Prologue
V tipped the courier and looked at the package in her hands. She had
received four other packages in so many weeks, and wasn't sure she wanted
to open this one. Not that anything she had gotten was bad, just that
there was never a note or a card letting her know who was sending her all of
these beautiful things.
When the diamond bracelet had arrived a month ago, she had thought it
might have been from Jax. He had been out of town, and they hadn't seen
each other much lately. She called and set up a lunch date to thank him for
her gift, but when she got there, he didn't say a word about the bracelet,
and she didn't want to draw attention to it if it hadn't of been from him.
A week later, the pearl necklace with matching earrings had arrived, and
the next week a jewel encrusted silver frame with a picture of a woman she
had never seen. The woman looked familiar, but no matter how much she
racked her brain, she couldn't put a name to the face. The next package
left her completely baffled about what was going on.
The diamond tiara was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen in her
life, let alone owned. She couldn't imagine who would think to send her
something like that. She'd called Jerry, to see if he knew if this was
some kind of joke Jax was playing, but he was as clueless as she was. He
agreed that it wasn't Jax's style to buy a woman gifts and then play dumb
about them.
Now, there was another box, and she opened it cautiously. She found a
medallion, on a gold chain. She had seen it, or one like it before, but had never been so close to one. She turned it over, and saw her initials on the back. There was also a note in the box, something different from the rest of the packages.
Venus-
This will allow you to take your proper place amongst your family, your
real family. Use it wisely dear girl. You know what to do.
It was unsigned, something that wasn't much of a surprise to her. The note
didn't clear anything up, just confused her more
Chapter 1
Jerry groaned at the rapid pounding on his door. Who would be so cruel as
to disturb him at dawn on a Saturday. Lucas he was the only one. "Lucas
I'll be right with you." Jerry called out, fumbling under the sheets for
his boxers and his robe. Pulling them on, he opened the door a crack.
"You're not Lucas." He announced, looking over the fetching Ms. Ardanowski.
"No I'm not. " V said pushing past. "And good morning to you too." She
held up the medallion. "Here's another present. I need your help." She
stood silently as Jerry examined the medallion.
"V what are you doing with a Cassadine medallion. These were only given to
family members." V gasped and looked at Jerry, wide eyed, "Are you sure that's
what this is?"
"Positive." He replied, studying the card. Sitting in silence, V fidgeted
until Jerry met her eyes again. "Well Venus" he said, after a few minutes.
"We have a mystery on our hands. A mystery I intend to help you solve."
V rolled her eyes. "I'm honored Jerry. Really I am."
Jerry's expression turned serious. "Venus do you know what this means?"
When she just looked at him, Jerry led her to his couch and waited until
she had settled against the plush leather backing. "What do you know about
your family? Could they be distant Cassadines?" As Jerry spoke he
scrutinized her bone structure, mentally comparing her to the other
Cassadines. She didn't quite look like Alexis, but there was a similarity
in bone structure and coloring to Stefan
V thought back to the stories She'd been told. "Jerry I don't usually make
a big deal out of this, but I was adopted."
"Adopted eh?" Jerry repeated, sitting on the couch beside her. "From
where? In what city were you adopted or born?"
As V heard Jerry's question, chills went up her spine. "Athens. My parents
were amateur archeologists. They adopted me there."
Jerry nodded seriously and regarded the young woman sitting next to her.
"In 1973 correct?"
"Yes Jerry." V said in a small voice that just broke his heart. He watched
her trying to maintain her composure out of the corner of his eye. "And
when did they pass on luv?" He questioned quietly.
"Four years ago." V sighed rubbing the bridge of her nose. "The breaks
gave out, it was an icy night. Jerry is this necessary?" Her emotions were
on the brink of exploding and she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of
breaking her.
He gathered her close, unmindful of his current state of undress. He was a
sucker for tears and when she'd turned her doe eyes on him, shimmering with
tears he'd just lost all pretense of modesty and began comforting her. "Yes
luv I'm afraid it is. It's all right though." He said rubbing her back in
soothing circles, pressing her close to him. Feeling V taking a mighty
shuddery breath, he tightened his arms around her, half pulling her on his
lap. "Let it go V. Cry it out." He said kissing the top of his head, his
heart breaking in sympathy. He too had been touched by the Cassadines and
knew how they could ruin lives.
Stefan Cassadine awoke and padded to the window. The grounds of Wyndamere
glistened with the morning dew and the early morning sun on the horizon
promised a glorious May day. He turned to look at the bed, watching the
sleeping form that rested there. What had happened last night should never
be allowed to happen again. He had too many family concerns to invite this
sort of a relationship into his household.
As he watched her, the sleeping form awakened, coppery curls peeking out
of the lush bedding. "Did we really?" She asked in resignation, knowing the
answer even as she looked over Stefan's form, clad in silk pajama bottoms
and a robe alone.
"Yes Barbara I'm afraid we did." Stefan sighed, watching the telltale
expressions flicker over her face. First came shock, then a small glimpse
of guilt and finally, amazingly, Stefan found himself looking into the face
of a woman looking immensely satisfied with her current position.
"What's done is done." Bobbie said trying to keep her expression neutral.
"Are you joining me?" She asked trying to hold onto her nonchalance even as
she devoured his masculine form.
"What about Jerry Jacks?" Stefan inquired quietly, every fiber of his
being longing to hold her.
"We've broken up." Bobbie replied, a slight frown appearing on her face.
"It just wasn't working. We parted ways a few weeks ago."
Stefan closed his eyes and nodded, body and mind waging a war for his
control. He finally gave in to his body's urges and slipped into bed,
tossing his robe on a chair and pulling Bobbie into his arms in a single
fluid move.
Jerry held V as she cried, not having a clue what to do with this crying woman, who would probably regret letting him see this little bit of emotion later, when she had pulled herself back together. He never had any use for crying women before, but V's tears cut him deep, and he wanted to comfort her in any way possible. He continued to rub her back, until her sobs quieted into soft sniffles. When V moved to pull away from him, he unwillingly let her go.
