Alexis was nervous as she stood in front of his building. She felt eyes on her wherever she went, sure that Victor was watching her every move. There were really only a few seconds to pull herself together before it looked like she was giving up on her breakfast agreement with her uncle. Nervousness would be interpreted as reticence, and reticence would require incentive. Alexis had seen enough of Victor's motivational techniques to know she didn't want to experience any more of them.

Their morning breakfast was unplanned, but Alexis needed to provide him with an update to get out of her dinner with him the following day. He initially balked at her rescheduling, but as she laid out her plan for upending her life in a way that would generate the minimal amount of suspicion, Victor acquiesced. She would have a day with her daughters to celebrate Sam's freedom but more importantly-at least from Victor's perspective-to ease them into the idea of her return to the Cassadine fold. Nikolas's memorial service would follow and then there would be her appointment as CEO of Cassadine Industries. All of this would take place in a week, and Victor begrudgingly acknowledged that 'quality time' to plot with his niece would need to be relegated to the backburner. There would be plenty of time to take over the world next week.

Her immediate assignment was to end things with Julian, and she wasn't quite sure how she was going to do that yet. Alexis made all sorts of promises to herself, only to remember all the other promises she made to herself that she managed to break: she couldn't love him because he was a liar, because he was in the mob, because of how he framed Ric, because of what he did to Luke, because her family wasn't safe, because he put his own safety ahead of Danny's. Every last one of them-broken. And beyond the break up, she needed to physically see him, to see that Victor's lie was really that Julian was a corpse and not that Julian was alive. Her heart beat quickly not only because she was about to see him, but also because there was a chance he was dead. That this was all another sick Cassadine game.

She stood outside thinking all of these things, descending into a spiral from which she emerged after a siren wailed by her. Alexis quickly snapped out of it and opened the door to his lobby.

The men downstairs buzzed him when she cleared security. He poured her a drink and had it waiting for her on the table. Julian had just set it down when he heard the knock at the door. He took three steps and opened it.

Alexis was stunned at how quickly he appeared. He gave her a small smile and she stepped forward, reaching for his cheek. As soon as she touched him and knew he was real she pulled her hand away and let out a sob. The relief washed over her and she succumbed to it, shoulders shaking. Julian pulled her inside the door and pulled her to his chest, trying to soothe her.

-"Shhh. It's OK. Shhh." He alternated a variant repeatedly until her grip loosened and he could pull her away to see her face. He wiped away her tears and said, "it's over now."

-"I thought he killed you. I thought you were dead."

-"I'm right here. He didn't kill me. He'll never hurt us again, sweetheart."

Alexis shook her head vehemently, "You don't know that. You can't know that."

She continued to shake, so he pulled her into him again. "I do. I promise."

-"Don't make promises you can't keep."

He put her face in his hands and tilted her head to look at her eyes. "He can't hurt us anymore. I promise. He's dead. Richter's dead." Julian watched as confusion washed over her face, followed by a glimpse of panic. "What is it?"

Alexis reined in her emotions to show calm, but her head was screaming, "Shit, shit, SHIT." They'd been talking about two different people: she'd instinctively shared her fears about Victor with him but he mistook Richter for the focus of her thoughtless ramblings. She hadn't been in the door two minutes and she was already blowing it.

-"Alexis?"

-"It's nothing. I'm just...I just...you're here. Sam's free. It's too good to be true." She reached up and kissed him to distract him but quickly realized it was counterproductive if she wanted any semblance of control. And as fast as the realization hit her, it dissipated into a haze of lust and love and need for connection. With all her plans already out the window, she shrugged it off and sank deeper into the kiss.

She woke up in his bed, cuddled in his chest as his hands idly played with her hair. Alexis felt the urge to stretch, but fought it. She needed time to think of her next move as her previous plans pretty much crashed and burned in the frenzy of cathartic sex.

-"I know you're awake." He quickly interrupted her planning. "Wanna tell me why you're pretending to sleep?"

She turned to look up at him and kiss his chin. "I'm not pretending. I'm just not ready to get up yet. I'm having very pleasant dreams." Alexis comforted herself with the knowledge that she wasn't *exactly* lying.

He looked at her. She was hiding something. Julian was fairly certain it was the same thing he was hiding: fear. Oddly enough, Richter's death made life harder. His presence in their lives had guided every decision and without him they were on their own. Julian squeezed her to reassure and uttered into her hair, "I'm scared, too."

-"Of what?"

