"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Flight 457 from Houston to Buenos
Aires will be arriving on schedule. Please fasten your seat belts, and
remain seated until the aircraft has safely landed, and come to a complete
stop."
Luke tightened his grip on his wife's hand, trying to reassure her that everything would be all right. He closed his eyes, and reflected on all the events which had led up to their hurried departure from Texas. About a week ago, Luke received a large manila envelope with no return address, and a postmark from Argentina. Inside, he found a note composed of letters clipped from various magazines. It stated that it would be to his family's best interest for all of them to appear at the Hacienda del Marco before the week was up. The package also included a picture of Luke, Laura, and a two year old Luke Junior, which had been taken while they were outside in their own back yard less than a month ago. Whoever had sent this letter had been close enough to snap their picture without them knowing about it, so Luke decided he had better take the letter seriously.
Luke walked into his bedroom to find Laura sitting cross legged on their bed, watching an old black and white movie. Laura saw the envelope in his hands, and the worried expression on his face, and knew instantly she was in for some bad news. "What happened?" she asked, not sure if she really wanted to know.
"We got this in the mail today. No return address, of course, but it can only be one of two people. Who else would send us something like this?"
Laura slid the letter carefully out of the envelope, and looked it over. When she pulled out the photograph, she gasped realizing how close they had been. "Frank Smith, or Helena Cassadine," Laura answered frantically, "It has to be one of them, right? Do you think we should go?"
"I don't think we have much of a choice, do you? Of all the people we could have ticked at us, I wouldn't pick either of those two. It's probably best to see what this is all about. We'll leave tonight, so I can scope the place out first, while you stay at the hotel with Junior. Then, the next day, if it's safe - and only if it's safe, we'll all go together."
"Sounds like a plan," Laura answered, with a little waver in her voice. Luke noticed, sat down in front of her, and took both her hands.
"It's going to be all right. You know I would never put you or our son in danger. I will be there to protect you, but for right now, its probably safer if we are all together."
"You're probably right," she answered and quickly put her head down on her husband's lap before he had the chance to notice the tears welling up in her eyes. But Luke knew his wife all too well, and knew what she was trying to do. He ran his hand up and down her back, trying to offer what little comfort he could. He hated that Laura was involved in any of this. Why couldn't people just leave them alone? Then he looked down, and wiped the tears away from Laura's cheek with his thumbs.
"Laura, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that you have to put up with crap like this." Laura then brought her head up to face the man who was doing his best to console her, and hating himself because she was put in that situation in the first place.
"No, don't apologize. I knew full well what I was getting into the day we ran away together the first time. You didn't ask for this to happen, and it's not your fault. You know I would rather stand beside you in danger, than sit at home and wonder what was happening, or if I would ever see you again."
"We will get through this. No matter who it is this time, or what they want, we'll find a way around it. We always do. As long as we're together, we're pretty much invincible!!" As Luke was saying that last part, he made muscles with both his arms to give the impression that he really was superman. Laura smiled through her tears, and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
"I love you," Laura said simply. "You're right. What could possibly stop us?" Now Luke was the one smiling. He lay down backwards, and pulled Laura down on top of him. Laura lowered her head, and brushed her lips against her husband's. The kiss started slowly, but soon grew more passionate as Laura allowed herself to fall more heavily on Luke. Then, Luke flipped her over, never once losing contact with her mouth, and allowed his hands to roam freely over her body. Each of them knew that the other was scared, but trying to hide it. They soon became lost in each other, and for just a short while, there was no world outside of their room. That night, their love making was not only an expression of their love for each other, but also a way of providing the reassurance they both needed so desperately.
