Music.
Light.
A warm breeze that smelled of jasmine.
He was floating; in and out as his senses drifted in and out of consciousness.
Zander fought his way to the surface, determined to decipher the things that surrounded him.
The music was...
Opera. French opera. He recognized a few of the words when he strained to listen closely. He’d never been a fan, but now, it washed over him reassuringly.
The light was natural, coming in from two sides of the room. Open windows in front of him and to the right, the expanse of them interrupted only by the French doors that stood ajar. Flowery patterns of drapery flanking each window danced as the wind raced in and out of the small, sparsely furnished room. Occasionally, the sun would catch a flap of one curtain and brilliant colours would flood his line of vision, mesmerizing him and stilling the aches and pains for a moment as his body moved about in a slow, deliberate fashion.
The breeze was unnaturally balmy to his skin. He was in a warmer climate, not unlike his home state of Florida. It took a few moments, but his skin breathed in the familiar warmth and the formerly conditioned Port Charles self easily gave way to what was more natural and instinctive.
And the jasmine. Wafting in from the gardens just beyond the windows and French doors, no doubt. The scent was both overwhelming and soothing. Something deep within him stirred and he let out a shuddering breath, fresh tears suddenly springing. They trickled down the sides of his face. His uncertainty over the incredibly emotional response was fuelled by how each sense seemed to be a piece of a puzzle that he was slowly putting together. They clicked in his mind and he realized that this was not the first time he had been in this room.
“Shh, mon petit prince,” an elderly voice soothed as a slightly damp cloth wiped away the tears. “Pas de tristesse.”
Zander turned to the voice and connected with tender aquamarine eyes as they gazed calmly down at him. She smiled and the creases in her face deepened. It was obvious that joy had been a big part of her life. A weathered hand reached out and stroked the side of his face. “Oui, je souviens ces yeux de votre mère. Si beau et tranquille,” she murmured kindly. Zander felt his lips quiver into a small smile. Her beam grew in response. “Voilà! Alexandre retourne!”
“He’s awake then?”
The older woman nodded and RJ approached from the doorway. Zander stared back up silently. He studied the features of the man and his mind raced, trying to figure out just where it was and in what context he knew this man.
“Thank you Victoire,” RJ said, announcing her departure. She patted Zander’s hand lightly and rose slowly. RJ flicked his head and another man came forward to help Victoire out. Zander watched her go, sadness settling in his heart as the door shut behind her. For some reason, he already missed her.
RJ waited until Zander’s gaze returned to him and he took the seat Victoire vacated. “I’ll tell you again since you probably don’t remember much from the plane. My name is Robbie Jensen, but call me RJ. I’m a friend.”
Plane? Just where the hell was he?
“You’ve been in and out for about a week. The doctors have been a bit stunned by all your injuries of the past few years. If we’d known where you were sooner, we would have gotten you sooner.”
A young girl, perhaps no more than 12, entered the room carrying a silver tray. She glanced at Zander, curiosity radiating from her deep brown eyes, but she minded her task and placed the tray on a nearby table.
“Merci, Anais,” RJ said warmly and the young girl smiled shyly, stealing another glance at Zander before scurrying from the room.
RJ grabbed a clear glass from the tray and spooned out ice chips from the bucket that also sat on the tray. “Anais likes you, but she’s a bit timid, so don’t be surprised if blushing and sneaking looks at you is all she does. She’s more in tune with animals, horses in particular. Her equestrian skills are pretty amazing. The Olympic scouts have been watching her for years. She’ll probably go to Beijing”
He turned around and faced Zander, narrowing his gaze. “She’s also my niece. Look at her in a way that I most certainly won’t like and you know what I’m talking about, and I’ll break your legs,” he gruffly promised.
Zander simply blinked in bewilderment. What the hell was going on?
RJ sat down and began to slowly feed Zander the melting ice chips. Zander nibbled tentatively at first, but his overwhelming thirst proved stronger and he greedily munched and sucked as the ice cold liquid quenched his parched mouth and throat. The feeding continued in silence for several minutes as RJ fed Zander as though he were a parent tending to their child. He wiped away any water that escaped Zander’s hungry lips and waited patiently until Zander signaled for more. Finally, Zander felt replenished enough to take a break. However, in focusing all his energy into eating the ice chips, he now found himself exhausted and wanting rest once more. It frustrated him immensely and he fought the fatigue to get out just a few of the many questions he had.
“Where am I?” he croaked as RJ cleaned up.
“Paris.”
Okay. That meshed with the talk about the plane.
“Why?”
RJ wandered over to the windows and peered out. “Why not? Nice scenery.”
Zander let out an exasperated sigh. RJ turned at the noise. “It’s a safe house for you. It was either here or Lisbon and they’re having security problems right now. Helena Cassadine’s people were sighted there, so we doubled back here where it’s more secure.”
