Sonny waited until he was sure they were on the elevator before opening the door. "Max I want a man on them. Have him follow her. I want to know where she is at all times, and when they get where they are going this evening have him call my cell. I'm going to get to the bottom of this mess." Sonny slammed the door again, and went to call Benny. He was going to what was going on sooner rather than later.

Benny was his usual expedient self and had the information ready in under an hour. Waiting on the phone to ring, Sonny made a place on the couch, and settled in to read. "My god, her life reads like a Spanish soap opera." The information started when Alexis, after another attempt on her life by Helena, went to Santa Barbara under the guise of Julia Wainwright. The 'sister' she was there to take care of was really a distant cousin. Her career as a lawyer was good and she made it to DA.

Her relationship to Mason Capwell was a different story however. They made up a contractual agreement to have a child. Samantha was born, and two years later they got married. Although, it was only after, murder charges, a church explosion, a split personality issue, and a coma all on his part. Their marriage lasted from 1989-90, and then they divorced because he had an affair and a drinking problem (not to mention the dead body of the mistress in their bed).

After the divorce, they became opposing counsel on a case, and Alexis ends up sleeping with her client, some guy named Dash Nichols. The next day she expresses regrets and wants to end the relationship, but he rapes her instead. There was a trial, and he was not convicted, so she used her Cassadine blood to kidnap him. Thereby using the situation to make him see the error of his ways.

Mason and Alexis reconcile in 1992. Their daughter Samantha almost dies from some bizarre indeterminable illness, and they have two more children Chester and Peter. Stefan calls Alexis a few years later to defend Kevin Collins, and she divorces Mason yet again to keep him and their children safe from the Cassadine web. Mason moves to Florida, and becomes Dr. Cameron Lewis. Their son Peter dies in a suspicious suicide, and Chester runs away. Samantha was away at school during this time.

After her son died, Alexis proved that she was more Cassadine than people thought, and removed Helena from the equation. She then settled into life at Port Charles. Sonny was well aware of the events from then on out. He shuffled to the back of the file, where he knew Benny would have included various pictures and such. There were a couple family shots, and few of Mason and Alexis (including wedding pictures), but there weren't any of the children except for the family pictures. He knew what Samantha looked like, and he knew that Peter was dead, so who was Chester?

Sonny started pacing, and mulling over the flood of information. He felt guilty and a little ashamed at what he had said to Alexis about children. But that was soon replaced with anger; she had no excuse from keeping Kristina away from him. She knew the pain, she knew what children and family meant to him, and she was still refusing to let him see his first-born. Well that was ending sooner rather than the later she had hoped for; nothing was keeping him away from his baby. "Cameron said she needs stability Sonny", he said aloud in a mocking voice. "Now her and Cameron, or should I say Mason, are playing happy family with my child leaving me in the cold. Not for long." He smiled a cold smile when the phone rang. "I'll be there in ten minutes. Call me if there are any changes." Walking out of his penthouse he smiled again, "Now that I know all of your secrets Alexis, we are going to renegotiate this custody agreement."

Alexis sat back in her chair at the Port Charles Grill and smiled at Mason across the table. His face held the same look as she was sure her own did, contentment, all of them together was a dream come true. They purposefully ignored the dazed and surprised gawking of the other customers, and enjoyed their first family dinner together in many a moon. She looked over at her two oldest children squabbling over the youngest and could not help the beaming smile that overtook her face. Just like old times. And when Mason put his hand over hers, she knew that things would finally be all right.

"So, darling, am I to be Mason again now that the 'cat is out of the bag'."

"You might as well. I'll stick with Alexis, in a way that is who I always have been. Good Lord!" She turned in frustration to her bickering children, "You two stop fighting. Kristina is not a toy. Chester let your sister feed Kristina. Sammy quit antagonizing your brother." Before anymore arguing could break out between the two, when Samantha blew a raspberry at her brother, Mason stepped in, "Your mother and I have an announcement to make…"

"Mason, wait…"

He continued as if he couldn't hear her, "… we remarried three days ago."

"Mason, please…"

"…Your mother and I figured it was the best course of action if a custody problem occurred. We also purchased a lovely little home. That we will all be moving into tomorrow."

