Alexis awoke before her six o'clock alarm sounded. It was far too early for her to be awake considering how late it was when she finally laid down the evening before, but given her disturbing frame of mind it was useless to stay in bed any longer. Her dreams left her exhausted, and her thoughts were now far too chaotic to even attempt to try dozing off again. She was familiar with each of the nightmares that ripped her from sleep. They were always just a nap away any time she was confronted by Sonny. And she was sick of his ghostly hold on her every waking thought as well. Reaching over she reset the alarm and sat up shoving the dreams out of her mind just as emphatically as she pushed the rumpled sheets away from her legs before swinging them to the floor. She didn't have time to deal with her personal fears this morning. Preparing herself for the confrontations she would face during the day was more important than allowing her fear of 'what ifs' to take any more of her mental strength. Her attention immediately turned to her first appointment of the day. She was anxious about both events that would take place during the day, but the outcome of her meeting with Dara would have a great deal to do with how she proceeded with the way she handled Sonny.
Thinking of her nine o'clock meeting with Dara Jensen, Alexis found herself both nervous and exhilarated. Her confrontations with Dara were always exciting to a certain degree since over the years Dara had proved herself to be a worthy adversary. She suffered through a few losses at the hands of Dara, but her victories were enough to keep Dara on her toes and hungry. And although this time she knew she would win, the excitement came from shutting Dara down and getting closer to neutralizing Sonny. If truth be known though, Dara was motivated not by the thrill of victory as much as she was besting a woman who knew too much about her, and never knowing when that information would come back to haunt her. There was a certain exhilaration in not knowing the outcome when faced with a formidable rival in a legal setting. Unable to stop her musings, an image of Ric in his double breasted blue pin-striped Armani and his Hugo Boss slip-ons crept into her mind and she couldn't stop the sigh of enticing pleasure that the image prompted. He certainly was dashing when standing in a courtroom unaware of her eyes on him. As she sat thinking about him, Alexis felt a slow burn start to build deep inside and her hands began to tremble slightly. She was more than a little scared at how her body was starting to behave around Ric. It was unnatural... for her... now... with a child... 'O great, Alexis. Real Nice! Stop it! You don't have time to be daydreaming about Ric Lansing of all people.'
Standing and stretching to wake her body she pushed her thoughts of Ric aside as she did the bedclothes earlier and turned her thoughts toward Sonny, a much safer subject. If her meeting with Dara went as she hoped it would, Sonny wouldn't hesitate to accept her request for a one-on-one meeting. In fact, he would be hard pressed to respect her appointment schedule and would demand her attention immediately. To be able to force him to adhere to her schedule would be the first initial win in her bid to achieve complete success in her campaign. For the first time in their turbulent history, Alexis knew she held the upper hand. In accepting the position of Assistant District Attorney she automatically acquired the legal access to more resources than ever and with the information she held against Dara she thankfully wouldn't have to jeopardize her license by violating her attorney-client privilege with Sonny. Any investigator worth their fee who began a search of Dara's activities outside the limits of Port Charles' jurisdiction would eventually lead them directly to Sonny. Alexis was safe. At least her career was. But what of her life? And what about Kristina's life?
What a difference two years could make in the course of one's life. Sonny Corinthos. Racketeer and Mobster! Seditious! Arrogant! Client and Confidant! And... her best friend! An unexpected connection somehow developed between them during their time together that led to a complicated trust. A trust they both began to depend on when no one else understood the complexities of their separate lives. And unwittingly Sonny fired a passion within her that she desperately tried to deny. A passion she gradually began to misinterpret as love resulting in one night of blind consuming surrender that changed her entire life. And now here she was, meticulously plotting to put her child's father in prison for the rest of his life or given the files she suspected Dara possessed... the death sentence. It was a result that turned her blood cold... but her daughter's life was on the line. Nothing was more important to her than the safety of her daughter. And if she couldn't attain the results she needed with the files, then she would play her trump card. Kristina. Kristina was the trump card that would seal Sonny's fate. The question was, would Sonny make her play it.
Alexis squeezed her eyes shut in an effort to clear her mind of the guilt that threatened to slip past her resolve. Reaching into her closet she pulled her silk robe out and wrapped it around her then padded her way down to Kristina's room. It was a ritual she indulged in first thing every morning. It served as a reminder of every morning since the day of her birth that Kristina did not wake up in her own room. Leaning slightly over the crib, Alexis let her fingers lightly touch the curls of her daughter's hair and she reassured herself as well as her sleeping child by quietly whispering, 'no matter what, my little bit of heaven, we will never be apart again. Mommy promises you she will always be here for you and do whatever she has to for you to stay safe.' Standing quietly beside Kristina's crib watching her sleep the sleep of innocence with all the pain and fear of the surgery behind them, she once again thought of Ric. He gave both she and her daughter a shoulder of strength to lean on throughout the past few days and he supported her when fear and exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her. Standing there staring down at her daughter Ric's words of a few days ago suddenly echoed in her head, "This little girl means more to me than I ever expected her to."
