I KNOW I've been neglecting LAEE, but bear with me, Annie (little orphan), the muse for this story, has locked Betty (Boop), LAEE's muse, in an impenetrable glass box… She will be freed, eventually.

Many thanks for your reviews and patience.

Partially Edited (it's very difficult to reread when you're chatting on twitter, lol)

Chapter Eight

(H)eaven and (H)ell

While Sam missed Alexis terribly, she also spited herself for allowing someone whom she had known but for a short time, to open her heart. But, being a child who had never experienced such maternal affections, yet having yearned for them, it was easy for the woman to make her feel at ease; as simple as it was for Alexis to love an innocent such as Sam, it was just as easy for Sam to love the person who made her feel worthy of such love.

As a result, she longed to be in her mother's arms; she would have made everything all better for her; this was not the way it should have been. This was not the way it was supposed to have happened. Everything was wrong. Alexis had promised her a better life, but this was not it. She lied to her and it hurt worse than any beating she had ever gotten from Evelyn.

Sam felt the tears rolling down her face as the fear of the unknown set in, but she could not. She let them fall.

Stefan woke up a few minutes later feeling as though his head were splitting into numerous pieces; he had no recollection of what had happened. As he moved to a sitting position, he felt as though the room were spinning around him. He recognized that he was still in the apartment, but noticed that it was unusually quiet considering the storm the McCalls brought in their wake.

--- "Alexis?"

There was no response. It was difficult for him to concentrate, but he needed to find a way to stop the room from moving. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before reopening them; he still felt dizzy, but it was certainly not to the extent as it had previously been.

--- "Samantha?"

Still nothing. He was getting nervous. He slowly stood up, using the stool beside him and finally the counter to balance himself so that he might not fall.

--- "Alexis! Where are you?!... God, I hope those bastards did not hurt you!"

Suddenly he heard groaning coming from the floor on the other side of the island. He slowly moved to the location of the sound, and found Alexis on the floor. He could not bring himself to go back onto the floor, as it had already been difficult to move to a standing position; it would not have been prudent to return to the floor. So using his foot, he carefully nudged the woman's leg.

--- "Alexis, you have to get up! I think they took Samantha!"

Hearing her cousin mention her daughter's name, she quickly stood up; any dizziness she might have experienced from the blow dissipated at the memory of her child being once again taken from her. She had to find her. She frantically paced the room in search of her purse and her car keys.

--- "Oh my God, Stefan, we have to go get her! We have to find her!"

Neither Alexis nor Stefan knew how long they had been unconscious, and therefore how long it had been since Sam was taken. The only thing that was certain was that the child could not stay with those people a moment longer.

--- "Alexis—"

She continued to walk back and forth from the living room to the bedroom. She had found her purse, and surprisingly, her car keys were still in it; she showed them to Stefan.

--- "Look at this! Those sons of bitches think they're smart! They didn't steal a thing. I guess they think we don't have standing to take their asses to court since Sam is technically theirs—"

Stefan leaned against the counter; he felt as though he might soon pass out again.

--- "Alexis—"

She was so frantic figuring out what her next plan might be that she did not notice that he was bleeding somewhat heavily.

--- "But they'll be charged with aggravated assault and we can probably get them on child abuse. There's no way a court of law will allow her to stay with those people—"

It took all of his force, but Stefan slammed his hand onto the counter to get Alexis' attention.

--- "Alexis! Stop!"

Cody had done some serious damage to his head. Despite how much Stefan loved her daughter, he would be of no use to either one of them, or his son, if he passed out, or even worse, died, in the middle of her living room.

Startled by her cousin's outburst, she stopped in her spot; she finally took notice of the fact that the back of his head was matted, and the collar of his shirt stained, with blood. She rushed over to him.

--- "Oh God, Stefan, you're bleeding!"

As she moved to grab a dishtowel to press against his head, she noticed the blood on the kitchen floor where he had previously lied unconscious; tears began to roll down her cheeks as she thought about her daughter who was currently with the people capable of causing such damage.

--- "If they can do something like this to you, what the hell do you think they'll do to Sam! She's just a little girl! We have to—we have to get her."