She looked at him with a watery smile. "You surprise me Jerry Jacks, I wouldn't look at you and immediately think that you're a man who would bother to comfort a crying woman, you definitely look like the type who would run the other way screaming. You're more like your brother then I ever would have thought possible. I thought he had the market on strong shoulders, but I'm glad I'm mistaken."
"You wound me, comparing me to Jasper. As the better brother, you should have known that I would be just as sensitive as he would. I just prefer to keep that side tucked away until a beautiful damsel in distress needs it."
"You play the Black Knight to Jax's white one very well, but you're nothing but a big marshmallow under all that armor Jerry Jacks. And I'm glad I got to see it. I accept your offer to help me, just tell me where we start?" Never in a million years would she have thought she'd be accepting any offer from Jerry, let alone one that was going to hit so close to home.
"At Wyndamere of course, if you're going to play in the vipers nest, may as well go right to the middle of it. If you think you can handle it V, if not, we can always start with the little research, and then head to face the bat."
Chapter 2
"The bat? Why the bat?" V asked, finally smiling. "Mr Cassadine seems like a nice enough man so why refer to him as the bat?"
"The Cassadines are not nice, V. Don't ever underestimate them. They ruin lives!" Jerry exclaimed this with force and stalked over the window. When V turned to look at him she met his stiffly held shoulders.
"Jerry this is personal isn't it?" V asked gently. She had never seen him this angered by people she referred to as strangers. While the thought of Jerry in pain hurt her she was also compelled to help him. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"No V. Just go back to the couch." Jerry's voice sounded strangely thick to V's ears. When she felt his shoulder tremble under his hand she realized he was either crying or attempting to hold back tears. She moved to hug him, watching him tense up further, then finally backed away.
"All right I'll be over there." She said studiously examining the medallion, worried to death about Jerry. Finally she couldn't take the silence anymore. "Jerry if you ever want to…"
"I don't. I can't." he interrupted her, gaze fixed somewhere in the backyard of the brownstone.
"Ok." She replied, sympathy brimming over in those two letters. Never had she wanted to reach out to Jerry so much. He had always annoyed her but this was a new side to the man, a vulnerable side, a side she wanted and needed to get to know better.
It took fifteen minutes for Jerry to turn and regard her. "I won't speak about that." He said in a low voice. Looking closely, V could see the faint tracks of his tears. Jerry was not a man given to emotion, and knowing that he'd cried forced another wave of sympathy for him.
"We can't continue this." Bobbie moaned as Stefan's mouth found her breasts and his goatee teased her sensitive flesh.
"And why not Barbara?" he asked, the hint of a smile on his face.
"Just because." She smiled back at him. "Lucas would be confused."
"And where is Lucas now?" Stefan asked, amused.
"With Felicia for the night." Bobbie admitted, smiling as his lips descended on hers.
"Very forward thinking of you Barbara." Stefan replied as he broke the kiss. "And what time are you due in to the hospital?"
Bobbie shook her head. "Tomorrow at 11 Pm. Felicia has Lucas until Tony comes to get him. He spends the weekend with Tony now."
Stefan moved back, resting his head on his pillow. His eyes met Bobbie's. "And this displeases you given his history?" he surmised.
"Yes it does." Bobbie twined her hand in Stefan's before turning to gaze into his eyes. "He isn't the man he was at the Nurse's Ball last year, but he also isn't the man I loved. The unpredictability concerns me, even though it's good for Lucas to have a male influence in his life again."
"He cared for that rapscallion Jacks didn't he?"
Bobbie nodded. "The breakup was hard on him. Plus you and Nikolas, when we broke up he missed you both terribly."
Stefan sighed, gathering her close. "I will make it up to him Barbara. My behavior was reprehensible with regard to young Lucas."
"I hope you can." She sighed, leaning back against Stefan. "He's a wounded little soul."
V watched Jerry moving about the small apartment. He's a wounded soul she thought, wondering what caused such a private man to break down as he had. When he had retreated from the window, V had been hoping he'd sit with her but instead he'd gone into the kitchen, putting on a pot of coffee and basically ignoring her. It was better that way though, V realized. After all Jerry wasn't ready to share his pain with her or anyone else. Still, she had an almost overwhelming desire to help.
"Jerry, maybe going over there, to Wyndamere isn't such a good idea. I don't need to find out why all of this jewelry is showing up at my front door. I'm probably the only person in the world who would be suspicious enough to question why a diamond tiara shows up at her door. It could just be someone being nice or thinking that I'd appreciate it. Even if it does have something to do with my birth parents, the Ardanowskis are my family, and that's all I need to know."
"Listen luv," Jerry said, coming up next to her. "If it has to do with the Cassadines, you can bet there is an ulterior motive. For them to tip their hand in any way means they want something from you. It's up to us to figure what it is, before you walk into their trap."
V interrupted him. "I'm not a child Jerry, nor am I a gullible person. I'm a trained police officer, who can take care of herself. I'm not going to walk into someone's trap, especially one I know is waiting for me."
"V, you can say that now, but I have seen that family crush stronger, better prepared people then you. People on the inside, who are well aware of the consequences of not playing the game by the Rules of Helena. You need the help of someone with first hand knowledge of the inner Cassadine workings, and in that respect, baby I'm your man."
"Jerry, I have no doubt that you can help me. I'd just rather not drag up what are apparently some awful memories and emotions that lay too close to the surface to be healthy in the kind of case. I'll have Flea do some checking for me, and I have a few people who owe me, that can do the dirty work for me. I'll know in the matter of days what this is all about."
Jerry shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs. "Using someone, unfamiliar with the family will get you exactly what they want you to know Venus. And I wouldn't suggest bringing in someone you care about. It would be a shame if someone you liked got his or her throat slit. This has Helena's name all over it, and she doesn't take kindly to people poking their nose into her families business."
