Here's the next installment. I know; it took me long enough. Hope you like it. I want to make 1 thing clear though: I don't really have any idea what I'm talking about in regards to test results that are in this chapter. I had my friend who is a forensic lab tech try to explain it to me in order to make the story more realistic but I was too confused so I had to use my imagination and take several liberties but tried my best to make it sound plausible. Sorry to the people who actually do know about these things if it really sounds ridiculous.

Chapter 25

"The lab ran the DNA test again just as you requested." Robin began to explain and her expression softened as she saw both women's faces light up with hope. She shook her head. "I'm sorry." Her voice began to break because she felt so bad for Alexis and Sam so she cleared her throat. "The first test was accurate. You're not mother and daughter."

Alexis looked as devastated as before and Robin sniffled as she choked back another sob. Robin turned to study Sam's reaction.

Her face was closed off now but Jason was running his hand up and down her back soothingly, occasionally drawing circles. Her eyes were narrowed and she opened her mouth to speak but shook her head instead.

"What about the analysis?" Jason heard himself ask and Sam tightened her grasp on his hand in response. He knew she was having a hard time controlling her anger over the situation so he was more than happy to ask the question she wasn't strong enough to at the moment.

Robin glanced at him sideways and frowned sadly. "Have you told Nikolas?" She looked at Alexis to gauge her reaction and she could tell by the heavy sigh that escaped the woman's lips that her nephew did not know yet.

"I left him a message." Alexis shrugged helplessly. "I don't know when he'll get it."

"Then I'm afraid that I can only tell you what the lab found out regarding yours and Sam's blood."

"Don't." The word was spoken so quietly that Jason wasn't sure he would have heard it if he hadn't been sitting right next to her. He looked at her and pulled her closer against him.

"Are you sure?" Sam relaxed a little against him as she moved her head up so that they could make eye contact, and he winced at the misery that was in her eyes. He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Honestly, I don't know how much more I can take." She looked up at Robin who was waiting for her to continue as she listened intently, and Sam knew that the doctor was sincere in the sympathy and understanding she was showing them. "Would it be okay if we waited until Nikolas is here?"

"Of course." Robin made a note on the chart and then looked back at them. "You just let me know when you're ready."

Sam looked at Alexis who was watching her carefully. "Would that be alright with you?"

"Yes, it's fine with me." Alexis held her forehead with her hand. "This has been so exhausting emotionally. I think it might be a good idea to take a step back and let it all sink in."

"We still need to tell Nikolas anyway." Sam wondered how he would react to the news. A few minutes ago she'd had a cousin, a mother and two sisters. Now she didn't know what she had anymore. And she didn't think she had ever felt so alone. "That will be hard enough. I think I'd like to get the results when we're all together."

"Let me know when that is." Robin shook their hands and expressed her sympathy once again before leaving the room.

Alexis stepped forward and hugged Sam goodbye, saying that she would call her when Nikolas returned her call and they could set up a time to tell him together.

Sam sighed as she watched Alexis leave. "What a day."

Jason wrapped his other arm around her and hugged her. "Are you okay?" She laughed mirthlessly and shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"Can you take me home?" He nodded right away and helped her down off the bed, and assisted her with putting her jacket back on. When she had it buttoned up he wrapped an arm around her back and hugged her close as they left the exam room together. "And stay with me tonight?"

He stopped walking for a minute. "Did you really think I would leave you alone on a day like today?" She shrugged and he could see a bit of relief in her eyes. "Of course I'm staying with you."

The ringing of her alarm woke Sam up the next day. She opened her eyes slowly, her mouth curving into a small smile when she saw Jason's peaceful face beside her.

She reached out to turn off her alarm but was immediately pulled back into bed by an arm wrapped firmly around her waist. "Too soon." She laughed at the sleepy protest. She glanced at him again to see that his forehead was creased in annoyance but his eyes were still closed.

"Maxie will raise hell if my alarm wakes her up." He opened one eye slightly. He could see the laughter shining in Sam's face and when he remembered that the perky blond that was asleep down the hall was a horror when she was woken up he decided that it was wise to turn the alarm off.

Maxie Jones was by no means a morning person.

