Has it been nearly a year? Well, if you're still reading this, I'm going to need a FINAL show of hands as to what team you're on. Next chapter will be the last. Clearly my world of fanfiction is no longer. Many thanks to the reviewers for inspiring me. It's for you I'm trying to finish this.

Not really edited.

Chapter Forty

Wedding Dresses and Lingerie

Staring at herself in the mirror, she could not believe that she had been put into such a situation… it was not her. In truth, it probably never would be. The fact that she was standing where she was, was to say the very least, absurd.

- "Really, I don't know what the point of all this is," she called out as she turned around so that she could see the back of the dress her daughter had all but forced her into; it was white… too white. "This is just—"

- "Perfect!" Sam smiled as she stepped into the dressing room with yet another dress. However, upon seeing the woman, she quickly cast it aside. "You look amazing! If you get this dress, I assure you Slip and Slide, Twister, Whack-A—"

- "Will you stop?!" Alexis cut her eyes in her daughter's direction. She felt as though the room had gotten approximately twenty degrees hotter since the young woman entered with yet another dress for her to try. "First, you manage to ruin perfectly innocent children's movies—"

- "They were hardly innocent." Sam mumbled under her breath as she unzipped the back of her mother's dress. She could already see the beads of sweat forming along the woman's forehead. "I think you should probably get out of this thing before you have an anxiety attack. You should really consider therapy for your issues."

After her first attempt to make it down the aisle had gone bust as she had, in a very pregnant state, made a mad dash to the nearest exit nearly knocking over her… well… Helena… in the process, she had vowed to herself that she would never make such an error again. However, forced several months later by her father (whom she had then believed to be her uncle) to give her then 'bastard' infant a proper home lest he give the child away to some far-off orphanage, she made a second trip, albeit to his dismay and in a form of protest, in blue jeans and a t-shirt, down the aisle… of the justice of the peace… toward the man she had then believed to be the love of her life. And yet, there she stood, twenty-nine years later, divorced after fifteen years of marriage in… a wedding gown.

- "I need therapy?! Surely you jest," she shook her head as she quickly stepped out of the confining gown and handed it to the younger woman. "You're the one who sexualizes every single word, thought, sentence, phrase—"

- "Movie," Sam finished her sentence. "I'm telling you, Mom, you need to pay closer attention to those Disney cartoons. And games! You cannot tell me that the makers of those games you bought us as kids didn't have just a teeeeeensy bit of fun naming them. Seriously, they're not as innocent as—"

- "They're innocent to CHILDREN, Sam! And now," Alexis cut her daughter off before the woman could manage to come up with yet another filthy metaphor to add to her colorful speech. "Now I've had to purge the house of all of your sisters' old movies. Should I move onto the family games? You know how much your dad loves Hungry Hungry Hippos. Should I be worried that all of our years of marriage were a lie because he secretly wanted to stuff massive amounts of balls in his mouth?"

- "You did get divorced," she winked as she nonchalantly opened the dressing room door for the awaiting assistant. "Is there something you want to tell me about Daddy? I can handle it… I promise."

Still dressing, Alexis quickly grabbed her shirt from the hanger; she held it in front of herself.

- "Honey, seriously?" She glared at her daughter.

When her mother's face turned beet red, Sam realized her error; the woman was self-conscious.

- "Oh… oops! Sorry!" She handed the dress to the awaiting assistant who hurriedly departed at seeing the woman's discomfort. "You really need to relax a bit. I think any woman would be grateful for a body like yours when they get to your age, Mom." She paused for a moment. "Um… could this fear of allowing the world to see you in any state of undress—"

- "See, there lies the problem," she spoke over her daughter. "Tthe world' doesn't need to see me undressed."

Ignoring her, Sam continued her statement.

- "—perhaps be the reason why you and Mac can't… you know—"

Alexis shook her head.

- "NO!" She exclaimed. "My goodness, he's ONE person!"

