Luke & Laura's Return #1-2, Luke & Laura's Return #3, Luke & Laura's Return #4, Luke & Laura's Return #5,  Luke & Laura's Return #6, Luke & Laura's Return #7, Luke & Laura's Return #8, Luke & Laura's Return #9, Luke & Laura's Return #10, Luke & Laura's Return #11, Luke & Laura's Return #12

Luke & Laura Return #12  March 19 - June 11, 1996  10 hour original edit

DVD #12A   Luke intercepts Lucky as the kid stuffs food down and gets ready to rush to the hospital to see Laura and Lulu. Luke tells him to do something his mother would really appreciate and brings up a bag holding the Q vase. He tells Lucky to return the vase and apologize. A discussion about responsibility occurs. Lucky says he will reimburse Luke for the expense of redeeming the vase. Luke asks how? Lucky doesn't catch on and doesn't say the magic words of 'not by gambling'. Luke gets a little frustrated and says this parenting thing is rough and will drive him bonkers. He tells Lucky that he won't be a Wally Cleaver and walk Lucky up to the door, but he does trust Lucky to do the right thing.

Jason is outside sweeping up when Luke arrives. Luke is also surprised at seeing Jason there so early. Mike comes out with a jacket. He asks Jason to put it on, Jason is rude and says no. Luke tells him to wear the jacket, its part of the uniform. He talks a bit about the first valet (Stone) and how good he was. Luke then tells Jason to help Mike with the liquor inventory. Mike jokingly asks if Luke thinks that he is dipping into the inventory. Luke responds that the numbers haven't added up since Sonny sold out.

Edward sees the empty space where the vase should be. He says thats it , he is calling the police. Alan says "Oh, Father, don't be an ass." An argument starts up just as Emily comes in, concerning the insignificant costs of the vase compared to other 'projects' the family is involved with, including as Alan brings up, keeping Tracy at bay. Emily screams for them to stop, and then says she stole the vase. They, of course, don't believe her and the ranting really starts up.

Lucky then arrived. He apologized, told them the whole story and apologized again. They accept his apology and tell him that he is still welcome in their home. He leaves for home and Emily sees him to the door. At the door he really apologizes to Emily and tells her that he will never take advantage of their friendship again. At home, Lucky can't sleep and is still up when Luke comes home. He tells Luke that the grace the Quartermaines showed him made the whole thing worse.

Luke, Laura, Lucky, Mac, Katherine all receive an invite to the reading of Damian’s will. Mac, Katherine, Luke, Laura and Lucky gather at the lawyer's office. They say Damian had no friends, so why are they invited to the will reading? Lucky especially doesn't understand why he is there. Luke sees a theme, "Men who hated Damian and women who hated him too." Katherine thinks it's creepy, but she just bets Lucy is also involved.

Lucy is wearing a terrific dress for a will-reading, black with lots of bows. She looks around the room and thinks maybe everyone there is going to get money in atonement. As she's being talked out of this by Luke, the lawyer, Eugene Sandoval, comes in. Garcia is also there to observe the proceedings. He announces he is there to determine who had the most to gain from Damian’s death.

The lawyer starts by announcing that Jennifer is not there, but her bequest is a portrait of their mother, as Damian figured if dear old dad had meant for her and BillyBob to have any money, he'd have left her some. Mr. Sandoval then plays a video, with Damian saying he hopes everyone likes their gifts. The lawyer then hands out packages. Katherine, trying not to look greedy, asks, "Is there anything for me?" When told she'll be last, she gets a bit huffy. They all look at their packages like there might be bombs in them, but Kevin breaks the ice by opening his. The note says, "Dear Norma, this is you, hope it's not too small.” The bequest is a red and black teddy.

Mac figures Eve is next. Note, "You're always clueless, so here's a hint. Consider the glass a mirror." It's a broken magnifying glass. Mac knows he's been made a fool of, and says, "Damian is a lot funnier dead than he ever was alive."

Laura is next, curious as to what's in her package. It's a Geiger counter, "For beachcombing when your husband's luck runs out, as it most certainly will." Luke explains this makes sense with the toxic waste disposal plant. Bobbie's note says, "For those cold lonely wet nights when bedfellows become strangers." It's a dead rat. Bobbie is horrified.

Luke's note says, "We owe you" and it's a picture of Frank. Luke breaks it over his knee. Lucy can't bear it, and opens hers, "Contact me any time." It's a crystal ball. Lucy wanted more. She hisses to Kevin, "I was expecting something else." "Such as?" "MORE. MUCH more!"

Meanwhile, Lucky is looking at his note, "This bequest is a late one, and it officially erases your debt of $700 dollars." Laura tears up the note, and they gather around the VCR once more. We watch Katherine's face (and Kevin and Lucy behind her) as Damian says he'd promised to always take care of Katherine, and he was leaving her everything, all the real estate, the stocks, bonds, and cash. Kevin is interested, Lucy disgusted. Katherine is totally stunned. She doesn't believe it. "He really DID love me." Mac looks disappointed.

3/22 Luke reads the announcement that Damian’s funeral is that night. He tells Laura and Justus that he never misses an opportunity to party! Sonny comes in, Luke tells him that he is considering going to Justus’s funeral. Justus votes to forget Damian ever lived. Luke agrees, they should at least spit on his grave. Mac walks in and Luke teases him about not drinking at his own club. Laura is still curious who will show up for Damian’s funeral. Mac announces that at least Katherine will be there. She is shown there alone waiting. Ned shows up to join her, while everyone else parties at Luke’s.

All the "suspects" wandered into Luke's Club and staged an impromptu wake for the late, lamented Damian Smith. Eventually, the crowd included Mike, Luke, Laura, Doc Tony, Bobbie, Kevin, Lucy, Mac, Katherine, Lily, and Sonny. Garcia wanders in and Luke invites him to join them in a drink to the dead. Garcia told the stunned crowd of merry-makers that Damian's death was NOT caused by the fire, it was murder!

3/25 Garcia goes over the facts of the Damian murder case with the suspects. He was killed by blunt trauma to the head and he was dead before the fire. He asks who hated him enough to bash him upside the head with a two by four. Luke says he did! Lucy gets smart about it, Justus advises her and everyone else to keep quiet. Garcia tells them if they can provide an alibi that they are off the hook. Sonny steps up and tells Garcia to leave his friends alone as Sonny is the one he wants.

