Chapter 20   "You can't go up there alone," Stefan said. "Remember what happened last time." "Nothing happened last time!" Stavros said. "I walked away." "Mother was able to get you alone, in spite of our precautions and a police presence. In any event, you will not be able to walk away this time, I assure you." "Why are you so sure of that?" "Because last time you took Mother by surprise. This time she will be prepared." "She has V! I can't ignore that." "No one is asking you to. Listen to me, Stavros. The fact that you are in love with this woman means we should be more careful, not less." "I never said I was in love with her." "You didn't have to." Nancy looked at the two brothers, the one seemingly stunned by having his own deepest feelings revealed to him, the other slightly awkward, but deeply sympathetic, at having done the revealing. Finally, Stavros said, "I haven't told her. I mean, she knows I care about her, she knows I find her attractive... more than attractive.. but I have never told her. Until this moment, I did not realize it myself..." Nancy nodded sympathetically. He went on. "I suppose I did not think I had much to offer her." It was Stefan who said, "You have more to offer than you know. Perhaps... more than you have ever had before." "That is the problem. I do not really know what I once offered." Misery, Stefan thought. Pain, and fear. But those images were part of the past and he was ready to release them. They no longer had any place in the relationships Stavros was forging in the present. Nancy said, "You understand why Stefan is concerned about you going up there alone, don't you?" Stavros nodded. "But he needs to understand why I have to do it." Stefan said, "It isn't that I doubt your good intentions, but you no longer have the weapons you once had against Mother." "Perhaps I do," he said. "Perhaps without knowing what they are... Dr. DaSilva keeps telling me that I am still... myself." "You are a different man in many ways," Stefan said. "But the important thing is... Mother is devious, she is tricky, she is always plotting and planning. To anyone but a Cassadine, she is always several steps ahead." "Then tell me what I need to know in order to defeat her!" Stefan thought about that. "The truth is... I have rarely been able to do so myself." "But you are so certain that I cannot." "What I am certain is, if you go there in direct confrontation, we will lose. She will have a half dozen plans at her disposal, and if you lay all your cards immediately on the table, she will have you." Stavros stroked at his beard. "So what you are saying is.. I need to be indirect. To deceive her, if possible." "It will be very difficult, Stavros. But it is the only way." "And you think I cannot do this, because of the impairment to my memory." "I think that will make it harder, yes." "But I am the one she wants - needs - to see, Stefan. If I do not face her alone... I do not think we have a chance. I believe that V will die, and perhaps others as well." "Including you, Stavros." Something that Stefan no longer wished to see happen. "No." Stavros shook his head decisively. "Perhaps I believed that was possible before, but not now. Not since I saw her that day on the waterfront. She has too much invested in me." "Mother has been known to cut her losses. She is the least sentimental woman on earth." "Not this time." He shook his head again. "I ask you to trust my instincts, Stefan. About this... and up there. The truth is, my instincts are all I really have now." Stefan looked at Nancy, who said, "He has a point, Stefan. With his memories gone, his instincts may in fact have become more refined. And... he may be more open to trying new techniques." "To being more like me?" Stefan suggested dryly. "Well, yes..." she said, smiling at him. Stavros said, "I will offer you this much. I will try this your way... misdirection and deceit. I believe that you may be right and it may be the way to penetrate her design. In return... I ask that you remain down here. Because Nikolas is here, as well as Alexis and Kristina. They may very well need your protection. And... if worst comes to worst, and she defeats me, you still hold control of the Estate. Use it to fight her... to fight for us all." It was difficult. Very difficult. Trust. Letting go. But sometimes you had to acknowledge someone else's strength in order to best use your own. He nodded. Stavros began to walk away, and Stefan said, "Stavros. Her... love for you, twisted and wrong as it is... that may be your best weapon. Use it carefully." Stavros nodded, and with another nod at Nancy, walked back into the Grille.... "I hope I am doing the right thing," Stefan said, almost to himself. Nancy touched him on the arm. "All you can do is what seems best." He turned back to her. "Selfishly, I wanted to romance you tonight." "Why was that selfish?" "Because there was an agenda in place. Because it was foolish of me to think that I could..." He shook his head. "What are you saying?" Nancy asked, with a touch of impatience. "Honestly, you are the most... indirect man I've ever met. You talk in code, and half your sentences just sort of... drift off. Are you that uncertain or is it just a Cassadine thing?" "Let me tell you something, my dear Doctor. None of my romances have gone particularly well, which should not surprise you, given what you know of my family history, particularly my Mother. She has been, in a different way, as important in my life as she has in Stavros'. But know this. Every other woman I have loved, even when I was with them, part of me felt alone. You and I have kissed exactly once, but I do not feel alone when I am with you. Indeed, I feel as if you have always been there." "Well, I liked it, too." "What? Now who is being... unclear?" "The kiss, Stefan. The kiss." "Ah..." He reached for her and kissed her again... a