- "No, that's not the reason, or no, he hasn't even seen you in your birthday suit which, now that I think about it, would undoubtedly cause his little friend to blow out like a… um, what are they called? One of those party favors that blow out when you… well, when you blow into them." Attempting to recall the name of the item, she scratched the side of her face. "Well, I guess the point is we… rather YOU… you wouldn't want his… little friend… to roll into itself in .25 seconds… or in any seconds… because that's just… weird."

Alexis stared in shock at the way in which the young woman rambled on about the most inappropriate topic. It was not like anything she had ever seen… from anyone.

- "I really need to convince your father that if we can't have you committed, we need to get you into some form of aggressive therapy—"

- "I had a session last night," Sam smiled coyly. "Oh, and this morning as well. Thank you Dr. Morgan. You know, now that you mention it, I might have to have another one this afternoon because—"

- "Okay! That's enough!" Alexis grabbed her purse after ensuring to smack her daughter in the back of the head. "You're a significant thorn in my side—"

Sam quickly followed the woman out of the dressing room.

- "Yea, well since you brought him up, I know Daddy would like once again to be a thorn in your—"

Before Alexis could respond, however, the saleswoman approached her with a smile clearly reserved for the women she attempted to con into wearing one of those ridiculous gowns she had just been forced into trying on.

- "Ma'am, have you found—"

Alexis held her hand up in annoyance.

- "I'm too young to be a ma'am, honey. I mean, technically I could be your mother given the fact that you're probably the same age as this one over here, but I spawned her when I was only sixteen. And while I don't recommend—"

Sam watched as the woman's face fell. She was clearly not accustomed to the ramblings attributed to the Davis-LeGros women.

- "Mom," she poked her mother in the side, "relax; she was just being friendly."

With an embarrassed laugh, Alexis nervously ran her hands through her hair.

- "I apologize for that," she smiled. "It's just—"

- "You're nervous!" The saleswoman knowingly exclaimed. "I've seen so many brides come in here just ready to throw up because they're just anxious about their big day!"

While nudging Alexis with her elbow, Sam excitedly nodded at the woman.

- "Exactly—" she looked at her nametag, "Patricia! I was just telling my mother that the last dress she tried on is going to ensure a great wedding night! I mean, break out the swings, whips, and—"

Alexis felt her face turn every shade of red.

- "Please ignore my daughter. She's not quite… well, she's clinically and certifiably insane." She gave Sam a squeeze. "Her father and I had her examined when she was fifteen. She's crazy! And I don't mean One Flew Out of the Cuckoo's Nest crazy… although that lobotomy is looking like a better idea with each day that passes—"

- "Mom!" Sam attempted to move from her mother's tightened grip. "I think Patricia here is probably thinking that you're the crazy one here." She turned her attention to the woman. "And don't believe her. I'm not in the least bit crazy. I'm just passionate—"

- "About my sex life." She released Sam long enough to take a step toward Patricia. "I mean, did you know there are a whole slew of Disney movies just turned into porn? Because I didn't. AND there are subliminal messages in these movies, not the porn, but the regular movies that I showed my girls when they were younger, concerning sex? Now that I think about it, that probably explains this ones many issues."

Sam rolled her eyes.

- "You're scaring her! I mean, would you like to tell her whhhhyyyy I've gone through such extremes?"

It was Patricia's turn to nervously laugh at the exchange. With each passing second, she looked toward the door in the hopes that some other customer might enter.

- "Oh, that's okay! I'm sure you had a really good reason!" But she also knew she needed to help her customers if she wanted a commission on whatever it was they had decided to purchase. "Um… so, about this wedding—"

Alexis nodded.

- "Yea, about that. Do you remember when I told you my daughter was certifiable?"

- "Yea, it was right before you talked to me about porn."

Alexis playfully pointed at her.

- "Exactly! Well, like the porn, this trip wasn't exactly wanted… or needed." She pulled Sam back into her side. "I'm not even engaged!"

Patricia rubbed the side of her face. She could not believe that she had just wasted the last five minutes of her life talking to a mother and daughter who were probably both certifiable and perhaps being fitted for their very own cuckoo clocks.

- "Wow… do you… do you even have a guy… like, who would want to marry you?" Her question came out a bit more rudely than she had intended. "Sorry. I just mean… do you have a man that you would want to marry?"

