Show: General Hospital

Title: Las Vidas de los Corinthos' II: Chapter 23

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

A/N: Thank you for last chapter's comments. Needless to say that this little boy will have a large part to play within upcoming chapters. This is also I guess the best time to announce that I plan to install another part to this series. I've already got a basic plan for the new fic, but if you've got any ideas on plots, just drop me a line. Enjoy!

*~*~*~*~*~*

Jason remained frozen place before his mind and senses caught back up with him and his mind began to swiftly assess the situation. His head whipped back and forth from the little boy to the crime scene behind. Inwardly, he blanched – if the boy had been here as long as he thought he'd been he'd probably been a witness to the crime.

He was in a conundrum.

Any sane person would have whipped out their cellphone and dialed for the police to report there was a possible witness to the crime. But, he could later claim, the shock of his discovery had rendered him temporarily insane and instead, he cautiously approached the little boy.

He whimpered and withdrew farther into the dark.

Drawing on the patience he knew was necessary when dealing with a scared child – knowledge he'd stored since he'd been Michael's guardian – Jason crouched down as he slowly approached the boy and spoke softly and assuredly. "Hey there. What are you doing behind here?" he asked good-naturedly, in an effort to put the boy at ease.

At the soothing sound of his voice, the boy's eyes widened but he still recoiled from Jason.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Jason assured the little boy, who was about to run out of space. "My name is Jason." The boy stared at him blankly. "What's yours?"

The boy ran out of space just as Jason reached him and when the Enforcer reached out to him, he started to shriek again. Jason surged forward and clamped a hand over the little boy's mouth and lifted him into his arms, not caring that the little boy was covered in filth and stank faintly of rotten… fish?

The youth squirmed mightily in Jason's arms and despite his superior strength he found it a valiant effort to keep his nimble little body was slipping from his arms. He could feel the little boy's mouth opening and closing with his smothered screams.

Jason had to act fast.

"Grab the bags," he ordered to Francis, who was staring at their quarry in shock. "We gotta get out of here now!"

*~*~*~*~*~*

It was just after midnight but police headquarters was still a hive of activity. Reporters struggled to get details before the morning edition went to press and the latest roundup of the dock's prostitutes were waiting to be processed whilst Alexis and Sonny gave all the necessary information pertaining to Rhys to Lucky. She was just haggling with the young cop about when his body would be released when her cellphone rang.

Wondering who would be calling her at this hour, she checked the caller-ID to see it was Jason. Sonny had seen it as well and lifted a dark eyebrow while keeping an ear on Lucky. She exchanged a worried glance with Sonny before excusing herself and heading for a slightly quieter corner in the noisy bullpen. "Yes?" she answered anxiously.

"We have a problem," came Jason's worried voice.

Alexis closed her eyes and tried to ward off an impending headache. "What is it? Did you find anything?"

"You could say that." There was a slight scuffle in the background and she could've sworn she heard Francis curse in the background and Jason came back on the line. "Can't talk right now, just get back to the Penthouse as soon as you can!"

"Jas --". Before Alexis could ask why, Jason had terminated the call. She stared at the cellphone in worry and looked up to see Taggert watching her like a hawk. Immediately, all traces of worry dropped from her face and she turned her back to him and headed back to the interrogation room.

"Are we through, Officer Spencer?" she asked, the picture of professionalism even though she was speaking to her nephew's younger brother.

Confusion furrowed Lucky's brow but he didn't have any legitimate reason to keep them there any further. "Sure. I'll have the Coroner call you when Samuels's body is released."

"Thank you," she demurred.

Sonny nodded in the younger man's direction and together, heads held high, ignoring the hostile looks from many of the police officers there, they exited the building.

Once outside and safely ensconced in their limo, Sonny turned to her questionably and asked, "What did Jason want? Did he find anything?"

"He didn't say much. Just practically ordered us back to the Penthouse." The two mulled over this is silence before Alexis finally continued. "Why do I have a feeling that things just got a *lot* more complicated?"

Sonny smirked ruefully. "To tell you the truth, querida, I'd be worried if they hadn't."