long, lingering kiss. When it broke, he said, "When this is over..." then sighed again. "I wonder if it will ever be over... if I will ever be able to say, enough. I have safeguarded my family long enough, done my duty..." "I don't know, Stefan. I think you're the only one who can answer that question..." Just then Marcus Taggert came out to the terrace. "There's one Cassadine, and I saw your nephew with my sister by the buffet. But I haven't seen the guest of honor... where'd your brother get to?" "He was a little worn out, Lieutenant. In his current condition, he needs to... pace himself properly." "I thought he got a clean bill of health." "He was well enough to come home... and he is making wonderful progress under Dr. DaSilva... but there is still much confusion... and stress." "I can imagine," Taggert said, then, as if just noticing, added, "Hey, I haven't seen V Ardanowski for awhile either." "They are... together." Taggert looked as if he had another question when his cell phone went off. "Taggert," he barked into it, then listened. "What? Anyone hurt?... No, I'm on my way." With a frown, he closed the cellphone. "Looks like that bomb threat across the way wasn't just a threat. I'd better go..." He glanced warningly at Stefan. "But I'll be back." "I think the party is pretty much winding down, Lieutenant," Stefan said amiably. "That would be a nice change," Taggert said as he left. "A Cassadine event that just... wound down." When he was gone, Nancy said, "That was nicely handled. You didn't really lie to him. V and your brother probably are together, or will be soon." "I know," Stefan said. "It may drive me mad, wondering what is going on up there. Believe it or not, I almost wish Stavros was his old self. At least he could sometimes handle Mother." She nodded and said, "Would you excuse me? I, um... have to find something..." "Of course," he said, and watched her go... The man holding V Ardanowski captive had been so intent on not being spotted as he made his way upstairs with her that he never noticed that he was already being followed. AJ was used to being unnoticed, but this time he was able to use it to his advantage. He followed the man until he took V into one of the PC Hotel's suites, and noted the door number. There were advantages to living in a hotel, especially one your family owns. AJ had no trouble getting a keycard. He figured going in the front door would lead to disaster. So he got the card for the adjoining, unoccupied suite and made his way to the terrace. It wasn't too hard to get from terrace to terrace, and to conceal himself in a corner, watching the people inside, and listening to the muffled voices, while he tried to decide what to do... As Andreas opened the door, Helena poured wine into the doctored glass. "My darling," she said, as Stavros came into the suite. "Mother." He coolly surveyed the room, his gaze falling on the bound and gagged V. "Was this absolutely necessary?" he asked. "You came, didn't you?" She handed him the glass and filled another for herself. "Yes," he said. "But now you'll never know why." "Does it matter? You always said how you win is less important than the victory itself. Of course, you had a rather vulgar way of saying it, which I imagine you've forgotten..." Stavros, holding the wine glass, glanced at V again. He remembered the day on the docks, the way he had sensed her out there, knew that she was looking for him. Talk to me, my Athena, he wanted to say. I am alone here. Help me to not be alone... Her gaze seem fixed on the glass in his hand. He placed it on the table and saw the relief in her eyes. "Her... love for you, twisted and wrong as it is... that may be your best weapon," Stefan had said. He considered the mix of revulsion and attraction he felt towards her. He wondered, again, if it was possible that she had, at some time in his forgotten past, taken things a little too far... and if he could use that to save them all. He advanced on Helena, calm, smiling. "I don't want to fight with you, Mother." He was close, very close. "Then why have you turned away from me?" "All I have done," he said, "is try to work out, in my own way, about who I am." "You are the Cassadine Prince," she said, "and my one, true son. Or, at least... you were." He took the wine glass from her hand and placed it next to his own, then kissed both her hands. "Through all this madness and confusion, I have always been able to recognize certain things. I know that you are my mother, and that we have always had a... special relationship." She nodded. His mouth was tantalizingly close to hers. "It was." Did his lips brush against hers or did it just seem that way? "I needed to know that I could rule myself before I could imagine ruling the world." "And now?" Stavros picked up the two wine glasses and handed her one. "Now... we will talk. And I really think that Miss Ardanowski's presence is... superfluous. We can dispense with it." "I think not," Helena said. "At least not yet." She watched him carefully as their glasses touched. He drank lightly, then drained his glass. "Excellent," he said. "I'm relieved to see that you haven't lost your taste for good wine." "They have told me that my basic personality - including my tastes and appetites - remains the same." She nodded and continued to drink her own wine. "This is the first time I've seen signs of it, though." A small smile. "I will admit, it is a relief to see you even start to come into yourself." He smiled at her. "I have re-ascended." "Yes. I know. You are once again officially, that which you have always been. The one, true, undisputed Prince." She picked up something from the side table and he could see her play with it. The medallion he had lost earlier in the evening. As she fingered it, he could see where the chain had been cut. The medallion dangled from her hands as she said, in a soft, almost