- "She doesn't want to be married, Patty." Sam spoke up for her mother.

The response, however, caused the poor saleswoman to squeeze the bridge of her nose.

- "Okay? Um… well, I'd ask why you're even in here, but I guess I already have my answer… you're crazy." She backed away toward the counter. "Please tell me that you at least have a boyfriend… or something."

And with that, Alexis slowly held up two fingers before realizing that the men had both appeared in the shop. One dressed in a tuxedo, while the other wore old jeans and a sweatshirt as he held out a plate of cherry pie for her to take. She was in shock.

- "Oh dear God…" she covered her face, "this is turning into a nightmare."

But Sam did not appear to notice. Instead, she cleared her throat and responded to the woman's question.

- "Believe it or not, Patty, there are two worms ready and willing to fall into my mom's mouth... if you know what I mean."

Covering her reddened face, Patricia groaned.

- "Yea, I'm pretty sure I know what you mean."

Alexis winced as the tuxedoed man began to gyrate his hips while the other stuck his tongue into the pie's center hole. She reddened at their blatant intentions for her.

- "I think I'm going crazy… I have to be. This is like… like… a safari… animal kingdom, and no one but me realizes it." She crossed one arm against her chest, as she covered her mouth in an attempt to figure out what was going on that no one but her noticed. "This is turning into a 'quien es mas macho' contest to the extreme. I need to get out of here."

But with a smile, Sam wrapped her arms around her. It appeared that she finally noticed the two men… although, she did notappear remotely perturbed by wild their antics.

- "Well, one happens to be my dad, her ex-husband, father to her three children, and perhaps love of her life, who wants to remarry her and reclaim the passionate love they once had." Sam informed the saleswoman. "And the other… well, we're not quite sure if his worm is even alive, but he's a fighter that one! I believe he's got other tricks to keep this little lady satisfied," she paused for a moment. "I guess you can say she's stuck between a rock and a not so hard place."

Hearing her daughter's voice in the background, Alexis immediately covered her face as she slipped further underneath her blankets.

- "The funny thing about dreams… or nightmares… is that you're a pervert in them regardless of who raised you." She felt the bed sink as Sam sat down beside where she lied. "The sad part is that I can't tell in which part of my life, my dream or reality, you're the bigger pain in my ass—"

Sam peaked underneath the blankets at the woman.

- "Well, if you're talking about pains in your ass, I'm sure if you ask Diane, she'll tell you that Mati—"

Alexis shrieked in irritation at the variation in which her dream Sam and the one before her had managed to filthy her description of their… her… whatever… place in her life.

- "Since your father's come back into our lives, I never have to wonder what our lives would have been like if I had raised you."

- "Well, from your little dreams about him, not only would you have had me, but you would have also had those other two twirps with him." Sam smiled. "We would have been one happy little family."

Alexis slipped from underneath the covers and out of the bed. It was easy to think of what-ifs when it came to what could have been with a man she had planned her life with at the tender age of fifteen. She had had no one but him, and well, her brother Stefan; it was easy to get lost in a fantasy of what they had spoken about every single night they had spent with one another.

- "That, and you would've turned out exactly the same, minus the con artist past," she smiled as she tapped the petite woman's cheek. "I mean, my God, Sam, you're… you're… I don't even know what you are! You're just… wow."

Sam followed her from the room and into the kitchen.

- "That's what Jason says after we've… you know," she playfully smacked her mother's arm. "Speechless."

Alexis glared in her direction. Much as her dream self preferred not to hear about her daughter's sexual relationship with the mob enforcer, her actual feelings were quite mutual.

- "Please stop." Without thinking, she grabbed a package of sausage from the refrigerator. However, upon Sam's audible snickering, she immediately put it back. "You make me sick, you know that?"

- "So noted!" She took a seat at the island. "Now, it's been a week and you've been cooped up in this house like some kind of prisoner. Since I know that you're not swinging from the chandelier with one of your hot guys, care to share with the class why you're hiding?"

Alexis sat across from her daughter.