-"Of what happens next."

Alexis shut her eyes. "Me, too," she whispered as she wondered if that was the last true thing she'd say to him.

-"I woke up, and all I could think of was 'I'm dead' and then I wasn't."

She shifted off of him so they could face each other. "I don't understand."

Julian dragged his fingers lightly up and down her arm. "We were in a meeting in Jakarta. Richter was kind of cocky, almost dismissive. He had a bunch of guys with him..." He stopped for a moment and sighed. "He said something weird to me-vaguely threatening-and I started to look for a way out of the warehouse."

Alexis propped herself up on her elbow. "Then what happened?"

-"Our meet showed up. Richter got this little smirk on his face when they pulled their guns, and I really thought I was in for it. Like it was a set up and I was done. And I just...I just thought 'Danny. I never banked my marrow for Danny.''

He threw his head back in frustration, and Alexis moved closer, wrapping her arm and leg around to cocoon him. "Then what," she whispered.

-"I smelled the gunpowder and then I heard the shots. I know that's not the right order...that I had to hear the shots first. But as soon as I smelled the gunpowder, I felt this searing heat in my chest. I couldn't breathe and I couldn't move. All I could think was 'Fuck. I was shot in the same spot. Again.' And then I fell on the ground and I struggled to breathe." He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "And all I could see was you and Sam and Lucas. And I thought about our dinner back in the gallery and all the ways I let you down since. And then I just blacked out."

Alexis picked up his fingers and kissed his hand. She pulled his face in her hands and kissed it as she whispered, "You didn't. You didn't let me down."

-"I did. I thought I could protect you and I didn't. Lucas was shot, your house was gone, Ric was dead. And Danny. I just...God."

-"What happened when you woke up?"

-"I didn't know where I was. Everyone was dead, especially Richter."

-"What do you mean 'especially'?"

-"He'd been shot four times that I could see. Maybe more. The whole back of his head was gone."

Alexis closed her eyes and breathed deeply. It could just as easily have been Julian. She stifled the feeling of panic and looked at him. "What did you do?"

-"My phone was gone...my wallet...all of it. I waited until it was night then went back to the hotel. But then I realized I couldn't get in the room. I was fucked. Covered in blood, most of it *not* mine. The team was dead, and I had no interest in going to the safe house. I lucked out in the warehouse, I wasn't about to tempt fate."

-"How are you here? How did you get back?"

Julian shifted closer. "When I was in the WSB I had a partner who was kind of shady. Shadier than I was, anyway."

-"And you basically ignored your deal and went right back to the mob."

-"Right. He'd worked with me but then moved into narcotics. Both the business and the product. He was a risky contact, but I saved his life at one time. I figured he owed me, but I really couldn't trust him. Until I got on that plane back to the States I wasn't sure he hadn't sold me out."

-"How did you even find him?"

-"I have a few contacts I kept in touch with. The WSB wasn't just about sitting in a house in Iowa twiddling my thumbs. They made me work for a time. And some of the people I worked with owe me, and I owe them. We make sure we know how to find each other."

Alexis thought better of asking exactly who he may owe favors to. "So you're home."

-"I'm home. I thought I'd never see you again, and now I'm here."

Alexis felt tears well up as she remembered the pain of losing him. "You're here."

-"I belong here, Alexis. We belong here." He pulled her into him and turned her onto her back, his arms under hers as he wound his hands in her hair. She couldn't pull her eyes away from his-they were the blackest and most intense they had ever been. "I will do whatever it takes." His knee nudged her legs apart as he kissed her and for the second time in as many hours she abandoned her plan.

Unburdening himself had brought Julian some peace, and between that and the sex he was too exhausted to do anything but doze off. Alexis took this as her opportunity and slowly extricated herself from the blankets, relocating to the bathroom. She locked the door, put the seat down on the toilet and sat, pondering her next move. The physical distance from Julian gave her time to collect her thoughts and reconsider her course of action. Could she confide in him? Could she tell him about Victor? She wanted to. She wanted to curl up in his arms and tell him all her secrets and feel safe again. But the bed was an escape. They had used it as a way to take a break from the insanity of their lives and reconnect with each other. The bed was safe and she could tell him about Victor.

But Julian outside of the bedroom was an impetuous, unreliable partner. Whereas Alexis internalized the onslaught and carefully plotted her response, Julian operated on pure feeling. As soon as he learned Victor was responsible for framing Sam, he'd kill him. And as much as she wanted Victor dead, it wasn't time yet. She didn't know the repercussions of such an extreme move. As Victor noted to her, death was a bell she couldn't unring.

