ATSSCH21

Chapter 21

Around 2:15 the next day Ned is setting at the Grill reading the paper and waiting for Alexis to arrive for their lunch date.

"Mind if I join you?" Julia asked sitting down.

"I don�t think you much care what I think."

"Oh Ned lighten up."

"Why should I?" he says with even more sarcasm then before.

"Well." Julia said with so much excitement. "You can congratulate me for starters. I just signed a deal that is going to make Barrett Industries even bigger and better then before."

Ned looked up from his paper. "I�m happy for ya Julia congratulations, now go away."

"I ran into Jax yesterday in Albany, I hear he�s going after ELQ."

"You saw Jax in Albany yesterday?" Ned asked in a rather annoyed tone.

"Yes I asked him to have lunch with me but he said he had a business meeting that he needed to attend." Ned just looked at her. "Now you tell me Ned what business man goes to a meeting with Champaign in one hand and a dozen roses in the other. Unless of course he plans on getting lucky."

Ned doesn�t say a word and Julia knows by the expression on his face that she�s accomplished exactly what she wanted to.

"Oh darn look at the time I really must be going maybe we could get together and have lunch sometime." Julia says quickly as she makes her exit.

^^^^^^^^^

About ten minutes later Alexis finally arrives at the Grill.

"Hey honey sorry I�m late the traffic was unbelievable. For a minute there I thought I was driving through downtown Washington during rush hour."

"That�s okay I knew you�d show up soon or later." Ned says before giving her a kiss.

Alexis tenses slightly when he kisses her and he notices it. "Something the matter?" he asked.

"No, I�m sorry I just have a million things running through my head and right about now I�m not even sure which end is up." She says sitting down. "So how�s the new building coming, everything still okay with that right?"

"Yea everything�s fine and as a matter of fact Liz, Nik and Em are over there now cleaning the place up."

"Well that�s great and speaking of good news." She says pulling a file out of her briefcase. "I finally made a deal with that overgrown business man you sent me to negotiate with."

Ned takes the file and looks it over. "Well it�s looks like L&B is now stronger then ever and I couldn�t have done it without you."

"Yea well don�t you forget that mister." Alexis says laughing as her cell phone rings. "Alexis Ashton."

"Hey Alexis it�s me Sonny."

"What�s the problem now?" she asked as she sat back in her chair.

"Why do you always think the worst."

"Because with you Sonny it�s a sure bet."

"Okay you win. I need your help."

"What are the charges this time?"

"Taggert found drugs in my warehouse."

"What!" she yelled. "That�s just great you know the drill and I�ll be there as soon as I can." She hung up her phone and looked over at Ned.

"Yea I know the drill as well, Corinthos calls and you go running off like your life depended on it." Ned says clearly pissed.

"Sweetheart I�m sorry and I promise I�ll make it up to you later."

"Don�t bother." He said getting up and walking away." Oh by the way I hope you enjoyed your time in Albany."

Alexis just gave Ned a strange look as he walked away, she had no idea of what that meant and didn�t know if she really wanted to know.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Coming!" Jax yelled as he came down the stairs of his penthouse to answer the door.

"I want to know once and for all how long you and my wife have been sleeping together?" Ned demanded as he walked into the penthouse and past Jax.

"Alexis and I aren�t sleeping together Ned." Jax told him calmly. "Well at least not yet."

"I want you to stay the hell away from my wife."

"Well unfortunately for you Ashton, your wife doesn�t feel the same way."

Ned just laughed at him. "You stay away from her or you will be sorry."

"You know what really amazes me Ned? Is that Kristin doesn�t look a thing like you and you still haven�t put the pieces together."

"Kristin is my daughter Jax and I know that so don�t even try and goad me." Ned yelled as he walked towards the door. "OH yea Jax and another thing you better watch your back because that last comment of yours, just cost ya big time."

With that Ned slammed the door behind him and Jax smiled heavily. �Oh well if Alexis asks if I told Ned that Kristin might be mine I�ll just deny ever saying it� he thought to himself before he picked up the phone and made a call.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Where�s Alexis?" A very angry Ned said as he stormed into her office.

"She�s not here Mr. Ashton." Janis informed him. "She�s down at police headquarters bailing out a client."

"Fine I�ll wait." He said ransacking her desk. "You can leave now."

"Is there something I can help you find." Janis asked as he continued to shuffle through the papers on her desk.