- "I've spent the week trying to figure out if I should stay with Mac in spite of our… issues. Or if I should give your father another chance," she finally replied. "It terrifies me to think of where things might end up with your father since clearly if he had his way I'd already be his bride. But it also worries me that I'm getting involved with someone who's as terrified of being in a relationship for the long term as I am."

- "Do you… do you ever want," Sam nervously bit her lip before continuing her question. "I mean, would you ever want to get married again?"

Given their past, knowing the discomfort her own daughter had with regard to a man who was not her father living in their home, Alexis sympathetically smiled.

- "You are not that same kid you were then, Sam," she whispered into her ear. "We're in a different place. I know you'd never do anything to hurt me like that again."

The younger woman nodded in agreement. While she joked with her mother concerning her relationships, the fears of where things might end up with Mac also scared her. Would her mother stop trusting her if the man were to ever move into their family's home? Would she need to separate herself from her family so as to ensure her mother's peace of mind?

- "I really won't, Mom."

Alexis placed a kiss onto her daughter's forehead. Despite their close relationship, on occasion constant reassurance of her love and forgiveness were necessary for on many levels, her daughter did not truly forgive herself.

- "The bottom line," she brought the subject back to their topic of conversation, "is that I don't want to hurt either of them. Buuuut, I do know what I want."

Knowing that Mac's fear that her mother still loved Mathieu had cause his inability to get too close to her mother, Sam was particularly interested in her decision.

- "Well, what did you decide?" She eagerly asked. "Do you still love Mati? Did you want to try again with him? Or are you committed to being with Mac?"

She walked into the living room of the house in which she had grown up to find the man who had raised her as his own sitting quietly in his favorite chair. He stared at nothing in particular as though he were waiting for something… or someone. Knowing how disappointed he had been in not seeing or speaking to Alexis, who was undoubtedly avoiding him, Maxie sympathetically took a seat on the couch closest to him.

- "Daddy?" She paused long enough to gather her thoughts in order to avoid any unfortunate and unintentional insult or inconsiderate comment of which she was well known for making. "Why do you look like that?" Hearing her comment as it left her mouth, she quickly bit her lip. "I mean, what's wrong?"

She wondered why she could not have simply asked him the latter question in the first place. However, in looking at him, she knew that he had not even heard a word she had said.

- "Earth to Mac," she waved her hand in front of his face until he turned to look at her. "Oh good! I thought I'd have to put you in a home or something… like the male version of Shadybrook because I'm pretty sure that place is only for women. Can you think of any men who've ever been there?" She threw her purse onto the coffee table as she crossed her legs. "I'll wait."

Holding his phone in his hand, Mac shook his head in response to her question. But, it was not for lack of knowledge; it was really for lack of caring. Over the past week, he had done nothing but think of the woman to whom he was deathly afraid to give his heart… among other things.

- "Daddy! What in the world is wrong with you?" When he did not answer, she grabbed the cell and house phones from his grip. "I never thought Alexis was the best person for you anyway! Goodness, if you had stayed with her a moment longer, I have NO doubts you would've turned into some psycho serial killer."

- "Maxie," he sighed.

- "No, I'm so serious!" She spoke over him. "It's like her juices are—"

- "Please don't talk about her juices."

But lost in her thoughts, Maxie ignored her father's request.

- "It's a good thing you couldn't, you know," she uncomfortably looked at his seat then back to him. "She could've really trapped you then! I don't think there's an antidote for that type of crazy, Mac. It's like a reeeeeally bad case of Syphillis or something."

Rather than going into the details of his relations with his daughter's best friend's mother, Mac simply shook his head before wordlessly moving from his chair.

- "Where are you going?!" Unfortunately, she followed him. "I hope you aren't going to cal her from another room! You know she loves that damn Mati, don't you? And while I would normally say that I wouldn't blame her because if you go by size alone—"

Mac glared at the young woman.

- "First, what do you know about HIS size in anything?" He exclaimed. "And secondly, what would you even know about MY size! Not that it's any of your business, but I could be—"

- "Aside from the fact that you're making me very uncomfortable with this conversation, right not, but I seriously doubt that," she made a face. "If you were anything like Mathieu Le Gros, your last name would be Le Gros… instead of Scorpio. I mean, when you think about it, scorpions are really small."

