Plotting and scheming was the Cassadine family's bread and butter. Executing said plan was second nature. It bothered Alexis to no end she hadn't figured out what the best course of action was. She chalked it up to an imbalance of hormones. Or maybe a complete and utter absence of anything Cassadine left within her. Though, there had to be something left that her brother had taught her. She'd still had enough Cassadine left to use Durant and sabotage Sonny's custody of Kristina. Considering that, then, she had to decide that yes, most definitely, it was because of the hormones.

"This shouldn't be so difficult." She paced back and forth, one hand laying on the curve of her belly, the other waving randomly to the side. "Obviously, the first course of action is to find out who is playing these sick little games. And, of course, that should lead me to Luke, because who other than Luke would do something like this? He probably thinks it would draw Helena out of hiding, and Helena… Yeah, she's probably laughing her Dalmation coat off at me right now." She sighed and ran her hand down her stomach, then back up. "Overall, first things first, I should talk to Luke."

Alexis started towards the door and stopped. "That's not such a good idea." She turned slowly and began her pacing again. "If it's not Luke doing this, then I've just let him know something is up. What if it really is Stefan? I've just let Luke know that he's alive, and that's not the best way to thank him. Though, I'm not exactly sure what I'm thanking my dear brother for. Any chance of saving my marriage is out the window. But, do I want to save it? I don't know. Maybe?" She sighed and looked down at her stomach. "Do I want to stay married to your lying father?"

This very moment was the reason that Alexis thought she needed Stefan to truly be alive. He always seemed to know what she really wanted long before she was ever aware of it. She'd been deferring to him since Helena murdered her mother, and only when she turned on him did her life turn upside down and her world began to topple. Thinking back, she couldn't even remember her exact reasons for betraying him. So many people had been in her ear… Luke, Ned, even Nikolas after a time. They had all told her that Stefan was wrong, and she'd believed him.

Yes, occasionally, he'd done things that he shouldn't have done. His worst deeds were done when he was desperate, alone… When he was at the same place that Alexis had found herself in on so many occasions. But, it was all done for the love of his family. If they had listened to him in the first place instead of letting themselves be corrupted by the hordes of Port Charles goody-two-shoes, maybe all of them would be better off.

"Nikolas!" Alexis stopped and spun towards the desk. "I'll call Nikolas." She looked down at her stomach as a small thump tapped the inside of her belly. "We'll worry about your idiot father, later." The baby kicked again. "He is an idiot, and you're stubborn enough to be more Cassadine than any of us lately." She sighed. "Your father is an idiot, so if you get used to that now, you won't be disappointed when you arrive."

Alexis placed both of her hands flat on the desk and stared at the phone. She wondered if Nikolas were getting the same kind of messages that she was, or if Stefan thought he was too far gone. In the end, it was Nikolas's betrayal that cost Stefan his life. The boy that he'd raised as his own, protected as best as he could, and he'd decided that a Spencer was better than his own uncle. Betraying Helena was one thing. The old bitch deserved everything that came her way. But to betray Stefan… Alexis wondered if Nikolas even had the decency to feel guilty about it. She felt guilty about it every day.

She closed her eyes, counted to ten, then picked up the phone. If Nikolas wasn't getting anything, then he would just think she were crazy. Of course, he was so wrapped up in his Quartermaine drama that he probably wouldn't have noticed a sign if it hit him between the eyes. But, she had to try, because if he were getting signs, then they could figure them out together.

Alexis dialed and waited, listening to the ringing, her foot tapping against the floor. She looked down and stared at the Cassadine family ring. She picked it up and held it up. She stuck her index finger through the loop and the ring slid down loosely on her finger. The other line picked up and she jumped. "Nikolas?" The ring fell from her finger and clattered to the floor. "Nikolas, is that you?"

"Alexis?" His voice was strained, and she couldn't tell if it were because he'd been asleep or if it were because of worry. As it was well after midnight, the former was a probable explanation. "Alexis, you should be resting. What are you doing up that late?"

"I could ask you the same thing." She knelt down and ran her hand over the floor until her fingers touched and wrapped around the ring. She stood up, and let it slide down her thumb. "This isn't about who's asleep and who's awake, though. This is… There's something strange going on, Nikolas, and I need to know… I need to know if you've noticed it."

