Spencer felt his excitement build as they stood on the doorstep of his grandmother's penthouse. He was all ready to get his brother and take him home. Of course, their time was shortened thanks to their decision to delay picking up Ace thanks to Uncle Victor's failed shenanigans, but after a day of just being together and reaffirming their place in each other's lives, Trina and Spencer was ready to take on Ace now.
"I can't wait until he sees his nursery," Spencer rubbed his hands together, his smile big and bright. "He is going to love it."
"I hope so. Maybe we should have had Esme bring him to us...I mean...this is going to be his first time away from her for a big amount of time," Trina worried, chewing on her bottom lip.
"He'll be ok. Babies are resilient.
Besides, she's still on house arrest, remember?"
"Oh, right. I can't believe that I forgot that," Trina rang the bell.
It was Laura who answered the door with baby Ace in her arms. "Hey, guys. Esme is having a hard time letting go, so I thought it'd best if you took off with Ace instead of stepping in for a minute."
Spencer sighed. "It's not like I got full custody. He'll be back with her Monday."
"I know, I know. But she is a young mother, you have to understand that."
"Grandmother, you are far too kind. I hope that she appreciates it," Spencer took Ace and kissed Laura's cheek.
"We'll bring him back first thing Monday morning," Trina promised.
"Have fun you two," Laura waved, closing the door as they headed back to the car.
"I almost feel sorry for Esme," Trina sighed, opening the back door so Spencer could strap the baby into the car seat.
"Not you too," Spencer frowned. He straightened up as he finished the task. "It's bad enough that she has grandmother snowed already."
"I said almost. I'm still keeping an eye out for any sign that the old Esme is back. I'm not taking my guard down for a minute."
"Good. I don't want to be the only one that sees the witch for what she is. Memory loss or no memory loss."
"Should we stop at Kelly's to get something for lunch?" Trina asked and gasped when she saw Reasia Ward walking down the street. "Hey, that's Re! Let's stop!"
Spencer smiled happily as he pulled the car over. He was glad that Trina had made a new friend and didn't seem to mourn the loss of Joss too much. He watched as his wife got out of the car and rushed over to her new friend.
"Reasia, where are you heading to?" Trina waved.
"Trina, what a surprise to see you today. I thought you'd be at home getting Ace used to his new part-time home," Reasia smiled approaching her new friend. Ever since she had met the pretty gallery worker, Reasia had found herself enjoying life in Port Charles more than she originally had. Trina had shown her all of the hot spots to go to, especially for a young adult new to the area. She still had yet to meet any of the Quartermaines, but she planned to change that soon.
"After what happened the other night, we delayed getting him. We're about to take him home now. Do you want to meet him? He's so adorable, despite who his mother is…"
Reasia frowned. "Who is his mother?"
"Long story."
Reasia just laughed. "Sure, I'd like to meet him. I love babies."
Trina leads Reasia over to the car. "Here he is, the little chunk. Ace, meet my new friend, Reasia. Reasia, meet the cuteness that is Ace Cassadine. He has a middle name...but it's a bit much…"
"Hey, I came up with that name," Spencer frowned, folding his arms.
"I know sweetie. You Cassadines are a bit much."
Spencer just rolled his eyes and stood back and watched the two girls rain attention onto his baby brother. He could laugh. How great it must be to be a baby boy and get so much attention from girls. If he was single, Ace would have made a great wingman. Luckily, he wasn't single and he didn't need Ace's help to get him Trina...even though at times he suspected that his little brother had some designs on his girl.
"Oh my god, he is a chunk, isn't he? He is so gorgeous! And look at his facial expressions," Reasia gushed. "Do you guys talk normally to him? Or baby talk? I hear that babies are ultra expressive and their language develops more easily when spoken to normally."
"Really? We'll keep that in mind," Trina smiled over at Spencer. "Hear that, baby? No baby talk!"
"I never baby talk to Ace...well except that one time, but only because he was crying and I was trying to make him laugh. Hey, we were about to stop at Kelly's. Do you want to come with, Ms. Ward?"
"Oh Spencer, call me Reasia. It feels weird to be called Ms. Ward by someone the same age as me," Reasia chuckled. "I don't want to impose…"
"You're not imposing. You should come."
"Well...okay. Why not?" Reasia smiled, slipping into the free passenger seat in the back.
"Thank you," Trina smiled at Spencer, glad that he had invited Reasia along.
"Why are you thanking me. I like her. She's a good friend for you," Spencer winked before getting back into the car.
