1979

The waterfall was just as he had described it, the most beautiful sight she'd seen. Nestled in a rocky face, the water splashed in several pools on its way down to the basin at the face of the ridge. A rainbow shimmered, embedded in the cascading water and Alexis just stood there watching it.

"Not that many people know about it," Julian said, "It's a secret passed down in my family from one generation to the next."

She looked at him arching her brow.

"Really…I heard about it from my roommate before she took off for the weekend."

He just smiled as he spread the blanket in a sunny area nearby. They had hiked up high enough so that the sun wouldn't blast them with heat, it'd remain pleasantly warm. It seemed that the summer had seemed reluctant to totally surrender itself to the advances of autumn.

She put down her backpack next to his, where they'd packed their lunch and a few other things.

"It's supposed to have magic powers."

She chuckled at that.

"Hadn't heard that part," she said, "What kind of powers?"

"You'll have to kiss me to find out."

She looked at him biting her lip thoughtfully, taking in the outline of his face, the hopefulness in his eyes and the playful curve of his mouth.

"I'll kiss you anyway."

She placed her hands on his hip and drew her closer to him, their bodies brushing just enough so she could feel the solid muscles that defined him. He slid his own hands over her back, rubbing it as she tasted his mouth, intoxicating him with her gentleness which he felt first before boldness replaced it.

Alexis had learned how to kiss a man. He'd figured that out after he thought he'd given her some encouragement and she'd knocked him off his feet soon enough. What she'd lacked in finesse and skill, she made up by putting everything she felt into it, more passion than he thought could be inside one woman and she just tasted so damn good, he'd wanted more. She hadn't held back even when he prodded her lips with his tongue and she parted them enough to let him slide it right inside her mouth.

As close to heaven a living man could be, he thought now as she kissed him to find out the secret behind the waterfall. When they finally broke, he stroked her lips with a thumb and she just looked at him.

"I see what you mean by magic."

She winked at him and then knelt down to open up her backpack.

They ate a hearty lunch and drank their iced tea, sweetened and sprawled out on the blanket.

"Perfect day isn't it?"

She nodded, looking over at him. They'd dressed in cutoffs and tee-shirts in case either was brave enough to take a dip in the waterfall. She'd been thinking about it because the sun would dry them off with its warmth soon enough.

"How cold is it?"

Julian looked over at the water fall.

"It's fed by winter snows up high that melt and get into the water table," he said, "into a spring so I imagine it doesn't warm up much."

She nodded, and lay back on the blanket.

"I'll think about it."

His mouth twitched and he lay down next to her. She felt him there so close even though their bodies didn't touch. She knew that they would soon enough but she looked forward to that. He reached out for her hand and she slipped it in his own, sighing as he squeezed it.

"Thanks for last night."

"Why?"

She looked over at him.

"For listening to me," she said, "I needed you to understand how much I want it…I hate it when I feel unsure of myself."

He squeezed her hand.

"You could have fooled me," he said, "Besides you have one wicked pair of hands."

She smiled at that thrilled that he had enjoyed her handling of him, she'd been nervous at first but when she saw the pleasure play out on his face and the way his body tensed before his climax, she felt elation fill her. That she could give a man's pleasure without it being at her expense. She could give it to someone she loved rather than it being taken by men she hated. She had grown up on the island reminded that she had no better future than that. No man or anyone could ever love her.

She moved closer to him after rolling on her side and this time they were close enough to touch. He stroked her hair and kissed her softly on the mouth, but she wanted more than tenderness. She draped her leg over his and slid her hands around him. He kissed her, closing his eyes and she felt anticipation build up inside of her and take over.

"God it just feels like…"

He smiled and brushed his fingers over her face before he kissed her again which she really liked, the way his mustache brushed over her face. The way he smelled of aftershave and musk, and his unending patience with her.

"Want to go swimming?"

She threw him a look still intertwined with him.

"Now…?"

His eyes flashed with mischief.

"Why not…we can dry out in the sun afterward…"

She considered that and then nodded and they got up on their feet, with him helping her up with his hand. They headed to the waterfall and while Julian splashed in immediately, she took her time getting used to the water one step at a time.