"Okay." Sam chuckled as she felt his arm loosen from around her slightly. She sat up to reach out and turn off the alarm. Then she crawled right back under the covers and snuggled against Jason.

He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her closer, then rolled them so that she was laying on top of him and she rested her head against his chest while he ran his fingers through her hair.

"How are you doing." She felt her eyes narrow in annoyance at the reminder of the previous day. She had tried not to dwell on it when Jason had brought her home.

In one day, she had lost four people that had come to mean a lot to her. Her family. Her heart ached at the realization that Kristina and Molly were not really her sisters. She had loved being their big sister.

Her mother was not her mother anymore. Her sisters weren't her sisters and her cousin was no longer her cousin. There was now another hole in her heart and she didn't know if she could take anymore loss. When Lila and Danny died, she didn't think anything could hurt more and while she knew realistically it wasn't anything compared to the pain she felt when she had lost her brother and daughter, the pain she felt over losing Nikolas, Molly, Kristina and Alexis was just as real.

She shrugged against Jason, not really knowing how to explain exactly what she felt.

"Do you want to talk." She peered up at him, noting his serious expression. He never wanted to talk. About anything, least of all feelings. Except with her and here he was trying to get her to talk about her feelings.

"I'm glad that I still have you." It was the only thing she could think of to say and her voice broke as she said it, keeping his gaze while tears formed in her eyes.

Jason tightened his arm that was around her. "You'll always have me." He brought his face up while she lowered her own and their lips met in a slow, gentle kiss. "I won't be going away ever again."

"Thank you." Her voice trembled as she spoke and her hand reached up to cup his cheek, caressing it lightly. "I need you now."

The hand in her hair stopped its motions. Instead he used it to hold the back of her head and kissed her again, pouring all of his love into the kiss.

She moaned softly against his lips and he chose that moment to deepen the kiss. Sam licked at his tongue which elicited a groan from Jason, causing him to pull her even tighter against him.

Jason rolled them over once again and took control. He found her hands that were now holding the mattress while their tongues dueled, grabbing hold of both of them. He lifted one arm above her head, entwining his fingers with hers and held her hand tightly. His other arm snaked under the shirt that she wore which was actually his, and stroked the skin of her back.

Sam whimpered when his hand found her underwear and began tugging on the material. She lifted her hips slightly, allowing him to pull her panties down. He shoved his boxers down, breaking the kiss momentarily, pulling away so that he could push them down and then reclaimed her mouth as he entered her with one hard thrust.

It wasn't long before they came together. Sam screamed his name while he buried his head in her shoulder and bit down as he shuddered against her. He kissed her to calm her spasms.

"I love you." Sam returned the kiss with a small peck on his lips.

"I love you too."

Later on that afternoon, Sam had picked up her phone to see that there were three voicemails for her.

She dialed the code to her voicemail and listened to the message, cringing at the panic and anxiety in Alexis's voice which escalated with each message.

The first message was to let her know that Nikolas had finally returned her phone call but had left a message. The second informed her that unfortunately Alexis and Nikolas had been playing phone tag all morning. In the third, Alexis told her that she had finally been able to talk to Nikolas and that he agreed to come over to the Lake House at around six in the evening.

She could tell just by the way Alexis was constantly stuttering that her nerves were getting to her. Sam could relate as she was not looking forward to the conversation with Nikolas either but in order to get answers to her questions, she was going to need his help, and it was only fair to let him know what was going on since it affected him as well.

She sighed as she found Alexis in her contacts and hit the Call button. Alexis picked up after three rings. "Sam?" She smiled slightly at the relieved sigh she heard on the other end.

No matter what that test said, she knew in her bones that this woman was her family. Alexis still felt like her mother and she didn't want that to change but at the same time, she felt a need to uncover the truth about who she really was.

"Hi." She bit her lip as she faltered in her greeting. She didn't even know what she was supposed to call Alexis anymore so she just took a deep breath and continued on as if there was no awkwardness between them. "I just got your messages and I will be there this evening."

"It's ridiculous." Sam frowned and was about to ask what she was talking about but Alexis continued before she had a chance. "I happen to know he has nothing vital to do today and now we're forced to endure needless hours of anxiety until we can tell him."

