Emily woke the first morning in one of the many guest bedrooms at Llanfair with a smile on her face as she peeked out the window. A fresh layer of snow had fallen during the night blanketing the grounds in white crystal. Taking a quick shower and foregoing the usual make up and putting her hair in a simple ponytail, she dressed quickly and headed down the hall to Jess’s room.

“Jess.” “Jessica.” She knocked on the door. “Come on Buchanan we got up earlier than this at camp. She checked her watch. It’s almost 7:30. Half the day has gone by.”

Pushing open the door, she entered the room and smiled at the sight of Jessica bundled up in blankets that were pulled over her head.

“Go away Quartermaine,” The muffled voice couldn’t help giggling. “Some of us like to sleep in.”

“And some of us had dreams of one day dating Prince William and look how that turned out,” Emily grumbled as she approached the bed. “Up or I’ll do something drastic to get you out of bed like I did that summer we first met.”

“You mean the bucket of water....” Jessica pulled down the blankets and her tousled blond hair emerged. “I don’t think my mattress ever dried after that.”

“But you made it to the river in time to spy on that boy you liked didn’t you?”

For the first time in weeks Jessica Buchanan smiled, a real genuine smile. “God, it’s good to have you here Em.”

“I should have come sooner. I wanted to but between my brothers feuding over Michael and Lucky dying and Juan...It sounds lame looking back on it. You are one of my best friends and you went through something horrible and all I could worry about was sneaking past the parental units to see some boy.”

Jessica sat up and eyed her friend. “It’s okay Em. You’re here now and we are going to have a good time.” Her blue eyes sparkled. “So, do I get to hear all about this boy.”

Emily blushed. “Juan? There’s not much to tell, except that he’s absolutely head over heels in love with me. With me.”

“Why does that amaze you? You’re smart and funny and beautiful,” Jessica looked the younger girl over fondly.

“I’m also clumsy, shy, and way too immature according to some.”

“Ahh. The Nikolas effect. It must have been rough falling for a guy who only saw you as his little sister.”

“You did not say his name. I’m going to pretend that you did not say his name.” Emily stood silently and after a moment relented. “All right, after being ignored by Nikolas for years it was great to have a guy like me almost immediately. Juan is cute and funny and smart. He makes me laugh, you know?”

“Why do I hear a but in there?”

“I don’t know because there isn’t one. Not really. Or at least there shouldn’t be one.” Emily sighed as she plopped herself down on the bed. “Men..” She said with a long sigh.

Jessica laughed to cover how close to home Em’s words hit for her own situation. She loved Christian. She always had. But even saying those words to herself she hears the small thread of a “but” running through her sentences and isn’t sure why.

“I say we totally forget about the members of the opposite gender and go sledding. Remember when your dad took us sledding that one year and we went too fast down the hill and hit the rock and”

“Flew in the air about ten feet before landing head first in the snow. I remember. It was all you could do to convince my parents not to take you to the hospital.”

“I don’t even want to think about what Edward would have done if I had to go to the hospital while I was visiting you. Probably forbid me from ever coming again.”

“A fate worse than death.” Jessica said solemnly.

“Absolutely,” Emily echoed.

The two girls looked at each other for a minute. Then Emily pulled the blankets off Jessica’s bed. “Ten minutes, Buchanan. If you’re not downstairs in ten minutes I get the red sled and you have to settle for the blue.”

“The blue sled is the kiddie sled.”

“Uh-huh. And it’s yours in 9 minutes and 45 seconds.”

It had been a long time since Jessica Buchanan had gotten dressed quite that fast.

Two hours later, Emily was shrieking with laughter as she slid down the hill in the red sled (they’d ended up taking turns) and tumbled into a snow bank. Standing up and shaking the snow off her, she smiled at Jessica’s laughter before picking up a snowball and throwing it at her. As Emily ducked for cover behind a tree, Jessica returned fire.

Fortunately she hit a moving target. Unfortunately that target was not Emily.

“Oh my God,” Jessica tried to stifle the giggles that were about to explode. “Will. I didn’t mean to. I was aiming at”

As she attempted to explain what had happened to the perplexed Will, Emily took advantage of her distraction to lobby another shot from her vantage point behind the tree.

It hit Will too.

“What in the world?” Will turned his attention from Jessica in front of him to the tall and slender form behind him.

Grinning, Emily emerged from her hiding place to negotiate a detente with the enemy but holding true to Quartermaine form she kept one snowball in her hand just in case.

