A/N – Thanks for the comments. Feel like I lost a bunch of people this last week unless everyone went on vacation. But, you know what you guys are missing in life? A big twist. Here ya go! Kikimoo – I think Stavros might be crazier, you never what happens to your brain when you're thawed out. * pwrmom2 – Thanks! * Virgy15 – You should be. * lrobinson01 – Yup! * ilovedana53 – Definitely! * Dreamlover22 – Not weird, just a little awkward given the circumstances.

Chapter 36 – Back from the Dead

Elizabeth walked down the stairs and was surprised that there was nobody in the living room. She could have sworn she heard voices. She stopped for a second and sniffed. Smelling bacon, a big smile appeared on her face and she bounced into the kitchen and quietly stood in the doorway with a huge grin.

"Okay, now ease the spatula under it."

Irina concentrated. "Okay."

"Now gently flip." Jason directed.

Irina flipped it and it stayed in one piece. Jason gave her a high five.

"You get the bacon and I'll finish these." Jason said.

He suddenly looked straight ahead and then with a smile turned and looked right at Liz.

"Good morning."

Handing Irina the spatula, he pivoted and quickly moved towards Liz and picked her up and kissed her. "Good morning."

"I see I missed the cooking demonstration." She said watching him go back and start flipping pancakes.

Irina smiled at her. "Jason told me that I need to learn because Johnny stays hungry."

Liz chuckled. "This is true."

"I'm very good at making reservations just in case."

Johnny stealthily moved behind Liz and then lifted her up as she yelped. "Did I hear my name?"

Irina grinned. "I hope you're hungry."

"I'm starving." He said.

Elizabeth reached into the refrigerator and grabbed some juice. "You want to grab some glasses?"

Johnny nodded and quickly got them out of the cabinet and followed her into the living room.

"Did you sleep okay?" He asked Elizabeth who looked a little tired.

"Yes and no. We woke up for the explosion."

Johnny nodded. "Watch." He said flicking on the television.

Reporter: "As you can see, there is basically nothing left on the island. It's still burning and officials have decided that due to the widespread damage, that they are just going to let it burn until the fire is out."

Jason walked in and handed Johnny and Elizabeth a plate and then ran back to get syrup. Irina came back in with their plates and sat down. They all ate and watched the coverage.

When they were finished, Irina was very quiet. Elizabeth and Jason went into the kitchen to clean up.

"You okay?" Johnny asked her.

She nodded. "It's just weird. I…." Her phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocked and answered. "Nikolas?"

"Thank God you're okay."

She smiled at his concern. "I'm fine."

"Why weren't you at Windemere?"

"I didn't live there. Helena kicked me out and disowned me because I didn't go along with her latest scheme."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It was a good thing. Her and Sam were out of control."

"Do you think they were there?"

"It's a possibility." She hated to lie to him but he really didn't need to know the truth. "Nikolas, I think Helena brought Stavros back to life."

There was silence.

"Nikolas?"

"I'm here."

"I think that he's coming here to help Helena kill some of my friends."

"And who would that be?"

"Jason Morgan, Elizabeth Webber, and Lucky Spencer."

Nikolas closed his eyes. "Elizabeth Webber. Why does that sound familiar?"

"She used to live here when you were probably in high school."

Nikolas thought back. "She was raped and left town."

"Yes."

"Helena kidnapped her and was going to have a man rape her in front of Lucky."

Nikolas winced. "Where is she?"

"We don't know."

"Should I come back? Stavros might respond to me."

"I don't want you to be in any danger. Just stay where you are. Jason is protecting me."

Nikolas wasn't sure he was happy about that either.

"Nikolas, if something should happen to me I kept all the old photo books and family lineage charts and they are at my apartment. I'll text you the address. That's the only thing I kept."

Nikolas nodded. "Please be careful."

"I will."

She ended the call and Nikolas made another one. "Prepare the jet. I'm going to Port Charles."

Johnny stood up. "You want to get out here for a little bit?"

She stood up. "Sure."

He went into the kitchen to tell Jason where to find him and then held out his hand and she took it and they went to his apartment.

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Stavros sunk back into the leather interior of the town car. He was tired. For tonight, he was going to a house he had rented, a few hours from Port Charles. He didn't want to use any of the homes that Helena had purchased for fear of being discovered. The planning had already begun and he had someone helping him. Someone Helena had trained personally.

The car pulled into the driveway and he waited for the car door to be opened. Standing up he sucked in some of the cold air and with a smile on his face walked into the house.

It wasn't up to his normal standards, but he was trying to blend in and it would have to do.

A man came around the corner. "Ryan Chamberlain, at last we meet." He said holding out his hand.

Ryan shook it. "I look forward to doing business with you."

"What have you got for me?"

They walked into the living room and sat down.

"I've already kidnapped my brother. He's in a cabin not far from Port Charles."

Stavros grinned. "It's ingenious really. You will easily be able to penetrate Harborview Towers and get inside information."

Ryan smiled. "Trust me. We will both end up getting what we want. Everyone thinks I'm dead. No one will suspect a thing."

What Ryan wanted most was revenge against Mac, Lucy, and Felicia.

Stavros chuckled. "It's almost too easy really. Remember to try to dissuade Morgan from being with Elizabeth. She is his Achilles heel. Taking her will make him distracted. I need to create some distance between them in order for you to take her."

Ryan nodded. He understood the gravity of the situation. But he was not his brother. He would have to be careful when talking to Jason.

"Well, I'm hungry."

"I'll have the cook make you something."

Stavros smiled. It was so good to be back.

