Chapter 25

Robert cringed at the sound of the heaviness of Franco's breathing and he couldn't bear to be in the hospital room any longer. Robert escaped with momentary relief until his eyes fell upon Anna pacing in front of the elevators as if she had a pressing decision to make. He noticed in her hand was a balled up handkerchief. It filled him with regret. He hated her tears. They made him feel helpless. For once there was a situation he couldn't fix even if he wanted to. Deep inside his heartbeat was steady with a sense of relief. No more sleepless nights of Anna waking him with phone calls of wonder of where Franco's body might be.

"Anna". Robert called out to her hoping to not need to raise his voice beyond the warm caring tones. He didn't want to startle her any more than she already was.

Anna turned to him and dabbed her red eyes. "Is he still ok?"

"He's still alive yes. Ok probably not."

"Well the good news is that David is being released today. He's going to be ok." Anna sniffled and forced a smile. "I just don't know what I'd do without him."

Robert's relieved heart sank. "Good to know. Will he be staying in Port Charles? It probably wouldn't be a good idea considering Mikkos Cassadine is near."

"I asked him to stay. I need him to stay. The last time I admitted to needing someone was when Leora died. Her death ripped us apart. I think David took it harder than I did. Franco is alive because David felt this burning desire to play God and try to fix what went wrong with Leora."

"Could he have brought her back?"

Anna chuckled. "Do you know when I first heard about Orpheus, she was my first thought. I cannot tell you how many times I would jump out of my skin at the thought of that precious little girl walking through my door." She went to Franco's door and poked her head inside his room for moment. She stepped back out closing it shut quietly. "We have to let him go. He can't speak. I showed him a picture of his son. And I promised that not only would I find him, I would take good care of him. I will do much better than I did with Robert Frank."

"Then Helena must go. And so must Mikkosavich Cassadine. And whoever else is working with them."

"And Natasha." Anna cleared her throat. "She's not good for that little boy. She's the reason he's not here with us right now."

"So this is the infamous Mikkos." Gia crawled on the floor to Mikkos who was at peace stacking his blocks. She tapped his shoulder hoping to get his attention. "You've been missed."

Spinelli dropped to his knees onto the floor with Gia and Mikkos. "Hey there Little Silent One. I'm so..." He clapped his hands together and pressed them against his cheek. "I dreamed of this day. Stone Cold will be pleased. Fair Samantha will be beside herself. And Little Miracle misses her big brother." He laughed with glee.

Mikkos looked over at Spinelli and mimicked the laughter before pushing his toy structure onto the ground. "Fix." He pointed to Spinelli.

Johnny followed Zander into his room. "I should introduce myself." He held out his hand to Zander. "I'm Johnny Zacharra."

Zander shook Johnny's hand. "Zander Smith. I'm a friend of Gia's."

"I know who you are. Now that I know the name. You worked for Sonny for a minute."

Zander nodded. "A little bit."

"You're the father of Elizabeth's son, Cameron."

Zander's eyes lit up. "So I'm told. I met him briefly. Well…we weren't formally introduced but I know him. Seems like a good kid."

"She does her best. What do you do? How did you end up with Mikkos?"

Zander sighed. "Well it's a long story. I'm not supposed to even be alive right now. But Helena spared my life. I felt I owed her a debt of gratitude but she took advantage. It led me to do some things I shouldn't have done. One of them was kidnapping Mikkos. But bear in mind that I didn't know who Mikkos was or who he belonged to."

"That's Helena. She has a way. What is your specialty?"

Zander eyed Johnny. "If you're trying to recruit me, I'm not on the market."

"I got a couple businesses that could use some help. We can talk when you're ready."

Zander nodded. "I'll keep an open mind."

Johnny followed Zander to the living room. "You gotta make money somehow. I have one legitimate business."

"Yea? What's that?"

"You know how to fix cars and motorcycles?"

Zander rolled up his sleeves. "Yea. I can do that."

"I kind of have this feeling I'm going to be losing my sidekick pretty soon. He was pretty good under a hood.

Zander took a moment to think. He studied Johnny and noticed his confident demeanor. "This car business is legit?"

"Yea."

