Author's Note- This is the sequel to The Stolen Bride. It was written for Fandom Love.
Stavros took his new bride Billie to meet his family on Cassadine Island. On the ride in his private jet, he kept telling Billie how much she'd like his mother. "Is she sweet?" Billie asked.
"Ohhh well, I wouldn't call her sweet. My mother is... well, she's definitely... unique," said Stavros as he snuggled with Billie on the jet.
"And will she like me?" Billie wondered, rubbing her baby bump. She was starting to show quite a lot now. She was incredibly proud that she and Stavros were about to receive a blessed gift.
"Of course she will," Stavros said as he gave Billie a gorgeous smile. His lips lowered to hers as he kissed her passionately.
After he ended the kiss, he gazed into Billie's luminous eyes. "You'll love the island, too. All the sand... the sun... the crisp tropical air..."
"So many places to make love, huh?"
"Sex on the beach sounds pleasing to me."
Billie got sudden flashbacks of making love to Bo on the beach. Every now and then, she was taken back into the past; to that incredible love she had shared with Bo, but sadly all of that was over. Bo was gone.
"Why do you look so sad?" Stavros asked as he gently traced the contours of Billie's face. "Was it something I said?"
"No," she said as she looked away, her heart still aching. "It's just... you know..."
"Ohhh him," Stavros said. He'd been a ghost in their bed ever since the beginning. As happy as they were, Billie couldn't seem to forget him.
"Yes, him."
"Do you... Did you... love him more?"
"I love YOU, Stavros," Billie said as she turned her gaze onto his wounded eyes. "We are married. I am having your baby...and we are on our way to Cassadine island, so I can finally meet your family."
"Yes, but you loved him, too... apparently. And I look exactly like him. That doesn't make this easy."
"You're telling me," Billie said with a heavy sigh.
"Look, I DID love him. So much. But he's dead. And he's gone now. All I have now is the memories of what I had with him and my daughter Chelsea, but she's grown now and has a life of her own. I am with you, Stavros. I love YOU. And you have to believe that," Billie implored.
"At first you thought I was him. What made you change your mind?"
"I dunno. I just knew one day that you were telling the truth... that you weren't Bo. You two are similar in many ways, but the differences are evident. You are a different man. Bo is gone."
*Yes, he better be gone,* Stavros thought to himself.
It was a short time later that they arrived on Cassadine island. Billie thought it was a bit odd that none of Stavros's family came to greet them on the landing strip of the beach. Billie's high heels sunk in the sand as she tried to keep up with her handsome husband's heavy strides. "Wait up!" she said as she took off her shoes and followed him toward the freakish-looking castle that took up a large portion of the island.
"Slow down!" Billie said as she grabbed Stavros's arm. "I am pregnant you know."
"I have no choice but to carry you then," he said as he lifted her up in his arms despite Billie's loud protests.
"What are you...? Ohhh!"
"I am going to carry you over the threshold of our new home," he said with a roguish smile.
Billie giggled. "Good! Because the baby is jumping around on my bladder and I didn't think that I could make it to the nearest restroom without a little help."
Stavros only chuckled as he took Billie directly into his quarters of the Cassadine castle. "You can use the bathroom and freshen up," he said as he carried her into his bedchamber and set her down on his bed. "This is our room, my love. Yours and mine. We have our own wing of the castle... and our very own servants to take care of our needs."
Billie didn't seem too impressed. "When will we meet your mother?" Billie asked before she rushed off toward the bathroom.
"Tonight... at the evening meal. Wear something stunning. I can't wait to show you off."
"But I am pregnant... Really pregnant..." Billie protested, clutching at her swollen stomach.
"You're sexy, Billie. You look absolutely beautiful. I'll be back in a few minutes," he said as he bent down to give her a kiss. "Rest and freshen up... then get ready..."
She disappeared into the bathroom as Stavros walked out of the bedchamber. Billie wondered where he had gone, but assumed he was seeing to their luggage and letting his family know of their arrival on the island. When she left the bathroom, she found that all of their bags had been placed on a settee at the end of the bed. Billie started rummaging through her suitcases, looking for something suitable she could wear to the dinner.
