It's 6a. I'm exhausted.

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Partially Edited.

Chapter Seventeen

Their Mother's Pain

Mikkos threw his phone against the wall. He had attempted to call Stefan numerous times that day and yet the man continued to send him to voicemail. One would have thought a person of Stefan's intelligence would, after receiving so many calls from one person in one day, consider the possibility that there was an emergency of sorts. Considering the face that he hardly ever called the man, Stefan should have realized that the call might be important! Mikkos could not believe the man's insolence.

He grabbed the filed from his desk and placed them in his briefcase. He picked up his office line.

- "Michael, send the car around and please call the airport; have the jet prepared for my arrival."

If Stefan would not answer his calls, he would simply go to them. He had not a clue what was going on in his wife's mind; but since Stavros' death, she was proving quite unstable. There was no telling what she might do; she was too unpredictable.

She stood at the suite door holding two duffle bags filled with as much clothing as they would allow; she refused to spend another night in that apartment. She could no longer take the torture involved with the place: the nightmares, the haunting, the bedwetting, etc. Sam, when she slept, clung to her for dear life wetting the bed when her fear intensified to high and uncontrollable levels. If she wanted her daughter to be mentally and emotionally healthy, their environment would need to change sooner rather than later.

And then, of course, there was him. He was a constant threat to her own well-being and ability to care for her daughter. That afternoon, he waited for her when she walked out of the bathroom, making comments about her need to reconsider keeping a child who conjured him in the first place.

"If it weren't for that nosey child pointing out your body's imperfections—"

He had the nerve to use that word, imperfections, rather than admitting to the scars he intentionally placed on her body so that she would never forget what he had done to her.

"—I wouldn't be standing here in this lovely bedroom that Stefan certainly purchased for you, driving you mad. Goodness Alexis, the world's water supply must be depleted from your incessant need to scourge your body."

The words continued to play in her mind like a broken DVD. She could not make them stop.

"You know sweetheart, everything and anything that reminds you of me will make you uncomfortable. It's only a matter of time before you realize that the main source of that discomfort is that child. You can't sleep at night because she clings to you and you imagine that it is me, holding you to me, pressing myself onto you. You don't want her touching you, holding onto you as though you were some puppy dog. She is me, Alexis; there is no getting around that. And when the time comes when you realize this, don't forget to remember that it was I who told you this.

And so she stood at Stefan's suite door an hour earlier than expected, holding the suite key, but unable to slip it into the card slot. She could not bear the thought that Stavros might have gotten into her head and the mere sight of her sweet little girl would elicit the same disgust she felt towards him, that her sweet hugs were in some way similar to his perverse touch, and that the hate she felt toward him could trickle down to Sam. She could not do that to her… but what could she do? How would she stop his hate-filled words from one day replacing what she knew to be right: her daughter was none of the things he described? How could she face the child when all of these things swarmed through her head?

She did not know much, but what she did know was that she could not not go inside. Regardless of what Stavros had said, she would never leave Sam, not again. At the same time, however, there she stood outside of the door afraid to enter.

- "Ma'am, are you alright?"

She did not even hear the woman approach her. She jumped at her hand's gentle touch of her elbow; the woman immediately put up her hands.

- "I'm sorry I scared you! I was waiting for the elevator and just noticed that you've been standing there for some time. Are you alright?"

Alexis gave her a weak smile as she adjusted the bags onto her shoulders.

- "No, I'm fine… just lost in thought, I guess."

The woman stared at Alexis for a moment before reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a packet of tissues and held it out to her.

- "You may want to dry your pretty eyes and face before going in there, honey."

Alexis felt her cheek; it was wet. She had not realized that she had once again begun to cry. Then again, this was a daily occurrence. It had become so normal that it was easy to overlook a rolling tear down a sunken cheek.

- "Oh—"

The woman pointed to the bear Alexis held in her arms.

- "I'm sure the owner of that bear would hate to see you so upset. Are you sure you're fine?"

Alexis looked down at Sam's bear; she had almost left him behind. When she had decided that enough was enough, that she needed to leave the apartment, she removed Danny from the bag and replaced him with her daughter's and her clothing; unfortunately, she had neglected to put him back inside. It was not until she was halfway to the hotel that she realized her error. She had fought with herself as to whether or not she should return for him, but knew she had to; that bear meant too much to Samantha. She would have been damned if she failed her little girl yet again. So she returned for the bear, only to find him in Stavros' arms.

His voice resonated in her ears again as she attempted to remain calm in front of the kind woman.

"Mommy, you almost forgot Danny!"

She recalled the smirk he had on his face as he held the bear out to her, almost daring her to leave it with him rather than ripping it from his decayed and maggot-filled grasp.

We wouldn't want our baby girl having a tantrum or anything. Certainly then she'd be exactly like dear old daddy in your eyes. Isn't that right?"