"No thank you I�ll know it when I see it." He said looking up at her. "Close the door behind you."

After Ned destroyed the papers on her desk he started going through her draws. He stopped quickly when he found a photo of Jax holding Kristin as a baby.

"Ned what the hell are you doing?" Alexis screamed as she walked through the door before getting a good look at his face. "Ned honey what�s the matter?"

He fell back into her desk chair and started to cry. "I asked you once and I instantly regretted it, and know I feel like a complete idiot."

Alexis walked over and stood in front of him. "What are you talking about?" She looked down and saw the photo in his hands. She took it from him and looked at it.

"Is she his?" he asked quietly through his tears. "I want the truth Alexis and I want it now."

Alexis closed her eyes and then grabbed his hands. "No Ned she�s not his child. I told you we never slept together and that�s the truth."

"Then why do you keep a photo of the two of them together in your desk?"

"What?" she asked.

"Don�t play games with me Alexis I found this photo in your desk." He yelled getting up and walking away from her.

Alexis shook her head. "Ned if you found that photo in my desk, then it�s probably been there for years. I don�t know half the crap I have in most of these drawers anymore."

"So what your telling me is that it just so happens that on the same day Jax tells me Kristin isn�t mind I just happen to find a photo of him and my so called daughter in your desk." Ned yelled so loud that Janis walked in.

"Mrs. Ashton are you okay. Do you want me to call security?" A scared Janis asked.

"No Janis I�ll be fine why don�t you just go home." Alexis told her as she walked her over to her desk and handed her, her bag. "Ned is the last person in the world who would ever physical hurt me, so don�t worry about a thing. I�ll see you in the morning."

"Okay goodnight Mrs. Ashton."

"Good night Janis." Alexis said as she took a deep breath and walked back into her office.

"So are you still going to deny that Jax is Kristin� father?" Ned asked a little calmer.

"Yes I am till the day I die. Jax and I never slept together and Kristin is and always will be yours."

"Then why did Jax tell me today that I wasn�t her father?"

Alexis took another deep breath but what she really wanted to do was bang her head up against the wall. "I don�t know why Jax would say something like that but it�s not true, and frankly I�m getting a little tried of you not believing me."

"There�s only one way to solve this."

"How�s that?" she asked.

"I want a paternity test done."

"What!" she hollered.

"You heard me I want a paternity test done on Kristin proving once and for all weather or not she is my child."

"No." She said flat out.

Ned looked at her with confusion. "Why not do you have something to hide Alexis? Like maybe the fact that neither one of us are her father."

Alexis slapped Ned across the face. "You bastard."

"Aren�t we getting a little defensive Alexis."

"Kristin is your daughter and I will not put her through some damn paternity test, and the fact that you would insinuate that I have slept with anyone other then Jax is just down right low."

"So you admit it then you�ve slept with Jax."

"I never said that." Alexis screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Yes you did." He shot back. "You just said that I�d insinuate that you�ve "SLEPT" with anyone other then Jax."

"That�s not what I meant and you know it."

"No I don�t Alexis the only thing I know is there is chance that Kristin might not be mine and you won�t subject her to a simple blood test."

"I suppose while we�re at it we should get one done on Thomas as well, maybe he belongs to the Gardner, after all he is kinda cute and I am nothing but a slut right Ned. Someone who sleeps with some guy one night and then comes home and sleeps with her husband just so she can what��. compare notes."

"I never called you a slut or accused you of sleeping around." Ned insisted.

"And I never said I slept with Jax." She said throwing her arms up in the air. "This conversation is pointless and I am not going to stand around and listen to you call me names and question the paternity of our children any longer. I�m going home and don�t even bother following me."

"Excuse me?" Ned yelled.

"That�s right Mr. Ashton I don�t care where you sleep tonight or with whom for that matter as long as it isn�t anywhere near me or my children."

"You�re throwing me out of my own house."

Alexis laughs in disgust. "Let me get this straight you won�t claim your own daughter but you�ll claim the house, typical Quatermaine."

"You know what Alexis, if you don�t want me to come home tonight that�s perfectly fine with me because right about now you are the last person I want to be around anyway."

"Well you could always hang around the bar and get drunk waiting for your trashy little girlfriend to show up. I�m sure she�ll offer you a place to spend the night. Although I wouldn�t count on getting much sleep."

