Chapter Six
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June 22, 1992
Jerome/Lansing Apartment
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Ric was awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of crying coming from the livingroom. He got out of bed and made his way down the hallway. He looked in on Sam and Zander and saw them both sound asleep. He walked into the room and saw Alexis curled up on the couch holding a picture in her hands.
He sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms. Her tears wet his bare chest as her cries became sobs. He knew yesterday had been the anniversary of Julian's death; eight years. Most of the time, Alexis was fine. But the summertime anniversary always hit her hard; this year harder than most because all of her emotions regarding her deceased husband were magnified by her pregnancy hormones.
It had been just after Sam and Zander's twelfth birthday in May that he and Alexis had discovered she was pregnant. While he'd been completely over the moon with joy, Alexis' reaction had been more subdued. She was happy, but she had confessed to him later that she was also afraid.
/
"What has you so scared, honey?" Ric asked her as they snuggled together in bed.
Alexis was rubbing slow circles on her belly, already comforting her unborn child. "So many things. I don't know if I can do this again, Ric. We're not even married. I know that sounds ridiculous to you because you know Julian and I weren't married when I got pregnant with Sam and Zander, but…"
He kissed her deeply, effectively shutting her up. When he pulled back several long moments later, he smiled affectionately at her.
"Baby, if you want to get married, just say the word," he told her. "Honestly, I want to marry you. I've wanted to marry you from nearly the moment we first met. The only reason I haven't asked is because I know you're scared. But, you need to know that I'm not going anywhere, ever. Married or not, I am completely in love with you, and I couldn't love Sam and Zander more if they were my own and I already love this baby so much. Rings and a piece of paper won't change the fact that we're a family already."
"I love you," Alexis whispered as she touched his cheek tenderly; leaning forward to kiss him softly.
/
Ric pulled back from Alexis and framed her face with his hands, his thumbs gently brushing away her tears.
"I'm here, honey," he reassured her, brushing her hair back out of her eyes. "I know this is so hard for you. I know you miss him."
Over several minutes of just being held, her sobs became soft cries and finally she calmed enough to speak; her words surprised him.
"That's not it," she said quietly. "I mean, it…yes, I miss Julian. I figured out a lot of years ago that I always will, but…"
"But what?" he asked gently when she stopped speaking.
She wiped her eyes and set the photograph of Julian down on the table. "I woke up a few hours ago. I had been dreaming about the baby. I checked in on the kids and then came into the kitchen to get a glass of water. That's when my eye caught the calendar and I realized the date. I hadn't…"
"Hadn't what?" he questioned, though he had a sneaking suspicion he knew what she was going to say.
"All day yesterday, I didn't…I didn't th-think abo-about h-him at all," she choked out through fresh tears. "I was s-so busy sh-shopping and enjoying lunch w-with Krissy that I just…"
Ric had always known there would be a day; the anniversary when she would realize in a flash that she had finally let Julian go. He'd always known her grief at that realization would be as powerful and heart-wrenching as losing him had been in the first place.
"I felt horrible when I…when I realized I hadn't remembered what day it was," she confessed. "I have lots of days when I don't think about Julian, but…I've never forgotten on the…the anniversary. That's why I was crying. I suddenly felt like…like I'd abandoned him."
"You haven't abandoned anyone, honey," Ric said to her. "I just think that you're finally to a place where you feel comfortable enough to…to start to let go. Do you think Julian would want you to mourn him forever?"
Alexis had asked herself that question a million times in the past eight years. She knew the answer; had always known.
"No, he wouldn't," she acknowledged. "He'd want me to be happy. I am happy."
They shared a sweet, soft kiss and when Ric stood he pulled her up with him. She reached down and picked up the picture she'd set down earlier. She smiled at the image of a teenage Julian. Yet with this smile, for the first time in eight years, there was no sadness for Alexis. There were wonderful memories and there was a fondness that would never fade.
And there was love; always love; for the boy he had been and the man he barely got to become. But that sadness, the paralyzing grief had finally receded and Alexis felt ready to step into the next phases of her life.
