Alexis: �Ned!�
Ned: (coming down the stairs) �Yeah?�
He stops short when he sees her. Alexis is wearing a very short slip dress- lilac with little cr�me flowers. There is a cr�me lace v-neck and spaghetti straps. She is wearing lilac sandals with a three inch heel and her hair is held up in a ponytail with a lilac ribbon.
Ned: (in shock) �Uh... aren�t you going to be cold?�
Alexis: (smiling seductively) �Nah. I have a sweater.�
Ned: �You... you... wow, you look amazing in that.�
Alexis: (amused at his speechlessness) �Thanks. I bought it in honor of your birthday.�
Ned: �Is that so?�
Alexis begins walking over to him, but just then, there is a knock at the door.
Ned: (opening it) �Well, well, it�s my two favorite parents-to-be.�
Julia: �Hey, birthday boy.� She gives him a hug. �Still clueless about your destination?�
Ned: (sulkily) �Yes. I suppose that you know?�
Jax: �Of course. Alexis told us about a month ago.�
Ned: �Alexis, this is just wrong. Morally wrong of you.�
Alexis: (amused) �I�m sure that you�ll get over it.�
Julia: �Lex, I love that dress! Where did you get it?�
Alexis: �I ordered it from the Nicole Miller boutique in the city.�
Julia: �I love it.� She pats her stomach. �Not that I�ll be fitting into anything like that any time soon.�
Jax: (putting his arm around her) �Aw, you�re going to be the sexiest pregnant woman ever.�
Julia blushes. Ned and Alexis laugh.
Alexis: (looking at her watch) �We�ve got to get going.� She yells upstairs. �Avery, Brooke, come down here please and say goodbye to us.�
Brooke and Avery come running down the stairs.
Avery: �Yay! Uncle Jax!� she jumps into Jax�s arms. �Are you going to watch Spice World with us again?�
Jax: �Sure.�
Brooke: �Aunt Julia, will you play beauty parlor with us?�
Julia: �By all means, Miss Ashton.�
Ned: (to Alexis) �It�s too bad that they�re so broken up about us leaving.�
Alexis: (picking Hannah up out of her playpen) �We�re going to miss you a lot, Hannah Banana. Your sisters too. But we�re going to have a lot of fun in you know where.� She smirks at Ned. �You know where we�re going, don�t you, Hannah?�
Ned: (taking Hannah from her) �You may never see your mommy again, Sweetie, because as soon as the plane lands, I�m gonna beat her down for not telling me where we were going.�
Alexis: �Ned, I could have you arrested for threatening to assault me...�
Ned just smiles at her.
An hour later. Aboard the ELQ jet.
Ned: �Alexis Brinna Ashton, WHERE ARE WE GOING???�
Alexis: �I am sorry, but I am not at liberty to discuss that with you.�
Ned: (whining) �Alexis, please? You won�t even let me look inside my own luggage!�
Alexis: (smiling) �I�ll give you a hint. It�s hot there even though it�s November. Oh, and neither of us have never gone there before.�
Ned: �Hot? And we haven�t been there? Than it can�t be Hawaii, Bali, Paris, Greece, Seattle, Arizona or...� he smirks. �The Czech Republic.� He thinks about it. �And I am fully aware that we�re headed to the southwest, so it has to be on the west coast or not in the United States. And your outfit confirms that it�d hot there.�
Alexis: (amused) �Very good, Sherlock Holmes.�
Ned: �You wouldn�t take me to California because it isn�t exotic enough, so it must be...�
Alexis: �Get over it.�
Ned: (cutting her off) �Mexico.� He looks sure of himself. �We�re going to Mexico.�
Alexis: (unconvincingly) �No we aren�t.�
Ned: (getting up and jumping around) �Ha, ha, ha! I am a genius! We�re going to Mexico! We�re going to Mexico!� he grins and leans down, putting his face next to hers. �Aren�t we, Lexi?�
Alexis: (sighing in defeat) �Yes. We�re going to Cabo San Lucas for a week.� She smiles. �Happy birthday, EJ.�
Ned: (giving her a hug) �I love it! Warm weather sounds so great right now.�
Alexis: (pouting) �I wanted it to be a surprise.�
Ned: (giving her a kiss) �I�m sorry. Can I make it up to you?� he smiles.
