I'm a little nervous about this chapter. I'm happy with how it came out, and I hope everyone agrees. Enjoy :)

Nikolas still wasn't able to process the events of the day before, and was standing outside the guest room, frozen in shock that the woman who was in there was Emily. His Emily, he thought, but realized she wasn't. She had no memories of him or of anyone, and it was like the universe was playing a cruel joke on him. It was karma for what he did to Sam by keeping Jason's identity a secret. At least Jason was beginning to remember things. Apparently Emily has been living as 'Claudette' for years and she showed no signs of regaining memories of her past life.

Lucky had stayed since they only got to Wyndemere in the early hours of the morning, and Nikolas was hoping he could convince him to hang around until they figured out what to do. He didn't want to be left alone with just Claudette and Hayden. Hayden was his other problem. They were still married, and he knew she knew he hired a hitman to kill her. He didn't know how he'd ever make up for that. He made a lot of mistakes in a short period of time that he was positive ruined all his relationships forever.

"Everything okay?" Lucky asked as he walked out of his room.

"What are we doing? We're basically holding her captive all over again," Nikolas said.

"I know, but we don't know what she knows or who is looking for her. It's safest for her here."

"Shouldn't we tell Monica that her daughter is alive?" Nikolas asked, residual guilt over the Jason situation clouding his judgment.

"A daughter who doesn't remember her mother and may never will?" Lucky reasoned. "Listen, I know why you're saying this and for now it's best to keep this quiet. I talked to Sam and Jason about it and they agree. I'm sure they are the first ones who want to tell Monica that Emily is alive."

"Okay," he sighed. "So what do we do now?"

"Try to talk to her," Lucky shrugged. "Sam said she'll stop by later with a doctor to check her out."

"Shame we can't even take all the credit for the rescue," Nikolas tried to joke.

"We all messed up big when we found out Jason was alive. I think our best option is to defer to them."

"No, you're right," Nikolas said. Both men stopped talking when Hayden stepped out of her room. "Good morning."

"You two came in late last night," she noted and they nodded. "Nikolas, can we talk?"

"Sure, come in my office," Nikolas said, expecting this to happen.

"Good luck," Lucky chuckled before heading to the kitchen for breakfast.

Nikolas took a deep breath to relax his nerves before walking into his office where Hayden was waiting, sitting on his desk. While he wasn't sure what she was going to ask or say to him, he knew a conversation between them was a long time coming.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Who's the woman you brought home? I know we're not on the best of terms, but we're still married," she asked. Nikolas could tell she was starting with this because it was easier to hurt him than to have an honest conversation, which he decided he was going to have. He was tired of it all and just wanted for once to tell the truth to her.

"It's complicated," he said as he sat down. "She's an old friend who was taken by my grandmother and she has no idea who she is."

"Like Jason," she said and he nodded. "So what family are you keeping this one from?"

"The Quartermaines, again," he said, noting her smirk. "She died many years ago and Sam and Jason thought it was best to keep her being alive a secret for now. I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone."

"Okay," she agreed.

"That's it? No bribery?" he asked, surprised she didn't take advantage of him.

"I'm tired of trying to keep up this vindictive persona I created when I got here," she said. "Don't get me wrong, I am a huge bitch and I don't find anything wrong with that, but I'm not my father. I don't use people for what they're worth."

"I know you know I tried to have to killed because I wanted to keep Jason's identity a secret," Nikolas said and she nodded. "No apology I can give you will ever make up for that, and I'm sure you want me behind bars for what I did, but I'm all Spencer has, and he's all I have."

"I know. The man I've seen these past few months is the man I think you truly are, not the one I met and who had a hit put on me," she said. "I also looked into my shooting and found that one of my father's victims had found me as well and wanted revenge. Hired the same hitman."

"What?"

"I was going to get shot by that man regardless if you called it or not," she said quietly. "I went to Pentonville to speak to him, and he said he would have been stupid to turn down the job because he was getting paid double for one person."

"I'm sorry," Nikolas said, reaching out for her hand. "That doesn't make what I did better."