Garcia tells Mac that a PCPD cop was on Smith’s payroll. Garcia asks him if he killed Damian? Mac says no, if he did, it wouldn’t have looked like murder. Mac is game to go to Albany with him but he can’t tell Katherine anything about the trip. Luke and Laura throw together a birthday party for Tony. Bobbie is also surprised as they bring out the huge cake as she forgot his birthday.

3/29 Luke holds a benefit to rebuild Ward House. Edward mouths off to Jason, who is working as a valet. Jason quits and Luke makes Edward take over as the valet. Lois announces to Luke that there has been a last minute talent change. Luke says it is fine as long as it is a band this crowd wants to see.

Luke introduces “All 4 One” who sing the whole scene while we get the usual shots of the various club denizens listening. Laura introduces Justus who talks about the Ward House then unexpectedly announces Eddie Maine who also performs. Afterwards, everyone teases Edward who is now retrieving cars for the patrons. Brenda freezes as a car heads straight for her.

4/1 As everyone ribs Edward about his new job and how much he made in tips, Brenda walks away from the crowd. Suddenly, there is a screech of tires, a flash of headlights, and she's broadsided by a car. Lily tried to push her out of the way, but she was seconds too late. Jax calls an ambulance and Brenda is rushed away. Those inside Luke's quickly find out what happened and express horror.

Laura tells Justus that the night was a success in terms of raising money for Ward House. They are $5,000 past their goal. Luke points Jason in the direction of work on the docks since he wants to avoid daily contact with the Quartermaines. Robin pours her heart out to Laura about the old Jason being gone.

4/2 Bobbie visits Laura and Lesley Lu, where she gives some clothing for LuLu. Laura expresses some amazement at Bobbie's niceness. When Bobbie asks why, Laura replies that it was hard to know where she stood with Bobbie, they haven't always been friendly. They then get into a talk about mother-daughter relationships. Bobbie tells her that Emily called Monica "mom". Laura showed her pictures of Ruby, Luke and Bobbie from way back. Bobbie mentions that she wonders if that is how a daughter of hers would look like.

4/3 Luke is lying on the sofa reading a book on Lotus 1-2-3, a plate balanced on his chest. Lucky schlumps down the stairs complaining that he overslept, why didn't anyone wake him? Luke explains the new house rules, which basically amount to taking responsibility for one's self. Lucky, somewhat taken aback, tries a technique which has worked in the past, divide and conquer: "This was Mom's idea, wasn't it?" But Luke, who has learned a thing or two about parenting lately, responds, "I stand with her."

Lucky, retreating to a neutral corner for the moment, sees a computer on the table and asks about it. Luke explains; Justus got new computers for the Foundation, and this is the old one. Lucky speculates about the system's specifications, and Luke explains that there is a catch. Luke enumerates Lucky's debts, $1500 to the emergency backpack, $500 to the club, $1700 to cover the cost of getting the Q's vase back. Lucky doesn't know where to get the money? He could "sling hash", but then his grades would suffer and he'd never get into college and his life would be ruined.

Luke listens to this, amused. Then Lucky makes the predictable suggestion that he could "go for the quick buck." Luke explains that Laura realizes that both he and Lucky need something productive to keep them out of trouble. Lucky's grades haven't been very good lately, so Luke offers him a deal. He will take $20 off the debt for each A, $10 for every B, and the debt goes up for any D's or F's. The computer is supposed to help him with school-work.

Lucky tries the divide-and-conquer approach one more time, suggesting that Luke never cared about Lucky's grades, so clearly Laura put Luke up to this. Luke metaphorically explains that he does care about the grades if they indicate a problem. Lucky points out that it's a bribe. Luke suggests that he think of it as a gamble, on himself, if he has the courage.

Lucky tries whining about Luke taking all the fun out of the computer. Luke shows not a shred of sympathy, so Lucky tries again. He's still under "house arrest", but he has an "electronic tutor" now. Luke gets the LOD, "Yeah, and ain't she built! What's the matter? Not big enough jugabytes for you?” Lucky is upset that his parents don't trust him to stay away from cards without some incentive. Luke explains that he knows Lucky needs the risk, and they need to find something else less hazardous to occupy him. Lucky insists that he is himself, not Luke, and Luke says, right, "That's because you have two parents kicking your butt." Lucky finally gives in and starts negotiating on the price for an A, and they agree on $25. Later, Lucky comes home announcing that he got an A on a pop quiz. We leave him at the keyboard of the computer, playing cards.

4/8 Bobbie turns to Luke for assistance when the loan shark decides to call the bill past due. He asks no questions and offers to juggle the books and pay her debt. He mentions Tony and she says, absolutely not. Luke says he'll make the payment for her and ventures down to the docks. Luke handles Bobbie’s loan shark Sonny’s help. Bobbie tells Luke the truth about wanting to find her daughter. We see Carly Roberts packing, presumably to leave for Port Charles.

4/10 Laura tells Justus that support for him is growing on the city council. She raves if they had they election tomorrow that he would win! He somberly receives the news and she asks about his lack of enthusiasm. She reminds him that people are counting on him, she is counting on him! She is here for only one reason, because she believe in him!

4/12 A latex-gloved Garcia prepares to either go through evidence or do a cavity search on a prisoner. He inspects a small item then begins to make a pencil rubbed etching on a piece of paper. After looking at the impression, he calls Luke and requests that he come in for questioning. Luke jests with his family about being questioned, but Lucky appears worried. Emily chats with Lucky at school. Lucky is very agitated that he gave Luke a good reason to kill Damian, and he's afraid Luke might have done it. Emily tries to reassure him, but Lucky rushes off to try to help his father.

Luke again attempts to reassure Laura, but then mentions that she's a suspect herself. She admits she is a logical suspect since she had motive, opportunity, and also recently blasted a guy into the next world.

Garcia orders a test on something that belongs to Luke. Just then, Lucky shows up and says they're making a mistake suspecting Luke. Lucky tries diligently to give his father an alibi but instead manages to tighten the noose by blurting out the story of Lucky's gambling losses and Damian's intervention on his behalf. Finally, he confesses to the murder himself.

