Chapter 45 Stefan awakes to find an empty bed, and the coldness which has enveloped his demeanor since she left him returns. The knot is fully tied in his stomach for the day, before he notices the sweet, careless humming echoing in the bathroom. As if in a daze, he shakes his head a bit, trying to wake himself up. Surely she isn't here, under his roof. Not when her husband is alive. He must be imagining things. He rises from the bed and walks slowly, trance-like to the bathroom. He pushes open the slightly ajar door and sees Anna, drying herself off with a towel, humming softly. It is a good minute before she turns around and notices him standing there, with a single tear making it's way slowly down his cheek. Anna: (startled) Good Lord! I didn't see you standing there. She looks at him, taking in his emotional state, and studies him pensively. Slowly, once she deciphers this visage he presents, she approaches, and takes his hand. Anna: How I hate the women in your life who have done this to you... who have made you so shocked to see me here this morning. And yet, what a privilege it is that I get to be the one who surprises you with fidelity... He is still speechless... so overcome at finding this woman whom he had written off, wet and making herself at home in his bathroom. She moves closer and pulls his hand toward her... kissing his fingertips, and placing his hand on her breast. Anna: You woke up and thought I was gone. (tilting her head and smiling) See, I'm here. I'm real. I have a heartbeat, and warm blood in my veins, and... I'm yours. He gingerly moves his hand over her body, from her breast to her hips, her thigh, back up to her shoulders, in her tangled, wet hair. He is silent, and unused to the giddiness of it all. Anna: (wiping the tear off his cheek) You keep gawking like that and I'm going to get self-conscious. Why don't you use that mouth to kiss me instead of hanging open in wonder? He does, and his kiss ravages her mouth, leaving her gasping for air, aroused, and stunned at what simmers beneath his seemingly tranquil facade. He leads her by the hand out of the bathroom. When she is standing very near the bed, he pushes her shoulders forcefully down, and she sprawls backwards, without time to complain before he is on top of her, making love to her, unable to hold her more tightly, so strained are the muscles in his arms. When it is over and he is spent, he rolls her on top of him and holds her closely. She relishes the comforting heat made from the contact with his body and presses her face into his neck... Anna: You know, darling, I'm not going to leave you. Not that I would mind being ravished every morning like it's the last time we'll ever make love, but just in case you thought it actually was, you are mistaken. I adore you. And I'm not going anywhere. Her vows of faithfulness like the sweetest, angelic music in his ears, Stefan closes his eyes and tries to fight back the newest wave of emotion. She slides up his body and kisses his face, his eyelids, his forehead... unspeakably moved by all this insecurity she thought she had known about, but never really appreciated until this display of precarious vulnerability. Downstairs, Alexis sits dejectedly at the breakfast table, gulping orange juice and a sweet roll alone. She hears the front door open and muffled voices in the foyer. Robin: You don't have to stay forever, just check in. They worry, you know, and that's not fair. Nikolas: I'm just getting some clothes and that's it. Robin: Alright, just as long as they know you're not splattered on a highway. Nikolas: (rolling his eyes and looking plaintively at Robin) I don't know how you are able to talk me into this. Robin: Because it's the right thing to do, Nikolas. Even if you don't like it. They walk in the dining room, with Nikolas impatiently leading Robin by the hand. Alexis looks up, unaware of the previous evening's revelations, and smiles. Alexis: Hi there, you two. (hiding the concern with false levity in her voice) Nikolas, were you out all night? Nikolas: (glowering at her, paints on an artificial smile and says mockingly, in sing-song Greek) Yasu, Theia Natasia. He drops the smile immediately, grabs a scone, and is about to walk out the door again, when Robin stops, planting her feet and pulling him back. Alexis stares at him, speechless. Robin casts a disapproving frown at Nikolas. Robin: I'm gonna go read in the library for a little while. You obviously have some things to deal with here. Nikolas: (trying to follow her out the door) No I don't. Robin: (shoving him a bit to keep him in the room as she walks through the door) Yes, you do. Take all the time you need. She closes the door quickly in his face, and he sighs with annoyance, before turning around to face Alexis, who is still stunned. Alexis: Sit down, Nikolas. (Looking at him apprehensively) Please. Nikolas glares insolently and pulls a chair out angrily before sitting down with