1A Twist on the Truth

"Alexis!" Ric Lansing hollered jogging down the courthouse hallway trying desperately to get in step with the briskly timed click of her Manolo Blahnik stilettos. "Hold up!"

She threw a discerning glance over her shoulder and rolled her eyes, then snapped her head back to the front, all the while swinging her brief case with a nonchalant ease that Ric found particularly alluring.

He finally managed to catch up to her and quickly fell in beside her, picking up her stride.

"Gee, you're in an unusually jovial mood today counselor. What gives? Did you manage to wrangle another law dodging ruffian free from the arms of the Port Charles justice system? No, that can't be it! Surely I'd have known about that and put a stop to it."

"Forget it Ric," she quipped in a singsong tone of voice. "My disposition and anything that may have initiated it are none of your concern. Why don't you fly off and harass someone else. Better yet, why don't you just disappear?"

"Ouch!" he winced. "No matter how sweet the fruit, there's still that bitter aftertaste!"

She stopped and he flew two steps by her. Suddenly realizing it, he turned around to find her staring at him with restrained intrigue. "Who are you calling sweet? It couldn't be me. I've been called many things such as brilliant, strategic, tenacious, reliable and somewhat sincere, but sweet?"

"Forgive me," he shrugged. "My mistake. Chalk it up to a naive attempt at charm."

Alexis threw her head back and laughed. "Oh please! You are the least naive, most conniving man I've ever met, whose charm is only surpassed by his immensely inflated ego."

"Oh, then you do find me charming!"

"Like a snake!" she shot back and resumed her charge, this time with a somewhat more fervent gait, down the hall and around the corner. She could hear Ric's footsteps echoing behind her as he rushed to catch up with her once again. "Why won't he leave me alone?"

"Alexis! I really need to talk to you. I was hoping that we could catch dinner at The Cellar."

"Oh, no! No, no, no! Not that again. You managed to entice me into your ill attempt at seduction once before and I am not falling for it again. I've grown weary of your games Ric, so why don't you go practice on the young and unsuspecting."

He looked down at her and grinned. "Seduction eh? I kind of like that implication. Of course it was you who was seducing me and whatever makes you think that I like young and unsuspecting? I tend to prefer wise and very experienced."

"I see!" she chuckled, not breaking stride. "That would explain your tasteless dalliance with Faith Roscoe –"

"Ned thought she was pretty irresistible - "

"At least that explains the experienced side, " she continued ignoring the reference to Ned. "The wise would have to be referring to Elizabeth, although her involvement with you severely challenges her degree of wisdom."

This time it was Ric who broke gait and stopped. No matter how into the game he was, the mere mention of Elizabeth was enough to snap him out of it and into his own morose reality. Alexis no longer felt his presence beside her and halted.

Closing her eyes, she sighed. "Comment withdrawn. I'm sorry, that was uncalled for."

"The defense speaks the truth," he allowed. "Elizabeth could have done much better than to believe in the likes of me."

"No one ever credited being in love as being in a sane frame of mind."

He laughed softly, looking almost bashfully downward. "So tell me, does that make me guilty by reason of insanity?"

Alexis felt a twinge of empathy towards Ric at that moment and it made her uncomfortable. She also felt a pang of remorse for the time in her life where she had lost all control to camouflaged emotions. Reluctantly, she allowed her conscience to take over and let a smattering of compassion creep into her voice.

"Look, I have a date with my daughter at the park. It may not be The Cellar, but if you were to show up, picnic dinner in tow, you just might find a dining partner – or two."

Ric looked up and into her eyes searching for a spark of sincerity. Hesitant as it was, he could tell that her offer was genuine and he smiled appreciatively. "Does Kristina like hot dogs?"

"Does Kristina like hot dogs?" she echoed with all-knowing parental sarcasm. "You were a kid once. Figure it out!"

She opened the courthouse door and bounded down the steps toward her car. Ric moved closer to the glass and leaned his forehead on the windowpane, watching her every move. His warm breath soon created a small cloud on the glass. He smiled slightly and raised his finger to the window slowly tracing an image. Down, curve up and around, curve up and down again. He peered from behind as Alexis got into her car and drove out of the lot, passing straight through his transparent heart.

"DA Lansing," Mike Corbin greeted him curtly as he walked into Kelly's. "Sonny's not here."

Ric looked around and nodded. "So it would seem. Actually Mike, that's not why I'm here."

