A million things were running through her mind as her body raced through the Brownstone. Bobbie Spencer was running on adrenaline, she was barely aware as her knee banged into the coffee table, but she absently rubbed it nevertheless. Throwing open the hall closet she grabbed the medical bag she always kept ready for any emergencies. Throwing on her coat and shoving her feet into her sneakers in a fluid motion, she grabbed the bag and raced for the door, remembering what time it was, carefully shut and locked the door behind her before jumping into her car and started slowly heading down the road, praying to the gods above to keep her tricky muffler from acting up again.
Stefan Cassadine.
Alive.
Bobbie shook her head as her eyes darted to the speedometer, trying to keep just below the limit as she traveled through the dark streets making careful turns here and there while her eyes would flicker to her rear view mirror, checking for a tail like Stefan had requested, every few moments. Despite her intense fears, Bobbie had automatically agreed to meet with him at an undisclosed location on the outskirts of town. Taking a few deep breaths, Bobbie pulled carefully onto the offroad trail and moved slowly down the bumpy lane. About 1/2 a mile in, what appeared to be a dark figure suddenly lurched in front of her, causing Bobbie to jerk the car to a stop.
"JESUS!" she exclaimed, clearly startled by the movement, her nerves working overtime as it was. She peered through the front window as the figure moved and suddenly Stefan Cassadine's face came into view. Her eyes widened with recognition as she quickly flicked her high beams on for a better look. Instinctively, Stefan's arm rose to block the intense light. Bobbie breathlessly grabbed her bag and threw open her door after putting the gear into park.
Rushing over to him, Bobbie flew to the ground, "Stefan! Oh my god what happened?" she cried.
"Barbara," was all Stefan could manage in a weak reply.
After a moment, Bobbie's training kicked in as she quickly assessed him, "lie down," she instructed quickly, "this isn't an ER but I'm going to make the best of it."
Stefan simply complied as he rested on his back as Bobbie threw off her coat and opened her bag grabbing a stethoscope among various bandages and a small penlight. "Okay, Stefan, does your head hurt? I need to know if you've been throwing up or felt dizzy or nauseated in the past few hours, did you suffer a blackout?"
Stefan closed his eyes briefly as his mind settled momentarily, "I became unconscious after I hit the ground, I woke up within a few moments and drifted in and out over a period of at least three days. I managed to pull myself into a sitting position on the fourth day and kept myself from dehydrating by drinking the dew from the various greenery. On the fifth day, I found the phone about six feet from me, under some brush and surprisingly, it still worked, then I telephoned you."
Bobbie frowned, somewhat puzzled, "that only accounts for five days Stefan, what happened to the other two?" Bobbie began to feel for broken bones slowly as she expertly moved her arms down his body.
Stefan's eyes grew slightly, "I've been missing a week? I can only recollect five days."
Bobbie smiled faintly, "Missing? Stefan, you were declared dead after they doused the wreckage left from your car. Two dead bodies were found, barely recognizable, your driver was identified through his dental records and you by your Cassadine medallion. Alexis identified it actually." Bobbie's fingers gently pressed against the left side of Stefan's rib cage and Stefan winced, his body jerking with pain. "Cracked ribs, just like I thought, and a no doubt concussion."
Stefan grimaced as the aftershock from his tender ribs still throbbed,"there were three people in the car. Myself, my driver and another man I'd never met before that day. He held a gun on myself and Randolf, the driver and ordered us to head out of the city." Stefan's eyes pained with recollection, "Randolf attempted to save me by unlocking the doors and telling me to jump. Just before I could, the man with the gun lunged for me and my medallion must have snapped off my neck as I jumped from the car just as it swerved. I pray Randolf died instantly," he said quietly.
Bobbie nodded, "the coroner said both had, they did find a gun in the car, but Alexis said it wasn't unusual considering the safety precautions you took around Nikolas." At the mention of Nikolas's name, Stefan's face contorted with intense pain. Instinctively, Bobbie grasped his hand and squeezed it, "I'm sorry Stefan, I should have been more thoughtful," she began but Stefan shook his head, unable to speak.
"I need to call for an ambulance," Bobbie started before Stefan grabbed her forearm, "No!" he said hoarsely, "no one can know I am still alive Barbara."
Bobbie shook her head, "you may have a head injury Stefan along with your ribs, you may have done some damage to your lungs and countless other things that a hospital can treat. I can't nurse you back to health out here," she protested.
