A Christmas present for all my sexis-lovin' friends.
And for Kchele, who gave me the idea...

Christmas Angel
CHAPTER ONE

It was a late night in New York City and the snowflakes drifting down were thick and floaty, whirling and dancing in the air before drifting down into the light -spangled darkness of the city streets far far below. Alexis sipped at her coffee as she gazed out the penthouse windows a moment longer before turning back to the room.

"This was such a great idea." Alexis said to the others as she took a seat on the floor.. She smiled at Nora Hanen who was sitting to one side of her and then at Evangeline Williamson who was sprawled comfortably on the other side. A nearby coffee table held a carafe of coffee, alongside a variety of liquors and wines. the ladies were letting their hair down and relaxing after several days of a Women In Law symposium. So it was no surprise that most of the bottles were less than half full.

Nora Hanen had been one of the keynote speakers, Alexis had been an awards presenter, and Evangeline had been a recipient of a prestigious award recognizing her achievement as Woman of the Year in Llanview.

Nora and Alexis had known each other on a professional level, had even faced each other across a courtroom once or twice, each of them having a 1-1 win-lose to their mutual credit and respect.

Alexis sat down her cup, poured some more coffee into it, along with a liberal splash of brandy and then curled up contentedly, staring into the dancing flames. Vodka was her usual choice of liquor. But for some reason, she wanted something darker, sweeter, a different flavor that brought back memories, even if it were only a whisper of taste on her lips.

"It was, wasn't it?" Nora nodded her head. "Christmas time in New York City, there's nothing like it. And Matthew is loving it - so are Starr and little Jack Manning."

"It was sweet of Matthew to ask for her to come along. Those children have been through enough this year." Evangeline said. "But it was brave of you to volunteer nanny duties." she said to her younger sister, just as Layla entered the main room of the hotel suite.

"Well, when I heard the plans you were making, how could I not offer to come along. After all, I'm watching Jamie...and I thought she'd love the trip." Layla said.

"Not to mention scoring major points with her daddy." Evangeline said teasingly.

Layla ignored her. "I mean, look at this place." she said, spreading her arms and turning around, taking in the luxurious surroundings with a sense of awe on her face. "Somebody must have the serious hookup to get accommodations like this at this time of year!"

The others looked to Alexis, who simply smiled. She was the one who had, as Layla had said, the hook-up. "It helps to have an ex-husband who's a financial tycoon. Mention his name and all kinds of magical things happen."

"I take it that the divorce was amicable." Layla said.

"Very."

"Lucrative?"

"I didn't ask for a dime." Alexis said with a laugh.

"Are you crazy?" Layla exclaimed in disbelief.

"Layla!" Evangeline said, startled by her sister's outburst.

"Don't let her fool you." Nora told Layla. "Alexis is a wealthy woman in her own right. She could probably buy and sell her ex-husband, if she were of a mind to." She turned to Alexis. "Sorry, but you had to know I would check you out the first time we faced each other across a courtroom table. I know all about the Cassadine holdings, it's public record."

Alexis shrugged. "I never hid it. And I don't suppose that information comes under any confidentiality legalities, does it? Oh don't worry." She asked and answered her own question. "It hardly matters. The information isn't exactly a secret anymore. But anyway, being the ex-Mrs. Jasper Jax, has it's advantages. Booking the top floor of one of the most luxurious hotels in mid-town Manhattan during the holiday crush just happens to be one of them."

"Just answer me one question? " Layla asked. "Does he have any brothers?"

"Actually he does, but he's what you might call a bad boy." Alexis told her.

"Mmmm... those can be fun." Layla said.

"Be careful what you wish for." Alexis said. Her eyes misted over suddenly as though her thoughts were suddenly far, far away... "Bad boys can be trouble. In more ways than one."

"And good boys can be just as much trouble." Evangeline said with a sigh.. "Case in point - Detective John McBain."

"I got you beat." Nora said to her. "Try the Police Commissioner."

"What about..." Evangeline started to say.

"I'd rather not bring my ex-husband up." Nora said. "Unlike Alexis, that was not an amicable divorce."

"Point in fact, counselor," Evangeline pointed out. "You can't just dismiss him." She pointed at the table transformed into mini-bar. "The spirits are flowing, the hour is late, the kiddies are all a-bed and this constitutes official girl-talk, and if we're going there, the glossing over of past relationships are not allowed."

"Is that what this is?" Nora said. "Then, if I may have the floor?" That request was agreeable all around, so Nora stood. "I propose an amendment. That this in fact, is not mere girl-talk. Point -in -fact, we are here to enjoy ourselves. Without men."

"Without men." Layla repeated. Her expression showed clearly what she thought about that idea. That it was bad.

"I have the floor, young lady." Nora admonished her. "And I am here to make the case that men are not an a necessary addition to one's life."

"The heck they aren't!" Layla said.

"You have so much to learn." Alexis said.

