A couple of weeks later, after taking the children to school, Lucy stopped by Alison's before returning home. She had moved into Ian's old loft, with the help of Jack and Jamal. When Ian had decided to give up the apartment, it seemed the perfect solution for Alison. After Rafe left, she wanted to put some distance between herself and her memories—closing down the gym and moving out of the apartment were the first two things she did. Elizabeth kept Alison distracted with her fashion designs, and Alison rediscovered her head for business. She turned one of the bedrooms into an office, while Elizabeth moved to New York. Port Charles had always been a little too provincial for Elizabeth, and Alison found it much easier to deal with her mother from a distance.

Lucy had provided the start-up capital for Alison and Elizabeth's fashion design company. She insisted, though, that Alison be in charge of the funds, and limit Elizabeth's access. In return Alison asked Lucy to be her partner in the business, rather than just an investor. When Alison decided not to find her elusive sister, Lucy and Ian hadhired an attorney to challenge Malcolm Barrington's will and won. Alison used her inheritance to repay half of Lucy's investment the design company so that they were truly partners. She lived a comfortable, independent life. Jamal and Jack were her constant companions, as if the two years with Rafe never happened. The sadness lurking behind her eyes was the only evidence of their time together.

"Hey, Lucy," said Alison as she opened the door. "The coffee's ready—do you want muffins or croissants this morning?"

Lucy walked into the apartment, reminiscing briefly about living there with Ian for a short time. Alison hadn't changed the place much, except for some feminine touches here and there. She reached out to take Caroline from Lucy's arms, "Come here, cutie. Auntie Allie's gonna take off that big, heavy coat!"

Lucy laughed to watch Alison with the baby. She had taken to joining Alison for a late breakfast after dropping the kids at school, and looked forward to it each day. Lucy and Alison had grown closer than ever, and the time they spent together was so much more than discussing routine business. Ian encouraged their "time" as he called it, and started leaving forthe hospitalearly so that Lucy didn't feel guilty for not having breakfast with him. Caroline had an amazing effect on Alison, and they had bonded quickly.

After breakfast, Lucy knew she had to talk to Alison, but she had been dreading it. She didn't want Rafe to come back for even a visit without letting the younger woman know. "Ummm…Alison…we need to talk," she said.

"Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good," Alison answered. "What has my mother done now?"

"Nothing! I mean… I haven't talked to Elizabeth in a while! Is something up with her?"

"Something is ALWAYS up with my mother! You know that, Lucy. I just figured she had been bugging you about her new guy, too."

"Oh, no, not again," said Lucy. "You have made sure that she has limited access to the business funds, right? We don't want her lavishing it all on her latest boy-toy!"

"Don't worry—she's on a very short leash. Which is why I figured she was bugging you. She's been on my case for more money again, which means that she's found herself another leach! Will that woman never learn?" Alison said in complete exasperation.

"I'm sorry, Alison. You don't need this—isn't it funny how it's more like you're the mother and she's the child. You know, you could always cut her off…" Lucy answered.

"I know I can…but I won't. She's still my mother, and the only family I have left," Alison said softly. Amanda Barrington had been the only casualty in curing the vampires. Her heart wasn't strong enough to withstand the stress, and she died two days after being injected and never regained consciousness. Everyone had forgotten about Amanda when they did the first round of the cure until Alison reminded them. Chris volunteered to administer the cure, but both Ian and Chris felt some guilt over her death. Alison did not blame them, though. Her Nana had made it quite clear that she preferred death to vampirism, and had already lived a long and full life. Fortunately, Amanda never had a chance to find out that her fortune had melted away in the hands of Joshua Temple.

"I'm sorry, Alison. I'm afraid that I have to talk to you about…about Rafe," Lucy said quietly.

Alison stood up, and started to leave the room, "Wait…wait. I know you don't want to talk about him. But I have to tell you this…I don't want you to hear it from anyone else," Lucy called after her.

"Make it quick, Lucy," Alison said sharply after turning around.

"He wants to come and visit…to—to meet Caroline," Lucy stammered. "I didn't want there to be any surprises. I…I'm sorry, Alison. I couldn't tell him no."

"He's family, and he should get to meet his cousin. Thanks for telling me… just… just…I don't want to see him…okay? No meddling, you hear?"

"I wouldn't dream of it," Lucy answered honestly. "I'm not sure I want to see him either. I'll understand if you want to cancel our breakfasts together."

