He was released from GH a few days later and by that time Trainor Industries had been purchased and Jillian had been released pending further investigation into the accident. He sat in the kitchen with his coffee and the morning paper, when he spotted the article about a pending SEC investigation. He had just started to read the headline when Alexis walked into the room and he put the paper down.
"Are you sure you're going to be ok here?" She worried about him. "Because I can cancel the deposition today and stay."
"Honey, I'm ok. They wouldn't have released me if I wasn't."
"I know that, but you're still recovering from major surgery."
"I'm fine." He reassured her as he got up and kissed her lightly.. "See, totally fine."
"Promise me you aren't going into ELQ and that you'll rest." She said more worried that he'd encounter the woman who put him in the hospital to begin with than anything else.
"I'm not you. I can put down work." He joked.
"I love you, but that's not funny." She said as he leaned in and kissed her again.
"Go. I'll be here." She kissed him again and then left for court. Giving him time to go back to the financial section. He read about the insider trading investigation that was opened up and noted the timing. It was during the London negotiation and he worried about the effect on ELQ. Trainor Industries had sold and was no longer part of the ELQ portfolio, but he worried about the implication that ELQ was involved. He called Jax and asked him to meet him at the house, so he could strategize and learn the details about his purchase of Trainor Industries.
Jax arrived shortly after the phone call and they sat in the living room. "So, you pulled it off. I saw the company was purchased. I can't thank you enough Jax." Ned was grateful to his friend.
"Ned, I wish I could take credit, but after her arrest and the stock price falling another company swooped in and secured the purchase before I could finalize anything."
"Who?"
"I'm not sure. They took extensive steps to mask the main corporation, but the shell corporation was named Conley Group."
"Well, I have to say I'm relieved. I was worried that this would put you or Chloe at risk, given everything she's tried with Alexis and I."
"How are you and Alexis?"
"We're figuring it out. We haven't really talked since the accident, but she believes me and for now that's enough. I love her, Jax, and I'm not going to lose her."
"Good. I'm glad you're figuring it out. So, how are you going to handle Trainor? She's bound to come after you again after what just happened to her company. I heard her board is considering voting to remove her."
"I'm starting to think the best way to handle her is to let her think she's won."
"What does Alexis think about that?"
"I haven't talked to her about it, yet."
"Well do yourself a favor and do talk to her first. She deserves a say in how you handle this."
"I plan to Jax. I know how lucky I am that she's even willing to try and make this work after what happened."
"As long as you realize that."
"I do. Trust me, I do."
Across town Alexis finished up her deposition at the courthouse and headed to the PCPD to talk to Mac about the case against Jillian and the accident. He had called asking to see her and she had this gut feeling that it was not good news. She walked into Mac's office and he was on a call, but he waved her in and she sat waiting for him to finish.
"Alexis, thanks for coming. How's Ned?"
"He's going to make a full recovery. He was released yesterday."
"That's good to hear."
"So, Just tell me. She's not going to pay for causing that accident. Is she?"
"Her lawyer is going to argue that she helped save Ned and Kristen by calling 911 and getting them help. Dara thinks that if we do pursue this she won't serve any time. And because the only witness about what happened after the crash is your daughter...her attorney already alluded to the fact she'd be questioned as a witness. We don't want to put her through that and I don't think you do either."
She took a deep breath, "No, I don't and I know Ned wouldn't want that either. She's just 5 years old, Mac."
"I thought so. As you know it's a misdemeanor, and she will pay a substantial amount in fines, but we're dropping the larger charges. I'm sorry."
"Mac, she's stalking us. She's the one who took Kristen from camp that day."
"Unfortunately, you haven't put anything on record. There's not much we can do at this point. But this will be a good start if you're determined to build a case for a restraining order."
"You'd think I would know better, I know the law, but I wanted to believe this wasn't what it looked like." She stood and started to leave, "Thanks, Mac. I'll let you know if anything else happens. I appreciate your help."