"Did you give him any idea what he's in for?" There was a bit of clattering on the other end of the phone. "Alexis."

"Sorry. A glass slipped out of my hand." Sam would have laughed if the situation weren't so serious. "I didn't go into any details but I warned him to prepare himself so he knows that it's serious."

Sam couldn't help the scoff that escaped her lips. "He probably thinks your cancer is back." She shook her head in disbelief. "He might be flipping out right now."

"Well, then he won't be the only one, will he?" Alexis snapped back childishly. She instantly regretted it. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Sam's voice was sympathetic. "I'll see you in a few hours. I think that once we tell Nikolas the truth, we should head to the hospital to get the results."

"I've already called Robin and told her to expect us."

"That's good."

"Sam." Alexis called out suddenly in a desperate tone. "I'm really sorry."

Shutting her eyes tightly to block out tears, Sam inhaled a deeply. "It's not your fault, Alexis." She heard the sniffle on the other end and felt a twinge of hurt. "Neither one of us asked for this and no matter what we find out today, I'm not going to disappear from your life."

Nik walked into his aunt's house and frowned when he came upon his cousin sitting on the couch beside Alexis with tears sliding down her cheeks. "Sam?" Both women jumped at the sound of his voice, obviously startled.

"Oh, Nikolas." Alexis spoke up first as she turned around to look at him, revealing her own face that had tear tracks that almost appeared to be burned into her skin. She grabbed a tissue from the box between the two women and dabbed at her face carefully. "You're here. Finally. Now we can get this over with."

"What's going on?" He found himself sitting down when Sam raised her head and he could see the troubled look in her eyes. "Did something happen to Kristina or Molly?"

"No." Alexis shook her head quickly. "The girls are fine. They're at Sonny's. We thought it best that they not be around for what we have to tell you." His aunt's voice grew strained and she turned to Sam helplessly.

Sam sniffled but nodded in understanding. She locked eyes with Nikolas as she drew in a deep breath, straightening herself as she began to tell him the story. She could see him beginning to shake his head in disbelief so she stopped explaining and sighed. "The test was ran twice. I'm not her daughter." Finally she spoke again, her voice soft and broken as she shattered the denial and hope she saw in his eyes. She looked at him sadly as she delivered the last blow.

"And I'm also not your cousin."

Nikolas Cassadine walked over the threshold of the elevator onto the 4th floor of General Hospital with his aunt's arm folded through his own and he held her hand tightly in support. He glanced over at Sam who was walking right beside Jason, burrowing her head into his side as if he were her shield to the outside world.

When Sam and Alexis told him that Sam was not his aunt's daughter or his own cousin, he honestly thought there had been a mistake. There was no denying that the two women had their differences, and they often clashed because of them; but there were also certain character traits that he had slowly noticed they shared which now made it hard for him to believe that they weren't mother and daughter.

And even though he felt for Alexis, he couldn't help but feel his own loss with the news that Sam was not his family after all. It wasn't something he ever expected nor had he ever been looking for another of his Cassadine relatives but once he found out about her, he had reached out to her and she quickly became an ally and confidant in his crazy world. If she hadn't come back from Port Charles to help him deal with the loss of Emily and his own illness, there was no telling where he would have ended up.

As soon as they got to the nursing station to check in, Epiphany Johnson locked eyes with him. It seemed she had been told to expect him because she picked up a chart and ushered them into a private room right away, telling them that Dr. Scorpio would be there as soon as she finished with her current patient.

They all walked into the room in silence. Sam slowly raised herself up onto the examination table and Jason leaned against it at first to be at her side but Sam tugged at his arm rather urgently so he quickly sat down beside her.

Nikolas led Alexis to two chairs that were tucked in the corner of the room, conveniently located at the end of the examination table. They both sat down together and he kept hold of her hand, knowing that his aunt really needed him right now, and if he was honest with himself, he needed her support as well.

He looked at Sam and she flashed him a watery smile. He winced at the sadness in her dark eyes, but he was certain that his own expression mirrored hers. He opened his mouth to say something but the door was pushed further open as Robin Scorpio walked in.

