Little Sister

Chapter 13: Father Figures

*Author's Note: I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but for the purposes of this fic, Nikolas dropped Rebecca flat when he found out about the con; she then left PC, although she still keeps in touch with Quartermaines. Ethan stayed to connect with his family. Also, there is no sleazy Nik/Liz affair. Finally, the last chapter heading should have read: Chapter 12: Mothers and Memories, not Chapter 13. Sorry about that!*

"Hello, Uncle Stefan."

"Hello, little one."

Molly slid off the couch and stood up. She hesitated, and then held out her hand for her uncle to shake. Amused by the formality of her gesture, he took her hand, but kissed it instead of shaking, a greeting more befitting of a young princess.

Molly giggled, until she remembered she was trying to be serious, and hastily composed her features.

"How did you get in? I didn't hear the door … oh wait, right. The secret passageways. Just like the house on Cassadine Island. Is that why you bought Wyndemere? Because it reminded you of home?"

"Yes, in part." Goodness, but the child was perceptive … like her mother. He wondered if he would ever see anything of Lansing in her (the little he had known of him). So far, all he could see, from looks to personality, was Alexis.

"I'm glad you're here. Mom was worried."

"She told you this?"

"No, but I can always tell. Do I … do I really look like her?"

"Oh, undoubtedly." He hesitated, and then sat down on the couch, and Molly sat beside him.

"Then I guess I look like you too, because you look like mom."

"Yes, we both favor our father."

"But Kristina … I mean, Aunt Kristina, she didn't, did she?"

"Oh, no. She looked just like her mother, Kristin Bergman, your grandmother."

"You know what my grandmother looked like?" Her eyes widened, her expression intense, hungry for more information on the family members her mother never talked about.

"Yes, I do. Vivid red hair, large brown eyes, pale skin … very beautiful. And she was very kind as well, and could sing like an angel."

"How? How do you know all that about her?"

"She was my governess for a while when I was young."

"And she fell in love with your father … ooh, that's just like 'Jane Eyre!'" Stefan's lips twitched.

"Indeed," he conceded, with a grim sort of amusement, "complete with the mad wife." Most unfortunately for all concerned, however, Helena had not been locked up in the attic. "Speaking of books," he added, eager to draw her attention from his thoughtless reference to his mother, "What is it you were reading, little one?"

"Oh, that? It's The Odyssey, see?" She held up the book so she could read the title. "I've already read The Iliad, so I thought, you know, why not?"

Why not indeed? The child was absolutely charming. How he wished he had been present to spoil her rotten in earlier years. As it was, he would have to be careful, or she would have him wrapped around her little finger, as the expression went.

"Mmm. You know, your mother read them both as well, but in the original Greek." Molly's eyes widened again.

"My mother reads Greek?"

"Of course – and speaks it, and can write in it. We did grow up in Greece, after all."

"But she went to that boarding school –"

"Well, yes, but that was only for four years of high school, and only during the school year. She spent her formative years, and subsequent summers, on the island, learning Greek, Russian, and many other things."

"Was there a school on the island?"

"Well, no …"

"So she had tutors then?"

"Not exactly … that is … your mother was not allowed classes of her own."

"Well, how did she learn?" Molly studied her uncle's face. "Oh, I know," she said, once again answering her own question. "You taught her, didn't you?"

"Yes, he did," Alexis said softly.

Both Stefan and Molly turned to see Alexis standing there, clad in her nightgown and a heavy robe, drawn snug about her to keep out the cold. She had awoken from restless dreams a few moments ago, and padded down to the main living room to see if Molly was still there. Many times at the lake house, her youngest daughter had fallen asleep on the couch with a book on her lap, even after her mother had admonished her to put away her reading and go to bed. She had expected to find her in the same state tonight.

Instead, she had found Molly sitting and talking with her Uncle Stefan, seeming completely at ease in his presence, asking about their family, and looking for all the world as though she had known him for her entire young life. Stefan, for his part, seemed thoroughly charmed by Molly. If he wasn't careful, she would soon have him wrapped around her little finger, as the expression went.

Alexis felt a tightness in her throat as Stefan stood and walked over to her.

"Hello, Alexis."

"Hello, Stefan. Oh, I'm so glad your alright," she said, and they hugged each other tightly.

"See? I told you she was worried," Molly piped up, as they released each other. Stefan chuckled.

"She is so much like you."

"Molly, do you think you could finally go to bed now? Your Uncle Stefan and I have some things we need to discuss in private."

Molly pouted. "Why do I have to miss the good parts? I'm smart; I can help! I can totally foil evil plans! I've read about – "

"Little one, listen." Stefan strode back over to her, kneeling down so that he was at her eye level. "This is not one of your novels. This is real, and deadly serious. Now, I am sure you are as intelligent and resourceful as your mother, but there are some things in your life you are still going to have to let the adults handle, all right?" Molly made a face at him, but he kept his eyes fixed on hers, his expression kind but stern, and after a moment, she dropped her gaze, sighing.