She grabbed the dishtowel and applied pressure to the wound in order to stop the bleeding. Being preoccupied with thought she pressed it against his head harder than he would have liked, causing him to wince in pain; he took the towel from her.

--- "Alexis, they won't do anything to her."

She did not believe him; the McCalls had just proven that they were capable of just about anything. They adopted an innocent child for whom they had no intention of caring properly, they physically and emotionally abused the girl, and then dropped her off at the doorstep of the one person who would love her unconditionally. Then, of course, less than 24 hours later, when the child had quickly acclimated to her new life, they decided that she was undeserving of such happiness. It was quite obvious that these people were unconcerned with anyone but themselves. Alexis was downtrodden.

And even if they had no intention of physically abusing Sam to the extent that they had struck Stefan, Alexis had no doubt that wherever those animals took her daughter, they were filling her with words of self doubt, and making her beautiful girl feel worthless.

--- "This is my fault—"

She could not help but feel as though she had once again failed Sam. She was supposed to protect her, and yet, there she was standing in her kitchen nursing her cousin's bloodied wound, while her daughter was only God knew where.

Stefan looked at Alexis as she wiped the tears from her face.

--- "This is not your fault—"

--- "Stefan! I stood there when I saw Sam in her arms! I didn't move an inch! I promised Sam, I promised her that they wouldn't get her… I will never forget the look of fear and betrayal on her face when Evelyn carried her out of here. She was screaming for me, and I did nothing—"

--- "Alexis, stop! What could you have done? It was obvious that whatever Cody hit me with he used on you, except perhaps not as hard—"

She shook her head in disagreement. Regardless of what Cody did to her, she should have fought harder.

--- "Stefan, she was beating her before she even left the apartment. I promised her that no one would ever hurt her again!"

Stefan took her by the hand and led her to the door so that they could begin their search for her daughter. Despite the pain he was in, he figured he would get treated after he returned his little "niece" to her.

--- "Alexis, don't worry—"

She pulled her hand from his; she felt as though he had just kicked her in the gut. She could not believe what he had just told her.

--- "Don't worry? My daughter is back with those bastards after I told her—"

She was short for breath as she attempted to hold back her sobs. With those three simple words, she felt the loss of the little composure she had managed to maintain. Stefan attempted to console her, but she backed away from him.

--- "No, I held Sam in my arms as she cried into my chest, and begged me to keep her safe! I told her that I would. I told her that I was her safety, and this is what happens! My goodness, she already has trust issues! This is definitely not going to help the situation."

She could no longer hold in her tears and despair; she collapsed to the floor as the thoughts of the hell Sam might be enduring flooded her mind. She felt as though she were crying the tears that her daughter was now afraid to shed.

--- "She wanted me to reassure her—"

Stefan threw the rag onto the counter and knelt beside his cousin; while his head continued to hurt, the dizziness had passed. He took his handkerchief and handed it to her.

--- "Lex, listen to me—"

She took it and hid her face behind it as she rocked back and forth.

--- "NO, Stefan! They're probably beating her as we speak. You should see her little body; they took no mercy on her. She's already the size of a three or four year old because they don't feed her… I promised her—"

Stefan knew in his heart that even if Evelyn had been so callous as to beat Sam in Alexis' presence, she did so to prove a point; she wanted Alexis to know that they could do what they pleased to the child. It was a tactic.

He took his cousin's hands away from her face, and replaced them with his own on either side of her cheeks.

--- "We'll get her back, Alexis; we'll get her back."

She simply sighed and attempted to look away, but he forced her to look at him. He looked into her red and bloodshot eyes; his heart hurt at the pitiful sight. There had only been one other time when he had seen her this… broken: after she had lost her daughter for the very first time.

Flashback

He walked into the hospital room where he found Alexis curled up in the fetal position looking toward the window. It had been three days since she had been forced to give her baby away. Despite the nurses' efforts, they had been unable to get her to speak a word since awaking without her child in her arms or in the near vicinity. As far as Alexis was concerned, she had nothing to say to any person who had any role in taking her daughter away from her. The only person who remained on her side was Stefan.

--- "Alexandra—"

At the sound of his voice, her eyes once again welled with tears; she rolled over to face the direction of the voice.

