| Laura Spencer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| General Hospital | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Genie Francis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Bridget & Jerome Dobson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 1974 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | November 12, 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Family | Webber | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gender | Female | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | December 21, 1955 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Former Owner of Deception Cosmetics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Paris, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Laura Spencer (née Webber; previously Baldwin and Cassadine) is a fictional character from the original ABC soap opera, General Hospital. The character is originated by Stacy Baldwin in 1974 and Baldwin departs in 1976. The role was then recast and taken over by Genie Francis. Francis leaves the show in 1981 and returns for several more stints; 1983-1984, 1993-2002, 2006 and 2008. Laura would go on to become one of the shows most well known characters and one half of the most famous super couples, Luke and Laura.
Backstory
On December 24, 1961 (birth year revised to 1955)[1] Laura was born to Professor Gordon Gray and his former student, Dr. Lesley Williams, who believed that her baby had died at birth. In reality, Laura was raised in Canada by Jason and Barbara Vining until she was 12 years old when Lesley discovered that she was alive and living with the Vinings.
Storylines
1974–1979
In 1974, soon after Lesley found her long lost daughter, she demanded that Laura move in and live with her. As she lived with Lesley, Laura was torn between her two mothers, even calling out Barbara's name during a time of illness. She desperately missed her friends and her little sister Amy. Lesley had no choice but to return Laura to the Vinings. However, Lesley remained obsessed with her little girl. The large amount of attention that Lesley gave to Laura made Lesley's husband Cameron jealous. He even paid the Vinings a large sum of money to take Laura far away from where Lesley could ever see her. Lesley continued the search for her young daughter, helped by Rick Webber. When they found Laura, she was being dragged from a commune by her adoptive mother Barbara. Laura was not ready to go home, and was definitely not the Laura that Lesley remembered. Both Lesley and Rick dragged Laura home to Port Charles. Once home, Rick took on the task of explaining to a very confused and emotional Laura that both her adoptive mother and Lesley loved her.
1979–1982
Laura moved in with her biological mother and her stepfather Rick. Years of confusion over her identity followed. In particular, Laura felt enormous resentment and barely concealed rage towards Lesley, who had taken her from the family she had loved and known as hers. Laura's rebellious streak continued through her junior year of high school. She developed feelings for older law student Scotty Baldwin and lost her virginity to him. Scotty was in love with Laura, but regretted their physical relationship, believing she was too young to commit to such an relationship. Laura was devastated by Scotty's distance and deflected her hurt onto an attachment with the much older David Hamilton. David, an old friend of Rick Webber, was a houseguest of the Webbers in the spring of 1978. Although David had designs on Lesley (and avenging himself on Rick for a perceived wrong),the family knew nothing of David's machinations. After David rented his own apartment, he made advances to Lesley, which she clearly rejected. David then avenged himself on Laura, sadistically drawing her into an adult encounter she was unprepared for. Laura became entranced with the older man, adopted a sophisticated look, denying her feelings for Scotty, cutting school- and hardening towards her mother. Unknown to Rick and Lesley, Laura began secretly visiting David at his apartment and spent considerable time there posing as his artist's model. Away from David, she wrote him scores of poems and letters filled with teen-age longings. Unaware of his true intentions, Laura allowed David to have relations with her. Almost immediately afterwards, David packed his bags and readied to leave town. Laura, believing she was going away with him, wrote a note to her parents, and headed for David's apartment. She was stunned to find him about to leave Port Charles- and her- for good. A desperate confrontation ensued, with David taunting Laura, shredding her letters in front of the sobbing, hysterical teenager and mocking her protestations of love. Worst and most cutting of all for Laura was when she besseeched him, "But you made love to me" and David laughed, telling her he "had a hard time keeping a straight face during that", and said that Lesley was the one who really attracted him. Laura snapped and unleashed all the years of emotional dislocation and betrayal she had felt over her childhood being wrenched apart, her complicated feelings towards her two "mothers", feeling abandoned and rejected, most recently by a guilt-ridden Scotty. In a towering rage, Laura shoved David, who fell against the fireplace hearth, hitting his head. He died instantly. She graduated Port Charles High School in January 1979 and soon began studying at the local college. On July 9, 1979, a young and slightly extravagant Laura married, with her parents' permission the young law student Scotty Baldwin. Laura's extravagance led her spend a large sum of money on law books for Scotty. To repay this debt, Laura asked newcomer Luke Spencer for a job at the Campus Disco. Luke quickly fell in love with Laura. One night, he asked Laura to dance in the empty disco. His emotions running high over the belief that he was going to be killed trying to assassinate Mitch Williams, he poured out his feelings of love for her. He fast lost control of what he was doing and ended up raping Laura on the floor of the disco. Laura was found later in the park and taken to the hospital, but refused to identify her rapist. Luke knew what he had done, and was completely horrified by his actions. But Laura somehow forgave him in a letter she wrote to him, which Scotty found. Infuriated at Luke, he punched him out right before Luke was to marry Frank Smith's daughter Jennifer. Luke tumbled off the yacht into the water and Laura had to pull him out.
