Well, this was far longer than I had intended it to be. My previous comment remains: lack of responses will result in me PMing the remainder of the story to my regular reviewers. I would truly appreciate your actual thoughts.

Not entirely edited… I have a party to get ready for and more schoolwork than I care to deal with… hence the update.

Chapter Twenty-Three

A Relative Misfortune

Stefan stared incredulously at his father. Since he had learned that Stavros had raped his cousin, Stefan attempted to learn why; nothing aside from pure viciousness had made any logical sense. Stavros had always been the apple of Helena's eye, the one for whom she lived, the only person she needed in her life. He did as she asked, loved whomever she loved, and hated the same. His absolute disdain for Alexis stemmed not from a personal sense of animosity toward her; instead, it was derivative of his mother's inexplicable hatred for the girl. He had not a personality of his own. Everything about the man was in relation to his mother and what pleased her… he crushed and destroyed all objects of displeasure.

- "I don't… understand—"

Such a word was not in the realm of Stefan's thoughts. Alexis had arrived in their home at the tender age of four with no memory of her previous life. She was as quiet as a church mouse, afraid to speak above a whisper or be noticed in an otherwise empty room. She was… a child, and yet she was brutalized from the moment she entered their lives.

- "Revenge?"

Mikkos could see the doubt in the man's eyes. Stefan had seen the word as clearly… rather, he had seen it more clearly than he. It was terribly scarred onto the woman's stomach and back, yet he failed to see what had been before him all along. Mikkos was not sure if he wanted to open the blinds that blocked the younger man's view.

- "Yes."

After so many years, was there even a point?

- "You saw what was done—"

Stefan slammed his hand onto the dresser. He would have liked to throw something… someone… across the room.

- "RETRIBUTION! He carved retribution into her skin! My goodness, what could a fifteen year old GIRL have done to deserve such a thing done to her?"

He could not calm himself as he threw one of the cans of food that sat on the dresser across the room. It shattered a mirror that hung on the wall.

- "She was an innocent CHILD! She did NOT deserve to be treated in such a way!"

Mikkos nodded as he moved from the room into the living room where he was certain the already traumatized child would not be able to hear her uncle's angered words. As he heard her sobs from the bathroom, he did not want his granddaughter to suffer any more than she had.

- "Stefan, what you must know is that your brother—"

He stopped him from speaking.

- "Don't you dare call that animal my brother! May he rot in hell for what he has done to her! If ever I doubted the existence of Satan, I am certain that I was wrong. He existed and was borne from Helena and your influence and indifference!"

The rage was apparent in the man; Mikkos knew there was nothing to be done to quell the fires. As the truth came to light, only fuel would be added until the life he had attempted to create for his family would disintegrate in flames.

- "I know this, Stefan. You must know that there are many things in my life for which I will be forever regretful. Stavros' existence, as it had been, will remain near the top of my list."

He moved to the coffee table where the file was kept. He quickly found the certificate of adoption; he stared at it for some time before speaking. Somehow, like everything else he had attempted to fix in their lives, something so simple… an act of contrition… had turned out wrong.

- "You know, I truly meant what I had said to Alexis… Alexandra. When I agreed to give her baby to a family she deserved, I meant it."

Stefan scoffed as he opened the bar; he needed a drink.

- "Yes, the McCalls were exactly the right fit, Father. Scotch?"

Mikkos still holding the paper, turned to look at the man who, in spite of his anger, nevertheless retained his manners. He was nothing like Stavros; he was every bit a gentleman.

- "I NEVER gave that child to those people! I had never heard the name of such people until I arrived here!"

The younger man was reluctant to believe the man, but thought it best to listen. The truth was needed.

- "If you did not give the child to those animals, then to whom was she given?"

Mikkos held up the certificate as Stefan approached him with the glass.

- "I gave her to them! This is correct! I named the child Andrea Natasha, after her grandfather and her mother. Then knowing that she would be given all that her mother had not, I hander her to the people from whom I had previously stolen another child."

Stefan raised his glass to his father in jest.

- "My father, ever the destroyer of life."

Flashback

It had been a couple of days since he had seen, for the first time in over a decade, his younger brother. Unfortunately, their reunion was not one of celebration or reconnection. Instead, it was quite fateful; the younger man would die mere minutes afterwards, but not before he had begged his brother, the man whom he had betrayed in the worst way, to care for his young daughter. Not knowing what else to say, and feeling as though he could not deny Andreus his final wish, Mikkos agreed. And so, he walked into the child's hospital room armed with not only custodial papers for the girl, but also her passport and birth certificates, and finally, a change of clothing; they would be leaving for Greece upon her immediate release.

- "Er… good afternoon—"

He had not anticipated the sight of the bereaved couple seated at the child's bedside. In having been asked to take the girl in to his care, he had assumed that no other family existed. In fact, upon the man's death, it did not take long before Mikkos received a phone call from Andreus' attorney who had already drawn up the appropriate paperwork that had previously been filed giving, in the circumstance of the simultaneous deaths of the child's parents, he would be given, upon his consent, custody. Seeing the couple, whom he assumed to be related to the dead woman, Mikkos regretted his agreement; they clearly loved the sleeping girl.