"I see," Mike nodded slowly. "Well, the same goes for Carly, Courtney or Jason."

"Mike, I assure you, the whereabouts of your family is the furthest thing from my mind. I'm here to pick up a picnic lunch."

Mike threw the tea towel that he was wiping the counter with over his shoulder and planted two forearms firmly down in front of him. "That I can help you with. What are we talking about? A picnic for two?"

"Three actually. Two adults and one child. I was thinking of something along the lines of traditional. Hot dogs, baked beans, chips, cold slaw, lemonade – the works!" He reached from behind him and plopped a large basket onto the counter. "I even brought my own basket."

Mike opened it to find a red and white checkered tablecloth and a bottle of wine hidden underneath it.

"This looks serious." he said, raising his eyebrows, then leaned over and whispered. "The District Attorney is actually willing to risk having alcohol in a public park?"

Ric leaned forward and met his gaze, addressing him in the same whisper. "You gonna turn me in?"

"As long as it's keeping you away from my family for the day…" he shrugged, grabbing the basket and walking in back to prepare the order.

Ric sat down and pulled a packet of sugar from a container on the counter. As he tossed it up and caught it, he closed his eyes and heard Alexis's voice in his head. "Who are you calling sweet?"

He smiled and placed the packet back into the rack when he heard a familiar voice form behind.

"Hello Ric. "

He turned around to find Elizabeth standing there with her son strapped to a baby sling in the front. She moved back and forth gently, obviously at ease as she massaged his tiny back and shoulders and his head rested contently on her chest.

"Hi." He looked down at baby Cameron tenderly. "How is he?"

"Wonderful," she smiled. "Zander would be so proud."

He frowned, momentarily thinking about the young man who had fathered "his" child. Although he wanted to hate him, Ric only felt sorrow and despair for the young man whose life had ended, disputably, by his own hand over a lost love. Again, Alexis' voice echoed in his head. "No one ever credited being in love for being in a sane frame of mind."

"What are you up to today?" she asked noting his casual dress of jeans, a short sleeved shirt and well-worn Birkenstocks. "Obviously court's out this afternoon."

"Yes," he said vaguely, not wanting to expound on the details of his plans. "I'm meeting some friends."

"Oh. Anyone I know?"

"People from work," he answered casually. "So what are you and your son up to today?

"Would you believe swimming lessons?"

"This young?" he asked, surprised.

"Waterbabies!" she laughed. "It's really more of an acclimation process but I get to meet other new mothers and it's good for me to get back into the swing of things in Port Charles. My life has changed so much and – "

"It has, hasn't it?" he interrupted. I mean changed. You've really moved on?"

"Yes," she answered sincerely. "I really have. Have you? Ric, have you finally let go of your vendetta against Sonny?"

Before he could answer, Mike emerged from the back, full picnic basket in tow.

"One Kelly's deluxe picnic," he winked, hoisting it onto the counter. "I didn't skip a thing. I even included Ruby's original chocolate cake."

Ric nervously plunged his hand into his front pocket and pulled out a money clip. Pulling off several bills, he laid them on the counter and picked up the basket. "Thanks Mike." He said and nodded to Elizabeth before hurrying out the door.

She looked after him puzzled as Mike scooped up the bills, whistling at the enormous tip. "That must be some special picnic!"

"Look sweetie!" Alexis said pointing at the fountain across the park. "Can you say fountain?"

"Ten," she giggled, mimicking her mother and pointing excitedly at the beautiful stone water-flowing structure.

"Well, that's the last syllable. Phonetically at least. That's a word with another meaning. Actually it's an amount. It could be construed as a percentage of one hundred, which is a complicated concept for you right now but don't worry. You're going to understand a plethora of complex words and concepts one-day. You will have a vocabulary beyond – "

"Ten!" she repeated, pulling Alexis impatiently across the lawn toward the water, which danced and shimmered, in the late afternoon sun.

"Ten." Alexis laughed. "Ok. Let's go investigate."

They ran across the park to the fountain and Alexis held Kristina tight as she peered over the edge into the water, eyes wide with wonder. A gust of wind surged past and blew a cool mist into her face and she giggled. Keeping one arm tightly around Kristina, Alexis allowed her other hand to splash lightly in the water and she recalled her last escapade on a fountain's edge.

Barefoot and beautiful in a gown, teetering on the edge, Alexis skipped around the fountain in on a moonlit night in Puerto Rico.