1980–1984
The two then ran off on the adventure of the Left-Handed Boy. During this time on the run, Luke and Laura danced in a locked department store, made friends with Whit and Agnes Whitaker and fell in love. After being confronted by reporters upon her return, Laura still claimed to be Scotty's wife, and broke Luke's heart. The two parted ways, but not for long. They both went to work for ELQ. As Laura searched for Scotty, who'd run off, and her independence as a woman, she continually ran into Luke. The two drove each other crazy, finally realizing that they couldn't live without each other.
It was at ELQ that the adventure of the Ice Princess began. Luke's search for the Ice Princess quickly turned into a race to stop the Cassadine family from freezing the world. Along with their friend Robert Scorpio, Luke and Laura managed to land on the island where Mikkos Cassadine's weather machine was held. When they arrived in the lab, he commanded that they surrender or he'd freeze the entire world starting with Port Charles! In the last few seconds of the deep freeze countdown, Luke was able to crack the machine with the password "Ice Princess" and the city of Port Charles was saved. When they returned from Ice Princess Island, Laura filed for divorce from Scotty so that she and Luke could plan their own wedding. Her divorce was declared final just 2 days before the wedding; Laura was finally free to get married. The entire town of Port Charles along with friends from the town of Beechers Corners threw a grand wedding in honor of the two people who saved their town from being frozen.
Soon after Luke and Laura's wedding, Tiffany Hill encouraged Laura to take on the modeling job of Ms. Star Eyes, a job that took her away from Port Charles to New York City quite often. While on one of her trips home, Laura was kidnapped by David Grey and presumed dead.
But in actuality, she was held captive by the Cassadines. Laura was told Luke was dead and was forced to marry Mikkos' son Stavros. She also had an affair with Stavros' brother Stefan and conceived a child, Nikolas. Stavros' evil mother Helena hated Laura. She left a Port Charles newspaper with Luke's picture on the front page where she knew that Laura would see it. Laura saw the newspaper and realizing that Luke was not dead, fled to Port Charles, escaping from Stavros, and making the choice of leaving Nikolas behind knowing that Stefan would take care of him. Afraid that Luke had moved on without her, she only wanted to see him once more. But as she walked onto the lawn of the mayor's mansion, Luke spotted her from the balcony. He screamed her name and they happily reunited. Deciding that they rather liked their privacy, Luke resigned as mayor and the pair left Port Charles for parts unknown. They wound up at Felicia's grandmother's ranch in Texas, where their son Lucky was born.
1993–2002
The trio wasn't heard from for 9 years, when they turned up in British Columbia on the run from mob boss Frank Smith. After deciding that a bomb that had exploded in their truck was meant for them, Luke and Laura made the decision to return to Port Charles. Sending Lucky ahead to meet his aunt Ruby, Luke and Laura stole a plane. When they realized that the plane was crashing, Luke and Laura jumped out and landed in a river. They were rescued by a helicopter just before their whole raft went over a waterfall. Back in Port Charles, Luke and Laura tearfully reunited with friends and family. But their entanglement with the Smith family wasn't quite over. Laura was arrested for murdering Frank's son Damian, a crime she was innocent of. She was acquitted and the real killer turned out to be her lawyer Justus Ward.