"NO!" Stefan repeated firmly, "I will explain everything to you later but I am begging you not to call for help. Please Barbara," he pleaded.
Bobbie sat back for a moment before nodding slowly in agreement, "I'm not leaving you out here though. You're coming back to the Brownstone with me. Don't worry, Lucas is away with his Father. I have a guest room you can use." Bobbie quickly got up and put her bag inside the car before going around to the other side and opened the back door. Bending down on his right side, Bobbie grabbed his right arm and hung it over her right shoulder, grabbing it with her right arm. Stefan pulled his knees up as Bobbie slowly rose pulling both herself and Stefan up. Stefan rose with great difficulty, it had been a week since he last stood and his legs were extremely unstable as he leaned heavily against Bobbie. After a few moments, Stefan was able to move slowly towards the car, his left arm hanging limply as Bobbie encircled her left arm around his waist, careful not to touch his ribs and the two made their way to the passenger side of the car. Bobbie quickly turned them around and Stefan grabbed the top of the ajar door for support as he was slowly lowered onto the seat. Despite his attempts to keep quiet, Stefan was unable to hold back the intense pain as his body screamed in protest and Stefan cried out as he layed down and pulled himself into the car.
"Oh god, Stefan, I know this hurts, just hang on okay?" Bobbie shut the door and raced around to the driver side and slammed the door shut before twisting in her seat to check on Stefan. Despite the sweat on his face and heavy breathing, Stefan managed a weak smile. Bobbie smiled quickly before turning back and buckling her seatbelt. She quickly turned the car around and slowly headed back onto the main highway. "You okay back there?" she asked anxiously checking her rear view. Stefan only responded with a groan. Bobbie quickly found her way back to the Brownstone and wisely parked in the back of the house. She quickly opened the back door to her house before returning to the car.
"Okay, I'm sorry but if you want this to be completely secret, you can't say anything otherwise my nosy neighbors will hear you. Believe me, they can hear a pin drop," Bobbie said as she leaned over Stefan in the car. He simply nodded.
"Okay, let's do this," Bobbie said with determination as the two repeated the evening's earlier process in reverse, Stefan needing a breath as soon as he was standing before the two made their way to the back door. Kicking the door shut behind her, Bobbie led Stefan through the dimly lit house. Stefan let out a small gasp as the two stood in front of the staircase. Bobbie flicked on the stairway light before grabbing Stefan again, "hey if you can conduct billion dollar takeovers over the phone without breaking a sweat, you can do this," she said grimly. Stefan managed a weak smile as he placed his foot on the first stair. Within ten minutes with much grunting, panting and near falls, the two reached the top of the stairs and made their waydown the long hall. Bobbie opened the guest room door and flicked the switch on, giving silent thanks to the already made bed. She led a completely exhausted Stefan to the left side of the bed and gently sat him down.
"See? Told you we could do it," she smiled as she carefully removed his jacket and placed it on the bed next to him. She then unbuttoned his shirt and moved it easily off his frame. "Okay, lie down and lets see how bad these ribs are." Without much difficulty, Bobbie layed him down, raising his legs onto the bed before taking a seat next to him. Upon full examination, Bobbie sighed, "Stefan, you have three cracked ribs as far as I can tell, they could be broken but I really won't know unless you are x-rayed."
Shaking her head she pulled his shoes and socks off before reaching for his belt. Stefan's eyes grew and he pulled back. Bobbie's eyebrow rose with amusement, "I've seen you naked before Stefan, don't get all flustered on me now, I'll leave your black silk boxers on."
Stefan relented and Bobbie gently tugged his pants off. Finally, with only his boxers on, Bobbie was able to finally see the entire damage done to his body. He was covered with minor cuts over most of his body save for the nasty gash over his forehead which would require stitching. Their were bruises on his knees and no doubt on his back along with the more prominent bruising around his ribs, now having taken on various shades of coloring. He was filthy and smelled of sweat and dirt. Overall he was in good shape despite looking like next to nothing of what she was used to. Having said nothing in almost twenty minutes, Bobbie gently shook his shoulder.
Stefan's eyes fluttered before finally opening and Bobbie smiled gently at him. "I'm gonna have to clean you off okay, you smell bad and look worst."
Stefan nodded absently before his eyes closed again. Bobbie bit her lip, perhaps a sponge bath should wait until morning she decided. Bobbie rose and went to the closet taking out a beige blanket before returning to the bed. She carefully covered Stefan with the blanket before pulling a chair close. Content that he was breathing steadily, Bobbie headed downstairs and out to her car, grabbing her medical bag and locking the car before heading back into the house, locking the door behind her. Remembering Stefan's fear of safety, Bobbie went through the main floor and basement, carefully checking that each window and door was secured properly.