*~*~*~*~*~*

By the time Sonny and Alexis stepped through the door, Elizabeth was slumped on her uncle's shoulder and Ric's sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and he was well into his fourth glass of wine. Elizabeth groggily sat up and they both turned to the couple expectantly.

"How'd it go?" Ric asked his brother's fiancée.

"It was Rhys," Alexis answered tiredly.

"We know," he replied. "Jason called," he explained when Alexis looked at him curiously.

Sonny's mouth tightened for just a fraction of a second but he said nothing.

"Where *is* Jason?" asked Alexis, loosening her hair from the bun she'd twisted it in since the day before. "He practically ordered us back here," she continued, flopping onto the couch and taking her daughter's head in her lap.

Before anyone could say another word, the door swung open and Jason and Francis stepped inside. What they saw gave them pause. Settled on Jason's shoulder was just about the filthiest but most beautiful little boy they'd ever seen….

The boy was asleep and Jason carried him as though he would break. More than likely, if the boy woke up again, he would start shrieking in that strange language again. By the time they had made it back to the car on the docks, Jason figured that the boy didn't understand English and that was one of the reasons why he wasn't calmed by Jason's words – he obviously hadn't understood them. He'd made a conscious effort for his body language to do the talking but *that* hadn't worked either and he had continued to struggle with the two men, even biting Francis's palm which was the cause for the bodyguard's outburst while he'd been on the phone with Alexis. When he realized that he couldn't get away, he'd started to cry and had eventually cried himself to sleep, hunched against Francis in the passenger seat of the car.

Elizabeth sat up; she was perfectly awake by now and she stared at the little boy. "That's a little boy," she announced shortly, wrinkling her nose at his stench even as she gazed at his face in awe.

He was around five or six years old and small-boned already, his face was slightly gaunt and his skin, under all the dust and filth, was a perfect shade of olive. A shock of dark hair the colour of a raven's wing fell into his face just above his eyes closed now in repose, with mile-long eyelashes the colour of coal settled on the tops of his cheeks.

"Where'd you find him?" asked Sonny coming over to the couch to share his fascination with the others.

Jason exchanged a look with Francis before diving into his tale of discovery. By the time he was through, Alexis could feel a headache springing up.

"You should have taken him to the police, Jason," she all but scolded. "He might have been a witness to the crime."

"I didn't know what to do, Alexis. He started screaming… that's why I called you."

"Well, we can't keep him, Jason."

"Why not?" he asked, tightening his grip around the little boy.

"Do you hear yourself talking, Jason? This boy may have seen who murdered Rhys; he's the first breakthrough we've had in weeks. Besides, he's not a stray puppy – you can't just pick him up from the streets, take him home and call him yours. He's probably a runaway – people are probably out searching for him."

Alexis had no idea just how right she was. The little boy squirmed in Jason's arms and she paused, wondering if he would wake up. He slept on. She looked down at the little boy and felt a tug in her heart. He looked so peaceful in Jason's arms, Alexis almost didn't have the heart to continue, but she did anyways. "I'm an officer of the court and we're trying to find out who's killing off our employees. The answer is lying there in your arms, Jason; I cannot willingly turn a blind eye to this. We need to call the police."

Elizabeth could see the strain her mother's words was putting on him and she reached out to lend a hand, settling her hand on his forearm to lend him comfort. That gesture of affection was not lost on anyone.

Alexis looked at him expectantly and crossed to the telephone when he gave her a slight nod. She had lifted the phone from the hook and was in the process of dialing downtown when the boy started thrashing in his sleep.

"Mama… Papa!" he called, his small arms flailing in his sleep as he continued to call out.

Alexis dropped the phone with a clatter and turned to the rest, her face white as a sheet. Elizabeth's reaction mirrored hers.

"Greek…" they murmured simultaneously in shock. The boy was screaming in Greek….

*~*~*~*~*~*

He couldn't have known that he was screaming in his sleep. They wouldn't have cared anyway. In fact, they laughed when ever he got emotional and cried, which was why he tried his hardest not to cry in front of them.