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Johnny pulled Irina onto his lap. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I don't know. The last month has been a blur."

"True." He said smelling her hair which was strawberry scented.

She looked up at him. He saw so many emotions in her eyes; fear, uncertainty. And he just wanted to sooth her nerves. Reaching up he cupped her face with his hand and started to kiss her.

Irina opened for him and they were soon dueling for control. He fisted her hair and kissed her hard as Irina softly moaned into his mouth. When they finally pulled apart she was almost overwhelmed by the want in his eyes. Pushing off of him, she stood up and went over to the balcony sliding glass door and tried to get herself together. Men usually just wanted her for sex. She was so raw and clingy before that it usually ended shortly thereafter. And for some reason, she had allowed herself to hope that Johnny wouldn't be like the rest of the men; that he would want to really be with her. But, that scared her even more. She wasn't used to letting people in because she always had to be so hard to protect herself from Helena.

Johnny touched her shoulder and she jumped. "Sorry." He said softly before wrapping his arms around her waist. "What's wrong? Did I do something that upset you? Are we moving too fast?"

A tear fell down her face. God, she felt like some pathetic needy school girl.

"Irina, talk to me." He said alarmed by her silence.

She turned and held up her hands to make him stay put. "You scare me. I haven't been good with relationships with men. I've been really scarred in fact. You have to understand that even though I'm really tough in one way, I'm fragile in here." She said laying her right hand over her heart. "Johnny, if you—if you just want a casual relationship with me, I don't think I can handle that right now."

"May I touch you?" He asked softly.

She nodded yes. He moved towards her and hugged her. Johnny hadn't realized just how much Irina was hurting. She looked like she was about to break. "Irina, I meant it when I said I want to get to know you. I can't promise you the world but I will always respect you and be there for you. I'm not going to use you. You deserve way better than that. Can you just let go and be in the moment with me?"

She nodded. "I'll try."

Johnny smiled. "Good. You want to take a little nap? I need to get back to Helena soon and I want to be well rested.

"Okay." She said pulling back and wiping the tears from her face.

Johnny kissed her on the forehead. "Come on." He led her into the bedroom and they cuddled up and both of them soon fell asleep.

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Ryan walked into the cabin where he was keeping his twin brother. There were two guards stationed there to make sure Kevin was fed and could use the bathroom. He walked into a bedroom and Kevin glared at him. One of his hands was cuffed to the bedpost.

"Hello brother." Ryan said

"Ryan, you need to let me go."

"I can't do that. You know that." Ryan said grabbing a chair and sitting down. "I need you to tell me about your sessions with Jason."

Kevin frowned. "Why the hell do you want to know that?"

Ryan smirked. "You wouldn't want me screwing up all of your progress, would you?"

He saw the fear flicker in his brother's eyes.

"What are you planning to do?"

Ryan smiled. "Now that is a loaded question. You see brother, I need to infiltrate Jason's ivory tower. I'm going to pretend to be you and try to separate him and Elizabeth."

Kevin rolled his eyes. "I don't think that will be possible. And even if it was, what could you possibly gain by doing so?"

"That's for me to know. Why do you think it won't be possible?" Ryan asked curiously.

Kevin decided that he needed to manipulate the situation. It was the only way that Jason would catch onto the fact that his brother was not him. "Well, I supposed it's not completely impossible. He is traumatized by what Sam did to him. He has PTSD. He loves Elizabeth but he's scared of being with her also."

"So, what have you been advising him to do?"

"To take it slow really. It takes time to heal. Ryan, he's fragile and I don't want you fucking with his head."

Ryan smirked. This might be easier than he thought.

"He's scared that he'll hurt her physically."

Kevin almost had to fight a smile because Jason wasn't afraid of that anymore. But Ryan didn't have to know that.

"He's had a lot of flashbacks and they haven't slowed up."

"Really?"

Kevin nodded. "I think part of him fell in love with Sam and it's really messing with his head. He's trying to move on but it's so hard for him. Please don't hurt him. He's been through so much."

Ryan smiled. "Jason Morgan hasn't begun to hurt. Sam was an amateur compared to Stavros."

Kevin fought a gasp. "Stavros is dead."

"Oh no, that is where you are wrong. Stavros is alive and kicking and he is hell bent on making sure that Jason pays."

Kevin's phone rang and Ryan smiled. "Hello Jason." He said answering it.

"Hey Kevin, I wondered if we could have a session."

Ryan smiled. "I'm completely open for this afternoon."

"Can you come by around 3:00?"

"Sure, I'll see you then." He said ending the call. "Let the games begin."

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There was a knock at Nikolas's door and he thought it was a guard. He pulled it open and was shocked to see Lucky and Luke standing before him.

"Nikolas, are you going to let us in or stand there gawking at us all night?" Luke asked.

Nikolas snapped out of his haze. "I'm sorry. Come in."

They moved inside the room and sat down. Luke looked around. "This is a nice flat. How come you aren't on the island?"

Nikolas watched as Lucky just sat there not saying a word. Something was very wrong.

"I want nothing to do with Helena. So, I bought this place."

Luke nodded. "I need your help."

"Go on."

"I need to hide your brother. Stavros wants him dead and I just can't let that happen. Helena has already done too much damage already."

Nikolas looked over at Lucky who had flinched when Helena's name was mentioned.

"Is he okay?"

"He'll be fine. I'll get him the help that he needs."

Nikolas nodded. "Alright, I'll make you disappear. I'll leave you a number where you can reach me when Stavros is eliminated and Lucky is feeling better."

"Sounds good. The cowboy will be fine Nikolas. He's strong."

Nikolas got out his phone and made a few calls.