"Helena, she tried to kill Jax and Alexis. What could she possibly want with me? She knows that we're all friends, and that I would never be after her family's money. So what's going on exactly. Jerry is there anything you can tell me?"
Jerry nodded firmly. "We have to watch our backs Venus. I can tell you that much. And we have to trust each other. Do I have your trust? If not, tell me what I need to do to earn it. We can't enter into this as anything but equal partners, no holds barred."
No holds barred, V thought wondering how she could ever get to the point where she could trust Jerry Jacks for anything, much less her life.
Chapter 3
V stepped away from Jerry for a moment. "This is big isn't it? I've never seen you like this before."
"Huge." Jerry replied an enigmatic look on his face. "V this will transform your life, whatever it is exactly. Are you ready for this? This is the Cassadine family, they make the British Royals seem boring by comparison."
V crossed her arms over her chest. "Jerry someone delivered a diamond tiara to me and a family crested medallion. Do you think they'll let up even if I'm uninterested?"
"No luv that's not the way Helena operates. What' she'd do is try and try in any way she deemed necessary to gain your interest and cooperation."
V sighed heavily. "Think she would hurt anyone I care about Jer?"
"That's the way she operates V. I think it very possible." He replied in a grim voice, lost in his memories. Once he had been this hopeful that Helena's evil deeds wouldn't touch his life. Unfortunately they had in a cruel and viscous way.
"I can't allow that, she doesn't seem to be the kind of person who would go after someone who could protect themselves. She could go after one of Flea's girls, or Liz. If anything happened to them, because of me I could never forgive myself. I should just go do what she says and just get it over with. That way no one gets hurt, and she gets whatever she wants from me."
"It doesn't work like that V. She might still go after one of your friends, just to keep you under her control. You don't know her like I do." Jerry closed his eyes for a moment against the pain.
"How do you know her Jerry? I think in order for this to work you have to come clean with me."
Jerry shook his head firmly. "V I cannot and will not get into this. I just can't."
V gave him a long look and started to speak when there was a knock on his door. "Bloody hell I'm popular this morning." Jerry muttered even as he was weak with relief. Opening the door he found Jax there.
"Jasper what are you doing here before breakfast?" he asked happy to see someone there.
I've been trying to get a hold of you for days Jerry. You need to start checking your voice mail if you want to keep working with me." He pushed into the apartment, not waiting for an invitation. He stopped short, when he saw a very dissolved looking V. He turned to look at Jerry with an accusing glare, and noticed the state of his brother's undress. "V, what are you doing here this early in the morning? Jerry's not much of a host on an average day, but this early in the morning, I can't imagine he'd be any better."
"Jax, I'm not sure what you're thinking, but I'm sure that from your voice, I wouldn't like it. I had a problem and Jerry is helping me with it. I woke him up about 45 minutes ago, when I couldn't wait any longer to talk to him."
"Stop being an ass Jasper, if you have something to say, say it. I'd offer you a cup of coffee, but I don't think at this rate, you're going to be staying long enough to enjoy it."
"Don't you think that I have a right to worry when I find my best friend crying in my reprehensible older brothers apartment? Especially when I find said brother barely dressed standing in front of her. While that would be enough to scare the average woman, but V has never been average, so you must have done something more to her."
"I didn't do anything to your precious Venus. Outside of a few tears, which I had nothing to do with, does she look any worse for the ware?"
V had just about enough of both of them. She put her fingers in her mouth and let out a shrill whistle that stopped the arguing and had them both looking at her like she was crazy.
"Thank you, I'd appreciate it if you two would stop fighting over my honor and both shut up. You're giving me a headache that I can ill afford to have. Sit down both of you, and if either of you raises your voice one more time, I'll kick you out of here."
Jerry walked away, amused that she thought she would be able to kick him out of his own place. He came back a few minutes later, with a glass of orange juice and two aspirin for his new partner. She took them gratefully, and motioned that he was to sit down on the couch next to Jax, who was trying to look apologetic but was only succeeding with vexed.
"It's not every day that you get chewed out by your former assistant is it Jasper? She can handle herself if you haven't figured that out yet, and I'm not looking to take on a hellcat right now. She's more woman then I deserve."
"At least you've got one thing right this morning Jerry." Jax turned to look at V, not sure he really wanted to know what she was doing there this early.
"Jax, will you please shut up for a minute. I'll tell you why I'm here if you can promise to let me finish the story without any smart ass remarks or put downs of your brother. Remember, you're the one who showed up uninvited."
"V, you don't have to tell him anything. When he's acting like this, it's not worth the trouble. You'll have to explain it two or three times, and in the end, you'll be so frustrated, that you'll only want to kill him."
"Both of you, hush. I don't know how I managed to work with either of you as long as I did. I'm starting to question my sanity, and I don't think you two paid me enough now that I think about it. I'm in some serious need of back pay."
"If we manage to get your pretty little neck out of this with your head attached V, then we'll talk about back pay. Until then, I'd worry about waking up tomorrow morning." Jer said with a sigh.
Chapter 4
Jax stood and started pacing, alarmed by the worry etched upon his brother's features as well as the mixture of concern and shock on V's face. "All right. Start talking one of you please."
V pulled out her medallion without a word and handed it to Jax. He studied it carefully for a few moments. "A Cassadine medallion. Where did you get this?"
"It was delivered to me, Jax, along with a diamond bracelet, pearl earrings and a necklace, a picture in a very ornate frame and a diamond tiara. Jerry and I are off to find out what it means."
"What it means?" Jax asked in shock. "What could it possibly mean?"
"That V is related to the Cassadines somehow." Jerry said softly. As these words hit Jax, his head snapped up. He had always seen V differently after the Monte Carlo Countess escapade and to be honest, he could see her as a Cassadine. She had cultivated a certain grace that while wordless, had captivated and enchanted him, though he would never admit it to anyone. To do that at the time would have been to have denied and devalued Brenda's memory at the time.