"Whoa!" Sonny said, groaning and smiling at the same time. "Alexis! Come down from there. You're gonna fall!"

"No!" she insisted, laughing and continuing to skip. "See? I'm carefree! I can walk and I can skip!" Suddenly she lost her balance and fell into two strong arms. Looking up she saw…Ric?

"Alexis! Where were you just now? I asked if you'd like a penny to make a wish?"

She looked up into the glaring sunlight and saw Ric standing there, right palm open offering a shiny new penny.

"No thank you," she said, reaching into her short pocket and handing Kristina a slightly dull and worn penny. "Never accept money from the corrupt District Attorney," she said. "It's called a bribe. You'll learn about those later too."

Kristina looked at the penny in her palm and the shiny one that Ric offered and eagerly grabbed his penny and threw it in the fountain, clapping her hands in delight as it sunk to the bottom.

"Did you make a wish Kristina?" he asked, kneeling down and smiling.

"Of course she did!"

Ric reached into his pocket and pulled out another. "What about you?"

Alexis looked at it then grabbed it and, not taking her eyes off of him, provocatively chucked it over her shoulder into the water.

"What'd you wish for?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Actually, I would. Come on counselor, dazzle me with your dreams and desires."

"Not a chance," she dismissed.

"OK, then let me guess."

"You are full of games, aren't you?"

"It's a sunny day in the park and I'm feeling whimsical. Kind of like you were earlier."

"You managed to take all of the whimsy out of me," she said eyeing the picnic basket. "But I do have an appetite."

"An appetite for what?" he teased.

"Watch it!"

"You asked for that one," he laughed heartily. "Admit it.'

Alexis wriggled her nose and turned her head to the side. "Yes, I guess I did. Touché! Now what's in the basket?"

"A feast for three." Rick smiled and licked his lips lasciviously.

Alexis looked at him uneasily, feeling a bit like Little Red Riding Hood to his Big Bad Wolf. She realized that his gesture was quite on purpose but was uncertain just how to react. Scooping Kristina into her arms she let her daughter do the talking as the little girl eagerly reached out for the basket.

"Looks like someone is hungry. I saw a nice patch of lawn under the tree over there near the pond."

Ric spread out the checkered tablecloth and dropped to his knees patting the ground beside him. Alexis looked apprehensively at the space, then over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching them.

"Come on! I won't bite. Besides, I thought you said that if I brought the food, I'd have a dinner companion." He looked at Kristina and winked. "Two, in fact."

She set her daughter down and then gingerly sat beside him crossing her long slender legs. Ric had taken special notice of Alexis in shorts, but wisely decided not comment on them. The last time he'd mentioned it, she slugged him like an old woman fending off a mugger in the park with her pocketbook. It was comical, because he was trying to be sincere but he quickly learned that Alexis didn't take well to flattery, especially any that contained sexual innuendo.

It confused him that a grown woman would so clearly avoid her own sexuality.

Unlike other women he'd known Alexis seemed to suppress it intentionally. It was a wonder that Sonny was able to unleash enough passion in her to conceive Kristina. Ric could easily believe Alexis's claims that her night with Sonny was a regrettable indiscretion. She clearly wanted no part of the woman who had wantonly given in to his brother's so called charms.

Judging by other people's reaction to the news of their tryst, that woman was a stranger to them as well. Unveiling the affair in open court had made her more vulnerable than he thought it would and, in time, he'd come to regret it. His intention was to expose a moral flaw in his righteous opposing counsel; instead it made him feel like a bully. It made him feel like Sonny.

Ric watched as Alexis and Kristina opened the basket like they were opening a treasure chest. He pulled his knees up and rested his chin on them, continuing to watch contently as they plucked out item after item.

"What do we have here Kristina? Hot dogs?"

Kristina became increasingly excited as she watched her mother unwrap one and put it on a plate in front of her. "I see you remembered," Alexis said as she flipped open the ketchup cap and squeezed a neat line onto the dog.

"Uh huh. Hot dogs are a kid's favorite. My father used to grill them around the campfire on the beach near Gay Head."

"On Martha's Vineyard," Alexis confirmed. "It must have been a nice place to grow up."

"Off season was OK. During the summers our tiny island became a tourists' trap and the ambience was lost."

She passed a plate to him and he thanked her. "Kind of sounds like the Cassadine home in the Greek Isles. I wasn't there too much. Most of the time I was away at boarding school, but I remember summers on the island. Tour boats coming within 50 yards of the coast with people hanging over the rails with the whirring of their camera shutters and the flash bulbs, which futilely popped in the bright sun. Stefan used to moon them!"

