| �Stavros, give her to me.� Stavros bounced the baby lightly in his arms as he gently rocked her back and forth. �She�s fine where she is.� He snapped and then looked down at the little bundle in his arms, �Aren�t you my little princess.� Alexis stood perfectly still, terrified of setting him off. His fits of temper were world renowned. One false move and there was no telling what he�d do to the baby. �Stavros, it is very cool out here, she�s never spent anytime out doors��..� �Oh, nonsense. The air is good for her. None of that polluted city air here. I can�t believe you ever intended to raise her in that god forsaken town. She�s much better off here.� At the moment, Port Charles was sounding like heaven to Alexis. For all the threats and violence Kristina had never been in as much peril as she was now, helpless in her Uncle�s arms. Alexis�s mouth was dry, her legs wobbled and she had no idea what to do. She just wanted her baby back. Trying to sound as meek and passive as possible, she tried again, �May I hold her? Please?� Stavros rolled his eyes. What a little mouse. Wasn�t that his Mother�s name for her? Alexis always scurried about after Stefan. That was his memory of her. Gawky little girl. Eyes too big. Hair unkempt and in her face. Little, quiet, ugly. His little bit of ugliness. She wasn�t so terribly ugly now, though he would never know how any man found her truly attractive. Her eyes were still too big, her hair was still in her face, she was still too thin and serious looking. But she was at least more interesting now. As a child she was a bore, as woman she had a sharp mind and skills. He reminded himself it was her skills he needed. Though it galled him, he did need Alexis. He�d have never helped her otherwise. He would not have harmed her either. She was nothing to him. Cousin, sister, none of that really mattered. She was still just his little bit of ugliness. He looked back down at the child. A girl. Alexis couldn�t even manage to give him a nephew, yet another short coming. Little good would come of another girl in the family. But she was sweet and not nearly as plain as Alexis. She looked quite a bit like Nikolas did as a baby. She was dark, the Greek genes showing themselves in full force he supposed. Her father was Greek. Well that was something. Of course he was also Cuban and poorly educated, from less than desirable stock not to mention a common criminal. Alexis had managed to muddy the gene pool. But that was her fault and not the baby�s. Kristina reached out a tiny hand and wrapped it firmly around his finger. She also had more charm than her mother. She cooed and gurgled. With each passing moment in his arms he was becoming more and more fond of her. Nature vs. Nurture. At least here on the island, with the proper care and education, perhaps some of her less than adequate lineage could be over come. Yes, Stefan had raised Nikolas as his own, why shouldn�t Stavros have the same opportunity with his niece? Her mother had already made a mess of things. Kristina tugged his finger into her mouth. �She�s hungry.� �I�ll feed her.� Alexis held out her arms anxiously. Stavros ignored her and stepped back into the nursery. He picked up the phone and dialed the extension to the kitchen. �My niece is hungry, send up a bottle.� He hung up. �She�s very fussy when she�s hungry Stavros. Why don�t you let me��.� �Why don�t you have a seat.� He grumbled. �You�ve had her since she was born. Can I not hold her for five minutes without you hovering? Now I know why you didn�t tell her father, you�re too selfish to share her with anyone.� This coming from the king of �Everything is mine, mine, mine.� Was just too absurd to argue with. Alexis sat down on the small love seat as Stavros carefully situated himself into an oversized white rocking chair. And if Alexis hadn�t been frightened for the life of her daughter and herself, she would have burst out laughing. Stavros dressed in solid black from head to toe. Dark beady eyes, the dark goatee, his stature, his power���..lost its effect somehow as he made funny faces into the bundle of pink blankets. �Why have you brought us here?� Alexis couldn�t stand the suspense a moment longer. He seemed quite taken with Kristina. �You called and asked for help.� Adonia entered the room carrying a small silver tray with a bottle. She set it down next to Stavros. Alexis caught her eye and gave her a quick glare. How dare she not give her any warning. Adonia blushed with a bit of shame but finally shrugged as if to say she had no choice. She left the room quickly. �I called Stefan.� �Yes, but Stefan isn�t returning any calls these days.� Stavros expertly tested the milk on his wrist and once assured it was the right temperature he began to feed Kristina. �Is he dead?� She asked flatly. �I don�t know.� That didn�t calm her down any. �Then how do you know he isn�t returning his calls?� �He disappeared several months ago. I was keeping an eye on him in Milan and then when our sister����..