Luke walked into his bedroom and saw Laura sleeping on their bed. His half of the bed was still empty, and as he stared at it, he felt as if it was calling out to him. ‘It's okay, Spencer. Laura's been saving it for you.' And he wanted to believe it, but he didn't want to disturb her rest either. Plus, there was the part of him that felt he should ask her permission to return to his bed. This was the same place where he told Laura he would never forgive her and never step foot in this house again. He was the one who was wrong in that circumstance, and he had to allow Laura the right to choose how far their relationship was going to go, even for just the time being.
Luke looked towards the corner of the room and saw the chair that she used to sit in with Lulu in her arms. He remembered coming home at night and seeing both Laura and Lulu asleep there at times. It was always such a beautiful sight to come home to, like the women of the house felt the need to wait up for him in some way. He used to take Lulu from Laura's arms and put her back in her crib, and return to carry Laura into bed, trying to never wake her, but he always failed in that attempt. She used to wake up just enough for when he got into bed too, and she used to move over to him, resting her head on his chest. Luke brought the chair over next to Laura's side of the bed, grabbed a spare blanket and his pillows, and sat there quietly, taking in Laura's beauty until he fell asleep.
About an hour later, the phone rang. Laura woke up and answered it.
"Laura, it's Alexis. Is Luke there?"
"Yeah, hold on." Laura looked over at her sleeping husband. She forgot about the phone call and just stared at him. He looked like just a little kid when he slept, the same expression on his face as Lucky had when he slept. She got up slightly, and the phone receiver slipped from her hand, reminding Laura that Alexis was on the other line. "Luke? Luke, honey, wake up."
Luke jumped up at the call of his name and rushed over to Laura's side. "Baby, what's wrong?"
"Alexis is on the phone."
"Oh," Luke said, breathing a sigh of relief that Laura didn't have another one of her feelings. He picked up the phone and said, "Tash, find something?"
"Yeah. You were right about Greece. That's where Stefan is headed. He should be arriving soon, if he hasn't already."
"Leave it up to the woman to not get original in her kidnapping locations. Well, why don't we meet at my house tomorrow morning at 8."
"Don't you want to get started already?"
"Tash, the first thing you've gotta learn is a rested person is a clear thinking person. We all need to get some sleep and then we'll be able to come up with a plan tomorrow."
"Okay. I still have no idea why I'm trusting you, but it sounds logical. Do you want me to contact the commissioner?"
"I guess. He'll be really insulted if I didn't let him in on this. Tell him to meet here at 8 exactly so we can get started. And we're not going to be here for fun and games either."
"I understand, Luke. You don't need to spell it out. I'll see you tomorrow."
Luke hung up the phone and looked over at Laura who was staring at him, questions written all over her face. "Alexis discovered that Stefan did indeed go to Greece. Seems as if the old bat has got Nikky there."
"And we're all meeting here tomorrow to get him back?" Laura asked.
"To form a plan," Luke corrected.
Luke went back over to the chair and put the blanket around him. Laura continued to look at him as he closed his eyes. "Luke? Will you be going to Greece to get him back?"
Luke opened his eyes and saw that Laura was crying. "Of course I will. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't going to get him back for you." Luke wanted to take back those words as soon as he said them. He knew that they would just remind Laura that if this didn't happen, Luke wouldn't be in their room with her right now.
Laura was indeed reminded of the fact that they were separated. Then she concentrated on the chair he was sleeping in. ‘He doesn't even want to sleep in the same bed as me,' she thought to herself. Despite the great comfort she was getting from him being by her side during this crisis, she still felt the great emptiness that had taken over when Luke walked out.
Luke watched Laura, knowing what was going through her mind. This wasn't the time to think about their problems. She had enough stress because of Nikolas' kidnapping, and he wouldn't allow her to have to live with more stress right now. He went back over to the bed, sat down next to Laura and took her hand. "I didn't quite mean that the way it sounded. All I meant was that you should know that I will always be here for you."
Laura, trying to hold her tears back from coming down even more, said, "I know what you meant, Luke. And I'm so relieved that you're going to be the one to find him. I know you can do it. You can do anything."
"But."
"Luke, I need more than a rescuer right now. I need more than just some knight in shining armor coming to a lady's aid. I need my husband more than ever."
"Isn't that what I am?" Luke asked, not quite sure where this is leading.
"Of course, but I guess what I'm saying..." Laura stopped, not wanting to push Luke into a corner, forcing him to do something that he didn't want to do.
"Say it, Angel. Just tell me what you want." Luke tried to reassure Laura that he wouldn't get angry at anything she said right now by gently rubbing her hand.
"I know we have our problems, but I have to have hope that we can work through them. I have to know that you still want to be my husband in every sense of the word, and not just be the one who protects me when I'm hurt."
Luke smiled, knowing exactly what Laura wanted. He nodded, grabbed his pillows, and went to his side of the bed, getting under the covers slowly. "I just wanted to make sure that you wanted me back here after..."
"I've always wanted you here where you belong. I always have and always will, Luke. I love you."
"I love you too, Angel," Luke said, taking Laura tightly in his arms. "I love you too."
