Joanne leaned against the doorframe that led into the kitchen of the Matt and Alexis' penthouse. She stood there quietly and watched her daughter-in-law scribble line items in a notebook. Alexis was being remarkably strong; or hiding the fear remarkable well. Her cup of tea sat inches away from her waiting for her to finish her thoughts. Alexis put her pen down and rubbed her tired face. Joanne finally advanced behind Alexis and gently kissed the top of her head. "How are you holding up, honey?"

Alexis released her hundredth sigh of the morning. "We never should have come back to the city. We should have stayed at the farm with you."

"Ah, honey, you can't think like that. You can't hide from the world." Joanne said as she put on another pot of coffee.

"No, but I should have hid Sammi from the world." Alexis crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair.

"You did, and look what happened." Alexis jerked her head back in shock. "I'm not saying that what you did was wrong, Alexis…You did what you had to do to keep her away from that lunatic stepmother of yours. But I'm beginning to wonder if you should have explained her father to her."

"No, no, her father is Matt. End of story."

"Yes, but Alexis. She is the princess…"

"She is a Cassadine Princess too….it means nothing; absolutely nothing."

"It may mean nothing to you, but it does mean something to the country of Kovloav or to the media for that matter. Eventually the press was going to find out. And she needed to be taught how to deal with it."

Alexis did not like the truths that her mother-in-law as telling her. But it was the truth none-the-less. "Mitchell gave her up. He chose not to be her father."

"Alexis, with the exception of your brother and nephew, you chose to remove yourself from your family and Mitchell's family. You created a life for you and your daughter. You became the high powered attorney that you wanted to be, and you have raised one hell of a daughter. The two of you have overcome trials and tribulations that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy."

"Yeah, only God knows how I managed to pull that off."

"But you cannot deny the fact that you and your daughter are heirs of two royal blood lines. And you both need to come to terms with that."

Alexis chewed on her lip. "You're right. I need to tell her. I have always been afraid to tell her. I was afraid that she would hate me or her relationship with Matt would change. I didn't want her to look at the man who raised her as a stranger. I just feel so…so defeated."

"That would never happen. You have raised a girl who is too levelheaded to think like that. And if you just explain it to her, tell her the whole truth, she'll understand. Right now she is scared…Think back to when you found that you were pregnant with her. You were 15, right?"

Alexis nodded.

"She is feeling that same kind of fear right now. She doesn't know where to go or what to do. She just found out that everything that she ever believed about herself and her family may be wrong. You are her safe haven. She loves you and trusts you, and right now she doesn't know how to get to you. From what she has been able to piece together, Helena is standing between you and her right now. So she has done the only thing that a 15 year old could think to Now you have got to think like that 15 year old and run after her; steam rolling Helena on your way."

"And how do you suggest that I do that?" Alexis asked.

"You let your brother handle her…" Matt interjected into the conversation as he entered the kitchen. He leaned over to give Alexis a kiss on the cheek. "Morning, Sweetheart. How do you feel?"

Alexis just shook her head. "After that drugged sleep I had, how do you want me to feel?"

"Rested, I'm hoping, but I'm gathering that is not the case." He said while he put bread in the toaster and pulled eggs out of the refrigerator.

"Don't make anything for me, I'm not hungry…" Alexis went back to her notebook and scribbled down a few more lines.

"Well you see that's where I'm taking over. You need to eat something to get you through this day. Your brother left early this morning, said he had to meet someone. He'll meet us at the police station at about 11."

"Eleven…that's four hours from now…what the hell is he doing?"

"I don't know…but that is the plan. Mom, can you guys stay here with Nikolas?" Joanne nodded. "Don't let him talk you into to taking him to the Museum or sightseeing. I need you to keep him here; away from the press or any of Helena's goons that might be still lurking around."

"Well, did he tell you where he was going? What time did he leave?" Alexis had completely ignored Matt's conversation about Nikolas.

"He left at about 5."

"At five! Where could he possibly be going that is going to take him six hours?" Alexis rolled her eyes. "Great, what else can go wrong today?"

"I'm not sure you want the answer to that question…" Joanne said just after they heard the doorbell ring. "I'll find out who it is and send them away."

Matt laid a plate of scramble eggs and toast in front of Alexis. She just pushed it away. He prepared another plate for himself. "Come on, Lex, eat it. You like my scrambled eggs…" He said sitting down across the table from her.

"No, Sammi likes your eggs…" She said looking up with tears in her eyes. "I want my baby in my arms again." As she began to cry harder, Matt moved over to hold her tight. He rocked her gently until her sobs slowed.

"Shh…I know, love. We won't stop until that is exactly where she is at. Shh…it's okay" He stroked her hair as he looked up to see his mother in the doorway.

"Matty, can you come here a minute." He looked back to Alexis who nodded in approval. He and Joanne hurried back to the foyer.

"Can I help you?" He asked the gentle who was waiting patiently for Joanne to return.

"I need to see to Natasha…I'm sorry, I would like to see Natasha if I may…" the gentleman replied.

"I'm sorry, it really isn't a good time right now…"

"We can talk in the den, Mitchell…" Alexis said from behind.

Matt turned to see Alexis standing behind him. "Are you sure that you want to do this?"

Alexis nodded. "We need to do this…I need answers. Miles, please show King to the den. I'll be in briefly."

"Yes Princess. Right this way your Highness." After the guard had escorted the Mitchell out of earshot, Matt turned to Alexis and placed his hands lovingly on her shoulders.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Alexis shook her head. "No, he and I need to hash this out. And he isn't going to open up if you are there. We're meeting Stefan at 11, right?" He nodded as she looked at her watch that dangled like a loose bracelet. I'll have him out of here by 10." Alexis gave Matt a gentle kiss on the lips then turned to retreated to the den.