--- "I don't even know her name."

He quickly moved toward the bed and sat; he pulled his cousin into his arms and held her as she cried.

--- "So, tell me about my little niece."

She looked up at him and smiled for the first time in days; only Stefan could ask her such a question without her heart hurting at the memory. In fact, only Stefan cared enough to ask her about her baby; Mikkos had seen how beautiful her daughter was, but nevertheless handed her to strangers; and thankfully, neither Stavros nor Helena had come into the States to visit. Stefan was the only person she needed; he was the only person she cared about. He was her safety.

--- "She is perfect; an absolute vision—"

Stefan laughed as he readjusted himself onto the bed so that he could face her. Despite their closeness, having grown up in a cold and unloving household, he was never as comfortable with physical affections as she was; he credited it to her parents before they had passed away. He, on the other hand, showed his love for her in different ways. For that reason, he was over protective and providing in a way that neither Mikkos nor certainly not Helena was towards her.

--- "Hmm, someone will be a charmer!"

Alexis nodded as she wiped her continuous tears.

--- "She has silky black hair, and the cutest little button nose. Stefan, you should have seen her… Oh!"

She began to sob once more as she felt her breasts suddenly begin to produce milk; this happened several times a day. She knew that somewhere far away her baby was crying for her and hungry; it broke her heart, as there was nothing that she could do to help her. Her mood once again shifted; she rolled back toward the window, turning her back from her cousin.

--- "Leave me alone, please."

Stefan kissed the back of her head and walked out of the room, making sure to stop by the nurses' station so that one of them might be able to help her.

End of Flashback

Alexis shook her head in denial. She could not allow herself to hope that she would have her daughter back in her arms again.

--- "She's gone—"

Stefan could not believe his ears; his cousin was never one to give up easily. If she had been the type, she would have never survived their childhood. He could not allow her to revert into a defeatist place. He had to pull her out.

--- "If you give up on Samantha, then you will have failed her."

--- "I already failed her!"

For the first time in his life, he was disappointed in her; this was not the woman he knew and grew up with. She was becoming a fading shadow of herself.

--- "Alexis, I have never known you to be a quitter. If you say and actually mean that that child means more to you than your own life, you will continue to fight for her. Don't you dare give up on her; don't you dare, otherwise you will be spitting on everything that I've ever done for you and you, me. That child deserves—"

She nodded as she continued to sob on the floor.

--- "She deserves more!"

He stood up and held his hand to her. If they wanted to get Sam back, they needed to move quickly.

--- "Exactly! She, my dear, deserves you."

As she lay on the ground, tuning out Evelyn and Cody's angry and slurred voices; the couple was unstable and intoxicated to the point of disorientation. She knew that she was in a far worse position than she had been prior to having met her real mother. Hearing them, Sam knew this disparate circumstance brought her into a lower level of the place she had so many times heard the couple send each other; they seemed unconcerned with her present state, but only of what could be obtained as a result of her existence.

As her eyes grew heavy, she wondered to herself whether Evelyn, by bringing her to meet and stay with Alexis, had done so as a form of punishment for something she had unknowingly done. If it were, it was by far, the cruelest she had ever inflicted on the child, as Sam's thoughts were comprised entirely of her real mother. At six, she was wise beyond her years and highly intelligent; she knew that this was hell.

*****

Her seventh birthday fell on the same day as her mother's law school graduation. Unsurprisingly to most, Alexis, despite having had Sam fall into her lap, still managed to graduate Summa Cum Laude; she made her cousins and her daughter quite proud.

After returning her gown, she approached her family, who had been waiting for her outside of her office at the Law Review.

--- "Where's my beautiful birthday girl?"

Sam, who had been looking at the program, had not noticed her mother approaching. She threw the program into Nikolas' lap and jumped into Alexis' outstretched arms.

--- "Hi Mommy! Congratulations!"

Alexis lifted her little girl up, and smothered her face with kisses.

--- "Thank you and happy birthday to you, my chipmunk."

Sam smiled at her mother and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

--- "Thank you."

