A warning here. Mentions of a home invasion. Vague hints of a very bad previous marriage and dangerous ex husband. I deliberately kept both things as vague as I possibly could. The ex husband will make an appearance at some point, but I'll continue to attempt being as vague as I can for the sake of keeping a T rating on this fic.


ONE

STELLA

The door to her studio apartment was wide open, swinging as if someone had just went through it not even seconds before her arrival. Stella's heart pounded a little harder and she stood in the hallway, taking a deep breath.

Just to be on the safe side, she pulled out her cell phone and texted her twin, Starla. Because Starla and their mother Nina were the only two people who had spare keys and Stella found herself hoping against hope that one or the other had stopped by and gone into her apartment for some reason, not what she was afraid might be happening.

← Hey starshine?

← This is weird, but bear with me.. Did you come by my place earlier? Do you know if Mom did?

She took a step towards the door but movement on the inside of her apartment sent her scrambling for an out of sight place to hide. She crouched just around the corner, hidden from sight by part of the wall she crouched next to and she took a few long and shaky breaths as she tried to will her heart down from her throat.

She glanced around the corner, watching the door of her apartment.

The cell phone buzzed in her head and Stella tore her gaze off of the door to her apartment long enough to read the text her twin sent back in response.

→ Stellar? Everything alright?

→ No, I didn't. Neither did Mom, she's been with me most of the afternoon. She was helping me pick out paint and stuff for the shop.

→ Stellar, what's going on?

→ Forget it, I'm incoming. My twin spidey senses are a'tingling."

Stella groaned to herself and shook her head, before turning her gaze back to her open apartment door. Waiting.

And then it hit her.. Just what the hell was she going to do if she caught the person inside her apartment when they came out? It wasn't as if she had a weapon on her and the pepper spray she usually kept was stored down in her car parked in the parking lot across the street.

She had nothing to fight with.

The thought in mind, she made her way down the lesser used back stairwell and out into the alley and once she was outside, she placed a call to PCPD dispatch, reporting what she'd come home to.

Then she wandered across the street to her car, leaning against it while she waited on her twin and PCPD, whoever showed up first.

Starla's car came to a stop haphazardly in the empty space two away from her own car and the sound of the local classic rock station filled the late afternoon air, going silent when Starla killed the engine to her car and got out, shutting the door with her hip.

"Stell?"

"Don't do whatever you're thinking about doing, Star. It's probably just an attempt to break in and I walked up on it. This building has been hit three times already this month."

Starla glanced at the renovated warehouse turned apartment complex and she scanned the alley out beside it. "They didn't see you at all, right?"

"I.. I don't know. I just strolled right up the stairs and lucky for me, I happened to notice the door wide open."

"Yeah."

Their mother's car pulled into the parking space beside Starla's and Stella gave her twin a dirty look that her twin shrugged off. "Seriously, Star?" Stella whined. "You told Mom?"

"I'm glad she did, Stella!" Nina answered as she came to a stop between her two daughters, glancing from one to the other. Stella took a deep breath and grumbled that they were all probably over reacting, that she'd probably just walked in on a break-in. "I'm telling you, this place has been hit three times already. That's probably all it was. Besides," Stella went quiet, "John's behind bars. He can't get to me. And even if he could, I doubt he'd be dumb enough to try again."

"Stella, you're smarter than that. He would. He tried two years ago, remember?" Starla pointed out, tapping her wrist watch as a PCPD marked patrol car came into view. "I swear to God.. Glad nobody was in a life or death situation right now." she muttered, clucking her tongue in disapproval.

Nina nudged her eldest triplet gently. "They've had a full day, trust me."

"Yeah, well.. I was worried about my sister." Starla answered, going quiet.

Nina turned to Stella and studied her in concern. "Are you sure they didn't see you? Did you see them at all?"

"No. I realized I didn't have my pepper spray so I ducked out of sight. Then I came down here to call PCPD and report it. I just hope they finally catch whoever has been pulling off these home invasions lately." Stella admitted.

"We don't know for sure that's what it was, Stella." Nina pointed out gently, praying to herself that her second eldest daughter was right and that's all it was, a simple home invasion but getting the strong feeling that it wasn't somehow.

Upon seeing Nathan, all three women relaxed a bit. Nathan made his way over and nodded to the complex across the street. "You were the one who called, Stell? Is everything alright?"

"I think I walked in on an attempted home invasion. I.. I got the hell out of sight before I was seen."

Nathan nodded. "Yeah, this building has been a target for them this week." Nathan mused as the four of them made their way across the street. Nathan left the three of them in the lobby and Nina called out to her adoptive younger brother, "Be careful, James. Please?"