"Yes, young one, you have much to learn." Evangeline said to Layla in her best Obi-Wan Kenobi tone. Then she laughed. "Sorry, but I have to agree with them on this one, little sister."

"I disagree." Layla said. ""I think you that with all your collective smarts, you all need to learn – or to relearn - to remember the good stuff, and not dwell on the bad. All of you have been in courtrooms way too long and not enough of real life...what is this? The first meeting of the Little Rascals Wo-man Men Hating Club?"

"As a matter of fact, maybe that's what we should become." Nora said. "Yes, Rascals, Inc. There's a name for a law firm."

"Can you imagine the ad!"

"Yeah, Davis, Hanen, & Williamson - Rascals, Incorporated." They all laughed.

"And we could specialize in broken hearts and promises." Alexis said with a laugh.

It was Evangeline who sobered first. "I don't hate men, even the ones I probably should. It's just not in me. For the most part, they are just poor misguided souls, misled by their own weakness."

"And we should always be understanding." Nora said. She added a most unlady like snort.

"Well, I for one, am done with being understanding." Alexis announced. "Being understanding has done nothing for me except leaving me with a broken heart.. I let my guard down one too many times, twice, in fact."

"So did I, and I ended up with a murdering sociopath for a husband. Who was gay. And had a lover."

"I think that trumps my mobster - and his brother."

"And you thought you had problems." Layla said to Evangeline. "All you had is a guy with commitment issues."

Evangeline poured herself another drink. "Add to that the inability to say those three little words, I love you. And a savior complex. John McBain needs to save the world, to save the damsels in distress. And I, being the strong, marvelous

"Woman of the year, no less." Nora reminded her

Evangeline nodded in agreement, then continued ":… self-sufficient woman that I am, didn't quite qualify."

"Vangi…" Layla began to say something, but Evangeline motioned towards her with a shushing gesture.

"This is official girl-talk, remember? So in the interests of keeping it real – one of your favorite expressions, let's do exactly that. John cares – cared for me. I knew it, I could feel it, but something in him wouldn't let him say it. And along came a certain red-headed victim who couldn't keep herself out of trouble and it was just easier for him to let himself get caught up in that."

"John didn't care for you. he loved you. And he was too afraid to deal with it. That's not your fault"

"And I know that." Evangeline said. "His loss." She laughed again. "Come on ladies, let's not turn this into a woe-is me pity party. Why should we feel like we're in the wrong when the only thing we're guilty of is falling in love. If anyone is in the wrong, it's those guys. And if anyone should be feeling like they lost something - again - it should be them. We still have our hearts. What do they have?"

"Our hearts." Nora said darkly.

"Oh, no, I've taken mine back." Alexis said.

"But from who?" Layla asked thoughtfully. "The gangster - or his brother?"

Alexis felt the heat crawl up into her face and she didn't know if it was from the flames or what she was feeling inside "I take the fifth."

"None of that." Nora told her. "Or else we will be forced to cross examine."

Evangeline raised her glass high. "We're pros. Trust me, that won't be pretty."

"I can only imagine." Alexis gave in with a laugh. "All right, mea culpa. If I were to be totally honest..."

"Which as an officer of the court, you are bound to be..." Nora murmured.

"I don't remember being under oath here." Alexis told her. "But in any case, if I had to be totally honest….it's the mobster that won my heart."

"Honesty. Ain't it a kick in the pants." Evangeline said. "Can I ask the hows and whys of it all?"

"Do we have that much time?" Alexis asked with a small laugh. "The short version: We started off as business associates, with the understanding that I would only deal with his legal issues. But somehow, as we began to spend time with each other, we got to talking… and found out we had more in common than not. We became friends, then best friends, actually. We looked out for each other, and more important, I think, we talked and listened to each other; and then somehow, those feelings of friendship began to change. I don't think we would have ever acted on those feelings, but then something happened. One night changed everything between us."

"For good or bad?"

"For good, or so I thought. But then things started happening. Not us, but around us." Alexis looked down in her cup for a moment before looking around at the other women. All she saw was concern and support and it gave her the courage to continue. This wasn't a memory Alexis liked revisiting. But maybe she could exorcise these demons once and for all if she talked about it. "Things started happening, and events just kept snowballing, and the next thing I knew, his ex-wife was scheming her way back into his life, my sister died, I found myself pregnant with Kristina, and that, more than anything else, changed everything.

"What I was willing to risk for myself, living in Sonny's world, I wasn't prepared to put a child in that situation. What she needed came first and foremost before anything I might have wanted."

"So what did he do when he found out that you two were having a baby?" Evangeline asked.