Afterward, they dried out in the sun on a patch of grass away from any shade. The warmth caressed her body and damn, it felt so nice lying down with him afterward. It hadn't taken long once she'd finally taken the plunge to dip completely in the cold but refreshing water before they'd gotten in a water fight.

She didn't know who started it first but after a few rounds, they'd stopped splashing each other and wrapped their arms around each other kissing, their feet barely touching the ground. Well his did anyway, but he held onto her tightly enough to keep her above the water. The chill of the water clashed with the warmth of their bodies in ways that drove her crazy.

They'd finally gotten out when she started feeling numb and plopped on their current spot, allowing their breathing to slow down and the sun to dry them. But they lay facing each other and she felt lost in his gaze as she often did when they'd been intimate together. She wanted so much to touch him, to kiss him and for their wet clothes to be gone so she'd feel only his skin against her. She hinted at that when she started slipping her hands tentatively beneath his shirt while watching him, feeling his muscles twitching beneath her fingers, she loved the way his chest felt pressed against her own, flattening her breasts while she lay underneath him.

"Alexis…"

So he'd noticed she'd gotten bold with him but that hadn't been a complaint. She just looked straight into his eyes.

"I want you Julian…"

And with those words said, she knew that she did…she wanted him to kiss her, touch her, help her get these damn clothes off that clung to her skin and to make love to her. She shivered at the thought of it, because she knew she shouldn't chase those desires. God, she didn't want that to happen but she couldn't stop the memories from surfacing at times, she didn't want them to hold her captive anymore. She was off the island after all, far away from the prison that she'd been sentenced to as long as she remembered without understanding the reason.

He stroked her hair, looking at her.

"You sure…?"

She smiled at him and nodded.

"It's perfect here," she said, "We're alone, we need to get these clothes off and I can't think of anything else right now."

He looked at her a long moment and then nodded.

"I'll be gentle I promise, and I'll only go as far as you want."

She bit her lip.

"I want it all," she said, "I want everything with you."

"You don't ever have to do anything just to make me happy."

She nodded again, stroking his hair with her fingers.

"I trust you with my life."

He smiled at that and started kissing her mouth, coaxingly at first and then more urgently, but he allowed her to adjust to it just as she had the waterfall. Then he reached his hands to slip them under her shirt to caress her breasts. She anticipated his touch and her breasts tightened, waiting for his fingers.

She reached out to slip his shirt up as far as she could, leaving his toned abdomen bare and smoothed her hands over it not far above the waistband of his pants. He gritted his teeth.

"It's going to be hard to get these clothes off since they're wet."

She looked at him as she inched his shirt up further.

"It's okay…we'll get as far as we can and then we'll just get them off as quickly as we can.

He kissed her again and his hands palmed her breast, which sent shards of wildness through her. If she started rubbing her rosy nipples, she'd be lost. She bit her lip when it became clear he'd read her mind.

"God I can't wait to taste them…"

She sighed as she caressed him.

"I've got some tasting I want to do too."

He groaned just at the words and she smiled knowing how much he loved having her mouth on him. But the tightness of their clothing from the soaking frustrated her and she finally stopped.

"I can't get your clothes off Julian."

He nodded.

"I'll tell you what," he said, "Why don't we take everything off to our skivvies?"

"Our what…oh yeah…"

He grinned as her skin flushed a lovely soft shade of pink.

"I want to take those panties off myself," he said, "like opening up the best present a guy can receive."

That warmed her more and she thought okay, as long as she got to unwrap her present as well. So they reluctantly sat up and started trying to get their clothing off. She pulled and tugged at hers, driving herself crazy. He didn't seem to have much luck either but he'd whipped off his shirt showing off his magnificent chest and she'd lost her shirt and his eyes widened when he saw her creamy breasts with those nipples tantalizing him, waiting for his attention. Okay, maybe they could wait a few moments on the pants and just enjoy what had been unwrapped so far.

He moved to palm her breasts while he slid his tongue inside her mouth flirting with her own which tasted it.

"Oh god...," he said, as she arched her breasts in his hand.

She broke away suddenly and looked at him.

"Is it just me or does it seem darker now?"

He looked around and like her, noticed that some clouds had blocked out the sun and the wind had picked up, brushing their skin with more than a hint of moisture.

"Damn, looks like rain," he said, "and this isn't the best place to be."

She nodded quickly, reaching for her shirt.