…..
Spencer had Ace in his arms as he entered Kelly's with Trina and Reasia trailing behind him when he saw someone that almost made him drop his brother in shock.
"Townie?" Spencer stared as he saw Cam at the counter with a wide grin on his face.
"Cam!" Trina happily squealed, running up to her friend to give him a big hug. Pulling away, she gave him a quick look over. "And look at you, all tanned and handsome! When did you get back? Why didn't you call? What a way to run into you. I think Spencer is struck speechless for once!"
"Hey!" Spencer frowned, not appreciating the last part.
Cam just laughed and walked over to where Spencer and Reasia were standing. "Did she lie?"
"Answer my girl's question, man."
Cam just rolled his eyes. "It's summer break, so I came back home to see what you guys are up to. I wanted to surprise you, so that's why I didn't call."
Spencer looked around as if expecting to see someone. "No Emma?"
Cam sighed and shrugged. "We decided that we were better friends. That little romance between us when we were children just wasn't there anymore. But hey, it was fun reconnecting with her again. She said to tell you hello."
"Aw, that's too bad. I was hoping that you would have brought her back to rub it in Joss's face."
"Spencer!" Trina frowned. She and Joss may not be close anymore, but she still didn't like Spencer ragging on her too much.
Spencer just shrugged, then remembered Reasia. "Hey man, meet our new friend Reasia Ward."
Cameron had noticed the girl when she came in and had immediately decided she was interesting. There was something about her that drew his attention and held it. He was glad to get this chance to be introduced. "Reasia, this is my cousin and Trina's friend Cameron Webber. He's a really really good guy to know."
"It's nice to meet you," Reasia smiled, holding her hand out for Cameron to take. Both of them felt a spark as their hands connected and their eyes met.
Cameron swallowed almost nervously. "It's nice to meet you too. Welcome to Port Charles."
Spencer and Trina looked at each other and both grinned knowingly.
"How about we get a table. You're not working are you, Townie?" Spencer asked, his eyes scanning the room for a table with a booster seat for Ace.
"No. I'm not spending my summer busting tables this time. I got a job at the Savoy. Now that I'm twenty-one, I can help stock supplies and such.
"Curtis is back?" Trina frowned, thinking it was weird that Portia hadn't called her to let her know that they were back.
"No, N'Neka hired me on. She said that they could use the extra hands for a few months," Cameron explained. He turned to Reasia, still curious about her. "So Reasia, how are you liking Port Charles?"
"I'm liking it. It's nice. Has a big city vibe with a small town tone," Reasia giggled, just as Micheal and Joss entered. She didn't notice Cameron frown at the sight of Joss. "Trina, is that Micheal Corinthos? I heard that he's related to the Quartermaines…"
"Oh, he is. In fact, if you like I can introduce you and he can introduce you to the rest of them? He's really nice."
"Why hasn't Joss introduced her to him yet?" Cameron frowned.
"Because Joss and Trina don't hang out that much anymore. Reasia doesn't know Joss," Spencer explained, gaining an arched brow from Cameron. "Say what? Joss and Trina broke up?"
"Can we talk about something else?" Trina frowned, as she lead the way to an empty table that sat four. Spencer will just have to keep holding Ace.
"But what…" Cameron began but stopped as he felt Spencer's hand on his shoulder.
"Trust me, drop it," Spencer replied, his voice stern.
Trina looked at Cameron, who looked really confused. She sighed, feeling sorry for him. So much about her life had changed so fast, he probably felt like he didn't even know her anymore. "We just grew apart, ok? We're still friends, we just don't hang out regularly anymore. She runs with a new crowd now and so do I. It happens."
"Is it because of that Dex guy?"
"No. We just grew apart."
"As much as I hate Errand Boy, she's right. He's innocent in this one," Spencer dug in the baby bag he had brought, searching for Ace's bottle.
"Hey, he's grown!" Cameron gasped, now getting a better look at Ace. "The last time I saw him, he was a little guy."
"Yeah, he's growing really fast now and he's even answering me when I talk to him," Spencer grinned. "Isn't that right, Ace? Tell Cousin Cam how you hate your name."
The table laughed as the baby made a sound that sounded like "Huh?"
"See, when you talk to them like that, they respond. Like that one baby that went viral, having the conversation with its dad," Reasia smiled.
"Oooh, I remember that one," Trina giggled.
"Ace, is your brother an entitled brat?" Cameron asked with a wicked grin.