his arms crossed. Nikolas: I don't have time to chat. Alexis: Why did you call me that? Nikolas: Why wouldn't I? You *are* my aunt, and your name *is* Natasha, is it not? Alexis: (trying to piece together what is happening, she stammers) It... it was. At one time. But I prefer Alexis. Nikolas: Why? It's a lie. Just like everything else about my family tree. Alexis: (pulling herself together) Why don't you tell me what happened, Nikolas. Did your uncle have a talk with you about this recently? Is that why you didn't spend the night here? Nikolas: As you know perfectly well, my *uncle* is dead, killed by Luke Spencer years ago. Or maybe you don't know. Did they lie to you too? Alexis: (realizing the extent of what Nikolas has uncovered) What do you mean your uncle is dead? Nikolas: Oh please, don't get all wide-eyed on me. I know about my parents. Alexis: What do you know? Nikolas: I staged a coup and actually got the truth off a Cassadine tongue last night, if you can believe that. So now you don't have to pussy-foot around me all the time. I know all about my mother... and my father. And I know about you and your real parents. Game over. Sorry to disappoint you. (He gets up and slams the chair back in place) I have to get out of here. He storms out of the room, leaving Alexis alone with all the facts, laid out on the table like the breakfast fare. He retrieves Robin from the library, and they are about to leave the house, when Robin recognizes her mother's laughter echoing from the stairwell. She stops suddenly and watches in horror as Anna and Stefan walk downstairs, hand in hand. Anna sees her daughter and resists the incredible urge she has to let go of Stefan's hand, knowing what it would do to him. Anna: (uncomfortably) Good morning, luv. Nikolas, good to see you again. To where are you two off so early? Robin: (unable to answer the question, she is focused only on the fact that her mother is not at home, with her father) Mom... Stefan is recovering from his emotional morning and quickly surveys the situation before him... Nikolas and his eyes flashing with anger, Robin and her happily-ever-after not quite as she hoped. Stefan: Anna, why don't you take your daughter to breakfast? Nikolas: We're going to study at school today. Stefan: Well, you can meet up a little later and study ad infinitum. Nikolas: (engaging in a power struggle) I don't think so -- Anna: Actually, I think that's a rather fine idea. Robin, are you up for Kelly's with your old mum? Robin: (staring unbelievingly at her mother, not wanting to accept what she sees, somewhat dazed) Um... I guess so. Stefan: Marvelous. It's decided then. (He kisses Anna on the forehead) Have a lovely time, ladies. (to Anna, gently) I'll see you later? Anna: (pointedly) Count on it. She steers Robin away and out of the room, while Nikolas and Robin try to exchange looks enough to muster a collective protest, but fail. When the women are gone, Nikolas shakes his head with irritation and starts up the stairs. Stefan: I don't think so. Why don't you share breakfast with me in the dining room? Nikolas: No thanks. Stefan: Nikolas, there will come a time when you won't be able to avoid me. Nikolas: (from the top of the stairs) Don't hold your breath. He turns on his heels and Stefan hears a door slam a few moments later. He sighs disappointedly, but is so buoyant this morning, after his unburdening with his son last night, and his reunion with Anna, that he is unable to feel discouraged. He greets Alexis in the dining room with two ebullient kisses on the cheek. She regards him with surprise and confusion as he helps himself to a plateful before saying anything. Stefan: (her stare weighing on him, he looks up finally from his food) What is it? Alexis: (with forced casualness) Oh nothing. Only that I was addressed as Aunt Natasha this morning. (she waits expectantly for some reaction, but Stefan seems nonplussed) Stefan: (with an amused smile) Ah, yes, Nikolas and I had a little chat last night. Alexis: So I gathered. And he seems to think that his uncle was killed by Luke Spencer. Would you care to fill me in? Stefan: Alexis, don't act so put-out. You've known all along. Alexis: No, I had suspicions all along, which you have always very carefully failed to confirm or deny. Am I now to assume that the proverbial cat has clawed its way out of the proverbial bag? Stefan: (picking up his plate and standing up, he smiles affectionately at his sister) Nikolas is my son. I told him last night. Alexis: (stammering) Well, what happened? I mean, how-- Stefan: (walking toward the door) I'm going to get some work done before I go over to the hospital. Have a lovely day, agapimou. He grabs his glass and plate, and starts out the door, leaving Alexis with her mouth agape. She calls out, desperately trying to extract more information. Alexis: Stefan, hold on. Nikolas, he's... very angry. Stefan: (breezily) I'm told that most young men his age are. He'll recover. The door swings shut behind him, and Alexis shakes her head in wonder. The wheels clank around for a while in her head, before she rolls her eyes and flips open her cell phone. Ned: Ned Ashton. Alexis: Where are you? Ned: (smiling wickedly on the other end) Where do you want me to be? Alexis: At the Elm Street pier in 10 minutes. Ned: Your wish is my command. And where are you? Alexis: I'm in the twilight zone. Stefan is giddy and revealing deep, dark family secrets willy-nilly to Nikolas and anyone else who will listen. Ned: Sounds serious. Shall I rustle up an exorcist?   