"We'd better head down the mountain," she said, "Looks like we've got about an hour. If we hurry, we might make it before the worst of it."

Late Summer into Autumn storms tended to last only several hours in these parts but could drop a lot of water not to mention pyrotechnics. No, they needed to get back to the cabin. So they packed up their things quickly and left the waterfall to hit the trail. She looked over at him as they headed back down.

"We can always pick up where we left off there."

When he heard that, Julian smiled and they both quickened their pace.

Alexis snapped out of her daydream as she sat on her couch finishing some work. This random memory from decades ago had invaded her thoughts from out of nowhere. She hadn't even been thinking of Julian or the time they'd spent together in New Hampshire. This didn't make any more sense than the other images of time spent together that had done likewise including in her dreams.

She'd only spent but a few hours with him at the bar or inside his car. There hadn't been anything shared between them outside of that had there? Damn why did something inside her head have to reach out and grab her like this imagined past, this rewriting of that one night stand years ago into something more than what it had been. It'd been a few inconsequential hours save for the fact that they'd left her alone and pregnant with Sam. The baby her father had forced her to give up for adoption within minutes of birthing her. She hadn't even known he would take her child away until the moment it had happened. The immense, visceral pain she'd felt at that moment had wiped out nearly everything else.

By the time she'd returned to Cassadine Island she'd learned to forget the rest of it when the others interrogated her on the details. And then there'd been Kostas who had helped her forget in different ways.

She'd barely remembered the circumstances that had gotten her pregnant, she had forgotten most everything about the man she'd met at the bar including his name. It had taken hypnosis to bring that information back to her. Kevin had told her that once the door to the memories of that night had been opened, more and more images from then would likely be remembered too.

The phone ringing interrupted her thoughts. She reached for it, clicked it on and saw that it was Jax. She smiled, as she enjoyed their phone chats.

"Hey handsome, how are you doing?"

"Alexis…I'm doing great," he said, "How are you faring?"

"All right…Life's never boring in this town."

She didn't want to elaborate why that was the case this time, that among other things someone had been trying to kill her.

"I heard on the news that there's been more violence in town. You wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

She bit her tongue, thinking quickly on how to proceed.

"Like I said, life is never dull," she said, "So news of that made it back to Sydney?"

He paused.

"I'm in London right now actually. I found a new company that's looking for an umbrella to take cover under so I thought I'd fly on in, cut a deal and pick it up."

"That sounds like a plan. What kind of company?"

"Computer technology…Its first year profits were very promising and the research department is working on some promising software for the security field."

"That's one business that is practically recession proof. Sounds like a plan…"

He paused again.

"Yeah the man who started it is supposed to be a genius. He's got a rather impressive empire of his own and his lawyer here tried to drive the price up but I think I'll talk him back down."

She chuckled, easily imagine him doing just that. Not every many people could very easily say no to Jax and his charisma and laid back attitude. The man could be a shark but most people he encountered didn't find that out until it was too late.

'So who's the CEO of this company that you acquired."

"He's a rising star on the scene in the past few years," Jax said, "Maybe you've heard of him."

"Try me."

"His name is Kostas Ivanov."

Julian looked across the warehouse and his eyes widened as he saw who was standing there.

"Hello Julian…"

"Hello Robert, I didn't know you were back in town."

Julian recovered quickly. He had learned to stop being surprised when Robert popped in and out of his life going back over 20 years ago when he'd first been put Into witness protection by the WSB. Robert had expressed concerns to his bosses about it but to no avail. He'd been censured for doing so by being put in charge of him. Or so Julian had been told.

Robert stepped forward.

"I'm back in town on business. I thought I'd stop on by and see how you're doing since you skipped the program while I was indisposed."

Julian bristled.

"I had business to take care of and someone else to answer to."

"I know and you seem to have diversified your enterprises…to include trafficking in cocaine and heroin."

"Not my idea…you'll have to take that up with my boss. Besides those pipelines were recently shut down."

"I can see that by all the strung out clients of yours hanging out by the piers. But we both know that's just temporary."

Julian sighed.

"Did you come here to interrogate me on my business?"

Robert shook his head.

"I'm here to talk to Anna about rumors that our dear friend Luke Spencer hasn't been himself lately."

Julian shrugged.

