Chapter 17

“The course of true love never did run smooth.” William Shakespeare 

It is one week after the Nurses ball. School is out for the summer and Liz is on 
her way to work at Ruby’s. She sees Helena walking toward her, and they both 
smile. 

H: My dear, how was the dance? 

L: (smiling) It was *wonderful*! Thank you so much for the dress. 

H: Was your beau pleased? 

L: Yes. In fact, EVERYONE loved the dress. I got to wear it twice. 

H: Really? Where else did your young man whisk you off to? 

L: (pleased with herself) Well, actually I dared him to crash a party for Jerry 
Jax and Katherine Be… Jax. 

H: (stunned) MY! You *are* an audacious young lady. You remind me of myself when 
I was your age. (Curious) But weren’t the Jaxs upset that you were there? 

L: No. It’s kinda funny. Mrs. Jax said almost the same thing you did. She did 
make us stop drinking the Champaign, though. MAJOR bummer. 

H: (perplexed) Yes, that would be, as you say, a “bummer”. So, do you and your 
beau have any big plans in the near future? 

L: Yeah. There’s going to be a big Fourth of July picnic down by the river. I 
heard that the fireworks are supposed to be terrific this year. 

A twist to Helena’s original plan is forming. If Liz knew who she was talking 
to, she would have been able to see the wheels turning. But, because Liz still 
doesn’t even know Helena’s name, she just assumes the kind, older lady is still 
trying to figure out what the word “bummer” means. Liz gets that look quite 
often from her Grandmother. 

H: Ahhhh, yes. I had almost forgotten about that American holiday. (Brightly) I 
was out on the river yesterday, and I noticed this quaint little island. It 
looks as if it would be the perfect, romantic spot to watch fireworks from. 
Maybe you two could boat over to it. 

L: That sounds great, but we don’t have a boat. 

H: Well, by all means, allow me to furnish you with one. 

L: Oh, I really can’t let you. My Gram is still kinda mad I let you buy me that 
dress. She would probably go postal if I borrowed a boat from you. 

H: Then we can keep it our little secret. You can tell your grandmother you won 
a contest on the radio. I understand they do those things quite often here. 
Please? It would make an old woman so happy. 

Liz is delighted at the idea of someone giving her things without strings 
attached. And one little secret won’t hurt anyone. 

L: Really?!? 

H: (smiling) Yes, really! 

L: Oh, thank you! You’re like my fairy Godmother. 

Liz giggles with delight and hugs Helena hard. Helena is, once again, taken 
aback at Liz’s public display of gratitude. She is also trying to hide her 
disgust at being referred to as a “fairy Godmother”. 

H: (pulling away) Well, you just allow me to arrange everything, my dear. 

L: How can I contact you? 

H: Oh, no my dear. You won’t have to do that. You just be at pier 54 on the 4th, 
and the boat will be there. (Looking at her watch) Well, look at the time, I 
really must be getting along. Now, remember this is our little secret. Tell no 
one, and your “fairy Godmother” just might have a little surprise waiting for 
you on that boat. 

L: Thank you! 

Liz does a little dance of joy when Helena is out of site. She begins to work on 
her story for her Grandmother. It has to be good, or Audrey will know something 
is up. 

Later on that day, Luke and Laura are meeting Lucy at the Outback. Katherine is 
sitting at one of the outside tables doing paperwork. Luke smiles one of his 
wicked smiles and walks up to Katherine’s table. 

Luke: Sooo, Blondie. How are you? 

K: Whatever you want Luke, I’m not interested. 

Luke: Well, little darlin’, I just want to congratulate you. I see you didn’t 
waste anytime sinking your manicured nails into another rich man. And you have a 
bun in the oven to boot. I’ll bet that’s just killing Vlad. (Deep sigh) I guess 
that’s a side effect of spending all that time on Goon Island… the only blanks 
you shoot are in the bedroom. 

Katherine glares at Luke, and then stares coldly at Laura. It is a stare that 
sends shivers up Laura’s spine. 

L: But I trust you enjoyed your honeymoon in Vegas. I understand the view from 
suite 652 is wonderful. You really looked great in that wedding dress, too. Good 
thing you married Jax, ‘cause the Count would have made you wear black. 

K: What else do you know? 

L: Oh, lots of things. You want me to tell you what you ate, and how many times 
you threw up? Oh, by the way, they had to burn that blackjack table, babe. 

K: (coldly) I’d suggest you stop prying into other peoples business, and take a 
closer look at the people you’ve surrounded yourself with. You may be surprised 
at the nail marks you see. 

Laura is afraid that Katherine is mad enough to tell Luke about the incident on 
Spoon Island. She knows Luke will continue to egg Katherine on if she doesn’t 
get him out of there soon. 

Laura: Luke, why don’t you go in and see if Lucy is there. I’ll be right in. 

Luke notices the way the women are looking at each other, then turns to go 
inside. 

Luke: Don’t forget Katie, you have a doctor’s appointment next Friday at 9 am 
sharp. 

Katherine glowers at him. Luke smiles as he goes inside. Katherine then glares 
at Laura. 

