Chapter Nine: Quid pro Quo

Summary: The money was secondary. Ric makes Alexis an offer she can't refuse.

A/N: Keep in mind that the original 'universe' for these tales was created in 2002-03, before the panic-room debacle, in fact, before it was even revealed that Sonny and Ric were brothers. Thus, in these stories, Ric is not a psycho – devilishly handsome and somewhat shrewd, but not crazy.

This particular 'glimpse' is around the time of Kristina's illness (2004?). Ric did not have any suspicions about her being Sonny's daughter, but the need to save her daughter's life prompts Alexis to reveal the truth. The family needed to undergo tests for a potential bone-marrow donation, and Ric was the viable candidate. Six months later, Ric is looking for the opportunity to get closer to his nieces.

Prompt: In Bed with the Devil

X-X-X-X-X

Drinks, followed by dinner and, throughout the evening, seemingly innocuous small-talk.

He was building up to something, she surmised, and Alexis wanted to cut to the chase. It was a long drive back to the Lake House, and she wanted to be in bed before the eleven o'clock news.

She crossed her long legs primly and fixed him with a stare. "You want something," she assessed shrewdly. Here she was in figure-hugging Nina Laurente and his gaze hadn't wavered from her face all night. If she wasn't resolute in staying away from all things male and Corinthos, she might have been insulted that he hadn't even surreptitiously peeked at her cleavage.

A helpless grin flashed across his handsome face.

"Oh, a smile," she cooed with a hint of sarcasm. "You must really want something from me."

"Are you always this direct?" he took a hasty gulp of his drink, trying to convince himself that it wasn't for courage. They were peers, after all – he wasn't really intimidated by her.

"Have you met Elizabeth? She's got half of my genes," Alexis replied, lifting a perfectly arched brow. Her assessing gaze did not waver. "What do you want?"

"Do you like my brother?"

It seemed to appear out of left-field, but it was a question that had been weighing heavily on his mind.

Alexis's eyebrows winged upwards in surprise and she barked an abrupt humourless laugh. "At this very moment?"

"Yes," Ric nodded.

"No. And the feeling's more than mutual, I'm sure," Alexis admitted, not sure why she bothered to answer.

"Do you love him?"

"What?" she sputtered. "I just said I don't like the man. How can I love him if I don't even like him?"

He shrugged. "They're not mutually exclusive. You can love someone without necessarily liking them." He cocked his head thoughtfully. "You must have loved him at one time, Alexis. There's just too much baggage between you two."

Alexis scowled. This was getting a little deeper than she was comfortable with.

"So?" he asked again, "do you love my brother?"

She shrugged, and this time she took a gulp of alcohol to fortify herself. "We have two children together," Alexis answered reluctantly. "I'm sure that part of me will always love him because of our daughters."

She frowned, discomfited to have revealed something so personal to a veritable stranger, even if he was practically family.

An uncomfortable silence fell, as they both pondered the significance of her confession.

Ric was the first to break the tension. "I love him, too. Rest assured, I am also more than aware that the feeling is not mutual," he added with a self-deprecating laugh.

There was a pregnant pause. "Do you know that I have no idea of what my mother looked like?" he revealed softly. "I don't know how she smiled, how her voice sounded, how she smelled. I have no memories of her. No reminders, no connections… except to a brother who probably wishes I didn't exist."

Alexis shook her head solemnly. "I wouldn't be so sure. Every time he looks at you, he sees Adela. Because of that, Sonny could never hate you."

"He doesn't see Adela when he looks at me, Alexis, he sees Trevor, my father," Ric contradicted. "Sonny hears him ordering our mother to make a choice – one son or the other, because she couldn't keep them both.

"No matter what I do," he mused thoughtfully, "whether I take a couple bullets, or donate some bone marrow to his daughter, he'll never be able to shake that voice from his head, or the image of our mother lying crumpled at the foot of a flight of stairs."

Ric frowned and took a hasty drink. "I need to make peace with the fact that my brother and I may never be close. We won't meet for drinks or dinner, or talk about women. The only thing we'll probably ever share is DNA."

Alexis shuddered at the raw emotion in his voice. It was discomfiting to realise just how alike the two brothers were at the core, despite glaringly opposite facades. She steeled herself in order to steer the conversation back on track. "Be grateful," Alexis said shortly. "Michael Corinthos Jr. is brash, selfish and dangerous."

Physically and mentally.

"You've got the scars to prove it."

We both do.

His were physical manifestations on his chest; hers metaphorical wounds still raw and bruised on her heart.

"Being close to him is not all it's cracked up to be. He destroys nearly everything he touches." Her ego stung at the bitterness that clung to her tone.

Ric watched her thoughtfully. "Did he destroy you?"

Very nearly.

"I didn't give him the chance to," she lied.

"Be that as it may," Ric answered after another pregnant pause, "he's still my brother, and the father of your children, and we both love him."

Alexis looked away. "To our detriment," she replied, not denying what they both knew to be the truth. "He is wholly undeserving of my love or yours for that matter."

Ric gave a sad smile.

"So," Alexis began briskly, "you didn't invite me to dinner to have a heart-to-heart about your brother, you want something from me. What is it?"

This time, Ric's smile was full of genuine mirth. "A partnership," he replied. "The door to my mother is closed through my brother, but part of her legacy lives on in her grandchildren. I want to get to know my nieces, Alexis," he explained. "And it doesn't hurt that you're almost as good a litigator as I am."

Alexis's eyes narrowed at the crack, instinctively knowing he believed everything he was saying. Like his brother he, too, was arrogant. "I'll choose to believe that the alcohol and previous emotional confessions have gone to your head and let that comment slide."

Ric flashed another grin.

"But why a partnership, Ric? If you wanted to get to know Elizabeth and Kristina all you had to do was ask. What's in it for me?"

"A share in the million dollars in retainers that I would bring to the practice for a start," he replied evenly.

Alexis cocked her head in definite interest. As a Cassidine, a million was a drop in the hat for her, but she was curious about what clients would contribute to such a monetary coup.

Ric's smile widened at her interest and devilish mischief suddenly glinted in his rich coffee-brown eyes at a sight behind her. Glancing behind, she was only momentarily confused as the maitre'd at the dining-room entrance stepped aside to reveal none other than Sonny and Carly. Husband and wife were dressed to the nines for a night on the town.

"Everything is just as you requested, Mr. Corinthos. If you'll follow me," he invited, "I'll show you to your table, sir."

Alexis imagined she could feel the intensity of his glare on the back of her neck as he stepped ever closer in their direction.

As they locked eyes, Ric gave his brother a mocking nod of acknowledgement. Sonny's scowl was mirrored by his wife's as Carly caught sight of Alexis, but he said nothing as they were escorted to their table in an intimate corner of the room.

Alexis's brow wrinkled and she took a deep sip of her wine, steadfastly ignoring the fact that Sonny's intense gaze had not wavered from their table, and the knowing look of his brother across the table from her.

Even with his back to him, Ric instinctively knew that his brother's attention was not on the blonde sitting across from him. Alexis's eyes widened in surprise as some perverse force drove him to slip her hand into his across the table.

On the other side of the room Sonny's scowl darkened.

"On the other hand," Ric continued as if Sonny and Carly's arrival had not halted their earlier conversation, with a boyish smile so similar to his brother it caused her chest to ache, "just imagine, Alexis – you and me together, would really piss my brother off!"

TBC…

A/N: Well, what do you think? Review, please!