Coleman poured her another shot of whisky from the bar and she drank it down in one gulp. It burned her throat but warmed her body which had been chilled by what had transpired. Her mouth burned from being kissed so thoroughly by a man who thought he owned her and she'd felt her muscles relax to the point of sitting on the floor.

"What'd I miss Alexis?"

He poured his own glass and joined her, sitting right next to her. She'd been numb since Julian had walked out on her to prevent her from seeing too much inside of him. Her mouth still tingling from his kisses. The kind a man gives a woman when he's claiming her.

Only she knew it wasn't that simple. He'd tried to seduce her like he admitted doing with Carly and had put on a good show with it. So she really should stop running it through her head and focus on the fact that Julian Jerome was alive and waging war in PC.

"Alexis I won $200 playing pool and saw two men facing off with each other until Sonny pulled his guy off but other than that…how'd the party turn out?"

She just looked over at him, almost laughing. Not in a way that meant what happened was funny but because it'd turned her whole life upside down.

"He's alive…after all this time."

"Who?"

She looked down at her glass wanting a refill.

"Julian Jerome…"

Coleman looked puzzled.

"Who…oh yeah he's that mobster who owned PC some years ago. Didn't he die in some shootout?"

She shook her head.

"The WSB spared his life and gave him a new one. Only he still wanted his old one and to regain his family's territory. It's a long story and it's been a long night. I'm ready to go home…Molly must be done babysitting Danny…"

Coleman frowned.

"You can't drive Alexis…you've been drinking those shots."

She looked at her glass.

"Yeah right…I'll call a cab."

He shook his head.

"I'll give you a ride home…unless you want to shoot some pool first. A couple of games for money or…"

She shot him a look.

"No…I'd rather just go home…really…"

Coleman shot her one of his knowing looks.

"Come on…one pool game and I'll tell you more about the two men comparing caliber sizes in the alley."

She glanced at him.

"I know Shawn was waiting outside. I don't know who the other man was…I assume he worked for Julian."

Coleman's mouth curved into a smile.

"So you're on a first name basis with this guy and he's not even back from the dead very long."

She looked down at her glass.

"It's a long story…"

He nodded.

"I'm sure. This isn't another complicated chapter of your life is it?"

She pursed her lips. He seemed sympathetic and he was a good listener when he wasn't cracking lewd jokes and trying to get a rise out of her through lecherous behavior.

"You could say that. Maybe I will take you up on that pool game."

She got up and so did he. He frowned.

"Your mascara's smeared. Were you shedding tears over some dead guy come back to life? Like this town doesn't have enough living mobsters, the fates decide to resurrect a dead one."

She paused a long moment.

"He's Sam's father."

Coleman widened his eyes.

"Damn that must be one hell of a story…maybe we should settle on two games at the Floating Rib."

Alexis smiled, just barely.

"One Coleman…one game."

Julian poured himself a Scotch as Carlos just shook his head at him.

"Sounds like some crazy theme party deal boss."

Julian stared at him, putting the bottle down.

"That's what Sam…my daughter said when I revealed my identity."

Carlos whistled as he fetched himself a beer.

"I thought all the excitement was outside the gallery," he said, "but Sonny did a number on you. Pushed you in a corner where you had to use your own grandson…"

Julian didn't respond right away. He flashed back to the gallery after Sonny left, when Sam and then Alexis had called him on it. He'd replayed those scenes dozens of times since he left the gallery.

"Sam walked out on me and Alexis…"

He didn't want to go into what happened with her.

"Sonny seemed pretty worked up when he left the building," Carlos said, "but then after what happened with Morgan."

It'd been a standoff. Sonny's youngest son was estranged from him but Julian had left the gallery with both Alexis and Sam furious with him as well. He'd succeeded in splintering Sonny's already dysfunctional family but had watched his fracture as well.

No matter, he could fix that. He knew he could talk to them, reason with them and get them into his corner. He had a gift of words after all. If he could explain himself, they'd see reason.

After all he'd donated marrow to Danny to save his life months earlier and would do so again without hesitation but he couldn't do that if Sonny took him out. If only they'd understand that.

"So what's the plan now boss?"

Julian sighed.

"Now that I've been exposed, it's time to rehabilitate my image. But I have a newspaper to do that."

He didn't feel like in a rush to do that. So he went to pour himself another drink.

"You think the old timers in this town will buy into it?"

Julian paused.

"I don't see why not. It's been a long time since my alleged death. I think only a few residents even remember my reign as a mobster Dom."

Carlos gave him a pointed look.

"Will your family buy it? From what you told me they're pretty ticked off at you."

Julian sipped his drink.

"Yeah well that could change. Once they understand I didn't have a choice. Sonny didn't give me one."

Carlos smiled.

"So how hard did Alexis ream you after the news got spilled?"

Julian just looked at him and didn't answer.

Alexis lined up her cue and hit the four ball into the corner pocket in the game of Nine Ball she played with Coleman at the Floating Rib.

"Nice shot…I can see your skills are still as sharp as I remember."

She glanced up at him before lining up the cue again.