Having lived with the McCalls, she had never celebrated her birthday; according to Evelyn, there was no need to be reminded of the birth of a child she never wanted. In fact, up until the time she moved in with her mother, Sam had not known her own birth date; but for her teachers, she would have passed the day without any real knowledge that she was a year older. This special day, to be with her mother, was therefore a pleasant change.

Stefan leaned in and gave his cousin a kiss on either cheek.

--- "Congratulations, Cousin; I always knew that you were brighter than the lightbulb for which Mother gave you credit."

Alexis rolled her eyes as she put Sam down.

--- "I thought you were smarter than to ever listen to that wicked witch of a mother of yours."

--- "Touché!"

Nikolas fixed his little suit as he stood beside his father.

--- "Yes, Congratulations, Cousin; you have made us proud."

Alexis looked from the young boy to his father; she smiled and shook her head. For a child of nearly six, he was too formal for his age; she wished that Stefan would allow him some room to grow. Alas, the little gentleman before her was not hers to raise, nor dictate as to how he should be raised; she would have been damned if anyone did that to her, again, in regards to her daughter.

She leaned down and gave him a kiss on the cheek, ensuring to wipe the lipstick from his tanned face.

--- "Why thank you, Nikolas."

Sam tugged her mother's hand.

--- "Mommy, can we go now?"

She smiled as her anxious daughter.

--- "So are you ready?"

--- "YES!"

Stefan interrupted.

--- "Yes, we have wonderful reservations—"

She looked at her cousin as she took Sam's hand and led her into her office.

--- "Stefan, if you'll excuse us for a few moments?"

It was clearly a rhetorical question as she closed the door to the office before he had a chance to respond.

He looked at his young son.

--- "Do you know what is going on, Nikolas?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders in a manner unbefitting of the well-polished young man Stefan was raising, but quite appropriate for a child who had spent some time with his precocious cousin. While he was not accepting of his son learning colloquial mannerisms, he appreciated that his son was beginning to show signs of a five year old, rather than someone three times his age. Stefan smiled to himself as he realized how wonderful of a decision it had been for him to move to the States.

***

A few moments later, Alexis and Sam, dressed in jeans and t-shirts, emerged from the office; Stefan was appalled.

--- "What is the meaning of this? It's your graduation day!"

Regardless of the honorable occasion, Alexis thought of no better way to spend it than with her little chipmunk; this was a "Mommy and Sammy" day of celebration. She passed her hand through her daughter's hair.

--- "Baby, I don't think Cousin Stefan likes our clothes."

Sam laughed and leaned into her mother's leg. Stefan shook his head and pointed his finger at the woman.

--- "What are you wearing? This is inappropriate! You've just earned your law degree! We have reservations!"

She always found it amusing how despite his shunning of the Cassadine way, he had remained true to his heritage of formality. As was their custom around the children, she spoke to him in French.

--- "You, my beloved Cousin, need to take the stick out of your ass!"

He smiled and shook his head at her candor. He could not believe how much she had changed from the time they had spent in Greece. In addition, she had changed immensely from the moment Sam returned to her life; aside from school and work, she had become passionate about life. With her daughter, his cousin had found something for which to live.

--- "Ever the lady, my dear mother raised—"

Had he not stepped back, she would have punched his arm.

--- "That witch did NOT raise me, Stefan!"

He chuckled as he took his son's hand into his own.

--- "Come, Nikolas. It appears that Cousin Alexis is off to mingle amongst the masses, instead of enjoying a pleasant meal with her favorite family members."

Sam tapped Stefan on the leg.

--- "Cousin?"

He bent down to her level.

--- "Yes raven?"

--- "Why do you have a stick?"

He blushed for a moment before he realized what had happened. He looked up her mother.

--- "Someone has been teaching this little one our secret language! How will we talk about them now?"

--- "First, I never talk about my little munchkin—"

Alexis lifted Sam into her arms and gave her a kiss on the cheek. It was true; she had been teaching her daughter French. In fact, she would speak to her for portions of the day in only the language, and had purchased bedtime stories for her in French. In the same respects her young cousin had been given the opportunity to learn several languages at a young age, she did not want her daughter deprived of what she would have known had she not been stolen from her.