She searched and searched, but finally decided on a strapless gold gown. She was resting on the bed when Stavros came back wearing black skin-tight jeans and a matching vest. It was unbuttoned so that it revealed his toned, muscular chest. As he approached, Bille sat up and touched the gold necklace he wore around his neck. Lightly she traced the Cassadine crest that hung upon the chain.
"You look... you look delectable," Billie said breathlessly.
He smirked. "Are you wearing this, my love?" he asked as he held up the gold dress.
"Yes, I think I will."
"My mother will love it. I've announced our arrival. They expect us in the dining room in about 30 minutes."
"Thirty minutes?!" Billie gasped as she jumped out of bed. "That's hardly enough time to put on the dress, fix my hair, and put on my make-up."
"You could always come to the dining room naked," Stavros said mischievously.
"Ohhh you'd love that...wouldn't you?" said Billie as she shimmied into the sheer gold dress. He zipped up the back as he lightly caressed her bare shoulders.
"I could take you on the table."
"In front of your family?" Billie gulped. She was staring at her reflection in the mirror as her luscious husband stood behind her.
"It's a thought. You see, my brother always thinks he can take what's mine... but he isn't taking you."
"Your brother wouldn't stand a chance with me," Billie assured. "I love you. And as you can clearly see, I am quite pregnant with your child."
Stavros caressed the growing baby through the shimmering fabric of Billie's gown. "He stole my son away from me, too. He took Nikolas."
"Well, he's not taking this baby. THIS baby is ours."
~*~o~*~
Billie was ready just in time to go to dinner with Stavros to meet his family. He escorted her into the formal dining room in the center of the castle. She was out of breath by the time they had reached their destination. "This castle is out of this world," she said as Stavros held her her hand.
"It's time to meet my mother," her husband said as they walked into the dining room hand in hand. "You're going to love her."
Helena was seated in a wooden and red velvet chair at the head of the giant table. A feast was laid out before her. "Stavros, my number one son, you've come back to your mother. And who is this lovely young woman you have brought to our island?" asked Helena as she seemed to size Billie up with her beady blue eyes.
"This is Billie Holliday Reed Cassadine, my new bride," Stavros said with pride. He then looked over at his brother Stefan, glaring dangerously as though to say, 'This one is mine, so keep your hands OFF!'
"Prince Stavros Nikolai Mikkosovich Cassadine, come over and kiss your mother. You must introduce me to your new bride," Helena beckoned.
Billie's eyes widened when she learned her husband's full name. Stavros was a prince? He hadn't told her that... or perhaps Helena just called him a prince because he was her son?
Still holding Billie's hand, Stavros approached his mother and gently kissed her cheek. "It's good to be home, Mother. Please meet Billie, my lovely wife."
"Billie? What an odd name for such an... extraordinary woman. I shall call you Wilhelmina which is a far more suitable name," Helena declared.
Billie raised one eyebrow as she had named her cosmetic company "Countess Wilhelmina." She found it ironic that Wilhelmina was what Helena wished to call her.
It was at that moment that Helena let out a loud gasp, "Stavros!" she said as she caught sight of Billie's prominent baby bump. "You didn't tell me that your bride is expecting!"
"It's true, Mother. Billie and I are expecting our first child," Stavros said with pride.
"Splendid," said a voice from the opposite side of the table. "I see you've finally got over Laura, so now you've knocked another one up."
"Stefan!" Helena gasped. "I won't have you talking in that manner at the dinner table. Wilhelmina, this is my youngest son, Prince Stefan Darius Mikkosovich Cassadine."
"Charmed I am sure," said Stefan as he regarded Billie. As she looked at him, her eyes were absolutely huge. What in the ...?! Stavros had been right - his brother Stefan looked exactly like Steve Johnson, minus the eye patch.
"Who... who are you?" she said as she was stunned.
"He's my brother; I told you about him," said Stavros as he lead Billie over to the table. He pulled out her chair and helped her to be seated.
"But he looks just like..."
Stavros gave Billie a look as if to say she needed to hold her tongue. "Mother, this dinner looks delicious," he said as he took his place next to Billie. As soon as his mother had been served, the Cassadine brothers began to fill their plates. Billie followed suit.
"Are you really royalty?" Billie asked.
