I've been living in the library, so I hope this is good.

UNEDITED.

Chapter Fourteen

Tickle Me Elmo

Sam's mouth hung open; she was shocked… well, she couldn't say that she was shocked as she did not know the man, but nonetheless, she was… shocked.

--- "What the hell did he do to get himself arrested?"

Alexis shrugged her shoulders.

--- "I have no idea."

--- "Well, are you going down there? To the PCPD?"

She nodded her head.

--- "Yea, I have to—"

Sam frowned at her mother.

--- "Why do you have to go? It looks to me like he's the Phantom Menace; I think you should let him figure this out on his own."

Alexis made a face at her daughter; she was puzzled as to why Sam was not enthused about her decision to help Mathieu.

--- "Honey, he doesn't have a lawyer, or at least not one around here. I can't leave him there."

Sam's mouth fell open as she looked at her mother.

--- "Oh my goodness, you love him."

Alexis shook her head and walked out of the room toward her own bedroom, knowing that her daughter would undoubtedly follow her.

--- "Sam, I don't know what you're talking about. I just saw him for the first time in nearly thirty years tonight, how in the world could I possibly love him?"

She rolled her eyes at her mother.

--- "Does that really matter? I mean, the heart, among other things, wants what it wants—"

Alexis turned around and glared at her daughter before heading into her closet to pick out a suit to wear to the PCPD.

--- "Sam, the heart doesn't want anything right now. I just can't leave him sitting in jail."

Sam put her hands up in defeat, before lying down on her mother's bed.

--- "Look, just don't do anything stupid."

--- "What in the world could I possibly do, Sam?"

Sam grabbed a pillow from the bed and laid her head on it.

--- "Just don't let him pour any crepe batter in your frying pan."

Alexis called out from her closet.

--- "Stop."

--- "Well, I'm just saying, Mom. I wouldn't want him scrambling one of your few eggs for you without you finding out where he, or his whisk, has been this whole time."

Alexis stepped out with a suit in hand.

--- "You don't want to come chaperone?"

She thought about it for a second.

--- "Um, I don't know how much I care to watch you stroke his—"

--- "SAM!"

She rolled her eyes at her mother.

--- "EGO, Mom, his ego! Geez, you really might want to get your head out of the gutter; Molly might hear you."

Alexis shook her head and pulled Sam from the bed.

--- "Go change your clothes, and please dry your hair."

Sam put her hands in her still wet hair.

--- "Fine, but let me tell you something, Mom; I have no interest in, if you two decide rekindle whatever it is you once had, to watch you unshell his peanuts."

Alexis' face reddened.

--- "God, you're sick!"

Sam laughed aloud.

--- "Oh, Mom, seriously, formalities aren't necessary! I think we've established a fairly close enough relationship that you can call me by government name."

Alexis put both hands on her daughter's shoulders and feigned choking her before gently pushing her towards the door.

---"Go get dressed Sam!"

Mathieu was sitting in the interrogation room quite agitated by the situation. He could not believe that he had gotten arrested for something so ridiculous. He cursed as he waited for someone to enter the room to tell him that the situation was an absolute joke.

--- "What a f*cking assh0le. He's trying to show how big his baton is. Stupid son of a b!tch."

Mac smiled as he walked into the room. He did not understand a word that was said, as Mathieu swore in French, but Mac knew that it was directed toward him.

--- "Wow, looks like you're in a bit of a pickle... or at least you'll have few of them, Mathieu."

He laughed and shook his head as he stressed the last syllable of the Frenchman's name. The man sat with his hands folded and stared at the commissioner; he thought of several ways he could hurt him.

--- "Is this your way of feeling like a big man, Commissioner? You're arresting me for nonsense?"

--- "From what I've heard from my men, you were caught red-handed with a nice joint; we don't take too kindly to that in this state, Mr. LeGros."

He chuckled at the man's name.

--- "LeGros. Doesn't that mean 'the big?'"

Mathieu glared at the man.

--- "So?"

--- "Well, you might end up being pretty famous at Pentonville."

Mac knocked on the table as he got up and walked out of the room, leaving Mathieu fuming.

--- "Incompetent moron."

Alexis stepped into the living room dressed in her power suit. She stopped and looked at her best friend passed out on the couch.

--- "Jesus, Diane, you had better not vomit on my couch."

Sam walked in, tossing her freshly blow-dried hair back.

--- "You need to be more concerned about her not dying on your couch, Mom; she kind of looks like crap."

Alexis nodded in agreement.

--- "I think it's safe to say that she'll be staying here for the night."

--- "Well, you might want to move her because she's not only going to wake up with a pounding headache in the morning, but a sore neck."

The two women stared at the fiery attorney sprawled on the couch for a few minutes before Alexis came up with an idea.

--- "Um, let's move her to your room—"

Sam scoffed.

--- "Excuse me? Are you kicking me out because your friend here needs an intervention like ten years ago?"

She smacked her daughter in the arm.

--- "No! Honey, come on, I would never kick you out—"

Sam made a face. Alexis sighed.

--- "AGAIN. I told you I was sorry."

--- "I know; I just wanted to make sure that you ate your words."

The comment earned the younger woman a smack in the back of the head.

--- "HEY!"

Alexis smiled.

--- "After the crap you pulled tonight, Sam, you're lucky that's all you got! I don't think anyone would be upset with me if I put you over my knee!"

Sam scoffed.

--- "Mom, please, it wasn't that bad."

Alexis calculated the night's debacles on her fingers.

--- "The waxing?"

--- "Well, now you've got TWO guys trying to be admission tickets to your ride."

Alexis shook her head and continued.

--- "That ambush dinner with Mac—"

--- "Where you were clearly reminded of how much you enjoy coq au vin."