"Not really, but I am able to rethink our situation based on it. He told me he kept the other man's information off the books, so to speak, because he had a Cassadine on the hook if things went wrong and you were the better option," she said.

"Explains why Sam only found me," he sighed.

"We've both been pretty awful to each other, you more than me of course, but it hasn't been pretty," she said. "I'm willing to divorce you with no issue, including not enforcing the pre-nup, You can keep your five million if I can continue to stay here. I have no where to go, and I feel safest here."

"Is this what you what?"

"We conned each other into this marriage," she said with a rueful smile. "I'd like to get to know you, the person you are now; and now that it's out in the open who I am, maybe we can be friends."

"I'd like that," he said. "Stay as long as you need. This house is too big and very empty."

"Thank you," she said as she hopped off the desk. "Just, uh, maybe think twice about running to Elizabeth Webber's arms once the divorce is finalized."

"What makes you think I would do that?"

"Please," Hayden rolled her eyes. "I see the way she looks at you, and Lucky, and Jason. Jason is happy with his wife, and Lucky is here for his sons. That leaves you, Prince Nikolas."

"I believe she's with Ric again," he said and Hayden laughed. "You really don't like her."

"Maybe it's because I'm new in town and have no long-running ties to her, but she's a snake," Hayden shrugged as they walked out of the office and headed toward the kitchen to get food. "She's manipulative and the men who are sleeping with her are too blind to see it. Lucky told me she left Jake in the hospital to sleep with you and then accepted his proposal. Who does that?"

"She's a good woman, just makes bad choices."

"Same can be said about every woman, but Elizabeth is the only one I know who hasn't fully paid for her bad choices," Hayden said, pausing when she heard the doorbell. "I'll answer it."

"I'll go see if Lucky made anything edible," he said, leaning down to kiss her but stopped. Feeling awkward, he cleared his throat before walking away. Hayden smiled to herself as she went to answer the door.

"Good morning," she greeted Sam, Jason, and the third person who was with them. "Come in, we were just about to eat."

"Are Nikolas and Lucky here?"

"In the kitchen, follow me," she said as she lead the group. "I'm Hayden Barnes, by the way."

"Hamilton Finn," Dr. Finn introduced himself. He decided today was the day he was going to reveal his true identity to Nikolas, he just hoped things went as planned.

"You guys got here early," Lucky said when they walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah, well we really couldn't go back to sleep after being woken up in the middle of the night," Sam said, glaring at them. "This is Dr. Finn. We can trust him."

"I think she's still sleeping, so if you haven't eaten yet, Lucky made breakfast," Nikolas said as he shoved a piece of toast in his mouth.

"She knows what's going on?" Jason asked Lucky, who shrugged because he truly had no idea.

"Nikolas told me before," Hayden said. "Don't worry, I'll keep this secret. I know what happens when I don't."

"Really?" Nikolas said as he choked on his food.

"What? I can't joke about it?" she asked with a smirk. "We're friends now, remember?"

"Maybe let's not joke about that," he said, clearing his throat before he turned to Dr. Finn. "So, who are you exactly that we can trust you?"

"I worked in the many labs run by your family, and occasionally worked with Dr. Scorpio-Drake. I have been in contact with her and she believe she has figured out a way to restore Ms. Quartermaine's memories."

"Really? Is it dangerous?"

"I don't know, but Robin is a brilliant researcher and doctor so I am sure she wouldn't put anyone at risk."

"If I wasn't hit by that car, I would have had my memories so Robin obviously did something right with me," Jason said. "Can we see her?"

"Yeah, let's go," Nikolas said, leading the group to where Emily was staying. "I tried talking to her last night, but there's not even a glimmer of Emily in Claudette."

"I'll be down the hall, I don't need to be here for this," Hayden said to Nikolas, patting his arm reassuringly before walking away. Sam made a mental note to talk to her before she left.

"Why am I being held here against my will?" Claudette asked as they walked in. "What the hell is going on?"

