"Well, that was fun," Nina beamed as she and Sonny stepped into his penthouse. He shut the door behind them, locking it from the inside.

"I wish I was better at trivia," Sonny lamented playfully, "It could've been us winning that trophy."

"That would've been nice, but I'm glad someone in your family won."

"Yeah…I-I just don't like the fact that the final question touched upon something so…traumatic."

"She put on a brave face when she answered the question. She's a tough young woman."

"I know. I just…they really couldn't have picked a different group or current event?"

"Sonny," Nina gently grabbed his arm, "Kristina was fine answering the question, and she's doing fine now. If it bothered her, you'd know."

"Yeah…" Sonny sighed in defeat before shifting gears, "How are you?"

"Hmm?"

"Y'know, with Ava and what happened-"

"Oh! Oh, um, I'm…I'm doing okay. It makes me feel sick that someone would just…stab her, especially out of nowhere."

"According to Dante, she might've been…hooked. There's a fishing hook missing from the Quartermaine boathouse."

"Oh God," Nina buried her face in her hands as she sat down on the sofa. Sonny sat next to her, a gentle hand rubbing her upper back. Nina lifted her head up slightly, "Does…Does Avery know?"

"Kristina took her for a visit a few days ago."

"That poor girl, seeing her mother like that must be devastating."

"She's pretty upset," Sonny frowned, "and she has every right to be."

"I should pay Ava a visit too. I want to see that she's doing okay."

"Well, Dante said someone drove her to GH. If not for their quick thinking, things could've been worse."

"Oh? Who drove her?"

"My employee Dex Heller."

"The other winner of the trivia night," Nina replied, her mouth slightly hanging open, "I'm glad he stepped up."

"That was big of him to do, and I'm grateful."

"He's been working for you for a while, hasn't he? How's that going?"

"He's still new, still adjusting."

"You called him a wildcard."

"I don't know the kid completely. I-I know some of his background, but not enough."

"What do you know so far?"

"Well, he's a friend of Chet's, and he ran Volonino's while Chet was out on a tour."

"Is Dex military himself?"

"He is."

"Okay, so, that's a start."

"It's not nearly enough," Sonny replied, "He runs Volonino's for a few months and once Chet comes back, he asks for another job."

"And that's how he got into your…line of work."

"I know it's only been a few months, so t-there's still time, but the way he's just…"

"The way he's acting around your daughter."

Sonny stared at Nina, silence hanging over him. She smiled sadly at him, moving to hold his hand.

"I get it," she said gently, "You're worried about what he could do."

"Kristina…she knows this business. I don't like that she does, and a lot of that is on me. I don't want her tied up in it more than she already is. As far as I'm concerned, Dex is nothing but trouble."

"She doesn't see it that way."

"She's always had her own mind, and I admire that about her, how she sticks to her convictions. I'm not sure what she sees in Dex, but she needs to see the reality of what he is."

"How can she see that if you don't know yourself?"

"It's the unknown that we all should be concerned about. I've been…giving him small jobs for a reason, y'know, gradually getting him more and more involved. But there's too many gaps and both of them need to understand that they can't continue-"

"Sonny," Nina yelped, stiffening her spine when she realized what she did, "I don't think you're going to get through to them."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because…" Nina paused, choosing her words carefully, "Because they're already caught up in one another."

He's the heaviest thing she's carried in awhile.

Kristina inched her way into Dex's apartment, his slurred groans loud in her ear. She kicked the front door open with a bit of force, an arm wrapped around his torso as she walked him inside. She managed to make it to his gray couch, gently dumping him on it before moving to lock them in.

"Kristina…" he groaned as she approached him.

"I'm right here," she responded, "I went to close the door."

"Where…" his blue eyes darted around, wide and full of curiosity, "Where am I…?"

"Your apartment."

"You…drove me home…? How…"

"You told me where you lived."

"Oh…" Dex sighed, his voice airy as Kristina sat down at the other end of the couch, "thank you."

"Yeah," she gently rubbed his leg, "How do you feel right now?"

"Like…" Dex gulped, "like…I'm just floating on air."

"Oh yeah?" Kristina giggled. Dex broke out into laughter in response.

"Yeah, yeah. Like…it's like I'm walking on clouds, and they're not giving out from under me or anything. It's all soft and…and comfy. I feel so great."

"Do you get like this a lot when you're drunk?"

"Mm, I don't know. I don't feel this good all that much."

