The day before Nikolas and his family left for Port Charles, Alexis received a call from Anna letting her know that the PCPD had a warrant for the surveillance cameras and any recordings that existed. After reviewing the scanned copy sent via email, she tasked Diane with supervision of the evidence hand-off. Alexis then sent Julian back to Port Charles with a single instruction: "we need an actual alibi." It was apparent that there would be no break from Sam's case while Nikolas hovered between life and death.

Once Nikolas was ensconced in the hospital he helped oversee, the full Spencer clan converged to see their brother, son and grandson. Their namesake had yet to see his father and the topic was a matter of intense debate. Alexis—aware of the custodial arrangements her nephew had left for Spencer—deferred to Lulu on all questions regarding the heir. Unfortunately, Lulu and her mother were not on the same page. Laura had wanted to wait until Nikolas was more receptive to stimuli; her daughter, however, had begun the process of acknowledging what her mother had not: that day was never going to arrive.

Things were difficult for Patrick, as well. He faced two essential truths and two women who each doubted a different one. The first was Nikolas's prognosis—he was essentially brain dead. The little activity that registered was incapable of keeping his body alive, but Laura insisted that there had to be options. Patrick reviewed the charts, read the literature, and identified a procedure that could maybe have a one in a kajillion chance of success. The announcement of the surgery and the grim prospects that accompanied it served as the writing on the wall for all but Laura, who saw it as a ray of hope.

The second issue was the source of Nikolas's injury: it was obvious that the fall he sustained in Havana caused the rupture. Patrick walked a skeptical Alexis through the injury, railing off famous cases of those who had suffered similar fates. He even had the benefit of a local newscast that captured what at the time seemed like a case of mortification destined for youtube popularity. Yet in spite of the overwhelming evidence, Alexis leveraged her professional mantra of 'reasonable doubt' to uncover any possible Cassadine conspiracy. This meant Patrick was running toxicology reports in case any poison could have caused the bleed. And just when he thought he had ruled out every toxin possible, Robin managed to put down her microscope for five seconds to provide him with a whole list of other candidates he hadn't considered. The length and depth of the list—which was accompanied by methods to test for each, both on a live subject and post-mortem—did little but provide Patrick with additional work, as thus far all had turned up negative. Sam made it a point of apologizing to Patrick, half-hearted though it was. "I know this is rough," she told him, "but they all need to be together on this. They all need to be OK and in agreement with whatever happens to Nikolas for Spencer's sake."

-"I'm sorry. We knew the surgery was a huge long-shot, and we weren't able to restore any functionality." Patrick once again detailed Nikolas's current medical prognosis and prospects. The grim faces and muffled sobs served as confirmation that the room understood the implications.

Alexis asked quietly, "So what decisions do we need to make, Patrick?"

Patrick outlined the options for Nikolas's continued care, as Alexis surreptitiously looked at Laura to gauge her reaction. It would be relatively easier if Laura didn't fight her, but she was prepared to do follow through on her nephew's directive regardless. The doctor was finished talking, and the room was quiet before Alexis spoke up, "Thank you, Patrick. For all you've done for Nikolas—for us. I guess…I guess we have some things to discuss."

Patrick exited, leaving Laura, Lulu, Lucky and Alexis in the conference room.

-"I think you should leave, too," Laura pointedly told Alexis.

Lulu put her hand on her mother's shoulder, "Mom."

-"She's not his immediate family." She turned to Alexis, "I know that you meant a lot to Nikolas and that he meant a lot to you. But your family has made many decisions about his life. And you don't get to make them now. About his death."

Alexis stared blankly, her throat dry. She walked to the sideboard and grabbed a bottle of water, hoping the few sips would give her the time she needed to collect herself.

Lucky interjected, "Mom, it's not like that. You know that. Alexis knows what Nikolas wanted. And not just because she's his lawyer."

-"I just don't want Cassadines making decisions for Nikolas anymore. Or for Spencer."

-"Nikolas is a Cassadine, Laura." Alexis looked at her sympathetically. "I know you wish he wasn't. But he is. As is Spencer. And Nikolas made provisions bearing that in mind."

-"If you think for three seconds I'm going to let my grandson anywhere near your family, you're insane." Laura's voice was getting higher. "After what they did to me and my son. And of *all* people, you should know what that family does to orphaned children, Alexis. Sorry. 'Natasha.'"

Lulu cut her off. "Mom. Enough." She moved closer to Alexis and guided her to a corner of the room as Laura turned to Lucky and started sobbing hysterically. "Look," she whispered. "I know this is hard on you. My mother knows it, too. We just need some time with her to talk her through it." Her voice tightened. "I know he's not coming back."