- "I am—"

The man, tall with dirty blonde hair and light brown eyes, immediately released his wife so that he could extend his hand to the man whom he immediately recognized. They had never before met, but he could see the resemblance between the stranger and his now deceased brother-in-law.

- "You must be Andy's brother; it's a pleasure to meet you, even given the circumstances. I'm William Davidovitch, Elizabeth's brother. This is my wife Anna."

Mikkos shook the man's hand as he nodded to the crying woman. He watched as she gently ran her finger along the child's hand, almost afraid to touch her. The grief and shock of the couple's deaths was written on the woman's face.

- "It is very nice to meet you both. I am truly sorry for your loss."

And he meant it. In two days, they had lost not only their sister and brother-in-law, but given the papers he held in his hands, they would also lost their niece. If he could have taken back his promise to the dead man, he would have; had he known about the couple's existence, he would never have given his consent to take the girl. Unfortunately, that was not an option. He had to see this through to the end.

- "I am Mikkos Cassadine."

William smiled gratefully at the man. He knew that Andreus was estranged from his family, but he was sure the man's soul must have been at peace for his brother had been by his side in his final moments. Looking at the well-kempt gentleman, William could only imagine the pain rippling through the man's heart surrounded by the regret of not knowing his brother.

- "Your brother was… he was a great guy, Mr. Cassadine. I… I hope you know that. He was a fantastic father and a loving husband to my… sister."

He swallowed hard as the sob caught him off guard. Elizabeth was not only his twin sister, but also his best friend. Never a day in their lives had they argued. They hung with the same friends, went to the same schools, and always managed to live in close proximity to one another. In fact, he and Anna lived a mere five blocks from Andreus and Elizabeth's store and converted flat above it. The thought that he would pass the bookstore each day on his way to work and not see his sister and Natasha leaving for preschool killed him.

- "I apologize, but this is… this is very hard. We're a close family."

Mikkos felt as though he had been stabbed by the man's words. He was not certain if it was intentionally done, but it nonetheless hurt.

- "Yes well, it is a terrible loss. I hope you will forgive me for not remaining for the funeral; I have to return to Greece."

William could not have claimed surprise at the man's unwillingness to remain to see his brother laid to rest. He had not been in attendance for any of the important moments in Andreus' life: his wedding, the birth of his daughter, her Christening, and first birthday. A man who had never shown interest in his brother's life would certainly not concern himself in his death.

- "That's fine—"

Mikkos continued before the man could mention the child.

- "As to the child, I would like to get her situated—"

William's eyes widened. He had assumed that his niece would be in his wife and his care; neither she nor they had anyone else. In no way did he consider that this stranger would take from him and his wife the only thing remaining of their happy family.

- "Excuse me, but Natasha lives here. Anna and I will be caring for her—"

Mikkos shook his head as he placed his briefcase onto the tray-table.

- "I apologize, sir—"

He pulled out the paperwork that gave him custody of the girl.

- "Andreus has specifically asked that I take the child—"

With tears rolling down her face, Anna glared at the man.

- "Her name is NATASHA! She is not some object that you can just throw into your briefcase and carry to Greece. She is a child with a name and a family who loves her!"

He hated every moment that he stood in the room breaking the hearts of these kind people. He knew what it meant to lose a child and the pain that never truly left one's heart because of it. Even if Natasha was not theirs, he sensed that they looked upon her as though she were; his actions tore them apart. He felt disgusted in the role he played in contributing to their pain.

- "My brother asked that I take Natasha to Greece with me where she will have someone—"

He stopped himself from speaking before he revealed the content of the short letter the attorney had given him from Andreus. Mikkos was certain the man had not told his new family of his past transgressions; he would not alongside their lives, now destroy his memory.

- "Where she will have all the privileges she might not have here. I would also like to pay for the funeral arrangement for both my brother and your sister—"

Anna could no longer contain her fury. She pushed her husband out of her way as she lunged at the man. She smacked him across the face.

- "We don't need your money, sir; we can afford to bury our family. And as for Natasha, there is no way in bloody hell you are taking her from her home! She's already lost her parents, she is not losing us as well. We are her family. Not you. Now, please leave."

Without a word, Mikkos nodded at the couple. He knew the situation would not be easy, but it had to be done. He was a man of his word.

End of Flashback

But he did take her and there was nothing they could do to fight him. Mikkos had the money, means, and power to fight any battle people whom the girl, due to her amnesia, was unable to recognize. He had brought her, after stopping by the freshly dug graves of the people she did not remember, but nevertheless understood to be her parents, to Greece. So that she would always be tied to her father, he named her Alexandra, after his middle name of Alexei. While she would never know the man, Mikkos ensured to nevertheless tie her to him.

- "I did what was asked of me."

He gave her what he thought was a better life of privilege and opportunity. He had provided her with the best schooling, the finest foods and clothing, immersed her in numerous languages of which she quickly became fluent. And she had Stefan. He had given her so much, and yet so little at the same time.

