Bittersweet Memories
In the end, Alexis found herself glad that Jax had coaxed her out of the penthouse. Her appetite returned somewhat and she and Jax lingered over a last cup of coffee together before she sent him on his way.
"I still don't like the idea of leaving you alone." Jax told her as he prepared to go. He put the last of the papers she'd prepared into his own briefcase and looked at her, all too obviously reluctant to go off and leave her here alone. Even though she insisted that that was exactly what she wanted.
"This was the best medicine you could have given me." Alexis said. She waved a hand around to encompass their surroundings. "The fresh air – and the company – was exactly what I needed. I plan to sit here for a moment more and enjoy myself and think of nothing that I 'have' to do. Isn't that what you wanted?" Before Jax could protest, Alexis held up a hand to shush him. "You have your own business to take care of, and I won't let you put anything off any longer because of me. I insist."
Seeing the look in her eye, Jax reluctantly relented. With conditions. "You will call me when you get back …home?"
"Yes, I will."
"And you will keep your appointment at GH?"
"Yes, I will. And I promise to eat all of my vegetables and clean my plate and say my prayers before I go to bed." Alexis promised. "Now off with you already."
And finally, off he went. Alexis sat back in her chair. To all appearances she was alone; the rest of the afternoon lunch crowd had already gone their way, and Alexis took a few moments more to enjoy the sunshine and the peace, then she let out a long sigh. "Come out, come out, wherever you are." Alexis raised her voice without looking around. Only silence answered her, so she tried another tack. "We both know that Johnny was not about to let me leave the penthouse without any sort of protection, and now that my friend is gone, this pretence is no longer unnecessary."
She waited a moment, and then a man she had only vaguely recognized as being in Sonny's employ materialized before her. Alexis looked up at him. "Not to worry, this is not meant to reflect on your abilities." she told him. "I hadn't registered your presence, and I'm sure my companion hadn't either. I just thought that it might be more efficient if I informed you of my itinerary before we proceeded further." She went on to tell him of her plans. "From here, I plan to go to my office, check into a few things, which should take me about twenty minutes, then I will be going to General Hospital and from there back to the penthouse."
His response was to nod his head respectfully and retreat. Alexis sipped at the last of her coffee. She tried calling Sonny's on her cell phone, but only got his voice mail.
"Just wanted to let you know that I'm fine. And I miss you." She said. Alexis hung up. She wondered if she should worry. She wondered if she should go down to the PCPD. Or should she just trust Sonny. If he needed her, he'd call.
Alexis stood and headed towards her car, smiling a little to herself. Alexis wouldn't admit it to anyone, she could barely admit it to herself, but it was no small degree of comfort knowing that so many people were looking after her well being. Sonny, Jax, Johnny. She buckled herself in and then pulled off into the quickly growing traffic, noting the unassuming sedan that pulled out and took a position behind her in the left hand lane. Two men, not just the one who had come out of hiding at her request. Very efficient, she thought to herself. Her attention was drawn away from them as her phone rang.
"Hello? Hello?" She was answered by the hiss and sway of static, but then she could barely make out Kristina's voice. "Kristina? Where are you? How are you and Nikolas?" She said into the phone. She hoped Kristina's end of the phone call was coming through better than hers was.
"...London still..." Kristina's voice ebbed and flow over the interference. "...olas is in meetings at the moment...will call when he gets a free moment..."
Alexis raised her voice, just to be sure. In her happiness in hearing from her little sister, Alexis forgot about her bodyguards, thinking only about getting a better signal for their phone call. She swung a hard right at the first light just as it turned yellow, then circled around the block, heading back towards the cafe. She drove into the little park across the street and quickly found a parking spot.
"Kristina, is this better?" Alexis got out of her car and started walking down a park path. Even as she asked, the interference on the line began to die down, and Kristina's voice came through.
"Much better!" she exclaimed.
"How are you? And Nikolas?" Alexis asked again." How are things going?
"We're both fine. We're still in London; Nikolas has been in non-stop meetings. This is one of the few that he hasn't required me to be at."
"How is that going?" Alexis asked.
"Learning to be a Cassadine Princess is an eye-opening experience. After Nikolas' last meeting, we have a ball and dinner to attend. Can you believe it?"
