{In the back room at Luke's Club, Luke is playing pool}

Bobbie:  "Whoa. You lose."

Luke:  "I’m going to fire Claude as soon as I don't need him to run this joint anymore." {He goes over to get a drink}

Bobbie:  "Don't blame Claude. I looked everywhere else for you, and you aren't returning my calls. {She sees his duffel bag} What is that? You aren't leaving? When?"

Luke:  "Tonight."

Bobbie:  "Going where?"

Luke:  "Oh, somewhere else."

Bobbie:  "Till when?"

Luke:  "Till I can think of a good reason to come back."

Bobbie:  "Oh, Luke, you can't. You can't leave now. You're on the verge of getting everything back. Lucky can finally stand to share space in the same room with you. Your wife and your daughter are home, and you're home with them -- at least you should be. Does Laura know you're leaving?"

Luke:  "I don't think it takes explanation."

Bobbie:  "Well, I could use an explanation. You want to explain it to me?"

Luke:  "Barbara. You know, when you were a little tiny girl, mother put you in that play -- remember that little play that was written by that dead English guy, and you were all dressed up like a little fairy or something. And in the play, there was another play. And in the play within the play, there were these two lovers, and the only way they could talk to each other was through this wall. I just got tired of being the wall."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
{Laura and LuLu are at the Port Charles Grill}

Laura:  "LuLu, did you see the desserts? Mm-hmm? But those are for after dinner, right? Sometimes it's nice to give yourself a present, something special to feel happy about instead of wishing that--{Pausing} Anyway, that's what we're doing tonight, right? Do you know what? I used to love going out to dinner with my mom. I'd get all dressed up in my best clothes, and other people would wait on us, and I would pretend that I was a princess."

Stefan: {Approaching} "And then you grew up and became one."

 
 
 
 
 
 

Stefan:  "Good evening, Lesley Lu. I can't tell you how charmed I am to see you again. Alexis seems to be late. May I join you for just a moment?"

Laura: {Nodding} "Sure. {Turning to LuLu who is coloring} Lulu, the redfish isn't really red, but it's a lot like the fish that we have at home. And I think that you might also like the wild mushroom ravioli. But you think about it, sweetie. Decide which one you want, ok?"

Stefan: {Speaking lightly, with a smile so as to alert LuLu} "Have you seen him? Heard from him?"

Laura:  "I’m not sure that I will. He packed a bag. I haven't been able to reach him since." {They continue to glance at LuLu to make sure she is not upset by their conversation}

Stefan:  {When looking at LuLu, she glances up and gives him a sweet smile, which he returns with one of his own} "Has he actually accused you of something?"

Laura:  "He knows."

Stefan:  "Did Nikolas come up?"

Laura:  "Yes."

Stefan:  "And you said?"

Laura:  "I wasn't given the chance. {Stefan sighs deeply} What are you thinking?"

Stefan:  "Well, whatever he knows he may prefer did not become public knowledge. Otherwise, of course, it would be. One of us will hear from him, that's certain. But when?"

Laura:  "I wish I knew." {Closing her eyes and shaking her head}
 
Waiter:  "Mr. Cassadine? A message for you."

Stefan:  "Thank you. Ah. Alexis has been detained. It appears I will be dining alone, unless--Miss LuLu, now, I can see that you are enjoying the luxury of an evening alone with your beautiful mother. Would it altogether ruin your plans if I were to dine in your company? {She continues to color, not looking at him. Stefan starts laughing and looks at Laura} She gets that from you.

Laura:  "Oh, please. I'm one of the few people who actually knows what you're saying more than 50% of the time."

Stefan: {Making a face and speaking in his 'funny voice'} "I beg your pardon. {Laura begins to laugh. He turns to LuLu, continuing with the voice} We beg mommy's pardon, don't we? {She nods, smiling} Yes, we do." {Laura begins to laugh in earnest and Stefan begins laughing as well}

Luke:  "I’ll flip you for the break." {He starts playing pool}

Bobbie:  "You can't actually believe all those overheated headlines from the trial. God. You think something's going on between Laura and Stefan? Luke, that's ridiculous. First of all, when? Since Laura has been back, Stefan has either been in mourning, in jail, or on trial. Unlike you, I have never put her on a pedestal. But one thing you have never heard me accuse her of and never will is insufficient devotion to you. The only connection between Laura and Stefan is Nikolas. And if she wants to spend a little time with her son and she has to dance to his guardian's tune, so what? Luke, do you know how much Stefan would love to hear that he finally succeeded in rupturing your marriage?"