She left the PCPD and headed to Chloe's design studio, trying to push the news about the charges out of her head. She had promised to be there for her final dress fitting before the wedding and she wanted to be present for her friend. She sat in the chair as Chloe stood in the full length mirror and the seamstress made final adjustments. "Chloe, Jax is't going to know what to do with himself. You're going to be such a beautiful bride."
"Thank you." She replied. "I didn't think we'd ever get to this place. Not after he took off looking for Brenda."
"You've been through a lot. But your love came back around. He knows what he has with you."
"How are you and Ned?" She stepped off the stool and turned to face her friend, sensing more was on her mind.
"I wish I could answer that." She said honestly as Chloe stepped behind the screen to change out of the dress. "I know, intellectually, that what we're facing right now is the deranged fantasy of this completely psychotic woman, but I close my eyes and I see him standing there with her, it's just hard to forget, despite the fact that in my heart, he's it. There is no one else I want to face this life with."
"So, what's the plan? Have you told him any of this?" Chloe said as she reemerged and sat in the opposite chair.
"He knows I believe him. That I love him. But we haven't had a chance to get into it at any real depth since the accident."
"You need to. The only way you're going to be able to move forward is if you're honest with each other."
She sighed, "I know you're right. You're such a good friend, Chloe. And I am so happy for you and Jax."
"So are you, Alexis. Now go home and talk to him. You are my two best friends and you deserve to be just as happy."
She took Chloe's advice and went home instead of going back to her office to work and put off having a real conversation about what happened, what's next, and how they were going to stop Jillian from wreaking anymore havoc with their life. She walked into the house and dropped her briefcase and keys by the door. She went into the living room and saw him asleep on the couch. She was glad he was getting some rest. She reached down and ran her hands through his hair. He stirred and she moved the file he had been working on and sat on the table in front of the sofa and smiled at him as he woke. "How are you feeling?" She asked as he sat up and she moved onto the sofa to sit next to him.
"I'm ok." He said as he took her hand and she interlocked her fingers with his. "Aubrey took Kristen to the park, we have some time alone…"
"Oh yeah?" She said as he leaned in closer towards her and she followed his lead and their lips met. The kiss deepened and turned more urgent as he wanted to prove to her just how much he needed her. She pulled away slightly, breathless, as he moved to kiss her neck. He was making it impossible to resist, she knew they needed to talk, even if they communicated with their touch so well. "Ned.." She tried to take his face in her hands and look into his eyes. He kissed her again and as she pulled back, she whispered, "It's not that I don't want to.."
"Is everything alright?" He said as he gently tucked her hair behind her ear sensing her hesitation.
"I just think we need to talk. We've been dancing around what happened, pretending like everything is normal since the accident." She pulled her legs underneath her and draped her arm along the back of the sofa.
He re adjusted himself on the sofa, and interlocked his fingers with hers as he also placed his arm along the top of the sofa. "I'm so sorry I hurt you."
She inhaled, "I know. And I do believe you, I think I even forgive you, it's just.."
"Just what?"
"Forgetting." She paused and he gave her the time she needed to collect her thoughts and continue, "Those images of you are seared into my brain and I wish I could erase what I saw…"
"I never should have kept this from you."
"No, you shouldn't have, but we can't go back and change that now."
"So how do we move forward? I meant what I said. I'll do whatever it takes."
She looked at their hands, fingers still interlocked before making eye contact with him again. "I know you and deep down I know there is this small part of you that is terrified that this isn't going to last. I know you were trying to protect me, protect us and what we have, but you can't keep me in the dark anymore. We're stronger together, and I think you know that."
"I do know and I am so grateful to you. No one has ever understood me the way you do and I'm going to earn back your trust. That's a promise."
"I love you, that's never going to go away." He reached for her and pulled her into his arms and they sat there holding each other in understanding. "So we need a plan," She said as they pulled apart.
"We need to make her think she's won." He stated calmly, certain.
"What?" She was shocked. "What does that even mean?"