And a wrong move on Julian's part put him in danger. One wrong reaction and Victor would put Julian down like a dog. Telling Julian would mean handling Julian, and Alexis didn't think she'd have the strength to both outwit Victor and control her lover. It would doom them all.

Alexis needed an out. She went through the list of his sins, sorting them by ones she'd outright forgiven and those she'd put on hold. Alexis was left with two: imprisoning Luke and framing Ric. She needed to avoid the former-Julian couldn't figure out that she'd attempted to free Luke before he told her Richter was dead. That would be the loose thread that unraveled the entire web of lies. Ric was the better choice. It hurt Molly; it drove a wedge between mother and daughter. He would feel guilty about that, and she could use that guilt to keep him at a distance. For a time anyway.

The phone rang in the bedroom and she heard a sleepy Julian answer it. She went to the sink to check her face, throwing cold water on it. The time needed to steel herself for her post-coital performance was cut short by the knock at the door.

-"Alexis, that was security. The cops are downstairs."

She whipped open the door, "Why? Why are the cops downstairs?"

Julian was a bit surprised by the intensity of her reaction. "I dunno, they have a search warrant." He considered her for a moment. Something was up. "Are you through in here?"

-"Yup. I just had to pee. All yours."

He walked over and lifted the lid to relieve himself. Julian noted the clear water and realized she had lied. Clearly she needed space, but he wasn't sure why.

His thoughts were interrupted by Alexis. "Did you say they had a search warrant?"

-"Yup. That's what security said."

-"Shit. Julian, think. Do you have anything in this apartment that they can't find?"

-"Like what, Alexis?"

She was throwing on her pants. "I don't know. You're the one in the mob, Julian. How about a gun for starters?"

-"I have a gun."

-"Unregistered?"

-"Maybe."

She rolled her eyes. "Give it to me."

-"Why?"

-"Because I'm your lawyer, because their search warrant won't extend to my purse. Give it to me."

Julian looked at her hard before getting the gun and giving it to her.

-"You're sure?"

-"We don't have time for this, Julian. Just give me the fucking gun."

He relinquished it and she shoved it in her purse which now hung from her shoulder. She walked out of the apartment. Julian stared at her completely baffled. "Where are you going?"

-"Shut the door. Don't open it until the cops tell you to. No matter how much I pound on it." He looked at her. "Now, Julian. Do it NOW." He dutifully shut the door.

Alexis started banging on it. "Open the door, Julian. You think you can disappear for a week? I *know* you're in there."

She was at it for all of thirty seconds before the elevator doors opened and Detectives West and Falconieri emerged. "Alexis?" Dante asked.

Alexis pretended not to process his appearance. "Dammit, Julian. OPEN. THE. DOOR."

-"Ms. Davis," Nathan stepped in. "Ma'am, you should probably calm down."

-"That piece of shit. He called the cops?" Alexis kept pounding. "You want to be a father so bad and then you abandon our daughter when she needs you? And now you're calling the cops? I can't believe you're afraid of me, you coward."

Alexis was working hard to convince the cops she was a slightly unhinged girlfriend angry at her man. Then she remembered that she had an unlicensed gun in her purse and she wisely opted to take it down a couple of notches. She spun to Dante, "Look. I don't know why he called you guys. I'm pissed, but I'm not dangerous. I just can't believe he disappeared on Sam like that."

Dante looked at her, pityingly. "Alexis, he didn't call us. We're here with a warrant."

Her eyes narrowed. "What type of warrant?"

-"A search warrant."

-"Give it to me."

-"Alexis, I can't just give you a search warrant."

-"I'm his lawyer."

Dante raised an eyebrow and looked from the door to Alexis. "You sure about that?"

She stepped away from the door and gestured for him to take his best shot. Nathan turned to her, "Before we start knocking...are you even sure he's home?"

-"Oh, I'm *sure*"

Dante started knocking. "Julian Jerome, this is Det. Falconieri of the PCPD. We're here to execute a search warrant of this penthouse."

It was a good thirty seconds before the door finally opened. "You're here to search this apartment? Why?"

-"We're looking for evidence."

Alexis wasn't in the mood. "No shit, Detective. Can I see the warrant now?"

-"Mr. Jerome, can you confirm Ms. Davis is your lawyer?"