Alexis ignored her daughter's statement.

--- "Um, the skinny dipping?"

--- "Mom, please there's nothing wrong with that; besides I got a few laps—"

--- "Sam, minors saw you."

Sam shrugged.

--- "Fine, let's just call it a class on anatomy. It was educational."

Alexis shook her head.

--- "Ok, whatever. How about the car accident—"

--- "Excuse me! That was NOT my fault! Mom, I was NOT looking to be rear-ended by my father; I think that's your territory—"

Alexis glared at her daughter.

--- "REALLY, Sam?! You need some form of therapy."

Sam crossed her arms across her chest and smiled at her mother.

--- "Mom, you opened the door."

--- "And you just ran right through it! I swear, even if I don't open the door, you kick it open."

Sam could not help but laugh at her mother's assertions.

--- "What can I say? I can't help myself!"

--- "Clearly."

Sam turned her attentions back to Diane.

--- "So since you're putting super lush in my room, I guess I'm going home tonight."

Alexis walked over to Diane and tapped her face.

--- "No, you're staying honey… Di, wake up."

--- "Where exactly am I sleeping?

--- "With your Mommy; we've a lot to discuss."

Sam rolled her eyes as she walked pulled the groggy Diane up from the couch.

--- "Come on you degenerate, you're tipping the scales here! Get yourself together! You're putting the winos of your profession to shame."

Diane drunkenly smiled at the young woman.

--- "Hi Molly! Can I borrow your Tickle Me Elmo for a few hours? I hear he gets really excited when you touch him."

The woman sniffled.

--- "It looks like that's the only man I'll excite for a while."

Alexis and Sam looked at each other and laughed as they dragged the woman to Sam's bedroom for the night.

As Alexis drove she and Sam to the PCPD, her nerves were completely shot. She was exhibiting signs of road rage that she never before showed.

--- "What are you doing, you moron?! Unbunch your panties and drive!"

Sam sat in the passenger seat and laughed.

--- "Mom, what in the world is wrong with you? You're never this crazy in the car."

--- "I think I'm just tired. It has been a long day."

Sam nodded in agreement.

--- "I think you need some stress balls."

--- "Sam—"

She put her hands up in innocence.

--- "I was TOTALLY being legit. Do you want see under my shoes? COMPLETELY devoid of gutter filth."

Alexis leaned her head against her hand and continued to drive.

--- "Fine. Um, I guess it's a good time to start telling you about your father and me."

Sam squirmed slightly in her seat before looking intently at her mother.

--- "Okay."

Flashback

Alexis and Mathieu had been dating for a few months, but since the school semester had ended, she was summoned back to Greece for the summer break, and he to France. As they stood under the bridge saying their goodbyes to each other, Alexis' heart broke.

--- "I don't know what I'm going to do without you."

He passed his hand in her hair, as she lay her head on his chest.

--- "Alexandra, don't worry, we'll write to each other."

She pulled away from him.

--- "No—"

He frowned at her.

--- "What do you mean, no? Don't you want to steal see me?"

She brushed a tear from her cheek.

--- "You know I do, but—"

--- "You don't love me?"

She nodded her head.

--- "Of course I do! But you know about my family! I told you—"

His heart hardened at the mention of her family; despite never meeting them, he hated them nonetheless.

--- "I wish you could come back to France with me. I don't want you near those people; they're animals."

He kissed her softly on the top of the head as she wrapped her arms around him.

--- "I know, but they're not so bad when I stay out of their way. I mean, Helena and Stavros are pretty scary, but I stay in my room, and even if I didn't, Mikkos would never notice because he hardly talks to me."

It hurt his heart whenever he thought about his love having grown up in a cold place such as the Cassadine castle.

--- "What about Stefan?"

She looked up at Mikkos and smiled.

--- "Yea, Stefan is nice. He's the only one who I think likes me. I don't know, he might love me, but it's probably because he's used to me and feels sorry for me."

Mathieu brushed the hair from her face.

--- "I don't think it's out of obligation; I don't know how anyone could not love you, Alexandra. I loved you from the first moment I saw you."

He leaned in and kissed her passionately.

The bell rang to signal the end of the lunch period; they had to hurry to return to their final classes. Mathieu puller Alexis back to him as she made to leave.

--- "You'll meet me here at the same time, as soon as we come back from holiday?"

She nodded her head.

--- "I'll wait for you."

He smiled and kissed her once more before watching her leave.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

The months without any contact with Mathieu were unbearable; Alexis moped around her room at the large castle longing for the day when she was able to return to the states to see the love of her life. She made sure to stay out of Helena and Stavros' way so as to not allow them any reason to keep her from returning to the states; she could not imagine not ever being able to see Mathieu again.

When August finally arrived, Alexis was ecstatic to be back on the Cassadine plane headed back to the states for another year in Maine. As soon as she arrived back on school grounds, Alexis made her way, as promised, to the spot under the bridge. She waited there for hours, but he never showed up; her heart was broken.

End of Flashback.

Alexis would have continued but another car cut her off; she was infuriated.

--- "DAMN IT! I HATE when I'm coming, and he pulls out!"

Sam's mouth fell open; she was too shocked to even laugh.

--- "My goodness, Mom! CLEARLY the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!"

Alexis blushed as she turned into the PCPD parking lot.

--- "Shut up, Sam. We need to get the tree from police custody right now; do you think you'll be able to go in there without getting yourself arrested?"

Sam smiled.

--- "I think I can manage that Mommy."

Have a very Happy and Safe Thanksgiving folks.

Thank you for reading. See you after December 16 at which time we'll delve into MatLexis/MacLexis, SamThieu, etc.