Of course when Luke got back to Austria Mikkos was long gone. The old man must have known that he'd come back for him. He lingered for a few days to see if he could pick up Mikkos' trail, but the man had vanished like the ghost he was. He had no doubt that in time Mikkos would return, but he couldn't linger in Austria too long waiting him out. He followed a few leads but in the end he ended up back in Port Charles, just in time to attend the christening of Alexis' new daughter.

It hadn't been all that long ago that Stefan had talked her into having Sam baptized. It was family tradition after all, as was the addition of a second middle name, normally linked to the father, or in this case the Cassadine parent because Jax and Alexis both agreed that Jasperovna sounded weird. After all, despite what she called herself, Stefan reminded her that she had been christened Natasha Alexandra Mikkosovna. Alexis said she would agree to it if he agreed to be Sam's godfather, which he accepted feeling very honored and humbled that she would ask. So Sam had been christened Samantha Kristin Alexisovna after Alexis had decided who would be Sam's godmother. She had thought about asking Kristina, but in the end she went with the one person who had already stepped up and fulfilled so many of the qualities a godparent is responsible for; she asked Carly. This time with Jax's help they picked Jerry and because she'd become a huge part of their lives in so many ways, Bobbie. Alexis found it amusing to watch her brother struggle with how entangled the Spencers were becoming with his family, and she found it even more amusing that he blamed her and Sam for it.

Their family and closest friends watched from the pews of the tiny chapel on Spoon Island as the priest christened Kristina Jean Alexisovna Jacks-Davis in an Orthodox ceremony. Once the ceremony was over everyone made their way up to Wyndemere for a small celebration. The day had been an odd mix of Cassadines, Spencers, and Jacks and the only ones who didn't seem to notice the awkwardness of it all were the kids. Alexis spent the afternoon with her daughters and Jax, mingling and visiting with their guests while at the same time keeping a careful eye on Luke and Stefan, and avoiding the urge to go around checking parapet railings.

Several days after the joyous celebrations for his new niece Jerry put the first phase of his plan into motion. He needed to gain Luke's trust and the fastest way to do that was to gain his sister's. So one night on her way home from the hospital Jerry managed to 'run in to' Bobbie as he was dropping down from a fire escape.

"Date gone bad?" Bobbie asked with a soft laugh as she held up the shoe that had fallen on her from the sky.

"Nothing like that." Jerry replied with his most charming smile. "A date with me never goes badly."

"Is that so?" Bobbie asked as she gave him a questioning but playful look.

Jerry nodded, "Let me pick you up Friday night and I'll show you."

Bobbie was surprised by the sudden offer and she hoped that it didn't show on her face. "Jerry Jacks, did you just ask me out?"

"Yes, I did." Jerry said, his smile at full force. "I've always had a weakness for redheads."

Since her divorce from Tony Bobbie had been focused on her children, on her work, maybe, well, maybe it would be fun to take the dashing playboy up on his offer. She gave him a coy smile, a title of her head, and then said, "Eight o'clock."

"I'll be there." Jerry replied.

For the first couple of weeks life was pretty hectic and full around the lakehouse. John and Lady Jane had been in town to meet their newest granddaughter. Everyone who considered themselves even remotely friendly with Alexis or Jax came by to see baby Kristina. On top of that everyone kept asking about the ordeal they had gone through. It was all a little overwhelming. Since no one could know about Mikkos the story they were telling everyone was that a former employee of Mikkos had arranged the whole thing, and much to Alexis' surprise one of Mikkos' men did take the fall so the WSB wouldn't look to closely at things. That didn't set well with Alexis, but rather than dealing with it she just added it to the pile of other things she wasn't dealing with.

Alexis was sitting on the couch in her living room with baby Kristina in her arms, watching Sam who was sitting on her knees by the coffee table working on something for Gail who was helping the girl work through the newest traumatic experience in her life, when there was a knock on the door. Alexis smiled as she saw her brother standing on the other side. "Come in Stefan the door's unlocked."

"Is that wise?" Stefan asked as he entered his sister's home.

As if to answer his question Sam's cat hissed at him from under the coffee table, which made Alexis laugh. "It's fine we have an attack cat."

Stefan simply raised an eyebrow at that. After spending several minutes with his nieces he finally asked to speak with Alexis alone. She nodded, and then excused herself to put the baby down after asking Sam if she'd take her assignment to her room and finish it. "Samantha has gone back to Gail Baldwin? Is she alright?"

"She's fine." Alexis reassured her brother. "I just want to make sure she has what she needs to work through what happened to us."

"What happened is what I need to speak with you about." Stefan said honestly. "I have been unable to locate Father. He is no longer at the Austrian estate."

"I'm not surprised that he's laying low right now." Alexis said honestly. "Luke knows he's alive, and I'm sure he thinks you aren't thrilled with what happened."

Yes, Mikkos had a reason to be leery of Stefan. His so-called good intentions had put Alexis and the children at risk. If Helena were to ever hear of this it would surely ignite her wrath like never before. "Have you spoken to Mikkos since your release?"

Alexis shook her head. "No, and I don't expect to, at least not for awhile."

"But you do suspect that he will get in contact again?" Stefan asked.

