Behind the scenes at the Laura-Lulu reunion that melted General Hospital fans' hearts

General Hospital fans have had to suspend their disbelief for some good, emotional soap performances this past week as Lulu reunited with one family member after another. Yes, it still makes no sense that she would be walking around fine after four years in a coma, but at least we didn't have to wait long to get into the nitty-gritty of her storyline.

General Hospital's Laura has her daughter back

There wasn't a dry eye in the house when Genie Francis and Alexa Havins shared their first scenes as mother and daughter during the December 4 episode. Laura's palpable relief and joy the moment she saw Lulu healthy and standing in her living were enough to make us want to rewind and play over and over on a loop. Those are the kind of scenes soaps are made of that keep us tuning in year after year.

It was only fitting that Lulu would reunite with her son, brother, and ex-husband before seeing the mother, who is one-half of the most famous couple in soap opera history. Fans noted the instant connection between Francis and Havins, something that Havins also marveled at.

Alexa Havins meets her new "mom"

Havins may not be new to GH, but she isn't new to soaps. She played Babe Chandler on All My Children, but of course, she knew who Luke and Laura were. After landing the role of Lulu, Havins did her homework and watched old Luke and Laura scenes. That made her first moments with Francis easier.

"She’s just so warm and her smile is just so beautiful and infectious," Havins told Soap Opera Digest. "I could see exactly why the fans fell in love with her the way they did. When I was watching [early Luke and Laura scenes to prepare to embody their daughter], I was struck by just the innocence of her and the way she played the character, I was just like, 'Yes! This is just perfect!'"

It didn't hurt that Francis welcomed Havins with open arms the same way Laura welcomed Lulu back among the land of the living.

"She was so sweet and just hugged me and said, 'Is this my daughter?'" Havins explained. "I just felt very welcomed. I wasn’t nervous; that kind of took the 'Aaaaah!' out of the first scenes, because I was stepping into something that’s hers, her world, and what she’s created, and Genie has had a lot to do with the success of the show."

Catch all-new episodes of General Hospital weekdays on ABC and Hulu.