BREAKING NEWS: Lucas Returns to Port Charles and to General Hospital — and Sonny Tells Carly His Plan to Free Alexis

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At home, Chase tells Brook Lynn it’s oddly quiet. The kids are at school, and Tracy is out for a ride. The peace is broken when Brook Lynn gets a text that Violet’s being sent home by school for getting into a fight.

They bring Violet home, and she explains she hit this boy, Garth, because he’s a mean bully and he lies. She says he called her dad a drunk. Violet explains she was telling her friends that her dad was in a special hospital, but Garth told everyone that he was in rehab and a drunk. She hit him, and then Garth poured grape juice on her and ruined her shirt.

Chase thanks her for telling them the truth. Violet is sorry she hit Garth and about her shirt. Brook Lynn says they can wash her shirt, and she is sure she can get the stain out. They go upstairs so Violet can change.

After she gets Violet settled, Brook Lynn tells Chase they should visit Garth’s parents to speak to them. Chase says Finn wouldn’t want them to, and there will always be Garths in the world, and they have to teach Violet how to deal with them. Brook Lynn agrees they need to focus on Violet, and this might be her crying out for help.

Violet comes downstairs and tells Chase she is sorry she hit Garth. As he’s talking to her, Brook Lynn gets a call. The principal wants to speak to Violet’s guardian right away. Meanwhile, Violet wonders to Chase if she’s going to get in trouble. Chase explains that when you break the rules, you must face the consequences.

At the gallery, Ric tries to figure who at General Hospital might risk everything to keep Heather behind bars and tamper with the tests. Ava suggests he not accuse anyone of tampering with the results as General Hospital will lawyer up against him, and it will just stall Heather’s case. He wonders who she is protecting at General Hospital. Ava insists she’s not protecting anyone.

Ric won’t pressure her into naming names but now he knows that she doesn’t want him to know who the guilty party is, so this person must mean a lot to her. He says he’ll have to figure out another way to help Heather and takes off, leaving Ava worried.

Lucky shows up at Sonny’s office to see him. They embrace, and Sonny knows his dad would be proud of him for what he’s doing for Lulu. Lucky isn’t so sure, as they both know he should have been here all along.

Sonny says Luke wouldn’t judge him because he loved him, and he’s here now, and that’s all that matters. Lucky has a lot of work to do, not just with Lulu. Sonny asks if he’s seen Aiden yet. Lucky hasn’t and admits he’s afraid to. Sonny tells Lucky no matter how tough it is, he has to show up for his son. Lucky says he’ll see him now, but Sonny notes he’s in school. Lucky should have known that and decides to swing by General Hospital to check on Lulu and Isaiah instead. He thanks Sonny for the talk, and says it feels good to be back.

Gio is practicing his violin outside of Bonnie’s when Trina shows up and asks if he knows any Billie Eilish. She wonders why he’s out here. He says it’s a change of pace, and when he plays outside, he feels like he’s part of a big orchestra that’s always playing but people forget to listen to. Trina is sorry his performance and the show at the gallery got canceled, but she’d love to rebook him. Gio has to pass. He knows she cares for Ava, but he won’t work for her after what she did to Kristina. Trina says in a cold tone that she’ll ask someone else, and she won’t ask him to play there ever again. She heads inside.

Trina sits at the bar and makes some calls, asking about an advertisement she saw online and wants to know if they are still available.

Outside, Joss runs into Gio and asks if he wants to come inside and hang out with her and Trina. He thinks it’s a bad idea, as they don’t agree on Ava. Joss orders Gio to come with her, so he follows her inside.

They approach Trina, and Joss tells Trina and Gio that losing a friend over Sonny and Ava’s drama is not worth it. She tells them to let Sonny and Ava screw up their own lives but don’t let it change them.

They sit down, and Trina says if Gio doesn’t want to play at the gallery, then don’t, but she also doesn’t want him to assume Ava pushed Kristina. Gio says he’ll let the judge decide who is guilty, and he’ll play the gig at the gallery for her. She responds, “Who says I haven’t already found your replacement.” He’s shocked, and Trina admits the one she found is a bit sketchy, so she’d be happy to have him back.

At home, Joss and Carly talk about Lulu when Lucas (now played by Van Hansis) arrives. Carly hugs her brother and welcomes him home, and Joss also gives him a hug. Joss has to meet with Trina but plans to catch up with him soon.