hypnotic voice. "Oh, my Stavros, my darling boy... how you have hurt me. After all I did for you... But I am willing to forgive you. Because of what you are to me..." The medallion swayed rhythmically, like a pendulum. "Because you were not yourself. You were misled, by your worthless brother and those two bastard children of your father's." He nodded and stepped forward, studying her carefully. "And now... you will help me become 'myself' again?" "Yes." The medallion continued to sway. "How do you propose to do that, Mother?" "Why, my darling... the readiness is all. Wasn't it Shakespeare who said that?" "I suppose so. He said everything." Another step. They were very close again. She held up the medallion to his eyes. "This is your destiny, my darling. Our destiny. To lead the Cassadine to greater power and glory. Side by side, as it was meant to be..." In the ladies' room at the Grille, Nancy was touching up her makeup when Gia and Alexis came in. She said hello to them, and they to her, but as she was walking by Nancy, Alexis saw something in her face that made her stop. "Look, this may be completely none of my business, but... are you all right?" Nancy smiled at her. "Thanks, but, I am. Well, apart from really wishing I could dump this control top pantyhose in the trash..." Gia laughed sympathetically. "I don't do control top - " "You don't need to," Nancy pointed out. "But I know something about what it takes to look good." "The Face of Deception speaks," Alexis said. The three women laughed, but Alexis saw that Nancy's laugh seemed a little forced. "Are you sure you're okay? I know being a psychotherapist can be a strain, and trying to treat a Cassadine is... well, practically a paradox in itself, but - " "It's not treating a Cassadine that's the problem," Nancy said, suddenly wanting to talk to someone. At Alexis' quizzical look, Nancy said, "I think I'm falling for a Cassadine." "Dear God, please tell me it's Stefan." "Well, um, yes... it is. But why did you say it like that?" "Well, because Nikolas is virtually engaged to Gia here, who is truly someone to be feared - " "Thank you," Gia said. "And Stavros - God help me, I have come to accept the change in him, and even to find a way to love him - but those are complications you just don't need." "Well, it is Stefan, and there seem to be quite a few complications there, as well." Suddenly, Alexis found there were tears in her eyes. "You're falling for my brother?" "It looks like it. It feels like it... Why are you crying?" "Because I love Stefan very much, and all I really want for him is to find someone he can love who will love him back. He hasn't had a lot of luck in that department." "I know he loved a woman who was killed by his brother... it's remarkable, really, that he's been able to accept that and find a way to love Stavros." "Stefan is, in many ways, a remarkable man." "But he's also a tormented man. Haunted, moody... with an overdeveloped sense of responsibility." "Add scary to that," Gia said. Alexis looked at her and Gia said, "Well, he made a good try at scaring me when I first took up with Nik." "He's wonderful... he's one of the most sensitive men I've ever met... but..." Alexis nodded. "There's always a but. With any man. And somehow, with the Cassadine men more than average." Gia nodded. "But after all the Gothic craziness, all the psychogranny touches... they're worth it." "Psychogranny?" "Gia's pet name for Helena." Nancy thought of the encounter upstairs, of the way the brothers had finally decided to trust each other. She nodded, hoping that somehow, all the Cassadine men involved would come out all right... Stavros moved as if he was going to refill his wine glass. Helena shook her head and said, "We will have something a little later. I had some fruit and cheese sent up, and there is more wine. But not now..." Her voice was still and quiet. She was still holding his medallion. "Of course, Mother," he said, equally quietly. "Oh, Stavros... soon all our problems will be behind us..." But a shadow crossed her eyes. She touched one hand to her forehead briefly. "Are you all right, Mother?" "Yes, of course... I am never ill." Another shadow. "It is just..." "I understand... Mother, what was in the wine?" "What do you mean?" "I mean... what did you put in the wine?" "Stavros, don't be..." She shook her head. "You had better tell me, Mother. So that I can help you." "Help me?" She started to draw herself up, but seemed to be having problems focusing. "Stavros... what are you... saying?" "I am saying, Mother..." He snatched the medallion from her weakening hand, "that you had better tell me what you put in the wine, because you are the one who drank it." "How... Could... You?" She struggled to regain control, to shake off the effects of the drug that should have made him more... amenable to what she needed from him. "I could because I had to. Because I tried to tell you that I could not be what you wanted. But you would not believe me." She steeled herself. "I gave you life. Twice!" "Yes. But now... it is mine. Mine to determine. Mine to choose." "And I... get to choose, too!" she spat out, fighting her own potion with every bit of will within her. "Yes, you do." "Hold him." she said to Andreas and the other manservant, who grabbed Stavros firmly. Helena grabbed the knife from the fruit and cheese assortment. "You do not dare kill me," Stavros said. "I am the Prince. I am the only chance you have to control the Estate." None of them saw AJ come through the terrace door. "No," Helena said, fighting, fighting hard. She was nothing if not an indomitable creature of will. "Not you... you have torn out my heart... now I will tear out yours..." She lifted the knife and sprung towards the bound and gagged V. Stavros struggled against his captors. He was strong, desperately strong, but there were two of them, and they had been bred for this sort of task. "No..." AJ had not been able to shoot an unarmed man in the back. But a woman, a madwoman, armed with a knife, about to plunge it into a helpless woman's throat... he found that under those circumstances, he could shoot. He fired twice.     