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When Cassidines Fall
"Who is president?" KC asks as she checks reflexes.
Asking Laura where she was bound to cause some confusion she'd
been out when transferred to Port Charles.
"Andreas Papandreou." Laura mutters sleepily.
"What year is it?" KC asks with some surprise at
Laura's answer.
"1981." Laura replies. "Why am I in the hospital?"
"You were in an accident."
"Where is my husband? Is his brother Stefan here? Ohmygod.
Nikolas! Is Nikolas okay? Where is my baby?" Laura starts
getting agitated. "Where is he? What have you done with him?
I want to see him."
"Nikolas is fine." KC replies soothingly. "He
wasn't in the accident with you."
Laura reaches out and grabs KC's hand. "You have to let me
see Stefan... he has to protect Nikolas."
"Protect Nikolas from whom?" KC asks. Laura turns her
head away unwilling to answer not knowing KC's loyalties. She
could be working for Helena. "Let me go see if I can track
down your husband or Stefan. You rest." KC leaves shutting
the door behind her. She walks down to the visitors lounge where
Luke is pacing impatiently. "Houston, we have a problem."
Luke looks over at her. "The nurse at the desk said she was
coming out of it. You have to let me see her."
"We need to talk first."
"The Hell we do!" Luke snarls and starts walking toward
Laura's room swiftly.
"She thinks it's 1981." KC calls after him.
Luke stops in his tracks and turns around. "What did you
say?!"
"I said she thinks it's 1981. She thinks the president is
some Andreas guy. Where was your wife in 1981?"
"Greece."
"She remembers Nikolas. Asked about him. Was very concerned
that he be protected but she didn't tell me from whom."
"I have to see her." But Luke starts walking back
toward KC
"How big of a shock is it going to be for her to see you?
Did you two know each other back then... is she going to
recognize you or think of you as a stranger?"
"She thought I was dead." Luke admits.
"Okay. So we can safely assume it will be a big shock. What
about other family members... Amy, her mother, your sister? We
need a connector somebody who is going to be able to balance
between then and now. Nikolas is out. She's expecting a baby or a
toddler and her son is definitely not that now."
"I'll call Lesley." Luke goes over to the bank of
phones and hesitates for a long moment then remembers where
Lesley would be calls the Elm St Clinic.
"I'm going to go back in and start... prepping her. Let her
know she has some time loss." KC tells Luke as he is waiting
for the clinic to pick up.
Luke nods but Lesley picks up right then. "Lesley, it's Luke.
Laura's awake but she has some memory loss. How soon can you get
here?..." Luke hangs up the phone. "She's on her way.
Dr Quartermaine will drive her over."
"Okay. When she gets here send her in. We'll let her know
you're alive and then you come in. I know this is frustrating but
we have to take this slow. You being alive will be a shock... but
I don't want it to send her into shock. Not when
she is still recovering from surgery. We need to figure out if
this is something I did... something in the surgery or if this is
just her being groggy from coming too. Maybe the rest of her
memories will come back in." KC runs her hand through her
hair. "You have to consider bringing Stefan Cassadine in on
this."
"Over my dead body." Luke snarls.
"She was asking about him... he would be a familiar face.
Unless you can track down her ex husband?"
"He's burning in hell. Remember, doc? I put him there."
"Ouch. Right. Okay. I'm going to go back in. Nobody comes in
until your mother in law gets here. Hell keep the nurses etc out
too. I don't want anything to jar her. Lets bring the shocks on
one at a time and only as much as she can handle. Mr Spencer, I
know you don't like Cassadines... you've made that very clear.
But think about what would be best for your wife and her recovery."
"We had a deal remember? No Cassadines." Luke reminds.
"It's your call." KC shrugs. "Let me know if you
change your mind." KC goes back into Laura's room shutting
the door after her. Turning around she sees Laura waving by the
window. She rushes over and puts a supporting hand at her back.
"Sit down before you fall down."
"There is snow on the ground. Where am I? What happened?"
"You were in an accident." KC repeats. "You're in
Port Charles, New York. At General Hospital."
Laura tries to rise. "I have to leave; I have to go back to
Greece. I can't be here. I have to be with Nikolas. She has him;
she arranged this."
"Nikolas is in Port Charles too. All you have to do is get
well." KC reassures. "Which is not what is going to
happen if you fall and break something."
"Who are you?"
"My name is Dr KC Ryan. I was hired by Stefan Cassadine and
retained by your husband for your care."
"Not Helena?"
"Nope. Not Helena." KC notes Laura's slump in relief.
She reaches over and takes Laura's wrist and checks her pulse.
"You're feeling a bit stressed out I'm sure. Why don't we
get you back to bed?" KC assists Laura in moving over to the
bed.
Laura stops dead in her tracks as she catches her reflection in
the mirror. Her hand comes to her face tracing the little crows
feet at the edges... the laugh lines. What should have been first...
the nice shiner from surgery is actually the last thing she
notices. "What happened to me? I'm... old." KC puts a
little more pressure on Laura to get her sitting down on the bed.
"What year is it? Tell me, Damn it!"
"It's December 2000."
"I've been in a coma for twenty years?!"
"No. You were in the accident a month ago. You can't allow
yourself to be distressed by this. I know it feels like I'm
asking the impossible. You did have a head injury in the accident...
among other injuries. You just woke up. Your other memories will
probably come back shortly."
"Probably?!"
"Your mother is on her way."
"Dr Hardy... I want to see Dr Hardy. IF I'm in GH then he'll
be here."
"I don't know who Dr Hardy is."
"He's chief of staff. GH is his hospital." Laura looks
at KC suspiciously. Any idiot should know that. This is some kind
of scam Helena is pulling to drive her crazy?