AN:

1)

Sorry, this is late in being posted... Last week didn't go according to plan for posting this chapter. The electric company decided to do an update the day before I was to post. I didn't get electric back till midnight or a little after. With the heat here in Florida, I was up until the early morning before I finally got to sleep once we had AC again. Then I just didn't feel great for a few days afterwards. Hopefully, you like this chapter!

2)

There is something I will explain when the next chapter is posted; I don't want anyone jumping to an Author's Note before reading this chapter ruining the surprise. All will be revealed of why the mystery person is who it is. Remember this is an alternate timeline which will affect a lot of things, and it is a bit AU as well for my own reasons for this particular story here.

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Early in the morning, Jason had headed down to Luke's to meet the crew that he had hired to start the big projects. There was so much that he couldn't tackle on his own if he wanted to open any time soon. With the pictures Carly had managed to find of what Luke's looked like back in the day; it gave Jason a plan of attack to bring this place back to its formal glory of what it once was.

"Wow," came Sonny's voice making him look to see the older man wheeling into the room.

"There's a lot still to do," Jason sighed as he couldn't see past the laundry list of things to still get done.

"I can see how much work you've done on your own. Juggling everything you got on top of everything going on here; I can tell that you have been spreading yourself thin to do this much," Sonny said not about to let his friend belittle what he had accomplished.

It was true that the last few months since finding out the truth had been hard. Still, at the same time, Jason knew that he wouldn't trade any of it for anything in the world.

"What brings you down this way?" Jason asked out of curiosity.

Sonny could tell Jason a lot of things, but none of them would be the truth at the end of the day. The truth was a lot more complicated than a well-placed lie... He knew that he couldn't do that to his friend...

"Morgan is in a mental hospital, and I just needed to be around a friendly face. I hate that I gave Bipolar to my son... Then there is the pregnancy... More than anything I want to be happy about the baby, but I just can't stop worrying about both Carly and the baby," Sonny admitted with a sigh.

"For a long time now I've been living with craziness, but I've learned to grab onto the good that is in my life right now. You can only do so much, and you don't want to miss the good. I promise there's good in all of this. You and Carly are bringing a new life into this world, and we'll all be there to have Morgan's back in this hard time. We're still figuring things out between the two of us, but I'm here for you whenever you need me for anything," Jason said knowing he wasn't the only one having a hard time right now.

"Maybe between the two of us; we can both keep our heads above water... I know that it's a lot for you to offer that after everything. Hearing you say that means more than you know. So much has changed for us lately..." Sonny replied as he looked at his friend.

"How's it going with Addie?" Jason changed the subject a little.

"She's insisting on paying for Kristina's old car... I couldn't sell her on the fact that Kristina and I don't need the money. Sam and I must have passed our stubbornness on to her because she is my most stubborn child I got yet," Sonny sighed as he didn't like taking money from Addie.

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Sam sat at the top of the stairs watching Danny with McBride; as they work to put together the model motorcycle McBride got. Yet she was a million miles away with the hauntings of something that had entered her dreams now and again over the years. It was always the same, and never once did it change... A little girl sat on her papa's lap using her snowflake necklace to make the music box play. When the lid opened it revealed a beautiful ballerina who would dance to the girl's delight. As soon as the music stopped the little girl would beg her papa for one more turn. His face was always shadowed, but Sam knew he was shaking his head no.

"Where are you," McBride caught Sam's attention as he took a seat next to her.

"What?" Sam said in an almost daze.

"Danny is staring at his model motorcycle, but you seemed to be somewhere else completely," McBride eyed her carefully.

If she was honest Sam knew he was right about that; her mind was still reeling from the dream from last night.

"Have you ever had a dream that makes you wonder if it's a dream or a memory? It feels so real that you can't explain why it does, but in the morning you try to shake it knowing it doesn't make sense," Sam opened up to McBride.

"I use to have dreams about Jason I believe now, but I brushed it off as me wanting a brother in my life. Was it me knowing I had someone out there? I don't know if it was or not... Dreams are so complicated, so I don't really know for sure. Doctors still are mystified by the workings of the brain, so who can really say what your dream is in the end. Only you can decide what it means to you," McBride replied open and honestly to Sam.

"The strange thing is I feel safe, loved, and protected in this dream or memory, but I don't remember ever feeling that way with my adoptive parents ever growing up," Sam sighed as this was going nowhere fast.

"Maybe it's from before you were adopted," McBride suggested to her softly.

"What I found years ago says I was adopted at birth," Sam shook her head a little.

"Could someone have lied about that," McBride questioned her.

Knowing her family it was possible for both the McCalls and Cassadines to lie about her adoption.

"Sure, it could happen," Sam agreed with him.

"I think I might have overstepped here," McBride whispered almost apologetically.

"No, you're just being a good friend who is helping me walk through this," Sam disagreed with him.