Chapter 21   Taggert and his men returned to the Grille, and it was obvious that the Lieutenant wasn't happy. "G** D**n Cassadines," he was muttering. "Excuse me, Lieutenant?" Stefan said. "We just got a call - someone heard gunshots in one of the suites upstairs. Any guesses?" "I wouldn't dream of it." Taggert glared at Stefan and then, out of sheer frustration, at Gia, who was standing, arm around Nikolas, just a little to the left. He turned to two of the men with him and said, "Secure the Grille. Make sure no one leaves. The rest of you, come with me…" The team separated out; on his way out to the lobby, Taggert noted that Stefan was with them. "I don't remember inviting you." "Lieutenant, if you're right, and there were gunshots, and they had something to do with this party - " "If I'm right? Do you think there's a bookie on the streets who'd give odds against this being a key moment in your little plan?" "It was never my intention to get anyone shot." "Yeah, well… these things seem to happen around you and your crazy family… "The one his sister was determined to join. "If my brother has been hurt… or my assistant…" "V is up there?" "We believe my mother abducted her." Taggert cursed colorfully. "Fine, come along… " The sound of the two shots fired startled the two men holding Stavros, and the sight of Helena Cassadine seeming to freeze in mid-pounce and then fall into a frozen embrace with the bound V Ardanowski, enabled Stavros to fight them off, knocking one out completely. Before Andreas could get ahold of Stavros again, AJ had turned the gun on him. Stavros literally shoved Helena off V. There was so much blood. The first thing he did was tear off the gag. "Are you hurt? Did he hit you?" She shook her head and said, "It's all her blood, I'm fine, please get me out of this." He tore at the ropes, finally getting her free. "Your hands, your wrists," he said. "No, I'm fine, but I was really uncomfortable there and - "Suddenly he lifted her up and she was in his arms. "I wanted to kill her myself for what she did to you... my darling... my Venus..." "Oh my God," she said, just before his mouth found hers... "Madame!" Andreas tried to move towards Helena, but AJ continued to hold the gun on him. "Thank you," Stavros said, and then, "Who are you?" "My name is Alan Quartermaine, Jr. Chloe Morgan was my cousin." The woman he had killed. The woman his brother had loved. "Then… you are actually here to kill me." AJ nodded. "I was. Things… kind of got away from me. They… usually do." "In this case, for V's sake, I can't deny I'm glad they did," Stavros said. He let go of V and stepped away from her. "But now… I assume there will be a reckoning." The pause that followed seemed very long. Finally, AJ said, "They said you don't remember killing Chloe… don't remember her at all. But we remember her. We remember her every day." V couldn't stand it. She went to Stavros' side and said to AJ, "He isn't the same man. I know people say that, they say it all the time, but this time it's true. AJ, Chloe was my friend, maybe my best friend in the world. So don't you see, AJ, if I can stand here, like this…" Her arm went around Stavros' waist. "If I can do this and tell you that he isn't responsible for what he did to her… that the man he is today would hurt himself before he'd hurt someone as innocent and good as Chloe… can't you even try to believe it?" "But what about Chloe? How does he answer for it? How do… any of us?" Stavros said, "I may not have the memory of killing her, but I have the knowledge that I did so. I have to live with that. My new life is bought at a price, make no mistake about that." Just then there was a cracking sound, and then another, and the door to the suite broke open. Taggert, three police officers, and Stefan stood there. Everyone but Stefan had their weapons out. "Okay, freeze," Taggert said, which wasn't necessary since everyone was pretty much frozen. The tableau that greeted Taggert was startling, to say the least. First and foremost, Helena Cassadine was lying on the floor, bleeding from what looked like at least one gunshot wound. V Ardanowski, covered with blood, had her arms around Stavros Cassadine, who was also smeared with blood. A man Taggert remembered as having served Helena in the past was being held at gunpoint while a similarly-built man was unconscious on the floor. But the sight that most surprised Taggert was the man holding the gun - the last person he would have expected to see there - AJ Quartermaine. "Are you all right, V?" he asked. She nodded, still holding onto Cassadine. "It's Mrs. Cassadine's blood, I'm fine, I wasn't hit. She fell on me." "Drop the gun, AJ," he said, irritably, though his irritation was more at himself than AJ Quartermaine, who promptly placed the gun on the coffee table. "Now, what the hell happened here?" V spoke first. "Mrs. Cassadine tried to drug her son, but he switched glasses with her, and when she found out, she was going to stab me… but AJ shot her." Stefan looked at Stavros. "You are all right?" "Yes, she never attacked me, she wouldn't…" "I wouldn't be so sure of that," V said. "She was pretty crazy at the end. If AJ hadn't come in…" "My mother had no intention of hurting me directly," Stavros insisted. "And who are you and what do you have to do with all of this?" Taggert asked the man AJ had trained his gun on. "My name is Andreas Andropolous, and - " "He is one of my mother's… young men," Stefan said. Taggert motioned to one of his men to check Helena. "She's alive, Lieutenant." Taggert restrained himself from cursing again. It would solve