"And if so?" Jax inquired softly. "Are you ok with this Venus?"
"If it's my birthright I have to be Jasper." She replied softly, putting a hand on his arm. "I just want answers and Jerry is going to help me find them."
"You don't want my help as well?" Jax bristled.
"Jax it's not like that." V assured quietly. "Jerry seems to have some knowledge…" She trailed off at the murderous look Jerry gave her. "I just think he could help." She finished quietly, hating the hurt expression on Jax's face.
"If you hurt her Jerry I will never forgive you and I mean that" Jax said as he stalked into the kitchen. Jerry and V watched him walking away, then Jerry found himself wrapping a strong arm around V's shoulder. Surprised to find how much she enjoyed this, V leaned comfortably against him.
"We'll work it all out luv, I promise." Jerry assured in a low voice, laced with true hatred. What happened to you Jerry, V found herself wondering. His heart was so hardened that it must have been something major and devastating. Had a Cassadine broken his heart or spirit? Could he have been involved with Helena somehow? Disconcerted by this thought, V couldn't suppress the shudder that wracked her body at the metal picture of Jerry and Helena Cassadine in bed together. Jerry was reckless and sometimes downright stupid but had he ever bedded that she devil?
V knew that Jerry wasn't about to give her anything to work on, so she never anticipated an answer to her question. "Tell me one thing." She said quietly "have you ever been intimate with Helena Cassadine?"
Jerry's reaction was immediate. Thrusting V away from him as if she had a contagious disease, Jerry was torn between a horrified gasp and hysterical laughter. What came out instead was a rather ungallant snort that quickly dissolved into loud bursts of laughter. "No luv, never." He finally managed to say. "If I had I'd expect you to take me out to pasture and kill me like some wounded animal. I'd never be the same." A terrifying mental picture of Helena in the buff came to mind and he again lost his composure.
"I'm glad you're finding this so amusing" V shot back, swatting at his arm. She was dangerously close to laughter herself, but she wouldn't give Jerry the satisfaction of getting to her. "Why don't you take a shower so that we can deal with Stefan Cassadine. The sooner we know what all of this is about the better."
"Want to join me?" Jerry couldn't stop himself from asking, putting hands up in defense as she huffed. "Ok Ok Luv I understand. No hanky panky with the older Jacks brother. I see your doe eyes trained on Jasper." He said as he retreated.
"I'm not involved with…" V sighed. Why am I letting this bother me so much, she wondered as her gaze switched from the kitchen to the bathroom. Unsettled by her thoughts, she found herself venturing into the kitchen. "Jax please don't be upset. It seems that Jerry has some inside knowledge of the Cassadines and he is in a better position to help me than you are. It doesn't mean that we're any less friends Jax." She hated the plaintive look in his eyes. He hadn't been left out of many things, V realized.
"V I don't know what elder brother is up to but he has no dealings with the Cassadines." Jax affirmed quietly. He was furious at this wedge Jerry had driven into their relationship. The bloody timing of it all. Just when Jax had been getting ready to ask V out, first Chloe had entered the scene providing a distraction and a wedge. To be fair Jax was enchanted by Chloe but not interested in her at the present time. Still, it seemed that he was too late and V was slipping into his brother's hands. And what of Bobbie Spencer, wasn't Jerry dating her?
"Maybe not now but he did at one time." V asserted firmly. Jerry might have been a con artist of the worst sort but the pain and anguish that had been present on his features and ingrained in every nuance of his body language was unmistakable.
Jax simply shook his head at V's statement, even though he was feeling quite foolish. He was the last person to be informed of his family's activities was he mot? Wasn't that how the whole mess with the feds had occurred? He knew that Jerry at one time had been involved in only nefarious plans and schemes, so why was he so convinced that they had nothing to do with the Cassadines? Downing his coffee, he spared V a small smile. "I'm going to go but keep me posted and if Jerry does anything to you, hurts you in any way you contact me. I'll expect an update before noon."
"Yes daddy." V said, leaning up to give Jax a gentle peck on the cheek. She was shocked and stunned when he turned his head and their lips brushed, then met as he pressed his mouth against hers in a kiss that was both sweet and sensual, a promise of things to come. Shocked, V first closed then opened her eyes. She had wanted this, hadn't she? But not like this, not when his brother was…
"Ready to go V?" Jerry's quiet tone broke into her panicked state. Jax stepped back and gave his brother a smile of wonder and possession.
"I'll see you both later then." He said with a wink to V. V watched Jax leave then turned to Jerry. His expression was unreadable and he couldn't quite look her in the eyes.
"Well then let's go to the lion's den." Jerry said quietly.
Chapter 5
V flushed, knowing she'd been caught, and she wondered if Jax had done that on purpose knowing that Jerry would be out of the shower any time, to leave his mark on her. She followed him out of his apartment and out to the car, asking as she got in and buckled up, "How
much did you see when you came in?" She asked meekly, wondering if the fury that darkened Jerry's features was directed at her or his brother.
"Enough to know that Jasper is marking his territory, and that you are now officially off limits if I want anything to do with my brother from here on out." Jerry said with a sigh. He had never had any designs on V before now but when she had appeared at his door she had captivated and excited him like no woman had in a very long time. He had intended to make his interest known when Jasper had apparently noticed his former assistant.
V bristled, not liking this newest twist of fate. "I'm no man's property or territory, as you both should know, after working with me all this time. If you two think I'm the newest game to keep you occupied, you both had better give it up now, before I get angry."
Jerry glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and started the car. "I know that you're not a game or a toy to fight over. I have more respect for women in general and especially you, to do that. If baby brother has decided to set his cap for you, he's not going to get any kind of fight from me. He can win you and lose you all on his own, I don't need to help him along any." He didn't say anything more for a moment, but then started up again. "You've also made
it very clear, which brother you prefer, and it's not me. A man's ego can only take so much before it gives up. Most women prefer the blonde one, so I don't need the headache of losing again.