His words shocked her and left her speechless. Something was happening to Ric. She could see a change in him. He smiled more and there weren't quite as many rough edges as there once was. She caught herself more than once staring at him from across a room full of people. And she enjoyed they way they both could hold a conversation at the same time and actually retain the others words over their own. His intelligence stimulated her and she found it refreshing to find someone as intellectually sound as she was to interact with. But it was within the fours walls of her bedroom late at night when his face and a simple remembered touch was all that stood between her and the admission that she found him desirable and she couldn't stop the craving of her body for his. Her eyes closed as one of her more sensual dreams floated through her memory of an unclothed Ric massaging her body with warm oil... his bare legs straddling her hips as he rocked... slowly... seductively...
"STOP IT, ALEXIS. You can't do this now," she whispered to herself heatedly. Tossing her hair out of her eyes she turned and headed to the bathroom to cool her crimson cheeks.
Considering the early hour of the day and the sweet smell of victory in the air, Alexis decided to indulge herself a little before the chaos of her two-year-old started her day. Leaving the side of her child's crib with one last look she left the room and headed toward the bathroom with the anticipation of a relaxing respite bringing a smile to her lips. Turning on the bath water she dropped a hand full of bath beads filled with essential oils into the tub as it filled. Her smile grew as the room began to fill with the scent of night blooming jasmine, one of her favorite aromas. She pinned up her hair and slipped out of her silk pajamas. Just before stepping in she sprinkled several effervescent bath crystals into the water and watched them begin to dissolve. Knowing how they would feel against her skin she quickly slipped into the bath and sinking slowly into its depth moaned with delight as her body began to relax. She lay there for a while and tried her best to sweep all thoughts of her day to the side. She just wanted to relax for a while without worry... without fear... and without the insistent knocking of an impatient Ric Lansing on her hearts door. Settling a little lower into the bath so that the water covered her shoulders, Alexis closed her eyes and let the bubbling tablets caress and titillate all around her body on their way to the surface. As she lay there enjoying the sensation, her errant thoughts began to imagine Ric's fingers tickling and taunting her... dancing over her skin drawing from her a passionate sigh of pleasure. The unexpected sound in the silence of the room startled her causing her eyes to burst wide open as she realized her thoughts had wandered yet again. Alexis swore and sat up quickly sloshing water over the side to pool on the floor.
"Damn it, Alexis. Today is not about Ric Lansing. It's about your daughter, Kristina." she scolded herself.
Exasperated with her traitorous thoughts she stood abruptly and reached for a soft body wrap towel. As she wrapped the towel around her and stepped out of the tub she sat down at her vanity and reached for the moisturizing lotion. Applying it generously on both her arms and legs she managed to momentarily put Ric out of her mind in favor of more immediate concerns. Finishing with the lotion, she stood up and stepped over to the sink. The mirror was misty from the hot steam of the bath and wiping the glass a few times with her hand she frowned at the continued cloudy image of herself. Wiping the mirror again she was startled by a second image appearing over her shoulder.
"She will never suffer because of who I am or who her father is if I have to kill us both to keep her safe," the image echoed to her.
She spun around but he wasn't there. Ric's words haunted her no matter how sincere he sounded when he first spoke them. Was he telling the truth? Would he keep her secret? Surely if his intentions were to use the information he would have done so long before now! There were plenty of opportunities in the recent past to tell Sonny. In fact, several of those opportunities would have worked to his advantage and played right along with his insane vendetta. But he didn't. And Alexis considered, weighed and analyzed a host of reasons as to why he didn't use the information, never once being able to settle on a logical reason for his lack of action.
Opening the cupboard she took out a washcloth and some cleansing lotion. Dipping the washcloth in hot running water she paused recalling how naturally Ric took to Kristina – how he was able to sooth her with a warm cloth on her pained ear. Granted, Kristina was his niece. But still. "Your daughter is my home now." Alexis shivered.
Home. Family! Things that were too often missing in her own life! Leaning forward she began to wash her face smiling absently, imagining his lingering touch drifting down her cheek in place of the washcloth she held in her hand. She had to admit, Ric certainly stirred something wild within her. Her eyes sprung open.
"Snap out of it, Alexis."
She quickly finished wiping the cleanser away and then draped the cloth over the side of the sink. As she began to brush her teeth Ric's smile once again appeared over her shoulder in the reflection of the mirror. How could she deny having an attraction to him. He was invading too many of her thoughts lately and it never occurred to her to entertain the thought of an actual relationship. A relationship! She shuddered at the thought telling herself in no uncertain terms that she had done perfectly fine without that type of association since the day she and Ned parted ways. She was strong and capable. She didn't need a man to validate her worth.
"Who needs them, anyway?" she muttered through the toothpaste.