Alexis: (trying to not smile) �Mr. Ashton, I am very, very hurt. How can you EVER make this up to me?�
Ned: (lifting her off the couch and into his arms) �I can think of a few ways.�
Alexis: �Hmm. Could this have anything to do with the flight home from Bali and that love making session times six?�
Ned: (unzipping her dress) �It could.�
Alexis: (unbuttoning his pants) �I suppose that I could forgive you...�
Ned: �Thanks for being so understanding.� He pushes her down onto the plane�s floor.
Alexis: (kissing his chest) �You know, this trip to Cabo does have an ulterior motive on my part.�
Ned: (caressing her soft skin) �And that would be?�
Alexis: �God, you look good in a swimsuit.�
Ned starts laughing as he begins making love to her.
Four hours later. (five o�clock p.m. Mexico time)
Ned is standing on the balcony of their hotel room at the Mara Alta Ray Hotel in Cabo San Lucas. The wind is gently blowing and the sun is out.
Alexis: (coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist) �It�s so beautiful here.�
Ned: (turning around and putting his arms around her) �Thank you for bringing me here, Brinna. It�s exactly what we need.�
Alexis: �I can�t wait to give you your birthday present.� She smiles. �Only two days.�
Ned: �You know, I�m so content that I won�t bother asking you what you got me.�
Alexis: �Really? I�m impressed.�
Ned: �Well, in that case, I�ll start asking you in a few hours.� He smiles. �In the mean time, why don�t we go for a little swim?�
Alexis: �Sounds good to me.�
Ned: �Okay. Should we go down to the beach or go in the pool?�
Alexis: �I think we should go to the beach. It�s romantic to walk on the sand.�
Ned: (giving her a gentle push) �Than go put on some ravishing flimsy piece of spandex and we�ll go on down.�
Five minutes later, Ned is standing in their bedroom, wearing a pair of blue and green Speedo swimming trunks (baggy shorts).
Ned: �Lexi, you ready?�
Alexis comes walking out of the bathroom and Ned�s jaw drops.
Alexis: �Like it?� she spins around, modeling her black bikini and black Audrey Hepburn sunglasses. Her hair is up in a ponytail with a thin black ribbon.
Ned: (panting at the sight of her) �Alexis, I have never seen you looking sexier.� He puts his arms around her and holds her close.
Alexis: (feeling him becoming aroused) �I thought that we were going swimming.�
Ned: �Swimming can wait, can�t it?�
Alexis: (laughing) �Nope. If you had it your way, we would never leave this room, right?�
Ned: �And what would be wrong with that?�
Laughing, Alexis takes Ned�s hand and drags him out the door.
Ned: (as they head down to the lobby) �Just out of curiosity, what made you choose Cabo San Lucas for our vacation?�
Alexis: �We�ve never been here, and it�s warm. I�m sick of the nonstop rain at home.�
Ned: (as they walk out onto the warm sand) �I agree totally.� He stops and gives her a quick kiss. �I can�t think of a better way to spend my birthday.�
Alexis: �I�m glad you like it.� They stop in front of the water. �It�s so perfect.�
Ned: �Ready to do for a dip?�
Alexis: �What if the water�s cold?�
Ned: �Only one way to find out.� He scoops Alexis into his arms and begins jogging towards the water.
Alexis: (groaning) �What is this? A repeat performance of our anniversary in Bali?� she kicks at him. �Put me down.�
Ned: (laughing) �Now, Alexis, you don�t want to cause a scene, do you? There are hundreds of people here on this beach.�
Alexis: �Fine. But I will get you back later.�
Ned walks into the water and throws Alexis outward. She hits the water with a loud splash.
Alexis: (coming up to the surface) �Ned!�
Ned: (innocently) �What? You said repeat performance!�
Alexis: �I�m going to kill you!� she heads towards him.
Before Alexis can reach him, Ned dives underwater and swims away.
Ned: (when he surfaces) �You can�t catch me!�
Alexis: (primly) �I have no desire to catch you.� She swims off in the opposite direction.
Ned: �Alexis!� he swims towards her. �I�m sorry.�
Alexis: (smiling innocently) �You�re forgiven.�
Ned begins splashing water at her, and Alexis splashes back. This turns into a full-out splashing war, both of them laughing hysterically.
Meanwhile, in Port Charles.
Stefan is working in his study when there is a knock at the door.
Stefan: �Come in.�
Nikolas comes walking through the door.