"I haven't seen him around," he said, "but he's been known to just drop out of sight for a while."

Robert nodded.

"Luke's been known to do just that…there's been a lot of activity on the waterfront lately."

"Yeah, ever since the mayor decided to clean it up, make it pretty so people will want to come down and shop here."

Robert furrowed his brow.

"You have anything against it besides the obvious given what customers you cater to in your business."

Julian looked nonplussed.

"No not at all. It's just that the customers that want to invest in the revitalization of the waterfront…I would think your agency would be rather interested."

"Meaning?"

"Just that the population of Cassadines in town has increased since Mayor Scorpio announced the waterfront parcels were up for grabs…"

Robert frowned,

"I was notified that a Milan Cassadine has surfaced," he said, "The WSB has files on him and his sister Cecilia."

Julian folded his arms.

"Course you do. Milan did some consulting work with your agency in the past. It's not just business. They do have family in town."

"Alexis and Nikolas of course and their children," Scorpio said, "I imagine that was quite a surprise for them when they showed up."

Julian rubbed the back of his neck. He felt that Robert was being his evasive self around him. There were certain subjects in the past that he'd been reticent on but like most people he likely had history of his own he didn't feel like revisiting.

He knew that feeling very well. Still you always had to be prepared for it to find you anyway no matter where you were hiding.

"Milan has an adopted son, a ward as well. I believe he's also doing some work for your agency."

Robert smiled.

"Max, of course. I know him quite well. A very determined, hardworking young man."

Julian pursed his lips.

"His parents are dead from an accident and so Milan Cassadine took him in and raised him."

Robert sighed.

"Yes he did. It was very noble of him to step up to the plate," he said, "He raised him to be a very fine man."

Julian narrowed his eyes.

"Why are you really back in town?"

Robert chuckled.

"You don't believe me? I have business with Anna on another matter."

Julian shook his head.

"I don't believe that's your only reason or you wouldn't have let yourself into my warehouse to wait for me."

Robert put up his hands.

"Okay, I am here to drop in on Milan to discuss a situation that's come up."

Julian heard a note of concern in his voice.

"What does that have to do with why you're here?"

Robert paused.

"Because I might need your assistance as well….it has to do with another Cassadine that might have resurfaced."

Alexis couldn't believe that the man that Jax had purchased the company from had been Kostas. Jax had said he'd been dealing with a team of lawyers sent by Kostas and his business partner for the negotiations.

She'd asked him if he knew the name of Kostas' business partner and he'd said no. he thought he might be some sort of silent partner.

Jax seemed pleased with the deal but she wondered if she should have warned him about Kostas. But she knew that the company would be an asset to Jax's conglomerate.

The doorbell rang and she answered it, seeing Sam outside with her bag.

"I finished a background check I had to do for Lucy," she said, "and I got your message. Milan and you talked about Valentin?"

Alexis nodded.

"We've both heard stories about him and they aren't necessarily true but I'm beginning to wonder if he might really exist."

Sam frowned.

"Why?"

Alexis sat down across from her daughter in the living room.

"I'm not sure. Maybe if we could find a photo of him but there doesn't seem to be any out there."

Sam sighed.

"Or online but there's really not that much about him. If he exists, he's cloistered in the Cassadine family even if they shunned him."

Alexis often wondered if she'd encountered him and had just forgotten about it like so much in her life spent growing up.

"Maybe if he had someone in the family protecting him."

Sam bit her lip.

"I wonder who that might be. It wouldn't be your father if he shunned him and it certainly wouldn't have been Helena. What about your uncles?"

"It's possible but only Victor is still alive now and he's not showing his face right now."

Sam paused thoughtfully.

"If Valentin does exist and he had a son," she said, "He might know that he even exists."

Alexis shifted in her seat.

"Milan is firm in his belief that Max isn't Valentin's son. But if he knows who Max's father really is, he's not saying anything."

Sam shrugged.

"Maybe he made a promise."

Alexis shrugged.

"That could be it. But Kostas is intent on tying the two Cassadines together for some reason," Alexis said, "and I don't know what that reason might be. Or how Kostas would even benefit from that."

Sam reached into her bag for her laptop.

"Maybe there is a way he could and we just need to find it…"

Alexis remained silent. Knowing Kostas there was always an objective and more likely than not it could get someone killed.