***Deck***
The cold salty air affected her lungs the most, filling them with choking air. Lark Scanlon Cassadine pulled her wrap tightly around her shoulders and looked out at the harbor. Shaking her head, she sighed. She wasn't sure how her life became the mess it was, nor did she understand why she was even here. All she knew was she held an important role in this family. A role she didn't even want. She'd much rather be back at the Scanlon home with Frank and Neil.
She grips the side of the yacht, her knuckles turning white. Two years as a Cassadine has made her bitter. Frank and Neil. They were her family, not what Helena Cassadine called family. They were honest and true, and cared about people. She hears others approaching, their expensive heels clicking on the deck.
She looks up. Alexis approaches quietly with her husband Jax. Lark's eyes narrowed on the blonde Adonis. She had to wonder about the look behind Jax's seemingly happy exterior. She'd had the same look enough times to recognize it in others. Jax was worried about something.
"Hiding?" Andrew whispers into her ear, catching her off-guard. She turns to her husband, an icy smile plastered on her face. His hand slides up her face, gently cupping it. Despite herself, she can't pull away.
"I don't want to go in there."
"Who does?" he asked, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting up. "Where is Gabrielle?"
"With Frank for the evening. He loves spending time with his granddaughter."
"I know," Andrew answers, sidestepping the directed jab. "So what do you think Helena wants this time?"
"To torture the family. What else?"
"She must be up to something," he deduces, taking a drag before glancing out into the night sky. It was awkward, sharing these quiet moments with his wife. They were almost like two strangers that share space and duty.
"I received a call today at work," she said softly. "Callie and Jerry had the baby. A little boy. Andrew Castille Jacks."
"Good for them. Maybe this means I'll see my sister before the end of the year," he says bitterly. Lark's face softens toward him. Despite his many flaws, Andrew has been devoted to his sister their entire lives.
"They invited us for Christmas."
"Christmas. It's coming soon," he murmurs before extinguishing the butt. "I'm sure it's time for the Prince to make an appearance."
"Jax would have come out looking for us. Or Alexis. I don't think anyone is really here yet."
"Isn't that always the way." He glances at his watch for a moment before pulling her into him. Their relationship was hard for him to define. All he knew was that he needed her.
Lark accepted the hug as she leaned her cheek against his shoulder. She sighed softly. "I hate being summoned."
"We all do. Maybe she's dying."
"I think she's actually been dead before."
"A few times actually. She has far too many lives." He pauses before wrapping his arm around her waist. "Ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Lark answers.
***Stateroom***
Alexis idly stirs her drink as she waits for Jax to finish speaking to Stefan. She watches her husband with curiosity. His jaw is set tightly, his body stiff. Something is bothering him. Something that he wasn't letting her know about. She glances up and sees Abbie enter the room, making a beeline for Nikolas. Years has done nothing but strengthen the bond between the two cousins.
"Hello Alexis."
"Emily how are you?" Alexis asks, snapping her out of her clouded thoughts. Her niece in-law takes a seat next to her, beverage in hand.
"About as well as everyone else. Any idea why we're summoned?"
"None," she says, taking a long sip. "I'm sure it's nothing good."
"When has Helena done any good?" Emily says with a laugh. "How is Jonathan?"
"Wonderful. He's spending the night with Sonny actually."
"That's good. I haven't seen Sonny in a while. I wonder how he is." Alexis bristles, not wanting to discuss her ex-husband, or her fears about him.
"Abbie's living with him actually."
"Oh, Nikolas hadn't told me," Emily says softly. Her marriage has had its rough patches, especially after her flirtation with Lucky Spencer. Now, the tension seemed to lie within their workaholic careers.
"How are things with you and Nikolas? And how's Cordelia?"
"She's good. She's spending the night with her cousins and Carly. They love having her."
Ah, Carly. The subject had been broached. She had been a mess since Jason died, refusing help or even really talking to anyone. Alexis smiles at Emily before rising.
"I think I'm going to rescue Jax from Stefan. Give Carly my regards. I haven't seen her in a long time."