"Claudette, do you remember me?" Dr. Finn asked as he approached her cautiously.

"Hamilton?"

"Yes," he nodded, overjoyed that she remembered who he was. "Things are going to be confusing for a while, but I promise you're safe here."

"Who are these people?"

"My friends," he said, not sure how to explain it. "I have to ask you some questions."

"So much has happened since you left, since Nathan and I divorced," she said, tears spilling from her eyes. "The kids are gone."

"What do you mean gone?"

"It was awful," she sobbed. "These men took the younger ones for testing and they never came back. I was told they ran away, but Rafe said the conditioning chambers exploded."

"Rafe? Rafe Kovich?" Sam said, her heart clenching for the boy she fostered for a bit. "He's alive?"

"He left after the accident," Claudette said. "Mrs. Cassadine said he was useful to keep the kids in line, but that was it because he was tainted by drugs."

"I can't believe she took him too," Sam said, wiping at her eyes. "Why did Helena keep these kids?"

"She was preparing for some takedown plan for the future," Claudette rolled her eyes at how ridiculous that sounded. "Whatever experiments she had done on adults worked so well that she hoped to use kids to make sure they didn't know anything else. They were going to be perfect soldiers. There was one boy, Jake, who she was very fond of, but he wasn't taking well to the program."

"That's my son. What did she do to him?" Lucky asked.

"She was kind to him. Well, as kind as Mrs. Cassadine could be," Claudette shrugged. "She would lock him away when he cried at night for his parents. The other children stopped missing their parents after a while, but Jake never forgot his. Mrs. Cassadine was greatly displeased by his lack of progress. She had high hopes for him."

"I'm glad the bitch is dead," Lucky said as he tried to control his emotions.

"The other children, were they children from Port Charles?"

"Just Jake and Rafe came from here. She tried to revive a dead newborn that was found here, but that proved to be too difficult."

"When did she try to do this?" Sam asked, immediately thinking of her daughter, Lila.

"About four years. The child was just left in the storm, Mrs. Cassadine saved him."

"I buried that child. I thought he was my son."

"You buried a fake baby," Claudette said, not an ounce of sympathy in her voice. "I think I've sufficiently answered your questions. Now I have some of my own. Why am I here?"

"Do you remember anyone talking about Jason Morgan?" Jason asked.

"Of course. Mrs. Cassadine was so pleased when he lost his memory because her hard work would finally pay off, but it didn't play out that way. Another disappointment for her, she didn't speak much of her plans after that."

"I'm Jason Morgan. Helena robbed me of my family for years, and she's done the same to you," Jason said. "You have a family waiting for you here in town, you just can't remember them."

"My family is dead, and my husband divorced me after we were unable to conceive a child. Our marriage was of no use if we couldn't have children."

"That's horrible that Nathan had to marry her for that," Sam whispered and Jason nodded in agreement. "Claudette, we have a friend you might know as well coming to try to help you remember your past. We're just going to need you to stay here for a while."

"You'll be comfortable here," Nikolas reassured her.

"I was comfortable in my own home," she said angrily. "Hamilton, please."

"My apologies, but I have to agree with them. I will be by to check on you soon," he said as he stood up. Everyone took this as their cue to leave and filed out into the hallway. "Nikolas, can we speak?"

"Uh, sure," Nikolas said, confused as to what Dr. Finn would have to say to him. "Follow me."

"I can't believe Rafe is alive. I watched him die, I was there when Silas turned off the life support," Sam said, getting emotional again. Jason took Sam in his arms to comfort her. She had told Jason about Rafe and Silas a while ago and Jason knew the boy meant a lot to her.

"My son cried every night for me and I thought he was dead," Lucky said as he wiped at his eyes. His anger turned into sadness and he willed himself not to break down in front of them. "I can't tell Elizabeth this."

"Maybe she needs to hear it," Jason said. "It might put things into perspective how much Jake really needs his mother right now. Her priorities haven't really been in order."