"Hey!" Spencer frowned.
Ace answered with a string of babble that if one wanted to, they could assume was a list of ways of how much of a brat his brother was.
Both Reasia and Trina were doubled over with laughter while Spencer looked betrayed.
"Wow," Spencer shook his head. "Tell me how you really feel, Ace. You've been spending too much time with that mother of yours."
"Oh he loves you and you know it," Trina giggled, rubbing Spencer's hand with her thumb.
"Cam, you're back," Joss was suddenly standing at their table with an uncomfortable Micheal standing right behind her.
"Yeah. I'm back for a few months. It's good to see you, Joss," Cameron replied, his gaze falling on Trina who was looking at anything but Joss. "Trina, didn't you say that you wanted to introduce Reasia to Micheal?"
"Oh, yes. Micheal, this is Reasia Ward...her family are…," Trina began, her eyes thankfully landing on Micheal. She was just happy she didn't have to pay attention to Joss.
"Distant relatives of the Quartermaines. There was a rumor that there was a Ward in town, but no one ever came to the mansion," Micheal gave a friendly smile. He was aware of the tension between Trina and Joss and felt bad for his sister that she had lost a good friend. But he was happy to meet a relative.
"Yes, my mother told me to stop by...but I felt weird just arriving on the doorstep of people I don't know," Reasia explained feeling shy.
"Oh, it'd be no problem at all. We've always thought of the Wards as an extension of the family. If you like, I can take you to the mansion now to meet everyone. I do believe that Brooklyn and Ned are home. They'd love to meet you."
"Oh, that would be...great…," She turned to Trina, who she felt like she was abandoning. "You don't mind, do you? I mean, we were hanging out…"
"I don't mind. I know how important meeting the family is to you. We'll catch up later. You can let me know how it goes," Trina smiled.
"Thanks, girl. For everything, I really do mean that," Reasia got to her feet, her eyes landing on Cameron. "It was nice to meet you, Cam. I hope we get to know each other better."
"I'd like that too," Cameron smiled, not able to resist winking at her, which seemed to make the girl blush. He watched as she waved one last time then left with Micheal, and Joss, who did not seem too happy at witnessing Cam flirting with another girl. "She's pretty."
"I think she likes you, man," Spencer grinned, all too willing to encourage a love match. "And did you see Joss's face when you winked at her?"
Trina just sighed and shook her head as she picked up a menu. "I think I'll have a cheeseburger this time."
…..
Laura Collins had decided to go into the office after Spencer had picked up Ace. She was just about to power up her computer when her new deputy mayor entered.
"Laura, there is something you should know," The young woman stood before the mayor's desk, looking as if she'd rather be anywhere but there.
"What is it?"
"That big equestrian estate on Mayflower Way has been purchased. You know, the one right on the edge of town."
Laura frowned. She knew of that property. An old old money family once lived there and they had all died off. Their lawyers had been trying to sell off the place for years now. It was strange to know that there was a buyer for it. "Do you know who the buyers are?"
"No idea. I tried to find out but everything about the sale is very hush-hush. I just thought you should know."
"Well thank you for this news. I think it'll be a good idea if we keep an eye on this situation. Victor Cassadine may be gone, but there may be more Cassadines out there wanting to avenge his death or something of the sort. That estate is something that they'd love to have, especially now that Ava owns Wyndemere."
"Yes, ma'am," The deputy mayor nodded her head before turning to leave.
Laura frowned at the news. She quickly went to her web browser and brought the property up on her screen. It was a huge beautiful estate with lots of land and the house in itself reminded her of a place in a romance novel. Who could afford to buy a place like that? Who would want all of that space? Laura wondered if she was ever going to find out the answer to those questions.
…..
"Uncle? Are you insane?! This is too much for just the two of us!" Nikolas followed Stefan as he walked through the new mansion that he had just purchased. "All of this land...not even Wyndemere was this big!"
"Nikolas, please think. My plans for this beautiful place are for more than just the two of us. No, it won't be just the two of us. This place is to be our family's home. Our sanctuary. All Cassadines and their relations will be welcomed under this roof. Spencer. Alexis. Your mother. Every one of them. There's plenty of room here," Stefan explained.
"Spencer won't want to live under the same roof as me. Not anymore."
"Don't be such a downer. You do not know that. I think young Spencer has seen the error of his ways where you're concerned. You may be surprised."
"I hope that you're right, Uncle. I hope that this mansion will signal a new start for the Cassadines. I really do."