When her father began to walk away yet again, she quickly followed.

- "I guess there's really something in a name," she paused. "Oh, and no offense! They say size doesn't matter, you know. It's all about ability—"

She stopped once again.

- "Oh… um… I'm sure you have other talents."

While his daughter rambled on, Mac entered the kitchen and banged his head against the refrigerator. He hoped that at some point, he might black out so that he could be spared of the young woman's incessant, yet unintentional, insults.

- "I'm not incapable of making love to a woman, Maxie," he slowly began. "I'm incapable of making love to the wrong woman—"

- "So you agree with me? Alexis is the wrong woman."

He looked at her.

- "I never said that."

- "No, but you said—"

Realizing his efforts were for naught, he grabbed a bottle of vodka from the fridge. While he loved her deeply, if Maxie were to remain in his sight, he would need a drink... or two.

- "You didn't let me finish," he replied. "As much as I love," he cleared his throat, "a woman, regardless of who she is, I can't be with her that way if it's clear she either loves another man, or isn't sure she loves me back. I don't want to join my family with anyone else's if it's not meant to last."

Knowing exactly what her father meant, Maxie moved to where he stood. She poured herself a drink.

- "Well, you have to admit that the last time you joined a family, it worked pretty well for you," she playfully nudged him with her shoulder.

- "I guess you're right about that," he nudged her back before placing a kiss onto the top of her head. "Although, when you try to drug me or talk too much or marry—"

Grabbing the bottle from his hands, Maxie poured herself another drink.

- "Spinelli and I aren't married," she poured him a shot as well. "We're happily non-married. I guess that basically means that I can enjoy the benefits, whatever those are, of being married, without having to deal with all that drama that you and mom went through."

He clinked her glass before drinking. His relationship with Felicia had scarred not only his relationships with other women, but also those of his daughter with other men. Despite the amount of years that had passed since his relationship had ended, the effects nevertheless remained.

- "Well, I don't want to get into a relationship with Alexis, or commit myself too much, and she realizes that she should've given her relationship with Mathieu a chance," he sighed. "Obviously Sam isn't a little girl, and having her parents together isn't exactly some necessary type of thing, but who knows? Mathieu and Alexis apparently had some kind of epic love that was stolen from them. Don't they owe it to each other to try and explore it?"

With Sam fast at her heels, She walked quickly into a store that looked eerily similar to the one she had seen in her dream. Of course, the only difference was the items sold.

- "Um, do me a favor," Sam tapped her on her shoulder. "When my mother arrives, can you please let her know that I'm following this crazy woman into a store I never would have imagined my mother would enter… like EVER in life?"

- "Ms. McCall, how are you?" The saleswoman smiled at the petite woman upon her entrance. "We haven't seen you here in some time."

Alexis turned to stare at her daughter.

- "Color me surprised," she smiled. "Of course you've been here, and probably every other store of this sort in town. Am I right?"

Grabbing an item from the rack, Sam nonchalantly shrugged.

- "I told you that I could help you. I've also told you that you need to loosen up," first smiling at the woman who had greeted her, she then handed it to her mother. "Who would've thought that you would've taken my advice! I have to admit that I'm shocked, but pleasantly surprised. If only you'd tell me for which of your suitors you've decided to—"

- "I'm going to stop you right there," Alexis held her hand up. "Not only am I not telling you which person I've chosen, but I'm going to spare myself the stress of listening to you come up with colorful expressions to hammer the fact in that I need to loosen up, or your intentions of making me put on anything that looks like it should be worn only but an eight inch—"

- "You're making this too easy," Sam chuckled as her mind began to wander. "Maybe I should really place that order for the stripper pole I've been telling you you should get."

Alexis made as though she were attempting to strangle her.

- "I feel as though I'm living a déjà vu whenever I talk to you, you know that? It's just this never ending loop that replays every time I open and close my eyes." She kissed the top of her daughter's head before moving to a far away rack through which she could rummage.