"Always. I'm sorry I'm getting all the action in this game and you're on the sidelines."

He shrugged.

"I saw enough of that in the alley and the assortment of random people who fled the gallery. Must have been some party to send so many people to the exits."

She sunk the next ball in the pocket and knocked another into position.

"Heather showed up and spilled that she and Scotty Baldwin are Franco's parents. Scotty nearly passed out at the news. Lucy had to revive him."

Coleman laughed.

"I'd like to see that. Lucy's a great dame with a hot body but Scotty…he's just a slime ball who should have been put out to pasture a long time ago."

Alexis glanced at him before returning her attention to the pool table. Her hands on the cue remained steady despite the evening that'd changed her world forever.

"So between your two baby daddies, which one do you fancy most?"

She glared at him while lining up her shot.

"They can both go to hell as far as I'm concerned. God, I really know how to pick them and my batting average of mobsters as fathers for my children is just uncanny."

Coleman chuckled.

"So you like bad boys what's the big deal? We've got our selling points. Some of us do. Sonny's an exception because of his mama complex and I only know about Jerome through what my daddy told me."

"You wouldn't even recognize him. The man had plastic surgery. Not that I remember what he looked like in New Hampshire but I did see a photo of him from back then."

Coleman shook his head.

"Too complicated for a simple guy like me," he said, "Damn you've just got the two balls left. I shouldn't have bet any money."

She shrugged.

"I'll buy you another round to help mitigate your losses."

His brows waggled.

"We could play for something else…like we used to do."

She shook her head.

"Coleman let's just stick to money and keep the wagers small."

She finished off the game and he set up the balls again for the next as Alexis powdered her cue tip. He didn't bother, realizing he'd never beat her now that she was clearly on her game. But he saw that it'd done her good. She didn't seem like she had as much weight on her shoulders.

"Alright Babe, maybe you could spot me a few shots this time."

She narrowed her eyes.

"You mean you can't keep up with my skills that you need a head start?"

He looked almost sheepish.

"Yeah…I need to start winning some of my money back."

She nodded and he started off the game. Watching him try to line up his shot, she remembered why she liked him so much. Coleman might be boorish and crude, a man who shamelessly leered at a woman and used silly pickup lines. But underneath it all, he was a simple guy who had passion for some things in life and always proved to be a lot of fun to hang out with when her life dissolved into chaos.

So different than the men she chose who turned out to be more complicated, the ones who wound up siring her daughters.

She watched him actually land the first ball in the pocket and then botch the second shot. He waited for her to set up her own cue but she just stood there holding onto it.

"Sam was so disappointed in her father. His decision not to bank the marrow that Danny might need in the future. Luckily Silas took her home. He's been good to her."

Coleman sipped his drink.

"So that left him alone with you and you told him off right?"

Alexis nodded slowly.

"Yeah something like that. He tried to pour on the charm of course but it didn't work."

She moved to make her next shot and sunk another ball in its pocket.

"You sent him packing?"

She put the cue down next to her.

"Of course. I never had a relationship with him. It was a one night stand back when I was in high school. I met him at a bar."

Coleman's eyes widened.

"Damn I always knew you had a wild side but back in high school?"

Alexis sobered.

"It didn't last long. Pregnancy has a way of dampening one's enthusiasm for adventure."

Coleman sighed.

"I can imagine. The guy didn't even stick around to know about his own kid?"

She shook her head.

"Like I said, it was only that night then we went our separate ways. He never knew about it until I told him about Sam's conception thinking he was someone else."

"He didn't say anything?"

"No he didn't but he looked startled like he'd seen a ghost," she said, "and then Olivia had one of her attacks of hysteria by the elevator and I helped her. The day that her cousin was murdered."

"So he kept quiet about it…"

She nodded.

"Played me for a fool…my daughter too all the while hiding behind his new identity as Derek Wells. All the things I told him…that I shouldn't. But I never thought. I mean the man was supposed to be dead."

"So he's not dead? It's not the first time that's happened in this town. I mean your own family has contributed to the folklore."

She rolled her eyes not wanting to be reminded.

"As far as I know my family's all dead now after one last hurrah earlier this year."

Coleman gave her a devilish grin.

"Never say never…so what you going to do about this newest baby daddy?"

She sighed.

"I have no idea. I have a few hours left to think about it. Because he's Sam's father, I have to fit him in my life somewhere, preferably in the periphery."

"You think he's going to try to make up for lost time."

She picked up her pool cue.

"I don't think so. He's busy going after Sonny's turf and now that he's using his grandson to protect himself, he'll keep at it while Sonny comes up with another way to strike at him."

"His loss then. I know if I had a child out there, I'd take care of it. I might not be the best father material…like the old man but I wouldn't turn my back."

She knew he meant what he said and the tears formed despite themselves. But she forced a smile on her face rubbing his shoulder.

"Now don't go all soft on me Coleman or you're going to lose your shirt…financially speaking."

He shrugged.

"Nothing soft about me darling. Line up your best shot and I'll match it."

As if, Alexis thought, but she was willing to watch him try.