Much has changed since she slipped into a coma four years ago — a realization that dawned on Lulu Spencer (Alexa Havins, General Hospital) when she learned the hard way that her house is no longer home. Seeking a port in the storm, she made a dash for the Quartermaine abode, and it was there that she reunited with her son — no longer the child she remembered him to be — and her ex-husband.

Alexa Havins On Lulu’s Reunions

In an interview with Soap Opera Digest, Havins likened her alter-ego’s surreal odyssey to “jumping on a moving train when you’re still trying to figure out where the train was at the last station.”

The actress went on to share that she tapped into her own real-life experience as a mother of four to really sell Lulu and Rocco’s reunion:

“Justin [Bruening, her real-life husband] and I have an 11-year-old son. I hugged him before I went to work and just before I went and shot those scenes, I was staring at [a picture of him] going, ‘This is what she saw [before she went into her coma], this sweet, innocent, 11-year-old boy.’ I kept looking at it because that’s what Lulu would have seen in Rocco, a child of that age — and then all of a sudden, here is this child of yours that is no longer a child, right in front of you! Just the soul-crushing, soul-shattering moment of, ‘I missed that time.’ ”

On onscreen son Finn Carr: “Finn is fantastic. He is so amazing and I think the scenes played beautifully because he has such an earnestness and an innocence that he brings to his portrayal of Rocco, which was just so endearing, but then to play it from my perspective, as a mother losing those years with her son…Those were really intense scenes. But he was wonderful in them.”

On play husband Dominic Zamprogna: “He is amazing, too. We had fun right away. I know how important that relationship is, too; that is the relationship, the love that never ends. I can’t wait to explore that…

“[Dom] was very welcoming and so sweet, and it’s been fun getting to know each other. You want to have a good relationship behind the camera and on, so that you work well together, and he’s sweet. And he’s excited and I’m excited!”

Might there be a reconciliation between the fan-favorite pair? Hedges Havins: “Where we left off [before her coma], Lulu does still love him. So, is it reciprocated? Not yet! Is the love always there? Yes. But his heart is still with Sam, and I’m curious to see where it will go.”