"I don't know," Lucky said, knowing Jason was right but he didn't want to see her hurting. Despite everything she's done to him, he still cared and wanted to save her from any unnecessary pain and heartbreak.

"Jake is your son, it's your decision," Sam said. "I'm going to talk to Hayden quick, and then we'll head home?"

"Sounds good," Jason said, admiring the view of her behind as she walked away. He noticed Lucky was doing the same. "You're checking out my wife."

"Sorry. Just remembering when we used to date," he said and realized that was the wrong thing to say. "Sam's a wonderful woman, you're very lucky to have her."

"I know."

"I'm going to finish my breakfast, if you want to come downstairs," Lucky said, trying to ease the tension. "You watch sports?"

"Sometimes."

"Good, we'll talk sports and not your wife."

"Appreciate it."

Sam knocked on the door and let herself in to the room she saw Hayden go into. It was the library and she found Hayden sitting in the alcove looking out the window down at the water.

"Can we talk quick?" Sam asked and Hayden nodded, gesturing for her to sit down. "Are you safe living here?"

"Perfectly safe," Hayden said. "I appreciate the concern, I know Lucky went to you and you are why the man who shot me is behind bars. I also know that Nikolas hired him."

"So why are you still here?"

"At first it was out of revenge, but I'm just so tired of it all. Nikolas and I spoke this morning. While he did hire the hitman, he wasn't the only one. I would have been shot regardless, and I know that doesn't change anything really, but I can try to forgive him."

"I didn't find evidence of another hit on you."

"I spoke to the man who shot me and he wanted Nikolas to take the fall. The other person was one of the people who fell victim to my father's Ponzi scheme."

"I'm so sorry."

"I'm alive, and I want to turn over a new leaf. Nikolas is trying as well."

"He's done too much for me to forgive him. I don't see the cousin I knew anymore."

"He's coming back," Hayden said knowingly.

"I don't know if I care anymore, to be honest with you," Sam shrugged as she stood up. "I know we don't know each other, but if you need anything feel free to call me."

"Thank you," Hayden said, appreciating Sam reaching out to her.

Nikolas sat down behind his desk and gestured for Dr. Finn to sit as well. After everything that's already happened this morning, he just wanted to go back to bed and start the day over. He couldn't figure out for the life of him what this man had to talk to him about. If it had to do with Emily, he would have talked about it in front of Sam and Jason.

"I apologize for the mishap at the Nurse's Ball," Dr. Finn said.

"Nothing to apologize for, didn't have to do with you."

"But it did. I planned that to happen so I could find a way to have to indebted to me; but when I discovered you no longer had ELQ in your control, I realized I made a mistake."

"I'm sorry, what?" Nikolas said, not sure he was believing what he was hearing.

"I'm glad you were able to re-enter the vacation home in Greece, it is unfortunate that Helena had you banned from the premises," Dr. Finn continued. "Had I know Claudette was being kept there I would have brought her home myself. I never thought she would be held in our family home."

"Our?"

"Yes, dear nephew. I was made aware that Helena barred you from the Cassadine fortune until you found Valentin Cassadine. Well, here I am."

"That's not possible."

"But it is. I have stayed under the radar for many years and allowed Helena to believe I was working with her in her deplorable endeavor, but I was really working against her."

"Did you kill her?"

"I aided in her demise," Dr. Finn shrugged. "I tampered with the immortality treatments Robin created, so she never suspected a thing."

"So what now?" Nikolas asked, standing up and slamming his hands against the desk. "You're going to take everything from me? Take your place as the rightful heir?"

"Quite the opposite, actually. I have no interest in the family fortune. I just wish to be able to continue my research at General Hospital and be free to live my life. You are a board member for the hospital, so I would like for you to ensure my employment there, and when it comes time for a vote for Chief of Staff in a few weeks, I would like for you to persuade the other members to reinstate Monica Quartermaine. Dr. Obrecht is not good for the hospital. I have worked with her in the past and her and Helena's goals aligned many times. She is not to be trusted."

"That's it?"

"For now," he shrugged. "I would like for you to keep my identity quiet, very few people are aware of who I truly am. You may continue to lead the life you are accustom to."