Instead of going back to the mantle over the fireplace and replacing the picture, she headed to the desk in the corner of the livingroom and opened the top drawer. She kissed her index finger, ran it gently over the face of the young man who had been her first everything and then placed the picture in the drawer, shutting it softly.
"Goodbye, Julian," she whispered as Ric came up behind her.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his hands on her still-flat abdomen.
"I love you," he whispered as he placed a soft kiss on her neck.
Alexis turned in his arms and wrapped hers around his neck. "I love you, too."
/
September 13, 1992
Cassadine Island, Greece
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After a civil ceremony conducted in the city, Alexis, Ric and the children had traveled to Greece for the wedding ceremony which would include their entire family.
The Cassadine compound in Athens was a sprawling estate which sat on a private island owned for generations by the family. No one had lived there permanently since Mikkos had divorced Helena and kicked her off the island. It was used mainly for family vacations or special events such as weddings and funerals.
The morning of the wedding dawned bright and slightly breezy. The temperature was perfect, hovering near 80 degrees. Alexis had awakened early when she heard the happy laughter of her two children and her nieces and nephews. She rose from bed, dressed in a summer dress and sans footwear, headed outside to enjoy the early-morning Grecian weather.
She sat on a stone bench overlooking the beautiful Aegean Sea when she heard footsteps behind her. A smile lit her face; she knew who it was without even having to look.
"Καλημέρα, αδελφός," she called to Stefan in their native tongue; Greek.
Stefan Cassadine was thirty-two years of age. He was a very handsome man with dark blonde hair and brilliant green eyes. While attending Oxford University in England, Stefan had met a lovely young American girl named Laura Vining. Within months they were deeply in love and in August of 1982, at the ages of twenty-two and twenty respectively, they were married in a lavish ceremony held on the island. The following November their first children, Nikolas and Athena were born. The twins were followed by two more siblings.
Shortly after the plane crash, Stefan had stepped into Stavros' role with Cassadine Industries and learned quickly the family business. He was the current CEO while Mikkos remained the President of the company.
Stefan sat down next to his sister and wrapped his arm around her. "Κοιτάξετε λίγο κουρασμένος για μια γυναίκα την ημέρα του γάμου."
"Σκεφτόμουν," she told her brother as she leaned her head against his strong shoulder.
"Του Julian?"
"Ναι," she answered. "Σταύρος και Valentin καθώς και."
Stefan nodded. "Σκέφτομαι τους συχνά; τα τρία από αυτά. Νικόλα μου θυμίζει Σταύρος περιστασιακά."
Alexis chuckled. She agreed with that assessment. Her nearly ten-year-old nephew did possess the same single-mindedness of his deceased uncle. Nikolas was very intelligent and quite sneaky. Had Stavros lived, Alexis knew Nikolas and he would have been fast friends; partners in crime.
"On occasion, I see some of our brother in Zander as well," she said in English.
"Your Greek is still quite adequate," Stefan complimented.
Alexis inclined her head in acknowledgement as she spoke again. "How are Laura and the children?"
Stefan smiled. "They are well, thank you. Nikolas has a keen interest in books. He reads all hours of the day and night. Athena has developed a love of horses and is currently trying to talk me into letting her learn to ride. Jonas loves nothing more than football and Matthew is showing an interest in music."
The siblings continued to talk until the time came for Alexis to get ready for her wedding to the man who was already legally her husband.
/
Jax grinned when he saw Ric nearly fall over when Alexis began her walk down the grassy aisle towards them on her father's arm. She was stunning in her eggshell-colored, body-hugging maternity wedding gown. Her long hair was pinned up beautifully. Her light makeup accentuated her natural beauty.
Both men were in agreement; she was a vision.
Jax nudged his friend. "Take a breath, mate. You wanna be alive for the honeymoon."
Ric snapped out of his trance and smirked at his best man. "Oh, don't worry. I wouldn't miss that for the world."
Jax snickered and spoke softly. "Like it matters. She's already got your bun in her oven. You guys are doing this a bit backwards."
They continued their easy-going ribbing until Alexis got close.
Ric stepped forward and took Alexis' hand, given to him by her father. Mikkos smiled at his daughter and the second man he had chosen to love.