K: I’d suggest you call off your husband, IF you don’t want him to know what I 
know about his sweet, innocent, trustworthy, faithful wife. 

L: (calmly) That was one incident, months ago. 

K: Really? If you count the meeting in the park three weeks ago, that would be 
two. Or, did you tell him about that one? 

L: (surprised, then irked) You set that up, didn’t you? 

K: Oh, no, I was just a witness. Tell me something… Why, if you care about 
Stefan and Nikolas, would you put them in danger like that? I guess you never 
*really* cared about either of them, if you did you wouldn’t have left them on 
that island in Greece. 

L: (angry) How DARE you! You have no idea what I went through. 

K: (disgusted) Oh, please. You left Greece so fast when you heard Luke was 
alive, the dust *still* hasn’t settled in Stefan’s heart and mind. And the scars 
you left Nikolas run deep. It’ll be a wonder if he *ever* has a stable 
relationship with a woman. 

L: YOU have no idea the sacrifice I made when I left him there. 

K: SACRIFICE? (With great disdain) You don’t know what that is. MY *mother* 
sacrificed for ME. When she became pregnant, her family told her to give me 
away. When she refused… they rejected her. Threw her out of the house, out of 
their lives. She *sacrificed* *every* *lifelong* relationship she had to be with 
*her* child. YOU didn’t give up a thing for Nikolas, did you? You would rather 
have been with Luke, than to stay in Greece and see that your son had a 
relationship with his mother. 

L: (hurt) You don’t have children, yet. When you have your children, you’ll 
understand it’s not always that easy. 

K: Will understand? I know right now. I know that there is no man on earth who 
could make me leave these children. 

L: (probing) Not even Stefan? 

K: Not even him. Only the *grave* will come between *me* and *my* children. Now, 
I want you do something for me. 

L: (apprehensively) What? 

K: I want you to convince your husband to quit having me followed, or it just 
might slip out that I saw you and Stefan together, *again*. 

Laura turns and walks away, and Katherine glowers after her. Laura enters the 
Outback and joins Luke at a table by the bar. 

Luke: What took you so long? Were you telling the box of hair which end to 
diaper and which end to feed? 

Laura: (nervously) Something like that. Honey, why don’t we leave Katherine 
alone. You know… stop having her followed. She’s not involved with Stefan any 
more. There’s no point to it. 

Luke: (suspiciously) Darlin’ you’re not goin’ soft on Katie, are you? You can’t 
possibly feel sorry, for Blondie. 

Laura: (exasperated) No! I’m just tired of trying to keep track of all of the 
people you have on your ‘A’ list. 

Luke: Wellll, if it means that much to you. Besides I can use the manpower 
elsewhere. 

Laura: Good. 

Lucy enters with a disgusted look on her face. She joins the Spencers at their 
table. 

Later that evening, Alexis enters her suite at the Port Charles hotel. Ned is 
coming over later, and she can’t wait to see what he has in store for her. As 
she looks around the room she sees Helena’s cane. Helena emerges from the 
bedroom. Alexis is giving her a strange look. 

H: What? 

A: What do you want this time, Helena? 

H: Oh, my dear, I have big plans. And I want *you* to be a part of them. 

A: I’d rather not. 

H: You will anyway. And this concerns the Spencers. Aren’t you the least bit 
curious? 

Alexis scowls at Helena. Then decides that she needs to cooperate, so Helena 
will leave before Ned arrives.

A: (resigned) Alright. What are your “big plans”? 

H: I want you to sleep with Luke. 

A: What?!? 

H: You know, show him a “good” time. Maybe even, how did I hear it put, give him 
a “Lewinski”. I’m not exactly sure what’s meant by that, but if it’s good enough 
for the President of the United States, surely it’s good enough for Luke 
Spencer. They’re both commoners. 

A: I would rather DIE than have sex with that man. 

Helena bursts into peels of laughter. Alexis has never seen Helena laugh like 
this before. Only when she would mockingly laugh at Stefan and herself when they 
were growing up. 

H: (laughing) Ha, ha, ha! And people accuse me of having no sense of humor. 
(Regaining her composer) Actually, I want you to get a boat for me. Here is the 
card with the name and address of the person you are to acquire the boat from. 
It needs to be at pier 54 on the 4th of July. Would you like to know the rest of 
the plan? 

Alexis tries not to envision what Helena has planned with a boat and the 
Spencers. It leaves her harried and almost unable to look herself in the mirror 
after each of Helena’s “assignments” as it is. 

A: No. I’m sure that’s more than enough. 

Helena walks toward the door, opens it and turns to look at Alexis. 

H: Oh, I’ll need you to come by my yacht on the 4th and pick up a gift basket. 
You will leave the basket on the boat. Don’t forget. 

A: I won’t. 

Helena leaves and Alexis tries to shake off the dirty feeling she gets every 
time she has to do Helena’s bidding. Alexis goes into the bedroom, showers and 
changes into a negligee and a robe. She hears a knock on the door. She opens it 
to see a smiling Ned. He is holding a picnic basket. 