- "My brother, before he died, asked that I take her. So I did."

Stefan narrowed his eyes at the man.

- "From whom?"

He stared at the man who sat in front of him clearly disgusted by both his actions and inactions. If only he knew how hard he had fought for the girl… to what levels, even in his apparent indifference, he had gone to protect and do right by her. Alas, it never worked. When she returned to Greece sixteen and pregnant, he knew he had failed her… though it was not until months later when he would realize how deeply.

- "From her family. Her mother's brother and his wife… they had wanted her."

Stefan always knew his cousin had come from a family before falling into his life. In no way could a child living in a household of people who merely resided together because of their consanguinity, learn to love as she had. It had to have come from her previous life, a life she was unable to remember, but certainly one that lived within her.

- "Did they want her?"

Mikkos took a sip of his drink. He allowed the taste of the rich liquor to sit in his mouth a moment before swallowing. The warmth of the scotch moving down his throat was welcoming in the chill of the room.

- "Very much so, but I had to honor my brother's wishes. I could not break my promise to him."

This was the part that Stefan found most troubling. He had spent his entire life ignorant of the fact that his father had had a brother; there were no pictures, no mentions of his name, and certainly no stories relating to his father's youth with the man, and yet, this man's one request had all, but ruined, his cousin's life. It did not make any sense.

- "Why lie? Why lead Alexis… Natasha… to believe she were someone she was not? Why change her name and give her a new identity? Why deprive her of the memory of her family, Father! Why would you take her from a family who loved and wanted her to only bring her into a home where she would be abused, mistreated, and raped!"

Stefan found himself once again screaming at the man. The more he learned of what his father concealed and laid it beside the torture his cousin endured because of it, the angrier her became. As blessed as he felt to have had Alexis in his life, he would have given her up if it meant she would not have suffered at his family's hands. He would have chosen continued loneliness, rather than commiseration.

- "I don't think I've hated you more than I do in this moment."

Mikkos stared at the man whose spite for him was quite evident. If a mirror were placed in front of him, the older gentleman could not, however deny he carried the same image of disdain for himself. He had single-handedly ruing every member of his family's life.

- "Well, get in line."

Not wanting to frighten her daughter any further, Alexis cautiously walked into the large bathroom of the master suite. She knew that she had run in there to hide from the insanity she had yet again witnessed; it hurt her heart that she had frightened her so deeply. Even at the door, she could hear Sam's whimpers, but she was unsure of where she hid. While there were not many options for where the petite girl could fit or reach, Alexis hoped she could coax her out on her on free will.

- "Samantha, sweetheart? I know you're scared, but can you come out for Mommy, please?"

Alexis checked the tub, but the girl was not there. She opened the frosted shower door, but that was also empty. The only place she could think her petite daughter could be and fit was the cabinet underneath the sink.

- "Honey, Mommy's not going to hurt you. It's okay. She just wants to make sure that you're okay. She just wants to let you know that she's okay. You don't have to worry anymore."

Careful not to make any sudden movements, she slowly made her way to the sink. Her body continued to ache as though she had been truly brought back to that horrific night, but she could not focus on that; her daughter needed her.

- "Chipmunk, Mommy is so sorry she scared you; she did not mean to. She's going to open the door slowly and she wants you to come to her, okay?"

Shaking like a leaf, Sam held her breath for a moment hoping the stranger would move elsewhere. She heard her voice, but she was too terrified to come out from her hiding spot. She wanted her mother to save her, but she knew it could no longer happen. She had witnessed her cousin, Stefan, attempt to revive her to no avail. Whoever approached her claiming to be her mother was not… and never could be. Clearly, this was a trick to lure her out to take her from the only person she had left: Stefan.

- "She's not real. She's not real."

Mumbling to herself, she shut her eyes tightly; she concentrated on blocking out the woman's voice.

- "Mommy's dead. She left me… she left me. I'm alone… I'm alone… I… I…"

Smelling in that stuffy cabinet the urine emanating from the soiled Ariel nightgown that stuck to her, Sam brought her knees closer to her body, tightly shut her eyes and held her hands firmly against her ears until they hurt from the pressure she applied. Although she did not want to cry to further clue the interloper of her hiding place, she could not help herself; her world had crumbled to pieces only to be reconstructed with bricks of despair.

- "I wanna go home… I wanna go home… I want my Mommy."

Certain that Sam hid in the cabinet, Alexis slowly and painfully sat on her knees. With every breath she took, she grew convinced that the blood of her wounds soaked the blanket that covered her sore body as it had done that night.

Flashback

It was daylight.

- "Oh my God!"

She looked at the bedside clock; it read eight thirty.

- "I'm going to be late!"

Her class began in ten minutes. Quickly sitting up in her spot, she screamed in agony; she had forgotten where she was. She had hoped that it had been nightmare, but staring at the blood soaked bed, the blood that trailed from it to the long mirror by the bathroom door and back, and the broken lamps and overturned chairs, she knew it to be real. He had raped her.