"I will." Emily nodded before making her way to her own husband and his cousin. "Hi Abbie," she smiles. "Here Nikolas. I got you a red wine."
He takes the glass from her before pulling her into his arms. Abbie smiles at the obvious love that they two feel for each other and for a moment, indulges in remembering Dylan.
"Not drinking tonight Em?" Abbie observed, noticing the soda her cousin-in-law was drinking.
"I'm on call. With any luck I'll be paged before Helena serves dinner."
"Or poisons us all," Abbie says with a chuckle. She holds her Vodka tightly in her hand. "I'm hoping to be unaware of half the things that will happen tonight."
"Annabelle," an admonishing voice says. She turns and hugs Stefan tightly before pulling away.
"Hello Father."
"Hello Stefan." Emily said. "Where's Bobbie?"
"She got paged."
"Lucky her," Emily mutters under her breath. Stefan catches his daughter in-law's eye and gives a bemused smile. Emily chuckles uncomfortably. The Quartermaines may have bizarre gatherings, but death doesn't seem to stick in the air quiet the same way.
"Stefan is it true you and Bobbie will be in Bermuda for Thanksgiving?" Abbie asked.
"Yes. Lucas is on holiday there with some of his friends from school and we wanted to visit him. Barbara misses him terribly."
Abbie glances around the room at her family and notices the uncomfortable small chat that is taking place. The Cassadines are not ones for family gatherings, especially at Helena's request. Something was going on, and she wanted to know, now.
"So where is the old bat?"
"Annabelle!" Stefan said. "Do watch yourself. Helena is not one for name calling."
"I know that," she whispers back. "I'm just hoping that she'll make an appearance."
"Patience is something that you seem to still not learned darling Annabelle," Helena says, magically appearing behind her. Abbie jumps, startled and surprised. Being around Helena has made her wary ever since she was kidnapped.
"Helena," Abbie greets as she takes another sip of her drink. She turns and faces the elder woman, their eyes locked for a moment, a moment of stubbornness and dedication. Stefan watches for a moment, identifying Helena in Abbie for the first time.
"My darling Nikolas, how are you?" Helena asks before bestowing a kiss on his cheek. She turns to his face and gives an icy smile. "Emily, how is my great granddaughter?"
"She's fine," Emily answers. Helena smiles once more before leaving them all. She makes a beeline for Andrew, smiling and lightly touching his shoulder. Despite his wretched grandmother, he inherited Mikkos' intelligence, and looks.
"Lark, how are you?"
"Fine Helena. And you?"
"Just wonderful. How is the work at the hospital going?"
"Splendid. We're raising so much money for the AIDS wing."
"That warms my heart. And Gabrielle, where is the future Cassadine?"
"She's with family," Andrew says briskly. Helena may have banished his family out of Greece, but she still feared the power he had as Prince.
"I have heard that your brother's mother has returned to Port Charles," she says casually. "Is that true?"
"I haven't seen Courtney in years. I don't plan to change that anytime soon," Lark replies. "Excuse me, I'm going to get a drink."
"Such manners on your wife," Helena says delicately. "You really should teach her."
"Stay away from Lark Helena. Stay away from her and her family."
"Darling, there is no need to threaten."
"Isn't there?" Andrew said ominously. Then he too walked away.
Helena zeroed in on her prey. "Jax, can I have a moment with you?"
"Now?" The blonde man narrowed his eyes. "It's a little public don't you think Helena?"
"I just want to have a moment with you." Dutifully, he follows her into another closed off room. She turns and smiles at him. "You haven't backed out of our deal have you?"
"No I haven't." He said crossly. "I plan on following through. Is that all?"
"No, I just wanted you to see this." She pushes play and Jax winces as he watches his wife. She was in her early twenties, a young associate. Trading sexual favors for an acquittal.
"How could you do this?" he hisses. "Are you that cruel?"
"I believe devoid of feelings is actually a proper term. Alexis has something that I want." She pauses, busying her hands with fixing the petals of the roses on the desk. Jax looks at her expectantly. "You."