Luke: {That gets his attention and he turns to her} "Oh, if reverse psychology was going to work, that would have done it."

Bobbie:  "Ok, fine. What can I do for you besides keep an eye on Lucky until you get back?"

Luke:  "What makes you think that I’m coming back?"

Bobbie:  "Because my big brother doesn't run away."

Luke:  "Well, it's not running if nobody's chasing you."

Bobbie:  "Bull. Besides, I have a whole bunch of things I haven't punished you for yet. So don't even think of not coming back to face the music. {She goes up to him and hugs him} I love you, but I hate this. I'm not sticking around to watch." {She leaves and Luke prepares to shoot another ball, but throws the pool stick instead}
 
 
 
 
 
 

Stefan: {Telling a story to LuLu} "The happy beast had syrup all over his nose, and the rest of the syrup was all over your brother, Nikki."

Laura: {Quietly} "Where is Helena during all of this?"

Stefan:  "Well, by then, Helena was being fed in her room, like the pony. {Laura gives him a look} From then on, whenever Mrs. Lansbury made French toast for breakfast, she made an extra portion for Dimitri the pony." {Stefan and Laura look at each other}
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Laura:  {Stefan pulls out her chair and she rises} "Thank you. {She picks up LuLu and turns back to him} And thank you very much for dinner, although I’m not sure we're going to forgive you for making off with the check in such a sneaky way."

Stefan: "Oh. Next time I’ll be better behaved. {Laura looks at him and he continues} As you, Ms. Spencer, could not possibly be."

Laura:  "Next time--next time we'll invite Nikolas."

Stefan:  "He'll be delighted, I know, and so envious of the company I was fortunate enough to keep this evening. Good night, Princess LuLu."

Laura:  "Good night." {They leave and Stefan becomes lost in thought}
 

 
 
 

Luke:  {Approaching, finding Lucky on a bench in the park} "You spend too much time here. I already looked everywhere else--the docks, Ruby's, Audrey Hardy's, that damn boxcar. Oh, don't worry, nobody told me. I still got a couple of tricks up my sleeve. You didn't really think that I wouldn't worry my pretty little head about where my only son was sleeping at night, do you?"

Lucky:   "Why are you looking for me?"

Luke:   "Because while you've been busy abusing your mother and torturing me, there's a couple of things that I forgot to tell you. The first is you're still the best thing I ever did. And I’m not taking credit. I've driven a couple of great cars in my day. They weren't great because of the way I drove them. You're smart. You got guts. You deal with life on your own terms, and never mind how many people, including me, pile on to tell you you're wrong. You have your own mind and your own conscience to reckon with. And the fact that I’m sick to death of reckoning with them right now is beside the point."

Lucky:  {Seeing his bag} "You're going someplace."

Luke:   "Yeah."

Lucky:  "Is that going to be better?"

Luke:   "It'll be worse if I stay. Worse for you, your mother, everybody. And it's not going to get good for you, Lucky, until you can leave this park and everything that happened here behind you. That's the other thing I needed to tell you. You can't undo what's been done. You can hate it, you can like it, you can punish it, forgive it. But if you think you can change it, you're standing on the roof shaking a stick at the stars. The only thing that makes anything change is having the courage to turn around and move on."

Lucky:  "I appreciate this, dad. But, you know, I’ve learned a lot in the past few months. Mostly I’ve learned not to take your way out of anything." {He turns and leaves. Luke looks after him, almost proudly. He turns and picks up his bag and sees Laura and LuLu}

 
 
 
 

Luke:  {LuLu comes over to him and he picks her up and holds her tight} "There's my sweet girl. Hello. Oh, daddy loves you so much. Oh. You keep your eye on the mailbox. There's going to be something in it with your little name on it. And I'm going to be--aw, hell. Who knows how I'm going to be? But it doesn't really matter, does it? Because you have never asked me to be anything for you, and I thank you for that. I love you, sweet little girl. Bye-bye." {He kisses her puts her down. He gets his bag and starts to leave}

Laura: {With tears in her eyes} "Luke?" {He turns back and gives her one last look and then walks on. Laura and LuLu sadly watch him go and then leave the park}