- "Oh… God!"

She sobbed for some time as she continued to further tangle herself in the sheets that she had already wrapped around her body to shield it from his amused gaze. Thankfully, however, she soon realized that he was no longer there. She was alone.

Considering the pain she felt, it was no wonder that she had passed out at some point during the night. It was too much for her body to handle after the shock from what had been done to her.

- "Okay… I need… I need to go… I need to leave."

Keeping the sheet around her otherwise nude body, she slowly moved about the trashed room searching for each piece of her attire. She found her right shoe underneath the bed, the left one feet away by the nightstand, her shirt with its torn buttons was in the corner by the door where he had shoved her the moment she had arrived, and finally, she picked up her skirt from the foot of the bed. Her bra and underwear were beside it, but both torn; she could not wear them.

Her hands shook as she unwrapped the sheet from her body. Unfortunately, when she attempted to remove it entirely, she found it stuck as though pasted onto her skin. Remembering what lied beneath the 1500 thread count sheet, she braced herself for the misery that would involve peeling it off of her.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she bit a pillow to keep herself from screaming as she dug the sheet from every letter he had carved into her stomach and back. Never before, even in the torture that Helena and Stavros had put her through throughout the years had she ever expected such an occurrence. He had always been cruel, but his acts from the previous night were inhumane.

- "How am I going to hide this?"

She knew better than to go to the hospital; they would immediately know what had happened to her. Moving to the mirror where she not only saw a bag sitting beside it, she saw a piece of paper jutting from its corner. She first opened the bag to find that he had left her a change of clothes, as well as a first aid kit. Tears rolled down her cheeks at his preparedness.

- "How thoughtful."

Turning to the paper stuck to the mirror, she immediately recognizing her assailant's barely legible handwriting; she opened it.

"Tell anyone, especially your precious Stefan, and I'll kill him. If you think you are alone now, sweet Tasha, imagine how you will feel after we bury the poor boy."

Nodding as though he stood before her warning her of the repercussions of the truth, she began to push all that she knew into the back of her mind. She knew his note to be the truth.

End of Flashback

And yet there she was once again wrapped in a blanket to cover the wounds he had inflicted upon her. The only difference was that now the secret was out.

- "Okay, Alexis focus. There's nothing that can be done now. He's going to know. Focus on her… on Samantha."

She breathed through the pain so that she might now help her daughter through the aftermath of her latest breakdown.

- "Chipmunk? Mommy is going to open the door now; she doesn't want you to be scared. She just wants to help you out."

Hearing Sam's continued whimpers in response to her and unsure of what she might find, Alexis slowly opened the door.

- "Oh baby."

The faint smell of urine coupled with the sight of the girly lying in the fetal position rocking and shaking as tears covered her face in spite of her tightly closed eyes, tore her heart apart. This was what she had caused.

- "Sweetheart, it's okay."

The girl had created for herself… rather she had created for the girl… a world filled with constant hurt, pain, and despair. Her mere touch would only further aggravate the terror she had caused.

- "Baby, come to Mommy."

At hearing the woman's request, Sam let out an audible cry; she had cornered herself without escape. She was in a position where this person could take her away from… no one… she no longer had anyone. While she loved Stefan, he already had a child; he had Nikolas. The person she wanted most in the world was gone. This person, in spite of her claims, was not her.

- "Nooo… leave me alone… leave me alone!"

Alexis wiped the tears that rolled down her cheeks for the guilt that filled her spirit. She had destroyed her beautiful little girl.

- "Sweetheart, look at me."

Sam's cried increased as Alexis continued to refer to herself as her mother. She became increasingly more hysterical, choking on her sobs with each wail. She attempted to press her hands more firmly onto her ears, but the pain was already too much for her little head and ears to take. She felt the walls closing in on her.

- "My Mommy died… my Mommy died… she left me…"

Alexis found herself sobbing alongside her daughter as she attempted to figure out how she would regain her trust so that she might calm her. As cornered as Sam might have felt, the young woman felt lost. She wanted nothing more than to smother the girl in her embrace, but she could not find the means to do so; her hands were tied behind her back.

- "I didn't leave you, honey. I didn't!"

Sam furiously shook her head at the woman's denials.

- "She's dead… she's dead… I'm all alone… just like the fairy princesses. They're real!"

She felt as though she had been once again kicked in the stomach. Even her encouragement of her daughter's love of fairytales had harmed her; she could not win.

- "No, baby; the fairytales are not real and Mommy is not dead! Look at me!"

Leaning closer to the cabinet, she wiped her tears as they quickly rolled down her cheeks. She reached for

- "Sam, Mommy did not die! She's here with you! Sweetheart, open your eyes. Look at me. Honey look!"

Sam as she attempted to stop her increased shaking, but upon contact the girl began to gag on her own tears as she could not bring herself to do as she was told. She would not open her eyes.

- "Noooo!"