"Take care of my daughter," he told Ric as his gaze drifted to Sam and Zander. "And my grandchildren."
"I will," Ric vowed. "You have my word."
They then turned to face the priest.
/
Mount Sinai Hospital
Manhattan, New York City, New York
November 19, 1992
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Seven hours of labor hadn't been kind to Ric Lansing. Alexis had yelled and screamed; broke a bone in his left hand and threatened to never have sex with him again. But, in the end, when they heard the first cries of their newborn daughter, all was forgiven.
Kristina Adela Lansing took her first breaths at just after three in the afternoon. She was small at just barely five pounds and only sixteen inches long. She had a tiny smattering of dark hair on her head.
"She's beautiful," Ric said as he leaned over and kissed his wife.
Alexis looked down at her tiny new daughter as the baby suckled gently at her breast. She ran her index finger softly over Kristina's cheek as the baby eagerly took her meal.
"She looks so much like Sam and Zander," Alexis said.
The door to her room opened slightly and Alexis saw Sam and Zander peeking around the door.
"Can we come in, Mom?" Zander asked quietly.
Baby Kristina chose just then to finish her meal. Ric helped cover Alexis, then took his daughter and gently burped her.
"Come on in, you two," she called to her older children.
Sam went right up to Ric where he had taken a seat and was rocking his little girl. "She's so small."
Zander looked between his new sister and his mother, then at Ric. He went to his mother first.
"Are you okay, Mom?" he asked, his hand brushing against Alexis' fingers.
She smiled as she reached out and cupped his cheek. "I'm fine, Son. I'm very tired, but otherwise I'm fine."
Satisfied with that answer, Zander made his way over to his sisters and Ric. He looked at the brand new baby girl and gave her a small smile when she wrapped her impossibly tiny fist around his finger.
"She likes me," he said, in awe.
Ric chuckled. "Of course she likes you, you're her big brother."
Alexis watched her family from the bed. She watched Sam and Zander fuss over their new sister. She watched the man she loved cradle his new daughter with such tenderness it brought tears to her eyes.
She wiped away a few tears of her own as her eyes drifted towards the window. She looked out at the brilliant blue sky and cast her eyes heavenward.
"Thank you, Julian," she whispered, believing that her first love had always been watching over her, taking care of her and their children until they reached their destiny; Ric Lansing.
/
Undisclosed Location
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"Just how long do you think you can hold us here?!" Julian screamed at his captor.
The woman laughed; the kind of evil laugh that made the hairs on your neck stand on end.
"It's already been eight years, Mr. Jerome," she said sweetly. "I suspect even you realize by now that getting back to your family is never going to happen."
Sitting alone in a cell across from his brother-in-law was Stavros Cassadine, very much alive. He stood and glared menacingly at the old woman and her young bodyguards.
"Eight years, Mother," he began. "This is excessive, even for you."
Helena Cassadine, walked towards her son, barely sparing a glance at her ex-husband's nephew, Valentin. She reached through the cell bars and caressed his cheek.
"It's all necessary, my son," she told him. "Had your father been a better husband, a devoted husband rather than an adulterer, none of you would be here."
"What the hell does Mikkos being a bastard to you have to do with me?!" Julian yelled.
"Nothing," a new voice said, a male. "You being here has to do with me; with us."
Julian recognized the voice, but couldn't place it right away. But when the man stepped into the room, flanked by one other, his jaw hit the floor.
"Dad? Dino?"
/
[b]Translations[/b]
I have no idea if these translations are accurate. I used a free online translation site and I do not speak Greek, so….
Καλημέρα, αδελφός—Good morning, brother.
Κοιτάξετε λίγο κουρασμένος για μια γυναίκα την ημέρα του γάμου—You look a touch wear for a woman on her wedding day.
Σκεφτόμουν—I was thinking.
Του Julian?—Of Julian?
Ναι. Σταύρος και Valentin καθώς και—Yes. Of Stavros and Valentin as well.
Σκέφτομαι τους συχνά; τα τρία από αυτά. Νικόλα μου θυμίζει Σταύρος περιστασιακά—I think of them often; all three of them. Nikolas reminds me of Stavros on occasion.