I've basically made up my own version of how the captive castle storyline went down, I doubt anyone will mind.

"Hey Lucas, ol' buddy ol' pal," pushing past him, Bart stepped into the office, "Whoa, nice digs. You did well for yourself."

Lucas watched as Bart flipped through a file from his desk then settled himself in a plush leather chair, "What are you doing here?"

He crossed the room, taking the file out of his hands on the way over to the chair behind the desk. He always felt more powerful behind his desk.

"Just checking in. Thought I'd wish you a Merry Christmas, only five more shopping days left," at Lucas's raised eyebrow he continued, "I thought maybe, possibly you might want to do an old colleague a favor. Ever since Mr. D kicked the bucket, God rest his soul, things around the old mansion have been kinda… dull."

Dull wouldn't exactly be what Bart would describe his life since Mr. D "died." He had held people prisoner in a castle, done Tony's dirty work, and helped them escape. He knew it was wrong to turn on Mr. D, but he'd always had a soft spot for that Jennifer Deveraux.

Even though they'd canceled In the House, which he'd been devastated by, Bart was still Jack and Jen's biggest fan. So when Jack cornered him and really started begging, it had been impossible not to agree. He was just an old softy at heart, not exactly cut out for crime. Unfortunately for him, Tony's death wasn't fake anymore.

"Bart? Bart?"

Lucas watched Bart drift off. He'd never pictured him as much of a thinker; in fact Bart was the type to let people think for him. The type of thoughts going through his head right now would probably make Lucas laugh harder than he had all day.

This was wasting time. Bart seemed to want something, but helping Maggie was top priority. They needed to get on with whatever this was about.

"Sorry, Roberts, I was thinking. Anyways, I heard you were running this joint here and I thought you might like to give an old friend some help."

Old friend, ha! He'd never liked Lucas while he was working for Tony. Bart was the only right hand man needed. But, once Lucas left the organization he had been back on top, so no hard feelings.

"Why would I help you, Bart? I haven't seen you since you brought what's her name to the hospital."

"Ah, Hattie. Now that was some kind of woman. If she would just stop talking about her 'sweet Roman' I would definitely have gotten her eventually. Mmmm, but anyway, back to the favor. I thought you'd like to give me a job, something cushy. I'm great at following orders."

Lucas sat back, feigning contemplation, while really trying to find the right way to say "no way in hell." If Bart could find Hattie attractive… He shuddered a little at the memory of being called "shortstop." She was loud, obnoxious… wait a minute.

Loud, check. Obnoxious, check. Trashy, check. Lots of cleavage, check. If Bart could go for Hattie, Bonnie wasn't that much of a stretch.

If he was going to set this up he had to work fast. For Bonnie to go for him, he needed to have money. A lot of money, "You know what Bart, I could really use you around here. We'll find the perfect position, plenty of good pay."

Bart smiled his goofy yet devious smile, that was easier than he thought it would be. Especially since he has helped the Dimeras hold his family members on an island, some for more than a year. Hopefully the rest of them got back soon. If he was going to do a good deed, he might as well get a few redemption points for his heroism.

"I knew I'd be needed here."

……………………………………..

"Sami? Sami!"

She looked up from her cleaning as Lucas practically threw open the door. He didn't bother to close it as he came across the room. His excitement resulted in slight dizziness for Sami as he finished in a spin and dip.

"Congratulate me, I'm a genius."

Laughing, she came up to face him, "How are you a genius?"

"I, my dear, have figured out the perfect man for Bonnie."

"Really?" she asked the skepticism evident in her voice.

"Guess who came to my office today."

She sighed as they migrated over to the couch. Why couldn't anyone in Salem just come out and say what they meant right away? Did everything have to be dragged out?

"I don't know. Was it Philip?" she guessed lamely.

"Well, yeah, but that's another story. Actually… wait, you would actually pawn my brother off on Bonnie?"

Sami shrugged noncommittally, "It's better than Belle."

Deciding he couldn't argue that point, Lucas let that go in favor of his big news, "It was Bart."

"Tony Dimera's lap dog Bart?"

"One and the same."

"You want to set Bonnie up with Bart?"

Not swayed by her apathy, Lucas continued, "If you think about it, he's perfect. Easily manipulated, they're both kind of crazy, and best of all, he was into Hattie."

"Hattie Adams? That tacky woman who was obsessed with my father and looks like my mother."

"Exactly! Bonnie and Hattie are almost perfect imitations of each other."

"Okay," she could see it now. There was a definite link, though Bart didn't earn any points in her book from the revelation. He had held her family captive on an island because Tony told him to, "So how do we do this?"

"Well, I've already given him a job at Titan."

"What's he going to do there?"

"Little stuff, things I know he can handle. Nothing too important, after all he said it best himself. His best talent is following orders."

Lucas was really getting into this. It had been much too long since he had done something devious. And if ultimately it ended in the greater good, who could condemn them?

"Anything else?"

"This is as far ahead as I thought by myself. Now I need my favorite partner to help me."

"I guess we need to get them to spend as much time together as possible."

"Great, just one question. How?"

"Give me a minute."

Slowly, Sami surveyed the room in hopes of finding some kind of inspiration. Lucas had interrupted her halfway through her cleaning. The dust rag had flown out of her hand, narrowly missing the Christmas tree.

Good thing it hadn't broken anything, or else she'd have to blame Lucas for it and she really didn't feel like sleeping alone tonight. Their beautiful tree was for their first official Christmas as a family. Christmas!

"Does Bart have any family?"

"I don't think so. He never talked about anyone," where could she possibly be going with this?

"Are you sure? No brothers or sisters? Parents?"

"Nope, not that I know of."

"You know, he's probably going to be pretty lonely around this time. It is the holidays and all."

Lucas smirked, catching on to her train of thought, "And Christmas is the season of giving."

"No one could fault us for inviting a friend to spend Christmas Eve with us and our families."

"If Bart happens to hit it off with my dear Aunt Bonnie, so much the better. It'd be nothing more than a coincidence."