She thought about the demons of Anastasia and even the God of the underworld about whom Nikolas had told her. Knowing all the evil that she had seen in her six years, and the poor luck that seemed to follow her wherever she went, she was certain the likes of Rasputin and Hades awaited her outside of the stuffy cabinet.

- "Leave me alone! I want my Mommy! I want her baaaack!"

She began to wail, as she could no longer take the sense of suffocation that filled her; she thrashed in the cabinet wanting to be set free. She rocked terribly screaming at the top of her lungs until Alexis knew she could no longer let her be; her baby would certainly hurt herself if she did not intervene.

- "Samantha, you have her! I'm right here!"

In spite of the pain that tore through her body, she reached into the cabinet and pull the girl out and away from danger.

- "Come to Mommy."

Blinded by her tears and sure some evilness had finally taken hold of her for the second time that night, she begin to kick and scream. She balled her tiny hands into fists, hitting any part of the woman's body she could until she was freed.

- "No! Leave me alone! I want my Mommy… I want her!"

Alexis attempted to shield herself from the blows, but Sam had caught her in the arms, shoulders, and even her stomach. Although winded, she held onto her with the best of her ability.

- "Samantha, STOP! You're hurting me!"

But she could not stop. She continued to wildly hit the woman as she cried and screamed. After painfully biting Alexis on the arm, causing the woman to scream, she was finally released.

- "Leave me alone!"

She attempted to run to the door so that she could find comfort next to where she believed the dead woman's body remained, but Alexis, having recovered, quickly grabbed her. Ignoring the added pain of the parts of her body that would quickly bruise due to the girl's battery, she pulled Sam into her arms, pinning her hands to her sides to prevent any further harm.

- "Don't be afraid sweetheart. You've got me. I'm right here, honey. I'm here with you."

She held Sam tightly, kissing her wet face as she began to slowly rock her in place.

- "It's me, honey. If you'd look, you'd see. It's me. I'm not going anywhere."

Resigning to her defeat, the distraught child crumpled in the woman's arms. She sobbed at the profound sense of loss that filled her at the uncertainty of where life would leave her. She was alone. She mourned her fairy godmother.

She wanted to leave that night for Connecticut to deal with the interlopers who had not only destroyed, but continued to invade her once precious family. She wanted to do away with them all; to remove the stain they left in what had been her impeccable home. She wanted them gone. Unfortunately, it was the middle of the night; she had neither car nor driver. She would have to wait until morning.

And so she sat on the balcony staring at the hideous view with which she was provided. The dilapidated, graffiti-filled buildings in the distance amidst the cracked and polluted streets of the city were old, filthy, and an embarrassment to those who inhabited them. The area, weathered by storms, years of wear, and people, looked as though death walked among them; the beautiful and rich life that they might have had died long ago.

Flashback

She sat on her terrace cradling in her arms her two year old son. The boy had been fighting an ear infection and a cold for days; cranky from the pain, the only thing that seemed to calm him was the sound of the water of the Mediterranean Sea and the breeze it brought onto their balcony. Content in his mother's arms, he fell soundly asleep.

- "Only in his sleep does he look innocent."

Mikkos, who had just returned from the airport, bent behind his wife. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he gently kissed her cheek.

- "Hello darling. How are you?"

She leaned her head onto his. She took in the scent of his sweet cologne, happy to have him home after his day trip away. She missed having him in her arms when she slept at night, and still when she awoke in the morning.

- "Better now that you're here; out little prince has kept me awake all night with his fussing. I don't think I've let my spot here on this chair in about six hours. How was your trip?"

He gave her yet another kiss before standing to take the sleeping child from her arms; their son was their pride and joy.

- "Come to Papa, Stavros—"

Helena disapprovingly shook her head knowing that if Stavros awoke, his tantrum would be unmanageable. As sweet and affectionate as her son could be on a normal day, he was quite the handful when sick; considering the lack of sleep she had gotten because of his illness, she did not have the energy to fight with the toddler if his father disturbed his slumber.

- "Mikkos, please do not wake him."

Holding the boy in his arms, he smiled at his beautiful wife as he squeezed her chin. Under normal circumstances, he would have left the boy in her arms as the bond between the mother and son was quite evident; most times, the man felt as though he were some intruder in their lives. However, this was no ordinary day.

- "Layna, I would not dare do that to you. I simply want you to stand, close your eyes, and promise me that you will be calm when I tell you to reopen them."

She suspiciously stared at him. Mikkos Cassadine was quite the romantic, but he knew well that she was not one for surprises; the anticipation killed her causing her curiosity to usually get the best of her. She would bother her husband with requests to prematurely reveal the surprise until he grew so agitated with her that he would acquiesce so that he might have a moment's peace. Despite his annoyance with her, however, she was never displeased with what he gave her; and his irritation with her impatience would be quickly quelled by the smile on her face.

- "Mikkos—"

He placed his finger over her lips before she could protest.

- "Just do it… please."

Making a face at the man, Helena slowly rose from her seat, closed her eyes, and allowed him to lead her from the terrace through their bedroom, and down the long hall leading to the grand staircase. When they reached the top of stairs, Mikkos gently squeezed her hand.