Bobbie returned to the kitchen and mechanically put the kettle on and pulled out two tea bags, dropping them into her teapot before retrieving her tea cup. She leaned her back against the counter, pausing for the first time that evening. Shrugging her coat and shoes off Bobbie plunked down at the kitchen table, rubbing her knee as it began to throb, remembering her accident from earlier. Unable to do much more than sit, Bobbie silently waited for the kettle to boil. She hung her coat back up in the closet and kicked her shoes near the door before pouring herself some tea. Grabbing her bag she headed back upstairs into the guest room. Stefan was sound asleep, and almost immediately, Bobbie let out a huge yawn. Taking her comforter from her room she sat down gently in the chair and remained there, keeping a watchful eye over her patient, before she too, drifted off into a deep sleep.
******************************
The next morning
Jasper Jacks exited his Jaguar and jogged to the other side just as V hopped out lugging her heavy bag that carried the valuable treasure of the past. Jax stopped short and smiled as V shut the door with a fast bump from her left hip before looking up to grin at him.
"I was going to open the door for you," Jax commented as the two walked down the wide path to the University entrance doors.
"Mmm, so I noticed, I just thought I'd beat you to the punch," V noted as she slung the strap over her shoulder.
"Ahhh, so this is a competition of sorts? I like to compete if you didn't notice already," Jax observed as he quickened his step in order to reach the door first, gallantly holding the door open for V, bowing slightly as she passed.
"I have picked up on your competitive nature at times," V said lightly as a trace of amusement entered her tone."
The two continued their way down the long main hallway, past the administrative offices before reaching a fork in the hallway.
"This way, it's room 112," V said as the two continued before reaching a door marked 'Salvatore--History' V gently knocked before opening the door, "Professor Salvatore, it's Venus Ardanowski."
"Venus, I'm glad you returned so quickly, I have very good news for you, I've managed through a good friend in France to fax an old copy of the Greek/Russian language translation manuscript, so I am now able to decipher most of the contents from your grandmother's diary. It's quite remarkable actually," Professor Salvatore gushed excitedly as he fumbled for his glasses. He quickly pulled up a chair for V before noticing Jax.
"Goodness gracious, I didn't see you there, you must be Mr. Jacks, Venus has mentioned you many times," the professor said as he and Jax shook hands.
Jax eyed V curiously, who in turn had buried her face into the loose manuscripts, Jax chose to ignore the silence from her and smiled politely at the professor, "this intrigued me quite a bit when V brought it to my attention, what can you tell us?"
"Well, since it seems to revolve entirely around a group of people, we were able to pick up who Irenie was talking about in her writings. Names like George, Roberto, Alexei and Maria were mentioned frequently and from what I can tell, they were friends of hers, most likely fellow servants. A few other names that appear quite frequently are the ones of the children she was minding. Mikkos, Victor, Anthony and Petros. Mikkos was the oldest brother, Victor was the middle child and Anthony the baby."
"And the fourth one, Petros? What about him?" Jax asked as he too, pulled up a seat beside V.
"Curious, Hess not mentioned very much but from the looks of it, Irenie actually came and worked for the family when she was 19, so my guess is that perhaps he was a bit of an outcast, a cousin of some sort and simply left the family while he was young. Here, read this passage."
'October 12th
It has been four months since my arrival in Kavala and even after my time here, I am still amazed by how wealthy this family truly is. The children have taken to me like no other nanny, I am told. Mikkos, the eldest and seventeen is brash and a born leader and an endless flirt, although he is unusually cruel to the other servants. Alexei warned him yesterday about being too harsh with the horses but Mikkos, of course, ignored him and was thrown by the poor beast. Nothing was more hurt than his pride and yet he lashed out and blamed Alexei for purposely uninforming him about the unruly animal. Alexei presented himself at dinner with a swollen left eye and a split lower lip. It took both of his brothers to restrain their father from marching up to Mikkos's room to thrash him.
Victor is eight and a much more sullen child. He adores Mikkos, keeping close behind him wherever he goes, mimicking his every gesture, much to the annoyance of his older brother. I have tried to encourage Victor in other interests, but at this point, I've had little success.