� �What does Stefan�s disappearance have to do with my sister?� Alexis crossed her arms. �OUR sister.� �Yes, fine. Your half sister. What does it matter? You never even met her.� �And whose fault is that? She was there, in Port Charles, the same time I was.� �Well you didn�t exactly send out announcements about your return.� Alexis spat. Stavros looked up from the baby and gave Alexis a contemplative stare, �Careful Alexis.� She swallowed hard. �I�m sorry.� He rocked back harder in the chair and smiled. �No, you�re not.� �Why did Stefan disappear?� �From what I can gather, he was very distressed over our sister�s death. It seems he bonded with her rather quickly.� �He was very fond of her.� Alexis whispered sadly. �So I gathered by his reaction.� �What did he do?� �He went after Mother, of course.� �Helena?� �Well Alcazar was working for Helena���..� Alexis�s head swam. She thought of standing up, then thought better of it and remained seated. �Alexis, you look a bit pale, are you alright?� �Helena?� She choked out. �Yes, I thought you knew.� Alexis shook her head, �No, no he was an arms dealer. He was fighting with Sonny���.it was over Brenda��.� Stavros sat the bottle down and laid Kristina on his chest and began to pat her back gently. �Now why on earth would he bring Brenda Barrett back to Port Charles when he stood the greatest chance of losing her there?� �To kill Jax and Sonny.� �Don�t be ridiculous. He had Brenda all to himself for four years, why all of the sudden would he decide to bring her home? No, no. I do believe he intended to kill both Jacks and Corinthos but his real target, the target he was pad to dispose of was Kristina.� �And you knew?� Alexis gasped. �Not until after. Stefan figured it out first. He went after Mother��.some insane trip to Antarctica.� �Where are they now?� �I have no idea. The last wire I received was from the Congo of all places. A demand from Mother for more money.� Helena? Sonny hadn�t had anything to do with it. It wasn�t about Sonny at all! �How long ago was that?� Stavros shrugged. �A month, six weeks.� �I suppose you sent it.� �I sent her enough to survive on, nothing more, nothing less.� �Any news of Stefan?� �No.� �You wouldn�t help him.� �He doesn�t know I am alive to ask me for help. I would do the same for him. Enough to survive on, no more no less.� �I don�t understand.� Stavros stood up and walked Kristina back to her incubator, lying her down gently. Alexis jumped up to check on her. Sound asleep, perfectly peaceful. �I do not condone what Mother did.� �Then why send her money?� �I won�t cut her off either. She is the only reason I am alive.� �She killed OUR sister.� �And if Stefan is successful, I won�t take revenge.� Alexis threw her arms up, �So now you choose to be a pacifist? GREAT timing.� �This is an impossible situation Alexis. I won�t interfere in it. If Stefan is successful, he has nothing to fear from me. If Mother is successful, I won�t turn her away, though she must know I am angry with her.� �You should be a little more than angry!� �Shhh. Keep your voice down, the child is sleeping.� �Not for long, we�re leaving.� Alexis spun on her heel and headed back to her suite. Stavros smiled and followed her. �And where will you go?� Alexis looked around for her suitcase. It was still packed by the door. Well there went the dramatic effect of packing her things. She was still packed. She turned around to head back to Kristina�s room but Stavros blocked the way. He leaned casually in the door frame and made a point of checking his nails. �Get out of my way.� �I asked where you are going.� �Anywhere but here!� �Not a wise move. Let�s think this through, shall we?� Stavros threw an arm around her shoulder and walked her back toward her bed. �You have no place to go. You have no way to leave. You have no one to help you.� �I�ll��..I�ll call Jax!� �Mr. Jacks is terribly busy at the moment setting up a quaint little love nest for his fugitive fianc�.� �Fugitive?� �Yes, that brings us to your latest problem. The clients you so swiftly abandoned have fled the states.� �Jason and Brenda ran?� Stavros took Alexis gently by the shoulders and forced her to sit on the edge of her bed. �And they were not alone when they left. It seems Mr. Morgan�s employer left with them.� Alexis�s eyes grew huge. �Where did they go.� �They landed in Athens a couple hours ago.� Alexis�s stomach tightened into a knot. �Athens?� �Yes and they have been very busy trying to rent a helicopter to bring them to the island.� �How? But��..NED! He told them.� �I doubt that but it doesn�t matter now. It seems that Sonny Corinthos knows you have his daughter.� Alexis�s shoulder�s slumped forward. He knew. He finally knew. After a thousand and one day dreams of telling him and two thousand and one nightmares of what that would mean����..he knew. Stavros gently guided her down on to her side. She tucked her legs back automatically. He reached over her to the throw she had slept under earlier. He pulled it across her slowly and then reached down to slip off her shoes, dropping them in the floor. �They were not successful, with the helicopter I mean. But it is Greece, eventually they will find a boat. They are on their way, but no need to worry. They will never step foot on the island.