Luke and Laura banter playfully about Damian before slipping down to the floor for a bit of shag tag. Luke nuzzles Laura sensuously. Meanwhile, Lucky is busy spinning a yarn about how he killed Damian with a lamp. Garcia counters that they know Damian was killed with a wooden object. Garcia lectures Lucky about trying to obstruct justice then sends him home. Officer Johnson tells Garcia that the murder weapon was a baseball bat. Garcia replays the tape of Lucky mentioning that Luke got some baseball equipment including a bat for the Ward House.

4/15 Luke and Laura continue to banter and tease each other about Damien's murder when Garcia arrives to question Luke. Luke jokes that he was feeling left out, he was so far down on his list of suspects. Garcia wants to go over Luke’s statement the night of the fire. Luke accuses him of trying to trip him up. Garcia wants to know where Luke was the night of the fire. Luke gets very sarcastic at the idea that he would leave his wife and baby in a burning building. Lucky shows up and Luke realizes he has been talking to Garcia.

Luke’s expresses outrage at the police harrassment. The Spencer parents are even more incensed as they question Garcia about trouncing the kid's rights (no parent was present). Garcia informs them that Lucky came to him in a feeble attempt to protect Luke. He then questions Luke about a missing lighter and some sports equipment which Luke had donated to Ward House. Garcia then informs them that Damien was killed by a wooden bat.

Luke goes down to the PCPD for further questioning. Garcia tells him that obviously whoever killed Damian had caught him in the act of setting the fire. Luke had a strong motive giving that his wife and baby were in the house, and he suggests that Luke acted to protect his family. Garcia proposes what he believes happened that night, complete with a black and white shot of Luke’s suggested actions.

4/17 Luke, Laura, and Mike are in the back room at Luke’s. Mike is playing pool while Luke and Laura discuss Garcia's questioning of Lucky. Lucy bursts in and says what a coincidence it is that all of the interested parties are there. She tells them she has an idea that Lukes should be a coffee house during the day where people could cruise through cyberspace. They could even have poetry readings. Luke nixes both ideas. Lucy then says that they need to redecorate and she has brought swatches. She likes the black, but they could go with the midnight blue.

Luke once again nixes the idea of redecorating. Laura asks Lucy what's the matter, if the redecorating is about losing Deception. Lucy tells her how upset she is about losing her company. Luke questions why she trusted Edward in the first place. Lucy tells them that she's going to get back at both Edward and Kathy. Lucy and Laura comment on the investigation of Damian's murder and how the police are handling it.

Justus has joined the group at Luke’s and asks Luke what Garcia said to him. Luke tells him that Garcia said the Luke killed Damian. Justus tells him the evidence is just circumstantial. Lucy comments that Luke has nothing to worry about with Justus as his lawyer. Luke tells her that Justus isn't his lawyer because of the reelection campaign, but Lucy doesn't think that is a good reason. Laura tells her that they need Justus as a councilman, and Luke's well being really isn't her concern. Lucy walks away and joins Mike at the pool table.

Luke goes to talk to Sonny who tells him that if he did kill Damian, he'll take care of him. Sonny asks Luke if he killed Damian? Luke replies that he did. Sonny says "liar".

Laura apologizes to Lucy for what happened earlier. Lucy invites Laura and Luke to dinner at the lighthouse. Laura tries unsuccessfully to get out of it, but Lucy won't let her. Luke comes over and Laura tells him about Lucy's invitation. Luke asks who's cooking and Lucy replies, "Kevin, of course." Reluctantly, they agree to go.

Mike comments on their afternoon gathering calling is the "Wednesday afternoon pool club." Luke says that maybe Sheryl Crow will do an album about them. Suddenly, Lucy gets one of her psychic visions. Everyone gathers around and asks what she sees. She tells them that she doesn't have a clear picture, but it's getting clearer. She sees something that looks "like a mugshot with numbers underneath. She sees L. Spencer and tells them that Luke is going to be arrested.

Lucky fills Emily in on his going to talk to Garcia and possibly placing the murder weapon in his father’s hands. Emily is shocked when he tells her how he confessed to Damian’s murder in an attempt to protect his father.

4/19 At the Spencer house, the newspeople started to gather outside the door. Luke wondered why Garcia hadn't arrived yet. Luke, Laura and Lucky were even more surprised when Edward Quartermaine appeared on their doorstep. Edward wanted to tell Luke that he would support him in any and every way possible, if Luke was arrested. Edward left and the Spencers wondered if he offered to help because he had a guilty conscience.

Justus phoned Luke and tipped him off about their being an "imminent arrest" in Damian’s murder as soon as tonight. He told Luke, "I know you're NOT guilty!". Luke said that if he was arrested he didn't want Justus to act as his attorney. He said Justus couldn't afford the bad press it would entail. Justus hung up and then dialed PCPD; he asked to be connected to Detective Garcia. As he was making the call, Edward entered the room and came up behind him. Before the call was connected to Garcia's office, Edward cut the call off. "You don't want to make that call" he told Justus quietly.

Meanwhile, at the Spencer house, there was a knock at the door. Luke opened it and Garcia told him that he had a warrant for the arrest of Laura Spencer!

4/22 Her prints are all over the Louisville Slugger that Garcia has pegged as the murder weapon. Luke is amazed that such a flimsy connection led to an arrest. Why he too had physical contact with the bat (remember, he purchased the thing), but no his prints are not there, just Laura's. Lucky is understandable shocked, horrified, upset, and hostile to Garcia, who maintains that because of Laura's priors handcuff's are mandatory. Laura, being brave for the benefit of Lucky, quietly submits to Garcia's demands, telling Lucky that a mistake has been made and all will be as it should be soon.

Luke goes with Laura to the jailhouse. Lucky puts up a protest and suggest that the Spencers get a sitter but they quickly tell him that it is he and he alone that they trust this most important job of looking after his sister. At the jail, Laura is humiliated by a strip-search and placed behind bars after asst. DA Dara Jensen tells those present that its too late to roust a judge for a bail hearing, Luke is forced to go home alone. Laura sits alone in her jail cell, crying.

Justus wants Edward to stay out of it, but he will do no such thing. Edward suggests that Justus run his statement by him before you tell it to Garcia. Justus hems and haws before he relents. He talks about all that has been going on in his life lately, and all the losses he has suffered, etc, when EdQ interrupts him to tell him to focus on the issues at hand. Justus then gets down to brass tacks and tells what he knows about the night of the Ward House fire. As EdQ listens intently, Justus relates what happens in flashbacks. (It should be noted that Justus's flashbacks are in color while Garcia's flashbacks were all in black and white). Justus relates how Damien had been coming to the office lately with insulting offers to buy Ward House. The day of his demise, he came again, but it was different. This time he touched Keisha. Justus wanted to bump him off then and there, but managed to restrain himself. He and Damien exchanged words and Damien took offense at some remark that Justus made, tore up the check, and said that when next they met, Ward House would just be a blip in history.

