'February 15th
Helena entered the living area gracefully, crossing the room in a brisk pace, stopping just outside the kitchen door near a wall mirror, usually used by the servants before presenting themselves in the dining area. She inspected herself momentarily before opening the sliding door into the grand kitchens and entering. She observed the busy work being done quietly for a moment, watching the feverish pace the cooks were working at, preparing for that evening's meal. The most exquisite scents travelled the room hitting her at full force alongside the heat from the ovens and open grills. Helena could do no more but admit to herself that she looked forward to eating whatever it was they were creating. But, there were more important things to attend to.
"Where is Mother Cassadine's evening meal?" she demanded loudly.
The room quieted for a moment as a young servant girl brought forth the heavy tray. Helena examined the salad carefully, felt the soup dish to make sure it was luke warm just like Ekaterina liked. She observed the servant girl carefully wrap the cutlery in an expensive cloth napkin.
"Wait!" she barked before snatching the napkin from the girl's fingers. Helena opened the cloth and examined it for any trace of stains before handing it back to the girl. "No wrinkles, clear?" she ordered. "And make sure that the tea is weak, Mother Cassadine hates strong tea, I won't have something very simple to make being ruined for her."
Finally after examining the steaming main course, Helena nodded her approval and left the kitchen, leaving the young servant girl to trail after her with the heavy tray. All the way up the various staircases, down the maze of corridors until they approached the oak doors at the end of the hallway, flanked by two burly guards. They nodded to Helena and unlocked the door allowing both Helena and the girl inside. Helena motioned to the waiting table near the bedroom entryway as held her breath as the girl carefully placed the tray down. Turning back to the oak doors, Helena took the girl's forearm and marched her outside.
"Take her back directly to the kitchen, there have been some thefts recently, I want to be certain she is not involved," she instructed the guards.
The first guard glanced at the other before nodding uncertainly to Helena. "Yes, Miss Helena, we will be back shortly, lock the door behind us for security."
Helena frowned, "of course I will! Mother Cassadine's security is the of the utmost importance, I will die before anyone tries to trespass. Now go!"
After locking the door with a satisfied click, Helena turned back to the waiting table. After checking herself over a final time, she rolled the table through the bedroom doorway. The bedroom itself was huge, surrounded by large windows, looking over both the garden below and the Aegean seas at a further distance. Heavy drapes in crimson with the Cassadine emblem in the middle accompanied each window, allowing the evening sun to pour through. The king sized bed was surrounded by a white lace covering, flowing gently as the Aegean breeze came softly through the windows. There was various bits of furniture around the room making it appear warm and comfortable and near Ekaterina's side of the bed sat a grand vanity table. The sight of it made Helena instantly green with envy. Ekaterina stirred from her nap and sat up, saying nothing.
"Mother Cassadine, I trust your nap was a good one?" Helena said pleasantly as she turned her back on Ekaterina to prepare the food. Ekaterina did not return the smile but kept up pleasantries with Helena, she knew this game well.
"Yes, thank you Helena. It's so kind of you to bring my food up like this, you have been wonderful since your arrival two weeks ago, not a moment's rest for you, so dedicated to this family."
Helena smiled snidely to herself, "you are not well, it is the least I can do for my future Mother."
Ekaterina winced visibly at the mention of Helena calling her 'Mother', "have you heard about the recent thefts in the home Helena? They seemed to spark just after your arrival," she commented lightly, "it is a shame we have a thief among our normally loyal staff isn't it?"
Helena gritted her teeth, the old hag knew. As quickly and quietly as possible Helena retrieved a small vile from a hidden pocket in her dress. She quickly removed the lid and carefully poured it into the tea. Odorless, tasteless and completely untraceable with the most devastating effects. "Here is your tea Mother Cassadine as you requested."
Helena walked towards the bed and handed the steaming cup to the woman before turning back for the table. She pushed it to the side of the bed and carefully lifted the tray. The legs immediately dropped out and Helena settled the tray down just over Ekaterina's beige colored dress. "The soup is hot, please take care," she said coolly as she laid the cloth napkin across Ekaterina's lap, observing as Ekaterina took a long sip of her tea.
Satisfied, Helena began to push the cart towards the bedroom doorway.
"Helena?" Ekaterina's voice rang out and Helena gritted her teeth, "yes Mother Cassadine?" she said sweetly, turning around.