Ivan, their father is a man I have met formally only once and Maria has warned me to stay clear of him. He is a brutal man who's anger knows no boundaries, nor do his punishments. Servants scurry from him like rats evading a hungry cat, and I pity his children a great deal.
Ekaterina is the elusive Mother of the boys. I have never seen her, only the senior servants are permitted up to the Master floor. It is rumored that she is expecting another child, perhaps in January but from what the more brave servants will allow is that she is ailing and may not survive another birth'
V's eyes rose, "a Mother who is sick and a horrible Father. The combination is not a good one. Not for those children at least."
Jax nodded, "what about Petros?"
"Here, after the new year, we get a first mention of him," the professor said as he flipped ahead a few pages.
'January 17th
A celebration is being arranged this evening, and many family members have arrived to welcome the newest Cassadine, Anthony Nikolei. I had hoped to see the child, but unfortunately a special nanny has arrived and will be solely responsible for the new baby. I had also hoped that the boys' Mother would join the celebration but apparently she has been suffering from a high fever recently, due to the difficulties in the birth'
January 19th
The celebration was a roaring success, I don't believe I have ever seen Ivan smile as he presented his son to the family. Mikkos was silent, fuming the entire evening and Victor fell asleep on the grand staircase as the evening came to a close. As I was carrying Victor up to his room, I passed Mikkos's private library and heard loud voices. I meant not to listen, but my resistance gave way to my curiosity'
*~*
Ivan poured himself his third vodka as he fumed, his eyes facing the open window, allowing the warm Aegean winds from the sea to flow into the room.
"You had no right to return unannounced and uninvited," he growled as he gulped his drink down, putting the glass down with a loud clatter before turning around, "how dare you!"
Petros Cassadine returned Ivan's cold stare, "I'm family am I not? I may be the black sheep with a limp, but I am still blood."
Ivan shook his head with disgust, "the family saw you, did you feel the wondrous energy in the room become defeated the moment you walked in? You left this family, it was your choice years ago, you cannot return on the whim, just to cause an uproar," he accused.
Petros eyed Ivan evenly, "no, I didn't return to cause an uproar," hestarted softly as he leaned against the wall, his eyes casting out to the sea, "I returned for the birth of Anthony Nikolei Cassadine, my youngest brother." Petros's gaze returned to Ivan's, "and to see Mother of course."
*~*
"He was a brother?" Jax exclaimed, a little louder than he intended, "I researched the Cassadine's family history as best as I could and all I found was a distant cousin in Petros, there was certainly no mention of him in regards to being a brother, there were only three. Mikkos, Victor and Anthony!"
"Ahhhh, but that is where your sources are wrong Mr. Jacks," the professor said gleefully, "you see he was even more than a common brother," he said, his eyes gleaming.
"Wait, a minute, hang on a second, now from what I know already and what you told me, Ivan was formally in charge of the entire Cassadine family, and that his successor was to be his first born, legitimate son, which was Mikkos. The family reins were passed from Father to first born son and it continued like that. Mikkos to Stavros and Stavros to Nikolas and they would take control from their Father on their 25th birthday, right?" V stated.
Professor Salvatore nodded quickly as he fumbled through some papers, "yes, yes, only the firstborn son of a firstborn son could receive the rights. Now, if for any circumstance the first born son died or could not take power, the handing down went immediately to the second son, much like royalty does, except of course for the patriarchal aspect of it. Daughters were never allowed to inherit, never."
"Well, what if the first child of a first son was a girl?"
"In the seven generations that we have recorded, there were no cases of a female being the first born," the professor said evenly, his voice giving way to exactly what V had dreaded. V coiled back and shivered at the thought.
"So, where does Petros figure into this equation?" Jax asked as the professor skimmed the translated material.
"Here, in this passage, not only is it revealed that Petros is a brother to the other three, Irenie mentions that when Petros left the room, she hid behind a pillar with Victor and caught his reflection in the dim light." Professor Salvatore's eyes rose with interest as he turned the page, "here read this part."
'Keeping Victor quiet had been not a problem, it was myself that proved to be the most unreliable. When the mysterious Petros left the room, in an obvious rage, we hid behind the pillar and prayed he would not see us but I could not resist to looking as he past us. In the dim light, I could clearly see his face, I needed to bite my hand to stop the gasp. He looked of exact age, height and weight, but most remarkable were his similar features, save for a scar down his left cheek, he looked almost identical to that of his brother, Mikkos.'
V sat back in utter shock as her eyes went from Jax's to the professor's to Jax's again.
"They were twin brothers?" she asked incredulously.