Zander scoffed. "Who am I fooling? I'm Helena's prized possession at the moment."

"We can deal with Helena together." Gia chimed in.

Spinelli snuggled Mikkos in his arms. "I'm in for fighting Helena as long as we're all in this together." He smiled with pride. "You don't know how relieved I am to have the Silent One back home again."

"It's not without complications." Johnny slammed his fist into his palm. "Jason and Sam are not happy with Alexis right now. Clearly she's known for awhile that Mikkos was found."

"She's not herself." Zander said. "I know. She didn't even recognize me when she first saw me. There's something not right with Alexis."

As days had passed since Sonny saw Alexis, his heart was void of anything. He didn't feel any hatred toward whoever could have possibly killed Dante nor was he filled with any ability to love. He was angry. Angry at himself and angry about his life. More than anything, he hated to be in love again. He thought back at the time at the diner and how he almost had her. Natasha looked him in the eyes and he thought they connected until she shut him down with her indifference.

Sonny decided he wanted to just be alone in the darkness of his lofty mansion. He sent the children away practically kicking and screaming to stay. While Molly managed to stay withdrawn, Spencer had grown attached to Sonny. He felt horrible about the decision but he couldn't bear to hear their laughter. He wanted to join them but the guilt of his life carrying on while Dante's ended felt so wrong to him. So he decided to drink. He couldn't remember when he started. He was certain he'd had nothing but Scotch for days. Max and Milo kept him fully stocked knowing eventually he'd snap out of it and try to be human again.

Max and Milo grew nervous when they saw Alexis' car pull up in the driveway. Max swallowed so hard that Milo hands started to shake. They both stood at attention and watched Alexis step out of the car. She was glowing as if she'd rested up at a spa. Both Max and Milo relaxed in relief and calm seeing how calm Alexis seemed to be.

"Hey Ms. Davis." Max took Alexis' hand. "We're not sure if this is a good time. I mean we wouldn't want you to stress…"

"Right Ms. D. We can't wait for the new baby." Milo stepped forward with a smile.

Max nodded. "We think the new edition will be good for Mr. C."

"Perfect!" Milo exclaimed.

"How is he?" Alexis grasped Max's hand.

"Between Franco and losing Dante, he hasn't left this place. Brenda stops by."

"But just as a friend. Nothing more." Milo gave her the thumbs up.

Max rolled his eyes. "Not many know how to deal with him when he's like this. He can't put together a sentence."

"And the kids miss him." Milo interjected.

"Where are the kids?"

"Sam and Jason." Max and Milo both chimed in.

Alexis continued inside to the darkness. It felt like she was entering the tunnels and for a moment she had an anxiety attack that Natasha would spring forth but Alexis held it together and took a couple deep breaths before climbing the stairs. She could barely see what was in front of her and she had to guess on which door to knock. "Sonny."

Sonny dropped his glass to the ground and stood up on his feet. He knew that concerned voice calling his name. "Alexis?" He'd cried so much his voice was hoarse. He hadn't used it in days not realizing it was almost lost and his throat irritated by the coarseness of the alcohol.

"Your door is locked. Can I come in?"

Sonny pulled at his shirt and his pajamas pants realizing he wasn't very put together. "I look like shit."

Alexis laughed. "Are you planning to start wearing suits to bed to impress me?"

Sonny laughed. "My hair's not combed and I can't remember the last time I showered."

"Ok. Then we'll just talk through the door. I'm so sorry about Dante. You were just starting to get to know him. Family means everything to you."

Sonny pressed his forehead against the door feeling a bit nauseous. "It does. But I take it for granted. I deserve this…I don't deserve you Alexis."

Alexis sighed. "Don't say that. Do you know how much time it's taken to get here? This sucks. I'm sorry your kid is dead. I hate talking to you through the door. We can't give up now."

"I'm not giving up….I'm just breathing." Sonny closed his eyes not realizing the words that fell from his lips.

Alexis gripped tight to the doorknob. "Are you breaking up with me?"

Sonny sat down on the ground. "I'm breaking up with life."

Max tapped Alexis on the shoulder and dangled the key in front of her eyes. "You want?"