Samantha crowed in triumph, "HA, I KNEW IT!!!! Pay up Chester. I told you it would happen. I TOLD YOU! HA! HA! I TOLD YOU!"

"Geez, Mom couldn't you have held out for another week at least." Chester grumbled as he handed the twenty to his sister. Kristina was giggling at the sibling by-play, and the faces Samantha was making, while Alexis had her face buried in her hands. Mason just remained in his seat with the contented smile that had been plastered to his face all evening.

Mason, turned, and gently removed her hands from her face; he then took hold of her chin so her eyes met his. Looking in them as he spoke, "Now no need to worry Lexi darling, everything now will be as it should be. Including our relationship, that we now no longer have to hide." He then gave her a tender, lingering kiss. Alexis continued to gaze into his eyes, after the kiss was finished, softly smiling at him until an irritatingly smug voice broke her reverie. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the happy Capwell family." Alexis and Mason turned to see a smug Sonny Corinthos standing in front of their table. Alexis groaned, and Mason kissed her again, "No worries Lexi darling", he stood looking Sonny over, "I'll take care of this little problem."

Sonny smirked at him. Nothing pissed off Alexis more than men riding to her rescue, or thinking she couldn't handle things on her own. But to his surprise, she remained seated and made no move to protest. The rest of the table however erupted into laughter at Mason's statement. Including his very own daughter Kristina.

The smirk on Sonny's face, had withered into a furious scowl, and he turned to glare at the people that had dared laugh at the belittling comment. He was taken aback by who he saw sitting at the table. "Zander! What are you doing here?" Sonny had been so focused on Alexis when he entered the restaurant; he had failed to notice the rest of the little family. Samantha and Alexis broke into laughter again, and when the young man in question smiled a knot formed in Sonny's stomach. Zander's smile was familiar. There was a time when his best friend Alexis would smile that very same smile at him.

"Is THAT what you are calling yourself now? Well, it matters not because you will always be little Chester to me."

Zander directed a dark look towards his older sister, "Quit calling me Chester! I hate that name! I've been using my middle name for years now. You know that, or can you not grasp a simple concept."

Samantha returned the look and added a little something of her own, "Chester, Chester, Chester…"

"STOP CALLING ME CHESTER! Mom, make her stop please. I hate that name."

Before Alexis could respond Mason redirected his attention to his son, "What is so wrong with Chester? I gave you that name."

Alexis broke in, "Yes, you signed the birth certificate without consulting me first."

"Darling, you were unconscious and the baby needed a name. I still do not understand your aversion to it. Chester is a fine name."

" 'Darling, you were unconscious'." Alexis mocked him, "I had just given birth did you expect me to run a marathon. You didn't even try to wake me up."

"Dad, naming me Chester saddled me with a permanent kick me sign. I started using my middle name after my first year in public school. In fact the only people that call me Chester are you and Sammy."

"Daddy I'm inclined to agree with the little spaz. I love you dearly, but you should stick with letting Momma pick out names."

Mason was indignant at this point, "There is nothing wrong with the names I suggested or picked for that matter."

"Mason, yes there is, we have already argued and agreed upon this point. Give it up. I swear less than twenty-four hours together and we fall back into the same patterns. You should do a study, and write a paper on the effects."

Sonny couldn't take it anymore. Listening to them bicker was like watching a well-played tennis match. They were all so comfortable with each other, and the love they all shared was deep and lasting. The mass of emotions he felt were confusing and conflicting. When he first entered the resturant he had watched the scene between her and Mason before confronting them seethed with jealousy. He instantly hated Mason for having everything he had ever wanted. Now they were ignoring his presence again, and that more than the insult infuriated him. Watching their little family by-play was saddening, he had wanted that with Alexis, and now with the attention she was paying him, it was like he didn't exist. Well, that wouldn't last for much longer anyway.

"HEY!" His shout had everyone's attention on him. And as he was gearing himself up to speak again, Alexis had posed a question that shocked him with the coldness of her tone.

"Why are you still here?"

Sonny smirked, "Now I don't take kindly to that tone 'Lexi darling', so be careful before I take you to court and have Kristina where she rightfully belongs at home with me. I think Carly would love to have a little girl."