Chapter 46 Ned is waiting on the pier by the time Alexis arrives, and he offers a hand to help her off the launch. She is distracted, but also visibly relieved to see him. Ned: I have a call in to Lucy Coe. She keeps spiritualists, exorcists and the like in her rolodex. Alexis: Why am I not surprised? Ned leads her to the warmth of the limo waiting nearby. Alexis gets in and though it is not usually her practice, begins to rant, mostly to herself. Ned listens politely. Alexis: You know, I have never, not once, so help me God, shown any disloyalty to my family. Everything I do is always for their benefit. How many times have I proven myself capable of keeping Stefan's secrets? Have I ever once divulged anything he told me in confidence? Ned: Am I supposed to interject an answer here? Alexis: (going on, not noticing him) I'll tell you the answer, NO. Never, not once. I have kept his secrets, both business and personal. So why he thinks it is so very amusing to keep me in the dark about the things that matter most is utterly beyond my comprehension. Why is it that I have to find out that he's practically publishing his most treasured personal truths in three-inch headlines from Nikolas? Nikolas, who is usually the last person to know anything! What does that say about my position in Stefan's confidence? Ned: Are you more concerned over Stefan's lack of discretion or being bumped down the secrecy food chain? Alexis: (Interrupted in the middle of her tirade, she looks affronted) Ned, what you don't understand is that they are the same thing. I am the keeper of all secrets, and for good reason. My being the last to know is the ultimate lack of discretion on Stefan's part. There's a reason he trusts me. Ned: I'm quite sure there is. You're the best at covering, spinning, document-shredding and unequivocally denying. Which is probably precisely why he didn't involve you in this little lapse of restraint. Alexis: Your logic fails me. Ned: I know this might come as a shock, but I believe you've encountered the rare but deadly phenomenon I like to call Cathartic Confession. A dangerous end to any elegantly sublime conspiracy orchestrated by gatekeeper-extraordinaire. When the players in your game forfeit without authorization. Pure laziness on their part, of course. Sacrifice the whole plan for a moment's peace of conscience. And while the aforementioned gatekeeper should not be surprised by such selfishness and short-sightedness on the part of his or her charge, it nonetheless musses a perfectly and carefully-made bed when said charge insists on lying in it. Alexis listens speechlessly, amazed at his astute and sympathetic summary. Alexis: Did the gods invent you wholly for the sake of my sanity? Because I think you are the only person I've ever met who identifies with my plight. Ned: Oh yes, I've got several cathartic confessors in my family, many more than yours, I assure you. The pack is led by the Comeback Kid, but closely followed by the Black Sheep. Then, of course, bringing up the rear are all the hordes of women, who couldn't keep their guts un-spilt if they were hermetically sealed in a ziploc baggie. Ned takes her leather-gloved hand and brings it to his lips. Ned: It's not your fault, darling. If they weren't the self-centered philanderers that they are, we could have been happily pursuing our own lives decades ago. You can't let it surprise you so. Alexis: (defeatedly, with a trace of a pout) If he wanted to spout everything to Nikolas about the past, he could have waited for the right time, the right setting. I could have arranged things just so, to keep Nikolas from getting into such a huff. I could have... Ned: Done it better? Alexis: (with despairing eyes) Infinitely. Ned: Of course you could have. But think of it this way. Now you can busy yourself with the newly-presented challenge of damage control. If Nikolas is in a huff, it's your job to lead him back to the fold. Only you can do that, just like you always have when he pulls his disappearing acts. Alexis: Actually, I think Robin is doing a pretty good job of making sure he checks in. Ned: Yes, she makes a marvelous front-man. She used to be the only way to get my gun-toting cousin to visit Grandmother. Fortunately, Emily has stepped up to the plate since Robin moved on to greener and better-dressed pastures. Alexis: So, the