Carly and Lucas sit down, and she asks if it was hard leaving Boston. He says it wasn’t, as he was always working and missed his family. Carly is glad he’s home and knows it’s hard for him to be in Port Charles. He’s sorry he didn’t stick around after mom’s funeral. Carly just wants him to be okay and asks if he’s up for this. He says he jumped at the chance to work at General Hospital again when he saw the opening for a trauma surgeon, and this job is the universe’s way of telling him it is time to come home.

Lucas already emailed Michael and Willow, and while it will be challenging to see Willie, he’s happy being his uncle. Carly asks if he’s seen Brad. Lucas hasn’t and doesn’t plan to. However, he wants to know what is happening with her and Sonny. She asks how he knows, and Lucas admits Joss told him. She also told him about Ava and Kristina. Carly says that’s another mess and jokes, “Are you glad to be back yet?” Lucas won’t push her on Sonny, but she’s not off the hook yet. He needs to go to the hospital and fill out some paperwork, and it will give her time to work on her story.

Ava shows up at General Hospital and talks to Portia in her office. Ava gives Portia a heads-up about the four tests Ric ran on Heather, and the one their lab ran was the only one that indicated Heather’s cobalt levels never changed. She says Ric believes someone here at General Hospital tampered with the results, someone who wants to keep Heather in prison. Portia asks, “Someone like me?” Ava admits if her child were in danger, she’d do anything for them, even kill. Ava says Trina doesn’t need to know what Portia did to protect her, as Trina is finally looking forward to the future now. She doesn’t need to see her mother’s career crash and burn because she wanted to protect her. Portia claims she has no idea what she’s talking about.

Ava says it took her three minutes to figure out Portia switched the results, so she needs her help. Portia asks what is in it for Ava. Ava just wants to protect Trina. Portia breaks down and cries that she was just trying to protect Trina, too, and now that Brad is back in the lab, he may already be onto her. Ava tells her to lie low and leave dealing with Ric to her. Portia fears Ric is going to get Heather out of prison. Just then, Ava gets a call from Ric. He’s filed to have Heather’s case overturned on the test results, and he lets her know that her mystery friend can remain a mystery. Ava gets off the phone and gives Portia a look…

Lucky turns up and finds Isaiah walking around his room with crutches. Isaiah is glad to see Lucky, and Lucky says he owes him one. Lucky asks what he thinks about Port Charles. Isaiah says he’s learned about the town, and ran into a few people here. He already met Elizabeth and asks if Lucky’s seen his son yet. Lucky hasn’t, and Isaiah thinks his son needs to know what he’s been doing and how he’s been helping people.

Lucky explains he’s focused on his sister and whether he is a match. He admits he’s worried about both of their surgeries. Isaiah says if Lulu accepts his liver, it could reset her to a baseline, and she could even wake up. Isaiah says Lucky will need about a week to recover. Lucky asks if he’d consider… Isaiah says he will be here to offer advice, but he’s never going to perform surgery again.

Lucas meets with Terry about returning to work. Terry is glad to have him back, but there is something he needs to know.

Lucas heads to the lab to find Brad at work. Brad is shocked to see his ex. Lucas lets Brad know he’ll be working here, and if they talk, it will be about work only. He makes it clear he wants nothing from him, ever.

Brad knows Lucas must hate him. Lucas doesn’t, and he understands why he did what he did. He says Brad got pulled into a nightmare and drew him in, too, and he never wants to go through that again. He tells Brad goodbye and walks out.

Carly arrives at Sonny’s restaurant. Sonny tells her that Lucky was here earlier, and he’s adjusting to being back, but he’ll be okay. Carly informs him that Lucas is also back and ready to start the next chapter of his life. However, he’s worried they are getting back together. That is why she’s here to see him. Sonny says this won’t have to go on much longer.

Carly doesn’t like Alexis being in prison for Cates’ murder. Sonny explains he has hired Martin to represent her, and this case against her will eventually fall apart. Carly asks what if it doesn’t? She is glad Cates is gone, but what will they do to protect Alexis? He tells her not to worry about it. He says they can protect Alexis and everyone involved by finding the gun she threw into the river. Carly asks what if they don’t find it? Sonny says he’ll turn himself in if he has to.