"Now why would I do that? Then I wouldn't get to see my favorite girl!" Alison answered as she picked up Caroline and give her a hug. "It's okay, Lucy, I'm not angry with you. Come look at Mother's latest swimsuit design. Tell me if you don't think it's going to be perfect for next year's cruise season."

Lucy took the cue and followed Alison into her office to see the new sketches. After staying for another half an hour, Lucy left with a promise to see Alison the next morning.

"Yeah, it's still tofu, but all the other fixin's are pretty good!" Ian said into the phone with a laugh. "You can always cancel if you feel that way, you know."

Kevin knocked on the open door of Ian's office, and Ian looked up with a smile. He motioned him into a chair by his desk. "Alright, we'll see you next weekend, then… Flight 173…okay…bye"

"Rafe," Ian said simply. "He's comin' in for Thanksgiving to meet Caroline. What's up, Kevin?"

"Uh…I was wondering if you had room for another guest at dinner?" Kevin answered.

"Why not? The more the merrier! I don't know how Lucy does it, but I don't believe that there are ever too many people at Thanksgiving; and we have a lot to be thankful for this year," Ian answered. "Anyone we know?"

"Livvie decided to come in from Chicago," Kevin replied. "I hope that doesn't make you want to change your mind."

"Na, she's your daughter, and Lucy wants you there. She and Livvie were close once…hopefully she'll be on her best behavior. Besides, Alison, Jack and Jamal are havin' their own celebration this year…what with Rafe comin' and all. We shouldn't have any fireworks as long as we keep 'em apart. This is the first time she's been back for a visit, isn't it?"

"You're right, she hasn't wanted to come back until now. I've been going to see her in Chicago every month, and she's doing really well," Kevin said, unable to mask the pain in his eyes.

Livvie had suffered a complete mental break when she had been unwillingly cured of being a vampire. Livvie had seemed fine until she went to Caleb's apartment and discovered it was empty. She tried to find him, but he had disappeared without a trace. Kevin had found her one day at the pond behind the lighthouse, nearly frozen and incoherent. He took her to a friend in Chicago—and had her committed to a psychiatric facility for a few weeks. After being released, he arranged for her to stay for outpatient treatment hoping that the change of scenery would aid her recovery. After several months of therapy, she believed that vampires, angels and avatars were all products of her mental illness. She had started back to college that fall and revived her dream of someday becoming a doctor.

"I don't have to tell you that I'm worried about her coming back here. But I can't tell her not to come, so I have to ask one more favor," Kevin said.

"Ask away, even though I'm pretty sure I know what it is," Ian said with a smile.

"Livvie's sanity is dependent upon … well...believing that vampires don't exist. Can you make sure that no one… no one brings up those times?" Kevin asked.

"Not a problem… haven't you heard? Vampires don't exist… and definitely not in Port Charles. That is one topic that Lucy and I agree not to discuss, especially with the wee ones around," Ian told him matter-of-factly.

"Thanks, Ian, you're a good friend. Would you have believed this if we weren't living it?" Kevin said to him with a grin.

"No, I wouldn't have… but I'm glad it turned out this way," Ian answered as he stood and walked toward his office door. "I've got to pick up Daniel on my way home, so I better get out of here."

"I have to tell you, I don't mind missing out on fake turkey, but do we have to eat in our own restaurant?" Chris complained to Jack.

"Why not? Alison's doing the cooking, and all we have to do is show up and eat. And it's a whole lot more comfortable than trying to squeeze into her apartment. I'll tell you what, why don't we rent some DVD's and we'll crash at my place after we eat? Will that make you happy?" Jack answered.

"I guess so. Are you bringing that new waitress?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, you asked me to, didn't you? And she has a name, remember, Megan. If you can't remember her name, she's never going to go out with you again, Bro. What about Nikki? She's off duty, right?"

Chris nodded at his brother in reply. It would be nice to spend Thanksgiving together as a family, even if it was a strange sort of family. He'd be with his brother, and they would each have dates. Alison and Jamal would be together. But he was going to miss spending the holiday with Ian, Lucy and the kids. Lately he'd been really wishing for a family of his own, and he knew that Jack had been feeling the same way. He hoped that Rafe's visit wasn't going to cause trouble for his friends—they had worked too hard to recover from the vampire ordeals. He was going to have to keep a close eye on that guy and make sure trouble didn't follow him back to Port Charles.