"Strange? You mean more than usual?" He snorted a laugh. "We're Cassadines, Alexis. Something strange is always afoot."

She held back a smirk. Cassadines, indeed. She was at the point where she often wondered if they deserved that title. Cassadines didn't run from their problems. Cassadines didn't cry themselves to sleep at night, and they most certainly didn't let anyone beat them. They might have lost a few battles now and again, but for the Cassadine family, every battle was part of a perpetual war that would only end when they could declare themselves the victors.

"Have you gotten any strange packages lately? Things with no return address? Or with… I don't know. Cryptic notes?"

Nikolas was hesitant as he said, "No. Alexis, are you alright? You don't sound too good. I really think you should go to bed. Whatever's going on…"

"Whatever is going on is why I need to be awake!" Alexis closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "I don't mean to snap on you but… there's something weird going on, and I wanted to know if I'm the only one…" She stopped, deciding to change tactics. "Do you ever think about Stefan, Nikolas?"

The other end of the line was quiet for so long that Alexis wondered if he would answer her question. Would he change the subject? Or maybe he would just tell her to go to bed, again, then hang up the phone. A heavy sigh came over the line, then, "Sometimes." Nikolas paused. "I wonder how he ended up as crazy as he was when Luke… When he died."

Alexis cringed. That he could talk so easily about it told her that he wasn't getting anything from Stefan. As far as Nikolas was concerned, his uncle was dead and for the time being, Stefan wanted it that way. "He ended up that way because of us, Nikolas, and I think deep down, you know that. We let him down. He wanted to help us, risked his life in some cases to help us, and we… We betrayed him because like everyone else, we thought Spencer was better than Cassadine."

"Maybe…" Nikolas sighed. "Or maybe he was already gone long before we ever did anything, and it all just caught up with him."

"Or maybe you should have a little more respect for the man that raised you and loved you. And maybe I should have had more love for the man that protected me from your psychotic grandmother. And maybe…" Alexis sighed and let her body slouch. "…maybe I should go to bed because my hormones are all over the place."

"Alexis…"

"No, I'm sorry to have bothered you. Goodnight, Nikolas." Alexis hung up the phone and turned towards the door. There wasn't another soul she could think of that might have an answer for her. At one point after Kristina's egg, she had considered speaking to Lorenzo Alcazar. He'd loaned money to Stefan before. If he were alive, he would need some cash, and maybe he would go back to old fonts. But, Alcazar claimed that his U.S. businesses were all legitimate, and even if somehow Stefan were alive and had borrowed from him, Alexis wasn't all that sure he would tell her anything. She had, after all, murdered his brother.

"We are going to bed," she told her belly, running her hand over and back up the curve. "Because we're going insane. There's an explanation for all of this, and it has absolutely nothing to do with your uncle. Because he's dead, and no number of notes or Fabragé eggs are going to change that."

Alexis walked towards the door, prepared to lock it and head off. But, something stopped her. A feeling washed over her that said she should look outside just once before turning in. Before checking on Kristina and turning out all the lights, she had to open that door and peer out. She didn't want to, but there was no denying the invisible pressure.

The door opened and there he stood. Alexis blinked, almost certain that he was a figment of her imagination. He stood with his hair perfectly coifed, beard excellently shaped. His arms were crossed, stretching the shoulders of his dark brown suit. He reached out to her and she distinctly noticed that his fingers were bare. She wore the ring that he had once bore. His fingertips brushed her cheek and he was real… so real. Too real.

Alexis closed her eyes. Tears leaked from under her lids as his fingers slid down the line of her jaw, then curled around her chin to cup her face. "Look at me, Natasha." She shook her head. She couldn't open her eyes. She didn't know what was more frightful. That she'd see him standing there, alive and well, or that he wouldn't be there and she really was going crazy. "Natasha… Look at me."

Her eyes opened slowly, almost painfully as she forced her lids up. She blinked through tears at him as he smiled at her. "Stefan?" She reached up and lightly touched his fingers, then gripped them hard. "Stefan…" she muttered, then her knees gave out, her eyes closed again and she started to sink.