� �Why are you helping me?� Alexis asked as she squeezed her eyes closed. She wanted him to leave, she wanted to cry, needed to cry and out of habit she just couldn�t do that in front of him. �We will discuss it later.� Rest now. You�re home, no one will hurt you or your daughter so long as you do everything I say. Contract presented. Reviewed. Signed. One soul delivered. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ �The boat will sink if I load this.� �It�s just a suitcase. What did you rent? A row boat?� Brenda pulled her sunglasses back down over her eyes. Jason continued dragging her bags down the dock trying not to look too strained but he would swear she�d packed bricks. He had a theory that she wasn�t really all that beautiful. She was probably a hideous wreck underneath all the layers and layers of make-up and hair products. If she was really attractive, would she need so much stuff? They reached the boat and Jason hauled the luggage on board. Brenda waited on the dock, never offering to help. Sonny was already below deck. He didn�t really have much luggage, just the one bag. He traveled light, like Jason. Or at least the way Jason used to travel, before he was saddled with a wife who chose to pack an entire spa just for an overnight trip. Brenda grimaced. �It�s kind of small.� �It�s a cabin cruiser!� �Still, I wanted to get some sun, there is hardly any deck.� �This isn�t a VACATION! We were lucky to get this, now get your ass on board so we can shove off.� Brenda rolled her eyes and hopped on board. �So how�d you get this one, oh-great-all- knowing-mob-gopher.� �E-bay.� �What?� �Well, no one around here wanted to deal. The guy who owned this one is American. Apparently they didn�t get to him.� �They?� �The Cassadines. I think they have everybody spooked. You wouldn�t believe some of the offers I made that were turned down.� Brenda knocked her suitcase on to it�s side and rummaged around for something. Jason looked over her shoulder. He didn�t see any bricks, just tons of clothes. How the hell could her clothes weigh that much? She was the size of a thimble! �Ah ha!� Brenda produced a bottle of sunscreen. She zipped the suitcase closed and stood back up whipping her shirt off. She didn�t even get the bottle open before Jason snatched the shirt back off the deck and threw it at her chest. �Are you insane? Put your clothes on!� �What?� �Put the shirt on Brenda!� Jason snapped. �Oh come on! I get dragged on this ridiculous crusade��.� �You didn�t get dragged anywhere! YOU are the one who insisted on coming!� ����.and NOW I can�t even work on my tan.� �This is NOT, I repeat, NOT a vacation!� �That doesn�t mean I can�t have some fun!� Brenda threw the shirt back down. Jason�s face flushed and he turned around. �They�re called boobs, in case you�ve never seen them.� Jason crossed his arms and kept his back to her. �It�s called a bathing suit, in case you�ve never worn one.� �It�s Europe! No one wears a top in Europe.� �Put the shirt on Brenda.� Jason hissed through gritted teeth. �No!� Brenda opened the sunscreen and began smearing it on her arms. Jason turned around, picked the shirt up again and had it halfway over her head before Brenda even had time to blink. Sunscreen squirted out of the bottle before she dropped it and kicked him in the shins. Jason let out a yelp and reached down with one arm trying to block the blows. Before they both knew what happened they were lying on the deck. Brenda kicked and shoved with her hands while Jason tried to pin her down and pull the shirt over her head, it wasn�t working. �What the hell is going on up here?� Sonny climbed the stairs to find Jason lying on top of a half naked Brenda. Both were covered in sunscreen, and Jason had both Brenda�s hands pinned over her head. Sonny immediately turned around and went back into the cabin. A stunned Brenda and Jason watched him leave. �Great! Just great. Now see what you�ve done?� Brenda tried to get her breathing back under control, �You can let go now!� Jason realized he still had her pinned underneath him. �Are you going to put the shirt on?� �Let me GO!� Brenda kicked her legs, which had no effect. Jason finally let her go anyway. �I hate you!� She hissed. �Not as much as I hate you!� �This is the worst marriage EVER!� �Think of this as our honeymoon. If we�re lucky, you�ll fall overboard, I hope there are SHARKS!� �I hope the Cassadines cut out your heart����..oh wait, YOU DON�T HAVE ONE!� �And I hope the two of you can make a little less noise when you have sex.� Sonny yelled through the cabin door. Jason shook his head. �Do you want to straighten him out or should I? Cause we both know, that will never, EVER happen.