"The Cassadines are descended from a titled, aristocratic Russian family who fled to Greece following the 1917 Russian Revolution," responded Helena. "Later my husband, Mikkos and I settled on this island and we decided we would start a family."
"Stavros, you didn't tell me that," Billie chided her husband.
"I am modest," he told her with a little grin.
"I wish to talk about the coming baby. When will you present me with my new grandson?" Helena asked.
"Billie's due in eight weeks, Mother," Stavros stated.
"But- but it might be a girl..." Billie remarked.
"I wish to have a grandson," Helena said firmly.
Billie was just about to throw her fork at her irritating new mother-in-law. Stavros had kept telling her that she'd like his mother, but so far, Billie couldn't stand Helena and she couldn't say much for her new brother-in-law either. He may look just like Steve, but Stefan Cassadine was in fact a total asshole.
Over the table, the two Cassadine brothers were giving each other death-stares. That and Helena's oddness made Billie quite uncomfortable. She suddenly wished that she and Stavros had never left Salem. Perhaps they should have settled somewhere else. How would Helena react if the baby turned out to be a little girl?
~*~o~*~
That night as Billie lay in the huge, comfortable bed snuggling with her incredibly hot husband, she whispered to him in the darkness, "Are you really hoping for a boy?"
"I would love another son to carry on the Cassadine name, but to be honest, I am so happy about our child, whether or not we have a girl or a boy," Stavros replied. "But... if we do have a boy, I have a name in mind for him. My father's little brother was named Prince Anthony Darius Ivanovich Cassadine, so if we have a son, would you like to name him Anthony?"
"That's fine, as long as I get to pick the middle name," Billie agreed. "But what if we have a girl?"
"We'll call her Helena after my mother."
Billie saw red at her husband's suggestion. "What about Kate... after MY mother?"
"Alright, we'll call her Princess Helena Kate Stavrosovna Cassadine."
"I'm not agreeing to that."
"Ohhh darling, are we about to have our first argument?" asked Stavros as he smirked at her in the darkness.
*I don't know how you deal with your fucked up family,* Billie spoke to him in her mind. *I thought mine was weird, but this one definitely takes the cake.*
"Get some rest, my love," said Stavros as he pulled Billie closer. "Tomorrow I am showing you around the island. I promise we'll have lots of fun."
*We will... if your creepy family leaves us alone,* Billie was thinking.
~*~o~*~
The next day, Stavros was true to his word. He showed Billie all around the island. They wore their swimming attire as they checked out the sandy beaches and all of the beauty of a tropical paradise. "I love it here," he said as they sat on the beach together, gazing into each other's eyes. "Thank you for becoming my wife, Billie... and for making me so happy."
Billie felt tears gathering in her eyes. She was so emotional, now that she was pregnant. "I love so much," she said as he pulled her into his arms.
They began to kiss as the baby kicked. There on a beach blanket, they made passionate love on the sand. They had no idea that someone was watching.
Helena caught Stefan with binoculars watching his brother and his bride having sex on the beach. "What in the world do you think you are doing?" Helena gasped.
"Why aren't you in your bedroom, admiring that painting of Laura Spencer that you're so damn fond of?" she taunted her youngest son.
"Why would I need a painting when there is a real woman on the island."
"You aren't going to steal your brother's wife again."
"Why not, Mother? You've took all my fun away.. Laura is gone... and Katherine is dead. What else is there?" Stefan asked. "Why does Stavros get to have all the women while I am alone and have no one to love me."
"If you keep your mouth closed and don't let your brother know what we've been up to in the laboratory, maybe I will have a little surprise for you, Stefan."
"Don't you mean what YOU'VE been up to?"
"You know everything, so you're just as guilty!" Helena exclaimed.
"You're blaming me for your evil and nefarious deeds? I wasn't even born when you..."
"Don't you speak of it!"
"You better hope that Stavros never finds out what you did, because if he does..."
"He won't!"
"If he does, then he'll hate you forever. You'll lose your golden boy - your number one son... then all you'll have is me. And we both know you hate me," Stefan said coldly.
"I don't hate you. I just don't love you as much as I love your brother."
~*~o~*~
Later that night as they were lying in bed, Billie started to have cravings. "I want a roast beef sandwich with pickles, mayo, and a sliced up banana."
"You must be joking."