--- "Secondly, French is not secretive; many people speak it. And thirdly, I can't help that my baby is as intelligent as her mother; she learns things quickly. Isn't that right chipmunk?"

Sam laughed and put her head on her mother's shoulder.

Stefan gave Alexis a kiss goodbye and poked Sam in the side and spoke to her in French.

--- "Goodbye, Raven. I hope whatever you two decide to do with your day, you enjoy it."

She shyly replied back in French.

--- "Thank you, Cousin."

When Stefan and Nikolas left, Alexis picked up her purse and walked with her daughter still in her arms.

--- "So, what do you want to do first, cabbage-face?"

Sam thought for a moment about the things she and her mother had previously discussed for the day; she had more options than she had ever thought possible.

--- "Um… Swimming?"

Now that the weather was getting warmer, the little girl who attempted to swim in their bathtub wanted a shot at a big pool; there was something about the activity that intrigued her. Swimming was freeing as your body felt weightless as it was submerged in the water… at least that's how she felt in the tub. Alexis smiled and nodded as she put her in the backseat.

--- "Well, it is your birthday! Anything for you."

***

After changing into the swimsuits Alexis had purchased for them, they made their way to the pool. Seeing the size, Sam immediately became frightened; she tightened her grip on her mother's hand.

--- "What's the matter, baby?"

She bit her lip and looked up at her mother, then to the pool, before leaning into her mother.

--- "It's big. It's not like home."

Alexis knelt in front of her daughter.

--- "Yea, Sammy, it's big; it's a pool. A lot of people swim in it. We only have a bathtub; it's not meant to be swum in like you try to do, silly goose."

Sam buried her face in her mother's shoulder.

--- "You're not going to leave me, right?"

She lifted the girl up, and walked closer to the pool and sat on a deck chair poolside.

--- "Mommy will never leave you."

--- "I'm scared."

Alexis gave her a kiss on the top of the head and smiled.

--- "What's there to be afraid of? I'm here with you, chipmunk! I'm not going anywhere."

Sam sat up in her mother's lap and looked her directly in the eyes.

--- "You won't let me die?"

She made a face at her daughter; she noticed that her eyes were filling with tears. She pressed her forehead to Sam's forehead; she closed her eyes for a moment before speaking as her heart had begun to race.

--- "Why would you ask me something like that? Baby, I would never let anything like that happen to you."

Sam felt a tear roll down her cheek.

--- "Okay."

She crawled off of her mother's lap and walked toward the deep end of the pool.

--- "Sam?"

It was as though the child was possessed; she did not hear her as she finally reached the end. Alexis grew worried, but she felt as though her feet were cemented to the ground.

--- "Samantha! Come to Mommy, this instant!"

She looked at her mother and back to the pool. She took a deep breath.

--- "Prove it."

Although she whispered from across the pool, Alexis heard her as though she were sitting in front of her. She anticipated her daughter's move before it happened.

--- "SAMANTHA!"

As Sam jumped into the pool, Alexis freed her legs from the cement and jumped into the water from the opposite end after her. She had to save her. She had to save her daughter's life.

--- "Mommy's coming! Mommy's coming for you!"

Sam began losing her breath. She prayed her mother would come for her. She needed her mother to save her.

****

As Sam lay on the cold ground unable to move and in pain, she prayed that her mother would do as she had promised; she needed her mother to help her. As she lay in and out of consciousness, hearing a single car pass every few minutes, she realized that only her mother could take her to Heaven.

Alexis took Stefan's hand and allowed him to help her up from the floor. As distraught as she may have been, she could never let her daughter stay with those animals.

--- "Okay. I think we should call the cops."

Stefan shook his head.

--- "No. We're doing this our way—"

Before Alexis had a chance to argue, her cell began to ring. She looked at Stefan.

--- "It's not good—"

He reached for the phone, but she shifted it from his reach. Her heart raced, but she knew that she it was up to her to answer the call. She took a deep breath and answered.

--- "Hello?"

Our plane is gaining altitude… Please buckle your seatbelts as we've a ways to go.

If you're confused (you SHOULD be), it'll all be explained next chapter… If you're not, go back to the final lines in Sam's section.