"Why do I get the feeling you want to ask me something?" McBride eyed her curiously.

"Cause you got that same gut like Jason... Everything is weird right now, and this is totally off subject too. Do this not for me but for you; take a chance to get to know Jason. A good brother is hard to come by trust me on that. You don't know it yet, but Jason is a really great guy," Sam answered his question honestly.

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Alone in his office, he looked at the music box that he had also hung onto as well; it was the one tangible thing that she had loved to play so much as a little girl before bed. Every time she would beg for him to let her play it just once more... Even then he knew enough to tell her no and to go ahead putting her in her bed for the night. Part of him wondered if she still had the key after all of these years. His little Mignonette... From what he had learned she was a force to be reckoned; she wasn't someone who would be pushed around by anyone. She was not the little girl who had counted on him in her early days. Those memories for her were long gone just like their time together. Hearing his door open he looked to see one of his men coming in.

"Speak," he said to the man.

"The cyber wiz is close to having enough info that could be a problem. What do you want to do?" the man asked his boss.

"It's time to invite some important people over. Make sure every invite is left discreetly to everyone on the list," he sighed knowing he was running out of time.

"Right away, Sir," the man nodded before leaving his boss on his own.

Time was ticking by a lot faster than he had expected it to; he had hoped that Nikolas would be better before this came about. Some secrets would have to stay just that a secret because he couldn't afford someone messing with Nikolas's care. The last thing he wanted was to give someone Nikolas loved false hope; at this point, Nikolas was still stuck in a state of limbo for the foreseeable future. As his eyes went back to the music box in his hands; he knew that it did him no good to stare at the object. With great care, he got up placing it back on the shelf right where he could always see it. Turning his back to the music box; he went to the window looking out at everything and nothing at the same time. Suddenly he heard the bustling from outside his office; as his staff started to get ready for what was coming. Tomorrow, everything was going to change for better or worse, and whether anyone believed him would be another story completely. Again the door to his office opened, but this time it swung open childlike. Before turning around he knew exactly who it was just by the opening of the door.

"Papa, what is going on?" came her small polite voice as he looked into her eyes.

Slowly he went over to her bending down to kiss the top of her head like so many times before.

"Papa is having some people over tomorrow while you're asleep," he explained it to her softly.

"Can't I stay for the party? Just this once," she pleaded with her Papa.

"I fear this is an adult party that you can't go to," he shook his head slightly.

"Okay," She relented knowing her Papa wouldn't change his mind.

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Elizabeth stared at the invitation in her hand wondering what it could all mean; she didn't understand why it had been sent to her the night before the event. She didn't know what this was all about; just that Jason needed to know about this.

Something about this creeped her out for some unknown reason she couldn't explain. Picking up her phone Elizabeth went to call Jason; just as he came through the kitchen door holding an invitation of his own.

"We both got one," Jason commented as he shut the door behind him.

"Your presence has been requested at Windemere Castle on Spoon Island at 8 pm. Answers await to all you want to know and more. Dinner to be served after," Elizabeth shivered a little.

"Didn't I hear that Nikolas's uncle took over Windemere," Jason questioned Elizabeth as he had an uneasy feeling.

"Valentin took it over about a month ago after pushing Nikolas out a window... Laura almost killed him the same night, but Kevin stopped her from doing it somehow," Elizabeth frowned as she spoke.

Nikolas had been in a dark place that Elizabeth had not been able to reach him for some time. It was like no matter how much he spiraled Elizabeth couldn't get through to him. After telling Jason the truth Elizabeth had lost touch with Nikolas all together. Her own family had consumed her for months and months now.

"You couldn't have saved him for what happened on the other side of the world," Jason told her softly as he went putting his arms around her.

"I should have seen what was happening sooner than I did," Elizabeth felt like a bad friend to Nikolas.

"Going to this won't bring him back," Jason reasoned with her.

"I know that... Still, I don't think this is about him, but I think it is about our family. The last thing we need is a Cassadine secret hanging over our heads," Elizabeth said not liking it, but knowing they had to go.

"Then I want you to stick close to me the whole night; I don't want you out of my sight for not even a minute," Jason said not about to take a chance with the woman he loved.

"Sounds like a winning plan to me because I don't want to be without you either," Elizabeth agreed with his terms without hesitation.

For a while, they just stood there looking into each other's eyes not needing to say anything more. Just being there in the same space was enough for them; as they wondered what the following evening would hold for them.

"Mom, what are you doing with dad," Coop asked coming into the kitchen.

"You'll understand one day when you fall in love with the one," Elizabeth smiled as she looked to her son and then back to the love of her life.

"This is really weird... I'm mean like," Coop started to say.

"Do you need something," Jason cut his son off at the pass.

"I was just bored, so I was wandering around," Coop shrugged his shoulder a little bit.