"I believe it." Alexis laughed. She was sure that it had been more of an eye-opener for the usually staid and conservative Cassadine retainers who had had the unique experience of coming into contact with Kristina. "But you're surviving?"
"And thriving. And so is Nikolas." Kristina paused. "I had no real idea of the reach of the Cassadines. And to think that you have been responsible for this until Nikolas came of age. I'm awed by it, Alexis. So is Nikolas. He did make me promise to remember to tell you that he says he will call you as soon as he gets his next free moment."
"Tell him for me, not to worry. He's there to handle the European end of the family business, to consolidate his rule, and that comes first. And don't be awed about whatever I have done... it was nothing compared to what Stefan did. He was the one who bore the brunt of the burden." Alexis corrected her. "And in either case, neither one of us considered it a burden. A responsibility to Nikolas, to ensure he came into what was rightfully his."
"All we meant that it was a good thing that now you were free to pursue your own happiness now. Both of us are glad about that. How is Sonny ,by the way?"
"Both of you? Kristina, have you been discussing my love life with my nephew?"
"Only to reassure him that you hadn't wasted your life away serving nothing but the Cassadine concerns. He's very happy about that, you know. And I think so was Stefan."
Alexis sobered a little. "Not according to the last conversation we had."
"Alexis, I'm sorry, I never got a chance to tell you, but the last conversation that we had, it felt like Stefan had been coming to an acceptance of your relationship with Sonny. It's just that everything happened so fast..."
"That's okay, Kristina." Alexis was quick to reassure her. "I can hardly believe that it happened."
"I wouldn't lie to you about something like this, Alexis. But Stefan did say something about wanting your happiness above all else. He even unbent enough to refer to Sonny as something other than that American thug."
"Did he?" Alexis smiled.
"He didn't call him Sonny - but he did refer to him as Michael Corinthos at least once."
It was a bittersweet chuckle that escaped Alexis' lips; she could picture Stefan's expression and the struggle it must have been for him to unbend even that much. But he'd done it – because he'd loved her so. That fact, that his love for her had overcome his reservations and objections in the end warmed her soul.
"He did love you, you know." Kristina said, unknowingly echoing her thoughts
"He loved us all. And we will do his memory proud." Alexis SAID. Before She could let her grief overwhelm her, she changed the subject to the present. Stefan would have expected her to do so. Nikolas may be the Prince, but she was the gatekeeper, now more than ever. "And speaking of which, I have things to see to on this side of the planet, and I'm sure you do too." She and Kristina chatted for a few more minutes and after promising to be in touch again before tomorrow had ended, they said their good byes.
He had paused to look back at Alexis one last time before he stepped into his car. Jax knew that he understood Alexis as well as anyone, so he recognized her need to stand on her own two feet, even though it might seem pushed to the point of irationability to others. Alexis was lost in thought, no doubt planning her next move. She would keep busy as a solace for the pain. And she would insist on handling it herself. How many people would know that?
Did Sonny? That thought was an unwelcome intrusion into his thoughts. His act of guardian angel, said that he did. Jax's mouth twisted into an angry thin line as he drove down the street. He hadn't understood that. The possibility that Sonny might have come to know Alexis well enough to give her the space she needed didn't set well with him either. The light ahead of him turned red, giving him unwilling time to digest the possibility.
Against his will, Jax remembered Sonny the night he'd come to Alexis' door. And other times when he seen the easy camaraderie between them. In hindsight, this had been a long time coming. He should have seen it, maybe he could have been able to do what - stop it? Even if he had known sooner, was it his right to try and stop it? Even in the name of protecting Alexis?
A crowd of pedestrians had been crossing as he waited for the light to turn; suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by a flash of sunlight on a swirl of chestnut hair. His heart twisted painfully. Even now, after all these years, the tiniest thing could set off his memories of the real reason that made him wary as far as Sonny Corinthos and his emotions were concerned.
Brenda.
What happened to her could never be allowed to happen to Alexis. But Alexis isn't Brenda, his mind argued. She's a fully grown woman, Sonny's lifestyle and power could never overawe her. Brenda had been young, innocent in so many ways. She and Alexis were opposites in so many ways. So, he told himself - he had no right in not accepting her decisions. But his heart couldn't help it... he'd seen what happened to Brenda after getting involved with Sonny. He knew what happened to the people around Sonny- their lives were usually shattered one way or the other. How could he stand by and watch it happen to Alexis?