at least a few problems if Helena Cassadine were dead, though no Cassadine ever seemed to stay dead. "All right. Someone call an ambulance." He turned to Stefan. "I assume you'd like to gather your family and meet at the hospital. As long as you're all available for later questioning, I don't have a problem with that. But everyone else here is coming with me to sort this out." Stefan nodded and turned to Stavros. "I will send Alexis to the police station to help you." Suddenly, Stavros pulled Stefan into an unusually fierce and rather awkward hug, with his arms inside Stefan's jacket. "It will be all right," he assured his brother, and then realized that Stavros had placed something in his inside jacket pocket. It felt like a glass… Walking at a slight angle so that his right side was concealed completely from Taggert's line of vision, Stefan repeated, "I will send Alexis… And I will take care of Mother." Taggert said, "She's getting a police escort every step of the way." Stefan nodded. "I would expect nothing less," and he left the suite. "Okay," Taggert said. He told two of his men to stay with Helena, including riding the ambulance to the hospital and keeping a close watch on her there. Then he and the other man escorted Stavros, V, and AJ to headquarters. Down in the Grille, the party was effectively over. People milled about, very aware of the police presence. Rumors flew, but no one seemed to know anything. Alexis Davis did a quick scan to insure that Nikolas, Jax, Kristina and Gia were all accounted for. A shooting upstairs, Taggert had said. Had V been shot? Had Stavros? "Alexis. There you are." Stefan's voice broke into her thoughts. "My mother has been shot and is being taken to the hospital. Stavros, Miss Ardanowski and AJ Quartermaine are being taken to the police station." "Helena? Shot?" She looked surprised, as if she hadn't imagined something like that could happen. He nodded. "I need to find Nancy. And I need you to go to the station house. I don't know how much help Stavros and Miss Ardanowski will need, but I want you there. And… I know you and AJ Quartermaine have tangled in the past, but… I want you to act as his attorney if he wishes." "AJ? Why?" "Because he is the one who did it." While Alexis took that in, and before she could ask any questions, Stefan saw Nancy a short distance away and made his way to her. She smiled questioningly at him, and he put his hands on her shoulders and gently steered her into a corner. "I am going to tell you what happened, but I need you to behave as if I am not saying anything of real importance." She nodded. "My mother was indeed holding both my brother and Miss Ardanowski prisoner and she evidently attempted to drug Stavros... He gave me a glass, and I need you to have any residue in it tested, so that we will know what she tried to give him." Another nod. "It was my mother who was injured. AJ Quartermaine shot her." Nancy managed to keep from looking shocked. "Dr. Quartermaine's son?" "Yes… I have sent Alexis to the police station to look after things there. The rest of us are going to the hospital." "I'll come with you," she said, accepting the glass from him. "Good." He smiled warmly. Just then Nikolas and Gia joined them. "Is Father all right?" Nikolas asked. "What happened?" Stefan assured him that Stavros was fine. "But your grandmother was injured. We're going to the hospital. Will you come?" Jax's car pulled up in front of the PCPD. "Thanks," Alexis said. "Don't mention it. I'll take Kristina back to the penthouse…" "Oh, no you won't," Kristina said, opening her door. "Kristina," Alexis said, "You are not coming in with me." "Just watch me." Alexis shook her head. "There's no reason for it. I'm going to be… working." "Alexis, the brother I'm just starting to get to know is in there, and he may be in trouble…and a really good friend of yours that I've barely met… " "And a troubled young man whose aura you read earlier in the evening," Alexis said dryly, which earned a startled look from Jax. "The point is… I just feel my place is with you." Alexis looked at Jax who said, "From bitter experience, I have learned when Kristina can be moved and when to just… give in." "You're a big help," she said to him and then turned to her sister with a look of resignation. "Okay, fine… maybe I should just have you trained as a paralegal…" Kristina was smiling as the three of them entered the police station together…. In his office at the hospital, Stefan stood by the window, doing two of the things that had comprised so much of his life - waiting and thinking. Downstairs, with two policemen hovering, they were preparing Helena for surgery. Would it prove to be the end of an era, or just another example of his mother cheating fate and manipulating natural and man-made law with equal defiance? Was justice - true justice - possible when dealing with someone like Helena? His mind traveled back and forth in time, passing over the bouts of madness, cruelty and greed of the past... nearly fifty years. Three generations of Cassadines… perhaps more, because who knew what forces had forged Helena into the woman she became? And what would be a fitting justice for a woman like that, one incapable of true atonement or remorse? There was a knock at the door. "Come in." He was pleased when Nikolas entered. "Am I interrupting, Uncle?" "Only some random reflections." "On..?" "I suppose I was thinking about ... timoria." "Ah. I never really understood that." "It is not a simple concept. There is justice, but also retribution… atonement, and perhaps balance. A settling of accounts, but not quite that simple…" Nikolas nodded, and Stefan continued. "You realize, of course, that I have no faith in the 'legitimate' authorities or their ability to control your grandmother, or keep her from harming others." "I can understand that." He went over to Stefan and put