Katherine Bell stretched out in the claw foot bath tub in her suite at the Port Charles Hotel. As she luxuriated, beneath a mound of bubbles, she contemplated her evening with Stefan. He had requested she dine with him at Wyndamere, alone. Nikolas and, the ever-annoying sniveling, Alexis would be attending some Quartermaine party at the Port Charles Grille. Somehow her invitation must have gotten lost in the mail, but Katherine hardly cared. She had a distinct feeling that in just a few more hours she might be engaged into true aristocracy. Stefan had inferred he had something very important to discuss and Katherine could only imagine one thing-a marriage proposal.

As she soaked, Katherine envisioned Stefan down on one knee with the Cassadine Family heirloom she had seen in pictures. Soon it would be hers. That thought brought a genuine smile to her face as she sunk back deeper into the bubbles and imagined Stefan's proposal.

XXXXXXXX

In the courthouse on the Port Charles Square, Assistant District Attorney Chase Benedict Murdoch III tore another sheet from his legal pad in frustration, wadded it up, and tossed it in the direction of the wastebasket. It landed securely inside the basket without a sound. It was well cushioned by the twenty sheets that had preceded it. He estimated that there were less than one hundred hours before he would have to start trying to convince the good people of Chapparal County that Kaylee Reynolds was Dr. Pierce Dorman's killer. He figured that was going to be a hard sell since, honestly, he had yet to convince himself.

The truth was that there were more than a few holes in the people's case but somehow Judge Wyatt had signed off on the arrest warrant three months earlier and a grand jury had returned an indictment. So, the wheels of justice continued to spin, and it had become his job to use the assembled evidence to paint a picture of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. He knew the drill. He had been a Chapparal County prosecutor for four years but long before his graduation from Cornell University's College of Law he had been Chase Murdoch's grandson.

His grandfather, the original Chase Benedict Murdoch, had been the Chapparal County DA for almost thirteen years from his election in November 1966 until his death in July 1979. His grandfather had been a prosecutor's prosecutor. Those had been the words used by Port Charles Herald Editor in Chief, Tom Everett, in an editorial published the day after his grandfather's death that had read like an eulogy. Apparently, it had also been a backhanded jab at his grandfather's successor, Mitch Williams, who the Everett brothers felt was more of politician than a public servant. Perhaps they had been right as DA Williams had run for Attorney General in 1980.

Chase only vaguely remembered that election. He had turned thirteen that October and Mitch Williams had been engaged to his friend Ned's mom. In January Mitch had moved to Albany, alone, to become the next New York State Attorney General and the engagement had disintegrated shortly after that. Or that was what Ned had said at the time. Some other people had suggested that perhaps Mitch's romance with Tracy Quartermaine hadn't been much more than a campaign strategy. Chase had been thirteen, so he hadn't really cared if Ned hadn't cared, and Ned hadn't seemed to care. Perhaps seemed had been the operative word.

By the next January their friend Austin Taylor had died from a drug overdose and Ned had been sent off to some boarding school in Vermont. The Quartermaines swore the two events were unrelated even if the timing was more than a little suspect. They had still gotten together over school vacations and holidays some, but it wasn't really the same.

Then their childhood friendship had somehow resurrected itself in adulthood when they spent a summer clerking for the same US Attorney, Ned's Aunt, Abigail Donely Quartermaine. They were at rival law schools -Harvard and Cornell- but they made it through the summer without too much ribbing and reconnected as friends. That winter when they were both home for the holidays Ned had introduced Chase to the petite brunette who had just walked into his office, Melissa McKee Murdoch.

Chase closed the case file in front of him. "This is a pleasant surprise," he said.

Melissa set several bags from Wyndams down in the chair in front of his desk with a sigh. "Don't tell me you forgot about Ned and Carly's party tonight! He's your friend!"

Chase decided not to point out that it was Melissa who had crushed on Dr. Monica Quartermaine's nephew during her nursing school days. Three years had apparently been an insurmountable age gap when she had been eighteen, at least for Ned. Chase had a feeling it might not have been when she had been twenty-one but by then Ned had convinced himself he loved Jenny.

Ned and Jenny had married on May Day, complete with a May Pole, in 1993. However, by the time Ned stood up for him when he married Melissa the following summer, he had already moved on to marriage number two with Lois Cerullo. That marriage had lasted longer -almost three years- but divorce number two had been finalized at the end of 1996 and apparently wedding number three had happened the prior weekend in Florida.

"There is no way I am going to this thing without you, so I guess you can just make your apologies on the tennis court later and I'll tell Betsy I can cover her shift tonight after all," Melissa said.

"I didn't forget about Ned's reception tonight, but that isn't for hours," Chase defended.

Melissa rolled her eyes. "It is already four and dinner is being served at seven. So, since it always takes you longer to get ready to go anywhere than any woman I know, even Amy Vining, we're probably already cutting it close," she said.