Justus took the threat seriously and later that night went to check on Ward House. Sure enough Damien was there, lighting a cloth to burn the joint down. Justus saw red and picked up the first handy thing (a Louisville slugger bat) and hit Damien (fortunately for him, he was wearing gloves). Next thing he knew, the place was up in flames. He tried to smoother the flames, but the fire was out of control. He ran outside to pull the fire alarm, and then returned to the house, where he met Luke and learned that there were others in the house. They went in and rescued Laura and Lulu.

Edward understands and says that there is no need to tell that story to the police. Damien was evil incarnate and deserved everything he got. Justus agrees and feels no remorse for killing Damien. But he can't let an innocent man go to jail. He thought he could get away with it because everyone and their brother wanted him dead, and PCPD being what it is, no one would ever be able to narrow the field down to one person.

Unfortunately, things aren't going the way Justus hoped and Luke is probably being arrested as we speak. Edward assures him that Luke won’t be convicted as he is innocent! He reminds Justus of what MaryMae had done in similar circumstances, she kept her mouth shut and hoped for the best all to keep the family name clean. If Justus came forward now, after so much time had passed, he would be punished to the fullest extent of the law for making the PCPD look like fools (had he come forward in the beginning, he probably would have gotten off with manslaughter or less because he came in while Damien was committing a crime, maybe even self-defense). Justus knows all about it and has tried his best to emulate Granny Mae, but he will not let an innocent man go to jail for his crime.

The phone rings: its Luke with bad news, they didn't get him, they arrested LAURA! Justus hangs up numb, Edward cackles with glee, this is just the break we need. Laura's innocent, and it shows in every fiber of her being. No one would dare convict her of this crime, in fact, she will probably be named town hero, all Justus has to do is let nature take its course and keep his mouth shut. Justus wants to believe in a universal right and wrong that will make it all come out in the wash, so he caves in for now. He will act as Laura's attorney, keep his mouth shut, and monitor the situation. If it comes down to Laura frying for the deed he will speak up and darn the consequences.

4/24 Justus meets Luke at the courthouse and tries to be optimistic about the hearing. Laura arrives in the courtroom. Edward pulls Justus aside, telling him that he must not defend Laura because he's too emotionally involved. Justus insists that he can't desert his friends. Luke walks up, and Edward tells them both that he has arranged for an eminent attorney from NYC, R. J. Chambers, to defend Laura. Chambers supposedly has vast experience in criminal cases. Luke questions Edward's motives. Edward gives a "travesty of justice" stock answer. Luke asks Justus's opinion, and Justus advises him to go with Chambers. Luke introduces Chambers to Laura, who vents some frustration about why she has been charged at all. She points out that of course her fingerprints are on the murder weapon, since she is the one who brought it to Ward House. Perhaps the killer wore gloves, explaining the absence of other fingerprints.

Out in the hall, Edward and Justus are discussing the evidence too. Edward figures it's a weak circumstantial case. Justus points out that Garcia thought it was enough for an arrest, and Dara thinks it's enough for a trial. Edward chalks it up to political and media pressure to arrest someone. Justus doesn't think so, give the bad press the police and the D.A.'s office got over the arrest of Katherine for a crime that hadn't even been committed. Edward assures him that, since Laura has the truth on her side, Justus should just stay away from the whole thing, otherwise Justus might "cave in" and confess. Edward again mentions Laura's innocence. She was at Ward House with two babies, "She'll come across as a Madonna, and I'm not talking about the one with the fancy underwear."

The bail hearing takes place. The judge recognizes R.J. Chambers from his TV appearances. Chambers, not knowing Laura's unusual history, is expecting an easy time getting bail set. Dara Jensen explains Laura's past, thus educating both the judge and the defense counsel. Luke leaps to his feet and does his best to defend Laura (at the top of his lungs). He does so again when the judge denies Laura bail.

After the hearing, the Spencers are pretty upset with good R.J., who comments that Laura must have had a very colorful past. Laura retorts that Justus would have known about her past. Chambers figures Justus couldn't have gotten bail set either, and he heads off to do some research, no doubt stopping to talk to the press first. Luke and Laura embrace and Laura starts to cry; she wants Luke to bring her a cassette recorder so she can make a tape for Lulu. Luke promises to research Chambers' background, and also to try to find out who the real murderer is.

Outside the courtroom, Justus and Dara are sparring as usual. She brags about getting bail denied, and claims that she can "take" Chambers. She tells Justus that Laura's chances were better with Justus defending her and he didn’t do Laura any favors by stepping aside.

Laura is back in her cell, getting a visit from Luke. She worries that her past will prejudice a jury against her. She asks, what if the truth isn't enough? Luke assures her that they will do whatever it takes in that case. They will make their own rules and take down whoever they need to in order to do it. From the look on his face, he means it.

4/26 At the PC jail, Luke tells Laura about LuLu and assures her he'll get her out soon. Laura's "mouthpiece" tells her she's being indicted for first degree manslaughter. The hot shot suggests they plea bargain to assault. She says forget it, she's innocent. The so-called lawyer advises Laura to plead to a lesser charge or risk getting 6-25 years. When she protests she's innocent, He says it doesn't really matter whether she's guilty or innocent. Luke angrily tells him thanks but no thanks, and this case is going to be fought to the end.

ADA Dara Jensen informs Garcia that the Grand Jury is about to hand down an indictment of Laura Spencer. Garcia gets a call and tells the ADA it was Veronica Bowles of "Around PC", and they may have more evidence against Laura. Veronica Bowles gives Garcia a videotape showing Laura and Damian arguing at Luke's Place where a furious Laura attacks Damian with a bat and has to be restrained by Luke; however, she does give Damian a punch. After viewing the tape, ADA Jensen says she must go back to the Grand Jury since now Laura may be up for much more than manslaughter.

In court, Luke tells Justus the lawyer wanted to plead guilty. Edward tries to get Justus to leave, but Justus says it would be much more suspicious if he weren't there. The hearing comes to order, and the judge announces that Laura has been indicted for second degree murder. Luke and Laura are devastated when given her history of going on the run, he denies bail!