Laura gave birth to daughter Lesley Lu in 1994. In 1996, Lulu grew sick with a strange bone marrow disease. After Lucky, Luke and Laura were proven incompatible for a bone marrow transplant, Laura was forced to seek out her long lost son Nikolas. Stefan and Nikolas came to Port Charles where Nikolas was proven a match for Lulu. With Nikolas' bone marrow transplant a success and Lulu's health returning to normal, Laura tried to have a relationship with her long lost son and even the man he called father.
Laura's relationship with Stefan was an up and down one at best. She discovered that he had been keeping her mother in a catatonic state ever since her supposed death in a car accident in 1984. Laura fled to her mother's side and brought her home to Port Charles. In 1997, Stefan threatened to reveal Nikolas' paternity to Luke, so Laura fled to Switzerland with Leslie and Lulu in tow. Laura and her daughter returned a year later when Laura began to sense that Nikolas had doubts about the true nature of her relationship with Stefan. It was not a happy homecoming, however, because Laura was quite upset when she learned that Nikolas had been shot in front of Luke's club and that Lucky had moved out after learning of the disco rape. Just as she had finally begun to move forward with Luke, she had to testify at Stefan's trial for the murder of his fiancée Katherine. Laura stated that she'd been on the parapet right before Katherine fell. This statement only added to Luke's heartache over learning Nikolas's paternity and that Laura and Stefan had been lovers when she was missing all those years ago. Luke left town and Laura stayed behind to face the demons of her past.
When Lucky was presumed dead in a fire, Laura went to see the remains of her dead son in the morgue. She broke down and Luke literally caught her in his arms as she fell to the floor. Laura blamed Sonny Corinthos and his right hand man Jason for Lucky's death. What was supposed to bring Luke and Laura together only tore them even further apart. Laura was in hysterics over the death of her son. Helena didn't help much either when she told Laura that it was her fault that Lucky was dead, and Laura suffered a nervous breakdown. She was in the hospital for a few days, before heading to recuperate at Stefan's country house.
When Katherine Bell came back from the dead, she started dating Nikolas. Laura tried to convince Nikolas that Katherine wasn't right for him but he wouldn't listen. Laura was even more furious when Katherine got pregnant and Nikolas planned to marry her. Helena left hints that Katherine wasn't really pregnant and Laura confronted Katherine. As an enraged Laura left Wyndemere, someone pushed Katherine from a parapet. Both Nikolas and Stefan believed that Laura was the culprit, and Stefan confessed to the crime to protect her. However, Stefan and Laura became suspicious that Helena had actually killed Katherine and grew quite close to each other, to the point of making love, as they gathered evidence to prove their theory. But Laura's budding romance with Stefan took an ugly turn when Luke informed her that he'd seen Stefan and his goons with a very much alive Lucky. Believing that Stefan had lied to her, she broke off her relationship with him and fully brought her attentions to bringing Lucky home to Port Charles. She teamed up with estranged hubby Luke to find him, but also had to deal with the consequences of bringing Luke's girlfriend Felicia along. Luke and Laura traveled to many places in their past as they followed the clues Helena dropped along the way. When they finally found Lucky and brought him home, Lucky was not the same boy that they had raised, and was still very angry with his parents.
They soon discovered that he'd been programmed by Helena. Luke promised Laura that they would get past Lucky's programming, and that they would have to wait until Lucky would come to them. Helena had made Lucky believe that his parents were behind the whole kidnapping, shocking both Luke and Laura. Luke promised Laura that he would undo whatever Helena did to Lucky. But just as Luke and Laura were beginning to heal as a couple, Luke was put on trial for murdering Stefan. Laura heard Felicia's testimony that she'd slept with Luke the night that Stefan had vanished. As her mascara ran down her face, she found herself with a drink in her hand, and Scotty coming up to her to take her home.
