Nikolas participates in a forced intervention meant to coax Luke into rehab for his alleged alcoholism after Jake's death. He briefly agrees to finally enter rehab later on, but flees almost immediately. Lulu believes that she can lure Luke back by managing Luke's casino, The Haunted Star. Nikolas gives Lulu money to buy the casino from Luke's wife Tracy Quartermaine. On the night of Jake's death, Elizabeth finds out that Lucky is Aiden's father but keeps the secret for months. She tells Lucky when he begins a downward spiral dealing with his father. Nikolas refuses to believe it and plans to leave the country with Aiden. He reconsiders and leaves Aiden with Elizabeth and Lucky before leaving town in June 2011. Nikolas briefly returns in July, when he comes to Cassadine Island, where Lulu is looking for Luke, to speak with Helena. After telling Helena to stay away from Aiden and to never speak of him again, Nikolas tells Lulu how he always felt second to Lucky because everyone was worried about how Lucky felt when he was growing up. He also tells Lulu her search for Luke is just like their mother's belief that Luke was a good man, which eventually destroyed their marriage. He leaves, and Lulu realizes her mistake and returns to Port Charles. Nikolas returns to town in March 2013 when Lulu is abducted and is about to provide information on her whereabouts when he is shot and rendered comatose. Nikolas recovers and reveals that Stavros is alive and behind Lulu's kidnapping. Fortunately Lulu is rescued by her parents, and Stavros and Helena are eliminated. Nikolas pursues Elizabeth again but she rejects him for A. J. Quartermaine. He later partners with Tracy to oust her nephew as CEO, but Elizabeth talks him out of it. As Nikolas welcomes Spencer home, he befriends the pregnant Britt Westbourne who has been rejected by her child's supposed father, Patrick Drake. The duo commiserates over their love lives, and Nikolas invites Britt to move in with him. He later defends her against an angry Patrick, who has discovered that he is not her child's father after all. A romance blossoms between Nikolas and Britt, and they become engaged. Unfortunately, the relationship ends in disaster when Nikolas discovers that Britt's son Ben is actually his nephew, as Britt had stolen Lulu's frozen embryo to entrap Patrick. Helena resurfaces very much alive, and Nikolas is shocked to learn that Helena's new henchman "Jake Doe" is actually Jason Morgan, Emily's brother who was presumed dead.