a hand on his shoulder. "And I trust you to take… the appropriate action." He smiled at his nephew. "That means a great deal to me, Nikolas." They went to the desk together. "When you were a boy, you used to sit on the edge of my desk and watch me work. I knew that you would make a wonderful Prince one day. You were so curious, so eager, so bright…" Before Nikolas could speak, Stefan lifted his hand slightly and continued. "I know you want to strike out on your own, you want a life away from all this… believe me, no one understands that as well as I do. But the truth is, neither you nor I can ever completely avoid the Cassadine in us. If you try, you will leave yourself vulnerable, and this family bereft. Nikolas… my baby boy… can't you find a way to redefine yourself within this family?" Nikolas thought about it, about the challenge in his uncle's words. He thought about the man who had raised him with such love, about the father he was only now getting to know, about Alexis and Kristina… "I - I'll think about it." "That's all I can ask." The two men lapsed into silence. At the PC Police Station, Taggert was in his office with AJ. V and Stavros were sitting together in an interrogation room, but no one was interrogating them yet. After an awkward silence, V said, "Can I ask you something?" "Of course." "Up in your mother's room… when you kissed me… why did you do that?" "Because I love you." "Oh." Another awkward pause, and then, "Oh!!... When did you decide that?" "It was not so much a decision as… an understanding, a recognition." "Oh…" She looked oddly uncomfortable with his confession. "The thing is, you act like I'm some sort of goddess, and I'm really not. I'm a very ordinary woman." He shook his head. "Your honesty, loyalty and strength make you far from ordinary. For me, the only hesitation…. The only question is, could you love a man as fragmented as I am?" She gave him a look. "If you keep talking nonsense, I might have to hurt you." He smiled wryly. "I think, based on my reputation, that I might enjoy that." As she opened her mouth, he cut off her response with another kiss... After awhile, Nikolas decided to send Gia back to Wyndemere. "It's going to be a long night," he said, and Stefan agreed. As Nikolas left, he almost ran into Nancy DaSilva, who had changed into some scrubs and a white coat. They said a warm hello to each other and Nancy came in. "I have those test results on the glass you gave me." He nodded for her to continue. She named the drug. "It is similar to sodium pentothal and the like. It lowers resistance, increases… suggestibility." "I am not surprised," Stefan said. Indeed, he would have been surprised if it had been anything radically different. "Has there been any word on your mother?" He shook his head. "They took her up to surgery a little while ago… Nancy, I need to talk to you about something." "Of course. What is it?" He sat on the edge of his desk, toying with a letter opener. "Love," he said, "equals trust, at least ideally. But I have never been good at that." He hesitated, and she looked at him, somewhat confused. "Do you remember when I first asked you to take Stavros' case?" She nodded. "You said that you would not be a spy or stalking horse for Cassadine interests." "I remember." "What would you do if those interests were identical to those of the community at large? And what if the Cassadine was uniquely suited to deal with the problem?" "I'd have to know more about it - especially if you need my help." He looked at her for a moment. "You have never really known my mother, have you? Beyond social events at the hospital over the last few years… she is evil. If ever there was someone who deserved that word, it is Helena Cassadine… Perhaps the most alarming element of her evil is its… resiliency. Her will is… indomitable." "You almost admire it," Nancy said. "Sometimes I do admire it," he confessed. "Nancy, I have no faith in the authorities. They have failed to keep her in check numerous times, and she has always reached out to do more harm…. It takes a Cassadine to control a Cassadine." He smiled at her. "And yes, I need your help." "I'm not a Cassadine." "I think you might be."   Chapter 22   "What on Earth has he done now?" Edward Quartermaine's voice roared through the Port Charles Police Department as he and his son and daughter-in-law entered the station house. "He didn't say, exactly," Monica admitted. "Just that he was down here giving a statement, and there had been a shooting in Helena Cassadine's suite." "Why am I not surprised that there was trouble, and the Cassadines were part of it?" Alan said. "Yes, but what was your son doing in the middle of it?" Edward countered. "We don't know what he was doing, Father… That's what we're here to find out," Alan said irritably. Edward saw Alexis talking with Andy Capelli and said, "I wonder what Corinthos has to do with all this... That's all Alexis is anymore, you know, a mob mouthpiece." Alan looked at him. "She's also a Cassadine." "Oh yes, that's right, I keep forgetting. The long lost sister of Port Charles' favorite bunch of Eurotrash mad scientists." "Really, Edward, I don't like the Cassadines any more than you do, but I think calling them Eurotrash is at least a little inaccurate, considering that they go back a couple of thousand years and - " "Isn't that V Ardanowski with the back-from-the-dead one?" Edward interrupted Monica to ask. "I didn't know she was back in town." Alan nodded. "She's Stefan Cassadine's personal assistant." "Oh, for the love of God…" Anything else Edward might have added was lost as Marcus Taggert came in with AJ, who Monica was relieved to see looked none the worse for wear. She was also relieved that he wasn't handcuffed. "AJ, what's going on?" Monica asked as they approached Taggert's desk. "When you called, you said something about a shooting in a hotel