Julian played his part, coolly staring her down for a bit considering if she was worth it. "For now."

She grabbed the warrant out of Dante's hand and opened it. "It's legal. It's also a warrant to search Ava Jerome's premises."

Julian raised an eyebrow. "Ava?"

Three hours later Alexis found herself back at the PCPD. Julian's inability to keep his smart-ass mouth shut for five minutes served as the detectives' incentive for hauling him in; a note addressed to Ava on the refrigerator served as their 'probable cause.' Julian sat in an interrogation room-Alexis at his side-insisting he didn't know his sister's whereabouts. When he finally refused to answer any more questions, Alexis tried to spring him. But Nathan and Dante insisted on holding him overnight.

Julian was pissed and sat fuming as the detectives left the room and he was alone with his lawyer.

-"Dante is such an asshole."

-"Shut up, Julian. Just shut up," Alexis snapped.

Julian was shocked by her tone. "What? Am I wrong?"

-"The only reason we're here-the *only* reason-is because you antagonized them. Now you're going to spend the night here."

-"I didn't antagon-"

-"-don't even start. Just don't."

Julian sulked, "Well, if you're not going to listen to me, you may as well leave."

-"Gladly." Alexis moved towards the door, rage pouring through her. She spun around. "Once, Julian *just once* I need you to actually think before you do something. You spend your whole life just eliminating consequences from the equation. I mean, this wasn't even rage-induced. At best you were what-annoyed?"

-"Where is this coming from? What has you so upset?" He eyed her carefully. "What happened, Alexis?"

-"Short story? Once again you're a stubborn ass and somehow we're in a police station."

-"Before that."

Alexis was legitimately confused. "Before what?"

-"Before the police came. Before I was arrested. You've been weird all night, and then you were hiding in the bathroom."

-"Hiding in the bathroom? We went through two rounds of sex, Julian. At that point, nature wasn't calling, she was screaming her head off."

-"Next time you're going to lie about it you should flush."

-"Well, since we're on the topic Miss Manners, why don't you tell me the normal reaction to your boyfriend explaining how he was almost murdered at least twice in the span of a week."

Julian shook his head wearily. "Stop it."

-"No, seriously? How should I behave?" She turned back to the door and muttered "see you in the morning" before she left, slamming the door behind her.

Julian lay on the cot in his cell staring at the ceiling. The night had started so well, how did it turn to shit so quickly? Alexis was right, he was impetuous-but why was that suddenly a capital offense? Her reaction was so disproportionate to the crime. He closed his eyes and sighed. The last few weeks for her-Nikolas dying, Sam's arrest, his disappearance-no wonder she's acting weird. Julian cursed himself. Alexis needed him and he made everything about him. Sam, Kristina, his own instincts-everything told him to listen, and he just talked.

He needed to get out. He needed to get to her and take her away. He needed to hold her until she couldn't cry anymore.

-"Jerome. You have a visitor."

He jumped up and approached the bars, ready to apologize to Alexis.

-"Hullo, Julian."

Julian was taken aback. "Wow. It's been a long time."

His visitor grinned. "It has. This looks familiar though. Brings back a lot of memories."

-"What are you doing here?"

-"I was summoned to help out an old friend. And while I was in town, I wondered 'How is my *other* old friend? I should check up on him.' Have to admit, I'm not surprised to find you here, Julian."

-"Why don't you just tell me what you want, Scorpio."

-"Small talk over already? I guess we can save the catching up for another time." Robert Scorpio's voice became serious. "I want to know what your girlfriend's up to."

Julian shrugged dismissively. "What girlfriend?"

-"I've missed you, Julian. You really are just a pure liar. Made you such a great spy. And so easy for us to miss that you were turning your back on the people who saved you."

-"Is that what you did?" he smirked.

-"We did. We gave you a new life, which you promptly turned to a new life of crime. It's impressive really."

-"Great. Well, I appreciate the compliments. You always were good at giving performance reviews, Boss."

Robert smiled. "But I'm not here for you now, Julian. I want to know about Alexis Davis."

-"Ahhh. That's who you meant by 'my girlfriend.'"

-"Cut the crap, Julian. Everyone knows you're together. You forget I have connections in this town. Now the fact that she's with you only makes me more suspicious."

Julian got closer to the bars. "Don't judge her by the company she keeps. Alexis isn't up to anything. Not in the way you're implying anyway. That's not who she is."

-"Who she is, is a Cassadine. And they're always up to something, Julian."