"No, I am starved. The baby has spoken," Billie said as she rubbed her stomach.
"Okay, I will get you snack, but don't go away," Stavros said as he kissed her on the tip of the nose. "I'm not through with you yet."
"Just feed me and I will do anything you want," Billie said with a wink.
Stavros left for one of the kitchens so he could appease Billie's pregnant appetite. As he was wandering the castle in nothing but a pair of pajama pants, he heard whispering. It was his brother talking to his mother. They seemed to be plotting. He stood in the corridor, trying to figure out what it was they were saying.
"We'll make a deal," Helena was saying. "You get me the baby...and in return, I promise to get you what it is that you want."
"What about Stavros?" Stefan asked.
"I know exactly how to take care of him. You know I have my ways."
"Yeah, I do, and if he ever found out what you kept in that lab in the basement, he would..."
"Don't you speak of it!"
Stavros tiptoed away, hoping they hadn't seen or heard him. Exactly what was it that they had in the basement? What was it that his mother and his brother were doing in the lab? He was aware that his mother had been declared certifiably insane, but she had promised that she had changed. Now he wasn't so sure. Something weird was going on and he decided he must investigate. He had heard their plot to take the baby and he didn't want Billie or their unborn child to be hurt. He'd do anything to protect them, even if they had to leave the island. In the meantime, however, his curiosity had the best of him. He found the secret passageway to the underground level. It was time to investigate.
~*~o~*~
Billie's stomach rumbled as Stavros had been gone an awful long time. *Where's my sandwich?* she was thinking.
The baby was restless out of hunger so Billie had no choice but to get up and try to find her husband. She had no clue where to find the kitchen or anything in the castle for that matter. As she was walking the hallways, she saw Stefan standing in a room with several paintings hanging on the wall. There was one of a lovely woman with long blond hair and striking blue eyes. Could that be a portrait of Laura, Stavros's first wife? Stefan was staring at the painting as he spoke to her, calling her the woman he adored.
Billie hid behind a curtain so she couldn't be seen as Stefan approached another painting. It looked a great deal like Kayla Brady, Bo's younger sister. "Katherine," Stefan said as he lightly caressed the frame which held the painting. "I loved you dearly. Why did you have to die?"
*Katherine?* Billie was thinking. *Who the hell is Katherine? That is clearly a painting of Kayla, Steve's wife.*
What was it with all these lookalikes?! Steve looked like Stefan. Katherine could have been Kayla's identical twin and Stavros - Stavros looked like a deadringer to Bo! Then Billie remembered Stavros's reaction when he had met Stefan O. DeMira in Salem. Stavros seemed to think that Stefan O. looked exactly like his son, Nikolas Cassadine. All these people looking so much alike couldn't just be a coincidence!
"I know you are there," Stefan said, his voice a caress. "Come on out and talk to me. I don't bite."
Billie realized then that she had been caught sneaking around the castle. Billie came out from behind the curtain. "I- I didn't see anything... I swear. I just wanted a roast beef sandwich."
"You better forget what you saw... if you know what's good for you. If Mother finds out... Well, it wouldn't be good."
"What-what would your mother do? And where-where's Stavros?"
"Do I look like my brother's keeper? I'm not," Stefan said in a stony voice.
"Look, I am gonna go back to my room now. I didn't mean any harm," said Billie as she backed away.
After she fled the room, she nearly ran down the hall. When she arrived back in the bedchamber she shared with her husband, her side was aching. Her heart was racing and she felt a sudden nagging pain in her lower back. She shouldn't have been so reckless considering she was pregnant, but what she had seen had scared her.
Something creepy and strange was going on inside the Cassadine castle. She couldn't wait until Stavros came back as she had bad feeling that something was amiss. She lay down on the bed and tried not to worry.
~*~o~*~
Meanwhile, Stavros had entered his mother's secret laboratory. He remembered it from his youth as his mother had always had a macabre fascination with odd and sinister experiments. As he searched for clues, he saw something that stopped him in his tracks. "It's you!" he gasped. "It can't be you. - you're dead!"
~*~o~*~
When Billie awakened the next morning, Stavros was nowhere to be found. She became instantly worried. A servant had brought her a breakfast tray, but when she tried to open the door to her room a little bit later, it was locked. There was no way out as all the windows had been locked and covered with iron bars. Billie was trapped.
