"Ninotchka." His voice was weak, but Alexis stirred out of a restless sleep the moment she heard his voice. "Little One."
"Stefan!" Alexis slipped from the chair to kneel beside his bed.
He tried for a smile, forcing his lips upwards. At the same time, he lifted a hand towards her. A fresh pang of pain went through as she saw how it trembled. Her beautiful, wonderful, strong cousin, reduced to this because of Helena's schemes. And here she was, caught in the spider's venomous and lethal web, right alongside him. Stifling a sob, Alexis reached for him and held his hand in her own two hands tenderly.
"Of all the times I have delighted in the sight of you, this is the one time when I wished not to see you. My mother has us both ensnared in her web, hasn't she?"
"It doesn't matter… you're alive." Alexis said. She mastered her tears and smiled at him, though her eyes gleamed brightly with them "And you are yourself again."
Stefan struggled to sit upright and Alexis moved to help him. It took a few minutes, and once settled in an upright position, he closed his eyes wearily. But he was all too aware of her anxious eyes upon him. Stefan opened his own eyes again. "Not quite myself, I'm afraid. But I find myself much in need of soap and water. Would you help me?"
Aware and awake he might be, but Stefan needed all of her strength to maneuver himself from the bed to the bathroom. Once there, he sat heavily on the side of the bathtub, gesturing for her to start the shower. But to her surprise, once she had started the spray, he kicked the door shut. His hand reached out and grasped her wrist; his grip on her arm, Alexis realized, was surprisingly strong. His eyes went intent upon hers, clearer than they had been a moment ago.
"We haven't much time, Alexis." Stefan said. "I am not as incapacitated as my mother would wish. But even so, I am sure that she has these apartments wire-tapped. The sound of the water should drown our voices out…so we have a few moments here."
"But how?" Alexis whispered. "I saw her inject you…"
"I've never underestimated my mother's ambition. This not the first time she's tried to eliminate me from Nikolas' life. But it seems this plan of hers was one I rightly anticipated. At least in part."
"I don't understand..how could you have…"
"There are various drugs and poisons that I have acclimatized my body to over the years, for this specific reason." Stefan explained. "I was never as debilitated as she thought I was, so my unconsciousness was mostly a charade, a mask I chose to wear until I could find the opportunity to free myself from her." He frowned. "I didn't expect the explosion at your Mr. Corinthos' warehouse, I do admit. She must have known about you and he. My over-protectedness played directly into her hands. I apologize for that, Alexis."
"You don't have apologize for anything, Stefan." Alexis told him and meant it with every piece of her being. "All that matters is that you are alive and well."
The steam was beginning to fill the room and Stefan coughed. "Alive, yes. Well, not quite. I'm not totally immune to the narcotics Helena has inflicted upon my system. But I thought it would keep me alive and able to snatch whatever opportunity that might come my way. Once outside this room, I'll continue the charade. We don't know how long we have before Helena makes another move. But we must stay ready."
"We will. Together we'll find a way out of here."
"I believe we will." Stefan told her. "But I won't lie to you; this is one time I would wish for your Mr. Corinthos to have stayed closer to your side." He tried for a smile. "In fact, I wouldn't mind seeing him right now. The conversation we'd have would be markedly different from the one I envisioned."
"Would it be? Really?" Alexis tried for a teasing tone, grateful to see even the merest shadow of the old Stefan returning. "Tell me if you wouldn't be questioning what his intentions were. Well, you'll get your chance to ask him about that soon enough." Somehow just saying the words gave Alexis a sudden warmth along with a renewed sense of comfort and she managed to smile back at Stefan with a new sense of hope.
Sonny checked the rounds in his 9mm once more before slipping it in the holster centered in the middle of his back, then reached for another weapon, settling the Glock into the shoulder holster riding on the right side of his chest. His hand smoothed its way along the supple leather of the holster and he felt a sudden warmth and desire that it was Alexis' face he touched. Although there was no comparison between the heavy leather and the sensation of silk that her skin sent through his fingertips, the longing was there suddenly, so strong that it hurt. Hurt so much that his fingers trembled with need.
He jerked his hand away from the holster, raising his eyes to see if anyone else had noticed. But they were all busy readying themselves and none had thought to spare him a glance. Jason had called in three of their men. Two of them had been muscle men, the third their chief tech-guy, Stan. It had been over Luke's objections; he wanted to keep their sortie small lean and mean, as he had put it. But Jason, always the master tactician, had argued him down. If there comes a time when they were forced into separating into two teams, or else they needed backup, better to have them there, because there would be no time to send for any. And in case there were any computer work to be done, Stan was the best they got. "And I'm betting he's better than you." Jason said flatly.
"The point is to make it in and out of there alive." Luke had said. "And that means we can't be seen."
"The point is –" and Jason had looked swiftly from Luke to Sonny and back again. "- to rescue Alexis Davis. If we make it in undetected, then she is our first priority. We need every advantage we can get. Stan can get us through any electronic traps tat might be set up. "
Luke had started to protest, but Sonny interrupted. "We go in with what Jason says we go with. Max is good muscle, and Stan could come in handy if we need him for more - delicate work." He looked hard at Luke. "You said it yourself – not to underestimate the old bat. So that means using every weapon at my disposal. These are men I trust with my life every day. They are my eyes, my ears, my strong right hand. The best I got and I won't give Alexis any less."
And that had been that.
Sonny caught Luke giving Jax a long measuring glance.
After he'd broken out his personal armory – and there were enough armaments to fund a small army. "I'm like a Boy Scout." Luke had said. "Always prepared." – He'd been watching the golden hair Aussie.
Jax looked up and caught this last glance. It was measuring, judging and jax didn't like it one bit. "Is there something you want to say, Spencer?" he asked roughly.
"Hey, I was just thinking, if this ain't your cuppa tea, all you got to do is say so."
"Do you hear me saying anything?"
"This is no time for heroics." Luke said. "And nobody is going to blame you if…"
Jax cut him off before Luke could speak another word. "There's nothing to worry about. You two – " and his eyes swept around the room to include both Luke and Sonny. "You two think you're the only ones that have a say in protecting Alexis? I knew her before either of you did. I loved her before you did." He said to Sonny, before turning to Luke. "She was – she is my best friend - She was my wife!"
"In name only!" the words came out of Sonny's mouth before he could think to stop them. Jax could say what he wanted, but he had never had the hold on her heart, the bond that he and Alexis had shared.
"Do you think that means that I didn't love her?…that somehow I love her any less because I let her go?" Jax demanded as he spun around to face Sonny. His eyes blazed with fury."But forget all of that. Do you think I would sit by and watch you two and whoever else go after her? With all the loyalty and love and heart that is in Alexis, do you really think that I could sit by and do nothing?" His gaze stared angrily, a challenge at both men as he picked one of the many guns on the desktop, and handling it with an ease that showed long experience. Jax lifted the gun, sighted along the barrel, then, his movements sharp and precise and professional, checked the rounds, chose a holster, slipped it on and loaded his weapon into it.
"Alexis had wondered if Helena had had a hand in Stefan's murder. And if she was right, and then turned her sights on Alexis, I'll gladly do whatever it takes to make her pay." The tamped down fury and passion in his voice left the room silent.
Luke looked at him for a long moment. "For whatever reason, Helena has a soft spot in that lump of coal she calls a heart for you, Aussie. Having you along might work to our advantage."
"Then let's do it." Jax answered flatly.
"Let's roll." Sonny said.