- "Open your eyes, darling."

And standing at the bottom of the steps was his younger brother returning to their home after completing his studies at university. Helena smiled at the young man who was not only their son's godfather, but also would have also been their daughter's, had she lived; in fact, they had given the dead child her godfather's middle name. As she was an only child, she viewed him as her younger brother.

- "I know that isn't who I believe it to be. That is not Andreus Alexei Cassadine returning to us after such a long time away from us."

He slowly mounted the stairs smiling at the woman who had made his brother happier than he had ever seen. Having stayed with the couple over summer holidays, he was able to forge a strong friendship with the woman. As he would have his brother, he confided in her his relationships with women at his university, his desires of finding someone who would make him even the tiniest bit happy as she made his brother, and any other thought that may have crossed his mind. Not having another place to go, as their parents had died some years earlier, he always looked forward to the time he would spend with his brother's family.

- "Well, I don't know who else it could possibly be, Helena, if it is not I."

She met him halfway down the stairs, throwing her arms around him.

- "You have gotten more handsome… perhaps more so than your brother."

Mikkos cleared his throat.

- "If only he were half as handsome as I, Layna."

She turned to wink at the man standing at the top of the stairs smiling at them as he continued to hold their sleeping son in their arms.

- "If only."

She gave the young man a kiss on either cheek before once again wrapping her arms around him.

- "Welcome home, Alexei."

Andreus laughed at the woman's continued insistence on calling him by his middle name; it made her feel closer to her daughter.

- "It's good to be home."

End of Flashback

Feeling a tear roll down her cheek, Helena quickly wiped it away before returning to the room where her illegitimate sister continued to sleep. She had never accepted the woman as a part of her family, but it seemed that now she would have to make some changes, if only for the time being.

Alexis held tightly to her daughter, rocking her in her arms as they both cried. She could not continue down the emotional rollercoaster that had begun her life. She could not raise the girl in fear of everything and everyone that moved. She could not continue to hurt her as she had; she was no better than Evelyn and to some extent Helena.

- "Sammy?"

She passed her hand over the child's cheek. With every tear that moistened her hand, she felt guilt burn into her skin for causing the girl such pain. Over the past month she had watched all the physical signs of the McCalls' existence fade from her daughter's life. The black and blue bruises that had riddled her tiny body disappeared; her broken bones, cut face, and concussion had all healed. And yet, while all remnants of the worst time in Sam's life washed away, she found herself replacing it with something worse.

- "It's okay, I'm here with you. I'm not letting you go."

She had scarred her to the bone with an emotional pain from which she was not certain the child would ever recover.

- "Honey, please talk to me. Let me know that you're still with me. Let me know… please."

But Sam could not bring herself to say a word as she clung onto the woman. Having seen her on the floor unable to be awoken, Sam was certain she was in a dream from which she did not want to wake. Her mother, although clearly upset and pleading for her to speak, was there. She held her in her arms. She told her she was loved. She was still there. Sam was not ready to return to what she believed was her reality.

- "Chipmunk, Mommy needs to get you cleaned and she needs to change."

She blushed at the scattered memory she had of her psychotic break in front of both Stefan and Mikkos. It pained her to think that they had seen the disgusting way in which Stavros had scarred her; surely in seeing it, Stefan had figured out what she had locked away in her mind for so long. He had to know.

- "Come on, baby."

She attempted to move Sam from her lap so that she could stand, but the girl let out a sob as she readjusted herself and wrapped her arm around Alexis' neck.

- "Sam, Mommy's in a little bit of pain; she's not going to be able hold you."

But the sound of her daughter's cry as she pressed her face into her neck, gave Alexis the strength to slowly rise from the floor. Holding the blanket around her with one hand, she balanced the girl with the other; she was unconcerned with Sam's soiled pajamas pressing against her arm. She simply wanted to hear her voice to know that she had not completely broken her.

- "Ok, chipmunk, I've got you, but I need to get you out of these clothes and into the tub. Can you just—"

Without allowing her mother to finish her statement, which would undoubtedly request that she release her, Sam tightened her grip on the woman as she continued to whimper.

Alexis sighed; she knew there would be no detaching the girl from her. While standing in place alleviated the throbbing in her body, she struggled as she walked to the tub. She slowly leaned forward so that she could turn on the faucet to run a warm bath.

- "Um, you're going to have to work with me here, honey. You cannot stay in these clothes. Can you… um… can you just let one arm go just so I can take your nightgown off, and then switch arms so I can get it over your head. Can you do that for Mommy? She'll still hold you; she just needs your help. Okay?"

Sam began to wonder if it were wise to believe that the woman's presence was a reality, however the longer she held her, the less weary she became that she lived in a dream. Slowly nodding her head, she released her arm long enough to allow Alexis to free her arm from the nightgown.

- "That's my good girl. Now, the other one."

She repeated the same process with her other hand until her mother completely removed her nightgown.

- "Baby, please talk to Mommy."

Sam simply sighed as she allowed her mother to finish undressing her.