Dvd #12B 4/29 Luke, fed up with Edward’s attorney talking deals when he's representing an innocent woman, fires him. He then confronts Justus about letting the Spencer's down. Justus disembles that he is too close to the case, Luke tells him to save it for Laura.

Edward then comes over and tells Luke to give poor Justus a break. The man is on the verge of a mental breakdown. Luke gets a gleam in his eye and wonders why EdQ is suddenly so concerned about Justus. Ed claims simple emotions of a grandfather worrying about a grandson. Luke doesn't buy it. Justus is left to ponder the fate of his friends, and tells Ed that nothing on earth will keep his mouth shut of Laura is convicted of this crime. Ed says not to worry, he will play the red herring and keep Luke off the scent of the real killer. He also tells Justus that he has a few more lawyers up his sleeve for Laura's defense.

Dara Jensen tells Justus how disappointed she is that she won't have a chance to go head to head with him. She knows she can lick any old big city attorney, but Justus would be something else. She again asks why he isn't on the case, and again states how wonderful he is and what a great inspiration he is to she and all other lawyers from Charles Street.

4/30 Justus changes his mine and tells Luke he is now ready to defend Laura. Luke and he go over the evidence. Justus tells Edward that he is representing Laura and there is no way he can talk him out of it. Luke pleads his case to Mac that him taking over the police department would help Laura. Later, Luke visits Laura in jail, great kissing scenes through the bars. Luke tells her that Mac turned down the police commissioner job. They talk about running again, but they wouldn’t be running from the mob but from the police and she would be hunted as a criminal. She admits it is tempting but they agree not to run again.

5/2 Mac is moving into his office and Garcia comes in with his badge and his gun. There will be no ceremony, which is okay with Mac, who cares more for the job than the hype that goes with it. Mac's first business is to reopen the case on Laura. Luke comes in at the tail end of this and is furious.

Luke and Tom discuss the case. Tom's main suspects of people who could have done the deed without a qualm are Luke, Mac, or Sonny. Everyone else would make a mistake. Luke figures it's someone playing God. Mac, leaves Luke alone with the files and video tapes and Luke watches till he hits the Silver Fox, Edward, saying "if he were God, he'd have killed Damian." A lightbulb appears over Luke's head.

A guard leads Laura into a bleak "recreation room" where she'll have the privilege of being for three hours a day. Instantly a tough-looking woman picks on a wimpy-looking woman, Jude. Laura finds out that the tough one is B.D., a transfer from Statesville St. Prison in PA. She and her boyfriend rampaged through a number of states until they were caught and the boyfriend killed. She will spend the rest of her life in prison. Jude, however, is innocent, but has been in jail almost a year. Laura is taken out to be fingerprinted and Mac talks to her in the hallway, so that "innocent" Jude, passing on her way to the lawyer, can hear Mac tell Laura "we're trying to get you out of here as soon as possible." Jude apparently reports back to B. D. They figure Laura is a snitch.

When Laura is taken back to the recreation room, B.D. confronts her, calling her a "bunny rabbit" and commenting on her pretty hair and face. Laura asks if there's a point to this, so of course B.D. pulls out a knife and threatens Laura. Laura gets big and mean. She asks B.D. if she knows what Laura is in for, and she describes how she might have killed Damian, and she asks B.D. if B.D. is really sure she wants to make Laura angry. It works, and B.D. backs down, kicking Jude a bit on the way past.

5/6 Already rattled by his viewing of the amateur video showing Justus running from the scene of a crime, Edward is shaken further after Luke appears at the mansion with angry accusations about a cover up involving a member of the Quartermaine clan. Dara drops into Kelly's for a cup of coffee and is taken aback when Ruby coldly refuses to serve her.

5/7 Luke, Lucky, and LuLu visit Laura. Lucky has a small conniption fit because he has to talk to Laura through the glass, pent up frustrations about his mom being in jail. Laura walks in, sees LuLu, and picks up the phone. She talks to Lucky about school work. Then she talks to LuLu a little. Lucky assures her that dad and Justice are doing everything they can to get her out. Laura almost looses it and asks Lucky to take Lulu outside so she can talk to Luke. As she is talking to Luke, Dara walks in. Luke snaps at Dara about eavesdropping on their conversation and that she won’t hear anything incriminating. She apologizes but says that she is there to interview a client.

Laura tells Luke about the fight in jail and reminds him to tell Mac not to visit her anymore. Justice and Luke work over Mac to help convince Dara to change her mind about bail. Mac makes Luke promise, which he kinda doesn’t, that if she is released they won’t run. Luke tells Laura about them pressuring Dara to set bail. He asks Laura, “How badly do you want to stay in this town.”

Justice pulls a guilt trip on Dara about Laura being in jail. Dara says she feel sorry for the children but that doesn’t mean that will change her mind. Maybe she could lock up Luke instead as insurance, not a bad thought. Dara talks to Mac about Laura and how the DA’s office and the police department need to work together. Mac agrees that they should both be “on the side of Justice” (Pun intended). They banter about letting Laura out on bail and in the end Mac says that a good starting point in their relationship was to let her go.

5/8 Laura asks Mac to see Dara, she wants the opportunity to plead her own case. Bobbie pays Laura a visit in prison. Laura assures Dara that she will not be a flight risk if granted bail.

5/10 At the Spencer household, Lucky and babysitter Mike are overjoyed to see Laura walk through the door. Luke tells them that they've got to go back to court that afternoon for the opening arguments. Mike was surprised to learn from Luke that Eddie the Q posted Laura's bail. Lucky insists on going to the courthouse for Laura's first court appearance. Luke and Laura are against it but Justus tells them it might be good for Laura's image if her son were there.

At the courthouse, Edward arrives and warns Justus to be careful. Luke and Laura arrive, looking grim. The judge finally comes in and court is in session. Harper slips into the back of the courtroom and perches behind Edward. He whispers to Eddie who whispers back loudly, "NOT HERE!" Harper leaves and Edward soon follows. Dara's first statement is a request that Justus be removed as defense counsel!