V felt so horrible about all of this. She really was drawn to both me but she had no idea how to convey that to Jerry without painting herself in a very bad light "Jerry it's so complicated." She said, silenced when he hand went up in a motion that dismissed any further explanation or protest.
"We're here. I don't want to talk about this any more V." Jerry said quietly. He watched her profile; enchanted by the way she worked her lower lip between her teeth as she struggled for words that just wouldn't come. "Can we forget about Jasper?" He asked quietly.
V nodded, happy to have the reprieve. Stepping onto the waiting launch, she caught her heel in the gap between two worn boards. Staggering, coming very close to falling headfirst into the Port Charles harbor, she gasped when strong male arms encircled her waist.
"Let go of my Jerry." She said firmly, ignoring the tingle of her body as it brushed against his.
"If I let you go luv, you'll be going for a swim." Jerry said into her ear, as he tried to work her heel free of the clinging board.
"I don't care." V said furious to be so effected by his firm form against hers. This was too nice and this after the kiss from Jax sent her reeling. "Please Jerry." She said in a softer voice. "Please let me go." Dangerously close to tears, V met his eyes, the plea shimmering and threatening to fall from her brown eyes.
Discomforted both by his desire for her and her emotional condition, Jerry worked harder to free her captive foot. 'There we go Luv." He said as he set her on her feet, ignoring the three inch piece of wood that had pierced his palm.
V immediately leaned down to check the condition of her shoe. "Well at least it isn't broken." She said half to herself as she spied the launch driver watching them impatiently. "Come on Jerry." She said grabbing his hand, pulling back when he nearly yelped in pain. "What's wrong?" V asked turning his bloodied palm over. A jagged piece of wood protruded from deep within the middle of his palm. "Oh Jerry I'm so sorry." She said as she gingerly tried to work the wood out.
"Don't." He ground out. Grasping to wood firmly, he pulled it out. There were quite a few stray splinters but he'd deal with them later. Plunging his hand into the polluted harbor wasn't the best idea but it was cold and washed away some of the splinters.
Turning to V, Jerry gave her an embarrassed smile. "I need you to do something for me luv." He said motioning to his jeans pocket. "I have a clean handkerchief in there but I can't get to it right now. Can you?"
V colored as she glanced into Jerry's pain tautened features. "All right." She said swallowing nervously, then plunging her hand into his pocket. Why did the man have to wear such tight jeans, she wondered reaching around? Jerry let out a very male sound as V's eyebrows shot up and she pulled the scrap of cotton out, her face in flames.
"Sorry." She said quietly as she stared at the water ahead of them.
"I'm not." Jerry said with a wolfish look on his face. "That was more than I bargained for." He couldn't stop himself from adding as he moistened the cotton with some water and wrapped it around his hand. "Would you like to play what's in Jerry's other pocket or are you ready to go?"
"I'm ready." V said, furious again. What was it about these Jacks men? Were they determined to annoy her at all costs?
"Temper temper." Jerry said as he stepped onto the launch. "You didn't seem to protest when you were rummaging around in there. What did you expect to find, the Eiffel Tower?"
Without so much as a word, V hit his shoulder with her closed fist. He was really taking things too far now. "Enough Jerry" She finally managed to force through her clenched teeth.
"I don't know about you, but it was bloody good for me." Jerry replied with his most innocent smile.
Chapter 6
The phone rang in the breakfast room, and Stefan considered not answering, but was afraid that perhaps it was Nikolas calling because something was wrong. No one called this early without a good reason. "Excuse me Barbara," he said, setting his napkin on the table and standing up. He picked up the phone on the buffet. "This had better be good." He said, not amused to be interrupted.
"Sir, its Aleksey, at the launch landing. I've sent two visitors over on the launch. Mr. Jacks was very insistent on coming over, and he and his female companion could not be dissuaded."
"It's fine Aleksey, I'll take care of it," he said as he heard the doorknocker. With a sigh,he set the phone down and turned back to Bobbie. "I'll be right back, this won't take long at all." He went and beat the butler to the door, dismissing him with a wave. He opened the door just wide enough to be seen but not to allow anyone in. "What is it that you want Mr. Jacks?" He asked, not wanting to show how surprised he was that it was Jerry, not Jax.
"We've got something that you might want to have a look at Cassadine." Jerry nearly spat the words out. He'd never gotten along with this particular family member, certainly no more then he got along with any of the rest of them.
"I'm sure that it is nothing that couldn't wait until tomorrow. If you call my secretary at the hospital, I'm sure she can fit you in without a problem, sometime next week perhaps." Stefan said, backing out from the door and trying to shut it without having to admit his two visitors.
"We will talk now Stefan," Jerry said forcefully, pushing his way into the foyer of the mansion. Dangling from his hand is the medallion that V had received. "This is something that you'll be interested in and that won't wait for a week or so." He'd never seen the count speechless before, "So tell me who in your family would have access to such things and why are they sending them to my friend? This is the latest in a line of jewelry and expensive gifts that she's received, and we'd like to know why."
"You received this in the mail?" Stefan asked, turning it over in his palm and seeing the initials on the back, and then looking again at the front to see if there were any discrepancies in it, to prove that it was a fake, but he could not find any.
"Yes, it's the last in a series of things." V chimed in, so far having kept quiet mostly because she hadn't thought of anything productive to add to the conversation before now. "So far I've received some earrings, a necklace, a bracelet, a tiara and picture frame, with a picture of a woman in it. I haven't been able to put together the pieces of where I fit into all of it though. Perhaps you can be of some assistance to me in finding out who is sending me these things."