She heard herself telling him that it was not true, but she also could not leave the bear to prove him wrong. She had promised Sam; and keeping that promise was more important to her than allowing a dead man to win. So she grabbed the bear from him and ran out of the apartment clutching him as though her life had depended on it.

She smiled down at the bear before looking at the woman.

- "She's my daughter's favorite toy. He's basically her best friend, aside from me… that's what she tells me; it's not my crazy imagination talking. Um… I'm really not so vain as to put myself onto my six year old's pedestal—"

Realizing that she had begun to ramble, she began to laugh nervously. The woman, still holding the packet of tissues in her hand, smiled at the younger woman.

- "Well, you better get inside so your daughter can have her two very best friends by her side. I'm sure she misses you and—"

She pointed to the bear. Alexis gave it a squeeze.

- "Danny. She named him Danny… after her brother—"

She noticed Alexis' young age; she frowned slightly before realizing that the young woman noticed the look. She had not meant to be rude, but it perplexed her how a woman so young, who clearly had money as she was staying at an expensive hotel in one of the largest suites, could have another child. Surely she could not have been more than twent-three.

- "I'm—"

Alexis interrupted the woman before she apologized.

- "He's not my kid; I just have the one—"

- "And she must mean everything to you. I had a son myself, but unfortunately he died a few years ago… motorcycle accident—"

Alexis' heart sank; she could not imagine losing Sam. Actually, she could; and that's what hurt her the most. She did not want imagine this woman's pain.

- "I'm so sorry."

The woman shook her head.

- "Don't be. I had twenty-five good years watching him grow up from a boy to a man; some people don't get that. Some don't get a single minute to see their children become the people they had envisioned from the moment they were conceived. I had twenty-five years; I can't complain about that."

And it clicked in her head. She had spent six years separated from her daughter, unsure of where she was living, what she looked like, and whether she was happy or sad. She had been for too long a woman… a girl, who did not know her child… did not have a chance to know her. None of this applied any longer as Sam was, regardless of Stavros' comments, her baby; she loved her daughter more than her own life. Why was she doubting this when she knew that she loved her from the moment she felt her first kick? Why was she standing outside of the suite afraid to face a little girl who wanted to do nothing but love her and be loved? She was her daughter's best friend; it was time for her to act like it.

Alexis smiled at the woman.

- "That is probably the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. And you know what? I thank you for telling me that. Um… I'm going to go inside now and hug my baby girl. I think she could use one from her mommy as much as I could certainly use one from her. Thank you—"

The woman smiled at Alexis' newfound enthusiasm.

- "Maggie."

Alexis held out her free hand to her new acquaintance.

- "Alexis."

Maggie gave her hand a squeeze.

- "It was wonderful meeting you, Alexis. I hope whatever was troubling you gets resolved quickly."

Considering the weight that had been on her shoulders, her short conversation with this lovely woman lifted a portion of it; she was grateful.

- "Believe me Maggie, I think it will."

She put the key into the slot and opened the door.

- "Bye."

Alexis quietly stepped into the suite careful not to make a sound; she wanted to surprise the girl with her arrival. She placed the bag onto the couch and noticed Stefan standing with his arms crossed watching her every move. He held his finger to his lips before quietly approaching her.

- "I wasn't expecting you for another hour, Cousin."

She attempted to appear nonchalant, but she knew he read her like a book. There was no point in lying to him.

- "I couldn't stay there much longer. It was getting… too much. Um… I hope you don't mind us staying here a while longer than you had planned; I think Sam and I need a change of scenery. I mean, I don't want us to impose or anything. She and I can take the couch; you saw how comfortable she slept last night. And before you say anything, I'll be fine… just as long as I'm not… there."

He noticed her reddened nose and slightly puffy eyes; she had been crying again. It hurt him to see her so heavy-hearted; he would have given anything to stop her from feeling pain again, especially pain caused by one who should have been long dead.

He pulled her to him.

- "Darling, you are always welcome here. You are welcome anywhere I am. And no, you are not sleeping on the couch. You will stay in my room, while I bunk with Nikolas indefinitely. It's quite alright, Alexis; if you need anything from the apartment, I will retrieve it myself. You don't have to step one foot there if you do not want."

She hugged him tightly, leaning her head onto his chest; she did not know how she would have ever survived life in the Cassadine household without him shielding her from harm. He was her best friend.

- "Thank you, Stefan."

Like he had done so many times when she was a child and upset from another round with Stavros or Helena, he gave her a kiss on the top of the head.

- "No thank you's necessary, darling; you are my family and I would do anything for you. Now, why don't you go wash your face before surprising Samantha with your arrival? I'm actually pleased you've come early as we can go for an early dinner; I have a date of sorts afterwards with my son."

She smiled at the man.

- "You're a wonderful father, you know that?"

He brushed her hair behind her ear. He stared at her as he thought about the file and how different her life would have been had his father not taken her in. Considering everything that had occurred in her life since that time, he was certain that it would have been for the better… but that would mean that he would not have had her; she would not have been in his life. Where would that have left him?