� �What the sex? Or the being quiet about it part? Because from where I was laying, you seemed to be enjoying yourself.� Brenda stuck her tongue out at him. Jason stood up and knocked on the cabin door. �Sonny?� �It�s open.� Jason went inside and slammed the door behind him. �Oh yes. Go explain to your true love that you weren�t cheating on him. The two of you deserve each other!� ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ �Ned?� Ned was breathless. �Lois?� He�d lost communication on the plane after the fax arrived. For three and half grueling hours he�d had to wait for word on his loved ones. He�d prayed, begged, and bargained with every God he�d ever heard of. The plane landed and he ran down the stairs, across the tarmac and into the waiting limo. The first one he called was Lois. �Any word?� �You could say that.� Lois drawled into the phone sarcastically. �What?� �I�ll let you speak to Brook Lynn after you calm down.� �She�s there! Is she okay?� �She�s fine. She�s always BEEN fine. Her day was totally normal as far as she�s concerned.� �How is that���..� �Ya, that�s what I�d like to know. Do you have any idea how stupid I felt when I went down to the school and they told me they�d never even called me? They thought I was insane! Here I am screaming like a banshee and little Brookie is sitting, snug as a bug in a rug, in her third grade class taking a math test, which she aced by the way.� �What the���� �I know, I know. I can�t explain it. The ID caller said it was the school. It sounded like the school. I even called back and SPOKE to them but when I got there����they had no idea what I was talking about.� �You�re sure she is okay?� �Like I said. Normal day in Brookie�s life. Her biggest drama was waiting to find out what she made on the test. You wanna talk to her?� �Yes, I mean no. I�m coming to see her. I need to call someone first though. I�m coming to see her first chance I get.� �Ya sure��..� �Lois. I mean it. As soon as I know everyone else is okay, I�m there.� �Okay, whatever. I�ll see you soon.� �Lois?� �Ya.� �I�m sorry about this.� �You explain it when you get here, okay? I�m pooped. I�m just gonna sit here and help her with her homework.� �Give her a kiss for me.� �Sure, see ya soon.� Lois hung up. The limo was headed straight back to the mansion so Ned called Paris next. �Hello?� �Ned?� �Is Dylan okay?� �No Dylan is NOT okay. He�s grounded!� Ned let out a sigh of relief. �So he�s there?� �Yes, totally busted for skipping school. I�m sorry I yelled at you earlier. I guess he thought he could use you as a cover story.� �So what happened?� �Oh, what always happens with teenage boys. He met some girl in the lobby of the hotel this morning and she talked him into skipping. They traipsed all over Paris and he apparently lost her some time this afternoon. He�s more upset about losing her than he is about being grounded. I don�t know who the little trollop is but she has him heart broken after only one day.� �But he didn�t get hurt or anything?� �Well, I still haven�t checked for tattoos but it looks like he had the time of his life! He nearly scared me to death.� �I�m glad he�s okay.� �So am I. And I really am sorry about earlier, really but it just scared me.� �I know. I know.� �You barely even know Dylan and that�s my fault but, I wish you could find a way to at least come and see your brother Ned.� �I�m going to, real soon.� �Sure��� �No Mom. I�m going to take some time off. I�ll let you know when I can come.� �Really? I think Dylan would like that.� �I would too. I gotta go. I�ll talk to you soon.� One more call to go. He wasn�t that far from home but he still couldn�t wait. �Monica?� �Whew, Ned. There you are!� �Is Emily okay?� �Well, she�s a little annoyed but considering���.� �What happened?� �She was on her way to physical therapy and her car broke down, then she couldn�t find her cell phone. Says she doesn�t know WHAT happened to it. Anyway, some boy stopped and fixed the car so Emily, being Emily, took him for a cup of coffee. She says they talked for hours and before she knew it, she�d missed her appointment.� �So what about her future appointments?� �Well that�s the strange part. I called them back and they didn�t know what I was talking about. Said her appointments were all still scheduled. Of course she missed today but that�s it. It was all just a big misunderstanding.� �And the boy she met?� �You know it�s a funny thing. She said through the whole day, she never even got his name. They left the coffee house, he walked her to her car and went back in for his wallet and disappeared.� �Really, you don�t say.� �She seems more annoyed about that than the car breaking down or losing her cell phone.� �Well at least she is okay.� �I think a few years were taken off my life, but she seems fine.� �That�s great. I�ll be home in a few minutes. Tell Grandfather I need to speak to him.� �I thought you were going to Greece?� �Change of plans. I�m going to Brooklyn.� |