"Why?"
"Because I've always wanted to know what makes Alexis look like a dog in heat every time you're around. You must be a true experience."
He shudders as she wraps her arms around his chest. "You'll do just fine."
"You're evil."
"So I've been told." Her voice drops dangerously love. "However Mr. Jacks, it's best not to anger me. I can be a lethal enemy."
***Deck***
Stefan watches the moonlight cascade off the water. The chill in the air added sharpness to his breath of air. His mind begins to calculate the events of the evening. His mother was plotting something huge, judging by the gathering she commended. All Cassadines and their spouses.
She was going to tear their lives apart.
"Needing some air?" Alexis asks, appearing behind him. She smiles softly and takes a big, gulping breath. Stefan watches as the wind whips around her loose hair, and he looks at her with affection. For a moment, she was the small, scared child he encountered in his father's study all those years ago.
"Something troubling you?" She lets out a sigh of exasperation and looks at him. Tears fill her eyes. She wipes them away feverishly. Stefan extends his arms to her, enveloping her tightly around him.
"Alexis, you have my heart," he whispers to her, uncharacteristically open with his feelings.
"You have mine Stefan."
"What is troubling you then?" he asks again, releasing her from his arms. She smiles ruefully at him. She won't burden him with her own romantic entangles, especially since he has disdain for both her former and current husbands.
"Nothing really," she mumbles before shifting to a safer topic. "Abbie."
"Is something the matter with Annabelle?"
"She's hurting Stefan. Her breakup with Dylan was traumatic for her, even if she won't admit it. She has no real pursuits professionally. She's aimless."
"Perhaps we should take her into Cassadine Inc. or the hospital?"
"I think that she would like that."
"She's living with Corinthos?"
"She didn't want to stay at the Brownstone." Alexis fidgets slightly, a habit that years of Helena's ignoring only fostered. Stefan gently took her hands and held them in his. Despite fights and plots, she was person that he had shared his life with for so many years.
And there were still so many secrets between them.
"There you are," Bobbie Spencer Cassadine says with a laugh as she spots her husband on the yacht deck.
"Are you just returning from the hospital?" Alexis asks, removing her hands from her brother's grasp.
"Yeah. There was a horrific car accident. Two cars full of teenagers," her voice trails off, full of sadness. Stefan places a kiss on her check and wraps an arm around her.
"So," Bobbie shifts quickly, changing the conversation. "What did Helena want?"
"We never really found out," he says. "She simply has served drinks so far."
"She offered dinner, but no one has eaten," Alexis says. She smiles at Bobbie one last time before excusing herself to find Jax.
"Are you ready to leave?" he asks. She looks at him surprised. She had just arrived.
"I would like to tuck Xavier in," he explains, yearning to see his toddler son. Bobbie nods, lacing her hand with her husband's. She simply couldn't shake the feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach.
***Docks***
William glances around wildly for Andreas, but he doesn't see him. Bella laughs, amused by the entire situation. She had only been in Port Charles for less than an hour, and things were already screwed up. He shoots her withering glare.
"What?" she finally asks. "You said the docks. Well my friend, this is the scenic Port Charles docks. Lots of important events happen here. Beatings, murders, muggings, drug deals, plots hatched." She pauses, grimacing at the chipped paint on her nails. "Clandestine meetings between secret lovers?"
"Oh really?" William whispers, pulling her into his arms. She draws slow, concentric circles over the thin shirt he had on.
"Yeah. People would meet under the street light," she points upward, to the light over them. "And steal kisses."
"Like this?" he asks, before his lips squarely meet hers, drawing her into a long, languid kiss. "What else?"
"Their hands would rub over the other's body." His hands moved down the length of her torso, stopping at her breasts and slowly massaging them.
"And then," she husked, her breathing becoming heavier. "They would find a place that was secluded."
"And where could we find one of those places?" William asks, his tongue travels down the length of her neck.
"We could go to the Port Charles Hotel." She pauses as his hands work their way down to her legs before inching forward again. "My father's house."
"Hmm, house?"