- "Chipmunk—"

Alexis kissed the back of her head feeling as the girl began to shiver in her arms. She attempted to put her into the warm water, but when Sam refused to release her, she decided to sit with her. She easily removed the throw that covered her, and stepped into the tub with her. Still holding onto the terrified child, she carefully lowered herself to a seated position, welcoming the warmth of the water against her aching and bruised body. She cupped her hand into the water and poured it over her daughter's back.

- "I know you're scared, honey, but you're making me scared by not speaking to me. Just… just let me know… let me know that you're… that you… oh, I don't know… just let me know something."

While she no longer hid her face in the woman's neck, she had turned her head to stare at the bathroom door almost waiting for someone to take her away again… or shake her from her dream.

- "Are you dead?"

She gasped at the girl's question knowing that such was the weight on her mind.

- "Sweetheart, look at me."

Since she had calmed, Sam had avoided looking at her. She had averted her eyes, buried her face, and finally stared elsewhere; she did not want to look at the woman who felt and sounded like her mother, only to be disappointed when she realized that it was a faceless person pretending for her benefit to be the person that she wanted and needed. Alexis had told her that her parents had died when she was younger; she had told her that she did not remember them… she did not remember her mother. What if the same happened to her? What if in her mother's death, all thoughts and memories… disappeared? Sam could not face the faceless person. She could not accept such a blow to her psyche. She needed her mother to be who she still remembered her to be. She needed her memory intact.

- "I can't."

Alexis could hear the fear in her daughter's voice. She was afraid of her. It broke her heart.

- "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm sorry. I love you so much… and… and I keep… I keep hurting you. I keep making you cry—"

She wanted terribly to wipe the tears that ran down her mother's face and hit her back, but her fear held her back.

- "You don't make me cry… Mommy."

The sound of the final word brought more tears to her eyes.

- "Mommy loves you so much. You are such a gift to her; do you know that?"

Still unable to look at her, Sam slowly nodded her head as she continued to stare at the door. The dream was going on for too long… perhaps it was actually real.

- "You… scared me."

Alexis covered her mouth as she felt a sob escape from her lips. She did not deserve her. Sam did not deserve to live in such a way. She deserved better.

- "I'm so sorry, chipmunk… I'm so… so… sorry."

Closing her eyes, Sam finally turned her head so that she could face the woman in whose arms she was held. She slowly reached up and passed her hand over her face. She felt her mother's high cheekbones, the slight roundness at the tip of her otherwise pointy nose, and the flutter of her full eyelashes. There was a face. And it was one that she recognized.

She finally found the strength to open her eyes and look at her. She stared at the woman's face for a long time searching for the person who chased her nightmares away, rather than caused them. She wiped the tears that rolled down her cheeks.

- "Mommy?"

Alexis heard the uncertainty in Sam's voice; it was as though the girl could not believe that she was actually there with her. She kissed the top of her head as she slide further into the water.

- "Yes, baby?"

Sam reached and held her mother's locket in her hand as she once again rested her hand onto her shoulder. She was getting worse. She had previously seen her meltdown, the looks of terror on her face for absolutely no apparent reason, and then the long showers afterwards. She had seen them all, but never before had the woman reacted as she did, and certainly not in front of a complete stranger, or even to that extent when her cousin, Stefan, was present. She was getting worse and if Stefan could not save her, there was nothing anyone could do for her.

- "I don't want you to die like your Mommy and Daddy. I don't want to be alone. I don't want Cousin Stefan's daddy to take me away again. I only want you."

She wanted nothing more than to promise the girl that things would not turn out as they had for her so many years prior, but she could not do it. She knew and had already told her that she could not and would not make such a promise. All she could do was promise to be better.

- "Oh sweetheart, I only want you too."

Stefan moved from his seat back to the bar; he needed another drink. His head hurt from the concern he felt for Alexis and Samantha.

- "So these people—"

Mikkos continued.

- "They wanted her, but I had already the custody papers in my possession when I informed them that I would be returning to Greece with Natasha."

Stefan continued to shake his head in revulsion.

- "And it was to those people you have the child…"

He cleared his throat.

- "You gave Samantha to them."

Mikkos reached once again for the file. He looked at the photos of the baby. She was as beautiful as he had remembered. When he held her for the first and the last time, he had considered allowing the teen to keep her, but he knew the repercussions. Alexis was a teen still needing to finish her education; she was too inexperienced to care for her. He knew that he would never be able to keep the baby in his home; not if he wanted to preserve her safety.

- "As I had done with Alexis to them, they sent to me each month, pictures of the baby, along with letters about her progress until… I learned of their deaths in the house fire."

Anger continued to rage within him. His father was a selfish monster. Regardless of how much he claimed to be fulfilling his dead brother's wishes, it did not mean anything when Mikkos allowed so much harm and sorrow to befall the man's daughter. Mikkos Cassadine was neither hero nor innocent.

- "So you would have me believe that these people took this baby in without wanting to even see or perhaps take Alexis in as well?"