Alexis closed her eyes. Somehow, the truth of the matter still had the power to hurt. "I didn't tell him. He didn't find out about her until after she was born. And by then we were enemies." She sighed. "I don't know even know how we got to that point. Things just spiraled out of control. And somewhere down the road, his brother …he just kind of happened. He said all the right things, made everything seem like he - we - were logical, that together, we could make sense of all the craziness going on…"

Nora reached out and touched her shoulder. "I know exactly what you mean. That's what happened with me and Bo. Somehow we were on opposite sides of the fence and I can't even say how we got there. And then there was Daniel, saying all the right things, making all the right moves. He made me believe that I could love again. I might have to work at it, but I could get there…but…"

"But love isn't something you should have to work on." Evangeline said slowly. "It's why I couldn't keep fighting for John. If he can't say the words, if he can't see what's right in front of him, what's the point?"

"Is that pride talking?" Layla asked.

Evangeline shrugged. "I don't know. Right now, I don't care." She poured herself another glass of wine and drank deep from her glass.

"You should care!" Layla said. "All of you should care!"

"Maybe Layla's got something there. Was it our pride that made us push away the men we really wanted?" Nora asked. "Bo tried to warn me about Daniel. But I wouldn't listen. If anything, everything he said only made me turn to Daniel more and more. Worst of all, maybe it was my pride that made me fool myself. Maybe if I had listened, I wouldn't have let myself get swept along with Daniel's plans."

"Was it my pride that caused me to send Sonny back to Carly?" Alexis asked herself aloud. "Was it my pride that allowed me to accept what Ric offered instead of facing Sonny and fighting for what we could have had?"

"But where's the line?" Evangeline asked. "When does it stop being abut being able to let go of your pride and degrading yourself, for something that may not be real?"

"But if you don't try, how will you ever know ?" Layla asked. "If you had the chance, a second chance, each one of you, to talk to these guys, would you take it?"

There was a moment of silence all around.

Hours later, Layla yawned to herself as she made her way down the hall to her own room. She looked in on Kristina, Jamie and Molly, who shared one room, and then Jack and Matthew, who shared another.

They may tease her and call her young, she thought to herself, but she could wait if "growing up" meant that she'd be facing the issues Nora, Alexis and Evangeline faced. They were all fantastic women, well educated, independent and self-sufficient. But they'd been hurt so much that they'd learned to guard their hearts – too well.

Her thoughts stayed with her while she slipped into the shower. The last of their conversation echoed in her mind.

"Answer me this – forget all the wrong that had happened, or who did what or said what to who – tell me how you felt when you were with him. The first time you realized that he could be the one." Layla had challenged them, looking each one of them in the eye. And from their answers, from the looks she saw in their eyes, Layla knew these women had truly loved the men they had talked about.

"They'll never get the love they deserve if they keep on hiding their hearts." She said aloud as she left the bathroom and came back into her room. "And I thought I had problems. I've got the guy, I just need to find a way to make him see me for me. All of me. I need a first chance, but they all need second chances."

Just as she turned on the lamp by her bed, an unexpected voice spoke.

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"Starr!" Layla nearly jumped out of her skin to see Starr Manning sitting cross-legged on her bed.. "What are you talking about? Or more to the point, what are you doing in here?""

"Nora, Evangeline, that Alexis lady, what are you going to do about it?"

"Starr, you're supposed to be asleep."

"And miss out on all the great stuff you all were talking about?" Starr actually smirked at her. "Beats bed-time stories any day."

"Do you make a habit on eavesdropping, young lady?"

"Yeah, I find out lots of stuff that way. Usually stuff grown-ups don't think I'm old enough or smart enough to understand." Starr changed the subject, obviously it was an issue she was used to dealing with. "Was Alexis Davis really in love with a gangster?"

Layla was still feeling a bit stunned from Starr's presence and her conversation. Plus she was not used to discussing this kind of thing with a pre-teen. "I don't know much about that…. I mean that's what she called him…but you know, that could just be what she called him because they didn't get their happily ever after…"

"Well, there's one way to find out. Wait a minute." Starr jumped up and rushed out of the room, returning in a few minutes with her laptop. She sat back down, flipped it open and powered it up. "What was his name again?"

"Sonny.." Layla answered without thinking. "Sonny Corinthos."

Starr's fingers flew over the keyboard then paused until her search results came up. "Yes, Sonny – Michael Corinthos, Jr. Wow."

In spite of herself, Layla sat down next to Starr and stared at the screen. Wow was right. What a Latin hottie. No, hottie didn't even begin to describe the man. Power blazed out of the gaze of the image on the screen. Those eyes were dark and intense; deep enough to drown yourself in. And was that the hint of dimples she saw? No wonder Alexis Davis had fallen. And fallen hard, from what she'd said.

"So, he's an alleged criminal." Starr said, reading the information on the screen. "Never convicted. I guess Alexis is good at her job. But never mind what she said, she loved him enough to have a baby by him. My momma always said that babies are usually conceived in love. And Nora sounds like she still loves Bo and your sister still loves that John McBain. So, what are you going to do about it?"

"Starr, hold up; what do you think I should do?"

"Come on, I heard you – they need a second chance. Tell me you don't want to give it to them."

"And you have a suggestion as to how I go about that?"

"Suggestions." Starr emphasized the plural. "And I thought you'd never ask."