Mr. Immigration Man II, Chapter 2





Luke was sitting in his office. Clutching a bottle of bourbon. Laura came in. The lights were off and the only light in the room was the glow from when Luke would take a drag on his cigar.

" Luke?"

" Babe, go home."

" No, Luke. I can't go. Why don't you come home with me. The club can run itself for one night."

" No. I can't go."

" I won't let you sit here, drowning yourself in booze. This isn't like you."

" Isn't it? Then what is me, darling?"

" You are a fighter, Luke. You always have been. You've never walked away from anything in your life. And when the goal is so important, NEVER!"

" Don't you know that there are some fights you can't win. She wants nothing to do with me. Nothing. You know what's the worst?"

" What?"

" She hasn't even yelled at me? I mean, a few raised words her and there, but no yelling. I look at her eyes, and I see a coldness that never was there before. And it scares me, darlin'. Cause everyday that goes by, the more time, I see those eyes setting in stone. I killed something between us, Laura. Something that I never thought could ever be gone. Not even when she was married to Cassadine, she didn't look at me that way. I am not reaching her. I am not affecting her. When all else used to fail, I could at least provoke a reaction from her. Now, nothing."

" You have to give her time.."

" Don't you understand woman? I am running OUT of time, where Bobbie is concerned."

" You just think that."

" No, I KNOW that."

" Well, then, it makes no sense for you to be WASTING time in the bottom of a bottle. You are going to come home; I will feed you and then you are going over to Bobbie's. I will give you blankets and supplies."

" Supplies?"

" Yes, you will stay camped out on her door, until she is willing to talk. If this is that important to you, then nothing else matters. Understood?"

" You see me sleeping on the stoop?"

" I see you doing WHATEVER you have to do, in order to get Bobbie back."

" Do you know how much I love you?"

" About as much I love you. Now, come on. I'm the designated driver."

Luke and Laura leave the office together.

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Bobbie held the card in her hands. She was standing outside of the offices of Alicia Warburton. She knew what she had to do: protect Lucas. She entered.

" Hello? May I help you?"

" I am Barbara Cassadine. I phoned you in my car, a few minutes ago."

" Ah, yes, Mrs. Cassadine. Ms. Warburton was on her way out the door, but agreed to see you. If you will wait for a few minutes, she'll see you."

" Thank you."

Bobbie sat in the waiting area. After a few minutes,

" Mrs. Cassadine. Ms. Warburton will see you."

Bobbie goes into the office. Standing to greet her was a well-dressed, immaculately coiffed woman.

" Mrs. Cassadine, Alicia Warburton. Nice to finally meet you."

She extended her hand and Bobbie shakes it.

" Ms. Warburton, nice to meet you."

" Shall we sit down?"

" Fine."

" I must say that I am surprised to hear from you. The last notice from the Cassadine attorneys that I had received, was that the case for which I was supposed to be a consultant, was no longer a Cassadine matter."

" That is correct. It is no longer a matter for Stefan Cassadine. But it has become a matter once again for me."

" For you, alone?"

" Yes. Is that a problem?"

" Well, Mrs. Cassadine. May I call you Barbara?"

" Bobbie."

" Bobbie. I am what you would call the best..and I would have to know, now that the Cassadine resources are no longer at your disposal.."

" Ms. Warburton."

" Alicia, please."

" Alicia. You don't worry about your money. I will do WHATEVER I have to do. I insure you your fees IF you insure me my son. I have to protect him. Now, if you don't think that you're up to the job, then I will go elsewhere. I was under the mistaken impression that you were one of the top 5 custody attorney's in New York State. If I am wrong and all you are is a suit that collects fees, then I will be on my way. Silly me, I thought that all I had read about you helping women in need was more than just a publicity sham. Goodbye."

Bobbie gets up and is going to leave.