Alexis nodded and wiped the tear that was falling down her cheek. Without saying a word, she opened the door and proceeded to walk down the hallway.

-"Mom? Mom!" Sam tried to get her mother's attention, but Alexis was either ignoring her or couldn't hear her. She marched down the hallway as quickly as possible and was turning into the stairwell by the time Sam got up to chase her down. She finally caught up to Alexis on the roof, where she was crying. Sam approached her and gently rubbed her back. "Oh, Mom," she said softly.

-"I'm OK," she sobbed.

-"You're not very convincing." Sam's attempt to infuse levity fell flat to her own ears, so she kept rubbing her mother's back until her breathing steadied. "I could ask you what's going on, but I think we all know. So what is it specifically that's driving you to the rooftop?"

Alexis sighed. "When Nikolas and I…when we made this deal with each other…or medical proxies? I just assumed I was going first. I mean, I think he probably did, too. I'm older…my cancer had been more aggressive than his. It was all very easy and simple on paper. But now…God, Sam."

-"I know, Mom. It's hard to lose him. It hurts so much."

-"But it's not just that. I have to turn off these machines, Sam. It's what he wanted. And it's hard enough without having to fight, you know?"

-"Who are you fighting?"

-"Laura." Alexis played with the hem of her sleeve. "I can't even blame her. I mean, if it were you lying there, Sam. I couldn't do it. Having you ripped out of my arms again? After all that time apart? I empathize with Laura, but she's making this so much harder."

Sam looked at her, "All you can do is what Nikolas asked. She'll come around in time, Mom. I know you want to be sensitive to her, but you need to think about what Nikolas wanted."

-"But I have to be sensitive to her, Sam. There's Spencer to think of. He's a Cassadine, and she hates us. Right now probably more than she ever did. But he's the heir and he can't separate from the family entirely. And Nikolas didn't mean for it to happen. I just can't have a big custody fight right now over him."

-"Mom, it won't come to that. It won't. Lulu and Lucky won't keep him from you, and you're really the last Cassadine left. They know you'll look out for him."

-"Sam…Laura and I are not really close. She sees me as a Cassadine, not as someone who got away. Laura was so desperate to leave the island, she couldn't conceive of anyone ever staying unless they were loyal to my family. But Stefan…and later Nikolas…they were all I had. Where was I going to go? Laura had Luke and a family and friends. I had Stefan. And after *everything* that's happened between me and Stefan and Luke and Helena and Nikolas…" she trailed off and stared off into space.

The confessional from her mother was such a rare occurrence, Sam was nervous of any action that would stop the flow that seemed without end. Alexis finally broke her own silence. "That she thinks I would let anyone in that family take him. That she thinks I'd let an orphaned child be raised by any of those monsters. It's absurd."

-"Mom, they're all dead."

-"That's just it, Sam. She's not afraid of Helena or Stavros or Mikkos or even Stefan—they're gone. Do you know she hasn't even mentioned Victor once? I was so petrified she'd find out he was here, but she could care less. No, Sam the only person left for Laura to be afraid of is standing right here. She's afraid of me."

-"Then she's an idiot, Mom."

Julian was cruising back to Port Charles empty handed yet again. The potential alibi for Sam fell through, and he had to pull his car over to get out his frustration. His initial instinct was to take a swing at something, but the rather thick tree trunks would provide little give for the delicate bones in his hand. He ended up throwing rocks as hard as he could at them instead, screaming an expletive or two as he did so. The initial pitches were controlled but quickly devolved into a frenzy, and after 20 minutes of blindly hurling anything he could find Julian was kneeling in the grass, his body equally sweaty and exhausted. He looked at his car and again thought about driving and not stopping. But the ties that bound him to Port Charles had become a Gordian knot that he had not interest in severing.

He slowly made his way to his car, and saw a missed call from an unknown number. The tension quickly returned as he waited the requisite seven minutes for it to ring again, although he silently hoped it wouldn't. Julian picked it up on the first try.

-"It's me."

-"Where have you been?"

-"Driving. Sorry I didn't hear the ring."

He heard a sigh of frustration on the other end. "Well maybe you should turn down the ACDC or Bachman Turner Overdrive or whatever the hell you're listening to." Julian waited silently for the sarcasm portion of the call to conclude. Richter plowed on, "Where the hell are you anyway?"

-"About an hour outside of Port Charles."

-"I'm not paying you to gallivant about the country side. I want you in the city overseeing our art shipments. We have some new work coming in by a hot young artist, and I expect you to be overseeing the delivery."

Julian grimaced. "Of course. I'll be back in the gallery in about 90 minutes."

-"Great. And after you see that shipment, I need you to check out a new artist."