Laura moved on by obtaining Deception Cosmetics from Scotty with the funds of Sonny Corinthos. Sonny agreed to financially back Laura if his wife Carly could be co-partner. Wanting her independence once again, Laura agreed to the partnership. Carly was anything but easy to deal with, and gave Laura many headaches. Luckily, she enlisted the help of Elton Herbert, ex wedding extraordinaire as her assistant and the two got along famously. Her first choice for the company's signature model was Elizabeth Webber. But Carly wanted Gia Campbell. Determined to get her way, Carly had Gia lock Laura on the roof the night Laura was going to announce the new model.
In June 2001, Luke and Laura tearfully reminisced their past as their final set of divorce papers came in. With tears streaming down their faces, they sadly realized that they must put the past away and sign the final divorce decree. Although no longer married, Luke and Laura were never out of each other's mind. And the past was about to come back to haunt them. Stavros Cassadine came back from the dead that summer after being frozen for several years. He awoke determined to regain his family, including Laura. He constantly stalked Laura throughout the summer, even letting her see him in a mirror reflection from her front window. Laura then left Port Charles for North Carolina with Lesley and Lulu for the summer. When she returned, she learned that Luke had mysteriously disappeared. He eventually turned up suffering from an illness that caused him to cycle through time, between the year 1979 one minute and 2001 the next. Laura helped him remember the memories that they shared, while at the same time putting Scotty on hold in their relationship, and helping Stefan (who had been arrested for Chloe Morgan's death) escape lockup by faking a heart attack. When Luke collapsed, Laura pleaded with his unconscious body not to leave her because she loved him.
Just as Luke was starting to recover, Laura and Nikolas went to confront Helena in her underground lab. They ran into Stavros instead. He took Laura to a secret bedroom to reclaim her as his wife. While Stavros was explaining his good intentions to Laura, Luke appeared and declared that Stavros would never have Laura. The two fought, and Stavros knocked Luke to the ground. He grew angry at Laura's pleas to leave Luke alone. When he left Luke and Laura alone in the room, they declared their love for one another. Half of Port Charles turned up to escort Helena to jail, but Stavros escaped. Luke went after him and watched him fall into a bottomless pit. Laura was taken out of Helena's lab by Scotty and anxiously waited for Luke to make it out as well. Right before the lab shut down, Luke slid under the door, and was embraced by Laura stating that everyone could use a happy ending. Soon afterward, Scotty asked Laura to marry him all over again, fearing that she would leave him for Luke. She pondered the question for awhile and was unhappy that Luke found out about it when Lulu blurted it out at Thanksgiving dinner. Although hurt by the idea, Luke told her to marry Scotty; but Laura ended up turning Scotty down.
Luke and Laura once again lit the spark that they always knew that they had in a dance outside Nik and Gia's engagement party. Luke was determined to win the mother of his children back, and Laura suspected that he always had something up his sleeve. At his plea, she asked her mother to take care of Lulu, and ran off with Luke once again on a love boat mission. Once she realized it was all a ploy, Laura asked her ex hubby why he did it, and he responded with "Because I want you back."
Luke asked Laura to marry him again. Laura was reluctant at first, but finally agreed to marry him when they were re-enacting the Wall of Jericho in Beechers Corners. But when she pulled the blanket down, she discovered that he had run off! Annoyed, Laura returned to Port Charles. But she didn't realize that Luke had actually been taken by Jennifer Smith, who was intent on marrying Luke. When Laura realized what had happened, she flew like a bat out of hell to Texas to rescue Luke from the shotgun wedding. Trapped in a cave, Luke and Laura examined their feelings and Laura agreed to marry Luke, should they ever get out. A beam fell on Luke, and Laura cried as she thought that he was going to die. Luckily, Roy and Felicia saved Luke and Laura in the nick of time.
Not long after they returned home and began to spread the news of their upcoming wedding, Helena escaped from jail. In hot pursuit of his favorite nemesis, Luke discovered that Helena had hid out at Wyndemere and that Nikolas gave Helena money and let her go in order to protect Gia. Laura was horrified and heart-broken when she talked to Nikolas directly about his involvement and he lied to her. When Helena was finally captured, she lied to protect Nikolas' involvement in helping her. Knowing the truth, Laura told Nik that he broke her heart. Later, she told Nik that she still loved him despite recent events and advised him to give his relationship with Lucky time to heal.