Rinsing the toothpaste from her mouth she looked back up at her reflection smiling deliberately. That's a phony smile, she said to herself and tried again. You aren't a cheerleader, Alexis. Try again. She tried out several different smiles in mirror. She finally sighed with irritation when she couldn't figure out which smiling face looking back at her appeared to be the true Alexis.
"What could he possibly see in you, anyway?" she said disgustedly as she turned and walked out.
A slight chill rippled up her body as she emerged from the steamy bathroom and turned into the hallway heading toward the kitchen to start a pot of coffee brewing. There was enough time for a leisurely cup on the balcony while she refocused on her thoughts regarding how she would begin her meeting with Dara. When she reached the living room on her way to the kitchen a dark object draped across the arm of her desk chair caught her eye.
'Ric's jacket'. She thought. Since it was an unseasonably warm evening the previous night he probably didn't remember having it with him when he arrived; that and the fact that he was distracted when he finally did leave. She walked over to the chair and picked it up. It was the first time she'd seen him wear a jacket that wasn't a suit or an overcoat. The thought that he would even own this type of garment never entered her mind. She was accustomed to seeing him immaculately dressed for court. Running her fingers over the leather material she inadvertently released the lock she placed on her thoughts only moments before. To imagine him in something more casual – T-shirts, jeans, shorts maybe; the prospect was just too inviting to dismiss. As his image casually drifted through her mind her legs suddenly felt weak. She imagined him wearing shorts and a T-shirt, perhaps after playing racquetball with a colleague. His hair tousled, his skin gleaming with perspiration. His... Her body jerked in alarm as she became fully conscious of where her wandering lustful thoughts carried her.
"Damn it, Alexis. You can't keep doing this. You have a job to do today and you have to stay focused. Nothing can come between you and what you have to do today. Go get your coffee and try to act like a responsible adult for once." With that she threw Ric's jacket across the room to land on the sofa and she marched emphatically toward the kitchen.
Minutes later with a steaming cup of coffee in her hand, Alexis opened the door to the balcony and as a few stray streaks of sun began to reach up from the horizon she sat down and began to review her strategy for the day.
There were two ways she could handle the problem with Dara. She could go in with the intent of taking Dara down with Sonny or she could offer Dara a deal. She could hand over her files regarding her activities with Sonny in exchange for a more lenient sentence! Alexis wasn't sure why she was reluctant to devastate Dara's future. But something was telling her to proceed with caution and compassion. Sitting there watching the sun rise slowly, Alexis began to concentrate on why she was hesitating in her actions toward Dara.
In all of her previous dealings with Dara, the one thing that remained a constant with her rival was Dara's dislike of any attempt to bend the rules. In fact, the only evidence proving a compromise of her legal ethics was just the services she provided for Sonny. Something wasn't quite ringing true about Dara's association with Sonny. With that thought, Alexis leaned forward and looked down into her cup thoughtfully. Watching the coffee swirl around the sides of the cup, cooling its heat down to an acceptable temperature, Alexis suddenly wondered if Sonny was blackmailing Dara. The thought stunned her and forced her to her feet. She turned and leaned heavily against the railing cupping her hands around the warming cup. Alexis spoke softly to herself trying to work out all the aspects of her suspicions. 'If he's blackmailing her, then just maybe today will become a sort of reckoning day for Dara as well. If I can get her to see things my way, that is.'
Excitement began to build in Alexis. The more she thought about the contents of the file versus the woman that she worked with for the past few years, the more sense it began to make. What she needed now was the 'why' of Dara's actions.
But what about Sonny? What came next? In adding to the whole spectrum the idea of Sonny abusing Dara's legal ethics and forcing her to compromise herself day after day for his gain, Alexis found herself getting angry. She'd rehearsed several scenarios in her mind based on the extent of his anger, but it was always with her own frame of mind being calm and resolved. And she knew with a doubt that the only way she could successfully deal with Sonny was with an even steadfast calm temper. Rerunning each scenario again and this time including Dara's involvement she still came up with the same dreaded conclusion – revealing Kristina's paternity. Was this the right time? She knew that eventually it would have to be done. But was she ready to deal with the consequences now? Her courage started to wane and her fear started to rise. "No, I can't let him scare me this time. Too much is at stake."
Walking back inside, Alexis paced a bit trying to calm down and suddenly found herself beside the sofa reaching down for a soft brown leather jacket. Picking it up she walked around to the front of the sofa and placing her cup on the table sat down as she slipped her arms into the large sleeves and wrapped the jacket around her body. Leaning back she snuggled further into the warmth of the jacket and smiled. She whimsically wondered if she would be afraid of Sonny if she wore Ric's jacket when they met. With the support he had freely offered her over the past few weeks would it be so far-fetched to think she could depend on the strength of his shoulder even if he weren't in the room. Unbidden and without warning a picture of Ric in nothing but a low-hung towel exploded in her head and white heat began racing through every vein of her body leaving her gasping for breath.
Her head snapped to the left as a quiet knock on her door brought her swiftly... and guiltily to her feet. Who could be... She remembered... She froze.