"My knife isn't clean, could you possibly fetch me another?" Ekaterina's face was pleasant, yet inside she delighted at seeing Helena's expression falter with her request. Helena's face recovered, "of course, I will return in a moment," she said brightly. Taking the knife, her face darkened as she left the room and threw open the oak door. At least the guards haven't returned, she thought with pleasure, a few minutes is all I need.
Inside the room, Ekaterina smiled to herself, you are wicked she thought mildly as she took another sip of her tea. Suddenly, Ekaterina's stomach began to hurt, the pain increasing with every breath. Ekaterina sucked in her breath, panicked as her chest began to tighten. Becoming dizzy, she dropped the cup of tea, not even hearing it shatter on the floor.
"Helena?" she called weakly, feeling disoriented. She blinked hard a few times, attempting the room to stop spinning. As her head began to throb and the light began to fade, Ekaterina made one last valiant effort to call attention to her dire situation, she grabbed for the telephone, frantically trying to push the emergency button but blacked out before her fingers could reach it. The room was still, only the sounds of the roaring Aegean sea could be heard as the lace covering danced in the wind around Ekaterina's limp body.
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The Brownstone
"Stefan?"
Bobbie voice rang gently in Stefan's left ear, "Stefan, you have to wake up."
She turned back to Jason, "can you give me a minute and send Johnny and Eddie up in a sec'?"
Jason nodded wordlessly and left the room. He made his way down the stairs quickly. "The car ready?" Johnny nodded, "everything is set but we need to be at the hospital in thirty minutes if we're going to be undetected."
Jason tilted his head thoughtfully, "we have to be careful, this guy's got damaged ribs and a bad head case. He won't struggle but we still gotta be on our toes okay?"
Johnny nodded again as Eddie came through the front door, "we're all set on the outside boss."
"Good, we just have to wait for Bobbie."
Upstairs Bobbie had successfully awoke Stefan. She had been able to dress him in his washed black pants and had just finished tying his shoes up. "Okay, let's sit you up nice and slow," she said and Stefan nodded.
Now that his ribs were taped up nicely and his bruises and assorted cuts had begun to heal, Stefan sat up with surprising ease. Then came the head rush.
"Ooooh," he groaned as his eyes closed, one hand reaching up to grab his forehead.
"Yeah, I thought that might happen, take a second until you're ready to open your eyes again," Bobbie grinned, trying to hide her pleasure at the sight before her. And what an improved sight it was she had to admit. Freshly washed along with his clothes, he no longer smelled of dirt, sweat, blood and general body odor. His hair was once again shiny and Bobbie had taken care to comb it just as he liked. It was hard to believe that just a short while ago, he had been dead. Or thought so.
Stefan's eyes opened slowly, his pupils focused on Bobbie and suddenly she was clear after a moment of blurriness. He instinctively smiled at her, feeling reassured by her radiating warmth and concern.
Bobbie's heart soared at the smile, finally bits of his old self was beginning to surface, "hey there you are! Listen, I've called for some help because we need to take a look at your head to see if--" Bobbie was cut off by Stefan's suddenly outraged voice.
"I asked you not to inform anyone and you did not abide by it Barbara, it was essential that my recovery was kept quiet until I became stronger--" he said angrily until he too was cut off.
"Hang on for one second! I needed help and I called Jason Morgan, the best thing to what you need right now. He can protect my home, with you in it and get you the medical attention you need without asking questions or having anybody else ask questions! Did you just assume that I could nurse you back to health in the guest bedroom undetected with my son sleeping down the hall? You got some nerve Stefan, screeching and ranting about your situation! I have no CLUE as to what the hell has been going on but I've kept my word and probably risked my life helping you out and this is the thanks I get?!" Bobbie stood and stormed outside, "he's ready guys, come and get him!" she barked down the stairs.
Within a few minutes Eddie and Johnny had quickly and carefully moved Stefan down the stairs and out to the waiting vehicle. Despite her anger, Bobbie watched anxiously from the foyer.
"In about ten minutes, you get in your car like nothing new is happening and follow the directions. If anybody follows you or you feel like someone's on your tail, bail out and go back to the Penthouse. Michael is there with Laticia, so it won't look unusual okay?" Jason instructed firmly and Bobbie nodded, "ten minutes, okay."