Chapter Nineteen

/

Alexis wiped her eyes and squeezed Julian's hand. "It's…it's okay. You'll remember once you've…"

"Wha' if I don't?" Julian snapped. "Wha' if I don't ever 'member him? My own gran'son? How the hell…?"

"Hey, what's all the yelling in here?" Elizabeth asked as she entered the room.

Alexis opened her mouth to say something but Julian beat her to it. "I don't 'member my gran'son. I was yelling 'cause I jus' found out that I 'ave a gran'son and I have absolutely no fucking 'emory of 'im!"

To her credit, Elizabeth didn't even flinch at his raised voice. "Mr. Jerome, you need to calm down. Your blood pressure is…"

"I don't 'are 'bout my 'lood pressure, 'urse…wha'ever your 'ame is," he said.

Alexis and Elizabeth shared a look. While they weren't acquainted as more than nurse and patient, Julian did know who she was; they'd met once. Plus, he'd seen pictures of Elizabeth and Cameron before he'd been hurt.

Elizabeth cleared her throat. "Elizabeth Webber. You may not care about your blood pressure, Mr. Jerome, but I do. Now, if you want to see the outside of this ICU in the future, I suggest you calm down and relax."

Julian closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't…"

Elizabeth smiled reassuringly. "It's okay. You've been through something terrible, Mr. Jerome. Give it time. Your brain has to heal just like your body had to. Don't rush it and don't try to force it."

Alexis thanked her and she left the room.

"I'm sorry," Julian whispered again. "Wha' else don't I 'member?"

Alexis wondered if mentioning Zander and Cameron would be a good idea. He didn't react to Elizabeth's name at all, suggesting that he did not remember her or anything related to her. She took a deep breath and spoke.

"Do you remember Elizabeth at all? Did her name or face ring a bell?"

Julian shook his head slightly and sighed. "No. Should it?"

Alexis nodded sadly. "You and Elizabeth have only met once, so it's not completely surprising to me that you don't remember her. She has a son, well, three sons actually, but her eldest is named Cameron. He's almost ten years old. Zander was his father, he's our grandson."

"Who's Zander?" Julian asked after a few moments of searching his memory.

/

The moment Alex saw the Davis girls, Danny and Lucas, he turned in his chair so his back was facing the large portion of the diner. He wasn't eager to be recognized, but he also wanted to be able to hear their conversations.

He was content to simply listen until he heard Mike begin to question Lucas Jones about his father and Sonny Corinthos. He tilted his head to get a better angle to possibly hear more, and when he did, he was just about of his chair when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

Alex jerked his head to the left and saw Mikkos, in his wheelchair.

"What in the name of all that is sacred do you think you are doing here, Alexander?" Mikkos whispered into his grandson's ear.

Alex took a deep breath and turned his attention from his brother to his grandfather. "I just wanted…I had to see them, Gramps, just this once. I promised I wouldn't do anything more than look at them and I haven't."

Mikkos Cassadine sighed. He'd known the more information he allowed his grandson to learn about his family, the more the temptation he would feel to make contact. The moment they set foot in the United States, Mikkos had known his grandson would head for Port Charles, New York.

Mikkos scooted closer. "Have you been to the hospital?"

Alex shook his head. "No, I…I stood outside and I wanted…I saw my…my mother go in and I knew she was…"

"Alexander," Mikkos began. "You…"

"Zander!" he hissed in a low tone. "I'm tired of you and everyone around me calling me Alexander, or Alex. It's a cover and I'm sick of it!"

"Calm yourself, Alex…Zander," Mikkos said softly. "I understand how difficult this is for you, but…"

Zander sighed deeply and ran his hands through his thick, dark hair. "No, Gramps, you have no idea how difficult this is. Those people right over there are my sisters and brother, my nephew. I stood within fifteen feet of my mother this morning. I was outside the hospital where my father is lying in bed recovering from gunshot wounds. None of them know I'm alive and none of them even know I'm related to them."

Mikkos wondered if that was true. Though he hadn't seen his beloved daughter in many years, and had found no evidence that she had ever discovered that she'd given birth to twins, Mikkos knew that his Natasha was highly intelligent. She might well have figured it out. If she had, it was not publically documented or he and Zander would know.

"If you value their lives, then…"

Zander smirked at his grandfather; having made a decision. "No more threats, Gramps. You read the same information I did. Julian Jerome, my father, is perfectly capable of protecting my mother and the rest of us from Helena. So, we're gonna stop hiding, both of us. It's been long enough, Gramps."

/

"Zander is…was our son," Alexis told him. "Sam's twin."

"Was?" Julian questioned softly.

With tears in her eyes, Alexis explained how they had come to the realization that Zander was Sam's twin brother. She told him about Zander's death; how much she had loved the young man as a son without ever knowing the truth.

Julian's eyes slid shut; agony seizing his heart. The doctors had explained that just one of the effects of his shooting might be loss of memory. He thought they meant he wouldn't remember things like where he grew up or where he went to school; not his family.

Alexis scooted her chair as close as she could and reached out to touch his cheek. "I love you. No matter what you remember and what you don't, I love you. We'll find a way through this, I promise."

Their lips were about to meet in a kiss when the door opened. Alexis looked back when she saw Julian's eyes harden in anger.

"What can we do for you, Commissioner?"