Zander’s expression froze at the mention of Nikolas’s Grandmother. She was crazy and murderous. She’d been gunning for Emily. “Emily?” he asked anxiously.
“She’s fine. You don’t need to concern yourself any further. She’s well taken care of.”
Zander sank back, relieved. He wasn’t quite sure why, but he believed RJ. It didn’t seem like he’d to lie to Zander’s face about things that were important.
Evade, probably. Mislead, most definitely. Lie? No.
“Why am I here?”
RJ turned again at the question he’d been anticipating for weeks. “You’re important,” he stated simply.
“To who?”
“People I know.”
“Who?” Zander asked more insistently.
RJ weighed his options. The boy was bound to learn things anyway. “Your family.”
Zander’s face twisted with sadness. What family? “I don’t have a family,” he said bitterly. There was his Mother, but she seemed to have vanished. His Father and Peter were dead. He was alone.
RJ came towards him and placed his hands squarely on the foot of the bed frame. He stared hard at Zander for a moment. Yes, now was the perfect time. “Yes, you do and I’m not talking about the Lewis side. I’m talking about your family. The people who love you and want good things for you despite all the crazy assed stunts you pull. People who make your life better.”
Zander glared back at RJ. “I don’t have anyone.”
RJ let out a chuckle. “Boy, I knew you had some drama in you, but not as much as what you’re putting out now. You need a leash for your theatrics,” he surmised, pushing off the bed frame and heading back to the windows.
Zander scowled and had the urge to throw something, if he could lift his arms more than a few inches without breaking into a sweat. He watched RJ for a moment, the man hadn’t left the room, although by his agitated stance, Zander could tell he wanted to leave. Still, he gazed out the window, his arms crossed in front of him.
“Who are you waiting for?”
“My partner.”
“Who’s that?” Zander shrank back slightly. There was a slight deference to RJ’s reply that insinuated that RJ wasn’t as in charge as Zander originally thought.
There was someone else.
*~*~*~*~*~*
“Scuzie! Scuzie!” Alexis called out to the man who was flagging down cabs for tourists. She’d just stepped out of Athens International and was now tugging her luggage out of the main entrance. Normally such acts were left to Cassadine servants but since she’d wanted to do this independently, it meant not slipping into an air conditioned vehicle while the driver struggled with the suitcases.
Of course, it also meant waiting in line for a cab, which made her more impatient than she already was.
The man indicated to the long line of tourists waiting for their turn.
Gia came up behind Alexis, blowing her frizzed hair out of her face. “We have to wait some more?!” she said, aghast at how long this was taking. “We should have rented a car.”
Alexis shook her head as they took a spot in the line. “Not a good idea. I can’t drive in Athens.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can drive, but in Athens, I seem to attract a lot of police attention. They just zero in on me and pull me over. It’s ridiculous.”
Gia frowned. “Because you’re a Cassadine.”
Alexis shifted her shoulder bag slightly. “No, I just speed too much, and the last time they threatened to put me in prison,” she replied. She sighed impatiently. “Come on! This is taking forever!” she complained.
Gia pushed her hair out of the way again. She was hot and tired and with Alexis who was growing steadily impatient as time passed. “Hang on,” she muttered, thrusting her bags at Alexis.
“Where are you going?” Alexis called after her.
Gia waved her hand back and marched down the packed sidewalk where people poured back and forth from the airport. Spotting a cab, she rounded it to the driver’s side. Pulling out a wad of cash, she thrust it in the driver’s face. It was too much but she didn’t really give a damn at this point. “You drive us,” she stated indicating to herself and Alexis. There was going to be no bartering or pleading. He was driving them, end of story.
The driver took a glance at the money and the lovely looking ladies who needed his cab and smiled genially. “Of course, I am at your service” he replied in broken English.
“Come on Alexis!” Gia hollered to her friend. The cab driver pulled up and popped the trunk. Gia ran to Alexis and helped pull the luggage while the cabbie and the man hailing cabs for tourists got into a loud, angry argument in their native tongue.
“Whoa, he’s pissed,” Alexis said under her breath as the cab hailer gesticulated wildly in their direction.
“That’s a problem?” Gia asked as she slammed the trunk shut. The two women got into the backseat and the driver flipped off the cab hailer once more. As the car pulled from the curb and joined traffic, the women could see the hailer still shouting at them.
“It could have. He might have had a gun.”
“Would he have shot us?”
“Maybe,” Alexis shrugged as she gave a few directions to the driver. “We didn’t tip him.”
“He didn’t do anything!” Gia exclaimed as she rolled down the window to let some cool evening air into the stuffy cab.
“It’s courtesy.”
“Whatever,” Gia said dismissively. “Where are we headed?”
“To see an old schoolmate of mine. Do you remember the name of the man I gave you? The one who’s in the middle of this mess?”
“Bert Cooee, right?”