She had to think that over. Would Mikkos risk it? If what he said about dying was true, than yes she expected to hear from him, because no one when faced with their own death wishes to do so alone. "Yes, I think he'll be in touch."

"And you will inform me if he does so?" Stefan asked, his uncertainly clear in his voice.

"Of course, Stefan." Alexis replied as she looked at him oddly. "Why wouldn't I?"

"You agreed to keep his secret." Stefan replied. "You are protecting him."

"What good would it do to hand a dying man over to the WSB when they already think he's dead?" Alexis asked her brother before ducking his gaze.

Stefan watched her for a long moment before responding. "Then you believe this was some kind of end of life atonement?"

"Yes." Alexis said and then shook her head. "No. I don't know, Stafen. I want to believe it was." She looked so torn as she walked over to snatch a bottle of water from the drinks table just to have something to do. "I want to believe every word he said to me, not because of the man who threw you and me to the lions when we were children, not because of the man who ripped my child from arms, but because of the man who would waltz my mother around the music room, the man who would pull me into the saddle with him for a Sunday afternoon run on his favorite horse, the man who would smuggle fresh cookies out of the kitchen in the pockets of his dinner jacket."

Stefan stood there watching his sister, listening to the way she spoke of their father, and it was clear she'd known a man Stefan never had. "I envy you." He admitted. "I have no memories of a loving father."

"You could have." Alexis said softly. "If not for Helena."

Stefan raised an inquisitive eyebrow at that. "How so?"

Alexis bit her lip. She hadn't planned on ever mentioning it, but since she'd loosened the knot on the bag she might as well let the cat out. "According to Father it wasn't just Kristina's birth that finally drove Helena to murder our mother. Mikkos was going to leave her, and he was going to take his sons with him."

Stefan's eyes widened but that was the only real response he allowed his sister to see. "He told you this?"

"He told Kristina." Alexis explained. "I overheard. I wasn't very respective to anything he had to say. And she ever knew him for the man he would become."

"She is always looking for the smallest bit of good in everyone." Stefan said softly with an understanding nod.

Alexis nodded. The siblings were quiet for several long minutes, lost in their own thoughts. When Alexis finally broke the silence her voice was so soft it was almost hard to hear. "I keep thinking about what it could have been like. I don't want to, I don't want to think about what ifs, but I can't stop myself. How different our lives would have been Stefan. I could have had you as my brother my whole life, we could have grown up with Kristina."

"A happy fantasy for sure, Alexis, but a fantasy nonetheless." Stefan said, pulling his sister back to reality.

Alexis smiled at her brother, giving him a slight nod that said she knew it didn't do any good taking flights of fancy into a past that never happened and never could, but she would mourn the loss of it just the same. Before their conversation could continue there was another knock on the door. Alexis looked past her brother and called out, "Come in."

"Hi." Laura greeted with a soft but bright smile. "I know I'm a little early I hope I'm not interrupting."

Alexis saw the way her brother lit up at the sight of Laura Spencer. Talk about clinging to a fantasy. "No, no it's alright. I'm not sure if Sam's ready yet though."

"There's no rush." Laura reassured. "I just thought it might be nice to take kids to look for costume pieces before rehearsal." When Stefan gave her a familiar look that asked for an explication she answered, "Their doing an act together for the Nurses' Ball."

"Oh, yes, I believe Nikolas mentioned that." Stefan said with a nod.

Laura continued to smile at him. "They're all really excited about it."

"I'll just go get Sam." Alexis said since she was clearly no longer in the room anyway.

"I'm really glad you're letting Nikolas do this." Laura said softly as she took a few steps closer to Stefan.

Stefan almost smiled. "He enjoyed himself last year when he and Sam preformed, and it is for a good cause. It's important he understands the role that philanthropy will play in his position."

"It's important for him to understand what being a child is." Laura replied. "I'm grateful you've allowed him to explore that."

"I had little choice in the matter." Stefan said matter of factly. "My niece's decree that I, lighten up, was not easily ignored."

Laura laughed and Stefan brightened. Alexis worried. "Alright, all ready to go." She announced as she and Sam came into the room. "Sam, be good, listen to Mrs. Spencer, got it?"

"Yes Mom." Sam groaned.

"Would it be alright if Sam came to Kelly's with us afterwards?" Laura asked after giving Sam a huge smile and putting her around the girl's shoulders.

Alexis nodded. "That's fine. Have fun."

Once they were alone again Stefan turned to his sister who was giving him an odd look. "What?"

"What what?" Alexis replied.

"The look you were giving me." Stefan replied.

"Look? What look? There was no look." Alexis replied with a sweet and somewhat innocent smile.

There was a slight standoff but Alexis refused to budge so Stefan gave in. "I need to return to the island. I have some work to finish. If you hear from Father…"

"I'll let you know. I promise." Alexis said with a nod. Once she was alone Alexis sank onto her sofa and sighed. Would her brother ever find happiness or would he spend his life longing for a woman he could never have? There had to be a woman out there who could make her brother happy, there just had to be. Alexis bit her lip and then suddenly laughed. She was starting to think like Kristina, as if there was an optimistic outcome around every corner.