"I just don't know how much we should trust her, Stefan," Alexis said, not for the first time, sipping from the cup of hot tea her brother had Mrs. Lansbury prepare for her. "What? Why are you laughing?"

"I'm laughing, Natasha, because it's good to see you're weary of people again. Far too many times in my absence, you've trusted the truly undeserving with horrific results. It's good to see you on your toes again. However, there is no need to concern yourself with Irisa. She's quite trustworthy," Stefan informed with eyes alight, but a certain finality in his voice that most wouldn't dare argue with.

Of course, Alexis wasn't just anyone. "So says the man that has trusted more unworthy people than I have. Do I really need to mention them all?" She took a sip of her tea and closed her eyes as it overheated her top lip. She sighed and slowly opened her eyes. "I'm merely trying to look out for you, Stefan."

"I am here to look after you, Natasha, not the other way around." His face was blank as he rose the tea cup to his lips, but his eyes looked frustrated. Stefan was one of the few men that could make Alexis feel the gamit of emotions just by a single stare. "Believe me, Alexis," he said, "I have every faith in Irisa, and she deserves it."

A silence prevailed between the two and Alexis felt uncomfortable. Whether he meant it to be or not, her own guilt made it a very loaded statement. She could have easily put herself in contrast to Irisa. The princess had served Stefan faithfully. Alexis had done so much to hurt Stefan that she was surprised that her banishment from the family had ever been lifted.

After a few minutes, Stefan uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. He set his tea cup on the table, then turned to Alexis. He crossed his left leg over his right knee and looked at her sternly. "Whatever has been done is in the past. You know that I do not forgive easily, but as I have forgiven you, we need not discuss anything else. Right now, there are more important things for us to discuss. Things that will alleviate your guilt in a much more productive way."

He spoke as though everything were cut and dry, simple and easy. Alleviating her guilt was no small feat, but she had to have faith in Stefan. She had to believe that he was sincere and that this was truly a second chance. Alexis nodded her head and sat down her tea cup. "Alright," she said. "In that case, I suppose we begin with Wyndemere and Spoon Island."

Alexis hadn't lived on Spoon Island in years, and to suddenly be taking up residence there made her uncomfortable. Her last eviction from Wyndemere had been one of the most painful moments of her life. At the time, it had been in the number one position, but since then, it had floated down to possibly four or five. Though, it's position on the list did not alter its affect on her. The memory still choked her up and the idea that it could happen again made her come close to hyperventilating.

"Nikolas has told me that I am free to anything Cassadine. The money, the resources… But I'm not sure how well he would take being told that his uncle is moving my daughter and me into his home."

"There is no need for his reaction, because that is not what you will tell him." Stefan sat back and closed his eyes. His face was slack, but every other second, Alexis could see a slight tick at the corner of his mouth and at his right eye. He may have been trying to convince himself that Nikolas's treachery meant nothing to him, but he couldn't convince Alexis. He had loved Nikolas like a son, cared for him and raised him, and in the end, Stefan had been left alone.

"What will I tell him, then?"

He opened his eyes and rolled his head against the back of the sofa. "You'll tell him that you are escaping your soon-to-be ex-husband. You have discovered his infidelity and you want nothing more to do with him. You are also escaping Sonny Corinthos. You feel much safer here, and since Nikolas has allowed his undeserving wife to dictate his living arrangements, Wyndemere had more than enough room to accommodate both you and your daughter."

"The sentiment is fine, but I think I'll put it in my own words." She rolled her eyes. She didn't have anything personally against Emily Quartermaine, but she had to admit that Nikolas's life had only grown worse since attaching himself to her. Though they were married, she couldn't bring herself to think of the young woman as a Cassadine. She could barely think of her as a Quartermaine. The young woman who had returned to Port Charles was so very different than the one who had left that Alexis could barely recognize her. When had she become so selfish, so self-indulging?

Alexis shook her head and sighed. "I'll just tell him that I feel safer at Wyndemere. Maybe I'll even tell him that I felt the call of family. Nikolas may not live here, anymore, but this place is still filled with memories. And despite the ones I'd love to forget, there are still plenty that I adore remembering."

