Chapter Three

A sweet aroma made its way to Alexis' nose, slowly awakening her to the conscious level. Opening her eyes, she found herself staring at a large bouquet of flowers, gardenias to be exact. Taking a deep breath, Alexis was grateful to be aware of her soundings; finally relieved of the grogginess that she thought was beginning to make a permanent mark in her head.

Alexis went to sit up, but quickly decided against when she felt the screaming protest in her ribs. The reality of why she was here hit, and she quickly realized that Kristina was not with her. Searching frantically around the room, she noticed, for the first time, that someone was sitting, or more so slumped, in the chair on the other side of the bed.

"Sonny?" She quietly called out.

"Mmm, huh, wha-?" The man said, jumping from the chair.

"Alexis, you're awake!"

"Ric?"

'Yeah, it's me Alexis." Ric said, quickly making his way to her side.

"I'm sorry, for a minute I thought you were Sonny. I had the strangest dream that he was here, but I have no idea why that would be."

"Well, that's because he was here. You were calling out for him, saying that you needed to talk to him, and that you needed to tell him something. He came by, but he left so you could rest. It's probably best that he's not here; he only leads to trouble."

"But why would I need to talk to him?" Alexis asked Ric, but knew exactly why she needed to.

"I don't know, that's what I was going to ask you. I'm sure he'll be back though." Ric said, not too impressed that Sonny was becoming a larger factor in their conversation.

"Right now, Alexis, we need to concentrate on your recovery and... finding Kristina," he said, careful of Alexis' reaction.

"Ric, she's only a little girl. She must be terrified. God, I hate this! I need to get out of here and find her," she exclaimed, defiant stubbornness laced in her voice. She threw back the covers and made her way to get up. Ric swiftly moved to stop her.

"Whoa, whoa! Alexis, you need to relax, you have two broken ribs and a broken wrist. Take things easy, please. You're not going to do Kristina any good like this," he told her firmly, but his eyes pleaded with her to listen.

Alexis looked at him angrily, but then sighed in defeat. "You're right. But please, at least find out when I can get out of here. I feel so helpless like this, and I just want to get home. Maybe there I'll find something, or maybe they will..."

"I know, Alexis. I'll go see if I can find the doctor." After giving her hand a tight squeeze, he was gone to find a doctor.

Easing back on the bed to relieve the burning pain in her ribs, Alexis closed her eyes. She was thankful that Ric hadn't picked up on her discomfort; it was the last thing she needed. Keeping her eyes closed, she ran the last moments of the attack in her mind. She saw the breaking in of her door, the horrible connection of the man's fist to her face and the agonizing kicks to her ribs. But nothing compared to the cries, that she heard from Kristina, echoing in her head. Snapping her eyes open, she tried to clear the images from her mind. She would find her daughter, even if it was the last thing she did. She would not fail her, again.

Taking a few deep breaths, Alexis found herself being calmed by the sweet smell of flowers by her bed. Carefully reaching for the card she saw sticking out, she plucked it out of its envelope and read its contents:

I'm on your side.

S

Even without reading the card she knew whom it was from. As much as she did not want to admit it, those were the most comforting words she felt since the whole mess began.

Sonny was pacing the penthouse, his mind racing from the words that Alexis had spoke to him; she had seemed so frantic and desperate. He could not get the words of her saying that she had something that they wanted out of his mind.

Alexis did not have many enemies, only Helena and, to a certain degree, himself. No matter how many times her ran it over in his mind, nothing seemed to fit in the normal context of a threat coming from Helena. Alexis would have clearly mentioned Helena, and if Alexis knew who it was, she surely would have said so. So who could it be then? And why did they take Kristina and not kill Alexis? He needed answers, and he hoped that Alexis would tell him what she had wanted to say to him early. But until then, he would have to take matters into his own hands.

"Yeah, it's Sonny. I need you to do something for me, and I need it done yesterday."