suite, and Helena Cassadine…?" AJ nodded. "I shot her." "You what?" his grandfather said. Just then Alexis joined them and said, "AJ, I have to advise you not to say anything more…" Alan stared at her. "You are not representing my son." "That's up to AJ," Alexis said calmly and turned to him. "AJ, I know we haven't gotten along very well, but my family is grateful to you for what you did, and the courage you have shown has made me - " "Excuse me, young lady, but I think we can all do without Cassadine gratitude!" Edward said. V, practically tugging Stavros with her, strode over to the group around Taggert's desk and said, "You have no idea what happened up there! Your son saved my life, and Stavros' as well…" "My life was in no real danger," Stavros continued to insist. Edward ignored him. He was staring at his grandson with an expression of pride so deep that AJ could not remember ever seeing it before, even in the relatively happier times when he had brought Carly and, above all, Michael home to live with them all. "You killed Helena Cassadine?" AJ shrugged, "She isn't dead." His grandfather shook his head. "You mean to tell me you took down that she-devil, all by yourself?" "He did," V said, and Stavros, his arm around her waist, nodded. "So it would seem," Taggert said. He was predisposed to believe V Ardanowski anyway, but so far the preliminary evidence backed her story completely. "There won't be any assault or attempted murder charges. AJ acted responsibly in defending Miss Ardanowski. I'm going to recommend to the DA that she not even file weapons charges. We may need to do some follow-up questioning at some point, but as it stands now… he's free to go." "That's wonderful," Monica said, smiling with relief. Suddenly, she saw Edward ease into a chair and the look on his face troubled her. "Edward, are you all right?" She went to him and saw that there were tears in his eyes. "I'm… fine," he whispered. He looked past her to where AJ was talking quietly with Alexis and Taggert. "Took down Helena Cassadine…" She took his wrist and checked his pulse, which was fine. "Alan, can you get him some water?" Alan nodded. As he started towards the cooler, he stopped in front of AJ and said, "You saved that woman's life. Son… I'm proud of you." After Taggert released everyone, they all went to the hospital. Stavros told V he wanted her to get checked out. "I'm fine," she assured him for what must have seemed like the hundredth time. "I wasn't shot, I wasn't hurt. The closest I came was, one of your mother's earrings almost stabbed me in the shoulder when she fell on me." Just ahead of them in the hallway, Alexis said to Jax, "I just talked to Stefan on my cell. There's going to be a family meeting in the small conference room in fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, I'm going to check on Helena, and I should probably look into - " He stopped her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Alexis, whoa… You do realize you're getting sucked right back into all this." "All what?" "All this Cassadine madness." She thought before she answered, finally saying, "Jax, I've done a lot of crazy things in my life to avoid a few basic truths. And one of the most basic is… this is my family. I am the daughter of Mikkos Cassadine and Kristen Bergman, I have two brothers and a sister and a nephew who all share that Cassadine blood, and I love them, Jax." She smiled wryly. "Even Stavros." He sighed and looked at her, this woman who had been his pretend wife and was still his very real friend. He thought about the strange events of the last few weeks, events that would continue to reverberate for all of them. And he looked in those deep, steady brown eyes and found there was only one thing he could say. "I understand, Alexis. And I accept it. Because… whatever comes next for you, I want to be a part of it." She swallowed hard, and then gave him a tentative smile. "Okay." In the small conference room, the Cassadines met, joined by Nancy DaSilva and V Ardanowski, who Stefan had asked to participate. "I have a plan in mind to deal with Mother once and for all, and it requires the participation of everyone in this room. Some will be more active than others, but… we must act as a unit." Everyone in the room nodded in agreement. Stefan continued. "We know that Mother had one of her men abduct Miss Ardanowski tonight, and that she attempted to drug Stavros and… influence him to be at her side again." Stavros nodded again when Stefan said this. "We do not know how she escaped from jail, but it is clear that she has somehow siphoned off more money from the estate. In other words… we have no reason to imagine that anything conventional, anything… legitimate, will deal with her. I told Dr. DaSilva earlier today that it takes a Cassadine to control a Cassadine…." His cell phone rang and he answered it. After a moment he thanked the person on the other end and hung up. "They just brought her out of surgery. She made it through the operation, but she is not out of the woods yet." "Perhaps your plan will not be necessary," Nikolas offered. "Do not ever underestimate your grandmother's resilience," Stefan warned him. Stavros spoke for the first time. "That may be her true legacy to us all. Everyone in this room is a survivor." After a moment, Alexis said, "Maybe it's time you told us the plan… and what part we all play in it." After the meeting, everyone filed out of the conference room. V and Stavros paused at the door. She had a task to perform very soon, and needed to get out of her bloodstained gown. So much for V in Versace… "You should probably change, too," she said, motioning at his ruined evening clothes. Nikolas smiled as he came up behind them. "When I sent Gia back to Wyndemere I asked her to have someone come by with a change of clothes for each of you." "Thank you." "Would you mind if