“Yes. Well that’s an alias,” Alexis revealed.
“What’s his real name?”
Alexis winced at having to hold back from Gia. “I can’t tell you just yet.” Seeing the outburst on the cusp of coming out of Gia’s mouth, Alexis surged ahead with her reasoning. “It’s very sensitive and I have to clear it with my friend before I expose him like that.”
Gia bit back her unhappiness to remark on the change in Alexis’s demeanor. “You knew this guy,” she observed. Alexis almost never spoke of herself when they’d talked about the law over lunches last year. It was always about the classes and Gia’s dreams for the future. Not that Gia hadn’t tried to pry. It just seemed impossible to get Alexis to confide in her about anything. Now halfway around the world, she was learning more in a few moments than she’d learned in years.
Alexis let out a laugh. “Yes, well, it was a long time ago.” A very long time ago. Not that she didn’t remember it perfectly. Instinctively, her hand fluttered to her abdomen and she rubbed it lightly.
“My fair ladies, we are here,” the cabbie announced as he pulled down the cobblestoned street and stopped at the number Alexis gave him. Gia peered up out the window at the house. As if on cue, the light outside the front door turned on.
“You told him we were coming?” Gia asked as she and Alexis exited the cab.
Alexis shook her head. “No need. He knows why I’m here.”
“Is he going to cooperate with us?
Alexis smiled grimly at Gia. “Oh yes. Don’t you worry about that.”
*~*~*~*~*~*
The SUV pulled up the long driveway slowly and both driver and passenger examined their surroundings carefully, despite the high level of security and secrecy about this location. As they neared the entryway to the Spanish style villa, RJ emerged from the doorway and waited patiently with two guards.
The vehicle slowed to a stop and the engine was shut off. RJ nodded and approached the passenger side of the vehicle as the door opened.
“Welcome back,” he greeted his friend with a strong handshake.
His friend and partner smiled and breathed deeply. “Jasmine,” he said quietly. He would never forget this place nor what had transpired here. “Where is he?”
RJ led him into the home and down a marble floored hallway. Guards nodded respectfully as they passed and climbed the winding stairs to the 2nd floor.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” RJ asked as they stopped outside Zander’s door.
“It has to be done now. The sooner he knows, the better we can protect him.”
“And his Mother?”
A smile came in response. “I expect she’ll arrive within the next few days.”
“She’ll be pissed at you,” RJ reminded him.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
RJ rolled his eyes and smiled, handing the keys to the room over.
“Is he awake?”
RJ nodded. “He’s recovering well, considering. He should be walking right around the time his Mother decks you on the front lawn.”
“And the poison?”
“No, we haven’t determined just what it was, but we do know it’s out of Zander’s system. Helena did a number on him. No wonder his behaviour for the past couple of months has been out of control,” RJ reported with a sad shake of his head. He should have been more on the ball, especially when the police officer in Port Charles was shot.
“It’s not your fault, mate, I don’t blame you.”
RJ shoved his balled fists into his pants pockets. “He’s your son. I should have been more careful,” he replied solemnly.
A comforting arm was placed on RJ’s shoulder. “Extracting Alexander was my job. You got him out as safely as possible. He’s alive and protected. That’s all that matters to me.”
With that the door was unlocked and pushed open. Both men entered the room and in the double sized bed on the far side of the room lay Zander. He turned his head to the noise and saw the new man standing next to RJ.
“You’re the partner,” Zander said quietly, uncertainty washing over him once more. He sighed, cross with himself at sounding like such a wuss.
The new man nodded, allowing himself a moment to simply drink in the sight of his only son, alive and talking and safe. To think that just six months earlier, none of that had seemed possible.
“Got a name?” Zander queried, jutting his chin out defiantly. RJ groaned inwardly. He already had one brazen, arrogant daredevil to contend with. He didn’t need two. He didn’t want two.
“Robert Scorpio.”
“Wow,” Zander replied flatly.
Robert slowly turned his head to face RJ. RJ stared back, raising his brow with an amused smile plastered to his face.
“Congratulations, it’s a boy and he’s just like you,” he murmured to Robert before leaving the room.
The door shut with a satisfied click.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Translations:
“Shh, mon petit prince,” an elderly voice soothed as a slightly damp cloth wiped away the tears. “Pas de tristesse.”
"Shh, my little prince. No more sadness."
Zander turned to the voice and connected with tender aquamarine eyes as they gazed calmly down at him. She smiled and the creases in her face deepened. It was obvious that joy had been a big part of her life. A weathered hand reached out and stroked the side of his face. “Oui, je souviens ces yeux de votre mère. Si beau et tranquille,” she murmured kindly. Zander felt his lips quiver into a small smile. Her beam grew in response. “Voilà! Alexandre retourne!”
"Yes, I remember these eyes of your Mother's. So beautiful and calm." "There! Alexander is back!"
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