Sam raised an eyebrow. Given her mother's current attitude, it was clear that she was reacting out of nervousness. She wanted to step outside of the box, but she was… terrified.

- "Hey," she approached her. Deciding that she should perhaps be a bit more accommodating to and understanding of the woman's efforts at taking her advice, she found and held up a tasteful black nightie. "How about this? I'm sure whoever you're going to choose would love you in this!" She then took another step toward her mother before whispering, "and not to mention how fabulous your boobs—"

- "Your fascination with all things that would make my boobs look great is—"

- "I'm only trying to help!" She handed Alexis the nightie in the hopes that the woman would actually try it on. "And besides, it's a sign of gratitude! Mine have served me quite well, thank you very much." She stopped. "Not counting the years prior to—"

Alexis knew she meant to clarify her statement by not showing any pride for her previous life. It had been well over ten years, but her daughter continued to struggle with her inner demons.

- "You just wait," she wrapped her arm around her. "When you have three kids… hell, even just the one… you'll understand my sorrow… and reluctance to set them free for—"

- "They're not caged animals, Mom," Sam rolled her eyes.

- "Considering the amount of work it takes to get them into my bra, I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one, honey." She continued to look through the various selections on the rack. "Once they're set free, they flop around like—"

- "Mac's—" Sam began, but at her mother's glare, she bit her lip to refrain from finishing her sentence. "Sorry! It's going to take a little bit of work to stop myself from throwing out whatever sexual thing that comes to mind. I mean, I try my best not to say anything about Mati because…well… that's just disgusting. But Mom, Mac provides me with so much material! How could I not use it?" She paused. "But I'll try!"

Alexis shook her head as she finally found something that seemed perfect for the surprise evening she had planned for the one lucky man with whom she had finally decided she wanted to be. After a week's worth of dreams prompting her to follow her heart and to be with the person she felt most comfortable… and like herself… she knew she had finally made the right decision.

- "While you work on that, I'm going to go try this on."

Because her mother had quickly, and perhaps discreetly, handed the item to the saleswoman to bring into the dressing room, Sam failed to see what the woman had chosen.

- "Wait, I'll go with—"

Alexis abruptly stopped causing the close following Sam to walk into her.

- "I don't think so," she held the younger woman's shoulders and took a step backward so that she stood an arm's length from her.

- "Will you at least let me see it?"

She made a face.

- "What normal daughter wants to see her mother in negligee?"

Sam once again rolled her eyes at the woman.

- 'The one who wants to make sure that you look your best when you tell the lucky fella that you've either chosen to give your love another go, oooor that you've moved on from that other lifetime and want to start something new with him." She smiled widely. "And I just want you to know that even if you choose to be with Mac instead of Dad, I won't be upset. I'll actually support your decision wholeheartedly as I think Mac's a great guy who's lucky to have you."

Alexis brushed a piece of hair behind her ear.

- "And what if I choose Mati instead of Mac?"

- "I mean, hey! That could be good too. It would make my life a bit simpler, I guess."

- "How do you figure?" She frowned.

- "You two will probably be in the one place for the most part which would mean that I could just avoid that place," she nonchalantly stated. "I don't know if you've noticed, but you two are a bit overbearing for parents to a thirty year old."

While Mathieu was overcompensating for the time he had lost with her, Alexis had treated her daughters equally. They were all subject to her neurotic behaviors and fears that she might lose them. Being a Cassadine, after all, loss was a constant occurrence.

- "Yea yea yea." She playfully smacked Sam in the head. "I'll be right back. Why don't you call your father and ask him to meet me at the house in an hour, please?"

- "OH?" Sam's eyes widened. "Um, is that an admission? Are you… choosing the man with the Eiffel Tower in his pants?"

- "That's not at all disturbing, Sam."

And putting the phone to ear, Sam smiled as she called out to her.

- "I don't know if that's true, and I certainly don't want to know. However, between Diane and Maxie, that was the least offensive nickname I've heard."