I stole Miss Ardanowski away for a minute?" he asked, and Stavros smiled and shook his head. Nik took V back into the now-empty conference room. "I just wanted to say…" He hesitated. "What is it, Nikolas?" she said gently. "I just wanted you to know… that I see what's happened between you and my father - " "Nikolas," she said, looking flustered, "we haven't… it hasn't been… it's not like that." "Not yet," Nik said with a smile that, V noticed for the first time, was very much like his father's. "Relax, V. It's all right. You know… no one but my grandmother has ever really loved my father, and her kind of love is something we can all do without. But now… I see you with him and I realize he has a woman to love him, and a family… It really is a new life for him." She nodded. "With or without his memory… I know it means everything to him to have you as his son." Nikolas nodded. "And, whatever else happens with me, I want you to know - I want him to know - that he'll always have that…" Some time later V, now in slacks and a sweater, approached the policeman on guard outside Helena's room. "Gosh," she said. "So many new faces… I've been away too long." She smiled at him. "I'm V Ardanowski. I used to wear that uniform myself." He returned her smile. "Sure. I heard of you. You're one of the few people the Lieutenant can remember without cursing." "That's awfully nice of him - and of you to say. I think Lieutenant Taggert is one of the all-time best, myself." "He's tough, but he's good," the guard agreed. V had a small pang as she thought about what Taggert would say - what he would think - if he knew what she was doing now. His respect meant a great deal to her. But… she knew in her gut - in her heart - that Stefan Cassadine was right. This was the best way to deal with Helena, to make sure she couldn't hurt anyone else. As V chatted with the guard, Nancy DaSilva, now in lilac-colored scrubs and a white coat, her hair clipped back, slipped behind him into Helena's room. The Cassadine matriarch was still and pale in the hospital bed, and a variety of monitors were doing their jobs. Nancy took out the ampoule of liquid that Stefan had given her in his office, and injected it into the IV. Then, after another glance at the woman in the bed - elderly, frail now, but capable of so much destruction - she slipped out of the room again and, noiselessly, down the hall. A few minutes later, V made her way to Nancy's office. "You know Alexis and her brown paper bags?" "I - I've heard of them," Nancy said. "I think I could use one right now." "Well, I don't have any, but…" She got V a glass of water and sat her down. "Take a few deep breaths, drink this, and talk to me." "You're going to think I'm crazy." Nancy thought of some of the things she'd seen and heard in her practice and said, "Um, no… not likely." V took the recommended deep breaths and drank some of the water. "I feel like I'm going to throw up - don't worry, I won't - I never do…" "Talk to me, V." "It's just… what we just did…what just happened…what's going to happen…" She took another deep breath. "I know it's the right thing, in an overall, best-thing-to-do-in-a-terrible-situation way. And I'm totally behind it, totally willing to do my part. It's just… on top of everything else, Stavros said he loves me." "And the problem with that is…?" "It's not… he's wonderful, he is, I know everyone thinks he's insane, but he isn't, not anymore. He's funny and warm and sensitive and… when he looks at me I go a little weak in the knees." Nancy smiled, thinking that she had almost the exact same reaction to Stefan Cassadine. Must be something in the bloodlines, she thought… V continued. "I was almost killed tonight. I think that just hit me. I mean, I knew it at the time, but right now, I think it's really hitting me… if AJ Quartermaine hadn't come in when he did, with guns - or gun, rather - blazing… she was going right for my throat." "But he did come in when he did, and you're all right," Nancy reminded her. "Sometimes, something almost happening is as upsetting as if it really did happen." V nodded vigorously. "I try to tell Stavros it's all right, I wasn't hurt, and that's true… but I see the knife, I see it coming at my throat, I can almost feel it…I was a cop for years, this isn't the first time my life was in danger, but it feels so different this time." Nancy considered it. "You're not a cop anymore. And the circumstances are… a little different in this case. In some ways, they're a little more frightening." "And now he says he loves me and I look at him and I want to just nestle in his arms…but it's not going to be that easy, is it?" "I think that sometimes it will be exactly that easy and sometimes it won't. He's never going to be an easy man, and they're not ever going to be an easy family." "I like them." V said. "So do I." The two women sat together in companionable silence. "Do you feel any better?" "Actually… yes." V seemed a little surprised. "You're probably going to have some shaky moments. I want you to know… you can talk to me, anytime. I'm here - as a doctor, as a friend - I do think we're becoming friends, you and I." V nodded again. "Like war buddies." "Exactly," Nancy said, with a surprised - and surprising - laugh. At the PCPD station house, Marcus Taggert was doing the paperwork from the shooting at the PC hotel, when the phone on his desk rang. "Taggert," he said, and listened. "Thank you. You're sure?" He nodded to himself. "Thank you," he said again. He hung up and looked at Andy Capelli, who was standing near the desk. "That was the hospital. Helena Cassadine didn't make it. She was pronounced dead fifteen minutes ago." "So… this whole crazy case is over?" "With Helena dead, Stavros wiped clean, the rest of them trying to repair their damaged image? Well, Andy… nothing's sure in this world, but… yeah. I think it's finally over."