5/13 Spectators in the courtroom buzz in amazement as Dara asks the judge to remove Justus from the case due to a possible conflict of interest concerning his prior link to one Sonny Corinthos. Though Justus leaps to his feet to protest, Dara suggests that her worthy opponent may have intimate knowledge of certain business dealings transacted by Damian which could severely hamper his defense of Laura Spencer. Meanwhile, a curious Lucky watches Edward quietly conferring with a stranger out in the hall in hushed but obviously intense tones. After the judge denies her motion, Dara launches into her opening remarks as the state begins to present its case against Laura.

5/15 At the courthouse, Justus told Edward he would turn himself in if it looked like Laura would be convicted. Edward continued to insist that Laura will never be convicted, so why should Justus throw away his life and damage his family's reputation?

Bobbie came to court and offered Luke some moral support. Meanwhile, Luke decided to go in search of Harper. He grabbed Harper's address out of Mac's hand and headed off on his mission.

Justus gave his opening statement. Garcia took the stand. He reviewed the crime scene evidence, and described the videotape of Laura threatening Damian. On cross-examination, Justus used Garcia's questioning of Lucky Spencer to suggest that the PCPD was under great pressure to solve the case.

Dara called Simone to the stand. Justus objected, and in a sidebar, he complained that Simone wasn't on the day's witness list, and he hadn't talked to her yet. Dara challenged him, saying that she doubted he hadn't talked to Simone, isn't she his fiancee? He didn't answer, accusing Dara of changing the order of witnesses just to throw him off balance. Simone testified about the phone call from Laura the night of the fire. Based on Laura's report of Baby James's ear infection, Simone phoned in a prescription and they made an appointment for James in the morning.

Dara claimed that phone call was to manipulate Simone into offering Laura a plausible reason for being alone at Ward House with the babies. Simone had given James a check-up the day before, and there was no sign of an ear infection then. On cross-examination, Simone explained that James could have developed the infection after she saw him. On re-direct, Dara got Simone to say that James had never had an ear infection before since the day he was born.

While all this was going on, Luke went looking for Harper at a pool hall. Harper overheard Luke, but he stayed hidden. Later, Luke returned to the courthouse. Luke has a brief conversation with Mac in which Mac griped about Luke's method of getting a lead on Harper. Bobbie came out into the hall and urged Luke to get back into the courtroom. He did so just as the judge decided to adjourn for the day, hoping "The Powers That Be" would have the air conditioning working by the next morning. Simone apologized to Laura for the outcome of her testimony, Laura understood.

Luke told Laura he would never had left, had he known things were going to be difficult for her. Laura said the heat made her feel like she was going to faint. She thought maybe it was because she was in the "hot seat" instead of the real killer; when assured by Bobbie that it really was hot outside, Laura said she suspected the trial was about to heat up too. Laura gazed at Luke in concerned silence as the episode ended.

5/17 Bobbie complains to Luke about having to testify for the prosecution. The press nip at Justus until he has to get into court. Unexpectedly, AJ steps up and takes over artfully. Harper stops Edward on his way into the courtroom, and says he owes gambling debts and starts to put the monetary squeeze on again. When Eddie balks, Harper says he still has a copy of the Justus video and will release it unless he gets more money. Edward still refuses.

The court comes to order, and Bobbie is called to the stand. The prosecutor questions Bobbie about the night of the fire. Specifically, she asks about the baby Bobbie and Tony cared for at home and gets Bobbie to testify that she observed no indications of the ear infection Laura claimed he had. During the testimony an officer hands Luke a note from Harper which says to meet him later on the docks. At a sidebar, the judge admonishes the ADA for speechifying but also grants her a bit of latitude in questioning Bobbie. Luke tells Laura about Harper's note and says he's got to check it out.

Outside the courtroom, the press questions Edward as to why he's there. Afterwards, Harper stops him and tells him he's meeting Luke later, and the tape goes to the highest bidder. On the docks, Edward confronts Harper saying he paid of his gambling debts then offers him on million dollars to disappear or else. Before, Harper can accept, Luke arrives and starts questioning them. When EQ says Harper set up Lucky to get beat up, Luke prepares to kick some slug-butt. In the scuffle, Harper drops the video tape which Edward, unseen by Luke, pushes into the river. In the end, Harper falls into the river and despite Edward's plea that Luke let him drown, Luke jumps in after him. Edward pulls Luke alone out of the river; Harper is presumably now playing with the angels.

5/20 Laura, Bobbie and Simone commiserate over the trial so far. Laura misses Mary May. Bobbie apologizes again for how her testimony went, and Simone frets over Justus and Dara in the elevator together. AJ manages to successfully hold off the press from Laura again, promising them Laura will give an exclusive to one particularly persistent reporter "after she is acquitted." The reporter and Laura agree to this.

Luke comes up out of the water. He says Harper is dead, in his opinion. He demands an answer from Edward about what is going on, and Edward gives him some bull about how he's developed a gambling debt/addiction and owed money to Harper. They agree there is no need to notify the police about Harper's accidental death and then Luke informs Edward that he doesn't buy his story.

Edward and Luke show up at the courtroom. Edward talks to Justus and while Luke talks to Laura, he tells her he was right, Edward is up to something. Luke gives Edward a killer stare while holding Laura. The power comes back on and the elevator doors open in front of everyone, showing Dara and Justus half dressed. Everyone is amused, except Simone. Court reconvenes, and Justus calls Bobbie to the stand. Bobbie manages to get her opinion across that James might have had an ear infection. After several objections by Dara, the judge lets Justus have his way, since Dara has already said Bobbie is a credible professional and is now trying to discredit her. Bobbie and Laura share a conspiratorial grin.

5/22 Laura’s trial resumes. Veronica Bowles takes the stand. The videotape of Laura threatening Damian is played. Mac tells Luke that Harper has been found dead. Mike takes the stand.

5/24 Back at court, Dara claims she has important new evidence that can narrow the time of Damian's death to a ten minute window based on an analysis of the phone answering machine tape recovered from the Ward House. Justus strongly objects, so the judge agrees to hear the testimony in chambers first.

The audio tape has a time stamp which allegedly shows that Damian was alive at 10:04 pm while the coroner puts the time of death before 10:18 pm, leaving a very short window. The prosecutor contends that only Laura had the opportunity in that time period; however, in cross-examination, Justus gets the expert to say that the phone ringer could have been turned off or the answering machine clock might have been set wrong.

The prosecution rests, and court adjourns. Luke eyes Edward slinking around the back of the courtroom and questions Justus about the status of the trial. Justus promises him that Laura will never serve a day in prison.