"Yea that would just make you happy wouldn�t it Alexis. I mean if I was to sleep with Julia that would somehow make you sleeping with Jax all right, wouldn�t it? Well I�m sorry I am not going to be the one to ease your guilt over your bad choice of bed partners."

"No that mistake I made almost a decade ago." She yelled as she slammed the door behind her.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Much later on that night Alexis sat alone on a cold bench in the park watching the snowfall.

"I swear every year we get more and more snow around here."

Alexis looked up. "Jax I�m really not in the mood."

"Bad day?" he asked sitting down next to her. "Want to talk about it?"

"Not really." She said shaking her head.

"Isn�t it a little cold for you to be sitting out here, especially this late at night?" he said as he put his arms around her and held her tight. "Shouldn�t you be home putting your kids to bed?"

"I did that already, their home tucked in tight, so the bed bugs won�t bite." She replied laughing.

"And Ashton let you came out here all by yourself when you were done tucking them in?" Jax asked confused.

"No he�s not home, they�re with V. I just needed some time to myself."

"So I take it he is the reason your out here?"

She looks up at him and for some reason decides to confine in him. "Ned wants me to run a paternity test on Kristin."

"Why?" Jax asked shocked.

"Give it a rest Jax Ned told me what happened between the two of you." She said looking up at the sky.

Jax was ready to deny ever having a conversation with Ned about Kristin but there was just something in her eyes that made him think twice about lying to her.

"I�m sorry I don�t know why I even brought her up." He said picking her face up so that he could look in her eyes. "It was a cruel thing to do and I know it."

"It�s not all your fault Jax." She says as she sighs heavily. "I thought Ned had gotten over the fact that he thought Kristin might be yours but, I guess not."

"So why not have the test done, proving once and for all Kristin is his daughter?"

"I don�t know." She says as she gets up and walks over towards the frozen pond. "Last year I stood here and watch Ned try and teach a five year old little girl, who was so afraid that the ice might crack, to actually ice skate. We laughed, she cried when she hit the ice one to many times and then we all went home and made ice cream sundaes." She laughed slightly. "Yea I know what can I say we were crazy most people went home and made hot chocolate after being out in the freezing cold all day, but not Ned he wanted ice cream sundaes."

"Sounds like a good memory to me." He said putting his arm around her.

"It was," she said turning around and looking at him. "And now I stand here a year later and the man who taught our little girl to ice skate without being afraid, thinks she�s not even his."

Jax looked at her and smiled. "Listen to me Alexis as much as Ned tells you that he doesn�t believe Kristin is his, he knows deep down in his heart where it counts the most that she is."

"I hope your right Jax."

"Come on Alexis let me take you home?"

"No that�s okay I have my car, but you could walk me to it."

"I can do that." He said "are you sure you�re okay to drive?"

"I�m fine, trust me." She said rubbing the side of his face. "If anything I feel better now then I did before I got here. Thank you."

"Any time." He replied as he bent down and kissed her lightly.

^^^^^^^^^^^

A half-hour later Alexis walked into the house to find Ned and Kristin curled up on the couch.

"Everything okay?" she asked quietly as she sat down on the coffee table.

Ned looked up at her. "Yea she just had a bad dream and V couldn�t get a hold of you so she called me."

"I didn�t take my phone with me."

"Is she still a sleep?" Ned asked

"Like a baby all cuddle up in her daddy�s arms, safe and sound." She said while running her fingers through Kristin� long brown hair.

"You know you really shouldn�t go walking alone at night especially without your phone." He said concerned for her well being.

They just looked at each other a moment before she spoke. "Why don�t you let me take her upstairs and I�ll put her back to bed."

"No that�s okay, if you don�t mind I�d rather you just got us a blanket." He said with a sad look in his eyes.

"No I don�t mind at all." She said getting up and placing a blanket over top of them. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Alexis was half way up the stairs where she stopped and sat down. She just watched Ned lye their with his little girl in his arms and knew what she had to do. "Ned."

"Yea" he answered slightly startled, not realizing she was watching him.

"If you still want that test done I can arrange for it tomorrow."

Ned closed his eyes as the tears began to form. "I know she�s mine Alexis but I�d still like it done."

"Okay I�ll take care of it first thing tomorrow morning." She said getting up.

"Thank you" he answered "and I�m sorry about before."

"Do you need anything else before I got to bed?" she asked.

"No were fine thank you."

�I wish we were� she said under her breath as she headed upstairs.