conclusion then is that I've been totally obfuscated in my own family. I'm dispensable. Marginalized. Downsized. Ned: (nodding knowingly) I *thought* this was about more than Stefan's wanton tongue. He puts his arm around her and pulls her in close to his chest. Alexis sighs deeply and closes her eyes, her cheek against his expensive overcoat. Alexis: You know, it's not just that he didn't tell me. It's that he was *mocking* me. My being in the dark was his entertainment for the day. Ned: Honey, when you were a kid, and you were afraid to dive off the pier, did he mock you? Alexis: Mercilessly. Ned: And what about when you hit puberty and started wearing training bras and lipstick? Alexis: He was mean, but at least he noticed. No one else did. Ned: And when you told him you wanted to major in French philosophy instead of Finance? Alexis: How did you know about that? Ned: Wild guess. Alexis: Renaissance poetry, but damned close. Ned: So did he mock you? Alexis: With gusto, shortly before threatening to cut off my tuition. Ned: And what about when you fell in love with me? Alexis: (smirking) Who says I'm in love with you? Ned: Did he mock you? Alexis: Alright, I get your point. Ned: How many other people in the world know you or care enough to know just what buttons to press? You're getting over-sensitive in your old age. Alexis: He certainly knows what buttons to press. Ned: Let the ingrate have his fun at your expense. It wouldn't be the first time, and it doesn't mean he doesn't value you. Just the opposite, in fact. Alexis: I don't know. Maybe I'm getting tired of thankless drudgery. Ned: (taunting) Oh, sure, move back to Manhattan and let them all fend for themselves. You could do that. Alexis: (indignant) I could! Ned: Not. Alexis: Could too. Ned: Could not. Alexis: Could-- Ned waits for the pucker of "too" to appear on her lips and then kisses them soundly. Her protests are muffled and he holds her head in the crook of his arm so firmly that she can't help but kiss back. When their lips finally part, she smiles. Alexis: 10 yard penalty. Unnecessary tenderness. Cheater. Ned: Honey, you should know by now that I'll win an argument any way I can. Now where did you pick up that American football lingo? Alexis: The boys in law school saw it as their God-given duty to educate the ignorant immigrant. I was tutored on the finer points of blitzes and kick-off returns in front of the Patriots game every Sunday when our study group met. Ned: Did you tell them that American football was for yin-yangs and that *your* daddy owned a *real* football team? Alexis: For some reason, they weren't impressed by the mighty Greek national team, and not only was I petrified to mention my real "daddy", but I didn't want to bring too much attention to him, as he was trying to freeze the world. They banter a while longer as the driver pulls into the ELQ parking garage. Alexis: Is this the end of the line? From the pit of snakes to the lion's den? Ned: There's a lovely view on the roof I want you to see. When they reach the roof, Alexis shivers a bit and looks out across the city. Ned sheds his overcoat and holds it open while she slips her arms in. Ned: (laughing at the bag-lady look that the too-large coat gives her) Better? Alexis: Not yet. (she smiles and slides her arms around his torso, pressing her face against his chest). Much better. Ned closes his eyes as his arms settle around her. How he adores this woman, how he longs to make her happy, how he yearns to quiet all the noise in her ears. Instead of making him feel like a mischievous teenager, as Lois always did, Alexis makes him feel like a man. They understand each other and support each other's choices like grown-ups. She needs him, and appreciates him. Unlike the family, which requires endless but thankless toil, she takes from him and thanks him with kisses and grateful embraces. That priceless look of relief she always gets when he takes her in his arms makes up for decades of accusations and finger-pointing by Quartermaines. He smiles to himself as he kisses the top of her head. He has made the right decision. And the timing is perfect. Ned: Alexis, would you reach into the left pocket of my coat for me? She complies, absently, with her eyes still closed. When she feels the hardness of a small box, she thinks nothing of it, but pulls it out, expecting him to take it from her. He doesn't, but smiles knowingly over her head, staring out at the city. She finally opens her eyes and looks at the box. She holds it out to him. Alexis: Ned? Here. Ned: (still not looking at her, he feigns casualness as he walks away a bit) Open it. She does. The 2-carat diamond, perched on a diamond-studded platinum band takes her breath away. Her lips part in surprise, and she looks back toward him. He is staring at her, that twinkle in his eye, all pretense of breeziness gone. Ned: I was saving it for our dinner date tonight, but when you called upset, I thought