- "And you, ma soeur, are the epitome of mothers. I certainly would not have been the father that I am today without your help. I'm not sure that I've ever thanked you for that—"

She shook her head at him.

- "Well, if that's the case, I should be thanking you for giving me that little man of yours to practice being a mommy on; I love that son of yours more than you could ever know."

Stefan smirked.

- "I think I have a pretty good idea."

Flashback

She held the baby for a mere five minutes before losing consciousness; but-for his presence beside her, the newborn infant would have fallen to the floor. Without a moment to think about what had occurred, the nurse removed the baby from his arms and shooed him from the room.

- "I apologize, Mr. Cassadine, but we need room to work on your—"

- "Wife, my wife."

He said it without thinking; she was not his wife. He lied. She should have been his wife, but fate had clearly dealt them different cards.

- "Fine. Mr. Cassadine, we will come to get you when—"

She stopped speaking; she would come to get him when they had declared the woman dead. She had noticed the monitors and the lack of eye movement when the light had been shone into her eyes. The young mother was gone, but the nurse did not have the heart to tell him so.

- "We'll come to get you when we have more news."

His heart beat harder in his chest than ever before. He could not lose her, not when they had finally found a way to be together. Alas, he could not think only of her; he had to think about the little boy that had just come into the world.

- "What about… what about the baby? What about my… my son?"

She smiled sympathetically at him. She pointed down the hall.

- "If you go straight and make a left at the end of the hallway, you'll hit the nursery. You'll be able to see him there."

He nodded his head before taking the long walk in the direction the woman had indicated to him. As he walked, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He was not in the mood to speak to anyone, but he could not bring himself to send the person to voicemail. So, he picked it up without checking the display.

- "Hello?"

She smiled at the sound of his voice.

- "Hi Cousin! Guess who's back."

He let out a breath. If there was anyone she had wanted to speak to, it was Alexis. He leaned against the wall as he stood outside of the nursery waiting for a nurse to bring in the baby.

- "I was not expecting you back, cherie, for another day."

She frowned as she looked into the phone. She could sense the distress in his voice.

- "What's wrong?"

- "I think she's dying…"

Alexis's heart broke for him. He had always been there for her; she needed to find her way to him.

- "I'm coming."

He nodded as he disconnected the phone without saying goodbye; the nurse had just brought him in. He walked up to the window and smiled at the child he could already see would look exactly like his mother.

- "My God, he's beautiful."

He stood at the window staring at the baby boy barely allowing it to register that the nurse and the doctor had approached him to tell him that his newborn son was motherless. He stood there just watching the infant, with his dark silky black hair, his olive skin, and the tiniest mole on his chubby cheek.

- "Stefan—"

Alexis had asked the driver to bring her to him. Because the servants of the house loved both he and her, there was no question as to whether they would help the girl go to the man at his time of need. She leaned against him as she watched the baby boy, but thought only of her baby girl. She put her arm around the man she considered to be an older brother.

- "I'm so sorry, cousin."

He sighed deeply. This should not have shocked him; considering the way he had been raised, he should have become accustomed to life throwing him scraps. But it did shock him. It shocked him deep in his core and the only thing that brought him back to reality was the child on the other side of the window.

- "He's mine, and that's all that can matter right now."

She nodded her head.

- "And what are you going to name your son?"

A tear ran down his cheek.

- "She wanted him to be called Nikolas Dmitri Cassadine."

- "So, that's what he'll be called."

Without responding, he continued to stare at the child. He wrapped his arm around his young cousin.

They stood that way for a long time before he spoke again.

- "We have to leave their home. I will not raise him there; not with her."

While she did not want to seem selfish considering the somberness of the time, she could not help but feel a heartbreak. He sensed that.

- "I'm not leaving you Alexis. I plan on taking you with me. I will not risk her harming you."

She smiled at the man. It seemed that from that day onward, they would feast from the table, rather than from the droppings off the floor. Life had begun to turn around for them.

- "Thank you."

He gave her a kiss on the top of the head knowing that she was not simply thanking him for rescuing her from that household; he was giving her much more than she even realized in her gratitude.

End of Flashback

He pushed her toward the boy's bedroom.

- "Now, go on and wash your face."

As she made to move, he grabbed her by the arm.

- "I'm glad you're here."

She nodded; she could sense that he was keeping something big from her. She refused to worry about it however, as there were no secrets between them. She gave him a kiss on the cheek.

- "Thank you, but you don't know how much the inverse of that is true to me. I'll be back; don't tell her I'm here."

- "I won't! I'll go speak with them right now; I must see into what mischief your little one is dragging my son."

She rolled her eyes at the man as she walked toward Nikolas' bedroom. Under normal circumstances she would have laughed at his joke, but none of this was normal; she found her mind turning back onto Stavros' comments about the girl. Her daughter was not mischievous.