"Oh, good." Robin breathed a sigh of relief as she glanced around the room, taking in each person. "You're all here." She looked at Nikolas sadly, realizing that he had probably just found out about everything. She clutched the chart in her hand tightly before opening it.

"Can we get this over with?" Alexis asked, impatiently clicking the heel of her shoe on the floor as she locked eyes with Robin. The message was clear and Robin knew she was asking her not to make it any harder for them.

"Well, when you were last here," Robin grimaced at the memory of their last visit. It had been very hard to stand there and not try to comfort either Sam or Alexis as she delivered the news that crushed them. "I was about to tell you what we found from the DNA analysis of Alexis and Sam's blood."

"And what did you find?" Jason looked at her expectantly, now clutching both of Sam's hands in his own as he waited for Robin's answer.

"As I said before, they are not mother and daughter but the analysis revealed something we did not expect."

Sam looked up at her with narrowed eyes, anger flushing her cheeks. "Something you didn't expect?" She parroted mockingly, her voice rising. "What the heck is that supposed to mean? Do I have some kind of genetic defect on top of everything else?"

"No, Sam, that's not what I meant." Robin bit her lip and cursed herself for her poor choice of words. She should have known better than to say something like that to someone who had had a brain tumor removed twice in the past year. "The test revealed that you had some alleles in common after all."

"What does that mean?" Alexis raised her head in surprise. She knew that alleles had something do with telling how people were related but she didn't know if having any in common meant that you actually were related.

"Well, there weren't enough common alleles to make you mother and daughter." Robin paused to allow it to sink in. "But there were enough to conclude that the two of you are biologically related."

Sam's face paled slightly and she turned to look at Alexis, curiosity lighting her expression. "How are we related?"

"I wasn't sure at first." Robin admitted as she shuffled some papers around. "I had our best laboratory technologist take a look at them and she said that Alexis is probably the sister of your mother or father."

"I'm her aunt?" Alexis asked uncertainly and Robin nodded, causing her to frown. "The only sister I had died years ago and she never had a daughter that I know of."

"I remembered so the technologist compared Nikolas and Sam's tests." She walked over to the wall and put two sheets of paper on the board, switching on the light so that they could see the pattern of Nikolas and Sam's DNA. "If you look at them closely, you'll notice that they have a number of things in common, and have more shared alleles than we would expect to find in two cousins."

"Are you telling us that Nikolas and Sam are related as well?" Jason asked.

Robin smiled at him, nodding in confirmation. "Nikolas and Sam are sister and brother." She heard the collective gasps from everyone in the room. When she glanced up, she had to stop herself from laughing as she watched Nikolas process the news. His eyes had widened comically and his mouth hung open in surprise. She glanced at Sam to find her dark eyes lit with curiosity, clearly covering her shock over the news better than her newfound brother.

"I called Lulu Spencer in and she agreed to let me take some of her blood to compare it." Robin explained that she was trying to see if Sam was Laura Spencer's daughter. Sam felt sick as she recalled her crazy plan to seduce Lucky in order to get back at Elizabeth. "Unfortunately, you are not related to Lulu at all."

"Thank God." Jason muttered under his breath and Sam bit back the urge to laugh. Though he had developed a bond with Lulu while he was searching for Spinelli, she was now aware that Jason was angry over the way Lulu had crushed and dumped Spinelli while Sam had been out of town. She ran her free hand down his arm and he glanced up at her, seeing that amusement in her eyes.

Robin stayed silent for a minute to allow them to absorb all the information she was throwing at them when a gasp of horror caught her attention. She glanced over and found that Nikolas's eyes had widened and his eyes were full of fear.

"Stavros is her father as well, isn't he?"

"Oh, no." Alexis's eyes were full of panic as she too connected the remaining dots. "Is he her father?"

Robin sighed heavily and nodded. "Yes." She glanced at Sam. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Sam was looking at them with eyes full of confusion and realized they were looking at her as if she were crazy because she didn't seem concerned by the news. "Isn't he dead?"

"Yes." Nikolas replied, looking at her now with a grim expression. "But Helena is not."