"Working for my dad is that tough on you, huh?"

"Yeah, a little bit."

"I see," Kristina sighed gently as she looked around the apartment, noting the darker color shades and the modern-industrial appeal, "Nice place you got here."

"Thanks."

"You must love the color gray."

Dex grinned, "I like darker colors, yeah. They're super sleek."

"Did you bring all the furniture too?"

"Not the big stuff. The books and plants and decor, that's all me. I like 'em."

"You bought it all?"

"Bought some, already had some," Dex twisted his wrist, his fingers splayed out and moving from side to side, "Take your pick."

Kristina looked up from him and towards the fireplace, her eyes trailing upwards, "How about your world map?"

"My…" Dex contorted his body around, attempting to look at it himself, "Oh, that? First thing I bought. Isn't it cool?"

"Very cool," Kristina beamed. Dex turned to look at her, settling back into his messy, laid-back position on the couch. His eyes were bright as they darted around, taking in Kristina's presence. A genuine smile spread across his face.

"...What?" Kristina asked in response.

"Nothing."

"It's not nothing."

"It's just…you're really pretty."

Kristina's heart skipped a beat, her muscles tensing for a moment. The words hit her like a truck, and she sat there as she tried to process them, "I am…?"

"Yeah," Dex slurred, "you are."

"Well, thank you."

"Just speaking the truth."

"You're quite charming, you know that?"

"At least someone thinks that."

"Hmm?" Kristina raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Nothing, just that…" Dex paused, shutting his mouth.

"Just what?" Kristina moved closer, "You can tell me."

"No-"

"Whatever you tell me will stay between us, free of judgment."

Dex stared at her, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks. Kristina felt her own flush at the sight as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Can you get me into bed first?"

It was too late to take her words back.

"What?" Sonny's question was quick and sharp.

"I…" Nina gulped, "I just noticed how friendly Dex and Kristina were at Charlie's. They made a good team, too good of a team."

"Are you…Are you saying they're…together?"

"I…"Nina bit her bottom lip gently, "I don't know for sure, but they were very cozy."

"I told Dex to back off from Kristina, to leave her out of this…"

"It was a mutual thing. She seemed just as…enthralled with him as he was with her."

"That doesn't matter!" Sonny raised his voice, "I made my stances clear!"

"No, I know, I know," Nina reassured him, "and it's not right that Dex defied you."

"I made myself very clear-"

"And, hey, you know, I could be way off. It could be that they're just very friendly-"

"Nina, don't, no," Sonny waved his hand at her, "You had to have seen something that showed they're getting close."

"Well, um…" Nina thought over the events from earlier. Her mind jumped to a number of places, "She seems very comfortable with him; I noticed as much when they first met. And they were laughing and getting close at Charlie's earlier. And…"

"And?"

"...She took him home. I think she's still there now."

"Oh no…" Sonny muttered, pulling out his phone, "No, no, no…"

"Sonny-"

"Hold on," he held up a finger as he pressed the phone to his ear. It buzzed a few times before going straight to voicemail, "Damnit!"

"Sonny-"

"Kristina, Nina tells me y-you're with Dex right now, you took him home. When you get a chance, call me back, please."

Nina sucked in her lips, taking in Sonny's stiff yet bitter posture. She continued to watch as he moved to text.

"Dex was pretty drunk…" she began, "He's probably a handful."

"Another reason why Kristina shouldn't be at his place. He'll be in the pine barrens if he even thinks about trying something!"

"Sonny, Sonny," Nina grabbed his arm to stop him, "Kristina's going to be fine. She's worked at Charlie's for a few years now; she can handle it."

"I trust her, Nina. I trust my daughter to take care of the people who need her help. I don't trust Dex, and I trust him even less knowing that he's intoxicated."

"He wasn't doing anything to her at the bar-"

"Because he knew I was there."

"...Look," Nina cleared her throat, "I-I'm sorry I said anything. I didn't mean to upset you, and I didn't mean to make a mountain out of a molehill where Dex and Kristina are concerned. They were close and giggly and that's all I saw."

"It's still bad, Nina!"

"Sonny, please-"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not budging on this. Kristina's my daughter, my little girl, and I don't want to see her caught up in the hurricane that Dex is. I get she's being 'friendly' with him, but as far as I'm concerned, this can't go on anymore than it has."