Stefan: �Nikolas! What are you doing here?�
Nikolas: �Emily and I are off for the rest of the month. Since Ned and Alexis are gone, I was wondering if I could stay here? Emily is staying with her parents.�
Stefan: �You want to stay here until Ned and Alexis get back?�
Nikolas: �Actually, I meant through Thanksgiving.� He smiles. �If that�s okay.�
Stefan: �It�s more than okay.� He stands up and embraces Nikolas. �It�s so good to see you, my son.�
Nikolas: �It�s great to be home.�
Stefan: �Christabel will be thrilled to see you.�
Nikolas: �Speaking of my little sister, where is she?�
Stefan: �She and Mackenzie are having dinner with Julia, Jax and the girls.� He looks at his watch. �They should be home any minute now.�
As if on cue, footsteps can be heard coming up the stairs.
Christabel: �Daddy! Where are you?� she stops in front of the study and throws the door open. �There you are!�
Stefan sweeps Christabel into his arms as she races towards him. He gives her a kiss.
Christabel: (seeing Nikolas) �Nikolas! Why are you here?�
Nikolas: �I�m visiting for a while.�
Christabel: �Cool!�
Nikolas: �You call our father Daddy?�
Stefan: �It�s a new thing.�
Nikolas looks at him, surprised. Stefan just smiles.
Stefan: �Christabel, where�s Mackenzie?�
Christabel: �She�s in you guys� bedroom putting her coat and purse away.�
Just then, Mackenzie walks through the door.
Mackenzie: �Nikolas! What are you doing here?�
Nikolas: �I�m visiting for a few weeks since I�m off from school.� He goes to her and kisses her hand. �I hope to spend some time with you, Mackenzie.�
Mackenzie: �That would be nice. I�d love to get to know my boyfriend�s son better.�
Christabel: �Nikolas, if Daddy marries Mackenzie, you�ll be her son.�
Stefan and Mackenzie exchange a look. Christabel and Nikolas start laughing.
The firehouse.
Serena is sitting on the stairs, listening to Kimberly and Scott arguing.
Scott: �Kim, I never said that I didn�t want you as co-council, I just thought you were doing the Lewis case.�
Kimberly: �Sure, Scott. You just don�t want me as council. That�s why you were considering asking Mackenzie?�
Scott: �I never said that I was going to ask Mackenzie! I just asked her for her input on the odds of wining this case. Why do you always blow things out of proportion?�
Kimberly: �Me? You�re the one who has a heart attack if I even talk to another man!�
Scott: �What do you expect me to do? You married Alan during a drunk moment in Vegas, what, three months ago?�
Kimberly: �That was a mistake! You know that I was drunk!�
Scott: �That�s a great excuse.� He glares at her. �I�ve had enough of this.�
Kimberly: �Of what?�
Scott: �Everything. I am sleeping down here tonight.�
Kimberly: �Fine!� she storms off into the kitchen.
Just then, Olivia starts crying upstairs. Serena goes to quiet her down.
Serena: (leaning over Olivia�s crib) �You know what, Olivia? Mom and Dad sure do fight a lot! But they love each other more than anything, so don�t be worried when they yell and scream, okay?� she strokes her little sister�s hair. �You know, you aren�t so bad after all. I guess that we could be buddies.�
Just then, the doorbell rings and Scott goes to get it.
Scott: �What is it now?� he throws the door open to reveal his daughter, Dr. Karen Wexler. �Karen! You�re back!�
Karen: (giving Scott a hug) �I�ve missed you so much Dad! A year in Los Angeles was sure a long time!�
Scott: �But it was worth it, wasn�t it? I mean, isn�t Dr. Robert Savitch one of the leading pediatric cardiologists in the world?� he hugs her again. �But I sure did miss you, and so did Serena.�
Karen: �I�m glad to be home and I�ll be starting back to work at GH on Monday. Joe sure is happy.�
Scott: �He seemed lost without you. I ran into him at the hospital when Mackenzie was in intensive care. He treated her.�
Karen: (sitting down on the couch) �Who�s Mackenzie?�
Scott: �Ned Ashton�s sister. She�s Stefan Cassadine�s girlfriend.�
Karen: �So, where is my, uh, stepmother?�
Scott: �Kimberly? She�s in the kitchen.� He calls to the kitchen. �Kim! Karen�s here!�
Serena: (coming down the stairs with Olivia) �Karen!� she goes to her and gives her a hug. �I missed you!�
Karen: (looking at Olivia) �Serena Dominique Baldwin, did you have a baby?�
Serena: (laughing) �No, this is our sister, Olivia.�
Kimberly comes into the room just then. Scott goes and puts his arm around her. Karen stands up and looks at her.
