Editing Luke and Laura (section)

===Luke, Laura, and Scotty (1978–1980)===
Teenaged Laura begins dating [[Scott Baldwin]] ([[Kin Shriner]]) (known as "Scotty" at this point of the storyline). Then Laura is seduced by the much older [[General Hospital Characters#H|David Hamilton]], in a plot to get revenge on her mother [[Lesley Webber]] ([[Denise Alexander]]). Scotty breaks up with Laura and begins an affair with former prostitute, now nurse, [[Bobbie Spencer]] ([[Jackie Zeman]]). When Laura discovers the truth about David, she accidentally kills him. She is put on probation for David's death, eventually rekindles her relationship with Scotty, and they get engaged. Bobbie, in love with Scotty, gets her brother, [[Luke Spencer]], to help her break up the couple. Bobbie makes it look like she and Scotty have slept together when Scotty gets drunk. Laura discovers this and ends up injured in a car accident. Luke, who has developed feelings for Laura, convinces Bobbie to drop her vendetta. Bobbie eventually moves on to a romance with Luke's best friend, [[Roy DiLucca]] (then Asher Brauner).

In July 1979, Scotty and Laura marry. He begins law school while she begins working at the Campus Disco, which is managed by Luke. She becomes attracted to Luke as he flirts with her, but shows no outward interest in him. Luke is involved with mobster [[Frank Smith (General Hospital)#Frank Smith|Frank Smith]] (then [[George Gaynes]]), who orders him to kill anti-mafia senatorial candidate [[Mitch Williams (General Hospital)#Mitch Williams|Mitch Williams]] on election night. Distraught over his unrequited love for Laura and the fact he could likely die during the assassination attempt, Luke vows to hold her in his arms before he dies. As the [[Herb Alpert]] song "[[Rise (instrumental)|Rise]]" plays, Luke rapes Laura on the floor of the disco. Conflicted, she admits to being raped, but does not name Luke as her attacker. On election night, she throws his car keys away to keep him from killing Mitch. Roy does the hit and apparently dies in Bobbie's arms after being shot by Mitch's security detail.

Frank, furious at Luke, demands he marry Frank's daughter, [[Jennifer Smith (General Hospital)|Jennifer]] (then played by Lisa Marie). To get out of this marriage, Luke orders Laura to tell Scotty he raped her. She refuses and gets jealous when she observes Luke flirting with Jennifer. Scotty tells Laura she has to quit her job at the disco. On her last night, she shares a romantic kiss with Luke. Horrified, she slaps him. Later she accidentally gets locked in his office, overhearing Luke and Frank discussing mob business. When Frank discovers her, he forces her to continue to work at the disco. She tells Luke not to marry Jennifer. He traps Laura on a sailboat and forces her to admit she wants him just as much as he wants her. When she does so, he releases her from his arms and tells her to go tell the authorities how it was rape, as he believes it wasn't. She refuses. He realizes he is in too deep with the mob to ever be with Laura. She writes him a letter expressing her feelings, trying to break the bond between them, which Scotty finds on the day of Luke and Jennifer's wedding. Scotty interrupts the ceremony on Frank's yacht and knocks Luke overboard, leading everyone to believe he is dead.

Later, in the scuffle around the yacht, Laura is walking by and Luke grabs her ankle from the water. She helps him get away and they decide to be on the run. He stole Frank's encoded black book, which holds the details of his criminal dealings. They could be free of the mob and be together if they could decode the book, so they flee Port Charles as Frank's men pursue them. While on the run, Luke and Laura dance at Wyndham's Department Store before ending up in the rural town of Beecher's Corners. They pose as newlyweds Lloyd and Lucy Johnson and are able to evade Frank's men, Jefferson "Hutch" Smith Hutchinson, and Sally Armitage (who it was revealed was really Max Hedges, in drag). Eventually, Luke and Laura find enough evidence to have Frank arrested. They celebrate by making love. On their return to Port Charles, the press bombards them. Still traumatized from the press attention she endured after David's death, Laura declares she still considers herself Scott's wife. A heartbroken Luke rejects her after hearing that.