Ric laughed the first genuine laugh that he had experienced in ages as he reached into the basket for the bottle of wine.

"Isn't that illegal?"

"I won't tell if you won't."

He expertly popped the cork and poured it into two plastic glasses and handed her one, which she gratefully accepted.

"Sorry about the plastic. I don't mind breaking the law for a little vintage refreshment, but I'd rather not do it blatantly."

Alexis thought of a quick retort regarding his past blatantly illegal behavior but caught herself and suppressed it.

"You know, it's funny," he said. "Both of us grew up on islands."

"True. I'd never though of that before, but then again, I don't know much about you at all. In all of the years that I represented Sonny, he never mentioned you."

"No surprise there. I truly believe that over time Sonny convinced himself that my father and I didn't exist. Once he and our mother returned to Bensonhurst, we were pretty much written off as an unfortunate mistake."

"Was it a mistake?" Alexis asked raising the glass to her lips.

"Well you pretty much defined love earlier today, didn't you? My father fell in madly love with Adella and had this crazy notion that he could pull her out of her life and into the watercolor illusion of ours. He didn't factor in Sonny and the raging storm that came with him. Sonny's anger was like a downpour that washed all of the color away. Nothing was the same after she left. My father became every bit as gray as the Brooklyn skyline she returned to."

Alexis looked at him as he stared out over the park, his voice trailing off. She still had no idea what led him to the desperate measures of revenge that he'd acted upon since his arrival in Port Charles, but she could certainly understand more about his pain.

"It's amazing; the pain that we retain from our childhood," She said softly. "That's why it is so very important for me to give Kristina the best life that I can. I don't want her to feel the abandonment or self-deprecation or bitterness and fear that I felt growing up with Helena."

Ric looked on as Kristina stuck her fingers into the frosting on top of the chocolate cake and then sat up surprised as she toddled over to him and offered a taste. He glanced at Alexis who smiled and nodded, then leaned over and licked the frosting off of her finger.

"Mmmm!" he said, his expression larger than life. "Thank you Kristina. That was yummy!"

"Oh my God!" Alexis laughed. "Did I just hear you say 'yummy'?"

He picked up a napkin and wiped the remnants of icing from his chin and smiled. "I believe that you did. And do you realize that the two of us just had a conversation without you mentioning the words reprehensible, unethical, abhorred, manipulative or narcissistic – just to name a few?"

"I do have a love of vocabulary," she meekly admitted. "And etymology.

Ric could have taken a pot shot at her inability to pronounce narcissistic under the influence of alcohol while on their "date" at the Cellar but thought better of it. Instead, he decided on another compliment.

"That's one of the things that makes you an excellent attorney."

Alexis was prepared to launch witty rebuttal but was caught off guard. This was highly unusual. He was being kind to her and he seemed sincere. She looked at Kristina who was finishing the last of her lemonade and concentrating on the cup with both hands. Ric was watching her with a look of amusement infused with awe and she felt unbelievably exposed. Glancing down at her watch Alexis began to pick up plates and forks and napkins and dump them into a plastic bag.

"I-I hope you don't mind," she stuttered. "I know that you have this predisposition to order but these are paper and plastic."

"No. Go right ahead."

She continued to clear the blanket of any and all remnants of dinner and then closed the top of the picnic basket when Ric unexpectedly grabbed her hand and held it firmly in his.

"What?"

"Thank you," he whispered, leaning close to her. "This was a hundred times better than The Cellar."

"I think so," she agreed, glancing briefly at her daughter Kristina who was happily amusing herself with one of her toys.

"You don't know how much it means for me to feel a part of something. Even if it's only for a few hours."

"The sad thing Ric, is that I think I do understand. But I didn't realize that until I had Kristina. There are days that I don't recognize myself from the person I was before she came into my life."

He nodded slightly realizing that his entire reason for being with Alexis this evening would shatter what had become a perfect moment. "Remember that I said that I needed to talk to you about something?"

"Yes?"

He leaned in and gently kissed her lips and Alexis lingered for a moment before opening her eyes. Looking down into those stunningly beautiful brown pools, Ric thought briefly about the lab report revealing Kristina's paternity that was in his back pocket, then dismissed it all together. He closed his eyes and leaned forward again whispering "It will have to wait until tomorrow."