it might be just the thing to lift your spirits. Alexis: It's beautiful. I have no idea what it means, but it's beautiful. Ned: What do you think it means, Alexis? Alexis: Well, it looks remarkably like an engagement piece, but I have yet to hear anything sounding like a question. Ned: I thought I might let the rock do the talking for me. Isn't it speaking loudly enough? Alexis: (trying to pull off snootiness despite the giddiness that threatens to explode inside her) Mr. Ashton, where I come from, proposals are done from the ground. Seeing as you're still on your feet, I'll have to assume your intentions are otherwise. Ned chuckles to himself, before taking her left hand and kneeling in front of her on one knee. He gazes up at her, and turns on the puppy-dog eyes and the dimples. Ned: I want you to grow old with you, Alexis Viktrova. Say you'll be my wife. Alexis: (exercising her coolest poker-faced lawyer aplomb) I'm sorry, I have yet to hear a question. Ned slowly removes the glove from her hand, and then kisses it tenderly before looking up at her again. Ned: Will you marry me, Ms. Davis? Alexis smiles, finally able to express the excitement she feels, and is about to answer him, when she realizes that there is something missing. Her face falls a bit. Alexis: Ned, wait... I can't... Ned: (interrupting) We have your brother's blessing, Alexis. Alexis: What? Ned: I met with him this morning. When you called me, I was in your library, presenting the requisite case of vodka and wreath of lilies to Stefan, not 50 feet from where you sat. Alexis: (stunned) You didn't. Ned: The wreath is ready to be hung on the door just as soon as you say yes and we make the courtesy call together. Alexis: (overwhelmed, tears forming in her eyes) How... do you know all the customs? Ned: You never dreamt of some colonial skag asking you to get hitched without jumping through all those outdated, yet treasured hoops, did you? Alexis: I guess not. Ned: You deserve nothing less than the fairy tale you dreamt of, Alexis. I wanted to do it right or not at all. A tear streams down her cheek as the cold wind on the roof of the ELQ building blows her hair all about. She just stares at him, speechless. Ned: Honey, I don't mean to be pushy, but I didn't bring kneepads. (He encloses her hand in both of his and pulls it over his heart) Will you marry me? She smiles through her tears, and nods. Ned: (raising his eyebrows like a smart-ass) I'm sorry, I have yet to hear an answer. Alexis: (laughing) Yes. Yes, yes, yes, I'll marry you, Ned Ashton. He smiles broadly, dimples flashing, and pulls her down by the hand until they're both kneeling on the roof, facing each other. She still holds the ring, which he takes from her, pulls out of its box and tenderly slides onto her finger. When he is done, he looks at her. She is gazing down at her newly-adorned hand. He lifts her chin to look her in the eye. Ned: Thank you. Alexis: (sighing contentedly) I love you. They embrace, and hold each other for a long time, as the wind howls around them. Alexis eventually pulls away slightly. Alexis: We have to go to Wyndemere. No wait, he's probably at the hospital. Ned: Not yet. Alexis: I want to do it right, make it official. (She hunts around in her purse for her cell phone) Ned stops her by grabbing her wrist. Ned: Not yet. (Alexis looks at him with confusion) Alexis: What? Ned: (looking around casually) I don't believe we've christened my building yet. Alexis: Don't you dare. Ned: (grinning wickedly) Dare what? (He pushes her back from her knees onto her back) Dare to make love to the soon-to-be Mrs. Ashton, heiress to all the fortune beneath us right now? Alexis: (squirming light-heartedly) What makes you think I'm going to take your name, Mr. Big-Shot- CEO? Ned: (pinning her down and kissing her ravishingly) Just the thought of all that muddied Cassadine blood coursing through our progeny is enough to make me giddy. Alexis: Oh my God. Does this mean I'm becoming a Quartermaine? My forebears would not be pleased. Ned: At least I'm not a Spencer. Alexis: Next time you bring up that name when we're making love, we're breaking up. Ned smiles and pins her wrists down against the roof, kissing her, tasting her, knowing at last, that she is his.   