"Ms. Ardanowski, I hate to break this to you, but there is only one person who would be sending you such things and that would be my mother. The question now is why." Stefan thought for a moment. "Why don't you and Mr. Jacks have a seat in my office. I was just having breakfast, and if you would allow me to finish, I believe that maybe we can solve this mystery."
"Breakfast, it's a good thing we haven't eaten yet this morning Stefan," Jerry said, heading towards the informal dining room. He knew that there was never less then food for five, from his brief time with the family, and that if he let Stefan out of his sight, he would concoct some story to throw V and himself off of the trail and they would never find out the truth. "So what's on the menu, or am supposed to guess?" He asked, walking into the room, and staring right at Bobbie. "Perhaps the question should be who is on the menu. How are you Red, you're looking quite fetching as always."
"Jerry, what are you doing here?" She asked in a hushed tone, pulling her robe tighter around herself. This wasn't at all how she would have wanted him to find out. They were broken up, but he still deserved more then this.
"I could be asking you the same thing luv, but I think I can see what you're doing here. It didn't take you long, to replace me did it?" He said it grudgingly. "Is this worth all of the heartache and doubt, have you thought at all about how Lucas is going to take this? The boy still hasn't recovered from the last time Cassadine got his claws into him. Do you want to subject him to that again."
"My son is none of your concern, I'm sure that you had nothing to do with his not getting over what happened, leading him on the way you did, leading me on."
"Leading you on? Is that why you said it could never work, and as soon as you think it's been long enough, you run back to the other psycho ex." Jerry would have continued on, but he felt a light touch on his arm.
"Let it go Jer, it's not worth it. She's moved on, you've moved on, maybe it's better this way." V wrapped her arm around his waist, tucking her hand innocently in his pocket. She saw the look of surprise on Jerry's face, and knew that for a moment she had the upper hand, and the power was heady.
"You're right V, I suppose that old habits die hard." He said, putting his arm around her, but looking directly at Bobbie. "It's a good thing I've moved onto younger ones." V elbowed him but he covered admirably, barely even flinching when her elbow connected with his side. He leaned over to whisper a warning in her ear, but made it look like a lover's caress. He lightly kissed her earlobe before pulling away just enough so that Stefan and Bobbie both felt like they were intruding on the lovers.
Bobbie walked quickly to Stefan's side and casually wrapped her arms around him. Stefan stiffened slightly at the obvious challenge but rubbed her back, sensing the depth of Bobbie's upset. Wondering if he really had her back, he regarded the young couple with disdain and curiosity. What was this V person's connection to his family?
Chapter 7
"Well can we commence this discussion. I wish to know more." Stefan said, barely hiding his curiousity behind a thin veneer of nonchalance. He was further distracted at the feel and sweet scent of the redhead in his arms. Bobbie was trembling slightly and Stefan pulled her more snugly to his side. "Are you all right?" He inquired into her ear.
"Yes yes I am." Bobbie replied quietly. The sight of Jerry with v Ardanowski set her teeth on edge. She had always seemed just this side of desperate, chasing after Jax as she had, It seemed she had moved on and not up in the world. Bobbie wondered if Ms Ardanowski knew just what kind of man her ex was.
"I need red's services first," Jerry reluctantly admitted, extending his bloodied hand. He didn't want her help but since she was here and was a damn good nurse, he'd use her services. Of course, Jerry couldn't fail to recall how she filled out that uniform like it fit like a glove.
Bobbie gasped, focusing on the quarter size hole in Jerry's palm. "How did that happen?" She inquired softly, motioning for a first aid kit from the silently observing Mrs Landsburry.
"I caught it on the pier." Jerry replied, startled by her nearness.
"He was helping me free my shoe and couldn't resist a peek up my skirt." V said with a devilish grin. "When I took offense at his lack of manners, I trod his foot into the planks." V almost laughed at the shocked horror etched upon the count's face. Did they really think she was serious?
"It figures Jerry." Bobbie muttered as she cleaned the wound and bandaged it.
As soon as she was done, Jerry pulled his hand back. "Thanks Red, you're too good for him you know?" Bobbie's eyes widened in shock and Stefan's flashed.
"Jerry what qualifies you to many any assumptions about Stefan?" Bobbie asked. Her Spencer temper was simmering to the boiling point.
Suddenly all of it was too much for Jerry. The gothic trappings, the calculated arrogance all hearkened back to a time when he had been young, vulnerable and crushed by this family. "As his ex brother in law I'm qualified to make some character judgements." Jerry seethed.
"You agreed not to bring that up." Stefan warned, his calmness dissolving slowly into quiet fury. He shrugged off Bobbie's warning hand on his arm. "You damn near ruined Alexis' life. You will never refer to that sham of a marriage again." As Stefan's voice steadily rose, the two women knew the situation was already out of their control.
"Alexis and I had a damn good life until your family massacred everything I held dear." Jerry said, anger and heartbreak warring for control. He was barely aware of V's calming presence drawing small circles on his back.
V stood in shock, torn to shreds at the pain in Jerry's voice. Whatever had happened it had been something major. His jaunty demeanor was gone, leaving in its wake a lost and broken man, a man V needed to comfort and help heal. "Jerry don't do this now." She pleaded in a quiet voice as she watched his struggle for self control.
"I did no such thing." Stefan's voice had quieted. As he studied the floor, Bobbie could tell that whatever had occurred, he blamed himself.
"No your father did." Jerry replied in the same empty voice. "And my wife damn near lost her life, my two children died and I lost her, I lost Alexis. I lost my whole family all because your damn family never thought I was good enough. So what did you people do? You tried to eliminate all of us. But only the weakest died. The rest of us try to survive wondering why we were the lucky ones. Who appointed the Cassadines God Stefan?"
"Do you think I ever wanted that? Do you think I derived pleasure from seeing you both in hospital beds?" Stefan retorted. "Do you think I wanted to bury my niece and nephew?"