- "YES! Stefan, I am not the monster you seem convinced in making me. Things are far more complicated than you understand!"

Stefan pressed on; he would not allow his father to guilt him from receiving the answers to his questions. He would not continue to watch Alexis crumble to pieces without some form of reason.

- "She was sixteen, Father! Yes, it was imperative that she complete her education, but she also wanted her child! Why didn't you let her have her baby and her family who clearly loved and wanted her? Why did you insist on hurting her? What has she EVER done to deserve any of this?"

He watched as a single tear rolled down the younger man's cheeks. Aside from moments in his infancy, Mikkos had never seen Stefan cry; he had always held a sense of gallantry in his presence, being more like man than a boy, teen, and eventually an actual man. This sign of weakness shocked him.

- "I did not intend to hurt her. All I've ever wanted to do was protect her… all of you—"

Stefan quickly wiped it away.

- "I never needed your protection."

And yet he had been protected. Mikkos had protected him from the moment he had come to be.

- "Fine. But you must know that I never meant for any of this to happen. I could not allow Alexandra to live with those people because she was no longer the little girl that they had known. Natasha Cassadine had died the day her parents and she were struck in that accident. They were not her family—"

- "Yes they were."

Staring at the man who resembled no only his wife and his brother, but also his maternal grandfather, Mikkos realized he could no longer keep such a burdensome secret. It was Stefan's, as much as Alexis'… and Samantha's.

- "No, Stefan; they, Alexis and Samantha, are your family."

The younger man returned to his seat. It was evident that Alexis and Samantha were his family, yet it seemed there was more to his father's statement.

- "Of course they are, and I am theirs. That, however, does not explain anything."

- "It explains everything, Stefan. It explains why I brought Alexandra into our home, why I accepted the task of ripping her from those people's arms, and why now, upon looking at Samantha, I know her to be the very same beautiful baby I later handed to that couple."

Stefan, shocked by his father's previous statements, nevertheless took a shot of his drink before responding.

- "And how, pray tell, do you know this? How do you know anything about that traumatized child when you have her death records before you?"

Mikkos once again looked at Stefan; he had begun to see him in a new light. He was certain the man before him had been there all along; but Mikkos had allowed his identity to dictate his… existence. Staring at Stefan who seemed to never falter in anything he did for his family, Mikkos felt a profound sense of regret for his indifference and callous attitude toward the younger man.

- "Because of this."

He stood and walked to the briefcase he had placed beside the sofa. He opened it and handed the man the yellowed handwritten letter his brother had written.

- "What is this?"

Mikkos stood in his place waiting for Stefan to read what was written.

- "Read it."

Stefan unfolded the paper.

My Brother,

I've found myself unable to sleep because my mind thought only of you today. You would not know this, but today is my daughter Natasha's fourth birthday. She is beautiful. I never believed that once I left our home… your home… in shame, that I would ever find someone who would love me. I never thought I could love. But I do. I have a wife, a daughter, and in-laws; I have a family.

Today, as I walked with my wife and daughter through the park, I bumped into my past and shame immediately filled me for what I had done. There are no words that I could ever say that would make you forgive me; I know this. But, for the first time, in that encounter, I realized and learned of the product of my shameful conduct. He lifted my pride from the ground, smiling as he left his mark on me following like an abandoned puppy the past I wish I could change. He had no one. Mikkos, I lived such a life of loneliness, but that was through faults of my own, not that of others.

I hope that he is loved in spite of who he is because he is an innocent. Do not make him pay for the sins of his father. I do not have a right to ask anything of you, but I will ask you this: let him be loved.

Yours,

Andreus.

Stefan reread the letter attempting to make sense of it. When he could not, he looked back to the man who had remained standing some feet away from him.

- "What does this mean?"

They said lightening never struck the same place twice, but he knew better. Looking at the confused man as he again looked down at the page, Mikkos let out a breath as he braced himself for the revelation he would make.

- "I know Samantha is Andrea, Stefan, because Alexis is… your sister."

Stefan felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him. Alexis, the woman he had already viewed as his sister, for whom he would have given his life, in whom he had found love, family, and friendship, was whom he had believed her to be from the moment he had first knowingly met her in their family's library. Rereading the letter in a new light, he recalled the day he had first seen her in the tourist-filled London park eighteen years prior. He had been drawn to her; he wanted nothing more than to dry her tears after his mother had negligently caused her to fall. She was… his sister.

- "How? How does this tie me to Samantha? How does this—"

But before he could continue to question the man he had all along believed to be his father, a man who had no interest in him and who had allowed his mother, for no apparent reason, to hate and neglect him, a door opened behind him.

- "Father, I apologize for interrupting, but I can no longer pretend to sleep from all the noise. I am hungry."

Stefan quickly stood to face his son.

- "It's alright, Nikolas."

- "May I have a glass of milk, please?"

The boy stepped further into the room. He finally noticed the man standing in the room staring at him.

- "Oh, excuse me. Good evening sir."

Mikkos looked from Stefan, to the boy, and then back to the older man.

- "This is your son?"

Happy Halloween!