The blare of the car horn behind him jerked him unpleasantly out of his reverie. Jax looked up to see that the light had turned to green. Disgruntled at himself, Jax began to drive. His phone rang and at first he wanted to ignore it, but checking the Caller ID, he saw it was one of his Chicago contacts.
"Yes, Mr. Daniels... a situation has arrived and you need to return to Chicago sooner than expected? Not a problem...we can have dinner together, another time; meanwhile, we can move the meeting up, and I will alert my pilot to file a flight plan as soon as possible. I'll have him contact you with that information as soon as he gets it."
Jax hung up and then made the necessary phone call to his pilot. Then he called his contact at the D.A.'s office. He told himself that he was protecting Alexis and that he really had no choice, but still, a tiny nagging sense of betrayal niggled at the back of his mind. Cohen was an assistant DA whose acquaintance he had cultivated a long time ago. The man was bright and ambitious, and one never knew when it paid to have friends in the legal system. Like now.
It was easy enough for Jax to steer the conversation towards Sonny Corinthos and the warehouse explosion, and even easier to let Jax's concerns to be subtly gotten across. Cohen took the bait and promised to do his best to be in on the interrogation. He informed Jax that Mr. Corinthos was expected within the hour; he also promised to keep Mr. Jacks informed of the outcome of the proceedings, of course. It was good of him to be so civic-mindedly concerned for the citizens of Port Charles. Anything that contributed to the economic growth and well being of the city, well, blah blah blah...
He told himself that he wasn't doing anything wrong, but somehow that didn't make him feel any better. And so it was when he arrived at his destination, finding Carly and Mason together in the office area of Club 101 didn't make him any happier.
Carly was sitting behind the desk, while Mason hovered just behind her, his posture making it obvious that he had just finished whispering in her ear. Carly's indulgent laugh assured him that it hadn't been business they'd been discussing.
"I hope you've been spending some time and attention on the Chicago deal, because we have a meeting with them in the next hour." Jax said not too nicely.
"Who killed your cat?" Carly snapped back. She narrowed her eyes and stared at him. "Let me guess, you've just come from holding Alexis' hand and she told you where to get off. No wonder you've got your shorts in a twist."
The fact that Alexis had done exactly that did nothing to soothe Jax's already riled up nerves.
"But I bet she doesn't have a problem with Sonny doing the same." Carly added spitefully.
"Sonny was nowhere around. In fact, more than likely, he's down at the PCPD answering the question about his whereabouts in the time leading up to the explosion." Jax snapped at her. "In fact, I know that they are expecting him there this afternoon."
"You can't believe that Sonny had anything to do with this?" Carly asked.
"What I believe is that his life is dangerous and anyone who makes the mistake of getting involved with him runs the risk of getting caught in the crossfire. You should know that as well as I do."
"You've always had a reason to hate Sonny." Carly said. "And I am not going to sit here and waste my breath trying to explain him to you. I'll let Alexis handle that problem. Since she wants to handle everything else about him"
"Sounding a bit jealous, are we, Caroline?" Mason murmured, with just a shade of mockery in his voice.
"Hardly." Carly said; she tossed her head with contempt. "Why should I be?" She looked knowingly up at Mason and smiled at him provocatively.
Jax had had enough. "And now that we have that settled, I need to bring you up to speed on our meeting. So Mason," and he paused to look meaningfully at the other man ".. if you don't mind?"
"Mine? Another time, perhaps I would. But now, not at all." He turned to Carly and taking her hand, drew her up out of her seat. "Business, after all, before pleasure." he said, looking down at her. Mason bent and brushed his lips against hers. "And speaking of pleasure, shall I call you later?"
"How about I call you instead? That will be pleasure, indeed."
Mason chuckled and kissed her lightly again. He clapped Jax on the shoulder as he passed him on the way to the door. He leaned in close. "Take it easy, old man. Your concern is showing. Our mutual friend is a big girl and I'm sure she knows what she's doing."