He didn't know how they'd found him again, when he had tried to be so careful but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore.

He sighed for Mama and Papa and they appeared, smiling at him and holding their arms out to them. They were at the beach behind their house and he was almost blinded by the glare reflecting off the sand as he stared at them. He started to smile and run towards them but the more he ran the further it seemed they got from him. He started to whimper. "Mama, Papa? Stop! Don't go!"

A great dark rustling wind blew in from the see and he could hear the maniacal laughter of the woman, cackling at him as he looked up to see her face emerging from the clouds.

He tried to run to his parents as fast as his little legs would take him, but the swirling wind was surrounding them by now and they were crying out in pain. "Mama, Papa, no! Stop! Get away from them!" he struggled to make it to them.

The woman's maniacal laughter rang in his ears as she swallowed her parents up in the dark cloud and whisked them away from him. "Don't go!" he begged, even as the cloud disappeared and he was left standing alone on the beach as though nothing had ever happened.

His eyes snapped open and he found himself surrounded by the faint scent of gardenias and wrapped in the arms of a woman who felt a lot like his mother.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Hearing the little boy scream out was too much for her and Alexis crossed the distance between them and gathered him in her arms, ignoring his stench and clutching his body to hers.

She heard Elizabeth gasp and somehow she knew the little boy had come awake. She gently pushed away from the boy and looked at him. She was not prepared for the full impact of his beauty.

Asleep he'd been beautiful; awake he had the countenance of a Botticelli angel, with the eyes of a lion. They were light brown, so light as to be amber or the colour of burnt brown sugar. A ring of gold surrounded his pupils and there were flecks of gold in his irises. Right now, there were filled with tears and they made salty tracks in his grimy face.

Time seemed to stay still as the two took stock of each other. His eyes widened as he took in her face and then flitted to his surroundings and the strange people around him before settling on her face.

**She is so beautiful** he thought, unconscious of the fact that his hand had reached out to caress her face with childlike wonder. Her skin was the same shade as his and her brown eyes were steady and unwavering as she permitted him to inspect her. She smelt of gardenias and that scent immediately gave him comfort – he knew he was safe; this woman would never do anything to hurt him.

The others could only stare in wonder as they two continued to stare at each other as though they were the only two people in the world.

"Hello," she said softly in Greek.

His eyes widened like saucers but he said nothing.

Alexis was not deterred. "My name is Alexis," she continued, speaking in her native language.

**Alexis** he let the name roll over him like a wave of warmth but kept silent.

"What's yours?" Alexis asked.

Still the little boy said nothing.

Alexis looked helplessly over at her daughter. Hoping her action wouldn't startle to the boy, Elizabeth laid a hand on his thin shoulders. He jumped, but didn't scream and for the moment turned to her. "Hello, my name is Elizabeth," she announced, her dulcet tones sweeping over his ears.

**Elizabeth** he felt comforted by her presence as well.

"That's my father, Sonny," she continued, pointing over to him, standing just behind the couch, "and my uncle Ric, and my friend Francis and," she pointed behind him, "this is Jason."

The boy turned to the man he'd been so sure had been out to hurt him but instead had brought him here. The boy stared unflinchingly at the man – Jason was a little in awe, after all, some *adults* couldn't look him in the eye.

"You're safe little one," Sonny spoke up, forgetting that the little boy didn't understand him.

His eyes went to this man. He reminded him a lot of his father, except he was not as tall. His voice was different as well, but contained the same harnessed power. Sonny smiled at him... the dimples were the same. It was uncanny.

He sensed rather than saw Alexis smile. "Yes, little one, you *are* safe. *Now* will you tell us your name?"

The little boy seemed to debate his answer and long seconds passed before he answered. "Zico," he answered softly. "My name is Zico."

TBC…

A/N: I guess you can consider this a bit of a filler chapter but necessary nonetheless. I guess you've come to the conclusion that actual romance will be put on the backburner as the action/adventure/suspense takes center stage. I doubt the name Zico (pronounced Zee-co) is Greek but it sounded a little exotic – I have a friend named Zico; he would be proud, lol. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. Don't forget to review!