Why Did General Hospital's Laura Abandon Nikolas When He Was A Baby?

As the sinister Victor Cassadine (Charles Shaughnessy) set his plan to cull the world's population in motion on "General Hospital," he forcibly took some of his family members onto a ship called the Haunted Star to get away from Port Charles. Because Victor's plan involved a pathogen that will decimate most of humanity, he headed to an undisclosed location containing the equipment needed. Among his unwilling passengers were Spencer Cassadine (Nicholas Chavez) and his baby brother, Ace. 

Both boys are the sons of Victor's nephew, Nikolas Cassadine (Marcus Coloma), who led a wealthy, entitled life as the scion of the Cassadine family. However, Nik wasn't one of Victor's passengers because he had recently gone missing. When he threatened to take away the child of his ex-wife, Ava Jerome (Maura West), she struck Nikolas with a small statue and believed she had killed him. Ava and Dr. Austin Gatlin-Holt (Roger Howarth) then hid the body in a stable. 

But, when the police came looking for Nikolas, the body was gone, much to Ava and Austin's surprise. Austin's cousin, Mason Gatlin (Nathanyael Grey), had secretly taken Nik's body and put it on life support. This is just one good example of the trials and tribulations Nikolas has been through in his life, mainly due to his poor choices. However, his early years were also troublesome, as he was raised by the Cassadines in Greece, but had no mother until his teen years.

When Luke Spencer and Laura Baldwin (Anthony Geary and Genie Francis) got married, Helena Cassadine (then Elizabeth Taylor) showed up at the proceedings and put a curse on the couple. Helena was devastated that Luke, Laura, and superspy Robert Scorpio (Tristan Rogers) had thwarted her husband, Mikkos Cassadine's (John Colicos), plan to blackmail the world with a weather-dominating device involving a diamond called the Ice Princess. After a furious fight, Luke killed Mikkos, unwittingly setting in motion a chain of events that would affect his family from then on. 

When criminal David Grey (Paul Rossilli) thought Laura was onto his scheme to steal museum treasures, he hypnotized her and set her adrift on a boat. The Cassadines found Laura and took her to Cassadine Island in Greece. Stavros Cassadine (then John Martinuzzi), the son of Helena and Mikkos, had developed an obsession with Laura, and after she was forced to marry him, she had his child. Stavros' younger brother, Stefan Cassadine (Stephen Nichols), began to develop feelings for the captive Laura, offering her some much-needed comfort. 

Helena favored his older brother Stavros and had nothing but disdain for Stefan. Stavros informed Laura that Luke had died, but his obsession with her would eventually grate on Helena's nerves. The wicked woman got so fed up that she eventually helped Laura escape and return to Port Charles. Both Laura and Luke were ecstatic to find that the other was still alive and well.

However, Laura kept it secret that she had Stavros' son, who was named Nikolas Mikail Stavrosovich Cassadine, and had no choice but to leave him behind when she escaped Cassadine Island. Luke and Laura went on to have two kids of their own, Lucky Spencer (then Jonathan Jackson) and Lulu Spencer. When Lulu was a child she needed a bone marrow transplant, so Laura had to reveal Nikolas' existence. Laura knew Stefan would take care of Nikolas, and the two believed he was their child, not Stavros'. 

Stefan took a teenage Nikolas (then Tyler Christopher) to Port Charles so he could save his half-sister. Luke, of course, was horrified to learn that Laura had another child and never told him about it. Needless to say, this put a strain on their marriage. It was later revealed that Stavros was indeed Nikolas' father, and Helena had fabricated the whole thing about Stefan being Nik's dad. Because Stavros was Mikkos' son, Nikolas would have been next in line as heir to the Cassadine fortune, and Helena resented him at first. 

Ultimately, Nik's bone marrow saved Lulu's life. It took some time for Lucky to accept this newfound brother, but the two would eventually enjoy a good relationship. Since Nikolas is currently incapacitated in an unknown location, no one knows whether he'll be able to rejoin the team in Port Charles that's determined to stop his uncle Victor's reign of terror.