She smiled softly at Stefan and remembered the times they'd spent in Wyndemere. They had done some of their best conniving and plotting within these dark walls. They had brought down relatives and enemies. She could recall sitting in the dining room, watching with amusement as Helena was taken away in handcuffs. Of course, Nikolas had been there as well, so the memory wasn't as delightful as it could have been. At the time, they had enjoyed their coup. Now, she wished that they could all be together again, as a family.

"Do you really think that Nikolas is a lost cause, Stefan? Do you really believe that we can't bring him back into the fold?"

"I don't know, Natasha. He has gone so far from us…" He shook his head. "Nikolas is something to be dealt with at a later time. Right now, I am here to help you. First, we dissolve your marriage from Ric Lansing, and then we make sure that Sonny Corinthos can never take your daughter from you, again."

"Um, about that…" Alexis's hand fell to her stomach. Her palm slid down her rounded belly, then back up. She was angry with Ric, less about his affair with Reese Marshall and more about his deception. He was the one that had puffed up his chest at her in so much righteous indignation, condemning her for lying to him. Yet, he was the one that had kept a selfish secret. Her work with John Durant was for the good of her child. His romp with Agent Marshall was pure gratification. If he wanted this divorce so badly, if he really thought that her vendetta against Sonny was so detrimental to their marriage, then he should have admitted his affair up front so they could have their divorce and be done with it.

And yet, part of her was unsure that she actually wanted the divorce. No matter how angry she was with Ric, she still loved him. He was more than just the father of her child. He was more than just her legal husband. They had connected on every level possible. She didn't know if she wanted to just give that up. Stefan thought that her Cassadine identity should reject Ric as being unworthy, but she thought just the opposite. Her Cassadine identity was telling her to fight for the man that she loved. Telling her that to divorce him would be failure, and she could not fail. Not again.

"Alexis…" She sighed and turned towards Stefan. "He has been unfaithful. He has sided with your enemies. Can you look me in the eye and tell me that you still believe him to be worthy? That there is a part of him that you can salvage? Don't let your emotions run you, Natasha."

"I can't help it, Stefan," she said with a groan. "I love him. I'm carrying his child, and even if I divorce him, I can't just keep this baby from him. I would rather this child have two loving parents than two fighting parents."

"And what makes you think that Ric Lansing won't try to take this child from you?"

"Ric wouldn't do that, Stefan."

"Are you so sure? He has already chosen his brother over you. Who is to say that his love for you is stronger than the misguided loyalty that he feels for his brother? You are not safe with this man, Alexis. He will convince you that our actions are wrong, and then… In the end, will you choose another over me again, Natasha?"

Those words stung. He'd been so quick to dismiss the past before, but now he threw it in her face, and she knew that she deserved it. She turned away from him, unable to look Stefan in the eyes. The touch of his fingertips to her chin made her open her eyes. Stefan turned her to face him and leaned in close. His breath smelled of mints covered with pungent aroma of herbal tea.

"Stefan…"

He leaned in and laid a gentle kiss upon her lips. "I am the only one you can trust right now, Natasha. Alexis. My sister…" His fingers drifted up the side of her face, then lightly back down to her chin. "Believe in me, and believe in what we are doing. I am not here for revenge. I have not returned to be the cause of your downfall. I have come to rebuild our family, and if Nikolas chooses not to be a part of that, then his place will have to be taken by you and your children. I have come to rebuild you to your former glory, to give you cause to stand with your head high. I have come to receive the love that you are finally willing to share with me, the love that I have always shared for you. Trust in me, Alexis. Trust in me like you never have before."

Tears leaked out of her eyes, rolling down her cheeks. The tears veered off into running rivers as they hit his fingers and slid down his hand. Alexis fell forward and wrapped her arms around him. She didn't sob, but she wept, clutching him tightly. "I trust you, Stefan," she said softly. "I trust you, and you can trust me."

She pulled back and kissed the corner of his mouth. Alexis reached up and brushed his hair back from his forehead. Her fingers trailed along the side of his head, then slid down his face to land on his shoulder. "I do still love, Ric, but if he can't accept this… If he can't place his loyalty with me, then he'll just have to go. I may not like it, but I know what has to be done. For the good of my children."

"For the good of your family," he told her.

"The Cassadine family." She slid her hand inside her blouse and fingered the etchings of the medallion she wore, once more, around her neck. "The only family that matters."