N: Hello, counselor. 

A: Come on in. 

Ned enters and sets the basket on the floor by the couch. He turns around and 
leers at Alexis in such a way that she actually blushes. 

A: I suddenly feel a breeze in here, the way you’re undressing me with you eyes. 

N: Well, I think I can make you a whole lot warmer. 

He walks over to her and kisses her passionately. She removes his jacket, and 
unbuckles his belt. He removes her robe and kisses her neck, then undoes his tie 
and kicks off his shoes, while she unbuttons his shirt. He whisks her off the 
bedroom and takes her with reckless abandon. 


Meanwhile, Katherine is sitting in the Jax apartment, at the kitchen table doing 
paper work. The front door opens, and Jerry enters. He has a video box in his 
hand. 

J: (doing his best Ricky Ricardo) Lucy! I’m home! 

K: I’m in the kitchen! 

Jerry walks in a gives her a peck on the cheek. He reaches down and pats her 
belly. 

J: So Lucy, how’re the little Rickies today? 

K: (smirking) I wish you wouldn’t switch metaphors. 

J: Oh, sorry, Lois. All right, how are the Krypto-kids doing? 

K: (smiling) They’re fine. How was your day? 

J: (rolling his eyes) As good as sitting in an office gets. You know, I have 
some time coming up. What say you and I take off somewhere? (Enticingly) We 
could go some place that has *lots* of shopping. 

K: That sounds wonderful. I couldn’t go until after the 4th of July, though. And 
now that I’m sure *no one* is following us… 

J: What do you mean? 

K: Luke Spencer has had me followed. He knows everything about our trip to 
Vegas, and he even knows I have a doctors appointment next week. But I took care 
of him. 

J: (half concerned) Lois, I hope you don’t mean that in a “mobster” sort of way. 

K: (laughing) NO! I mean that in a “I threatened his wife I would tell Luke what 
I know” sort of way. Now, the only person I could imagine who would be having me 
followed is Stefan. 

J: Yes, of that I have nooo doubt. Well, enough of that talk. Are you ready to 
watch “Conspiracy Theory”? I actually remembered to pick it up on the way home. 

K: Let’s seeee. Do paperwork or watch Mel Gibson. (Moving her hands up and down 
as if to “weigh” her options) Paperwork… Mel. (Sighing) I suppose I’ll have to 
go with Mel. 

J: I’m glad you didn’t just jump into this decision. All right, now *where* do 
you want to watch it? 

K: In bed, in case I fall asleep. 

Jerry stands up and offers his hand to Katherine, who takes it and stands up. 
She looks at the cover of the movie case, and then looks at Jerry, and back 
again. 

K: I never noticed before, (looking intently at Jerry) but you look an awful lot 
like Mel. 

J: Really? (Looking at the box, then rubbing his face) I always thought I was 
*much* better looking than him. 

K: Much? (Shaking her head) I wouldn’t go THAT far. 

Jerry begins to tickle her, and she runs into the bedroom to get away from him. 
He follows quickly, and shuts the door. 


Alexis and Ned are reclining in bed, the open picnic basket between them. Ned is 
feeding her cheese on a cracker. He kisses her cheek and neck as she chews. 

N: Thank you, counselor. 

A: For what? 

N:(smiling) Letting me show you my legal briefs. 

A: I must admit. I didn’t see them for long. I did enjoy going over those other 
matters you wanted to show me. 

They both giggle, then kiss. Alexis has a flash of Helena, and suddenly becomes 
uncomfortable. 

N: What’s wrong? 

A: Nothing. I just realized how much I owe you. 

N: You don’t owe me a thing. 

A: But I do. You were the only one there for me when Stefan threw me out of the 
family. I don’t know what I would have done without you. 

N: I’m glad I was there for you. I was thinking it may be about time to go 
public with our “affair”. 

Alexis becomes more edgy at the thought of how Helena would use Ned to hurt her. 

A: Oh, Ned. I don’t think that’s such a good idea. Not now anyway. Let’s wait a 
few months. 

N: I’ll tell you what. Why don’t we go to the 4th of July picnic together and 
let people draw their own conclusions? I won’t take no for an answer. 

Alexis smiles nervously. She loves Ned, and she is sure Ned loves her, even 
though neither of them have spoken the words. She knows she can’t keep stringing 
Ned along forever, and she doesn’t want to. It’s her fear of Helena that is 
holding her back. 

A: Well, if you won’t take no for answer, then I suppose I’ll have to say yes. 
Just promise we can take it slowly. 

N: I promise. Now, counselor, I have this sudden urge to kiss *every* inch of 
your body. 

A: Every inch, huh? Sounds like you intend to be thorough. 

Ned moves the picnic basket to the floor, then begins kissing her neck and 
slowly makes his way to her shoulder.

N: (between kisses) Very… Thorough… I may need to spend… extra… time on… certain 
areas. 

A: (breathless) If you must. 

Alexis closes her eyes and enjoys Ned’s attentions. She puts away all thoughts 
of Helena, and luxuriates in his warm kisses.