“Will, this is Emily Quartermaine.” Jessica made the introductions. “Emily this is Will Rappaport.”

“The Will?” Emily turned to Jessica who nodded. Emily turned back to Will. “I was really sorry to hear about your loss.” Throwing caution to the wind, she leaned over and gave Will a soft kiss on the cheek, much to the embarrassment of Will and the puzzlement of Jess. “Thank you for being a good friend to Jessica.”

“Don’t I know you?” Will asked looking at Emily closely.

“Emily is a model. Maybe you’ve seen her pictures in a magazine.”

Will shook his head. “No it’s not that.”

“Her father owns ELQ. Maybe you’ve seen her pictures in the society pages?” Jessica says.

Will shakes his head no again.

Emily sighs and shrugs her shoulders. “My brother is Jason Morgan the Mafia boss.”

“That’s it.” Will exclaimed. “It was in an article in the Intruder and.....” Will closed his mouth. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t sweat it. I’m a Quartermaine. There are worse things you could have recognized me for.” Like my not so secret drug addiction, being a suspect in Dorman’s murder, or those pictures on the internet courtesy of that creep Tom. Emily’s smile falters as the day loses some of its brilliance.

“Hey,” Jessica put an arm around her friend. “That was over a long time ago.

Will looked at Emily for a long moment. There was obviously more to her than what appeared on the surface although he definitely liked what he saw on the surface. He looked over at Jessica and saw the bloom on her cheeks and the smile in her eyes. Whoever this Emily was she had made Jessica smile for the first time in a long time. For that alone she had his friendship.

“You two look like you are getting a little frozen along the edges. What about some hot chocolate at my place?”

“Your place?”

“Will lives with Joey at the gate house,” Jessica explains.

Emily smiles immediately liking Will’s friendly nature. The fact that he was definitely a hunk by anyone’s standards didn’t hurt. He reminded her of someone... She shook her head. “I’d love some hot chocolate. As long as it’s not a bother.”

“For a lovely young lady like you,” Will smiled teasingly. “Nothing is a bother. Besides I was heading home to meet a friend who is arriving for a visit this morning.”

“A friend?” Jessica asks as they begin to walk back to the gatehouse.

Will nods. “I’ll introduce you when he comes. He should be arriving from New York fairly soon. He’s a great guy. We met at boarding school and we’ve been friends ever since.”

“What’s he like?” Emily asked absently just to make conversation.

“He’s a bundle of contradictions,” Will admitted. “He’s a great guy and can be a lot of fun. We had the wildest times together at school. But he can also come off as too serious and too aloof.”

Emily slows down as they approach the gate house alarm bells ringing in her head.

“I think it has to do with his family,” Will continues. “It’s a very old and decrepit, I mean ancient, family line so there are a lot of responsibilities to uphold.”

Emily closed her eyes and Jessica looked at her in concern. Will’s friend couldn’t be who Emily obviously thought it was, could it? The coincidence would be too unbearable, Jessica thought.

“What’s your friend’s name?” Jess asked as Will opened the door for them.

“Nikolas,” replied Will. “Nikolas”

“Cassadine,” The tall young man waiting on the couch stood up as they entered. “Nikolas Cassadine. And you must be...?”

“Jessica Buchanan,” Jess greeted him in complete amazement. “And I think you know my friend....”

“Emily?” Nikolas looked at the girl he had known for years and wondered why he suddenly felt like he was holding his breath.

“Nikolas,” Emily acknowledged wondering who’s crazy idea this set up was. She was here to help a friend and sort out her own mixed up life. The last thing she needed was the prime source of most of that confusion standing just a few feet away from her.

“You two know each other?” Will asked puzzled.

“Nikolas and I are old friends,” Emily said casually. “He’s always been like a third brother to me.” She considered that statement. Jason had an affair with AJ’s wife. AJ married a woman in love with his brother. She supposed Nikolas had more in common with her brothers than she thought. At least he waited until his brother was dead before moving in on his brother’s girlfriend. She winced slightly at the nastiness of that thought. Determinedly, she turned her attention to the handsome Will and away from all things Nikolas. “Didn’t you promise us some hot chocolate?” She leaned on his shoulder as she said the words softly and silkily. She hadn’t lived in the same house with Carly these last few months and not learned a little about controlling a man.

Will grinned. “Right through here.” He led the way to the kitchen with a flourish and after a moment’s hesitation. Jessica followed.

Left alone in the living room, Nikolas paused briefly to wonder why the idea of Emily referring to him as a brother bothered him, before joining the other young people in the kitchen.