Scott: �Kimberly Corday-Baldwin, this is my daughter, Dr. Karen Wexler, and Karen, this is your step-mother, Kimberly.�
Karen: (holding out a hand) �Hello.�
Kimberly: (shaking her hand) �It�s nice to finally meet Scott�s oldest daughter. He talks about you all the time.�
Karen: �That�s funny, because I haven�t heard that much about you.�
Scott: (smoothly) �That�s just because I�ve been waiting for you two to meet face to face.� He smiles. �I knew that you would get along right away.�
Kimberly smiles weakly at Karen. Karen smiles falsely back.
Serena: (sensing the tension between them) �Mommy, here�s Olivia. She woke up when I was going upstairs.�
Kimberly: (taking Olivia from her) �Karen, have you had the pleasure of meeting your new sister, Olivia Paige?�
Karen: �Yes. Serena introduced her to me.�
Kimberly: �Oh.�
Karen: �Well, I�d better get going. Dad, I�ll drop by your new office tomorrow?�
Scott: �Sure. Maybe the three of us can go out for lunch or something.�
Kimberly: �That would be nice.�
Karen: (smoothly) �Very nice.� She gives Serena a hug. �It was... nice... meeting you... Kimberly. I�ll see you all tomorrow.� She walks out the door.
Scott: (seeing the pained look on Kimberly�s face) �Serena, you go on upstairs and get ready for bed, okay?�
Serena: �Okay.� She runs off.
Scott: �Kim...�
Kimberly: �Just a minute.� She goes and gets Olivia a bottle and sitting down on the couch, begins feeding her.
Scott: �I know that was a little awkward with Karen, but...�
Kimberly: �Scott, I don�t think that your daughter likes me.�
Scott: �Aw, Kim, how do you know that? You just met her.�
Kimberly: �She seemed a little icy to me.� She forces a smile. �Maybe I�m just imagining things since I�m tired.�
Scott: (pulling her and Olivia close) �Kim, I�m sorry for not asking you to be my co-council. I don�t want to fight about this.�
Kimberly: �Me neither.� She lays her head on his shoulder. �I�m sorry that I�m always so uptight.�
Scott: �You�re forgiven.� He sighs. �We need a vacation. Just the two of us. No work, no kids, no nothing, except you and I.�
Kimberly: �That sounds wonderful. We should definitely take this under advisement.�
Scott leans down and kisses her, and then kisses Olivia.
Gregory�s apartment (at the high rise that Sonny and Jason live in)
Gregory rolls off of Monica, breathing hard.
Monica: �Have I ever told you that I really like your bed?�
Gregory: �Is that so?�
Monica: �Well, only when you�re in it.� She smiles and snuggles close to him. �I wish with all my heart that I could spend the night.�
Gregory: (stroking her hair) �Where are you supposedly right now?�
Monica: �Having dinner with a doctor from Mercy.�
Gregory: �And Alan won�t check up on you?�
Just then, Monica�s pager goes off.
She picks it up off the nightstand and looks at it, sighing.
Monica: �It�s Alan.�
Gregory: �Can�t you just forget about him for once? Live dangerously.�
Monica: �Gregory, I can�t...� he begins kissing her neck and back as she sits up. �Well, I could always say that my pager wasn�t on...�
Gregory: �That�s the spirit.�
Monica crawls on top of Gregory and begins making love to him as her pager goes off again.
Meanwhile. The Quartermaines� mansion.
Alan pushes the redial button on the phone, sending another page to Monica�s pager.
Edward: (walking in) �Where�s Monica? She�s usually home by now.�
Alan: �I�m not sure where she is. I�m sure that it�s a business thing, though.�
Edward: �She�s been acting awfully strange lately.�
Alan: �You mean when she�s actually home, she acts strange? I would have thought that with Emily being home, she�d show her face tonight.� He hits redial again.
Edward: �Do you think that she�s even coming home? She could have gotten called into surgery.�
Alan: �I doubt it.� He hits the redial button again. �And you know what? I don�t care.�
Edward: �Since when don�t you care about your marriage?� he leaves.
Alan doesn�t say anything. He just stares at a picture of him and Monica on the wall and slowly balls his hand into a fist.
Alan: �Oh, I care. I care a great deal.� He smiles. �Monica, you aren�t going to know what hit you. I promise that I will get even.�
He laughs maniacally and heads upstairs to their bedroom.