When Carly's car drove off a cliff, Luke and Laura rallied around Bobbie to comfort her. Memories of Lucky's "death" surfaced as everyone searched for Carly, causing the bond between Luke and Laura to become stronger. When it came time to plan Carly's funeral, Laura used her memories of nearly losing Lucky and her experiences in motherhood to help Bobbie prepare for burying her daughter. But to everyone's relief, Carly turned up alive. Soon after, Luke discovered that Helena had placed a double in her place in prison and he tracked her to a convent. To his amazement, Laura had also tracked her to the convent in the search for her missing engagement ring and wound up there before him in disguise. Together, they found Helena and shipped her off to a convent in the Arctic Circle.
As Laura began to plan her wedding, she asked Felicia to help her find her old wedding dress. She couldn't believe it when she discovered that it was missing. When Luke and Laura finally found it, they discovered that time had not been kind to it. Laura also began to notice that she was missing some of her memories, including the existence of the garage attic at the Jones' house where she lived with Rick and Lesley when she was younger. Rick returned to town early for the wedding, and she shared her recent revelations with him. Soon after, a fire was set in the attic. When Laura realized her recent dreams were actually memories, Luke agreed to help Laura unravel her past. As Laura began to remember more about what happened in the garage attic, she also realized that Scotty knew what had happened but wouldn't tell her. Laura eventually remembered the face of the woman involved and had Elizabeth sketch it for her. Rick seemed uncomfortable when she showed it to him and begged Laura to leave the past alone.
Lesley confirmed that the picture was of a nurse who used to work at GH. With the identity of the nurse revealed, Luke tried tracking the nurse down but she seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth. Meanwhile, with the wedding fast approaching, Laura's grasp on reality began slipping as more and more flashbacks appeared to indicate that Rick might have killed Theresa. Things reached a climax when Laura returned to the attic on the eve of her wedding. Rick soon joined her there. As they talked Laura became more and more convinced that Rick had killed his lover in the attic. Rick denied it but he refused to tell her what happened and instead slowly approached her with a syringe. Believing Rick murdered Theresa, Laura became frantic when he tried to inject her with an unknown substance. Fearing for her life, she grabbed the first object she could find, a heavy candlestick, and hit him over the head, killing Rick. Luke arrived but it was too late to save Rick. Realizing that Laura was in deep trouble, Luke tried to get her out of the attic but Laura was not cooperative. She was covered in blood and suffering a complete psychotic breakdown. Scotty soon joined them and realizing he had no choice, he told Luke what had happened all those years ago. A teenaged Laura had surprised Rick and his lover, Theresa who were in the attic. Theresa, who was obsessed with Rick, wanted Rick to leave Lesley but he refused. Laura walked in on the heated moment and the shock of seeing her beloved stepfather in a compromising position with a volatile woman made Laura act on instinct. She grabbed a camera and hit Theresa over the head, killing her. Rick, fearing what would happen to Laura and seeing how traumatized she was by what she had done, quickly sedated her with a drug that also helped cloud recent memories. He then called Scotty to help him with the body. Rick and Scotty buried Theresa in the backyard to protect Laura from being charged and convicted of murder.
When Luke and Laura didn't show up for their wedding the next day, Lesley guessed that they had eloped. But when Lucky and Nikolas found Rick dead in the attic, they feared that Luke had killed him for some unknown reason. Even though Nikolas and Lucky tried to make it look like Rick had died in a drunk-driving accident, Scott didn't buy it and believed Luke was responsible. When Luke finally called Lucky, he didn't mention Laura, which worried the boys even more. Luke also didn't mention that Luke had taken Laura to a remote barn where he had bound and gagged Laura. He explained to her that she was tied up because she kept trying to run from him even though he was protecting her. Laura had flashbacks of Rick's death and believed Luke was actually going to hurt her. She got away and managed to call Nikolas to rescue her from Luke before Luke got her back again. He had to repeatedly remind her that Rick was dead. Finally, Laura remembered killing Theresa and that she had killed Rick because she thought he was going to hurt her. Although devastated, she expressed a wish for a small wedding when they returned to Port Charles. Luke agreed and went to call Nikolas. Laura took the opportunity to leave and return to the attic. Her memories of killing Theresa and Rick mingled with her images of marrying Luke again and she put on her wedding dress. Laura's reflection in the mirror looked beautiful, but when Luke arrived, she turned and revealed her true disheveled appearance. Luke realized that Laura was losing her grip on reality, but played along with her wedding fantasy and shared touching vows with her. Laura grew hysterical again and as Luke was calming her, Scott and Mac showed up. Luke was arrested for Rick's murder and Laura was taken for psychiatric evaluation.