Chase knew his wife's expression was supposed to convey frustration, but it was also looking pretty darn seductive to him. Suddenly he was in a hurry to get home, but it had nothing to do with getting ready for Ned's party. He tossed a few files into his briefcase, turned off his computer, and reached for the pile of bags in his chair. "Lead the way," he said as he hit the light and pulled the door shut behind him.

XXXXXXXX

In his mahogany paneled study at Wyndamere, Stefan Cassadine reviewed again the documents his cousin Alexis had provided. As he turned another page he hoped for some alternative explanation, something, anything, that would show him that he had not consummated a relationship with a woman who was his half-sister.

When Alexis had come to him with her suspicions and concerns he had not wanted to believe. When they had stood at the empty grave created as a cover for Natasha Nillson he had still held some fervent hope that there could be another explanation. Even when he had planned for a final dinner with Katherine at Wyndamere he had yearned to find something in the file that would grant him a stay.

After twenty minutes, and two cognacs, Stefan could only close the file with a sense of futility and impending doom. There wasn't an alternative explanation. His lover Katherine Bell was indeed the illegitimate child of Kristen Nillson and Mikkos Cassadine.

Stefan drained his glass with a final melancholic gulp. He had unwittingly perpetuated and promulgated the line of incest that was far from uncommon within royal lineages, especially those of Russian Nobility. That would end tonight, as would his relationship with Katherine Bell.

XXXXXXXX

In the House Staff Lounge, at Port Charles General Hospital, Dr. Evelyn Lambert collapsed onto the couch and pulled a stack of index cards from the pocket of her long white coat.

"Don't even think about it!" Dr. Chris Ramsey called as he came out of the attached bathroom.

Eve shrugged her shoulders but didn't look up from the cards she was shuffling through. "Am I supposed to have any idea what you're complaining about now?" she asked.

Chris smirked as he sat down at the other end of the couch. "When Jake comes through that door he's mine," he said.

Eve laughed. "I don't know, Ramsey, I think Danielle might have a problem with that."

"Ha-Ha! Very funny, I am changing over first. Why are you in such a hurry anyway? Another hot date with Karen's dad?" Chris asked.

Eve let Chris's question go. She did have plans with Scott, but everything got so much messier when she was reminded that Scott was the father of one of her fellow interns, the brother of the cardiologist she would be rotating with in another month, and the brother in law of the hospital Chief of Staff, Dr. Alan Quartermaine. Somehow everything had been a lot easier when Scott was just some guy who signed himself out against medical advice with a head injury because his five-year-old daughter was missing.

"So, is that a yes?" Chris asked as the door opened, and Dr. Karen Baldwin-Cates joined them.

Eve sent a strong glare in Chris's direction. It wasn't exactly like Karen didn't know about her relationship, whatever it was, with her father. Even so, it still wasn't really something she wanted to discuss with her, or in front of her, and Chris wasn't stupid.

"Who is on call tonight?" Karen asked as she sat down.

"Jake is, and Chris has already claimed his place at the front of the changeover line," Eve said. She figured she could toss Chris a bone for his silence.

Karen glanced at her watch. "I promised my dad I'd pick Serena up from ballet at five. We're having a sister's night."

Chris offered his practically patented scowl but didn't actually voice the disparaging comment that Eve sensed was on the tip of his tongue. Instead he glanced at his watch and then raised his eyes again. "What part of changeover is at 4:30 is so hard for Jake to grasp?" he asked.

"Good grief, Ramsey, if I didn't know better I would think you had some hot date," Eve said. She smiled for a moment. "You do have some hot date!"

Eve could tell from the brief flicker in Chris's eyes that she was right. Perhaps he had finally accepted that Julie wasn't interested and moved on….perhaps?

"So, who is the lucky woman?" Karen asked.

"So, you're buying into Lambert's delusions. What would your grandmother think of that, now, Karen?" Chris asked.

Eve decided not to point out that Dr. Gail Baldwin, a psychiatrist who seemed like she should be at least in her mid-sixties, seemed pretty sharp and probably saw right through Chris. She also decided not to question whether someone spending an evening with Chris would actually be lucky. She had felt anything but lucky when he dragged her to dinner with their attending mentors. Chris had called her on that. Or at least in a way he had.

June 21, 1997

Dr. Eve Lambert frowned as her new colleague stopped for a light on Tower Road. They were on their way to dinner with their attending mentors, who just happened to be married to each other.

Dr. Chris Ramsey smirked at her just as the light started to change. "You know it wouldn't kill you to smile," he said. "Or to thank me for giving you a ride," he added.

"Actually, I was going to claim I didn't have a ride and, therefore, I couldn't go," Eve protested. She turned her head away and looked out the window.

"I think it's usually poor form to turn down a dinner invitation by the Chief of Staff before orientation is over. Of course, maybe they did things differently at SUNY Downstate."

"They stopped calling it SUNY Downstate years ago. It's the Health Sciences Center-Brooklyn. Anyway, we don't all have trust funds to be able to go to private medical schools like University of Chicago Pritzker."

"I have loans like everyone else, Lambert."

"Probably not everyone else. I doubt Julie or Karen do," Eve said.