Nathan flashed a smirk and gave her a thumbs up as he drew his gun and made his way quietly up the back stairwell that Stella had shown him. When he emerged at the top of the stairs, the door was slightly ajar. Nathan stepped to it carefully, pushing it open as quietly as possible.

The window was open enough that someone could've climbed out to the fire escape and escaped down the alley. He swore to himself and started to make his way through the studio apartment, knowing he wouldn't find anyone inside. They'd already gotten away.

After he cleared Stella's bedroom at the back of the apartment, he sent a text to Nina and her daughters that it was all clear, that they could come up but they needed to stay in the hall while he called for crime scene investigators to come down and look for any evidence whoever had broken in may have left behind.

Stella peeked in, groaning at the state of disarray her apartment had been left in. Nathan's eye caught on a family portrait of Nina and the girls when all three of them had been younger, before Nina's coma and the girls being taken from Silas by CPS. The frame was broken, almost as if someone had punched it in anger.

It could've just fallen off the shelf.

It wasn't totally illogical.

But something about that being the only portrait to fall when the rest of them were untouched struck Nathan as odd. Stella hissed from the doorway, "What's up? Did you find something?"

"Yeah.. That photo that you have of you guys and my sister is broken. Kinda getting a not so good feeling right now, Stell."

"What do you mean?" Nina asked, managing to stop herself before she stepped through the door and into her daughter's apartment.

"Hey, my pink cardigan was hanging right there. It's gone now? The hell, even?" Stella wondered, dragging her fingers through her hair as she blew out a breath and tried to will her heart down out of her throat yet again, failing miserably.

"I think you definitely need to talk to that firm I got you the card for." Nina asserted.

"Mom, no. I'm telling you, this was just coincidence."

"Sis, they stole your favorite sweater. The only thing broken is the picture of you, me, Steph with mom and dad. And it's even kinda broken the most over your face, sis.. This doesn't feel like a coincidence anymore."

The ringing of their mother's cell phone had the two identical twins sharing a look and then glancing at their mother. Nina eyed the phone, taking a few deep breaths. "I'll be right back. It's Sonny. He's probably wondering why I rushed out of the restaurant we were at the way I did."

"Sonny?" the twins mouthed, exchanging shocked gazes.

Nina stepped away to take the call and Starla turned, addressing her sister. "I'm telling you, Stell.. I'm gonna side with Mom on this. You need to hire a bodyguard. At least until this whole mess with that asshole ex husband of yours is behind you. For all we know, he could've hired someone to break in here, do all this to scare you so you don't testify at his re-trial."

"If it is John Milton, I'm gonna fucking strangle him."

"No, no you're not. What you're gonna do, Stell, is let the good guys handle it." Nathan spoke up, giving her a firm look. Stella placed a hand on her hip and blew at hair as it fell in her eyes. "Oh, I'll let you guys handle it if it's him somehow. But at some point, I'm going to reach through those bars and strangle him with my bare hands."

"The further you stay the hell away from that prick, the better." Nina spoke up from behind her daughters, giving Stella a firm maternal look of warning.

"Since when do you dine with Sonny Corinthos, Mom?" they asked the question at the same time but nobody was in the mood to laugh about it like they usually did when it happened. Instead, they focused on their mother, patiently waiting on an answer.

"We've been spending time together lately."

"Oh my god, mom, nooooo." Starla groaned, grimacing as she shook her head. Stella gaped at her mother as she tried to wrap her head around it. "Are you serious, Mom? The man is like a Great Value Don Coreleone. I mean, he's not bad looking at all. And he's a nice guy but still, Moooom… The danger?"

"Hey, who is the parent here, huh? I can handle me, alright?" Nina responded gently, flashing her daughters a loving grin as she did so. "As for you, young lady. We're going down to that security firm and we're going right now."

"Mom, I'm telling you. When Forensics gets here, they're going to tell you the same thing I've been telling all of you. It was a botched home invasion. I'm just lucky I wasn't home."

Nathan spoke up from behind them. "I'm with your mom, Stell. I think it's better safe than sorry. Come by the station later, too. Anything you can tell us is gonna be a huge help."

"I'll bring her by."

"I'll drag her if I have to." Starla added, giving her sister a pointed glare.

"Fine. Arguing with you two is only gonna end in me banging my head against a wall. Fine, I'll go. But the second Forensics comes back clean on the place, Mom.." Stella muttered, glancing at her mother.

"Look. Call me overprotective, but I've only got to have a few years with you two and your sister. I don't want to lose either of you. I'm going to nag when it comes to your safety. I wish I'd done a better job as soon as I found out Nelle was actually your sister Stephanie."