-"Really? I couldn't be more excited. Where is he located?"

-"Hot young talent. From Manila. I need you to book a flight tonight to meet with him."

He closed his eyes quietly and stifled the urge to tell his boss what he thought of the proposition. Instead he offered, "Are you sure you need me there? I want to make sure the latest exhibit is off the ground."

-"Yes. I'm sure. I'll be joining you in fact at the end of the week. We also have an investor interested in our expanding our gallery to the west coast."

Julian stopped for a moment, "Wait. How long will I be gone?"

-"About a week. I'm assuming this isn't a problem."

-"It's not that it's a problem, it's just that—"

-"Look. I don't want to hear it. Let's just say if you do this for me, there's a bonus you can look forward to when you return."

All the tension within Julian's body dissipated. He was quiet for a few minutes as his veins quickly switched to ice. Alexis had been right all along. "Of course. I'll let you know my flight information later. I look forward to seeing you…it's been too long."

-"Sure it has," Richter scoffed before he hung up abruptly.

Julian ended the call and got back into his car, heading straight for the gallery. And along the way, he plotted the best way to kill the man impersonating Luke Spencer.

He found her in the hospital cafeteria. She sat alone with a cup of coffee, her body hovering over it as though she was protecting it from an unseen threat. Julian's breath caught in his throat. How could he leave her now?

The loss of light drew her eyes to the body that cast a shadow across the table. "Julian?" she asked in shock. "Why are you here?"

-"You're here," he smirked.

Alexis shook off the surprise. "No. I'm sorry. I meant I thought you were working on an alibi?" She paused before she asked hopefully, "but if you're here, you must have found one?"

He looked sheepish and glanced around the densely populated cafeteria. "Is there somewhere we can go…to talk?"

-"Sure." She gathered her things and led him through the maze of tables out of the cafeteria and towards the elevator. They waited in silence for the car and took it up to the fifth floor. Alexis exited and took him to a small closet off next to one of the bigger offices. "OK." She nodded, all business. "Tell me what we have."

-"I can tell you what we don't have: an alibi."

Tears welled in her eyes and she yelled, "Dammit." She took a minute to control her breathing before she looked up at him. "So why do we need privacy? Why are we here?"

-"Because I heard from my boss."

She glanced nervously around the closet, as though he could somehow overhear them in this unfamiliar setting. "OK. What did he have to say for himself?"

-"He was his usual self: sarcastic, threatening, demanding. A total asshole, really."

Alexis allowed herself a tight smile. "So what did he want?"

-"He needs me abroad for about a week."

Her face shot up to look directly in his eyes. "When?"

-"Tonight."

Alexis felt a wave come over her. Her breathing became labored and she managed to get out, "Did he…did he say anything about Sam?"

Julian pulled up her face to his and put her hand on his chest. "Breathe with me." He took long, slow breaths, trying to draw the panic out of her that was leaving her intake of air somewhat erratic. When he was satisfied she wasn't going to hyperventilate, he answered her question. "He didn't say anything about Sam…in so many words."

-"What did he say?"

-"That it was a big deal for a new investor. That he was going and wanted me there anyway. And I'd get my reward when I returned to Port Charles."

-"What does that even mean, Julian?

-"It means I'm probably going to have to kill some people, Alexis. That when we return he'll give me what he's been hanging over my head. Sam's gun."

-"But he didn't say that?"

Julian sighed. "He doesn't have to. This is the way he works. It's a loyalty test for me. He's got me doing some pretty seedy shit in a place where everything ends for me if I screw it up." He decided to leave off the part that there was a fairly decent chance he'd end up with a bullet in his head anyway.

Alexis's eyes grew panicked. "Julian, what happens if you screw it up?"

-"I won't." He took her face in his hands again. "Sweetheart, I won't. I know the rules and I know Richter. I'll be fine."

-"What if you're not? What if you don't come back?"

-"OK. Let's say I don't come back. Go see Ava."

-"Why?"

-"Cause she knows where the bodies are buried…in a manner of speaking."

-"I don't know if I can do this."

-"You can, Alexis. This time next week, we'll all be eating at an amazing steakhouse toasting Sam's freedom. I promise you this. I won't fuck this up." He pulled her into a kiss. She was warm and needy and his head started to spin.

Alexis whispered, "I love you. I do, Julian."

-"Then trust me."

-"I do. I don't doubt you for a second. It's Richter I don't trust."

He kissed her again. "I love you. And I will be back. I promise."

-"When do you have to be at the airport?"

-"In about 30 minutes."

-"Can we just stay here? Until you have to go?"

Julian pulled her to him and nestled his face in her hair. "Of course."