" Bobbie. Wait. I was being presumptuous and mercenary talking about fees so soon. It's late, and I lose most of my tact this time of day. Why don't you come back, sit down, and we can split a bottle of Pelligrino and cheese and crackers. And you can outline me your case. If after hearing how I would approach the case, you still don't want me on the case, I will be sure to recommend a list of people that I think are top job.
OK?"

" Fine."

Bobbie comes back. And over the next hour or so, Bobbie explains the entire situation about Carly, Tony and Lucas. Alicia, at the end of the time, looks with a face of complete incredulity.

" Alicia, are you alright?"

" I am fine, Bobbie. In all my years, I have never handled a case quite like this. These circumstances are indeed unique."

" So, do you think that you can help me? Can I win? Can I bar my ex-husband from being in contact with Lucas?"

" I can't promise you anything. But if ever there were a case that for the child's own emotional stability that they needed a parent cut from their lives, this is such a case. Of course, we could find a judge who would believe that since your ex-husband did not know that he was sleeping with your daughter, that he should not be punished for it."

" Does it matter that he didn't know? He is still shacked up with her, and she's STILL pregnant? And THAT hideous situation is something that I just don't think that my son could grapple with at this time. Yet, the tension between all of us would be so obvious that Lucas would find out."

" Didn't you tell me that they are considering getting married?"

" Yes. They were going to go to Vegas, but those plans were changed. But the marriage is going to take place."

" Well, after that happens, things will become difficult for us. A two parent home, no matter how bizarre, will still look better than you, as a single parent. Especially if he decides to fight us on this. You picked the wrong time to divorce, Bobbie. If you were still married to Stefan, I could practically assure you that you could walk into court and receive almost anything that you would want."

" A piece of paper means that much?"

" In this case, yes. As a single mother, you have to work. Your...Ms. Roberts, does not have to. They will obviously bring up issues of daycare and whether Lucas will have a solid , stable environment."

" Do not tell me that my ex and my daughter spell stable."

" Depending on the judge, they do. Women still have a ways to go in the legal system. Some judges are modern, and others believe it was wrong for us to get the right to vote. Once your ex-husband tells all about your past, in front of a judge, Dr. Jones, willing to work on things, and marry and accept responsibility, will look like one put-upon guy, who just wants the best for his kids."

" Great. So, are you willing to take my case?"

" Yes. I will get to working on it now. I can file the papers by the morning."

" So, soon?"

" Yes, a preliminary injuction barring Dr. Jones from seeing your son should be ready by tomorrow afternoon."

" Well, here's my cellphone number. PLease call me when it is all done. Should I deliver it?"

" Do you think it would be best if I had it delivered to him by messenger?"

" I don't know. Why don't we do this? Once you have sent it to Tony, you phone me, and I will go and explain the situation to him."

" That sounds good. Well, Bobbie, we have an uphill battle. But I will do my best top protect you and Lucas."

" Thank you, Alicia. I guess I should let you go. You have work to do."

" That I do. Goodnight, Bobbie. Goodbye."

" Goodnight, Alicia. And thank you. You've given me the best news that I have had since the beginning of this nightmare. Bye."

Bobbie leaves her office, believing that she has done the only thing she could. Keeping focused on Lucas only strengthened her resolve.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stefan was in the conservatory with the architects when Katherine came in.

" Stefan? What happened here?"

" I decided that there needed to be some redecorating. Why don't we leave here, and go and sit in the living room."

" OK."

They get to the living room. Once they sit down, Katherine plants one on Stefan. They do some serious spit-swapping.

" Well. That's more like it, Mr. Cassadine. I have been away from you for far too long."

" I agree."

Katherine begins to kiss him once again. But, Stefan stops her this time.
" Katherine, stop."

" Stefan, what's wrong?"

" In a word, everything. And I don't know how to tell you any of this."

" Any of what? Whatever it is, just tell me. I know that we can handle any problem, as long as we're together."

" But, don't you see? That is the problem. We can't be together. Not any longer."