Because they had no other place to go, and Evelyn had long been evicted from the home in which she, her husband, son, and Sam had lived, Helena reluctantly checked into the hotel she had booked prior to leaving Greece with the recently liberated woman. She sat in the darkness of the room thinking about her son while Evelyn showered; he was all she thought about since she discovered what that woman and her good-for-nothing husband had foolishly done. She did not care that that child carried his blood through her veins; another's blood ran through her that far outweighed any desire she had to establish a connection with it. That child, Samantha, was no more Stavros' than Stefan was hers; she was simply inconsequential to her life and her son's memory.

She was not sure what she would do to the girl once she saw her, but she knew that she would not infiltrate the Cassadine fold as her mother had. She would not have her son's name associated with a bastard child bred from an incestuous act… no, it was a mistake in judgment on her son's part. He was not as people would think him to be if that child were revealed to be his child. He was not a rapist. She had not raised him to be that way. She would sooner die than to allow his name associated with that meant for the most disgusting human beings of the world. No. Her Stavros was not a vile and perverse derelict who deserved to be expelled from society; she could never love him the way she had… the way she did, if that were true. No. Her son was a gentle soul who perhaps, as a flaw in character, loved too hard.

She sat in the darkness rubbing the faded scar on her wrist; for some reason, it had begun to bother her. She imagined her little boy sitting on her lap as she waited for the woman to finish showering so that she could call housekeeping to clean the bathroom from top to bottom.

- "Have you missed me, Mama?"

She ran her hands through his hair that had grown too long for Mikkos' taste, but was just fine as a very articulate two year old Stavros liked it.

- "I have missed you more than you know. You have been separated from Mama for far too long."

She felt him shift on her lap as he did whenever he was prepared to take a nap in her arms.

- "I've missed you too. I don't like being away from you."

She felt as though she had been stabbed in the heart. She did not like that he had been taken from her either. Twenty-eight years were not enough for her to tell him how much he meant to her. She needed more time with her beautiful baby boy.

- "Are you… are you happy where you are?"

She felt a tear roll down her cheek as she felt his breath become soft and steady; he had fallen asleep. She caressed his soft cheek and passed her finger over his beautiful long eyelashes. She wished he would open his eyes so that she could look into them once again; she wanted to see those beautiful deep brown pupils embedded in teardrop shaped eyes. She needed to see them.

- "Stavros—"

She shook him, but to no avail.

- "Stavros, my love, wake up for Mama."

She attempted once again, but stopped upon the feeling of something wet on her hands.

- "Have you wet yourself, my big boy? You must learn to hold your urine now that you are in big boy pants."

But when she looked down at her hands, they were of the deepest red. Her two year old was bloodied and beaten. She wanted to scream for help, but her mind knew the trick it played; it did not allow a sound to escape from her lips. Instead, she cried as she hummed a lullaby and cradled the dead toddler in her arms until he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared to her.

Helena, not needing the woman to know what she had just experienced, quickly dried her eyes and reapplied her make-up. She retook her spot on the chair, hoping that her son would not once again appear to her; she could not take it. The pain she felt within her as she waited for Evelyn to exit the bathroom, was as excruciating as though he had died in her arms rather than alone in a dark alley.

Flashback

She sat in the library at seven-thirty reading a Dostoyevsky novel, 'Demons.' She had been awaiting Stavros' arrival for fifteen minutes. Normally she would not have worried as the boy had never been known for his promptness and she had always informed him to arrive fifteen minutes earlier than she truly expected knowing that he would undoubtedly be late, but this night was different; she felt an inexplicable sense of emptiness within her. She had been feeling such a way since the prior evening, but she shook it off unsure of what it could be.

- "Layna—"

She turned around slowly at the sound of her husband's voice. It was not the fact that he had not called her such a nickname in twenty-five years that sent chills down her spine; it was the way in which he said it that terrified her. Her mind immediately went to her son.

- "Mikkos, have you heard from Stavros?"

The look on his face did nothing to quell the despair that began to replace the emptiness. In a sense, she knew her son was no longer, but she could not accept it, not without proof.

- "Where is my son, Mikkos?"

He shook his head somberly.

- "Layna—"

She stormed toward him.

- "Don't you DARE call me that! Not until you tell me where my son is!"

He took her hand into his own giving it a gentle kiss. He knew this would not be an easy admission, but she needed to hear it.

- "He's gone, Layna."

Yanking her hand from his hold, she smacked him hard across the face. She would not allow the man to lie to her about her son. She had already lost one child before even meeting her; God could not have been so cruel as to also take the love of her life away from her.

- "Mikkos Cassadine, WHY would you tell me such a thing? Why would you wish death on our son? Do you hate him THAT much?"

He saw her begin to unravel in front of her. He pulled her to him.

- "I don't hate our son, Layna—"

She pushed him away from her.

- "I've already told you to refrain from calling me that. You clearly are doing so only because you want me to think the worse about my son. WHERE is he, Mikkos?"

He wanted to hold her against him as he was certain this would be the last time she allowed him the right, but she so the fury in her eyes. She was relentless when it came to Stavros and what she felt he needed. There was nothing else he could do but allow her to see him. She would not believe him until she had proof. He averted his eyes as he spoke.