As had become his daily routine, he sat in Kelly's for his evening cup of coffee after a long day at the hospital. He would never have claimed the diner's cup of coffee were anywhere near as delicious as that of any café he frequented in Paris, however it came surprisingly close.

- "Good evening, Monsieur Le Gros," she winked in his direction as she sauntered past his table.

- "Hello… Diane," he replied between a large final gulp of his hot drink. While his throat and mouth burned from the act, he figured that the sooner he could finish his drink, the sooner he could leave without the woman accosting him. "It was very nice seeing you—"

However the uncouth woman remained oblivious to his desires to leave. She took a seat at the table.

- "Any big plans tonight?" She winked at him as she flagged the waitress to their table. "Have you heard from Alexis?"

If only. Although he spoke with their daughter each day, Samantha had kept mum about her mother's whereabouts and thoughts concerning their future… hell, he did not even know if there was such a thing. If anything, he would have liked to simply have a present with her.

- "I have not," he sighed. "Have you spoken with Alex? Has she—"

- "Alexis is my best friend," she spoke over him. "I talk to her all-"

At the man's knowing look, Diane pursed her lips.

- "No. I think she's avoiding me too," she sighed. "I actually came over to see if you knew what the hell is wrong with her. Even that little Christmas Elf of yours-"

- "Her name is Samantha," Mathieu defensively responded. "And before you ask, she does not know anything-"

Diane knew better than to believe that.

- "Doesn't know, or isn't divulging anything?" she countered. "Surely you must have realized that that girl knows more about her mother than any normal daughter should?"

- "They are very close," he smiled. "I believe that Samantha only wants what is best for Alex—"

- "Do you think she thinks that's you?"

Mathieu smiled for a moment as he thought of all that could have been had he been given the chance to raise the young woman with the love of his life. His life could have been so... different. Alexis' three daughters could have been his girls. Their eldest would not have suffered as she had for most of her life. Alexis would not have thought she had been abandoned because she was unworthy of the love of a Le Gros. He sighed.

- "Well, I believe I am the best for Alex—"

Diane rolled her eyes.

- "I never would have guessed that you'd think that, Mati," she sarcastically responded. "Surely you would have wanted Mac to be the father to your—"

- "Are you here to be yourself," he irritably questioned her, "Or is it possible that you will actually listen?"

Slightly offended, Diane raised her hands to allow the man to continue speaking.

- "I do not know what Samantha would like," he admitted. "But, I believe that Alex would like something more than a childhood dream. She would like something real."

- "Do you think that you're able to give her that?" She asked. "Something real, I mean. With Alexis, not Alexandra or Alex. Do you think you can really be with Alexis? Get to know the person that Alexandra became... or didn't become?"

This was the first time the crude woman had ever spoken to him normally. It had been a question that he continuously asked himself whenever he thought of his daughter's mother for the person he was beginning to know, rather than the person he had imagined he could once again know... from a different lifetime. He was certain that he loved her.

- "She says that she is not the same girl I knew, but I don't know if I believe that—"

- "Was the Alexis you knew a neurotic, borderline obsessive compulsive, sexually repressed human?" Diane asked. "And before you make a comment about how I'm not taking anything you say seriously, I hope you know that I am. You dated a child who grew up in a home where she was not loved by anyone by a brother she thought to be her cousin. Then when she thought that she had finally found happiness, she lost not only her first love, but also the baby she should have raised with you. And then she ended up with two different guys, neither of whom ended up working out despite the kids she had with each of them. And need I mention the relationships with-"

Mathieu knew of the baggage Alexis carried. He was not naive to think that everything would be as he imagined in his dreams. But, he wondered whether or not he was foolish enough to think that it could be remotely close to what he and Alexandra had wanted.

- "I just want a chance," he quietly stated.

- "Well, here's to hoping that you have another shot with Alexandra," Diane raised the flask she had quickly grabbed from her purse. "Or at the very least a chance with Alexis."

And at that very moment, the man's cell phone began to ring.

- "It's Alex," he smiled at the caller identification.

- "Well answer it!"

His nerves caused him to fumble with the buttons.

- "Allo?" He nervously answered. "Alex?'