"Yet you did nothing to stop it." Jerry replied, anger taking center stage in his tone again. "I suppose you thought a nice drive along Monaco's winding roads sans breaks would be character building." He shook his head in disgust. "And you want to be aligned with these people red? The sex can't be that good. I always heard he was a bit of a stuffed shirt in bed."
V gasped. The pain was making Jerry lash out at the innocents here. "Come on Jer, let's get some air." V said quietly, leading him slowly outside into the gardens. Before she closed the door, she cast a sympathetic gaze to Bobbie. Somehow, it would come to these rivals to help soothe the deep wounds of the past.
~~-*~~
"I kissed her Ned." Jax recalled with a goofy smile on his face. Ned Ashton slid onto the next barstool and regarded his friend.
"Hello Jax how are you today and who did you kiss. Please don't say Chloe." Ned said with a small smile. His distant cousin was threatening to take over every aspect of the Q life and Ned needed an outlet.
"Chloe?" Jax asked in confusion. "No Ned, V. I kissed V! Why would I kiss Chloe?" Jax shook his head. "It's V I've been infatuated with for a long time Ashton."
"Oh" Ned said. He had no idea Jax had been interested in his assistant and had no idea how to assimilate this information. "How did you come to kissing V exactly?" He asked before sipping his drink.
"Well she was at Jerry's apartment and…" Jax sighed as reality intruded. "She and my brother were quite cozy."
"So you kissed her?" Ned asked in confusion. "That makes no sense whatsoever Jasper. Did she kiss you back?" Ned wondered if Jax had totally taken leave of his senses. "And did you just kiss her because she was in your brother's apartment putting the moves on him?"
"She wasn't putting the moves on Jerry. It was the other way around." Jax insisted.
"Well may the best man win." Ned toasted, wondering which brother that might be.
~~*~~
V hurried after Jerry as he strode through the gardens. He had been almost docile when led to the bench but after a few minutes of empty silence, Jerry had started back for the house. "Stop please" V pleaded. She had never seen a friend in such a state of pure anguish before and didn't know how to ease his burden and pain. Finally, V gathered Jerry close and rocked him back and forth. "It's ok to cry Jer."
Jerry looked up finally and the horror in his eyes almost took V's breath away. "I loved them V." He said in a quiet voice. "So bloody much. Then one night it was all over. They were Gone Venus. Gone! Two little graves were all we had left." He said in tears. He couldn't speak after that pronouncement; his tears were cutting off all ability to speak. V moved closer and pulled his head to her shoulder, rubbing his back and stroking his hair. Despite the circumstances, she felt like she could help.
~~*~~
"One night it was just over." Stefan intoned as he downed some Vodka. The confrontation with Jerry had left him shaken to the core. He had known his family hated Alexis' choice in a mate, but he had never expected them to go as far as they had. Shaking his head, Stefan raised his horrified gaze to Bobbie's eyes. "I wanted to stop it, but I didn't know where and when Father might strike. I never thought he would take a chance with Alexis or the children. That in the end was my fatal mistake. Two children died as a result of my negligence. And now." He shook his head and poured more vodka with shaking hands. "That young woman outside may turn out to be one of us. Much as I must find out the answers, I do not want her to be a Cassadine.
For her own sake, not for ours."Chapter 8
"
Stefan, you can't honestly believe that V Ardanowski is a Cassadine. She's just a child first of all, she can't be much older then Nikolas," Bobbie said, automatically ready to dismiss the claims of Jerry and V. "And she has absolutely no class, or taste if who she is hanging out with these days is any indication.""I honestly don't know Barbara, I wish I could say for sure." He said, rubbing his thumb over the medallion the young woman had come in with distractedly. "She could be a distant cousin, but if she was, my mother wouldn't have taken such an interest in her. She must be of some importance, I just wish I knew to what extent."
Bobbie shivered, hearing Helena's name. The woman was not one of her favorite people anyway, but that V might have something to do with her, made the old bag worse. She didn't much care one way or another for V, but no one deserved to have to deal with Helena. Stefan had finally broken her hold on him, and now she was worming her way back into the family. "You think that Helena is setting this up, and is manipulating the situation?"
"Mother is always working behind the scenes to try and bring down the family. She must think that Ms. Ardanowski will bring us to our knees. But she didn't count on Jerry's involvement. He hates us all enough to prevent her from getting involved with us. But if she's one of us, we'll have to see what we can do about that friendship or whatever it is." He added distastefully.
"You can't run her life Stefan, she's an adult and Cassadine or not, she isn't going to like you telling her who and who she can't associate with."
"If she is who this says she is," He indicated the medallion in his hand, "Then she has an obligation to the family before anything else. She will come to realize that, and that Jerry Jacks can't be a factor in her new life. Alexis learned and so will Ms. Ardanowski."
~~*~~
Jerry's sobs had become soft gasps, but the tears were still streaming down his chiseled cheeks. "Thanks for the shoulder V. I don't do that often, but being around Stefan brings it all back like it was yesterday. It still shouldn't hurt so bad."
"How long has it been?" V asked quietly, not even sure if he heard her when he didn't answer. "It won't get better if you keep it bottled up Jer, and that's what you've apparently done." She was wiping the tears from his face as fast as they were falling.
"We were just kids, who thought that love was enough to keep us safe." He shook his head, trying to get a grasp on his emotions, to focus on the now and not the past. "Young and idealistic, we would have had to have been to think that our love would keep her family from doing anything. And for a while it did. We just didn't know that they were planning to completely destroy us in the end. It would have been one thing to go after one of us, but they didn't, they wanted to rid the world of not only me, but also the children that I had dared to create with a Cassadine. I don't care what he says, they had always planned that it be the three of us."
She had assisted enough crime victims to know when one was reliving the event, and he wasn't with her on the bench, but back in the car the night he had lost his children. She could read the pain and terror in his eyes, and gently squeezed his thigh in a small offer of support, while Jerry continued to tell his story.