Dr. Julie Devlin had a father who was a wealthy cardiologist. Dr. Karen Baldwin-Cates had a father who was an even wealthier attorney. In contrast, Eve had never met her own father. She and her little sister, Shelly, had worked for everything they had ever received. But that wasn't what was weighing most heavily on her mind. That all stemmed from her fear that she did know Julie's father.

"Well, Julie wants to do Pediatrics and Karen used to take her clothes off for money, so you really don't have to worry about either of them," Chris suggested/

"This is all a game to you isn't it? It's like you're playing elimination or something. What did you do to get Dr. Quartermaine assigned as your mentor? Break into the computer system or something?"

"You know there are only two surgery spots for next year and, since everyone except for Julie wants to do surgery, you might not want to chastise me for scoping out the competition and see if I was willing to help you out."

"If I need your help to get a surgery residency then maybe I don't want it that badly. Anyway, I'm not so sure I even want to do surgery."

"Then why did you tell Dr. Boardman you did?"

"Because I've considered it. If I decide I want to do it later then I will look committed, and if I decide I want to do something else most other specialties are more forgiving."

"So much for never lying," Chris quipped as he pulled into the driveway at 1866 Lilac Drive.

"I didn't lie. I said I was leaning towards surgery but felt I needed to have a well-rounded internship to make me more balanced. I had forgotten how big their house was," Eve said as Chris parked at the top of the driveway.

"You've been here before?"

"I lived in Moriches when I was younger. We moved to the Bronx when I was nine. But we used to come and look at the Christmas lights in Port Charles."

"I didn't know you were a Port Charles native. How come you aren't all chummy with Karen and Joe then?"

"Like I said I lived in Moriches. If you picture the warehouse district and make it slummier that's Moriches. Most of Port Charles International Airport is in Moriches. Other than that, welcome to the ghetto. Anyway, we moved when I was nine," Eve said. Her mother and sister had moved back to Moriches the summer before she started college but there were a lot of reasons she didn't want anyone to know that.

"It can't have been that bad," Chris said as they got out of the car.. "There were even a few apartments I looked at that were there."

"Yes, and I notice that you aren't living in any of those apartments now, are you? Do you remember what their kids' names are?"

"I thought you didn't believe in kissing up to the Drs. Quartermaine," Chris chided as they walked across the inlaid stone path that led to the front door.

"I think remembering their kids' names is more respecting their children as individuals than kissing up," Eve said.

Chris shrugged his shoulders. "If you say so."

"I do!" Eve asserted moments before Dr. Monica Quartermaine pulled open the front door to the Quartermaine Mansion.

It had been over three months since that dinner with the Quartermaines and a lot had happened. She had met Karen's father, and allowed him to sign out against medical advice. Dr. Tony Jones hadn't been too happy about that although somehow, he hadn't been concerned enough to come down to the ER and see the patient. When that last tidbit had been revealed, then Dr. Alan Quartermaine had felt that was critical issue and somehow, she had been out of the hot seat, at least temporarily. Of course, Dr. Jones hadn't really appreciated the reprimand from his Chief of Staff and had been anything but pleasant to work with for the remainder of her neurosurgery rotation.

Eventually the rotation had ended. Of course, then it had only gotten worse. Her apartment mate's dad had offered to take them all out to dinner. At face value that should have seemed like a good thing. On an intern's salary a free meal was hardly something to turn down. So, she hadn't. Yet, when she walked into Mario's and realized that Julie's father was indeed the man of her nightmares she wished she had. That was when everything had seemed to fade to black.

She had covered and claimed that she was just overtired. Chris had given her a ride home, on the pretense that he had to make sure she was alright because Dr. Larmon hated him enough to make him pick up all of her ER shifts. It had sounded good. She had even tried to convince herself it would be ok until the next day when Dr. Devlin dragged her into an empty stairwell. That had been far too much like the situation she had found herself in two years earlier and she suspected he knew that. The sad irony was that even two years later, even after he had been fired, he still had the upper hand and they both knew that. In that moment, internship had turned into medical school all over.

The sound of the door opening pulled Eve from her thoughts and she looked up to see Jake walk through the door looking much more like he was post call than pre-call. She supposed a month with Dr. Burgess could do that to someone. Somehow her luck had changed, at least briefly, and she had been assigned to work with Dr. Bryan Phillips who predominantly practiced in a waterfront clinic on the Port Charles side of Traverse Pike. He admitted his own patients to the hospital though and actually had a quite busy IM service. It hadn't been an easy month but he treated her with respect and seemed to think she was growing into a fine internist. She had even started to wonder if perhaps she wanted to become an internist.

"Well, it's about time," Chris said as he swiftly passed a stack of index cards to Jake.

"Dr. Burgess said admissions take priority over change over," Jake said.

"Well tell her to tell that to the Bell Commission because my clock is ticking here, and my thirty hours are almost up," Chris fired back.

"You better talk fast, and leave out the editorial comments, then, Ramsey!" Eve said.

Jake passed Eve a tired smile.

Chris rolled his eyes quickly in her direction and then turned back to Jake and started briefing him on his patients.