At the hospital, Scott questioned Laura and he secretly taped her confessing to killing Rick. Luke proclaimed his innocence at first, but when Scott played him the tape of Laura's confession, Luke changed to proclaiming his guilt in Rick's murder. When Alexis wanted to mount a strong defense for Laura, Luke informed her that Laura wasn't going to spend the rest of her life in a rubber room and fired Alexis. Laura's mental state continued to deteriorate as she had visions of herself when she was younger. The younger Laura warned her not to trust anyone. Luke managed to bargain a last visit with Laura. He tried to convince her that he would help get her out, but she called him a bad man who had hurt her and freaked out. The doctor suggested treatment for her in London, so Lucky and Nikolas said a tearful good-bye to their mother, who did not even recognize them. Although the doctor didn't want Luke to see Laura again, he insisted on saying good-bye to her. On September 6, 2002, an orderly wheeled Laura out of her room as Luke tearfully told her, "good-bye, my angel, good-bye." Luke tried to visit her a few times since she was committed under the belief that only he could save her. But his visits seemed to only worsen her condition. Nikolas gained control of Laura's medical care from Lucky and hid Laura from Luke to protect her. Eventually, Nik and Luke made peace regarding Laura. Nik had Laura moved to Shadybrook and gave Luke full access to Laura.
2006–2008
In October 2006, Robin Scorpio told Luke about an experimental drug: LS-49. The drug had been shown to reverse catatonia for a short period of time. Luke authorized Robin to give Laura the drug but didn't tell Nik, Lucky or Lulu about it. Luke didn't want the children feeling disappointed if LS-49 didn't work. Luckily, the drug did work and Laura slowly emerged from her catatonia. It was quite a shock for her to realize that several years had passed and that all of her children were grown. Unaware that Luke had married Tracy Quartermaine, Laura began planning a wedding for her and Luke. Everyone agreed to play along because Laura had a short time to enjoy her life before the effects of the drug wore off. She and Luke exchanged vows on, what would have been their 25 wedding anniversary, November 16.
Sadly, Laura's condition began deteriorating rather quickly. She started having blackouts which increased in length and frequency. Luke was forced to tell Laura that she was slipping back into her catatonic state. Laura decided to tell the children so that they could all say goodbye. Instead of dwelling on what would happen, Laura focused her energy on creating memories. She wanted to celebrate Christmas early with her family. They all worked to give Laura her last wish. The celebration was bittersweet. As the special day drew to a close, Laura's condition worsened and Laura had to return to Shadybrook. Before Laura slipped back into her catatonic state, she told Lulu that she didn't believe that she had killed Rick Webber.
Laura was right. Lulu started digging around and discovered that Scott Baldwin had actually killed Rick Webber.
Laura returned to General Hospital on August 25, 2008, at a time when Lulu needed her most. When Lulu is admitted into Shadybrook to treat her failing mental health, she goes to Laura's room to talk to her. While Lulu is talking, Laura appears to wake up and tells Lulu that a few months after her relapse, the doctors were present as she began "waking up". Laura went through cycles of reawakening, infrequently but with greater periods of lucidity as time progressed, as a side-effect of the experimental LS-49 drug Luke gave her in 2006. While coherent, Laura voluntarily checked herself back into Shadybrook the year prior to her most recent relapse and signed paperwork originating from the French clinic the drug hailed from, which for legal reasons expressly forbade her doctors at Shadybrook from alerting Laura's family to any LS-49-related changes in her condition. Laura signed these papers, in an attempt to prevent her family from gaining what could be false hopes, should she reawaken. The French clinic had had a string of publicly-suppressed cases, wherein patients on the drug were coming back from their comatose states after an initial relapse...but this occurred on a case-by-case basis and the doctors were unable to predict whether the progress was going to be temporary or permanent. Consequently, the French clinic and Shadybrook, according to Laura and later her doctor, had a sensible, closed-ranks position regarding the drug, pending further, longer-term study of the affected patients and LS-49. Laura warns her daughter that she still slips away from time to time, but she asserts she is "feeling stronger" now.