- "He's in my office."

No sooner had he spoken the words had she turned to leave. He grabbed her arm, causing her to wince to his touch. He looked down and realized what he had done; he slid his hand down from her wrists to once again hold her hand.

- "Just brace yourself… when you go in there."

She glared at him.

- "He is my son, Mikkos; there is nothing for which I need to brace myself. Kindly release me so that I may see him myself."

He did as he was told and watched her run from the room. He did not bother to follow her; he was certain she would want to be alone with the young man. Instead, he walked over to the bar and poured himself a scotch. As he put the cup to his lips, he heard a blood-curdling scream that shook the house to its core. He drank the strong liquor in one large gulp before making his way to his office.

End of Flashback

The pain attempted to beat her down each day, but she won each time. She would be damned if she allowed the grief to consume her before she was ready to leave the earth. She had far too much she needed to do.

Stefan walked into the room where the children remained unaware of Alexis' presence in the suite.

- "And up to what trouble are you two?"

Both children laughed at the man's accusation. Nikolas stood up and held his hand out to help Sam to her feet. The girl ignored it and stood on her own prompting him to put his hand into his pocket.

- "I was trying to help you Samantha."

She frowned.

- "With what? My leg isn't broken anymore. I can stand up by myself."

Stefan laughed aloud as he sat at the desk chair. Samantha was proving as stubborn, proud, and independent as her mother… just like her; she was her mother's child.

- "And that certainly makes us all happy Samantha! Those casts were not very accommodating were they? You seemed quite uncomfortable with them."

The girl nodded.

- "I didn't like them because then I couldn't take a real bath with Duckbert. And plus they got itchy a lot! Mommy kept sticking a ruler inside them to itch my arms and legs for me… I miss her."

Nikolas, seeing the sudden sadness in his cousin's eyes, picked up from the floor the picture they had been working on; he showed their finished product to his father.

- "Look Father, I've helped Samantha with her letters so that she could write a note for Cousin Alexis. She's done a good job."

Sam, wiping a lone tear from her cheek from missing the woman who provided her with a sense of comfort, ran over to her cousins.

- "And Nikolas said he's going to practice with me until I learn all the letters that aren't like normal ones—"

The boy groaned at her comment.

- "Greek letters are normal, Samantha—"

- "No they're not! They're weird and don't make sense because they make the same sounds like real letters, but it's okay because I like them anyway."

He narrowed is eyes at the girl.

- "Just because they're different, that doesn't make them weird."

She wanted to stick her tongue out at the boy, but she knew it would only disappoint her mother. Instead she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes; this was a habit she picked up from the woman herself.

- "I said I liked them anyway, Nikolas."

Unbeknownst to either child, Alexis had returned from the bathroom and stood silently outside of the bedroom listening to their daily bickering. She loved how they fed off of each other, bringing out a personality in Nikolas that was hidden under his cloak of formality, and one that she had never thought she would ever see in Sam who continued to struggle with her self-esteem. She adored the children.

Nikolas shook his head as he leaned beside his father's chair.

- "Good."

She scowled at the boy before tapping Stefan's leg.

- "Cousin Stefan, do you want to read it? You can tell me if it's stupid."

He pulled the girl onto his lap; with every mannerism he noticed in the child, he saw a young Alexis. There was no longer any doubt in his mind about her.

- "Nothing you write will ever be stupid, little raven; you are far too intelligent to ever think so lowly of yourself. You are incredibly brilliant. Understand?"

And in proving her high intelligence, the exchange had been in Greek; she understood every word. Her knack for languages was proven everyday as her vocabulary increased by the tenfold.

- "Yes, Cousin."

He gave her a kiss on the top of the head.

- "Now let's see what you have here."

He read the note to himself smiling at its simple innocence. Children, despite their genetic make-up, truly were innocent; he had proof in case anyone told him different.

- "My goodness! You two must own a greeting card company! Your talents are surely being wasted!"

Both children laughed at the man's silliness.

- "Father, we're fat too young for such a thing; but if you like Samantha and I can be in charge of writing your Thank You notes and Holiday cards."

Stefan uncharacteristically ruffled the boy's hair as Alexis often did. It seemed that she was having as much of an effect on him as Samantha was having on his son. It was all a welcomed change.

- "That sounds like a wonderful idea, my son."

Sam enjoyed spending time with the boys; she had never been happier in her life than when Evelyn dropped her off at her mother's doorstep. She finally was feeling as though everything would be fine. Her fears of being taken away from not only her mother, but Stefan and even Nikolas, were slowly, but surely subsiding. She felt safe with them… with her family.

She leaned back against the man.

- "Are me and Mommy going to live here from now on?"

- "Mommy and I, Samantha."

The little girl glared at her younger cousin.

- "I was not speaking to you, Nikolas.. Are we, Cousin Stefan?"