Luke expresses his angst to Sonny over Laura's predicament. Sonny says he's trying to help, but no one knows anything about who killed Damian. Garcia talks to the M.E. about Harper, whose drowned body has been found. Edward overhears Garcia say they were going to search the area for other clues, and Edward presumably fears they'll find the video type. As Edward leaves, Luke follows.

Edward roams the docks thinking about the video tape he pushed into the river. Luke still follows unseen. Looking down into the river, Luke appears to see something. Luke retrieves a seaweed entangled video tape from the river.

5/27 Luke shows up at Mac’s office and shows him the tape. He needs Mac’s help in determining what is on it and believes that it is evidence that can clear Laura. He begs Mac to tell him that he knows someone who can restore the water damaged tape. Mac refuses to help unless Luke lets him in on it. Mac tells him that Luke is not in charge and that Mac thinks that Luke has to clear Laura on his own. Luke, "Well, you know, I haven't had a lot of help in that area from the powers that be..."

Mac asks why he didn't turn it over to his lawyer? Luke says it's a matter of trust. Mac insists again on having the tape. Luke says, "You're not only the commissioner, you're turning into a cop!" They make a deal. Mac's man will fix the tape and put it in a sealed envelope, and Mac and Luke will watch it together the first time it is watched. Luke agrees. Luke sees Justus, and is very prickly around him. Justus notices and mentions his edge. Luke says "The whole freakin' situation makes me edgy."

"By the way, do you know a wharf rat named Harper?" Luke asks.

Luke is wired, berating Justus about Harper and Edward, wanting to know what's going on. Justus swears that Laura will not serve any time. I think that if she is convicted, Justus plans on confessing. Then he will get to go to prison, if he is lucky enough to get away from Luke first.

5/28 At court, Justus puts Mac on the stand. All the points that he made about the police pursuit of the case got nullified by Dara. He then brought Lucy, Edward and Katherine to testify about what a scum Damian was (and how he deserved what he got). The judge calls a recess for the day. Justus tells Luke and Laura that today was a draw and that is good since tie goes to the defense.

Laura tells Luke that she is not comfortable with the way things are going. She wants to testify and tells Justus that when he comes back. He is less than thrilled by that idea, mainly due to her past killings. Luke gets very upset by this. Justus says that if it becomes up against the wall time he would consider her testifying. Luke says he will do whatever it takes to see Laura is free.

5/30 At Luke’s, Mike escorts a celebrating Luke and Laura to their table. Laura looks over at a table with Lucy, Kevin, Felicia and Tom sitting together. She wonders, "That's an odd gathering. What do you suppose that's all about?"

Dvd #12C Laura wants to hear what Luke is keeping for her. They discuss Justus and Edward, Harper and the videotape. Luke has headed to the bar for champagne. Mike introduces him to Carly. She mentions Florida, which makes Luke very suspicious. Luke and Laura talk to Jason. To the song "Nobody Lives Without Love" we see couples, Tom and Felicia, Kevin and Lucy, Carly and Jason, Luke and Laura, Jax and Brenda, Sonny and Lily.

Edward then comes over and tells Luke to give poor Justus a break. The man is on the verge of a mental breakdown. Luke gets a gleam in his eye and wonders why EdQ is suddenly so concerned about Justus. Ed claims simple emotions of a grandfather worrying about a grandson. Luke doesn't buy it. Justus is left to ponder the fate of his friends, and tells Ed that nothing on earth will keep his mouth shut of Laura is convicted of this crime. Ed says not to worry, he will play the red herring and keep Luke off the scent of the real killer. He also tells Justus that he has a few more lawyers up his sleeve for Laura's defense.

5/31 Justus and Dara continued to mix it up at Laura's trial. Katherine and Mac were both called. After court was adjourned for the day, Edward buttonholed Justus in the hallway outside and the two of them had an intense conversation; Luke, who was keeping his eye on them, glared mightily but they didn't notice him.

That evening, the courtroom crowd gathered at Luke's Club. Mike passed out bottles of champagne to every table and, when people inquired where it came from, he was mysterious. A beaming Sonny and Lilly finally got everyone's attention and he announced that his "beautiful wife" was pregnant. He said they were going to make Mike a grandfather.

Later outside Luke's Club, Lily went to get Sonny's car. She didn't want to let a tipsy Sonny drive them home. Luke went with her. Sonny and Mike talked and when Luke joined them again the three of them goofed around, doing guy stuff. We see shots of Jax and Brenda getting married, interspersed with Lily reaching the car. Mike, Luke, and Sonny are still joking around and Sonny looks at Lilly with love in his eyes. The newlyweds raise champagne flutes to toast each other. Lily gets into the car and inserts the key into the ignition. Half a world away, Brenda and Jax clink their glasses together sweetly. In Port Charles there's a tremendous explosion; Sonny staggers backward from the force of the blast and we see red flames reflected off his white shirt. He faces the camera and screams "NOOOOO!"

6/3 Luke and Mike simultaneously grab Sonny, holding him back, but he breaks free and starts to run for the car, and then Jason flies into the scene from nowhere and pretty much slams him into the wall to prevent him from running toward the car, and then there is another explosion. Laura and Bobbie come running out. Laura immediately thinks something happened to Luke. They take Sonny inside and the crowd kind of disperses and gets quiet.

Lois and Ned are there as well, and in all the confusion, Lois says, in this teeny tiny voice "Where's Lily?" Jason leaves, and Sonny is led to a table where he sits down with Luke and Laura. Mike gazes at him, wanting to help, but he can't think of a way to do it. Laura tries to talk to Sonny and comfort him, but he does not respond, and Luke says "I know what I'd want," and goes to the bar to get a fifth of some kind of whiskey and pours Sonny a shot.

It sits untouched, as he stares at it, and Luke turns around, gets a look of hate on his face and says something like "Oh, GOD" and takes a swig of it himself before sitting it back down on the bar, in front of Mike, who turns his gaze to the bottle. Then we see who Luke saw. Garcia, who finds out it was Lily who was killed and almost goes berserk, in his controlled way.

Jason goes to find Robin and tell her, and Mac and Kat hear it then, and then Mac gets the call, they go separately to Luke's (Robin goes with Jason). When they get there, Robin goes to Sonny immediately and he holds her and cries. He looks up at Jason and orders him to take Robin home and keep her there, and Mac follows her and tells her to stay if you want but keep out of Sonny's sight and let him think he's done some good.

