~Ventor, i Flashback /i ~ Anna hugged her good friend Cecelia tightly when she found her in the nursery. She still couldn't fathom that her peer was doing such a good job. Out of nowhere, her cousin was left in there care and poor Nanny MacTavish was getting on in years and could not take care of the precious one on her own. As luck would have it, Cecelia did something drastic and as a punishment, she had to assist the nanny.

After Anna cooed at her cousin, she left for target practice. And Cecelia was left alone in the nursery. Smiling, she smoothed back the baby's hair. A chill swam through her when Thomas entered the room. "Anna might come back. Or Nanny....or Mrs. Devane?"

The man had the look that he always had: arrogance. And he had his reasons. Never getting caught in the midst of affairs, a sweet and simplistic wife and the apple of his daughter's eye. Yes, he had reason. Scoffing, he explained to his latest conquest that all the aforementioned ladies were elsewhere and if they weren't, they could be sneaky.

An idea such as this usually made her blush and run into his arms, but no more. She had grown up quite a bit in the past year and a little bit of Anna's mentality had rubbed off as well. "We shan't. Never again. This is all a sordid mistake...how long can we pass our child off as some long lost cousin?" Anna was so perceptive that it made one wonder if she was really in the dark like everyone else.

Thomas walked closer to her, quite perplexed. They had deceived everyone by letting Eos and Tendrik take her away due to an 'illness' and before she fully recovered, Thomas' sister came in false duress and handed the baby over. Turning her around, he embraced her. It was one-sided to say the least.

"Well, well, well...where is Mrs. Devane?" A fiery red-head spat. "It doesn't matter. I've already figured this whole cousin thing out. Oh, and I'm Charlotte Devane, you're sister-in-law..."

~Melissa's Place~ She had been working nonstop, it seem people were always sicker this time of year. Sure, she loved helping people, but it made her personal life very complicated. Who was she kidding? Her life i is /i complicated! And Roy being out of it made it even more so. Yet the pain of her love being locked up passed and feelings for someone new stirred in her.

As she walked onto the terrace she saw her cousin cleaning his gun. "Robert, is that really necessary?"

Wearily, he placed the gun down and stared at the stars. "Mel--I don't remember much, but what I do know--I should have this with me."

Melissa rested on the railing and sighed. "If you would let me tell you more of what I know or let me contact Mac..."

"I cannot welcome back my family until I know everything on my own."

~The Weathertop~ Kieran smiled inwardly as Florence fell asleep in his arms. This woman helped from great peril and now she had let him love her deeply. Truly. He just wished they had met during a more peaceful time.

Florence's slumber was short lived when the rings from her phone started to blast. Moaning softly she leaned over and answered the phone. "Xavier?"

"Sorry to disturb you, but I have a plan. A little abrupt, but you and Kieran can't be there, with the villians living in the same building."

"And how are we going to leave without Kieran being detected?"

*** "What do you mean Tippy Monroe is backing out? Wha--she signed a contract! Do you hacks even know what that is? Invalid?!?"

"Welcome to Hollywood."

"Welcome to my didgeridoo up your @$$!" Jocelyn yelled and turned her cell phone off. "Mystery men...where are they when you truly need them?" Her frown slowly turned a smile when she picked up a picture of her, Jax and Jerry. "The good ole days..." Out of boredom, she looked out the window and saw something quite peculiar. Her neighbor Florence and a some male were carrying a very large object to their car. "I really don't want to know..." ~The Park~ Alexis gasped when Dao jumped on her lap. "Please...I'm really hungry! My dad didn't let me have lunch, I was bad." Sonny's eyes looked weary as he handed Dao the popcorn. Alexis decided not to speak up, Sonny was of course sensitive about situations such as these. "What's your name, kid?" "Dao Wen, well now it's Dao Williams." Alexis patted the boy on the back and he started weeping. "I'm sorry--" Sonny looked at the boy's hands. The marks he knew well. Dao was most definitely burned... "Who did that?" "I'm not supposed to tell anyone." He sniffed. Alexis tried to cheer the boy up. "You can tell me, I'm a lawyer. Everything you say is conf--I keep to myself." "But what about the big man?" Dao pointed at Sonny. "You can whisper it in my ear." She said softly. Dao told her everything he possibly could. "Dao, we have to take you to the police." The boy sobbed and she shushed him. "There's nothing to be scared about. We'll protect you." ~PC Grille~ Edward stood up and shook Ryan's hand. "No, thank you. Incredibledreams2.com will be a great investment. Lila seems to love the idea." Ryan nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Quartermaine. This means a lot." "Oh, thank my wife. You know, your father was quite the scoundrel." Lila glared at him. "A good one mind you, he had an impact on this town and I think you'll do the same my boy!" Edward and Lila left and Ryan walked around the establishment. He paused for a moment as someone walked past him. She looked so familar. But it couldn't be... "Vanessa Cour--" A mist covered his vision and his mind went blank. When he could see again, Robin was standing before him, looking very concerned. "I'm okay." "In deep thought?" She smiled softly as he nodded. "I'm planning on having dinner with friends, you wanna join me?" "I'd love to Robin, but there's some things I need to look over." *** Stavros and Skye were seated in a very secluded area of the Grille. It was romantic, it an unappealing gothic sort of way. 'Lucien' looked miles away as she lifted her glass. "3 million not a bad start." 'Lucien' clinked her glass with his own and forced a smile. "Something wrong?" Skye slightly put her hand on top of his. Without warning, Vanessa stormed in front of them. "There will be if you don't get your measly hands off of him..." Stavros tried to save face. "Mother--" "Wha--" "Excuse me, Ms. Chandler! Mother, let's talk out on the balcony." Stavros dragged her away. "Vanessa what the h^ll are you doing?" Vanessa chuckled. "'Mother...' how Oedipal! Why am I not surprised?" "You're digressing..." "I can't stand this! Knowing that your goal is to marry this girl." "It doesn't matter because Vanessa, I love you."