He looked to his son before responding. Considering the feelings of jealous and slight rejection the child exhibited, he would never want to aggravate it by having his beloved cousins move into the suite; if necessary, he would certainly attain another. The boy however smiled; he wanted his Cousin Alexis and Samantha close.

Seeing this, Stefan turned back to the girl.

- "I don't know Samantha; that is something for your mother to decide. Would you like to live here?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

- "I want to live wherever my mommy lives."

Alexis could no longer stay away from her daughter; she too wanted to live anywhere she did. If such a bargain included Stavros' aggravating presence, she would put up with it just so she could have the child near.

She knocked on the doorframe.

- "Hello? Am I welcomed here?"

Nikolas had made to move towards the woman, but he stepped aside as Sam hopped off of Stefan's lap and ran to her mother.

- "Mommy!"

She lifted the girl into the air before giving her a sloppy kiss on the cheek. Sam laughed as she returned the favor. She wrapped her arms around the woman's neck as she rested her head onto her shoulder.

- "I missed you. Don't leave me again, okay?"

Alexis whispered into her ear.

- "I'll be where you are as long as you want me there, chipmunk."

Sam lifted her head. She stared into her mother's eyes for a moment seeking a final reassurance as to the veracity of the statement.

- "Forever."

Alexis tapped the child's button nose.

- "Well then, you got it."

Sam gave her mother a kiss on the cheek before resting her head back onto her shoulder.

- "Good."

Alexis then looked over at Nikolas who stood silently beside his father watching the scene.

- "How's my handsome boy?"

He shrugged bashfully.

- "I'm well, thank you. We missed you, Cousin."

She put a reluctant Sam down so that she could also embrace the boy.

- "And I missed you too Nikky."

He held her tightly wishing that he too had a mother. In fact, sometimes he wished she were his. But then he thought about Samantha; surely she wished she had a father such as his. He figured they could share.

- "I'm happy to hear you've had a good nap, Cousin."

She squeezed his chubby cheek before giving him a kiss.

- "An eight-hour one! But you know what? I could not wait to wake up so I could be with my favorite family."

He blushed at her affection. Despite his love for her, he still found girls to be quite disgusting.

- "Well, you are welcome because we missed you. –Samantha, show Cousin Alexis what you've made for her!"

Sam, who had held tightly to her mother's pants not wanting to be separated from her again, completely forgot about the picture.

- "Oh yea!"

She released the woman just so she could take it from the desk. Stefan passed his hand over her braids as she passed him. She giddily showed her mother her work.

- "I colored this for you, Mommy!"

Alexis knelt to the child's level. She caressed the her chubby cheek.

- "What an incredible coloring of the goddess Hera chipmunk! I love it! Thank you!"

Stefan felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Seeing as the people who meant the world to him were all in the room with him, he could not be bothered with the caller. He allowed it to ring out before shutting it off entirely knowing it was once again his father calling. He refused to entertain the man until he and Alexis discussed the content of the file in its entirety. He was certain she would have questions for the man.

- "Why don't you read the note for Alexis, darling."

Sam nodded.

- "Nikolas helped me write this Mommy, but it's all my words. I just told him what I wanted it to say."

She read the note to her mother in fluent Greek.

To Mommy,

I love you more than all my toys. Even if I didn't have them I would be happy because I have you. Thank you for being my Mommy.

Love,

Your Chipmunk, Sam

Alexis, smiling at her daughter, pulled Nikolas to her as well. She spoke in Greek.

- "You two munchkins mean the world to me. I wouldn't give you two up for anything. Sam, you are my baby girl, my chipmunk, and Nik, you are my little man. Thanks baby for saying something so sweet, and thanks bud for helping her write it. I love it as much as I love you."

He once again blushed as he stepped back towards his father.

- "It was my pleasure, Cousin."

Stefan looked at his watch; it was nearly a quarter to seven. He clapped his hands at the group.

- "Well, I think it's time for us to get ready for dinner. Seeing as Samantha chose breakfast and we ordered in for lunch, I suppose it only fair to allow Nikolas to choose where we dine tonight."

Sam, who remained in her mother's embrace, turned to look at her younger cousin.

- "Make sure you don't pick someplace nasty, Nikolas, otherwise next time I'll choose the diner again!"

Nikolas cut his eyes at the girl before leaning into his father; he found the diner to not only smell thick of grease from the overly fried food, but said food was also made of the most disgusting products he had ever tasted in all of his five years of life. He was not certain he would ever get used to the food in the States."

- "Father, I'd like to try a Greek restaurant tonight please. We've been here for weeks, but we have not yet tried one."

Alexis was not sure the choice was wisely made as Connecticut, and certainly not New Haven, was not known for it's foreign cuisine. She knew this could not end well for her high quality loving cousins.

- "Um, okay… sure. So, I suppose we should get going?"

Stefan chuckled as he took his son by the hand and walked past the two ladies.

- "Alexis, certainly you do not think I am going out with you in your loungewear. We leave in fifteen minutes."