Chapter 47 The knock on the door startles Laura out of her mid-afternoon, just-got-Lulu-down-for-a-nap-and-can-finally-breathe daze. She is shocked to see her firstborn, standing there, so beautiful, staring down at her with that regal air of his. Laura: Nikolas! What a surprise! Come in. He looks around nervously, expecting a confrontation with her husband or her other son. But she is alone, and so he steps inside, and stands awkwardly in her living room. She insists that he take a seat, and scurries into the kitchen to rustle up some wretched American tea. Nikolas looks around the room, taking in the family photographs, the toys scattered about on the floor, the normalcy of it all... She returns and sits across from him, smiling in that too-sincere way she fancies. Laura: How is school? I heard you are taking classes at the college. Nikolas: Yes, it's fine. I like it better than the high school. Laura: I'm sure you're more suited to it. And I understand that you have been seeing quite a lot of Robin Scorpio? She's a lovely girl. Nikolas: (staring sullenly, not willing to discuss his love-life as if she were a real mother) I came here today, because... (he pauses, questioning himself again - why he has come?) I want to know about you and my... my father. Laura: (her eyes darkening at the mention of Stavros) That was a very long time ago. You have been told the circumstances of my marriage to your father. Is there something else? Nikolas: No, I'm not talking about Stavros. Laura: (with wide eyes and an imperceptible gulp) Oh? Nikolas: He told me. Laura: Are you talking about your uncle? What did he tell you? Nikolas: My uncle is dead, and from what I know of him, good riddance. I'm talking about my father. Laura breathes in deeply, and says nothing for a moment. She isn't quite prepared to hear this. Laura: (quietly) You think Stefan is your father? Nikolas: Isn't he? Laura: (sighing, not knowing the truth herself until this moment) It is possible, yes. Is that what you're asking? Nikolas: So you *did* sleep with him? Laura: Wow, I wasn't expecting this. (still incredulous) Stefan told you we slept together? Nikolas: Yes. Laura: I see. (closing her eyes as she imagines the fallout with Luke should this information become public) Well, it's true. You could be his son. Nikolas: He says he had DNA tests done and that I am. Laura: (her eyes welling up with tears, so happy is she that her son is the product of love rather than violence) Really? Nikolas: (surprised at her display of emotion) Why are you crying? Laura: (moving onto the couch next to him, she touches his shoulder, wanting to hold him but not wanting to make him angry) Oh Nikolas... I'm just so glad to hear that. I always hoped... Nikolas: (bristling slightly) Well, that's not why I came over here. I want to know... I don't know, I think I want to know about your relationship with him. How did it happen? I mean, was there a relationship? Or was I just the result of a one-night stand? Laura: (wiping her eyes, and settling back into the couch, she gazes on Nikolas with new eyes, searching his face, his posture, for Stefan. His cheekbones, his carriage, the way he holds his head aloft, it is difficult to tell whether his mannerisms are genetic or due to being raised by Stefan) It was not a one-night stand. (she closes her eyes and remembers... the grit of the sand drying on their bodies, the salt in the air, the way the wind blew her hair across his chest...) Your father was... he was like this warm, precious place in the middle of all the darkness, the evil... (she bites her tongue, not wanting to offend Nikolas). Nikolas: But... how did you get away to be with each other? Laura: On nights when Stavros was passed out drunk, I would hear the key turning in the lock, and Stefan would be standing there in the door, like a rogue teenager with a motorcycle in an old movie, and he would whisk me away down the beach. We used to run, stealing away over a mile down the shore, away from the compound. (wistfully) Oh Nikolas, we were so young then. I wasn't much older than you; your uncle-- I mean, Stefan -- he was in his twenties... Nikolas: So you liked him? I mean, it wasn't just to, I don't know, escape? Laura: Yes, I liked him. Very much. Nikolas: (like a little boy, wanting so desperately to have been wanted and born out of something pure) Did you love him? Laura: I did. I think I did. It is so hard to put labels now on what I felt then. Because I know so much more now about love than I did then. Nikolas: But what about your husband? Laura: Well, I think that it's possible for people to love more than once in a lifetime. Regardless though, I thought that Luke was dead at the time. And I didn't know that I would ever be leaving that island. And so I allowed myself to feel for Stefan... love, I suppose. It's hard to say if it was real or if it could have lasted, because it was such a bizarre situation. She studies her son, and understands why he has come. She gently lays her hand on his forearm and he closes his eyes before looking toward her. Laura: Nikolas, I'm sure that you are angry with Stefan for not telling you all these years. And I'm sure he has reasons for doing so that seem very valid to him. You may be angry at me for keeping it from you as well. I had no desire for my husband to find out about all this, which is why I kept silent. But know this... (she begins to cry and takes his hand firmly in both of hers) you were adored by both of us... When you were born, and Stefan was there, with me the whole time, even though men weren't allowed in the room, he bribed someone. When I held you for the