds like it's been fabricated for this occasion."
"That's because you suffer from a suspicious nature" she said, barely keeping a straight face. She finished off the proverb. "Per essere l'uomo di una donna di nome Zacchara ... รจ quello di essere perennemente soddisfatto." To be the man of a woman named Zacchara ... is to be perpetually satisfied.
His jaw dropped open for a second. She took the opportunity to finish unbuckling his belt. Then he rallied.
"Really?," he said. He grabbed her hands again. "What happens when you're named Cassadine?"
"The proverb gets even more ridiculously convoluted."
He laughed. But when she tried to take his belt off, he stopped her again. She pulled her hands out of his.
"Nikolas. Just because I have to suffer through celibacy, there's no reason you should have to go through it."
"It's not right."
"You know what? I forgot one more condition for marriage: no pedestals."
"It's not a --"
"Seriously, Nik. I'm not a pedestal kind of woman. I can get on my high horse every once in awhile, but not one of those little platforms."
"This is unfair. To you."
"If that's the way you feel about it, I look forward to you making it up to me. Later."
She unbuttoned the top of his pants.
"And next time, you get to be the one who gets pregnant," she said.
And with that she unzipped his pants and pushed him down onto the bed.
******************************************************
Beecher's Corners. Kitchen.
As Laura made her way to the kitchen for a late night snack, she heard voices.
"Uh, yeah, no. Look at me, Nikolas."
"I'm looking at you. Do I ever not look at you? What's wrong with waltzing?"
"Do I look like someone who waltzes? Now, a tango, that's different. You could definitely interest me in a tango."
Laura came into the kitchen to find Claudia on Nikolas' lap, feeding him ice cream. A baby monitor sat on the kitchen table.
"Hi," Claudia said.
"Hello. I'll be out of your hair in a minute."
"On our last night here? You're crazy," Claudia said.
"Come talk to us. Please," Nikolas said.
Laura went to the stove and set the kettle to boil.
Claudia slid into the seat next to Nikolas and licked the spoon before passing it to him. Nikolas grabbed the back of her chair and pulled it closer to him. She leaned against him.
Laura sat down across from them.
"You're sure you want to stay here?," Claudia asked.
Laura smiled at Claudia. "You know how you've been fighting for your life since the day you were born? I've been running for mine. It's time to stop running. And this is the place."
"I'll permit you to stay here," Nikolas said to Laura, "under one condition."
Laura and Claudia burst out laughing.
"What?," Nikolas said, looking from one woman to the other.
"You're like Spencer on steriods," Claudia said.
"Sorry, Nikolas," Laura said, catching her breath. "But that word. 'Permit.'" She wiped a tear from her eye.
"Try this," Claudia suggested. "'I'm happy that you found a place you love, Mom, but I'd like to make a suggestion.'"
Both woman watched Nikolas intently, waiting to hear the next words out of his mouth.
"I'm happy that you ... ," Nikolas began, " ... both find me so amusing."
Claudia pulled him toward her and kissed his cheek.
"I want to fix the plumbing in this house," Nikolas said. "That's all."
"That would be lovely," Laura said. "I think I'll permit you to do that."
"I wish you would come with us," Claudia said to Laura.
"Claudia...," Laura said.
"You know how few people I actually like? And even fewer of them like me back. I think I can count them on the fingers of one hand."
"What she means is that we both would love for you to live with us," Nikolas amended.
"I meant what I said," Claudia said to Nikolas.
Laura laughed again. "I think you'll have your hands full with each other," she said. "And I promise to visit."
******************************************************
The next morning, after saying good-bye to Laura, the soon-to-be Cassadine family boarded the Cassadine jet, Spencer instructing Jonah on the finer points of flight travel. They headed for the Dominican Republic, divorce papers in hand.
As soon as the plane was in the air, Laura called the local police and dropped the charges against Sonny.