Alexis did not give him the reaction for which he was hoping. She leaned back in her chair, took a sip of her drink, and smiled at him. It was a cool, calculating smile that had some of his bravado slipping. "Please do not refer to me as 'Lexi'. I believe I did not give you permission to address me in such an informal manner. As for your reason for interrupting our reunion dinner, I had hoped that we could discuss this as adults and work something out that was beneficial to the both of us. I didn't think it possible, but I had hoped because we were once friends. Alas my suspicions were correct, when you resorted to your normal petty threats and temper tantrums. So in light of that fact, my offer of joint custody and visitations is withdrawn. I will not have my daughter exposed to you, your self-destructive behavior, your pathetic excuse of a wife, or the danger of your mob life style." The almost jovial tone of her voice was frightening and more effective than shouting.

The small measure of control he had over his temper broke. "YOU WILL NOT KEEP ME FROM MY CHILD!!! I'LL MAKE IT SO YOU NEVER SEE HER AGAIN!!! I WILL BREAK YOU FOR THIS! JUST YOU WAIT!"

Alexis laughed lightly and shook her head. "There you go again. It's hard for you to be an adult isn't it Sonny. You can try to break me. Oh you can try, but I wouldn't force my hand if I were you. You have no idea what I am capable of doing, and you don't want to find out. So, just go back to your wife, and pretend that we never made the unfortunate mistake of sleeping together."

The last remark hurt, and he almost staggered backwards from the blow her words had dealt. He hated that she still had the power to hurt him and strove to inflict just as much pain as he was given. "Is that what you said to the last client you slept with? Dash Nichols that was his name wasn't it?"

Again, a small almost serene smile lit her features. "I see you have been doing your research. How is Benny? It seems that he is slipping because you should have known that I hide my secrets better. The file that is probably resting on your coffee table right now is what I let people find. But to answer your questions; yes to both, and like you he didn't heed my warnings; I showed him the error of his ways. Just like I will with you if you cease to desist your pathetic posturing."

What had happened to the Alexis that hyperventilated at the first sign of trouble? What had happened to his friend? He didn't know the woman who was sitting there, with an expression of amused disdain, calmly dishing out threats with a smile. Sonny then realized that he might have never known her at all. "It's not in your best interest to threaten me Alexis. You know what happens to people that threaten me."

"Oh, you need to understand that I do not threaten. I am simply telling you what will happen if you continue this course of action. There is a difference, or do you need me to explain it in simpler terms."

Zander smirked and spoke up, "The word of the day class is consequences. So be a good boy, go home and look it up."

Samantha no stranger to verbal warfare used the opening her brother provided, "Yes, and while you're at it Mr. Corinthos, you should have that vein in your forehead looked at. Looks like you might throw an embolism." She then makes shooing gestures with her hands, "Run along now."

Mason openly laughed at his children's antics. Which then prompted the rest of the table into laughter, once again including his child. "Yes, yes please do run along now Mr. Corinthos. We have many things to finish up this evening and you by delaying our dinner, are throwing a wrench in our timetable."

Sonny was livid at the dismissal, and the fact that his only child by blood was laughing at him. Nobody treated him like the Capwell family treated him and lived to see another day. He had money, power and commanded respect. They were going to learn one way or another. "I will have my child. You will not keep me away. Do you have any idea who I am? Do you have any idea of what I can do?"

Alexis calmly returned his stare, and made a slight gesture. Two Cassadine bodyguards appeared and grabbed Sonny by his upper arms. "You are a boorish idiot, who can do nothing to me. I on the other hand can and will systematically destroy your life." She turned her attention to the large guards, "Please remove him from our presence, and inform the rest that he isn't to ever get this close without explicit permission from Mason or I again. Use whatever force necessary to carry out this order."

The two nodded, "Yes Ms. Cassadine". They jerked up so only the tips of his shoes were dragging the floor and marched him out. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY!" The doorman opened the door and the bodyguards tossed him out like nothing more than a sack of garbage.

The family sat in contented silence for a few moments before Mason turned to his wife, "My love, my life, my reason to be, let us return home. He won't be trying anything this evening. He will be trying to gather information. Although, as well all know, he will not get anywhere. Lexi darling, I have to say life with you is never boring." Everyone laughed again, marveling in the fact that they could again share life together as a family.