She and Sam looked at what she had thrown on prior to rushing from the apartment. Sam shook her head.

- "I don't think Cousin Stefan likes sweatpants Mommy."

Alexis stuck her finger into the tear in her daughter's stocking.

- "Well chipmunk, I know for a fact that Nikolas will not like his favorite cousin wearing torn stockings."

Sam's eyes threatened to well with tears at her ability to rip yet another pair of stockings. It seemed her mother was consistently buying her new pairs because she always ruined the ones she wore. However, when she noticed the smile on her mother's face, the tears quickly left her. She put her little hands on either side Alexis' face.

- "I think we have to change."

She connected her forehead to Sam's. She looked into the child's deep brown tear shaped eyes that were so much like his, but yet so different. Hers were soft and filled with an innocence Alexis had never seen within him in the years she had been unfortunate enough to know him. She wondered if there ever was a time when he had possessed a child's innocence that could have made him loveable to someone other than his indulging mother. As she stared into her daughter's eyes, knowing that she would do anything to protect her, she could not honestly doubt its once existence within him.

- "I think you're right."

She gave her daughter a kiss on the nose before running out to grab the duffle bags she left on the couch. She had yet to see him since she left the apartment; she hoped he stayed away. She wanted to, for the first time in weeks, enjoy dinner with her family.

Evelyn walked out of the shower dressed in a bathrobe with her hair dripping onto her shoulders. She had spent several weeks in prison where showers were not known for their cleanliness; she needed a good wash. She was grateful that someone as cold and heartless as Helena had managed to provide it for her. She took a seat in the chair opposite the woman.

- "Thank you."

Helena looked at her in disgust.

- "You could not bother to put something on rather than come out here undressed?"

Evelyn stared at her as though she had forgotten from where she had just retrieved her.

- "And what exactly would you have me put on, Helena? The filthy clothes I walked in with? I'd rather spare myself the aggravation of hearing your mouth about how disgusting I am."

Helena stared at the woman for a few moments before speaking. She stared at her pocked skin, stringy hair, and deplorable teeth; she truly was a pitiful sight. She shook her head as she looked Evelyn from top to bottom.

- "You should be ashamed of what you've become—"

The woman stopped her before continuing her predictable criticisms.

- "Really? Tell me, Helena, what exactly was I supposed to have become with a father who completely abandoned me—"

Helena's stare immediately turned cold.

- "Don't you dare say such a thing! Father did NOT abandon you!"

The younger woman scoffed at her sister.

- "The HELL he didn't! He left me living in squalor—"

- "Because you married that pitiful man. He warned you he would not bail you out of the foreseeable destitution you would find yourself, and yet you decided to go against him. Cody is a drunk, he is a gambler, and he is a loser; it seems from where I'm standing that you've turned out exactly as you should have."

Evelyn jumped from her seat as though the insult had bitten her in the chair. She stared at her sister who was born into wealth with the finest silver spoon in her mouth, educated at the top schools, and married to a man from an equally wealthy man; who was she to judge her. Helena knew nothing about struggling to pay the bills or feed a couple of mouths she could not care less about; she had servants and nannies. The woman was medically trained, but she did not have to work. Helena did not have to move from the chair in which she sat and judged her, and she would still be far more financially secure than she. What did she know about her and her life?

Evelyn was the product of purchase. Her mother made her living dancing at a high-priced Gentlemen's Club and happened to meet Cristof Komensky, a wealthy married businessman from Prague. While the club in no way encouraged the dancers to have any relations with their members, it was common knowledge that certain elite members chose certain dancers for private performances; Evelyn's mother, Bea, happened to be one of the chosen few for such acts.

The relationship between Bea and Cristof continued for well over a year before Evelyn had been conceived. He, regardless of the location of his business travel in the states, would travel to the club in New York to see his girl dance for him. In some ways, over that time, he found himself quite smitten with the far younger woman. As far as he was concerned, considering the money he paid towards his membership and his frequent trips to the club, she was his and his alone. He would never be certain, up to the moment of his death, whether that were in fact true.

Nevertheless, when the woman informed him that she was pregnant, he accepted that, considering the timing, the child was his. In fact, aside from abandoning the woman and impending child, there was not much he could have done, as paternity testing had not yet been developed. So, being a man of high morals, he vowed to provide for it upon its birth. However, given that it was what it was, created in nothing but a business transaction, he knew he would never give the baby all that he had provided Helena, his first and only born child.

And so came Evelyn, the bastard child of the great Cristof Komensky and a whore, or at least that was how she had heard her mother described her entire life; what else would one call a person who sold their body for money? There was no disputing the fact especially when she barely remembered her; her mother died from a drug overdose when she was two years old. As a result, the child, born to a man of great wealth, was sent to a number of unwelcoming homes, to where her father sent a monthly check of $100.