first time, we looked at each other and willed you to be ours. You were born out of something beautiful, Nikolas. You, my precious boy, were the only thing that would last of us, the only thing real that was allowed to be out in the open and represent... us. Nobody could ever make you go away, nobody could ever deny that we had been together and made you. Of course, he tried to cover it up, he let you belong in name to his brother, but oh, Nikolas, if only you could have seen his face when he held you for the first time... you were always his. I never knew if you were biologically, but in our minds, you were always *our* child. Nikolas listens, trying not to get emotionally involved in her spiel, but the magnitude of what she says, that he had *parents*, real parents, is overwhelming. He looks at her with tears in his eyes. Nikolas: (plaintively) But then, why didn't he want me? Laura: Oh Nikolas... he *did* want you, it ripped his heart out to lie... I watched that. But, and you'll understand this when you have your own children one day, love means sacrificing what you want for the good of another. And he thought, well, I think he thought, that it was in your best interest to let Stavros think you were his. He was trying to protect you, and me. (she can't believe she's defending Stefan) I don't know all his reasons. But I know that he would have done anything for you. And he still would. (sighing happily) I'm so glad he told you. Nikolas: But you can't be glad, what if Luke finds out? Laura: Honey, that's not your problem. I don't want you worrying about my marriage. You go right ahead and be Stefan's son, as publicly as you want. Nikolas: Well, I don't think we're at the papa-calling point yet. Laura: (smiling, she brushes his hair off his forehead) Well, if and when you get there, I'll be glad for you. You both deserve it. Nikolas isn't quite finished with his questions... he picks Laura's brain about the island when she was there, what his grandmother did to her, what Stavros did to her, what kind of man Stefan was back then. He confides the truth about Alexis' relationship to Stefan and asks about what she was like. Laura: So she was their sister? Unbelievable. But you're sure Stefan didn't know? Nikolas: That's what he says. I'm never sure about anything with him. Laura: Well, I only ask, because he always treated her like one. She was my age, and away at college in Belgium most of the time, if I recall. I only saw her around Christmas time and summer holiday. (smiling) I was insanely jealous of her, she was beautiful and free, and under Stefan's special favor. She had this fabulously thick, long hair, and these exotic brown eyes and cheekbones... (looking at Nikolas pensively) kinda like yours, now that I think about it. Helena was about as nasty to her as she was to me, so I always sort of felt a kinship with her. I remember watching her from my window on the second floor, out on the beach, with her notebook, writing poetry or something fanciful that Stefan would scold her for later... They would argue about politics and what she was going to major in, whether she could spend holiday in Paris with her "good-for-nothing musician" boyfriend. (laughing) She always exasperated Stefan, but I could tell he adored her. I'm glad that he found out she's his sister. Ever since she arrived in Port Charles, I've been meaning to sit down with her, but it never seems to work out. The mood is lighter as they leave the past behind and Nikolas gets up to leave. Nikolas: Where is LesleyLu? Laura: She's sleeping, do you want to see her? He walks into Lulu's room and sits down on the side of her "big-girl" bed (she's graduated from the crib). Her tiny hands are curled up under her chin as she sleeps. He smiles and puts his hand on her head. Nikolas: Hi there, little sister. You go ahead and sleep, I'm just gonna talk to you a bit. (He pauses, studying her pouty lips and her round cheeks) You know, you're a very lucky little girl. You have so many people who love you. You get to have both your parents in the same house, and they take care of you. And I'll always be here for you, I promise. If you ever need me... ok? (He strokes her hair) I'll take care of you your whole life, just like my father and his little sister. (He stops, savoring the sound of their new titles on his tongue). He stands up, leans over and kisses her little cheeks, one peck on each. Downstairs, Laura sees him to the door. Laura: Thank you for coming. Nikolas: Thank you for being honest. I know your time in Greece isn't really your favorite topic. Laura: No, but *you* are. (frowning) Will Stefan be angry at your coming here? Nikolas: It doesn't matter. Laura: Come back anytime. Nikolas: We'll see. Laura kisses her fingertips and presses them to his cheek. He stands still a moment, and uncharacteristically lets her look at him, enjoying him. Then, without a word, he turns and disappears into the limousine in the driveway.