"Oh all right, fine. I'll go to bed, for now." Impulsively, she hugged her uncle. Stefan seemed quite startled by the gesture, but slowly, his arms went around her, hugging her back.

"Good night, Uncle Stefan." She kissed his cheek, and then walked over to her mother, embracing her as well. Before she left the room, she turned to look back at both of them.

"Everyone is going to be really excited in the morning when they find out you're here, Uncle. But I got to see you first." She flashed him a conspiratorial smile before turning and walking away.

"Excited," Alexis muttered, after Molly left. "Well, that's one way to put it." Stefan turned back to her, his smile fading.

"I heard Valentin had your home burned down. I'm sorry."

Alexis sighed. "Well, at least we weren't in it. Do you think he was trying to make it look as though we were dead?"

"I thought so for a while, but no. If he really wanted people to believe that, he would have done something more elaborate – left remains behind injected with your DNA, or something to that effect. I think he was trying to send a message."

"What kind of message?" Alexis shuddered to think.

"That he has the power to destroy us. That he is to be taken seriously, and he will not be ignored."

"Mission accomplished. What do you think will be his next move?"

"That I cannot fathom. After I arrived in Athens, I attempted to track him, but by all accounts, he and his associates left the island, and I could not trace their movements." Stefan sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Needless to say, it's very frustrating, not knowing his next move, much less how to respond to it."

Stefan was the most patient man she knew, as long as he was armed with knowledge. But in situations like this, his patience wore thin, much like her own. "Though," he added, "I do not think he will make us wait much longer. Not that it's exactly any consolation."

"Well, at least you're in one piece."

He gave her a small smile. "Were you really so worried? Alexis, you were the one who helped me fake my death. You should know better than anyone how much it takes to kill a Cassadine."

"And sometimes, they don't even stay dead, and they have to be killed again," Alexis said, before she could stop herself.

Stefan came to her and put his arms around her protectively. Alexis laid her head on his chest, shaking, wanting to take the words, and the thoughts behind them, and cram them back into the darkness of oblivion.

"This is why I didn't want you to go looking for her, Alexis," Stefan whispered. She swallowed.

"She's never asked …"

"Yes, but she is going to. Eventually, she is going to ask you questions you cannot answer. And if she is as stubborn as you are, she is going to push hard for the truth."

She looked up at him. "So what do I give her?"

"The only thing you can. A lie." As she looked at him questioningly, Stefan removed the documents from his suit pocket and handed them to her. Alexis looked them over; all the information was about a deceased man, once a boy, her age, named Seth Lane Witlow. There were even pictures.

"Who is this?" Alexis asked as she thumbed through the documents.

"Samantha's father." Alexis looked back up at him in surprise. "Oh, don't look at me that way. It's the best solution, and you know it." But Alexis shook her head.

"I don't know if I'm comfortable with this …"

"What? You're not comfortable with creating a false paper trail to make a person think they are related to someone they're not? I can't possibly imagine why that would bother you," Stefan snapped coldly. Even after all these years, all her reasons, and all the ways in which those reasons had been proven valid – still, it stung. She never had a right to play God with his life.

Alexis closed her eyes against his residual anger. "She would've used and destroyed you, I know it," she whispered. She'd known it then and she knew it now. Cassadine men were never so dangerous, to themselves and all those around them, as when they lost the object of their obsession, which was usually the woman they "loved."

Stefan shook his head. "Well if you do not want to see Samantha destroyed, you will convince her that this man is her biological father. Given your past actions, I imagine it will not be too difficult for you to lie to her."

Alexis flinched at his harsh tone, and he felt a flicker of regret. But he could not help it – a part of him would always be angry. Betrayal, however good the reasons, was not something taken lightly in their family. Only for her could he have moved past such a transgression.

Alexis contemplated the pictures of Witlow. He had been handsome, both as a teenager and as a full-fledged adult. He had black hair and olive skin, making his blue-green eyes all the more striking. His expression, as he seemed to look out at her from the photo, was …

"Kind," Alexis said softly. "He looks kind." She took a deep, shaky breath. "I wish…"

"I know," Stefan whispered, hugging her to him again, making her feel secure and reassured. For her, the safest place was and always had been in his embrace. He was still her friend, and her parent, and everything in between. Sometimes it frightened her, how much he meant.

"You will see," Stefan whispered in her ear, "that this is the best way. We are simply giving her the father that she deserves."

He pulled away from Alexis to touch her face, wiping away the tears. She nodded, and gave him the small, shaky smile that he had always known belied a great deal of strength.

"You're right, Stefan. You usually are. This is the best way."