Finally, after her seventeenth move to yet another pilfering family member who expected a windfall from taking in the girl, she met Cody, a twenty-five year old man of few prospects, on her eighteenth birthday. When he promised to provide her with the things that she had longed for her entire life, she quickly informed her father, on one of his bi-annual visits, that she had intended on marrying this man. She informed the man of her fiancé's promises of stability, love, and wealth and asked for her father's blessing. The great Cristof Komensky, having met the man Cody, promptly denied his bastard daughter's request. Knowing that he had no real right to control the acts of a girl he barely knew, and financed at less than a tenth of the expense he had indulged on her older sister, Helena, he knew he could instead serve the girl an ultimatum. He would not stop her from marrying the man whom he could tell would do nothing but cause the young woman heartache, but he would certainly not continue to support her. If she chose to marry the man, he would cut her off financially.

Cody, being a man who hated being denied what he wanted, easily coaxed the girl into marrying him despite her father's threats. He promised that he could easily provide her with earnings of thousands of dollars a week that would easily trump the pennies the man provided her in her life. He reminded her of how little she was thought of by her family and certainly her father, and helped her realize that he was the only one who truly cared for her.

And in some way, some of his tales were true, but in what mattered most to the girl, Cody was unable to provide her with the stability and wealth she had craved; the love they shared could never be enough to override what she could have had had she heeded her father's warnings.

And there she stood being judged by the woman who had their father wrapped around her finger simply because she was fortunate enough to have been born in wedlock.

- "You have NO right to judge me! I did what I thought was right given the circumstance that I was in because your father refused to care enough about me to do right by me!"

Helena stood from her chair and approached the woman. She pointed her finger towards her younger sister. As she protected her son's name, she did the same in regard to her father.

- "Don't you DARE say such a thing about—"

Evelyn smacked the woman's finger away from her face. Unlike most, she was not in the least bit frightened of Helena; she had nothing to lose in order for her to truly care about the devil against whom she stood.

- "About the man who paid more to f*ck my mother than to take care of the kid he created with her? THAT man? You don't want me to talk poorly about the GREAT Cristoff Komensky, a man whose name doesn't mean sh*t in this country? THAT one, Helena? A man who—"

Helena smacked her hard across the face; she had listened to enough disrespect from a low-classed alcoholic about the man she had had the pleasure of calling her 'Papa.'

- "Let me explain something to you, Evelyn. As heartless as you believe my father and me to be, I assure you that I have no qualms in proving how truly heartless I can be. I am well aware of your retarded little boy that bitch and her appendage I had the displeasure of carrying for nine months, have provided for in that lovely little school out by the polluted coast of this disgusting State. I know you presume to act as though he doesn't mean a thing to you, but you and I both know how untrue that is—"

Evelyn did love her son, but her guilt could never allow her to be a mother to him; she knew the heavy drinking during her pregnancy had played a large role in his problems. And yet seeing this, she never stopped. Where Cody had failed to provide her with stability and wealth, there was always an abundance of alcohol in the home despite its lack of food. In her mind, she did what she could for the child given the environment in which he was raised.

- "You leave him alone!"

Helena, seeing the fear in Evelyn's eyes, laughed in the woman's face.

- "Ah yes. I believe that now we are on the same page; if you keep my father's good name out of your filthy mouth, that child will disappear much more quickly than the bottles of cheap vodka you pour down your throat. Understand this, my father did not have to provide for you, and he certainly did not have to provide for you when you chose to marry that street urchin. Goodness! Who knows if you are truly his daughter? You should be grateful he provided for you as he did! Now, I will admit that he was a flawed man who had no business cheating on my dear mother with the likes of your mother, but that is neither here nor there. You are a bastard who got more than you deserved when it came to my father and you spit on it—"

Evelyn had had enough. She pushed the older woman away from him hard enough to cause her to stumble backwards; but for the chair she had previously occupied, Helena would have fallen to the floor. She glared at her sister's audacity, but Evelyn cut her off before she could speak another syllable.

- "I did NOT spit on him, Helena! You and I BOTH know that he SPIT on ME and it's quite obvious that THAT is why you're here."

Helena narrowed her eyes on a woman she had not seen in nearly half a decade. She crossed her arms across her chest.

- "I suggest you first close your robe, Evelyn; I have no interest in seeing what you are selling."

Mikkos, sitting in his private jet, attempted one last time to call Stefan; the man continued to ignore his calls. He shook his head as he closed the phone. He prayed he got to them before his wife did something regrettable.

He opened his briefcase and pulled out the file of which he had given the man a copy to bring to Alexis. He flipped through it until he came upon the death certificates and newspaper clippings. He put the clippings aside to reread the first of the three in the file: Andrea Natasha Davidovitch, born May 11, 2004 deceased June 22, 2005. The cause of death was determined to be severe smoke inhalation; the infant was dead on arrival at the hospital. He leaned back into his chair cradling the glass of scotch he had poured for himself upon entering the jet; whoever that child with his niece was, he had proof that she was not who Stefan, Alexis, and Helena believed her to be.