"Mom, that has nothing to do with you."

"Yeah, trust me. Stephanie's always been.. Nevermind." Stella went quiet, shaking her head.

"We should get going. That firm closes at 8."

"I still can't believe I'm doing this. I'm telling you, everything is fine."

"The person who broke in stole an article of clothing, Stellar. Feels kind of creepy to me." Starla shivered and shook her head as she gazed at Stella.

"It is getting colder out. Might have been one of the drunks down in the alley behind the place."

"Either way. I'd rather be wrong and safe than sorry."

ETHAN

The door pushed open and Ethan glanced up from the screen in front of him. Nina Reeves stood in the middle of the dimly lit office flanked by two of her three daughters. Ethan locked eyes with the quieter of the two and gave a smirk. "You again, luv? We 'ave got t' stop meetin like this."

Stella stuck out her tongue and gave a soft laugh. "You're the one who collided with me. But if you hadn't, I'm pretty sure Dixie would've gotten loose and I'd never have caught her. Nice grab, by the way."

He chuckled and Stella explained to her mother and sister that earlier in the day, before he'd bumped into her a second time during Nurses Ball rehearsals, they'd bumped into each other when she was chasing a Husky that had gotten off of it's lead from one direction and Ethan was coming out of the cafe nearby.

"Interesting." Starla muttered under her breath, giving Stella a teasing grin. Turning a situation back around on her for once because earlier in the week, Stella had been the one to tease her about a guy in a designer suit who had wandered into her tattoo parlor before she ever even opened it to the public.

"Star, if you're about to start with me, I swear to God." Stella grumbled in a low whisper.

"What brings th' three of y' lovely ladies by, hm?" Ethan questioned.

Nina spoke up when it became obvious that her daughter wasn't because she was still stubbornly refusing to see the danger she'd nearly been in an hour ago for what it truly could be. "Someone broke into Stella's apartment earlier this afternoon."

"It was a botched home invasion, I'm telling you." Stella chimed in. But Ethan glanced at her and he could see just the slightest hint of fear lurking in big brown eyes. He studied her intently for a second or two before speaking up again.

"Were y' wanting to talk to Diego about a system?"

"That'll work."

"Actually," Nina spoke up over Stella, "I was thinking.. There are certain people who could pop up and pose a threat to my daughter. But she's too damn stubborn to listen to me.. Are you all still hiring out bodyguards? I'm willing to pay any price."

"Mother, jesus christ. I'm telling you, it's fine. And the asshole I call an ex husband is behind bars now. He's not some all-powerful entity like you and Starla seem to insist he is."

"Stell.. Nevermind." Starla shook her head and went quiet. No sense in arguing with the literal brick wall that was her stubborn ass sister. The scene had Ethan chuckling to himself.

And gazing at Stella, concerned. "I'll need t' know more.. About this ex husband." he motioned for Stella to take a seat and Stella took the seat, taking a deep breath. Ethan gazed at her intently, waiting on her to say something.

Stella started to tell him everything, from the first time she tried to leave, to the incident that happened leading to his arrest and prison sentence. Ethan listened and as he listened, he found himself wishing there was some way he could track the guy down on his own and put the fear of God in the man.

She went quiet and Ethan glanced at Nina and Starla, who were both equally concerned and upset upon hearing the re-telling. It was apparent that Stella either hadn't told them the whole story like she had just now, or she'd given them a more cleansed version of events so they didn't worry like they definitely were right now.

"Yeah, if he gets out of prison anytime soon, straight to the ground with him."

" Starla, I already have one daughter in prison."

"Mom, I don't take kindly to people doing shit like this to my sisters. Or you." Starla fumed, going quiet again after taking a few deep breaths to calm down again.

Stella found herself gazing at Ethan, trying to figure out just how pathetic he thought she was for taking it as long as she had after hearing what she'd been through. Or waiting on the look of pity that was the biggest reason she didn't tell anyone but a fraction of what she'd gone through with her ex husband John.

Ethan cleared his throat. "I think I'll take this one. Yeah. This one is mine." Ethan jotted something down on a notepad and after he'd done so, he turned his attention to Stella. "Not saying y' wrong or anythin, luv.. But I'll have to agree with your mum on this one. Better safe than sorry."

"Okay, alright, fine. I'll pay extra just because I know you're wasting your time."

Somehow, Ethan got the strong feeling that he actually wasn't wasting his time. And deep down, he couldn't deny that his reasons for taking her on as a client weren't at least a little self motivated.