"I feel like this is going to backfire in my face down the road," Nikolas said cautiously.

"Have some faith, nephew. Enjoy the rest of your day."

Sam found Jason and Lucky downstairs talking about how Danny's been liking baseball, and how Jake seems to be adjusting much better these days now that he realizes Lucky is staying for good.

"I'm glad, the kid has been through a lot," Jason said, wrapping his arm around Sam's shoulders when she stood next to him. "Everything good?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "We should get going."

"I agree," Jason said, knowing this has been a long morning already.

"I have to head down to the PCPD and hope I don't fall asleep at my desk," Lucky sighed as he began to clean up. "Elizabeth's going to be asking if I found out anything."

"I wouldn't tell her about Emily just yet, but other than that tell her whatever you think she needs to know," Sam said with a shrug. Her phone began to buzz and she excused herself to answer it. "Samantha Morgan."

"Hi Sam, it's Britt. I'm just calling to let you know that your blood work confirmed the ultrasound. Congratulations, you're pregnant!"

"That's great," Sam said, feeling emotional again. "I'll see you in a month."

"Everything okay?" Jason asked, noticing Sam's eyes were watery. "Who was that?"

"The hospital," she said quietly as she smiled, her smile widening when Jason realized why she was so happy. "Everything is great."

"Good," he said, unable to keep the smile off his face as he hugged her. "Lets head home. Where's Finn?"

"I think he left after talking to Nikolas, and Nikolas is still upstairs so that must have been an interesting conversation," Lucky said.

"Yeah, I could imagine," Sam said, figuring Nikolas now knew he was Valentin. They went to leave and stopped when they saw Elizabeth walking up the path. "I am too tired to deal with her today."

"Me too," Jason groaned as he took Sam's hand and continued walking.

"Jason, can we talk?" Elizabeth said as she stopped in front of them.

"No, sorry. We need to get home," Jason said, stepping around Elizabeth.

"Well, that was rude," she said as she walked up to Lucky. "Looks like Sam has had an excellent influence on him."

"It's been a long night for everyone, Elizabeth," Lucky sighed. "Is it important? I'm on my way to work."

"I wanted to know where you and Nikolas went off to. Did you find out what happened to Jake?"

"He was held by Helena and she hoped to turn him into some kind of soldier for god knows what," Lucky said and Elizabeth gasped in shock. "He's going to be fine. He just needs to know we both love him and will be there for him. Our kids need to be our priority."

"Of course," Elizabeth said. "Where were Jason and Sam off to in such a rush?"

"Home," Lucky said, knowing this question was mainly because Jason blew her off.

"He moved in with her awfully fast, and then proposed," she said as she followed him back to the docks.

"Yeah? Same could be said about you and Jake Doe," Lucky said. "They're happy, Elizabeth. Leave it be. It's over."

"I know. I just wish it wasn't. Sam caused us so much pain, and she gets to be happy? I don't like it."

"You need to stop living in the past and stop condemning Sam for actions she earned forgiveness for."

"Fine," she said, but not planning on letting it go. "Since our kids need both their parents, would you like to come over for dinner tonight?"

"Sounds good. I'll come by after work," he said. Lucky knew Elizabeth wasn't going to get over losing Jason again to Sam, and would lose sight of what was important. He knew he had to tell her about Jake tonight, and hopefully that would be enough.

So, I hope this chapter doesn't turn people off to stop reading (like my paternity reveal chapter did). I like Nikolas, I think he's just been a big butthead lately and I'm hoping there's a reason why other than him just being hurt by women in the past, because that's just silly. I also really think the whole Hayden/Rachel story makes very little sense and the only explanation I can think of is Ron made the character & had this whole crazy storyline for her and then got replaced so they had to scramble to come up with a reason to have her around.

Anyway, let me know what you thought. I'm thinking this story might reach 30 chapters, but maybe not. Depends on if I decide to go in another plot direction. We'll see.

Thanks for reading everyone! :)