Lulu tells Laura about Logan's death and Laura helps Lulu stop the hallucinations that she was having. On September 19, 2008, Laura asks Lulu to tell Nikolas and Lucky that she had woken up. However, when Lulu does so and Nikolas and Lucky come to visit, Laura remains catatonic. Nikolas and Lucky discuss this with Dr. Winters, who advises that Laura's condition has not changed; that Lulu has imagined Laura's awakening as a coping mechanism and Laura's doctor from the French clinic was a hallucination. The aforementioned closed-ranks policy story however, provides credible room for speculation about the validity of Dr. Winters' assessment.
On September 23, 2008 Lulu came to her mother and told her that Laura won't end in a catatonic state and Lulu will be fighting for her own health. Lulu kissed Laura on the forehead and left; in response, Laura moved her head and smiled.
In October 2008, overhearing a lethal injection threat issued by Scott Baldwin to her daughter, Lulu Spencer, who killed Scott's son in self-defense, Laura reawakens to protect Lulu. Scott kidnaps Laura, taking her to California to relive their honeymoon in hopes of rekindling their relationship. While in California, Laura continues to tell Scott that she has come along with him only so he will not prosecute Lulu. She lets Scott know that although she cares about him, she will always love Luke Spencer and reminds him that she is married to Luke. Scott eventually tells Laura that Luke has been married to Tracy Quartermaine for the last three years and that Luke had staged Laura's wedding to him, two years before.
Luke, after finding out at Shadybrook that Scott has kidnapped Laura, catches up with Scott and Laura in California. Seeing Scott and Laura in a car, Luke steals a taxi and pursues the couple in a high speed chase. On November 3, Scott and Laura's car crashes along the edge of a cliff. During a rescue attempt, Luke drags Scott from the car, but in his attempt to save Laura, the car goes over the cliff with him and Laura in it. Although bruised, Luke and Laura live through the crash, but find that they are in the wilderness. They eventually find a cabin, where they discuss Luke's marriage to Tracy and the outlook of their own relationship. On November 10, the Spencer children find their parents safe at the cabin. They all reunite with Scott and Tracy at a hotel in California and decide to return to Port Charles.
In Port Charles, after catching up with her children's lives and dealing with the fact that Luke has married Tracy and moved on with his life, Laura decides she also needs to move on with her life. She announces to her family on November 12 her intention to go to France, where the clinic for her LS-49 treatment is located. Her decision to continue treatment in hopes of having a permanent recovery and live her life is based on a discussion she has with Tracy Quartermaine, during which Tracy indicates that Luke has changed since being married to her and is happy with his new life; he can be himself and does not have to play the "hero".
At the airport, Laura tells Luke she wants him to be happy and if Tracy Quartermaine can bring peace to his life, she is happy for him. Luke replies that they still have a close bond, as she had indicated to him earlier that day, and he will go with her to France if she wants him to. He tells her he feels he owes her for all that he has put her through during their life together. She turns down his offer, saying she is going to try to learn to do things for herself without him. She tells him she loves him, kisses him, and walks away to enter the plane. However, Luke asks her before she boards if she will return to Port Charles if the treatment works. She replies with a smile and shrug and climbs aboard the plane. Unbeknownst to Laura, Scott Baldwin is on the plane; as it lifts off, he is seen behind a curtain looking at her.
- ^ Because Laura would've been 21 years old when Nikolas was originally born in November 1983, and his birth year was revised to 1977, her birth year would be moved to 1955.