"She wasn't supposed to come with us that night, I was going to see my parents. They never knew that I had married, they thought I'd just been living abroad, and had come to find me and bring me home they had said. But we decided at the last minute to come clean, and we were taking the children to meet their grandparents. Kristin was two, Andrey was only 6 weeks old. My only peace is that they never knew that anything happened, they were just to little to survive the impact."
Things were becoming clear to V, who couldn't understand why Jax hadn't known of an apparent connection between his brother, and the Cassadine family. He had never known, and he wasn't going to like that. He felt enough had been hidden from him, where even though it was something as painful as this, he was going to blow a gasket. She would worry about him later, right now she had Jerry falling apart right in front of her.
"Do you and Alexis talk of it any? I never would have known by looking at the two of you that you knew each other before now, let alone were close."
"When we went our separate ways, we agreed to never talk of it again. She completely shut down, and it took her almost a year to get back to where she could function on a minimal basis." He hated thinking of those days, when his strong beautiful wife had been reduced to nothing but tears. She had dropped out of school, dropped out of life, and only fought back when he attacked her. It had almost been worth losing her to see the fire in her eyes again. "Now after all these years, we can be in the same room without giving to much away. But sometimes, we look at each other and it's all right there, and we're in the car again."
"That far away look she gets sometimes." Yet another mystery solved today, she wondered what else would come crawling out of the woodwork, and if she'd be able to handle whatever it was. "That's so horrible Jerry, how do you two manage to get through the day or even to wake up in the morning."
"You do what you have to, and get through the day. It's not easy, but eventually you hit a routine, one that doesn't bring up the pain, one where you do things that keep you distracted enough to forget even for just a little while the things you've lost." He gave a small self-depreciating smile, "You don't actually think that all the things I've done were because I was a bad person do you? I just needed to keep pushing line, to try and make the memories go away. I needed to show what an awful person I was, because I let those sweet babies die for no good reason. I couldn't protect them or Alexis, and this is my punishment."
"That isn't true and I hope you know it. You couldn't have done anything differently Jerry. You did the best by your Kristen and Andrey, and by Alexis. You can't continue to beat yourself up, to travel down a path of self destruction to atone for a past you had no control over." She couldn't believe that this was the same arrogant Jerry Jacks, who tended to infuriate her with just a look. He didn't even look like the same man right now, eyes rimmed red and blood shot, the look of complete defeat on his face. Where was the ego, and the smile that she was quickly growing to appreciate.
"Alexis," He whispered, not even thinking about her before now. "I need to call her. She's the only reason why I haven't gone after the family before now, and I don't want her to think that I'm forgetting our unspoken truce. Do you have your cell phone on you V?" She watched his whole demeanor change from tangible grief to wholehearted concern for Alexis. She handed him her phone silently, but kept a hand on him, just so he knew that she was there and would be his support during all of this.
~~~*~~~
Alexis Davis was walking into the Port Charles hotel, already having a rough day when it wasn't even half over. A case she was trying to negotiate had taken a nasty turn and she was about ready to wash her hands of it completely, if only she could. But when it came to the family, she would never turn her back on them, not after the only other time she had tried. While never completely towing the family line, she did try her best not to rock the boat. She was almost to the elevator, when she saw two of her favorite people sitting at the bar. She made a small detour, and went to join them.
"Hello boys," she said, coming up between them, kissing first Ned and then Jax on the cheek. "What are you drinking and can I get a double."
"Double seltzer for the lady," Jax called out with the same goofy grin he'd been wearing since he sat down.
"With a grin like that Jax, you're not going to convince me that all you're drinking is seltzer. She pulled up a barstool on the other side of Ned, looking to him for an explanation. "Well, which one of you are going to tell me what the party is about?"
"No party, and I haven't been drinking, I'm high on life, and if you don't believe me Ned will back me up. He's been sitting with me for the past half hour." Jax said, indignantly, as if he couldn't imagine why she would be accusing him of over indulging.
"He's right, he's in love, not drunk." Ned added dryly, wondering how he had gotten in the middle of this. The things he did to abate the guilt of things that had happened in the past.
"In love? Not with Chloe I hope." The flighty blonde had been ok in the beginning, but there was only so much fluff she could deal with. She was like cotton candy, the first bite was wonderful, but by the end of the bag, you just wanted to throw up. "Please tell me he's got better taste then that."
"Oh no, he surprised even me with who he has fallen for." Ned said, not wanting to ruin it for Jax. It was his story to tell.
"Not only fallen for, but kissed. I kissed her and all of the angels sang a song of rejoice. Why I never saw it before, I'll never know." Jax said, not catching the eye rolling going on between Alexis and Ned. "She's perfect for me, why didn't you two point it out before now."
"Jax, I still don't' know who she is. If I knew, I might have." Alexis added softly, not wanting to chastise him, not that he'd probably realize it for what it was in his mood.
"V of course, who else could I possibly be talking about?" Jax asked, but moved on before Alexis could list off who else he could be talking about. "I kissed her, and I'm telling you, she's my one true love, she showed me what life was supposed to be like again. I will make her mine before all is said and done."
"He found her in Jerry's apartment this morning, and now he's decided to save her from his brother and herself by falling in love with her." Ned couldn't' help but laugh, this was to damn amusing for words.
Alexis stopped cold, forcing herself to smile. V and Jerry, that was an odd combination if she'd ever heard one. She was hardly his type. "Well, I hope you win in the end Jax." The bartender set down her drink and she took a sip, setting the glass down with a sigh when she heard her cell phone ring. "They always track me down. I don't even want to know what it is this time." She opened her phone, and answered curtly "Alexis Davis."
On the other end of town, Jerry couldn't speak for a minute. When he heard her repeat her name he finally managed to force his voice to work. "Lexie, we need to talk. All bets are off. The Cassadines are open game right now, and I wanted to do you the courtesy of telling you before I opened a can of worms that you're not ready for."