Later that day, Stefan entered her room. "You know too much, so we have to keep you locked in," he said when she confronted him.
"Where is Stavros? What have you done to my husband?"
"He knows too much, too, so Mother did what had to be done. We'll set you free eventually, but only if you give us the baby."
"Over my dead body!" Billie said between clenched teeth.
"Alright then, if that's the way you want it," Stefan said without an ounce of compassion.
He left Billie crying and alone, wondering if she'd ever get free from her prison and if she'd ever see Stavros again. Where in the world was he? Would he make it back in time to save their baby? Helena and Stefan were batshit crazy!
~*~o~*~
For weeks Billie waited, hoping for a glimpse of her husband, but Stavros never appeared. Stefan brought her meals and Helena came to taunt her, threatening to take her child, but she never saw Stavros. As far as she knew, her husband was dead.
Bo was dead... could Stavros be dead, too? With a broken heart, Billie cried everyday. She didn't want them to take her baby. She hadn't been feeling well and she feared the baby might come too soon. Her stress level was so high as she prayed for a way out of the castle. If only she could make it out to the beach, then maybe she'd have a chance. She didn't believe them when they said they'd let her free after the baby's birth. She was sure they would kill her when she was no longer needed.
*Ohhh God, I have to get out of here. Please let me find Stavros... and protect my baby, dear lord,* Billie was praying.
When Stefan came back to collect her dinner tray, Billie bashed him over the head with it. As he lay unconscious on the floor, Billie ran to quickly escape. She fled the castle, trying to remember her way in the almost darkness. Night had fallen and it was cool on the island. As Billie stepped outside, she got her first breath of fresh air in weeks. She was running from the castle in only a thin nightgown. None of her clothes had fit anymore as she had gotten so big.
Somehow she made it to the beach as she slipped upon the sand. She had gotten so close, but she could go no more. Her contractions had started. "Ohhh God, the baby's coming," she moaned as she clutched at her large, swollen belly. Who would help her now? How could she deliver her child all alone on the beach? As the pains got stronger, Billie prayed for a miracle.
"I need you, Stavros," she whimpered as she closed her eyes. She was exhausted and needed to rest. She had to regain her strength for the big event.
~*~o~*~
When she awoke, she was confused. The pain was intense, making her cry out. "Shhh... I am here. It's me, Bo," she heard a voice say.
"Bo? Am I - am I dead?"
She looked and saw that it was Bo. His face was aglow in the moonlight. His skin was shining so brightly that it stung at her eyes.
He shook his head. "You aren't dead, Lady, but you're about to have a baby. Let me help you. I heard you calling for help."
"But you aren't here. You aren't real. You're dead!" she exclaimed.
"I had to come back to you, Billie. You needed me," he said as he held her close. "Now this baby is about to be born. We can do this together, alright?"
"Yes, but..." she started to protest but the contractions were too intense. She was feeling the urge to push.
"Ohhh God, the baby is coming...and it's too soon," she sobbed. "I can't lose this baby... not like I lost Chelsea. Ohhh Georgia, my baby girl."
"You aren't going to lose the baby. I promise. You just have to trust me," he said to her in a soothing voice. "Next time you feel a contraction, you push. I'll deliver the baby."
Billie nodded as tears washed down her cheeks. He lent her his strength as she was giving birth. It only took a few pushes, then a baby had been born into his hands.
"What is it? Is it... alright?" Billie asked anxiously when she heard the child's little cry.
He took off his shirt and wrapped up the tiny bundle. "You have a son," Bo said with tears in his eyes. "Billie, he's perfect."
Gently, he lay the baby in Billie's arms. Billie gazed down at her precious newborn son. She cuddled him close, trying to keep him warm. "My son... my dear, little Anthony," said Billie as she kissed the infant's face.
As if from out of nowhere, a blanket materialized and Bo wrapped her and the baby up in it. Soon they were both snug and warm. "Bo, is it you? Are you really here with me?" Billie asked incredulously.
"Yes, I am, Lady... and I love you," he said as he bent down to tenderly kiss her lips.
"But you can't be here. You are a ghost."
"Billie, I can't stay. My work here is done."