Alexis nudged the keys away. "No. I want to respect his privacy." She walked away from the door.

Max followed her down the stairs. "Don't listen to him. He's talking nonsense. Can you believe he told Brenda to never let Zander come back here ever again? He loves Zander."

"Wait." Alexis turned to Max. "Sonny has seen Zander?"

"Yea. One minute they were hugging and the next, he was telling Brenda to take her brother away from here and never bring him back."

Alexis held up her hand to Max as she feigned ignorance. "Zander is Brenda's brother?" She hoped to get more information from Sonny's less than perceptive guards.

Milo walked over. "Yep."

"How is that possible?"

Max and Milo both shrugged their shoulders.

"All we know is Mr. C feels betrayed by Zander." Milo stated boldly.

"That doesn't make sense."

Max and Milo shrugged their shoulders again.

Brenda paced working up the nerve to reveal everything to Nikolas about Zander. She was stopped at Gallos entering the Great Room. He didn't say much beyond acknowledging with his head bobbing up and down. She watched him pour a glass of vodka and drink with extreme thirst. "Rough day?"

Gallos stared at Brenda. "You don't look so calm yourself."

"Gallos, what do you know about Port Charles?"

"In terms of?" Gallos let out a satisfying unapologetic belch.

"What about Nikolas and Zander?"

Gallos slammed down his glass and leaned his body against the table. He went to Brenda and pressed her against the wall. "Keep your mouth shut about that."

Brenda started to speak but Gallos covered her mouth with his hand and shook his head.

Gallos pulled back as he noticed movement outside the door. "Don't mention Zander's name to Nikolas."

Nikolas walked in. "Seems pretty intense in here."

Gallos threw up his hands. "Brenda and I were just reflecting on old times." He slapped Nikolas on the back before leaving the Great Room.

Nikolas watched Brenda nervously peel herself from the wall. "You ok? Did you threaten you?"

"Why would Gallos threaten me? We go way back."

"Uncle said that he's been plotting left and right. He's not to be trusted. No one knows whose side he's on. And you look pale."

Brenda grabbed Nikolas' face and kissed him. "Where have you been?"

"Making the rounds."

"And Lulu? Is she getting adjusted?" Brenda couldn't figure out the right way to ask about Lulu's condition.

"I'm the big brother that fixes everything. I have to fix this but I don't know how."

Brenda released Nikolas from her tight grasp. "Your grandfather is special."

Nikolas scratched his head. "I apologize for him. He's stuck in the 70's."

"He's more like a caveman."

Nikolas laughed and sighed. "Yea. How is Sonny?"

Brenda wanted badly to talk about Zander. "He's not himself. That's the easiest way of explaining him."

Alexis stared beyond Max and Milo as she plottied another trek up the stairs. "Max, can I have that key?"

Max dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the keys. "Here you go Ms. D."

"Are you sure about this?" Milo gnawed at his fingers.

"I need answers." Alexis made another trek up the stairs to Sonny's bedroom door. "Sonny, it's me again."

Sonny pulled himself up from the floor and moved towards the door. "I meant what I said earlier."

"I have a key. I'm coming in." Alexis juggled the key on the door and flung it open to the mess of a man standing before her.

Sonny straightened his clothes and his back. "I made up my mind. If it's Lorenzo you want, he's all yours."

Alexis tossed the keys onto the bed. "What the fuck does Lorenzo have to do with this? Why did you ask Zander to leave?"

Sonny rubbed his eyes. "Here we go again. This feels familiar. You defending that kid. If he means more to you than me, you can have him too." He started to walk away until Alexis grabbed his shirt.

"Why are you angry with Zander? What do you know?"

"He's an Alcazar." Sonny looked Alexis in the eyes. "No Alcazar is welcome in my circle."

"This is news to me." Alexis pretended to be shocked.

"Brenda told me that Luis Alcazar was his father. What kind of bullshit is that?"

Alexis dropped her eyes to the ground. "So what happens now?"

Sonny sat down on his bed. "I'll let him live as long as he stays in his lane. If I hear about any bullshit, he's gone. Let Lorenzo protect him. So I say again, you have a choice…either you choose me or you choose Alcazar."