"What if we make her think her plan worked. We make her think we're apart, she'll get too comfortable and then I can get her to admit that she drugged me back in London. Someone already bought Tranor Industries, and she's facing charges for the accident. With all of this, plus a pending SEC investigation she will be forced to go back to Europe or she'll be put behind bars where she can't hurt us any longer."
"They dropped the charges. I was at the PCPD earlier today and met with Mac"
"How? I was driving, I saw her cross lanes and speed up. The forensics have to support that."
"She didn't flee the scene and in order to mitigate the circumstances her lawyer will put Kristen on the stand to say how she helped you both. Mac and Dara didn't think we'd want that, and I agreed. She'll face fines and it will be on record, but there won't be a trial and she won't face jail time. It was a misdemeanor. It was a stretch that they brought her in at all. There's not much more they can do."
"Ok, but there is still a police record right? It can still help our case."
"I'm not sure making her think we're apart is the best decision here." She said as she stood up and walked across the room and turned to face him again. "If it was just us, that would be one thing, but it's not. I don't want to put our daughter through that. She's been through enough and we've worked very hard to reassure her that we are solid."
"That's fair. But this would be just for show. I wouldn't move out. Nothing in her daily routine would change."
"There's no way Jillian would buy that. We'd have to separate and—" She stopped as she thought she heard a car pull into their driveway.
"And?"
"And selfishly, we've wasted too much time already. You are my husband and she needs to know that she's crossed a line. There has to be another way."
Suddenly someone was at their door incessantly ringing the doorbell. She looked at Ned questioningly and walked to their front door to answer it. She rolled her eyes when she saw through the window it was Jillian. "What are you doing here?" She asked as she opened the door.
"Ashton, where are you?!" She yelled as she blew past Alexis.
"No one invited you here." Ned said as he emerged from the living room.
"I know you're behind this corporate takeover. Why would you go and blow up a good thing?"
"I have no idea what you are talking about. But from what I saw in the paper you've got bigger concerns."
"Don't play dumb, Ned. I know you're behind the buy out from Conley Group. Thankfully, I was able to convince my board to hold off on any drastic moves in response. If you think dismantling my company is going to–"
"Hold on, you don't get to barge in here and start threatening my husband. Someone who just a week ago you landed in the hospital."
"Alexis, you don't have to–"
"Yes, I do. Our daughter was in that car and you, you could have died." She turned to Jillian, "You could have killed him. Do you realize that? Or did your sick obsession blind you to that fact."
"It was an accident. Even the PCPD agrees or haven't they told you?"
"Oh I am fully aware of your legal situation. Now unless you want to add trespassing to that list of charges, I suggest you leave."
"When are you going to realize that you're clinging to something that doesn't exist? He doesn't want you. If he did he wouldn't have ended up in bed with me."
"You have no idea who you're dealing with this time. I will fight for my family." She was in pull on Cassadine mode and there was no backing down. Not after reading her history.
"What do you think you know?" She read between the lines and tried to call what she thought was Alexis' bluff.
"I believe my wife asked you to leave." Ned stepped in, trying to de-escalate. "If I were you I'd take the first flight back to London. You have no business in Port Charles anymore."
"We will finish this." She said, directed towards Ned and then walked out of the house as Alexis slammed the door behind her. There was no point in talking to him when his wife was there, she would continue to insert herself into things that didn't concern her. Although she had to admit, she hadn't encountered someone who fought so hard to hold onto what was to her a broken marriage.
"So, what do you know?" Ned asked, sensing she did indeed have more information. He knew his wife.
Alexis silently reached for her briefcase and passed him the file she had received from Stefan. She'd kept it close, not wanting it to fall into the wrong hands. He took the file and she followed him back into the living room where they sat on the couch as he read about Jillian's police record. "How did you get all of this?"
"Stefan."
"You went to your brother with this?"
"I'm sure you have thoughts about that. But can we just focus on the facts here? She's lethal, Ned."
"And if history says anything, you're the one who's in danger here."
"I will be fine. But we need a real plan and soon."
