unsure if they could do it again. The duo met for lunch and then met again to brainstorm and did some "improvisation" to discover who Luke and Laura had become and what they would be about. "I realized, miraculously, that the connection was still there" Francis said. Geary who had actually returned to the series in 1991 in the role of Luke's cousin Bill Eckert said "Basically, I didn't want to do Luke without Laura." In May 1993, during the 20th Daytime Emmy Awards, the official announcement was made; Francis would return and Geary would reprise the role of Luke. "I felt it was time to go back" Francis said. Francis further stated "I really wanted to come back and finish it the right way." Executive producer Wendy Riche spoke with People magazine about the duo's return. In addition to the introduction of Luke and Laura's 10-year-old child, Riche said "We want to focus on people who've got this great history. We want to see if they've grown or not." Riche later explained to TV Guide that "None of us had any desire to duplicate the past—and we don't need to... The chemistry between Tony and Genie is still magical, and the audience will still respond to the unconditional love between the characters because that kind of emotional bond is a rarity—in soaps and in life." Francis said of her eagerness to work opposite Geary again "I have never, ever, had an acting partnership that was as safe, as full, and as exciting as the one I had with Tony. I didn't want to go through life without having a chance to taste it again." Meanwhile, Geary echoed similar thoughts and said "I had so closed the door on Luke that there was a point when I couldn't even remember who he was. But when I sat down with Genie again, and looked at her and touched her and smelled her, it all came back. I can't do it without her." In August 1993, committed to making sure the couple's return went off without a hitch, ABC fired the entire writing team and installed Emmy winning writer/producer who co-created Ryan's Hope Claire Labine as head writer. Geary said "I let out a deep breath and relaxed. I knew we'd be OK." Geary also developed the couples' return story with his writing partner Irene Suver. However, there was still "trepidation" not