Nina blinked in response, unsure of what to say. She stood in silence as Sonny continued typing on his phone. She sighed to herself, a mix of worry and sadness in her face. She moved close to him and gently pressed a kiss to his cheek, "I love you. I'm sorry."

"Nina-" Sonny spoke up as he watched her leave. He remained still for a moment before turning back to his phone, looking over the texts he sent:

To: Kristina (10:38 PM)
Don't stay around Dex a minute more.

To: Kristina (10:43 PM)
Text me back. Call me.

To: Kristina (10:47 PM)
Please respond, Kristina.

He dialed his daughter's number once more. It went to voicemail.

"Kristina, please answer the phone. I know you don't want to hear it, but you need to leave Dex where he is. Don't get further involved with him…please."

"My family's awful."

Kristina ran a gentle hand through Dex's hair as he spoke. He laid face-up at his bedroom ceiling, Kristina on her side as she looked down at him. His face was slowly turning red, his nose a light pink and his breathing shaky. She could hear her phone buzz a number of times in her back pocket, but chose to ignore it. Whatever, or whoever, was trying to reach her could wait.

She wasn't sure how things escalated so quickly. She knew that she asked Dex for further context, and she was getting it. Walking him to his bed proved to be just as difficult as getting him into his building, and part of her felt discomfort as he fell onto the mattress, his legs giving out from under him. She helped him turn over before getting comfortable herself, until his words hit her ears.

"I told you…" Dex's breathing was heavy yet restrained, "I told you that I don't talk to them."

"Right…" Kristina responded slowly, "You mentioned that."

"They didn't…they don't love me."

"You mentioned that too."

"They just…they…"

"It's okay," she cooed, continuing to brush his hair with her hand, "Tell me."

"They left me to die."

Her hand immediately stopped, her eyes wide with shock. She took in Dex's face, seeing his eyes glisten with tears as he began to sniff.

"It was just awful," he began, "They picked…they picked my brothers over me. They let my brothers do what they wanted."

"You have brothers-"

"Two older ones: Paxton and Maddox."

"What did your brothers do to you?"

Dex slowly sat up, a hand on his forehead as he felt a rush. Kristina put her hands on his shoulders, helping him adjust.

"Do you…Do you know the saying 'boys will be boys?'"

"I do."

His smile was devastatingly sad, "Turns out it's not just about boys being horrible to girls."

"...Oh God, Dex," Kristina felt her heart sink, "You don't have to tell me. I get it-"

"Oh no! No!" Dex's words slurred somewhat, "I-I don't mean that! Thank God they never did that to me."

"Then…what did they do?" Kristina leaned back against the headboard, a bare foot on the bed as she held her wrists, her arms wrapped around her leg. Dex moved up next to her, his thigh nano-inches away.

"They'd just…beat me up. A lot."

"How bad would it get?" her voice was soft.

"Bad, and I mean bad. Black eyes, concussions, broken limbs. I've been sent to the hospital so many times; it's like my home away from home."

"That's awful. Truly. Why would they do that to you?"

"I-I don't know, I just…I didn't do anything to them! I was their little brother; I just wanted to be like them, to be liked by them. That's it!"

"And your parents seriously did nothing about it?"

"Why would they?" Dex's voice cracked, "Boys will be boys, after all."

Kristina felt tears sting the corners of her eyes, impulsively pulling Dex into a hug. She kept his head in the crook of her arm as she held him tight.

"It's not right what they did," her voice was deep and firm, "not at all."

"I know-"

"I'm sorry they hit you. Take it from me: you didn't deserve it. No one ever does, not like that."

Dex slowly pulled away from her, his face inches away. Kristina could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Did someone hit you?" he asked gently.

She blinked at him, "I…I just mean-"

"Krissy," he laid a hand on top of hers, "did someone hit you?"

"...It was a long time ago," she replied, "An ex-boyfriend."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," she sighed, choking up, "it's in the past."

"Doesn't make it okay."

Kristina bit her bottom lip as she looked Dex over. He looked her over in return, studying her face before slowly leaning in. His forehead nearly hit hers before she pulled away.

"No," she said, "at least, not like this."

"Krissy," Dex gulped, pulling back himself, "oh God, I'm sorry-"

"No, no, it's fine," she stared at his regretful form, her mind going a hundred miles a minute, "We just got…caught up for a minute."

"...Don't go."

Kristina heard her phone go off again, but she remained still. She wasn't sure what the rest of the night entailed, but a small part of her commanded her to stay.

She listened: "I won't."