They come in to say the ambulance is there, and Sonny leaps up, saying he will go with her, and Luke and everyone tell him not to, and Luke says, "You can't see her, Sonny. You don't want to." He sits down and cries. Robin comes in and comforts him.

Garcia comes in and Luke fills him in on what happened. He asks where the bodyguards were? Mac said she was with her husband. Garcia gets sarcastic about the safety of that, and then he says that he warned her that staying married to Sonny was a death sentence. Mike lunges across the bar and tells him to respect the dead and not say another word about his daughter-in-law and to respect his son. Garcia challenges him to do something about it, saying there are plenty of witnesses and Katherine and Mac manage to calm the situation down. Mac tells Garcia that if he has a problem to feel free to replace himself. Garcia says "a problem? with Corinthos?" and Mac says no, with his wife. Garcia acts like he doesn't know what Mac is talking about, and Mac says, "all I know is how it looks."

Luke takes Sonny home and offers to come in, and Sonny tells him he doesn't have anything to say. Luke offers to check the place out, and Sonny goes "what are they gonna do, kill me?" Finally, Luke leaves, after a really nice comforting hug between Luke and Sonny, and Sonny goes in, alone. Luke goes back to Luke's and Laura and Mike both say "You left him alone?" He says that Sonny didn't want him to stay and that it wasn't his call and that he was tired and wanted to go to bed, and they leave, with Luke saying "don't even think about court tomorrow," or something like that.

6/5 Laura, Luke, and Justus argue about whether or not Laura should take the stand. Justus is against it: it gives Dara the chance to bring up the minor detail that Laura has killed twice before. Even though the judge ruled that this information is prejudicial, Justus fears that Dara will risk a fine or a contempt citation and somehow let the information "slip out" for the jury's benefit. Luke agrees with Justus, but Laura is adamant. If she fails to speak, the jury may take it as a sign of guilt.

Court resumes and Laura takes the stand. She outlines her various roles in the community. She explains about the night of Damian's death, the trip to Rochester, the apparent ear infection, the prescription, her realization that the house was on fire, and her attempts to keep herself and the children safe till they could be rescued. Laura makes no secret of her animosity of Damian (and Justus reminds the jury that everyone else hated him too). He seems to expect Dara to object at this point, but she glowers at him in silence. Justus then leads Laura through the troubled history of the Spencers and the Smiths. She explains Frank Smith's role in their life on the run. She explains the trouble areas involving Damian, the toxic waste incinerator, CS Emporium, and Lucky's gambling debt. They cover the events of the night she waved the bat at Damian at Luke's club. She says she would not have actually hit him with the bat, even if Luke hadn't stopped her.

Mac yanks Luke out into the hall to tell him that he has to go to Albany for a while about the hearing for the old commissioner. While he's gone, the videotape will probably be restored. Mac doesn't expect Luke to wait till he returns to see it, but he makes Luke promise to call him the minute he sees it to tell him what's on the tape.

Justus asks why Laura's were the only fingerprints on the bat. Laura explains that the night the videotape was made at Luke's, the bat was still shrink-wrapped. She removed the shrink wrap the following day. She explains the call to Damian, she told him that she and Luke would be repaying Lucky's gambling debt. She closes by firmly denying that she killed Damian.

Dara starts her cross-examination, and the gloves are off quickly. Big surprise there. She asks Laura if she has ever been involved in the death of another person. Why Justus didn't address this on direct, since he knew full well Dara would do it on cross, remains a mystery as the episode ends.

6/6 Dara asks Laura if she's been involved in other killings? Laura, on Justus's advice, answers briefly. Then Justus redirects and gets the extenuating circumstances on the cases. Dara calls Laura a vicious killer, till the judge tells her "Shame on You." Later Justus repeats those words. The defense rests, Edward hovers while Justus talks to Luke and Laura and follows them out into the screaming mob of obnoxious reporters, whom Justus threatens to sue. Later, at the courthouse, Justus is working on his closing argument and Edward comes in to "encourage" him. Justus feels Mary Mae is telling him to confess, and Edward says that as only being his conscience. "Don't listen to that!"

6/7 People gather around for Lily's funeral service. Sonny places a single rose on Lily's grave. He talks briefly with Laura, and then Luke. Mike places a hand on Sonny’s shoulder in consolation. Robin then consoles Sonny as Jason stands nearby.

Justus begins final arguments to the court with the shocking announcement that he killed Damian, except, of course, he didn't. It was the now familiar GH fantasy sequence. In reality, he sits alone thinking what to do.

In an emotional scene, Justus gives his closing statement. He goes over all the prosecutions points one-by-one showing they are spurious or easily explained. Then he spins a possible scenario for the murder which just happens to be what really occurred. ADA Jensen gives her closing statement. She tries to portray Laura as a cold blooded repeat killer. However, several of her points seemed strained. After, Dara gives her closing remarks. Justus jumps up and yells at the jury, "If you come back with a guilty verdict, you may as well convict yourselves. You may as well convict me." Everyone looks at him confused and concerned.

6/10 Justus is sitting in the courtroom, where he has evidently spent the night. Edward comes in to try to force some good old Quartermaine common sense into the lad, and Justus just won't hear of it. Edward says that Damian deserved to die, and they get in a philosophical discussion about whether or not the corruption of Justus' soul by this lie has meant that Damian has won the game after all.

Luke and Laura are sitting on the couch, and Luke has tried to keep the paper from her, but Foster brings it in. She sees it, gets depressed, and he tries to cheer her up. He has all the paperwork ready, the big carpetbag is all packed and ready to go. Besides, there's this videotape that might be evidence. The phone rings, and it's the lab-he's getting an image.

Luke goes to the courthouse to see Justus, asking him what happens if he comes up with hard evidence after the verdict? Justus says there is a six week window between verdict and sentencing, and it will be Dara's call if it exonerates Laura or not, and the charges could be totally dismissed. Luke asks if they can get her out on bail in the meantime. Justus says not with a Murder Two, and by the way WHAT evidence. Luke's blood pressure visibly rises and he is out the door.

Edward stops by on one of his sympathy visits, and Laura is understandably skeptical. They joke about her being a receptionist, and he makes a bad booboo saying that "one smile and I'd let you get away with..."
Murder..." she finishes. She doesn't buy his act and asks him what he wants, which turns out to see Luke, they've had a misunderstanding.