She grasped his hand, clinging to it tightly. "Don't leave. Stay with me, Bo."
"I have to go... I don't belong here. I have to go back."
"But I need you."
"Someday we'll be together again," he promised.
"But how will that work?" she mumbled with exhaustion. "I have a husband."
She tried holding onto Bo tightly, but gradually he disappeared as if he had never been at her side at all. She held her son, trying to keep the baby warm.
"Anthony Aurelius. That's what I will name you," Billie murmured to the baby. "You'll be named after Bo, our guardian angel who brought you into the world." She hoped that Stavros would never find out that she had given their son Bo's middle name.
She eventually fell asleep, cradling her tiny son.
~*~o~*~
It was morning when he found her, lying on the beach, wrapped in a blanket and holding their precious baby. He had finally escaped his prison. Knowing it wasn't safe, he had to get Billie off the island.
"Billie," he said, nudging her. "Lady, wake up."
"Bo?" she mumbled, half asleep.
"It's Stavros," he said. "I finally escaped my crazy mother. We have to get out of here before she finds us."
"But... Stavros, where have you been?"
"Locked up, but I am free now," he said as he tenderly kissed her.
"I see you had the baby. How did you do it on your own?" he asked in awe.
"I wasn't alone. Bo was here... he helped me deliver the baby."
"Bo? No, he's dead," said Stavros as he picked up the baby and cradled him against his chest. "You're mistaken. You've went through a terrible ordeal."
"It was Bo. I swear that it was. The baby and I - we'd both be dead... if it wasn't for him."
"Bo Brady is dead, Billie. I know that you loved him, but he's gone. Is the baby okay?" he asked as he held the tiny bundle. The child had been wrapped up in what appeared to be a man's shirt. "Do we have a boy or a girl?"
"He's a little boy," Billie said proudly. "He looks just like his daddy. I named him Anthony Aurelius."
"Aurelius. What an odd name," Stavros commented. "My son - Prince Anthony Aurelius Stavrosovich Cassadine."
"Such a long name."
"I love it. Now, Billie, I know you are weak, but I need to carry you to my private jet. We are leaving Cassadine Island and my insane family. We'll have to find somewhere else to live, but I didn't like Salem. We'll have to lay low for awhile, so no one can find us."
"Alright, we'll lay low a few months, then we'll go to Paris to be with my daughter, Chelsea. She needs to meet her new little brother, Anthony Aurelius."
"That's perfect," said Stavros as he kissed her again. "Are you ready?"
"Yes, let's go," Billie said.
"By the way," Billie spoke as he carried her and the baby toward the jet. "I didn't like your mother. That woman is a total bitch."
Stavros nodded. After everything that had happened, he had to agree with Billie's statement.
~*~o~*~
"You let Wilhelmina escape. Now I'll never meet my grandson," said Helena in disappointment.
"She hit me over the head with a heavy metal tray," Stefan responded as he pressed a bloodstained towel against his forehead. "It was probably a girl anyway."
"I wanted a grandson," Helena said firmly.
"What about Stavros? Where is he?"
"I had no choice but to let him go. He knows too much. He is a threat."
"Then why not kill him?"
"I could never harm a hair on his precious head. He's my number one son," Helena proclaimed.
"Ohhh so we are back to that again. And I am number two."
"I want YOU to give me a grandchild, since I can't have Stavros and Wilhelmina's baby. I am going to let you have what it is that you desire," she said with a wicked cackle.
"And what might that be?"
"Mother's got a surprise for you."
Stefan's heart skipped a beat when Katherine appeared and ran into his arms. "Katherine?" he said tearfully. "You're alive?"
"She's been in the laboratory waiting for you; packed in ice. I thawed her out so you could get what you desire," Helena stated.
"Thank you, Mother," said Stefan as he held Katherine against his chest. "This is the best gift ever."
"I'll leave the two of you alone... so that you can get started," Helena said with a devilish smirk.
"Started on what?" Katherine asked Stefan as soon as his mother had left.
"How would you like to make a baby with me, Katherine?" Stefan questioned.
"Sure," she agreed. "I have been in a deep sleep for such a long time. I need you to warm me up."
"Gladly," he said as he picked her up and carried her off toward the nearest bed.
The End