She'd definitely gotten his attention when they had their earlier run-ins. And he'd literally just been sitting there, trying to figure out whether to pursue the strong feeling he'd felt, the rush he'd gotten earlier when they collided and then after, when they ran into each other a second time during rehearsals for the Nurses Ball.

"You should've seen them earlier at rehearsals, Mom." Starla muttered to Nina in a hushed tone. Nina laughed softly. "You'll have to tell me everything that happened later."

"Yeah, right after I chew you out about nagging us about recklessness and risks and you turn and do the same exact thing." Starla teased her mother gently, making Nina stick out her tongue at her daughter. "Let's step outside, let them talk."

"Look, I'm just happy she finally caved in and listened to reason." Starla muttered, following her mother out the door of the office.

Ethan chuckled quietly. "Keep your money, woman. This one is completely on me."

"No, no. I insist. If it weren't for my mother dragging me down here, I wouldn't be about to waste your time over nothing."

"We'll see about that, luv." Ethan muttered, holding her gaze. "I'll talk t' one of the guys about comin' to your apartment, putting in a security system."

"Yeah. Security in that complex is an actual fucking joke." Stella admitted. She thanked him again and after they exchanged numbers to keep in touch, Stella started to walk towards the door and Ethan called out to her. "Y' won't even know I'm there most of th' time. Pretty damn good at what I do when I want to be." he reassured her because he knew how hard it had been for her sister and mother to convince her to come by in the first place.

Stella left after thanking him for a fifth time and Ethan leaned back in his seat, spinning it around lazily. He remembered that he promised Ekaterina he'd look into Victor's whereabouts and proof positive that Helena was actually dead this time, and he busied himself doing that.

Because he knew his half sister well enough to know she wasn't backing down until she had something. And if she were going to try going to war with the Cassadine family, Ethan wasn't going to be the one to stop her. Not after everything Helena and other members of her family had done to him and his over the years.

He looked up at the clock again and realized it was a little after midnight. He shut down the computer and stood, stretching. "Suppose it's time to go get myself a drink." he mused as he wandered over to the door, arming the building security as he ventured out into the night. As he passed by the diner, he saw Stella and her twin occupying a booth, with their mother Nina sitting on the other side. Before he could stop himself, he was standing there, watching her. Chuckling to himself when he realized that she talked with her hands and threw her head back to laugh.

Then he shoved all of whatever that thought process had been right out of his head and he wandered further down the block to the dive bar he frequented. One that Coleman had taken over upon his return to Port Charles recently.

"Your usual, Aussie?" Coleman asked as he glanced up from wiping down the wooden bartop.

"Bet yer ass." Ethan answered, grinning. Shuffling a worn deck of playing cards as he gazed at the nightly news as it played on a small television set mounted so that it was suspended from the ceiling.

"Hey kid.. I talked to my contact, Lemmy. Said he might have some prospective work for ya."

"That's nice but right now, mate.. Plate is kind 'f full."

"Oh yeah?"

"Takin a bodyguard assignment. Tryin t' make sure my stubborn wench of a half sister doesn't get herself murdered by a Cassadine."

Coleman laughed. "The usual, huh?"

"Basically, yeah." Ethan answered, giving the deck another shuffle. "Get his number for me. I'll call and feel it out." he offered. "I'll get round to it when I can."

"Ya know, kid, you can't be anybody but Luke Spencer's son. I swear that guy had his hands in fucking everything. Just don't get in over ya head, you feel me?"

"Noted, Coleman." Ethan chuckled as he answered.

If the guy knew just how many close calls he'd had in more recent years, he might well shit himself. But Ethan kept all of that to himself.

No sense in bringing it up or alarming anybody when he always seemed to land on his feet, after all.

Of everything he had going presently, his biggest priority, he decided as he sat and nursed his bourbon, was making absolutely sure that knockout blonde he'd been crossing paths with frequently as of late was safe.

It just felt important to him. Like something he had to do.

Kind of why he'd volunteered himself without hesitation after hearing her story..

He'd never been the kind of guy to fight his gut on anything. And his gut was telling him that there was just something about her not to be ignored.

And he was going to follow his gut. He always did.


A/N: This is me, giving my favorite Aussie a story of his very own. I've kind of taken the liberty of inserting a little bit of restless soul / danger addict into our boy Ethan. And making him a bodyguard at Diego's firm was just like.. I had to do it, alright? I had to. Something about him always made me think he'd be the exact type who would make a damn good bodyguard. Like he's a protector. I saw it when he was trying to keep Kristina safe. And again with that Helena planted chick. And hints of it with Maya (IIRC, that was her name and I loved them together) Anyway, this is gonna be kind of an action / faster paced burn, you've been warned now. I really hope you're all enjoying these.