"Yeah."
"Do you have your own room?"
"I should, unless Hannah changed it. There's my Mom's apartment."
"So many options."
"William," Andreas calls, causing the couple to break away from each other and stare at their intruder. Bella wraps the coat tightly around her, her face turning crimson under the streetlight. She watches as the two men embrace and begin a furious conversation in Greek.
"Miss Isabella," Andreas says, taking her hand to his lips. She smiles at the charming move before drowning in his dark eyes. This man was gorgeous.
"I've arranged a suite for you at the Port Charles Hotel," he explains quickly. "Was your flight uneventful."
"Completely," William answers. "New Zealand was a wonderful choice."
"I thought you might make a good sheep herder."
"It brought Bella into my life," William says with a wide grin. He and Andreas shake hands before making plans for lunch the next day. They watch as he disappears into the night mist.
"Where does he live?"
"On a yacht with his employer," William says. "Should we get going to our suite?"
Bella smiles wickedly. "Oh, I think that we should."
***Kelly's***
Abbie carries the broken shoe in her hand, fuming. She had wasted the entire evening waiting for a Helena bombshell, yet nothing materialized. Seeing happy people only fed into her own pain.
I'm over Dylan! she reminds herself as she glances into the dinner and sees the lights turned off. Carly must be in her apartment, ignoring the world. Even in her own pain of her breakup from Dylan Hornsby, she recognized that her best friend seemed to be spiraling out of control. She acting less and less like Carly by the day.
She knocks, but no one answers. Stepping back, she sees none of the lights on above. She swears softly and turns to her bodyguard, trailing behind her.
Jim Stone watches his charge with unrequited love. He has been Annabelle Davis' bodyguard since replacing his twin Johnny. Johnny had died tragically at the hands of Helena in the kidnapping of Abbie.
"Jim," Abbie says sweetly, causing the lovesick bodyguard to instantly divert his attention from finding potential attackers and focus solely on her lovely face.
"Yes Miss Davis?"
"Could you do me a favor?"
"Certainly."
"Could you go on a break? Say, go to Starbucks and get us some coffee while I wait here." She sits down at a table and smiles alluringly. "I won't move from this spot."
"Miss Davis, I can't leave you alone, in the open like this."
"I'll be fine," she assures him. "I could call my father and stay on the phone with him the whole time."
"Miss Davis--" Jim protests.
"I just need a few minutes to think."
"I'll be right back. And don't you move a muscle," he orders as he heads over to Starbucks. Abbie sighs and places her head in her hands. She had no clue what to do with her life. She worked at Starry Eye Records as an intern, but she knew that wasn't the career that she wanted. Dylan was gone. The life that she had and lived so effortlessly not too long ago slipped away. Only, she was still here to live it.
"Waiting for someone?" a voice asks, appearing out of nowhere. Abbie glances around wildly, her eyes locking with the handsome stranger. Her shields go up as she sizes him up.
"My bodyguard." Abbie pulls the coat closed tightly around her, reaching for the small pistol that she has stashed in there. His eyes command her stop, but her fingers wrap tightly around the cold metal.
She is ready. Prepared. No one was going to take advantage her. She was Sonny Corinthos' daughter.
He takes a step out of the shadows. He looks harmless, at least physically. She isn't sure why she hasn't clobbered him yet, but she is tempted to.
"What are you doing here?" she demands, arms folded over her chest.
"It's a public street. I'm walking toward my apartment."
"Oh," she says softly. She knows that she should apologize for her rude behavior, but she feels in the mood to play up her complete Cassadine bratty ness.
"Miss Davis," Jim says as he approaches the two people. He reaches for his gun in his pocket, prepared to protect Abbie from the intruder.
"I'm fine. Ready?"
"See you again, Miss Davis," the stranger says.
"Yes, of course," she says looking at him expectantly for a name.
"Timothy," he simply says as she stalks towards her limo.
Timothy props his feet up on one of the wrought-iron tables and laughs to himself. Abbie Davis might be a fun pastime during his time in Port Charles, he muses.